Chapter 43: Not Marrying (Part 3) I've tried to persuade her, but she still refuses to remarry...
The winter in Yicheng is wet, as is the case with all cities along the river.
The ubiquitous moisture penetrated into people's necks, quickly conquering their cuffs, and even their faces and facial features were not spared.
It’s cold, damp and sticky, and I can’t shake it off or get rid of it, which makes me feel uncomfortable.
However, at this moment, the moisture came from Qi Changxiao himself.
His eyes were wet.
Because there was an old friend standing at the gate of his house.
He is forty years old after the Chinese New Year, still unmarried, and three years younger than his mother.
He was a little over 1.80 meters tall, with regular features, delicate and elegant manner, and gentle manner. He wore a pair of glasses and stood quietly in the wind and snow, like a tall pine or cypress.
There was a smile on the corner of her mouth, and even after not seeing her for several years, she was still as gentle as ever.
Qi Changxiao immediately put down the shovel in his hand, took off his gloves soaked with ice and snow, and trotted over: "Uncle Ning!"
Ning Zhengrong smiled and patted his shoulder, long time no see!
Qi Changxiao quickly shouted, "Mom! Uncle Ning is back!"
Tang Fengyuan was playing with his grandson in the house. It was cold outside, but he could stay warm by the fire inside. When he heard this long-lost name, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
It’s Xiaoning.
Haven't seen you for more than three years.
Are you back?
She was handling a case when he got into trouble, and when she came back, he was gone.
We didn't even get to see each other for the last time.
She knew then that he was wronged by his friends.
It's just that the situation has been bad in recent years, and she can't do anything, so she can only keep some things in her heart.
Unexpectedly, God had a vision and finally let him come back.
Surprise and relief flashed in her eyes, but looking at her grandson in her arms, she quickly regained her composure.
Yes, she is the widow of martyr Qi Guozhong, the mother of his only son Qi Changxiao, the mother-in-law of his daughter-in-law Yao Zhizhi, and the grandmother of his grandson Qi Minxing.
She has many identities, but she has forgotten herself.
She handed Little Star to Yao Weihua, and after much hesitation, she finally came out.
Qi Changxiao was very excited and had already led the person to the yard and introduced him to Yao Zhizhi.
Yao Zhizhi enthusiastically called out "Uncle Ning" and praised Qi Changxiao's painting skills, saying that it was all thanks to Uncle Ning's teaching.
Ning Zhengrong smiled gently. He was a very quiet person, elegant, reserved and very graceful.
However, in such silence, there seemed to be some thrilling waves hidden, but he had carefully hidden them.
The drooping eyelids prevent others from prying into the heart, and the raised corners of the mouth maintain social decency.
He's a man with a lot of stories.
Yao Zhizhi didn't want to steal the show, so after the greetings she continued to make her snowman.
There were footsteps behind me.
Tang Fengyuan stopped at the threshold of the main hall, smiling, restrained and polite, with no intention of stepping out.
Across the yard from the snowman and the two younger generations, Tang Fengyuan calmly greeted them, "You're back."
"Sister, you're back." The snow was still falling. Ning Zhengrong raised his eyes quietly and looked at the woman under the warm yellow light.
After not seeing her for more than three years, she is still as charming as ever. Even though she is a grandmother, there are not many wrinkles on her face. It is obvious that her son and daughter-in-law do not worry about her and do not cause her any trouble.
He felt relieved and turned to leave: "Changxiao, I still live in the old place. Come over and visit me when you have time."
"Uncle Ning, I'll take you there." Qi Changxiao hurried back to the house to get a flashlight, and accompanied him all the way to the door of his house.
"Go back, it's New Year's Day." Ning Zhengrong persuaded him. This silly boy really liked to stick to him just like when he was a child.
Qi Changxiao hugged him tightly: "Wait for me, I'll get you some dumplings!"
After saying this, he turned around and ran. It was snowing heavily, and he ran very fast without fear of slipping. It was obvious that his health had really improved.
Ning Zhengrong breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be better if he got better. Only then would Tang Fengyuan consider his own happiness instead of worrying all day long and taking his son to seek medical treatment everywhere.
Ning Zhengrong felt that God was kind to him. Although he had been wronged before and sent to the countryside, three months ago he saved a leader and had the opportunity to clear his name and return to the city.
Now that he is back, Changxiao is in much better health.
Maybe the day will come when Tang Fengyuan gives in.
He has been waiting for her for many years. Even if her heart is as hard as rock, he doesn't believe that he can't warm her up.
Soon, Qi Changxiao came over with a plate of dumplings: "Uncle, this is for you!"
"Go back, it's cold outside." Ning Zhengrong stood on the steps and patted the snowflakes off his shoulders.
This guy looks good, it seems his marriage is going well, which is good.
Go back quickly to be with your wife and children.
However, Qi Changxiao refused and complained, "You didn't even tell me you were back. I could have helped you clean up in advance. Come on, eat, and I'll clean up the room."
Soon, Yao Weihua also arrived.
Help me arrange things, since this person is his brother-in-law, uh... let's call him teacher.
Who made this person his brother-in-law's teacher?
He taught his brother-in-law talents and gave him the ability to make a living. He is a good man.
and……
Yao Weihua understood the origin of this master-disciple relationship. He didn't need to ask any questions. Just by listening to the conversation between the two middle-aged men and women across the yard, he understood everything.
He took a closer look at him. He was a very handsome uncle with a strong and stylish facial contour, high eyebrows and long eyes, and his facial features were open and closed. He had a very comfortable appearance. Fortunately, he was an artist, and his gentle temperament neutralized the toughness of his facial features. If he was a little less unkempt, he might develop into a rough man.
He wanted to laugh a little. He seemed like a lovesick guy. He actually had feelings for Aunt Tang. He just didn't know if they could be together.
If he were to ask her, Aunt Tang could actually give it a try. She must be very lonely after being a widow for so many years.
It must be because of Qi Changxiao that she didn't take that step. Poor parents in the world.
The more this happened, the more Yao Weihua felt that Aunt Tang deserved a good man to accompany her so that she wouldn't be lonely when she got old.
However, we can't be impatient about this kind of thing. Let the two middle-aged men think about it first. If it really doesn't work, they, the younger generations, can give it a push.
After cleaning up, he called Qi Changxiao to go back.
Qi Changxiao looked back every few steps, and when he returned, he brought over another basket of charcoal.
There was also a piece of half-burned charcoal, which could be put directly into the stove for use.
Less than five minutes after leaving, he came again, this time carrying a large kettle filled with water and helping to boil the water.
After turning around and around, Qi Changxiao couldn't think of anything else to do, so he said goodbye: "Uncle Ning, I'm going back. I'll have dinner at your house tomorrow."
"No need, I'm alone and can just deal with it casually." Ning Zhengrong refused. He had just returned and wanted to get used to each other.
It's been more than three years since I left.
Qi Changxiao was unhappy, lowered his brows and eyes, stood at the door and refused to answer.
Helpless, Ning Zhengrong had to compromise: "Okay, lunch is over."
"It's a deal!" Qi Changxiao smiled, turned around, closed the door, and went home.
I am in a particularly good mood tonight. Even though it is freezing cold, I still want to be intimate with my wife.
Yao Zhizhi simply couldn't stand him. She was sweating all over and was freezing to death when she changed her clothes.
He was quite happy though.
Oh, it makes me feel a little sad when I think about it.
Children without fathers must have been bullied and discriminated against along the way, right?
So, for more than a year, she watched him take the medicine without missing a beat, so that their child would not have to grow up in a single-parent family.
Children cannot live without their mothers and their fathers.
Having both parents sounds like a common thing, but for some people, such an ordinary thing is a luxury that cannot be realized in their lifetime.
She couldn't help but hug her man: "Do you want to bring them together?"
"Our mother won't agree." Qi Changxiao hugged his wife and couldn't help sighing, "I've tried to persuade her many times."
"Doesn't our mother like Uncle Ning?" Yao Zhizhi didn't look like that.
The glance between the two in the yard was forbearing and restrained, and it didn't look like they were not moved.
Qi Changxiao was helpless: "Our mother... She said that if she remarried, she would be sorry for our martyr father. But I want her to be happy."
"Yes, our mother has worked hard enough, and our father won't blame her. Besides, she has raised you and you have started a family." Yao Zhizhi understands her mother-in-law's thoughts. Women of the older generation are easily influenced by traditional concepts, giving up themselves and suppressing their nature.
But she understands better the feeling of sleeping alone.
It’s been nineteen years, and my mother-in-law has been keeping this tradition for nineteen years. After the Chinese New Year, it will be the twentieth year!
It really works!
But this kind of thing...it's not easy for children to force their children, so let's wait and see.
When Yao Zhizhi woke up early the next morning, she rarely saw Qi Changxiao. No need to ask, he must have gone to Uncle Ning's place.
Yao Zhizhi got up, had dinner, and went to the alley with her mother-in-law to pay New Year's greetings.
Take the child with you and you can get some fruit candies. Then when other children come over, you have to give them candies too. This way you won’t lose out too much.
Yao Weihua stayed at home, turned on the radio, listened to the broadcast, and continued to make his bamboo products, busy as a whirlwind.
Soon someone came to wish him a happy new year, hesitantly, and tried to ask about Ning Zhengrong several times, but Yao Weihua always answered that he didn't know.
The gossipy neighbor couldn't get the answer he wanted, so he had to go to other people's homes to ask.
"Hey, Ning Zhengrong is back? Is everything okay?"
"He should be alright now. I told you before that he was wrongly accused, but you guys didn't believe me!"
"Will you be with Xiao Tang when you come back?"
"No way, I asked Xiao Tang, and she refused to remarry."
"That's right. If she remarries, she will be sorry for her husband, Mr. Qi."
"What's there to be sorry about? She's been keeping it for almost twenty years after the New Year. She really wants to keep it for the rest of her life. What will she do when she gets old?"
"That's right. Even if children and grandchildren are filial, it's still not the same. There's no such thing as a good companion in old age."
"How about asking Sister Mao to persuade them?"
"Hey, it's not like I haven't tried to persuade you, but it just doesn't work."
"Silly woman. She has been guarding the Qi family in the north of the city for her whole life. Is there anyone who cares about her? They still drove her and her son out."
"Sister Mao, go and persuade them again. It's been so hard for the orphans and widows these years."
"Yes, try to persuade him."
Aunt Mao sighed and said, "Okay, try to persuade her again."
After a while, he came to the courtyard to pay New Year's greetings, and Tang Fengyuan happened to come back.
The two old sisters held hands and went to the east room to talk.
Soon, Aunt Mao came out, sighing over and over again.
Yao Zhizhi knew at a glance that she had hit a wall. Alas, it is really difficult to persuade people who are too principled.
Poor mother-in-law.
The New Year passed quickly, and Ning Zhengrong and Tang Fengyuan met in the alley every day. They were always polite to each other, and they would give each other a yard in return.
The conversation is also quite boring.
"have eaten?"
"have eaten."
"Going to work?"
"yes."
"Off work?"
"Um."
The two of them seemed to be acquaintances who were just nodding friends and were very unfamiliar with each other.
Qi Changxiao was used to it. Apart from praying that Uncle Ning would be a little more domineering and unreasonable, what else could he do?
No one's son forces his mother to get married. This is too outrageous.
We can only wait for them to break the deadlock themselves.
Yao Zhizhi saw that he was in a bad mood, so she gave him an idea.
"What? Let Uncle Ning pretend to be sick?" Qi Changxiao did not comment. In order to avoid suspicion, his mother would probably not go to take care of Uncle Ning. At most, she would let him go over.
Besides, it’s not easy to fake this disease.
Yao Zhizhi actively offered suggestions: "Just pretend to have diarrhea. Will Mom really go to the bathroom to check?"
That's true.
Qi Changxiao went to find Ning Zhengrong specifically, but hey, the old man actually didn't want to!
Qi Changxiao was speechless. No wonder there has been no progress after so many years!
Uncle Ning is so honest.
This way you are destined to be single!
But he couldn't persuade her, so he had to give up.
That day, Tang Fengyuan was on night shift. After dinner, he went out with a flashlight.
When passing by Ning Zhengrong's house, he found that the door was open, but there was no movement inside.
Tang Fengyuan couldn't help but frown.
Ning Zhengrong is a careful person. He wouldn't leave the door open in the middle of the night, right?
Could it be that a thief broke in?
Oh, I'm afraid that the serial burglary case will fall into her hands?
Just when I was wondering whether I should go in and take a look, I saw someone coming out of Ning Zhengrong's house.
It was a young girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, who locked the door with a key.
When he saw Tang Fengyuan, he politely called her "Auntie".
Northwestern accent.
Although Tang Fengyuan had never met Ning Zhengrong's relatives, she knew that he had a brother serving in the army in the northwest. Curious, she asked, "Are you Ning Zhengrong's family member?"
Ning Feifei smiled and nodded: "Yes, Auntie, he is my uncle. My father was transferred to the Northeast, and asked me to pick him up and stay with him for a few days."
"Be careful on the road." Tang Fengyuan didn't know what was going on in Ning Zhengrong's family. She was a widowed woman, so how could she be so gossipy about an unmarried man? It would send out inappropriate signals.
When I reached the entrance of the alley, I saw Ning Zhengrong coming back with a letter of introduction.
The two met under the street light, nodded politely, and neither of them spoke.
Tang Fengyuan left in a hurry, leaving Ning Zhengrong standing at the intersection, silently staring at her back.
The most torturous thing in this world is meeting the right person at the wrong time.
He has already spent so much time, he doesn't believe that he can't outlast her. After all, he is three years younger than her, he can afford to wait.
Turning into the alley, picking up their suitcases, the uncle and nephew went to the train station overnight.
When he arrived in Northeast China, he found out that his brother and sister-in-law had prepared a surprise for him - a 30-year-old divorced woman.
"She has no children and is ten years younger than you. You are not young anymore, so don't be picky." The kind sister-in-law advised earnestly.
Ning Zhengrong has always had a good temper, but today he turned hostile, abandoned the guests, and turned away.
When he came out, he met Yao Jingzong who came back with a smile. He had to suppress his anger and said hello, "Chief Yao."
Yao Jingzong didn't know that he was Tang Fengyuan's neighbor. As a veteran with decades of service, he had his own principles and was not so gossipy as to inquire about his in-laws' neighbors.
What's more, Ning Zhengrong had an accident before, so many people didn't dare to mention his existence. Even when Yao Zhizhi asked about it, Qi Changxiao kept his mouth shut.
At this moment, seeing a man about forty years old coming out of the new political commissar's house with anger, I couldn't help but feel a little worried.
I hope the new political commissar is not good at handling family conflicts.
He quickly asked with concern, "What happened? Did you have a fight with Political Commissar Ning?"
Although Ning Zhengrong was angry, he didn't want to talk about his brother and sister-in-law in public, so he just said perfunctorily, "Nothing, I made something I don't like. Commander Yao, I'm leaving now, you're busy."
Yao Jingzong knew he was lying the moment he heard it. After everyone left, he went to Political Commissar Ning's house to try to persuade him: "What happened? Did you drive your brother away right after he arrived?"
"Old Yao, it's not us who want to make him angry, it's him..." Political Commissar Ning hesitated to speak, not wanting to talk about his brother behind his back, so forget it.
Yao Jingzong had never seen such an unpleasant person. He stood up and snorted coldly, cursing, "How can a man raised in the raging deserts of the northwest be so timid? If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. It's none of my business!"
Political Commissar Ning was anxious and quickly chased after him: "Old Yao, wait a minute, let me tell you, this is what happened."
"I won't listen. Who cares about your business? I'm just bored!" Yao Jingzong went straight home.
Political Commissar Ning had just been transferred here, and not wanting to offend his colleagues, he chased after him home. He lifted the doorstop and rubbed his red, frozen ears. "Old Yao, this is what's going on. This guy fell in love with a widow. Her husband was a martyr, and he refused to remarry, so he just waited like an idiot. He's already forty years old, and he still refuses to get married. I was so anxious, so I thought of introducing him to someone, but he didn't appreciate it."
"Is it worth making such a fuss over such a trivial matter?" Yao Jingzong was convinced. There was nothing wrong with liking a widow. If he liked her, he could just pursue her.
Political Commissar Ning sat down and sighed, "I can't help it. Before my parents died, I promised them that I would help this kid get married and start a family. I feel uneasy every day that he has no place to go. It's hard to be the eldest brother."
Yao Jingzong was speechless. "What's so difficult about this? You go find the widow and propose marriage. Speak to her with both emotion and reason. If she refuses, your brother will give up. If she agrees, your brother will get what he wants. Is it so difficult to solve such a trivial matter?"
"What if she doesn't agree and my brother still refuses to give up?" Political Commissar Ning felt that it was not that simple, as it had been so many years.
His younger brother is a stubborn ass and won't listen.
Yao Jingzong rolled his eyes in disdain. "You still won't give up even if he refuses? Then let him be. He's happy with it, so what's it to you? If you force him to marry someone, it will only end up causing trouble for his family and you'll be in trouble everywhere. Just listen to me. If it's time to propose marriage, then so be it. If you refuse, forget it. At least you've done your best as the eldest brother."
OK... that seems to make sense.
He is indeed Yao Jingzong who fought back from the Korean battlefield.
Political Commissar Ning was convinced. He sighed and muttered, "I don't know what this widow has done to make my brother so stubborn. Forget it, you're right. I'll find time to go there myself."
"It's my duty. An elder brother is like a father. After you've worried about this, you can let it go." Yao Jingzong nodded. Although Old Ning was hesitant at first, he was okay after listening to advice.
Political Commissar Ning sighed and prepared to go back. As he lifted the doorstop, he remembered something and asked, "By the way, Old Yao, I heard that the widow's late husband also fought in the Korean War. Did you know him?"
"Who?" Yao Jingzong didn't care. There were too many people who had fought in the Korean battlefield, and there were tens of thousands of martyrs.
Political Commissar Ning lowered the doorstop and took a step back: "Qi Guozhong."
"Who?" Yao Jingzong stopped lighting his cigarette. Was he really old and hallucinating?
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