After my grandparents had a camellia tree at their house, Gua Gua was particularly happy to go to their house to appreciate the flowers, and even Niu Niu developed a hobby of appreciating flowers.
Because his dad is tall, Niu Niu prefers to be held by his dad when he is appreciating the flowers. However, no matter whether it is his dad or mom, he will definitely get angry if anyone lets him leave before he has had enough time to appreciate the flowers.
Not to mention her son, her daughter Guagua was still too young. Xu Xiangjuan had never let her children go up the mountain, and they had never seen a large area of red and pink mountain flowers on the mountain, so it was extremely rare for them to see some flowers.
There are fruit trees in the village, and they can bloom, but they are not as beautiful and bright red as the camellia. Also, the trees are not tall, so they are especially popular among short children.
Fearing that her granddaughter would ruin all the flowers, Wu Caifeng specifically told her granddaughter that she could only look at the flowers but not pick them.
Guagua had already shown off enough to Miaomiao, so he didn't want to pick the flowers. With grandma's consent, he brought Miaomiao to see the flowers.
Xu Xiangjuan did not join in the children's play. Although she bought New Year's goods from her mother this year, she still had to buy other vegetables and meat.
The weather is cold, so the vegetables and meat can be kept for a few more days. The hens at home need to lay eggs and cannot be slaughtered for food. I need to buy a few broiler chickens and raise them temporarily, and also bring back a few fish raised by my parents.
On New Year's Eve, the town market was crowded with people. Xu Xiangjuan said, "I told you not to follow me, but you insisted on following me. Isn't it better for you to stay at home and take care of the children?"
Although it was New Year's Eve, there was still a market in their town, and there were more people than usual.
The nearby town of Judezao holds a market on New Year's Eve. Residents from neighboring towns will come specifically to the market, and the environment is not very good when there are too many people.
Zhou Chengning was behind Xu Xiangjuan. There were so many people that he couldn't ride his bike and could only push it. "I didn't know there would be so many people. I don't want to take Niu Niu with me, and Niu Niu doesn't want his dad to take him with him."
His main purpose was to give his lover a ride on his bicycle. He had never taken his lover on the bicycle since he bought it. Although he couldn't ride the bicycle on the street in the market at the moment, his lover sat on the back seat of his bicycle on the way here, so he had fulfilled his wish.
The couple both went out and left the child at their grandparents' house. It happened that Xu Xiangjuan's second sister, Xu Xianglan, was willing to take care of the child, so Xu Xiangjuan gave Niu Niu to her second sister. The two of them went out early, and Niu Niu was held in the arms of her aunt to appreciate the flowers.
Guagua doesn't need to worry too much. As long as he is obedient and doesn't run around, nothing will go wrong.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Don't give me that. Niu Niu still wants you to hold him and look at the flowers."
After all, dad is tall, and being held by dad will give the little calf the illusion that the flowers are within reach.
Xu Xiangjuan originally wanted to come to the market with her mother, but her mother said that the food and supplies at home were almost ready, so instead of going to the market, she asked her old sisters to buy candles and light candles in the small temple in the village at night, and also light candles at home.
There were no candles at home, so Xu Xiangjuan asked her mother to bring some for her as well.
This is a custom. In the early years, everyone was very cautious and these customs were not put on the table. Now that the situation is better, the New Year customs are slowly returning.
Xu Xiangjuan had some food at home, so she went to the market today to see if there were any vegetables and fruits that she didn't often eat. She hadn't planned to buy much, but since her man was following her, she decided to buy more.
I have to eat lunch at my parents' house. After buying and putting away the things, I will go directly to my parents' house for lunch.
In the evening, her brother and sister stayed at her parents' house for the reunion dinner. She would decide whether to cook at home or go to her parents' house for the reunion dinner based on the situation in the afternoon.
I have to take the children to grandpa's house this afternoon. Aning has a bicycle, so it is faster for her to go to grandpa's house. Recently, she goes to grandpa's house every two or three days. She doesn't go so often, but she does go not at all. Yesterday, Aning came home and told her that her aunt was back and was temporarily living in the yard next door.
Their aunt hadn't said she wanted to meet them, but they had written to her, so they couldn't not meet them. Besides, their aunt was their elder, so there was no reason for them to wait until she said so before meeting them.
Passing by the rattan pear stall, Xu Xiangjuan stopped and asked the price.
"20 cents a pound, it's sweet, you can take one and try it."
The vine pears at this time can be said to be wild kiwis. Most of the vine pears are small, and seven or eight of them weigh less than a pound. Probably because they have been stored for a while, the skin is not tightly attached to the flesh and can be easily torn apart.
Xu Xiangjuan took one from the stall, peeled it, and took a bite. It tasted good, sweet and sour. She peeled the pear nearly to the bottom and passed it to Zhou Chengning. "Try it and see if it tastes good. If it does, we'll buy a few more pounds to take home."
Zhou Chengning took a bite of the pear his lover had just taken, and bit the exposed flesh directly into his mouth. He ate a large piece of flesh without letting the juice get on his face. "It's delicious."
There was still some meat at the bottom, and Xu Xiangjuan naturally sucked the rest clean without wasting it.
The business at the rattan pear stall was not good, as not many people would buy this wild fruit and the price was not expensive. She picked a relatively large one and weighed three pounds.
Fortunately, I went out and got two baskets, one big and one small. Three pounds of rattan pears were enough to fill the small one.
After buying things and leaving the crowded place, Xu Xiangjuan held the big basket in one hand and held the bicycle seat with the other hand, with the small basket hanging on the front of the bicycle.
As for what her man said about grabbing his clothes, she still pretended not to hear it. He said the same thing again on the way to the market, and she refused.
It’s more stable to grab a cushion than clothes.
After returning home, Xu Xiangjuan put away the things she bought today, filled a dozen rattan pears in a large bowl that she had brought back from her parents' house, and took Zhou Chengning to her parents' house.
A dozen rattan pears weighing one and a half pounds were eaten. There are many children and adults in my mother's family, so the dozen or so will be divided up quickly.
"Mom, what is this?" Gua Gua was playing the red string game with his little cousin. When he saw his parents coming, he immediately asked his mother what she was holding in her hand.
When Niu Niu heard his sister's voice, he looked over and saw that his parents had returned. Niu Niu, who was now being held by his grandfather, cried out a few times, asking for his mother to hold him.
"Aning, go hug Niu Niu. Dad, big brother and third brother, you guys eat the rattan pears. Peel some for the kids too. I'll go to the kitchen." Taking four rattan pears, Xu Xiangjuan went into the kitchen.
Mom, my second sister, and my sisters-in-law were all in the kitchen. Xu Xiangjuan handed each of them a rattan pear and asked, "Is there anything else you want to do?"
Xu Xianglan peeled off the skin of a rattan pear and ate it in a few bites. After finishing, she said, "I'll have noodles for lunch. There's nothing to do, so I can just take a rest."
Xu Xiangjuan: "The noodles are almost ready to eat. I'll ask Dad and my brothers to prepare the meal."
This year, my eldest brother and third brother came back with their whole family for the Chinese New Year and left on the fourth day of the first lunar month. My second sister came back with her son and left on the second day of the first lunar month. It was rare for the whole family to get together this year and they won’t be able to get together again in two or three years.
Although Zhou Chengning is a teacher and has contact with many people, he is essentially an introverted and taciturn person outside of the classroom. When his father chats with his eldest brother and third brother, he occasionally responds, but he doesn't talk as much as Niu Niu. Niu Niu's attention is sometimes on the tree, sometimes on his older brothers and sisters, and he can't sit still on his father's lap.
Fortunately, his wife said that dinner was almost ready, otherwise Zhou Chengning didn’t know if he could suppress Niu Niu’s restless heart.
When it was lunch time, Xu Xiangjuan brought Niu Niu back, ate her noodles and then fed Niu Niu milk. After the meal, she chatted with her mother, sister and sisters-in-law for a while, and then went home with Zhou Chengning and Niu Niu and Gua Gua.
The earlier you go to grandpa's house, the earlier you can come back.
...
Xu Xiangjuan asked Zhou Chengning to ride a tricycle to his grandfather's house. It was natural for him to show his filial piety to his grandfather during the New Year and bring him some things, including rice, flour, fruits and mountain products.
The rattan pears they bought were ripe and would only last for a few days, so Xu Xiangjuan packed a few and took them with her.
When they were almost at grandpa's house, Xu Xiangjuan saw grandpa sitting in front of the thatched hut talking to someone. This person should be Zhou Chengning's aunt, Zhou Cunxin.
In the past, Guagua was always very excited when he came to his great-grandfather's house. But today, when he saw his great-grandfather and an aunt who looked very serious, Guagua remained silent for a rare time.
It was Niu Niu who finally got off the car and shook his sleeves excitedly.
"Guagua, call me auntie." Xu Xiangjuan knew that children in later generations especially hated being forced by their parents to call this relative or that relative, but there was nothing she could do because parents thought it was impolite for children not to call them that. Besides, she didn't want the atmosphere to remain awkward since it was, after all, the first time they met.
Guagua: "Hello, auntie, I'm Guagua."
"Hello, Guagua." Zhou Cunxin forced an unnatural smile, not because of the name, but because she didn't like to smile normally.
"Aning, move the things down, and Guagua go help dad." Xu Xiangjuan sat on the chair holding Niu Niu.
There were originally only two benches in Grandpa Zhou's house, but because of Zhou Chengning's busy work, more chairs and bowls and chopsticks were added, and the furniture was more complete than before.
"This is Niu Niu, right? How many months old is Niu Niu?" Zhou Cunxin asked Niu Niu.
"Yes, auntie. It's Niu Niu. He's over six months old and can eat porridge."
The two of them had no topics to talk about, so they naturally started talking about the little baby Niu Niu.
When Grandpa Zhou saw his daughter and granddaughter-in-law talking about children, he stood up to help, leaving Xu Xiangjuan and her aunt to talk.
As soon as Grandpa left, Xu Xiangjuan told Zhou Cunxin directly about Grandpa's condition, speaking in a low voice.
The general meaning is that she and Aning will take good care of grandpa, but they will not stay in the village forever, so relying solely on the two of them to be nice to grandpa is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.
Xu Xiangjuan had read Zhou Chengning's diary in her previous life and knew that he was upset about Huadu. She had never been to Huadu in her previous life, but no matter what the reason, the family had to go to Huadu once.
When she was just reborn, she thought it would be nice to stay in the small village peacefully for the rest of her life with her family around her. But later, she gradually figured out why the children's father studied hard, and felt that she couldn't stay here forever.
Although he never said it, he chose to stay in Huadu to teach after graduation instead of going home because he didn't want to be trapped in a small place like a frog in a well for the rest of his life.
Zhou Cunxin didn't expect his nephew's wife to speak so straightforwardly, and he didn't beat around the bush with her. "My dad is old, but he's still pretty strong right now. You can take care of him for a few years. I'll come back when I'm free. I've also talked to my eldest brother and his wife, and they can figure it out themselves."
"Aunt, Aning is where she is now because of Grandpa. I am very grateful to Grandpa, so please don't think I have ulterior motives."
"I know you are more reasonable than my elder brother. My elder brother is not as clear-headed as you at his age."
Niu Niu made a few "ah ah" sounds, as if responding to his aunt's words. Xu Xiangjuan really felt that her child was about to become a spirit.
After talking about grandpa’s affairs, Xu Xiangjuan and her aunt talked about other things.
From the conversation, Zhou Cunxin also realized that her niece-in-law's horizons were much broader than she had imagined, so she couldn't help but chat a little more. After Zhou Chengning finished moving the things, he saw that his aunt and his lover were still chatting, so he didn't disturb them. Instead, he took Gua Gua and Grandpa to chat in the hut.
The light inside the thatched hut was dim, much darker than outside, and grandpa didn't use a kerosene lamp. Gua Gua felt bored after staying there for a while and couldn't stay any longer, so he ran outside to listen to his mother and aunt talking.
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