The two men came to say goodbye to Qi's mother. Qi's mother sat upright behind the table, her hands on the table, staring at Qi Zhijun. After a while, she sighed and said, "Son, I believe you are innocent. Come back soon! Mom is waiting for you."
As a mother, Qi Zhijun's eyes reddened as she said, "Mom, take care! I'll send you money on time every month!"
Mother Qi nodded. Little Cui was disgusted by this man; she felt something was off but couldn't quite put her finger on it. The two of them left with their luggage. Mother Qi went straight to the street, sobbing uncontrollably. "Director Wang, I have no choice. My daughter is a disappointment, ruining the whole family. And now my son has suffered this fate, leaving me with only my two grandsons. Could you please let them come back to my house...?"
Director Wang felt a headache coming on when he saw the old lady. Since there was a housing shortage, he agreed to let Wang Dong and his family cancel their lease and the neighborhood committee would rent out the other house.
Grandma Qi was extremely grateful, almost kneeling down to thank him. Only then did Director Wang feel a little better. He politely saw the old lady off. After returning home, the group packed their luggage, received a refund of 165 yuan from the street office, and the person in the side room moved in there.
Qi's mother happily made a batch of steamed buns with a mixture of wheat and water, and stewed pork, cabbage, and glass noodles. The three of them enjoyed a delicious meal. Wang Dong felt relieved, since he was now living in his grandmother's house and didn't have to worry about being homeless when his lease expired. He had about 190 yuan in his hand, including the returned rent, which made him feel much more at ease.
After Wang Dong and Wang Hong had gone to work and school, she tidied herself up and slowly went out. She arrived at Hongxing Elementary School and sat down at the gate to wait. She sat there for half a month. Suddenly, she heard someone shout, "Zhao Aiguo, you bastard, come here right now!"
"Why are you calling him grandpa?" Mother Qi looked up and saw a chubby boy, about 163 cm tall, even better looking than Qi Zhijun. He was as round as a peeled egg, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and red lips. He was wearing a royal blue cotton-padded jacket and trousers, fur-lined shoes, and a military cap with the national emblem removed—the most fashionable attire at the time. Mother Qi immediately recognized him as her grandson. She gazed at him greedily. Zhao Aiguo, however, didn't recognize Mother Qi. He skipped over, and the child exclaimed, "Let's go ice skating!"
"Screw you! I'm hungry, I have to go home for dinner!" Zhao Aiguo ignored him, his mind preoccupied with the lamb stew at Zhao Dahu's canteen. He'd missed it at noon, but his dad would definitely bring it home for dinner!
Then he ran home as fast as he could. Before Qi's mother could even watch Zhao Aiguo run off, she got up, dusted herself off, and took the soles of her shoes home.
Zhao Aiguo, unaware that someone was eyeing him, rushed home. As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the aroma of stewed mutton with carrots and shouted, "Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, I'm home!"
He's been eating vegetarian for seven days now, and the mere smell of meat makes his mouth water.
Zhao's mother said with a smile, "Hurry up and wash your hands and come eat."
Upon entering, seeing only Zhao's mother and Zhao Dahu, he asked in confusion, "Where are my grandpa and mom? Why aren't they home for dinner?" Then he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Grandpa, Mom's here for dinner!"
Zhao Dahu chuckled and said, "Your grandpa, your mom didn't spoil you for nothing. Don't call them, they're not home. Your grandpa went out to cook, and your mom went to your uncle's house. Let's eat together!"
Zhao Aiguo said "Oh," and took a large bowl, using chopsticks to pick out half a bowl of meat, setting it aside. Zhao's mother smiled and said to Zhao Dahu, "This is for his grandfather and mother. Let's eat!"
They ate in a flurry, finishing a whole bowl of food. After finishing, Zhao Aiguo patted his belly and started cleaning up the dishes. He quickly washed the dishes and said to Zhao Dahu, "Dad, shouldn't we go pick up Mom? It's so late, why aren't we back yet?"
Zhao Dahu looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark, and said, "Okay, I'll go by myself, you don't need to come." Zhao Aiguo nodded and said, "Then be careful on the road!"
Zhao Dahu put on his hat and cotton-padded coat, pouted and said, "Don't worry about me. Just do your homework! You're the kind of person who can only memorize multiplication tables after two years."
Zhao Aiguo didn't mind, saying, "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses! Don't look down on young people; who knows who will shine in the future!"
Zhao Dahu chuckled, "My son, well done! That mouth of yours, did you train it in that pot of Iron Palm?!"
Zhao's mother threw the ball of yarn at Zhao Dahu, laughing and scolding, "Isn't your glib tongue something you learned? My grandson is just so good, you don't need to say anything!"
Zhao Dahu waved his hand, "Tch...tch...tch...you're all so good! Just spoil them as much as you want!"
Zhao Aiguo had already picked up the ball of yarn and given it to his mother. He then pounced on her like a big bear, finally resting his head on her lap and saying sweetly, "Grandma, tell me about my childhood!"
Zhao's mother patted his back and said, "Then talk for half an hour, and then go do your homework!"
"Okay..."
"When you were little..."
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