Chapter 108
Xu Guihua stopped.
It wasn't because she was embarrassed, but because she was planning something else.
Xu Jin'an's family was well-off, so Xu Guihua wanted to bring her grandson, Xu Jiangjiang, to live with her.
Anyway, Xu Jin'an has been obedient since childhood and rarely defies Xu Guihua. She thinks that it's up to her to decide who to take in, and Xu Jin'an certainly wouldn't dare to disagree.
Unfortunately, his second daughter-in-law, Xue Ping, is a strong-willed woman. What if she goes around saying things to Xu Jin'an and doesn't agree to Jiang Jiang moving in?
With that in mind, Xu Guihua didn't take the malted milk powder from the cabinet.
Anyway, once Jiang Jiang arrives, how could Xu Jin'an, as his uncle, not give him a drink?
So Xu Guihua pretended to be calm, closed the cabinet door, and left with a bag full of candy and cookies.
Xue Ping watched coldly, though she didn't lash out, she was furious.
Although everyone was struggling financially at the time, Xue Ping was by no means stingy. She was generous with certain things, but Xu Guihua left a very bad impression on her.
Yesterday was the same. She casually strolled into the kitchen and took out all the mangoes she had stored away that she hadn't been willing to eat.
Those were the ones Xue Ping had saved to give to Xu Nuo when she returned, but Xu Jinhong and Xu Yunyun, without even asking her, the hostess, shamelessly ate them.
She acted as if Xue Ping was the guest.
Fine, let her eat it then. Xue Ping didn't say anything. But then Xu Guihua slipped one into Guo Ailian's pocket, saying she should take it back for Xu Jiangjiang to eat.
Xue Ping felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a bedbug at the group's unsolicited actions.
Now she's even touching Nuonuo's things. Judging by the way she's doing it, she'd be happy if she didn't come and empty everything out of the house.
The more Xue Ping thought about her mother-in-law, the more upset she became.
"Ping..." Xu Jinan was caught in the middle like a pie, caught between two difficult positions. He said in a low voice, "Go get a bag and put Nuonuo's things in the room."
Otherwise, even if Xu Guihua had taken everything, she would have said she hadn't taken a single thing.
Hearing this, Xue Ping felt a little better, but she still glared at Xu Jin'an fiercely.
She went back to her room and brought out her wooden rattan box, filling it to the brim. After thinking about it, she decided to leave some of it behind.
Although only a portion was kept, it's still a lot.
These days, being able to eat your fill is already considered a blessing, let alone having snacks.
…
There wasn't much left at home, so Xu Jinan cooked white rice porridge, opened a bag of pickled vegetables and stir-fried eggs, and also scooped out a few pieces of salted tofu.
He walked to Xu Guihua's door and knocked: "Mom, dinner's ready."
Xu Guihua dawdled as she came out, and seeing only two bowls of porridge on the table, she naturally sat down in a chair.
White rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and salted tofu; Xu Jinhong also cut up a salted duck egg that was dripping with oil.
This breakfast is considered quite good. When Xu Guihua lived with Xu Jinhong, they didn't even have white rice porridge to eat; they rarely ate refined grains.
After finishing their meal, Xu Guihua casually mentioned, "Your eldest brother's son, Jiangjiang, is sick and is currently staying with his maternal grandmother. As his uncle, you haven't even gone to visit him."
Xu Jinan paused with his chopsticks, picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and stuffed it into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "I have a lot of work to do at the office, I can't leave."
Xu Guihua knew that Xu Jinan was now a government official and a leader, but that's precisely why Xu Guihua felt he was useless. What was the use of being such a high-ranking official if he couldn't even have a son? She complained, "He's always busy, always busy. Now that he's a leader, he doesn't care about his nephew anymore?"
Xu Jinan didn't speak. Xu Guihua glanced at him, turned her body and said, "Jiangjiang is a sensible child. I was thinking of going to pick him up and have him live with me. Anyway, the room is big."
Xu Jin'an put down his chopsticks, and the black-rimmed glasses on his nose slipped down slightly, obscuring his expression. Xu Guihua was displeased when she saw that Xu Jin'an didn't answer: "What? I've raised you all these years, and you don't even listen to me anymore? Isn't he your nephew too?"
If we're talking about obedience, Xu Jin'an has always listened to Xu Guihua the most since he was a child. Because Xu Guihua didn't care about him, he could only obey her every word in order to get a few smiles from her.
But things always turn out the other way around. The longer she complied, the more outrageous Xu Guihua became.
"Did you hear that? I'm bringing Jiangjiang over to stay for a few days. He's sick, and I need to take care of him."
Xu Jinan was reluctant, but he replied, "Their elder brother and sister-in-law will take care of us."
Xu Guihua slammed her hand on the table: "How can they be the same?"
Xu Jinan frowned but didn't say anything.
Because she had to pick up Xu Jiangjiang, Xu Guihua hurriedly left after breakfast, and asked Xu Jinan for a key before leaving.
There weren't many people on the street. Xu Guihua, who had worked hard for half her life, looked old, but she walked very steadily. The thought of bringing her beloved grandson over filled her with joy.
Xu Jinhong's family had nowhere to live, so they secretly moved back to their old house. The three of them squeezed into the room with the window. When debt collectors came to bang on the door, they would climb out through the window.
When Xu Guihua arrived, Guo Ailian thought she was there to collect a debt, and the group was so frightened that they tried to climb over the wall and run away.
To everyone's surprise, they heard Xu Guihua's voice: "Open the door."
Guo Ailian hurriedly opened the door and pulled Xu Guihua in. Her face was full of fear, and she lowered her voice and said, "Mother, why are you here? Keep your voice down, in case the debt collectors come again."
Xu Guihua was very excited: "I'm telling you, I'm going to bring Jiangjiang to live with me."
Guo Ailian was taken aback: "Didn't Xu Jinan agree? He said he would only let you go alone."
Xu Guihua was unhappy when she talked about this. Sure enough, her son was no longer under his mother's control when he grew up. Now that Xu Jin'an was unemployed, he was never obedient. She had to persuade him to take Jiang Jiang back and send him back after he recovered before Xu Jin'an finally agreed.
“I told Jiangjiang that she was sick and that I would take her over to take care of her for a couple of days.”
Seeing Guo Ailian frowning, Xu Guihua glared at her: "What? You have a problem with that?"
She pulled Guo Ailian aside and said smugly, "Let me tell you, Jin An's family doesn't have a son, and judging from the signs over the past few years, they're unlikely to have any more children. So who will inherit the house that his work unit allocated to him?"
"Huh?" Guo Ailian didn't understand and stared blankly at Xu Guihua. Xu Guihua thought she was smart, but Guo Ailian hadn't thought of that. She smiled like an old chrysanthemum: "Jiang Jiang will definitely inherit it in the future."
Although Guo Ailian was greedy, she had never dared to dream of Xu Jin'an's house. But when she heard Xu Guihua's words, her eyes lit up, and she hesitated before saying, "My second brother's family has no sons, only two daughters. It's definitely impossible for the daughters to inherit it. So... does it really belong to our Jiangjiang?"
She glanced at Xu Guihua and said, "But what if he doesn't agree?"
Xu Guihua slapped her thigh excitedly: "That's why I'll take him over to get to know Jin An. Jin An doesn't have a son, so he'll definitely dote on him like a precious gem."
The thought of her son inheriting Xu Jin'an's house made Guo Ailian overjoyed, and she had no objections whatsoever: "Mom, I have no objections."
Her eyes darted around, and she added, "I'm just worried that my second brother's daughter will bully Jiang Jiang. I was thinking, if I go with her, then definitely..."
Xu Guihua waved her hand: "Don't worry, that good-for-nothing is just relying on her parents' backing. Once Jin'an is gone, see how I deal with her."
Guo Ailian hated and was furious with Xu Nuo, who was even more shameless than Xue Ping. The thought of that brat being punished by her mother-in-law made Guo Ailian feel a sense of satisfaction. However, she still wanted to move to Xu Jin'an's house. She said, "I won't feel at ease unless I see it with my own eyes, Mother. You didn't see it. She's terribly fierce. Yunyun was so frightened by her yesterday that she cried all night after she came back."
Guo Ailian never missed an opportunity to file a complaint.
Although Xu Yunyun cried because she couldn't get meat, she also complained to Guo Ailian while crying: "I shouldn't have listened to you. My cousin was very nice to me and said she would let me eat the meat once it was heated up. But you made me go and grab it. She got angry and wouldn't let me eat it."
Guo Ailian was furious that she didn't get any meat and was kicked out. She slapped her on the back and said, "You're so big, but you can't even compete with your skinny cousin."
"She's incredibly strong; I almost fell over."
Guo Ailian didn't believe it: "It was clearly you who lost your balance. How could someone so thin push you?"
Xu Yunyun became anxious: "It's true, it's true, she's very strong."
Xu Jinhong had neither borrowed money nor found a place to stay, and with nowhere to vent his anger, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then turned around and kicked Xu Yunyun hard: "Hurry up and leave."
That kick was so hard that it tore open the fabric on Xu Yunyun's pants.
These were her best pair of pants; Xu Yunyun cried all night because of them.
When she woke up in the morning, her eyes were swollen like walnuts. When she saw Xu Guihua, her eyes lit up: "Grandma, what brings you here?"
Are you coming to pick them up and take them to stay at my second uncle's house?
Xu Guihua glanced at her and said, "I'm going to pick up Jiangjiang from your grandma's house later. I'm taking him to live with me."
"Huh?" Xu Yunyun was both surprised and envious. She went over to massage Xu Guihua's shoulders, her small, round eyes shining brightly with a pleading look: "Grandma, what about me? Can you take me with you?"
"You can't do it, your second uncle won't agree."
Xu Yunyun pinched Xu Guihua's waist, and seeing Xu Guihua hum in enjoyment, she said, "Grandma, just take me with you. I can also massage your shoulders. Or I can just go have some fun and come back tonight."
Xu Guihua thought for a moment. Xu Yunyun just wanted to have dinner at Xu Jin'an's house, so she nodded in agreement and took Xu Yunyun and Guo Ailian to pick up Xu Jiangjiang.
Xu Jiangjiang was very attached to Guo Ailian. When she heard that they had to separate again, she refused to accept it and cried loudly, with snot and tears streaming down her face.
Xu Guihua was heartbroken and quickly comforted him, "Jiangjiang, your second uncle's house has lots of delicious food and lots of candy. Look, look, Grandma even brought some for you."
As Guo Ailian spoke, she pulled out a handful of White Rabbit candies from her pocket and peeled one for Xu Jiangjiang.
It was Xu Jiangjiang's first time eating it. He sucked hard on the white milk stick and stopped crying instantly. Xu Guihua then showed him pork candy and other small treats, making Xu Jiangjiang nod repeatedly with longing. He said in a slurred voice, "I'll go, I'll go."
Xu Yunyun also wanted some candy, but Xu Guihua only gave her one White Rabbit candy and one lard candy, keeping the rest tightly in her pocket.
As Xu Yunyun ate the candy, she became even more determined to please Xu Nuo in order to get more delicious treats.
…
Xu Nuo woke up naturally as usual, got up and stretched.
She opened the door and was startled by the dirty little child squatting in front of her door.
Xu Jiangjiang was having a great time playing on the door, but as soon as the door opened, she started to wail in displeasure.
Xu Nuo took a step back, her eyes wide: "Who...who are you?"
“She’s your younger brother.” Afraid that Xu Nuo would bully Jiang Jiang, Xu Guihua rushed out of the kitchen and lovingly picked up Xu Jiang Jiang: “Jiang Jiang, dinner will be ready soon. Are you hungry? If you are, have some candy.”
After Xu Guihua finished speaking, Xu Nuo saw Xu Jiangjiang stuff the lump of white mud in his hand into his mouth.
Xu Nuo frowned slightly.
A strangely affected voice rang out: "Cousin Nuonuo, you're awake."
The overtly ingratiating and fawning manner made Xu Nuo's brows furrow even more.
Why are there so many demons and monsters in the house so early in the morning?
Ah, no, it wasn't early in the morning, because Xu Guihua lovingly picked up Xu Jiangjiang, then said with a look of disgust, "What kind of talk is this? You're only getting up now, and you don't even know how to cook."
Xu Nuo opened her big eyes, blinked at Xu Guihua, and said without batting an eye, "I don't know how to do it."
Xu Guihua choked up for a moment, while Xu Nuo had already turned around and gone to the bathroom to wash up.
He didn't take her seriously at all.
Xu Guihua felt this wouldn't do; she had to show this girl what she was capable of. Just as she was about to call out to her, Xu Jiangjiang grabbed her trouser leg.
"Milk and candy are delicious, I want to eat candy."
Xu Guihua quickly took out some candy from her pocket and fed it to Xu Jiangjiang, saying, "After you finish eating, we'll go eat dinner. Grandma had your sister boil three big eggs for you, and there's also a big pot of Ruanbai noodles. Do you like it?"
Xu Jiangjiang chewed on the candy and nodded frantically.
Xu Guihua picked up Xu Jiangjiang and looked up to see Xu Nuo holding a bowl with an egg stuck in the chopsticks.
Xu Guihua got anxious: "Who told you to eat the eggs? Those are your brother's."
Xu Nuo chewed on an egg, lazily sitting on the stool, and glanced at Xu Guihua: "These are clearly the eggs from my egg basket, how did they become his?"
That girl!
Xu Guihua was heartbroken, as if Xu Nuo had done something outrageous: "Your brother is sick, and you won't even give him an egg to eat."
Xu Nuo chewed her cheeks until they were bulging, glanced at the lively Xu Jiangjiang, ignored her, and continued eating her own egg.
Hmph, she'll make sure Li Xian doesn't bring anything, and she won't let these people get away with even a single egg.
How annoying.
"Knock knock".
There was a knock on the door.
Startled, Xu Nuo quickly stood up and said, trying to appear calm, "There are still two eggs in the pot. If you're not going to eat them, I'll go eat them myself."
Xu Guihua carried Xu Jiangjiang into the kitchen like a gust of wind.
They were afraid that Xu Nuo would actually eat the egg.
When the door opened, Xu Nuo was taken aback, but then immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Yan stood outside the door, smiling brightly: "Nuonuo."
Xu Nuo quickly pulled her in: "Sister, why are you back?"
Xu Yan, unaware that someone was home, closed the door and said, "Brother Li has something to do and can't come to collect the herbal tea for the next few days, so he sent me to get it."
Xu Nuo breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he had something to do today.
Unable to get any eggs, Xu Yunyun came out of the kitchen and saw Xu Yan and Xu Nuo talking intimately. She felt her chance had come and walked over to them, sweetly calling out, "Cousin."
Xu Yan was taken aback.
What's my uncle's family doing here?
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