Xu Jiacheng and his wife Zhao Mingfang arrived in Ruxu County at around five o'clock yesterday afternoon. By the time the couple arrived at the residential area where their son Xu Li lived, it was already around five-thirty in the evening.
Knowing that time was tight, the couple had already made arrangements for the trip long in advance. They planned to wait until the parent-teacher meeting was over, then invite the leaders of No. 2 Middle School and Teacher Zhou to dinner to keep in touch before going home.
When they arrived downstairs in the community, the couple, plus the driver, a total of three people, busily carried the gifts they brought this time into Xu Li's house. When the aunt hired by Xu Jiacheng and Zhao Mingfang for Xu Li found out that the boss had arrived, she took the initiative to come downstairs and help the boss move things.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Song. Thank you for your help," Zhao Mingfang said after moving the things. She looked at Aunt Song, the cook, panting and working hard. She smiled at her kindly and thanked her. "You work so hard cooking, and you came down to help us move things. Are you tired?"
"Boss, Boss lady, have a drink of water!"
Aunt Song, who was pouring water and making tea for Xu Jiacheng and Zhao Mingfang, waved her hands quickly after hearing her employer's question. She smiled at Zhao Mingfang with a flattering smile, "No, not tired at all! Boss, look at what you said. We are rough people, we are used to doing this kind of work! By the way, I knew you were coming, so I prepared some dishes in advance. You and the boss will eat at home tonight, right?"
Logically, Aunt Song didn't need to try to please Zhao Mingfang so much, but Zhao Mingfang and Xu Jiacheng, as the employers, treated Aunt Song at the highest level so that their son Xu Li could eat well and live well in a foreign place. Not to mention that when Zhao Mingfang came to Ruxu to deliver something to Xu Li, she also brought something for Aunt Song, which touched Aunt Sun.
Even though Zhao Mingfang did this for her son Xu Li, she had to judge everything by deeds rather than intentions. The simple-minded Aunt Song felt that she had to accept this favor, so she worked even harder to provide Xu Li with food and accommodation.
Hearing Aunt Song's words, Zhao Mingfang nodded and replied, "Yes, we will eat at home tonight. Just prepare dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning. My husband, Xu Li and I will not eat at home at noon tomorrow. We will go back to Jiahe tomorrow afternoon. As for tomorrow's dinner, you can just make it for Xu Li normally!"
After getting the employer's answer, Aunt Song hurriedly agreed, her hands moving non-stop, and immediately prepared to go to the kitchen to prepare, "Then boss, boss lady, you guys take a break first, I'll go prepare dinner first? Xu Li will be back soon!"
Xu Jiacheng didn't say anything, but Zhao Mingfang smiled and nodded. They were both tired from the long journey and didn't have much appetite now, but it didn't matter if they didn't want to eat. The main thing was that their son must be very hungry since he had been in class until now, so they nodded in agreement.
After seeing the employer's agreement, Aunt Song went straight back to the kitchen and started busying herself in the kitchen, intending to prepare a table of delicious meals as quickly as possible so that the boss and the boss's wife could see that her monthly salary of 7,000 to 8,000 yuan plus a few hundred yuan in subsidies were not earned in vain.
Seeing Aunt Song return to the kitchen and start preparing dinner, Xu Jiacheng stood up and began to look around the house of more than 100 square meters that he had not been to for almost two months.
Seeing that the room was tidy and spotless inside and out, Xu Jiacheng couldn't help but nodded, feeling more and more satisfied with Aunt Sun's work results.
"How is it?" Zhao Mingfang asked after seeing her husband walk around the house and then sit down on the sofa. "I see you have walked around. Do you have anything to say?"
Hearing his wife's question, Xu Jiacheng picked up the cup on the coffee table and drank water while crossing his legs and answered Zhao Mingfang with satisfaction, "You know what, the aunt you picked is really good! And the price is not expensive. If it were in Ruxu, an aunt of this level would not be hired without a monthly salary of more than 10,000 yuan!"
Zhao Mingfang looked pleased and raised her eyebrows at Xu Jiacheng, "That's right, you didn't even see how long it took me to find such an aunt. It's only because the consumption level and salary level in a small place like Ruxu are not high that we can get such a bargain!"
"Oh, right," Zhao Mingfang said to Xu Jiacheng who was drinking water nearby, "I was thinking, why don't we hire Aunt Song after Xu Li goes to college and let her go with Xu Li? Then, wherever Xu Li goes, we can let Aunt Sun go with him! We can buy a house near Xu Li's college and let Aunt Sun continue to take care of Xu Li. What do you think?!"
“Cough cough cough!”
"Not so good!" Zhao Mingfang's words almost choked Xu Jiacheng to death. After Xu Jiacheng recovered, he immediately glared at Zhao Mingfang who was patting him on the back, "Don't mention this bad idea, okay?!"
"Why is this a bad idea?" Zhao Mingfang looked at Xu Jiacheng with some dissatisfaction. In order to express her protest, Zhao Mingfang did not even pat Xu Jiacheng on the back. "I am just worried about our son being alone outside!"
Xu Jiacheng rolled his eyes at Zhao Mingfang and said unhappily, "If you're so worried, why don't you take care of Xu Li yourself? Why do you have to hire someone to take care of him? Wouldn't it be more reassuring if you take care of him yourself?!"
Zhao Mingfang retorted with reason, "Then I'll go take care of Xu Li, what about our family business?! If I'm gone, can you take care of it alone? I can still distinguish between the important and the unimportant! Besides, don't we have a ready-made aunt? Aunt Song is very good to us, so let's continue to use her!"
"You only say you care about your son, right? Does that mean you don't have to put in much effort and let others do all the work?!" Xu Jiacheng glared at his wife Zhao Mingfang with both anger and amusement.
Zhao Mingfang didn't care, and was even a little proud. "Other mothers have to take care of their children themselves. That's because they have no other choice! If they were as rich as our family, would they take care of their children themselves? I call this making full use of my own advantages, don't you understand?"
As they were talking, they heard a series of noises coming from outside the door, and the couple immediately realized that their son Xu Li had returned.
Sure enough, when Zhao Mingfang just stood up from the sofa and was about to open the door, he saw that the door had been opened directly from the outside. Zhao Mingfang and Xu Jiacheng saw a tall boy with a huge schoolbag on his back. He was squatting at the entrance with his head down, humming a song, and changing his shoes.
The child was none other than Xu Li. Perhaps he noticed something was wrong in the house. The sound of Xu Li's humming became smaller and smaller, until it completely disappeared. Then he raised his head with a puzzled look on his face and looked into the house.
When Xu Li found his father Xu Jiacheng and mother Zhao Mingfang standing in front of the sofa and looking at him with a smile, his face was immediately filled with joy, and he shouted to them, "Dad, Mom, you are here?!"
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"Mom, mom, did you bring the things I asked you to bring?"
At the dinner table, Xu Li was eating blanched black tiger prawns while asking his old mother, "I have already boasted to my classmates that I will let them taste our Jiahe specialty this time. If you forget, I will not be able to stay in Ruxu No. 2 Middle School!"
Perhaps it was because he hadn't seen his son for a long time that the distance created beauty, so Xu Jiacheng, who always asked Xu Li not to talk while eating at the dinner table, seemed particularly tolerant at this moment. He just frowned, glanced at his son, and then let Xu Li go.
However, a big part of the reason why Xu Jiacheng was not angry was probably because there were only three of them at the dinner table and no one else - the driver took the initiative to say goodbye and returned to the hotel, planning to solve the meal problem himself outside.
The nanny, Aunt Song, was also very tactful. She left after cooking and did not stay for the meal even though Zhao Mingfang and Xu Jiacheng took the initiative to invite her. The reason Aunt Song refused was that it was fine to have dinner with Xu Li normally, but today was the day when the boss and his wife were reunited with their family, and she absolutely could not stay.
These words not only made Xu Jiacheng and Zhao Mingfang marvel at Aunt Song's high emotional intelligence, but also made Zhao Mingfang secretly make up her mind that after Xu Li went to college, she would communicate well with Aunt Sun and let Aunt Song go with her to the city where Xu Li went to college to help take care of Xu Li.
Xu Li and Zhao Mingfang naturally did not notice Xu Jiacheng's little action. The mother and son were busy performing a drama of deep mother-son love and had no time to pay attention to their old father (husband) thoughts.
Facing Xu Li's question, Zhao Mingfang just picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs for Xu Li and said softly to him, "Don't worry, I've prepared it for you a long time ago and put it in the study. I brought a lot of things this time, and they are not light. Don't be stupid and move them to school by yourself. If you want to send them later, call your classmates to your house and give them the things directly! Did you hear me?"
Xu Li bit the pork ribs carelessly, and said incoherently, "Hey, how heavy can it be? It doesn't matter, no matter how heavy it is, I will..."
When he saw that the gentleness in his mother's eyes was gone and turned into a glaring look, Xu Li hurriedly swallowed the ribs in his mouth and quickly changed the topic, "Mom, don't worry, I definitely won't move it myself. When I invite my classmates to visit my home, I will give them our Jiahe specialty!"
Seeing her son Xu Li being so obedient, Zhao Mingfang was naturally very satisfied, and immediately changed from a tigress back to the amiable old mother just now, "Eat a piece of this fish! You usually use your brain a lot, eating fish is good for your brain!"
"Yeah, I eat it every day in Ruxu, and you should eat it too, mom. I tell you, Aunt Song is really good at making this steamed sea bass, it's delicious! It tastes much better than the fish cooked by our auntie!"
Seeing his wife and son start to interact, Xu Jiacheng smiled and prepared to speak, ready to start the family's interactive game, "Xu Li, how do you feel about studying in Ruxu?"
When Zhao Mingfang saw her husband asking about their son's studies, she tacitly stopped interacting with her son, ate her meal in silence, and waited for her son's answer.
After hearing his father Xu Jiacheng's question, Xu Li immediately became extremely excited. He didn't even have time to eat. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, danced with joy and boasted to Xu Jiacheng, "Dad, I'm not bragging to you. I tell you, if I continue with this situation, next year! Next year I will definitely be admitted to a university in Zhejiang Province to show you!"
No matter whether Xu Li was bragging or not, the fact that he could brag and the confidence he showed were enough to make Zhao Mingfang smile, and even the frown on her face was lessened.
Zhao Mingfang was so happy that she didn't know what to do. The usually steady Xu Jiacheng was not much better. Although he didn't show it on his face, the increasingly unconcealable upturned corners of his mouth showed the joy in Xu Jiacheng's heart at the moment.
They naturally knew whether their son Xu Li was bragging or not. Although he did not come to Ruxu, Xu Jiacheng, who was concerned about his son's situation, still often called Zhou Yu to find out about Xu Li's situation.
Zhou Yu also told Xu Jiacheng everything he knew. On the phone, Zhou Yu even told Xu Jiacheng directly that as long as Xu Li continued to study at this pace, he would have no problem getting into a key 211 university.
Therefore, when Xu Jiacheng thought that his son might be able to attend Zhejiang University, which they considered the best university other than the top two, in a few months, he could hardly hide his excitement and joy.
"Ahem," Xu Jiacheng cleared his throat and warned Xu Li, "Don't be proud. You must study hard and don't let me, your mother, and Teacher Zhou down."
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm working hard now!" Xu Li started to talk a lot again when he said this, and he started to show off his achievements to Xu Jiacheng, "You don't know how hard I work now. In addition to attending classes at school every day, I have to study until at least 12 o'clock when I get home! Not to mention that I get up at six in the morning..."
Xu Jiacheng didn't say anything, but just nodded with satisfaction, a smile on his face, and silently watched Xu Limei happily talking to the couple about his time studying at school.
My son has grown up, which is good, very good!
When the truth comes out!
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After Zhou Yu got up in the morning, he washed up and went outside the school as usual. He went to the breakfast shop he often visited, bought enough breakfast for two people, and then returned to the dormitory.
After returning to the dormitory, Xiao Qiao was still dreaming. If it were usual, Xiao Qiao would just fall asleep. At most, after Zhou Yu finished breakfast, he would remind Qiao Meng, who was still sleeping, to remember to have breakfast.
But it’s not possible today, because Zhou Yu received a call from Xu Jiacheng last night. During the call, Xu Jiacheng stated the purpose of the call after some greetings.
Xu Jiacheng told Zhou Yu that he and his wife had already arrived in Ruxu, and brought Zhou Yu some specialties from Jiahe. They planned to visit Zhou Yu before the parent-teacher meeting the next day and talk about Xu Li's affairs.
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