I don't know why busy days always seem to pass faster than days of doing nothing.
National Day fell on a Saturday, and with an additional day off, Zhao Xiaoyue had three days to prepare to visit her maternal grandmother.
Honestly, apart from the old lady, everyone else in my maternal grandparents' family is exceptional, the really exceptional kind.
The old man passed away early, and the old woman raised her three children. Except for Li Guilan, who didn't turn out badly, Li Dajiu and Li Erjiu turned out so badly that it was unbearable to look at them, not to mention their wives and children!
The old lady had moved out and lived alone for a long time. She made a living by collecting recyclables. Li Guilan wanted to take her to live with her, but Li's two sons made trouble and said that Li Guilan was deliberately trying to make them bear the blame for not supporting their elderly mother.
If a daughter is to take care of her mother, unless she has no children of her own, the villagers would all be able to drown them in their spittle. Besides, the two brothers are receiving the old woman's pension, so how could they allow Li Guilan to take the old lady away?
So Zhao Guozhong and Li Guilan would visit the old lady from time to time, and buy her whatever she needed.
Zhao Guozhong works at a fertilizer plant and had taken leave the night before.
I bought noodles and a bucket of oil early this morning, figuring the old lady who bought them last time should have finished them.
It was already noon when the family of three arrived at Jiaozigou Village by bus.
As Zhao Xiaoyue and her family of three got out of the car, they saw her grandmother carrying a cardboard box and walking towards her small house.
"Grandma, Grandma," the little girl called out and reached the old lady in a few steps. She wanted to take the cardboard box and carry it herself, but the box was taller than her and she couldn't reach it.
Zhao Guozhong smiled and took it, saying, "Mom, let me do it."
The old lady glanced at it and handed it to Zhao Guozhong without hesitation, saying, "Okay."
Turning to Zhao Xiaoyue, he said, "Little Sun has grown taller again. I heard you're in school now, so you'd better study hard."
As he spoke, he rummaged in his outer pocket and found fifty cents, stuffing it into Zhao Xiaoyue's pocket. He also winked at Zhao Guozhong and his wife who were walking ahead, saying, "Here, Grandma gave this to you. Don't let your mom see it, okay!"
Zhao Xiaoyue's eyes were brimming with tears. The old lady was a very kind and soft-hearted person, but she had a sharp tongue and loved to argue.
In her previous life, the orphanage went bankrupt and no one could adopt her. When the elderly lady in her sixties was eager to adopt Zhao Xiaoyue, she was locked at home by her two aunts and cried until she went blind!
It wasn't until she happened to pass by a comic convention and overheard villagers talking about it that she learned the old lady had passed away during her first year of wandering.
She died in this small, dilapidated house. I heard that she hadn't heard any human voices for several days. When her aunt opened the lock, she found it crawling with maggots and flies.
When she finally became truly powerful, her aunt's children came to her for help after committing a crime, only to find out that the old lady had starved to death!
She doesn't know how she got through those days; she only knows that the matter was handled by the comic convention.
My aunt's eldest son's situation is very serious, involving both my uncles' families. He may have gone homeless too, and she hasn't been paying attention to it.
The comic convention even made fun of her, saying that she was indeed cold-hearted!
Yes, she's cold-hearted!
Zhao Xiaoyue tugged at the old lady's deeply furrowed hand and stuffed the money back into her pocket, saying, "Grandma, don't give me the money. How about we go find Aunt Zhan and Aunt Wang Qiu together after we finish eating? My mom definitely won't let me go play by myself!"
The old lady glared and said, "She dares? Fine, go play after you finish eating. I happen to have something to ask Zhan Da Sha's wife."
Zhao Xiaoyue's lips twitched. His name was Zhan Tiankui, but because he looked a bit simple-minded, his grandmother insisted on calling him Da Sha (Big Fool).
"Grandma, I remember that uncle's name was Tiankui."
Sigh, Zhao Xiaoyue just had to argue. After she finished speaking, she scratched her head, expressing her confusion as a child!
The old lady said, "Don't argue, you silly goose!"
Zhao Xiaoyue: "Oh, I understand, hehe!"
Li Guilan called out from the front, "Mom, hurry up, you don't have the key to get in."
"I know," she said, not forgetting to mutter to Zhao Xiaoyue, "Look at your mother, she's just like Cui Gui!"
The grandfather and grandson laughed!
After lunch, Li Guilan was still washing the pots when the grandmother and grandson were about to go out.
Li Guilan asked, "Where are you going in the middle of the day?"
The old lady glared at her, "Wash your pot!"
Tsk, Grandma is really something.
The October sun was still scorching hot.
People who had finished planting winter wheat would lead their oxen and carry their plows home.
The terrain of Jiaozigou resembles a dumpling. At the intersection of the "dumpling skins" is a large banyan tree, the kind that takes ten people to encircle. That's where the "intelligence leaders" gather!
The old lady pulled Zhao Xiaoyue along, and Zhao Xiaoyue's eyes darted around. "Grandma, why don't you ask me why I went to see Aunt Zhan and the others?"
The old woman said quite calmly, "Ever since you could run, you've known every old man and woman in the village, and you've always listened to their stories."
Zhao Xiaoyue: "Hehe, Grandma, you're so smart! Actually, I wanted to ask Aunt Zhan, Aunt Wang Qiu, and Sister Tian Xiuzhen to cook for me."
The old lady suddenly stopped in her tracks and asked in confusion, "Cooking? What kind of cooking? Who asked them to cook?"
Zhao Xiaoyue: "Uh..."
"Grandma, my dad wants to open a restaurant, but he doesn't have a chef, so I thought I'd find some people who are good at cooking. I've eaten the food of those aunties, and I think it's very good."
The old lady smiled and said, "Xue Dachun, oh, that means Aunt Zhan is from the North, so I know she might be good at Northern cuisine. But what can a widowed old woman like Wang Qiu do? I've never heard of her."
Look, what a worrywart old lady!
Zhao Xiaoyue looked up and said, "Grandma, she's from Sichuan, and her family were imperial chefs for generations! She even showed me her family's recipes!"
Seeing that the old lady was listening, she continued, "Isn't that Sister Tian Xiuzhen someone who fled here a few years ago after her family suffered a disaster? But she actually knows how to make a lot of noodles!"
The old lady asked in surprise, "When did her family become so wealthy?"
“I heard it from her.” Zhao Xiaoyue’s eyes sparkled!
Seeing the old lady pondering, he added, "But now there is a fatal weakness."
Zhao Xiaoyue saw that the old lady had stopped talking!
The old lady was displeased. "Tsk, then say something! Why are you so quiet? What weakness? Your dad doesn't have money? It's okay, I've saved some."
"It's not about Grandma, it's not about money. My dad has raised the money. It's just that I'm worried I can't afford to hire them, haha."
After all, she's just over six years old, so it's hard to say. The key issue is that her credibility is low. Even though her parents are adults, they're definitely not as reliable as her grandmother when it comes to this kind of thing.
The old lady finally realized what was going on!
That little girl is so clever!
The old lady looked at Zhao Xiaoyue and asked, "Is your dad really planning to open a restaurant?"
Zhao Xiaoyue affirmed, "Really, so Grandma~~"
The old lady waved her hand and said, "Alright, Grandma will take care of it for you. Those women can go and have fun. Cooking can earn money, huh?"
Zhao Xiaoyue hugged the old lady's arm and said, "Thank you, Grandma. You are such a good grandma! Why don't you move in with us? It's in Lufeng Town. You can live in the shop and be the general manager. You have a lot of authority, and they will definitely listen to you."
The old lady smiled and said, "Our little sun has grown up and knows how to care for others. But I'm different; I can't leave my own doghouse!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and walked forward!
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