The whole audience was silent.
"How do you talk like that?" Lin Wei patted Mingming's head lightly and said seriously, "I'm sorry, old man. The child is ignorant and talked nonsense." She also asked Mingming to apologize to Zong Ping.
Although he didn't have a good impression of Zong Ping, he was Zong Shao's father and an elder after all, so he had to show some respect to him.
Although Mingming was young, he was not stupid. Seeing the frozen expressions on everyone's faces, he knew that he must have said something wrong, so he said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, Grandpa."
Zong Ping was indeed unhappy, but not because of the child, but because of Lin Wei.
Whatever the child said was taught by the adults. He knew his son. Even if the relationship between him and his father was very tense, his son would never tell the child that he was dead. It could only be Lin Wei who taught him that.
In addition, before he even entered the yard, Lin Wei's mother scolded him. Even if he had no objection to his daughter-in-law, he would have one now.
What's more, he didn't like Lin Wei very much.
But the current occasion was not suitable to talk about these things, so Zong Ping suppressed his dissatisfaction and said, "It's okay, he's just a child." He then asked whether Mingming was the older brother or the younger brother.
Children don't understand adult matters. Seeing that Zong Ping was kind and didn't care about his wrong words, Mingming thought he was a good grandfather and said, "I am Mingming, the older brother, and this is my younger brother Ruirui."
Ruirui looked up at his parents, walked over to his brother and said, "Hello, Grandpa."
Zong Ping reached out and touched the two children's heads and praised them, "Good children." He then asked them at which table they had eaten before.
Mingming pointed back and said, "We'll eat in the back, sitting with grandma."
When Mingming mentioned grandma, Zong Ping's expression darkened and he asked, "Would you like to sit with grandpa for dinner? Grandpa has never seen you before and wants to see more of you."
Mingming hesitated: "Of course I can, but..." His bowl and chopsticks were at the back.
But Zong Ping didn't let him finish the rest of his words. He smiled and said, "That's settled then." He glanced at Shen Wenjin beside him.
When Shen Wenjin saw this, he led his people to sit back, leaving space for the two children, and asked Zong Shao to sit down.
Lin Wei took the child from Zong Shao's arms and said, "Give Bei Bei to me, and sit down to eat."
Zong Shao responded and sat down next to the two children.
With Mingming and Ruirui around, the atmosphere at the banquet became much more lively. Zong Ping had a constant smile on his face. As for Zong Shao, he usually had no expression on his face, so the three generations of the family seemed to be having a great time.
…
Even though Lin's mother and the others started working before dawn, the meal only took half an hour to an hour. Usually, tables with more men would eat slower because they had to drink.
But the situation today is special because of Shen Wenjin's sudden appearance, those who had threatened to get Zong Shao drunk became much more obedient, and their subsequent toasts were just for show.
Not only did they drink less, but they also talked less. The voices most often heard at the banquet were those of Zong Ping and the two children. Shen Wenjin would occasionally interject a few words, while everyone else just focused on eating.
Therefore, in less than twenty minutes, everyone had almost cleared out the dishes on the table, and the remaining dishes were those in front of Shen Wenjin, and no one dared to touch them.
After eating and drinking, everyone sat there for a while. Seeing that people at other tables had finished their meals and stood up to move around, they also stood up from the table.
Zong Shao also stood up. He wanted to see the guests off together with Lin Wei.
In the end, only Zong Ping, Shen Wenjin, and the guard who drove there were left.
Zong Ping really wanted to sit down and chat with Zong Shao, but there were so many people around just now that the father and son didn't have much chance to talk. But firstly, he didn't want Lin's mother to interrupt, and secondly, Wu Shujuan had been waiting outside for a long time and hadn't even had lunch, so he asked Zong Shao: "Are you free tonight? Can we have dinner together?"
"I have to clean up the house, I don't have time." Zong Shao said.
Zong Ping frowned when he heard this. In his mind, women should clean up the mess after a banquet. But he didn't want to argue with Zong Shao over these things, so he stepped back and asked, "Then are you free tomorrow night?"
"To be on duty."
"The day after tomorrow?" Zong Ping said weakly, "Xiao Shao, I can only stay for three days this time. If I miss this opportunity, I don't know when we can meet again. I don't even know if we will have the chance to meet again in the future. Xiao Shao, Dad is old and doesn't have much time left."
Zong Shao lowered his eyes and said after a moment: "I will come to see you the day after tomorrow night."
"Okay, okay." Zong Ping nodded with tears in his eyes, and asked, "Can you bring the children here when the time comes? I know Beibei was born not long ago, so it's not easy to take her out. You can bring Mingming and Ruirui. I want to see them again before I leave."
Zong Shao did not agree immediately, but said, "I'll consider it."
…
As soon as Zong Ping left, Lin's mother found Zong Shao and asked, "What did your father just say to you?"
"He wants to see me before he leaves." Zong Shao said.
"You promised?"
Zong Shao nodded: "Yes."
Mother Lin's expression suddenly changed: "Zong Shao, you can't be so conscienceless..."
Lin Wei, who had just come down from upstairs, heard this and hurriedly said, "Mom! Are there still a lot of food left in the kitchen?"
Mother Lin was interrupted, and the old man said unhappily: "You can go and see if there are any leftovers in the kitchen. I am talking to Zong Shao about serious matters!"
Lin Wei said, "But I have some serious business to do. Xiao Zhang won't be here tomorrow, and I want to pack some leftovers for her to take back. Can you help me check the kitchen?"
Although Zhang Lan's personality is not very enthusiastic, she is definitely not dull. At least she is good at talking in front of Lin Wei's family. In addition, she is hardworking, so Lin's mother likes this young girl very much.
Thinking that Zhang Lan would not come tomorrow, Lin's mother felt reluctant, so she stood up and said, "Then I'll go to the kitchen and take a look. We'll talk later." The second half of the sentence was said to Zong Shao.
After sending Lin's mother away, Lin Wei sat next to Zong Shao and said, "My mother has a straightforward personality, don't blame her."
Zong Shao shook his head and said, "If I knew why Mom was like this, how could I blame her?"
Lin's mother was so rude to Zong Ping purely out of anger for Chen Xinglan. As a son, Zong Shao naturally could not blame his mother-in-law.
But precisely because he was a son, even though he had a barrier in his heart, he could not scold Zong Ping as harshly as Lin's mother did.
Lin Wei could understand Zong Shao, so she hugged him and said, "I will have a good talk with Mom."
Zong Shao turned his head and kissed her face: "Thank you."
"We are a family." Lin Wei smiled.
After talking with Zong Shao, Lin Wei went to the kitchen to find Lin's mother.
Mother Lin put the remaining dishes together, and when she saw her daughter coming in, she asked, "What do you think should I use to put these dishes?"
"I have lunch boxes at home, so two boxes of food should be enough." Aluminum lunch boxes have a large capacity, and two boxes of food are enough for Zhang Lan's whole family to have a meal.
"If I use a lunch box, do I have to ask her to send it back?" asked Lin's mother.
Lin Wei said, "She can send it back, or I can go get it when I have time. It's not far away anyway."
Before the New Year, Lin's mother often went to the sea to catch seafood, and she was familiar with the distribution of several nearby brigades. Thinking that the brigade where Zhang Lan's family lived was indeed not far away, she said, "Okay, then pack it in a lunch box." She also asked what Lin Wei had said to Zong Shao just now.
"I didn't say anything, it's just..." Lin Wei paused and said, "Mom, can you please stop scolding his dad in front of Zong Shao?"
Mother Lin paused, her expression turned pale, and she asked, "Did Zong Shao ask you to tell me?"
"No, I just think this is not a good idea. Although Zong Shao's father is not a good person and he has let my mother-in-law down, he is Zong Shao's father after all and has raised him for so many years. He agreed to meet his father, not because he has no conscience and has forgotten the suffering my mother-in-law has gone through. Think about it, if he is really such a person, why didn't he contact his father all these years?"
Although Lin Wei didn't know what rank Zong Shao's father was, she could tell from the fact that he came with Commander Shen that his rank was definitely not low.
If Zong Ping had not been speaking up for his mother and had not had any contact with his father for many years, would he have not raised his only biological son? As long as Zong Ping lends a hand, with Zong Shao's ability, how could he be just a deputy battalion commander now?
As for completely severing ties, that is almost impossible.
Not to mention how Zong Shao, as a son, would be criticized for severing ties with his father, it is clear that the fact that Zong Shao has embarked on his current path and become a naval officer must have been influenced by Zong Ping.
From this we can see that no matter what Zong Shao thinks now, at least when he was young, he admired his father, and there was not no affection between father and son. Even though there was little love left between father and son after all they had gone through, it would be too difficult for Zong Shao to completely break off ties with his father.
Mother Lin knew very well that Zong Shao was in trouble, but when she saw that Zong Ping was living such a good life and thought of her deceased friend, she felt very unfair.
"I'm afraid that Zong Shao has forgotten the suffering his mother has endured and has been deceived by his father." If even her own son doesn't remember these things, then what will Chen Xinglan leave behind in this life?
Lin Wei had great confidence in Zong Shao and said, "Don't worry, Mom. He won't forget it."
Mother Lin was naturally willing to believe Zong Shao, and she sighed and said, "I hope so."
…
After cleaning up the aftermath of the banquet, Lin Wei called Zhang Lan to the living room and settled her salary for more than half a month.
In order to hold the full moon banquet, Zhang Lan has been very busy these days, so in addition to her normal salary, Lin Wei gave her a generous red envelope.
When Zhang Lan saw the money in the red envelope, she quickly waved her hand and said no, but Lin Wei forced the red envelope into her hand and said, "This is what you deserve. Take it. This is the last time I will give you a red envelope."
The time limit for the work was agreed upon before she came to the Zong family. Because of the full-month banquet, Lin Wei asked her to work a few more days. Zhang Lan naturally knew what Lin Wei meant.
It was just that she had actually been very happy in the past few months at the Zong family, so even though she had prepared herself mentally, she still couldn't help but tear up at this moment: "Sister Lin..."
"I am very grateful for your care over the past few months. If possible, I really hope you can stay. But all good things must come to an end. After the confinement period, I have no reason to hire a nanny, so..." Lin Wei sighed and said, "I hope you will be safe and sound in the future, and everything will go well for you."
Zhang Lan raised her hand to wipe away her tears and said, "Sister Lin, I also hope that everything goes smoothly for your family."
"I'll give you some good luck." Lin Wei stood up and said, "There are a lot of leftovers today, so I asked my mom to pack two lunch boxes. Remember to take them back later. They are all leftovers, so don't be disgusted."
"No, no, that's too troublesome." Zhang Lan waved her hands quickly. It's not that she disliked leftovers. In fact, the leftover dishes in the kitchen had never been served on the table and had never been touched by anyone's saliva.
In addition, the brigade where Zhang Lan is located is also an agricultural brigade. Unlike the fishery brigade, they can't eat seafood often. They can only eat meat once a month, which is considered a good life. What's left over from the banquet are basically meat dishes, not to mention chicken and duck, even pork offal is a delicacy in the countryside.
"They are just leftovers. Just put them in a lunch box. What's the trouble?" Lin Wei said as she thought about it. "After you finish eating, I may need to trouble you to return the lunch box."
Delivering lunch boxes was certainly not a hassle for Zhang Lan. In fact, when she returned home with the meat-filled meal, everyone in her family smiled so hard that their teeth were showing. When they heard that the lunch boxes had to be returned, several people scrambled to get this job.
Because there are guards at the gate of the family area, people from outside cannot get in easily. The reason why Zhang Lan was able to go in and out smoothly in the past few months is because Lin Wei registered her at the gate.
But none of her family members had ever been in there. At most, they just wandered around outside. Businesses that were open for business, such as state-owned restaurants and supply and marketing cooperatives, also received members from surrounding brigades. It’s just that the countryside doesn’t issue various receipts like in the city, so not many people come to the supply and marketing cooperatives to buy things.
Therefore, her family members were very curious about what the family quarters were like, and they all wanted to come if they had the chance.
But Zhang Lan was afraid of causing trouble, so she didn't let them deliver the lunch box. She washed the lunch box and delivered it herself.
Lin Wei and the others had just finished their meal, and were stunned when they saw her coming over. They said, "There's no rush for the lunch box, it's the same if you send it over tomorrow."
"It's okay. It's not dark yet and I don't have anything to do at home, so I sent it over." Zhang Lan said with a smile. After handing the lunch box to Lin Wei, she didn't stay long. After chatting for a few words, she went back.
Later, when Zong Shao was washing dishes, Lin's mother said to her daughter with emotion: "Xiao Zhang is a good person."
"That's right." Lin Wei nodded.
"Don't you want to consider continuing to hire her? You have to take care of three children and go to work, can you handle it?" Although Lin's mother felt that hiring a nanny was too expensive, she also felt sorry for her daughter and thought that Lin Wei was working too hard.
Lin Wei shook her head and said, "It's too eye-catching. I'd better take Beibei to school and put the rocking cradle in the office. I can just let Mingming and Ruirui watch it while I teach."
Last year, pregnant teachers did the same thing. They either asked their older children at home to look after their children, or asked teachers in the office who were not teaching to help look after their children. As long as it did not affect the teaching work, Principal Feng would not interfere with these matters.
Mother Lin thought for a moment and said, "That's fine."
…
Lin's mother had originally planned to go back the day after the full moon banquet, but because of Zong Ping's arrival, she postponed her trip and decided to wait until they left.
Lin Wei also hoped that her mother could stay for a few more days and wholeheartedly supported this matter, as did other people in the family.
However, Lin Wei originally thought that Zong Ping and his wife came to Yazhou Island mainly to visit Zong Shao and their children. However, she did not expect that after class the next afternoon, as soon as she walked out of the school, she saw Wu Shujuan waiting outside the school.
At first, Lin Wei thought that Wu Shujuan was looking for someone else. Seeing that Zong Ping and Commander Shen were so familiar with each other, she thought that Wu Shujuan also knew Principal Feng. The next second, Wu Shujuan walked towards her and said directly, "Let's talk."
Hearing Wu Shujuan's commanding words, Lin Wei laughed angrily: "Excuse me, who are you?"
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Second update
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