“Nan Nan, children and grandchildren have their own destinies. What we need to do is to protect them within our capabilities, and only leave with peace of mind when they are strong enough to fly.”
After listening to Ye Chenming's advice, her long-standing worry for the two children suddenly subsided. It turned out that she had been being dramatic.
"Chenming, this is my first time being a mother, I have no experience, I won't be so dramatic in the future," Yan Xiaonan said self-reflectively.
Ye Chenming embraced Yan Xiaonan's face and showered her with kisses. How could there be such a beautiful woman in the world?
Laughter drifted in from outside, and Grandma Yan yelled at them to be quiet so as not to wake their parents.
Fu Qingping chuckled inwardly. This eldest sister of the Yan family was getting younger and younger. Didn't she know that her voice was louder than the children's?
Ye Chenming and Yan Xiaonan laughed too. Grandma was so cute! The two quickly washed up, changed their clothes, and opened the door to the north room.
"Good morning, Dad! Good morning, Mom!" The children's clear voices filled the air, bringing immense joy.
"Good morning, Xiaoyushu; good morning, Xiaotianru." Yan Xiaonan also squatted down to greet the children.
Ye Chenming picked up the two little ones and kissed their cheeks, making them run around happily to express their joy.
"Nannan, Chenming, are you hungry? Go and have some breakfast," Grandma Yan said.
Ye Chenming stood up with a smile: "I'll go get it. You sit here with Grandma and the children."
Yan Xiaonan nodded. She hadn't spent much time with her family in a long time, and she was determined to make the most of this opportunity.
As soon as Ye Chenming stepped out of the inner courtyard, he was surrounded by Bei Nan and Tie Ge. Tie Ge was finally able to return to the capital.
Tie Jun will be ten years old after the New Year. He is having a great time playing with Yan Ran and Yan Feng, and he is already sweating despite the cold weather.
Ye Huixian grabbed Tie Jun and led him into Cuihua's room, where she was going to help Tie Jun change his clothes.
Cuihua's room was very warm. Ye Huixian quickly helped Tiejun change his underwear. When he touched the clothes, they were indeed damp.
Yan Ran pouted. A boy is not as good as a girl like herself. She has to change clothes even if she sweats a little.
She ran angrily to Ye Chen'er: "Mommy, Mommy, will you play with me?"
Ye Chen'er was in the kitchen. There were many people today, and she needed to cook a lot of dishes. It would be too late for Auntie and Cuihua to cook so many dishes.
Didn't you see that the kitchens in the outer courtyard and the middle courtyard are already cooking? I'm in the middle courtyard kitchen with Sheng Lijuan, Auntie, and Xue Ying.
Cuihua, Xuemei, Shen Shaohua, and Liu Lili also went to the kitchen in the central courtyard to help.
As for the southeast and southwest, Ai Dang and several others from the north and south also ran in and out; they were the transmitters of love.
Ye Chenming, concerned for Yan Xiaonan, went into the kitchen in the middle courtyard and looked around the table. There was so much food!
Flatbread, fried dough sticks, fermented mung bean juice, congee with preserved egg and lean pork, eight-treasure rice, rice cake, etc.
Ye Chenming thought for a moment, then packed some preserved egg and lean pork porridge, cornbread, and fried dough sticks into a lunchbox and headed to the backyard.
Feeling sorry for Yan Xiaonan, Cuihua quickly took two bottles of milk from the refrigerator and handed them to him: "Here, there's a kitchen in the backyard. You can heat it up and drink it."
Ye Chenming smiled as he put the milk into his pocket, then turned and walked towards the backyard. Liu Lili really wanted to follow him.
But it wasn't Nan Nan who came out; it was Ye Chenming. If she followed him rashly, it might cause a misunderstanding, so she decided to forget about it.
"Lily, do you want to go to the room and check on Bao'er? I'm worried that Southwest won't be able to handle it," Cuihua said.
Liu Lili shook her head. Southwest was much more attentive than she was; he could even tell that Bao'er was missing a piece of clothing.
"Mom, no need. Southwest likes daughters. He takes better care of Bao'er than I do."
Hearing Liu Lili say this, Cuihua fell silent. She needed to prepare all the cold dishes in the morning so that she could start preparing the hot dishes in the afternoon.
She asked her three daughters-in-law to prepare, while she tidied up the remaining breakfast, planning to put the edible parts on the table at noon.
Every family does it this way: lunch is just a quick and easy meal, and the real feast is the New Year's Eve dinner with lots of meat and fish.
As darkness fell, all the red lanterns in the eight-courtyard house were lit.
Ye Ren led a group of men to drink and chat in the outer courtyard, discussing all sorts of things and reaching new heights of conversation.
Fu Qingping took all the women and children to the Intermediate People's Court for a feast, indulging in everything from sweet and sour to bitter and spicy.
Even Ma Minghua ate with gusto, only regretting that she hadn't brought her mother-in-law and Yang Yang along, otherwise the whole family could have been reunited.
Yan Xiaonan said nonchalantly, "Aren't you going back? Just bring them over when you come back."
Ma Minghua nodded repeatedly. She also had this plan, but she did not intend to bring her mother-in-law and son to the courtyard house.
Although there is a place to stay, it is simply not appropriate for the entire family of four to live in the shop.
"Nan Nan, are there any cheap apartments for sale? I want to buy one so that my mother-in-law's son, Yang Yang, will have a place to stay when he comes."
Yan Xiaonan thought for a moment and said, "There are houses to buy near the school, but the environment is not ideal, and the residents may be prone to causing trouble."
Ma Minghua hesitated. Although she was a rural woman, she knew how much the environment could affect a child.
Chen's mother suddenly spoke up: "Nannan, your grandfather and I want to go back after the New Year. We haven't been back for a long time, and we don't know how things are at home."
Nan Nan was stunned. She glanced at her mother, Cuihua, who was indeed a little anxious: "Mom, what are you doing? I already said I would take care of you and Dad."
Chen's mother smiled happily: "Cuihua, do you know how much money your father and I have right now?"
Cuihua shook her head. She only ever gave money; she never bothered to calculate how much money the old couple had.
“Nan Nan, your grandparents now have 20,000 yuan, which is something I never expected.”
Yan Xiaonan understood. Her grandparents were almost eighty years old, and it was perfectly normal for them to want to return to their hometown.
“Okay, Grandma and Grandpa, I’ll see you off when the time comes.”
"No need. Erlong and his wife will come back with us. This time, he's going to apply for a homestead and build a house so he can break pots for us later."
Sigh, in the end, it still comes down to the son breaking the basin; this kind of thinking is deeply ingrained in rural people.
Even if their daughter is financially well-off, they still hope to have a son to take care of them in their old age.
Cuihua was a little unhappy. She knew what her parents meant, but she was worried about them going back to their hometown.
"Mom, this place is so nice, what can you do if you go back?" Cuihua complained.
“My dear daughter, your father and mother are getting old and want to go home to see the mountains and rivers of our hometown, and those old folks who have been good friends and quarrelsome people all their lives.”
Having lived in the capital for a long time, Chen's mother's speech had become more refined, making Yan Xiaonan laugh uncontrollably.
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