Zhao Aiguo, having accepted the meal, genuinely did his job. Of course, he wasn't the one making the promises; he simply found an envelope and, in his scrawled handwriting, neatly wrote three characters: "Xu Tian Shou."
Then he went to other classrooms to ask if anyone named Xu Tian was there. At that moment, Xu Tian came over and said, "Hello, I am Xu Tian!"
Zhao Aiguo said "Oh," and handed over the envelope before leaving. As he turned back, he caught a glimpse of a pretty woman approaching Xu Tian and whispering something to him; her posture suggested something more.
Then she pursed her lips, thankfully the envelope was correct, otherwise the penny would have been wasted. She even followed him to the cafeteria at lunchtime, the two of them getting food and eating together. Listening to their conversation, she realized, "Okay, I'm sure! They're dating!"
When school was over, I still hadn't seen Li Qiuxiang, so I went into the mailroom to tease the old man, "Hey old man, growing flowers again?"
The old man turned around, looked at Zhao Aiguo, and grinned, "Hey! Let me tell you about my flowers..."
Zhao Aiguo scoffed, "Fine...fine...fine, I know you're a gardener, don't I? No leaves in spring, no flowers in summer, no roots in autumn, and a stack of pots in winter..."
"You son of a bitch, if you can't speak properly, then get the hell out of here! If this flower doesn't survive, it's your fault!" After saying that, she gently touched the flower and whispered, "My darling! Grow up well, prove yourself, and show that bastard how beautiful we are!" Then she turned back and looked at Zhao Aiguo resentfully, "You're great in every way, except you have a mouth!"
Zhao Aiguo was smiling, admiring a small potted plant, when he saw Li Qiuxiang coming over. He turned and ran away, but the old man called out, "My flowers..."
"You already have so many pots, and they're all going to die anyway. At worst, I'll just give you a new pot in the winter..."
"You little bastard..."
Zhao Aiguo came out with the potted plant and said, "I've found out. There's someone like that in another class. His girlfriend is a classmate, and she's quite pretty. Your sister-in-law probably has no chance."
Li Qiuxiang nodded. It wasn't their fault; it was all Wang Fang's fault for stirring things up. Then Zhao Aiguo happily took the potted flower home. When he got home, his parents cooked a huge pig's head. Ever since Zhao Aiguo started school, the old couple had been in high spirits whenever something good happened.
Zhao Aiguo exclaimed happily, "Grandpa, Grandma, why are you cooking pig's head when it's not a holiday? It smells so good!"
Zhao's mother smiled like a peony, "Isn't it because you're in school and it's hard on your brain? You need to eat something good to nourish yourself."
Mr. Zhao nodded, “That’s right, my grandson is in school now, it’s tough! He’s so thin and frail, he’s not as chubby as he was when he was little.” Zhao Aiguo nodded in agreement. How could going to school not be tough? His happiest days were when he was a driver at the Party School, a time when he felt like a dragon returning to the sea and a bird returning to the forest, a free little world of his own.
Zhao's mother asked, "Why did you bring back such a big clove of garlic?"
Then she remembered that she still had flowers in her hand and said, "Grandma, these are called daffodils, you can grow them!"
"Alright, alright," Zhao's mother quickly wiped her hands on her apron, took the gift, and happily went back into the house. Zhao Aiguo looked at the pig's head and drooled, saying, "Grandpa, you know, I can't stand up for myself anymore, and nobody gives me anything. I still have to rely on my family for support!"
Seeing his father's expression, Zhao's father realized he wasn't truly sad; he was just making conversation. He scooped out a piece of pig's ear, put it in a bowl, and handed it to Zhao Aiguo, saying, "Eat an ear to nourish yourself; you need your ears in class! Why are you worrying about our family? Just focus on your studies!"
Zhao Aiguo held the food to his father's mouth, insisting that he take a bite. Zhao's father shook his head, took out another piece, cut off a piece, and said, "I have some, you eat it!"
As Zhao Aiguo ate, he exclaimed, "It's so delicious! It has to be my grandpa who makes it! No one else can make it taste like this!"
Mr. Zhao was very satisfied and said with a smile, "Patriotism! Is going to school difficult? Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Zhao Aiguo nodded and said, "It's alright!" When Wei Shuqing and the others returned, Zhao's father had already cut the meat into pieces, chopped it up, and added scallions, cilantro, and green peppers to a small bowl. Zhao Aiguo carried a bowl of thin rice porridge, and Zhao's mother brought over a pot of steamed buns.
Zhao Dahu said happily, "Oh! It's been a while since I've had this. Thank you, Dad!"
The couple washed their hands and came back. Zhao Aiguo took a knife, sliced a steamed bun in half horizontally, stuffed it with meat, and served it to everyone in the family. He made more than a dozen more, then sat down and started eating. The family of five devoured a pig's head, about thirty steamed buns, and a bowl of porridge. This was the appetite of the "God of Food" family.
As for Li Qiuxiang, after returning home and having dinner, Wang Dong asked, "What exactly happened to Xu Tian?" Li Qiuxiang pouted and said, "He's found someone else, give up!"
"Ah!" Then she was furious, furious at Wang Fang, that bastard! Just like Qi Zhifang, she was a troublemaker. Li Qiuxiang, on the other hand, didn't feel anything. Xu Tian was going to the Party School for further studies, which was for promotion, a key person to be cultivated, and her own sister-in-law was naturally not good enough for him.
What a waste of the two yuan I spent treating Zhao Aiguo to dinner! Just as I was lamenting this, news came from the sanatorium that Qi's mother had passed away.
Wang Dong and Wang Hong burst into tears and rushed to the nursing home, with Li Qiuxiang following behind. When they arrived, the caregiver and Director Wang from the neighborhood committee were there. Once everyone was there, Director Wang said, "The old lady instructed before she passed away that she wanted to give the house to a man named Zhao Aiguo. Do you know him?"
Xiao Cui's face turned pale with anger. That old bastard had tricked her even on his deathbed! He was going to give that dilapidated house to Zhao Aiguo? Of course, she knew who Zhao Aiguo was. Qi Zhijun simply nodded, remaining silent. Qi Zhifang protested, "Why? He doesn't even have the Qi surname anymore, why should he get it! I don't agree!"
Qi Zhifang had been waiting for her mother to pass away so that she could be allocated the house. Even if she didn't live there, she would still get some money. She never expected that her mother would favor her her whole life and leave her nothing when she got old.
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