Chapter 147
On the third day after her wedding, Xu Yuansheng brought her husband, nephew, and niece back for dinner.
In the old saying, it's called the wedding day three days after the bride returns to her parents' home.
Although this custom is no longer popular, in many places, married women still maintain the tradition of returning to their parents' home for a meal on the third day after their wedding, so that their families know that they are doing well after marriage.
The cook is Aunt Guo, who just arrived here yesterday.
Aunt Guo was slightly plump with a chubby face, which made her look kind and gentle. Her cheerful smile was very endearing to children, and Gu Tuantuan and Xiang Yun would greet her sweetly when they saw her.
Aunt Guo prepared rice candy that she had made that morning for the children, and the two little girls ate it with beaming smiles.
Xiang Zhao felt that he was already an adult, a man, and shouldn't eat candy anymore. However, when Aunt Guo handed him the rice candy, he felt embarrassed to refuse. He took a bite and found that it was really delicious.
Thanks to her delicious and crispy rice candy, the three children became very close to Aunt Guo.
Xu Yuansheng saw Aunt Guo busy in the kitchen and wanted to help, but she pushed him away.
Aunt Guo smiled and said, "I'm fine here. I'll let you try my cooking today. Go and chat with Xixi. She's been looking forward to your return since last night."
After arriving at this home, she also started calling herself Xixi, just like Feng Min.
Hearing her say that, Xu Yuansheng didn't insist anymore and went back to her room to see her sister.
As the weather gets colder, Gu Xi is worried that the child will get cold, so she keeps the child in the room and rarely takes the child out. Even when she does go out, she only stays in the main room.
Feng Min was also in the room, talking to Gu Xi.
Seeing Xu Yuansheng come in, she smiled and said, "Yuansheng, you're here. Come and sit down." After Xu Yuansheng sat down, she asked kindly, "How have you been these past two days? Have Xiao Zhao and Xiao Yun been obedient? Is Changchuan good to you? If he's not good to you, tell me. His parents aren't here, and I can discipline him on their behalf."
Xu Yuansheng smiled, a rare moment of shyness in front of his elders: "Xiao Zhao and Xiao Yun are very obedient and sensible. Chang Chuan... is also very good to me."
Although she is usually a straightforward person, she is still a little reserved in front of her elders since she is newly married.
Feng Min, having been through similar experiences, naturally understood. After asking a few casual questions, she took the child and went outside, giving the two sisters some space to talk.
There are some things that she, as an elder, shouldn't ask, but her sisters can say.
Seeing Feng Min leave, Xu Yuansheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Turning her head, she saw her sister staring at her, and that look... well, it made her very uncomfortable.
Gu Xi leaned closer to her younger sister and asked with a smile, "Is Changchuan good to you?"
Although both Feng Min and Gu Xi asked the same question, "Is Changchuan good to you?", their questions were different.
Xu Yuansheng couldn't say too much to Feng Min, but she was willing to say more to her older sister. "He's great. He pays attention to my needs and prepares hot water for me to wash up. He doesn't let me do much housework either. It's just that he's not very good at cooking, so I have to do it. Even if I'm directing him, it won't work. He really does cook terribly..."
She didn't want to eat such unpalatable food, so she decided that if she had nothing else to do, she would cook for herself. She could also teach Xiang Zhao how to cook, as the boy seemed quite willing to learn.
Gu Xi listened with a smile, carefully observing her sister's expression to confirm that she was indeed happy marrying Xiang Changchuan and living a comfortable life after marriage.
Although I trust Xiang Changchuan's character, I'm still worried that the two of us won't get along well after we get married.
Now that it seems that Battalion Commander Xiang is a loving husband, she feels relieved. She will have to continue to observe him.
After finishing her own story, Xu Yuansheng began to show concern for her sister, asking, "Big sister, how is Aunt Guo? Do you get along with her? Can she take good care of you and Zhuzhu?"
Although she had met her before, it was only once and for a short time, so she couldn't be sure if Aunt Guo could take good care of her sister and child. She was quite worried about not being there.
"It's great. She's a very good cook, especially good at stews. Yesterday, I was able to eat half a bowl more with the broth from her stew when I used it to mix with rice," Gu Xi said confidently. "You'll see when you try it at dinner."
In her opinion, Aunt Guo was already qualified just because she could cook.
People these days value frugality and hard work, so they rarely use oil, salt, or other seasonings when cooking. The resulting dishes are edible, but not particularly delicious.
But Aunt Guo was perceptive, and with Feng Min's advice, she didn't skimp on cooking, and the food she made suited Gu Xi's taste perfectly.
Xu Yuansheng was relieved after hearing this.
Knowing that someone can take care of her sister and help with the children, she no longer has to worry about it and feel at ease.
Gu Xi held her hand and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm all better now. I'll try to eat well and live to be seventy or eighty. Then we can be old sisters. Maybe we can even hold hands and go shopping, buy pretty clothes, and then people will point and whisper about us looking good in our old age... haha."
In the end, she herself started laughing.
She will live her life well, until the new century arrives, and witness the rise of her motherland.
Xu Yuansheng laughed as well, saying, "Seventy or eighty years old isn't that old; it would be best if one could live to be a hundred."
"Then I'll try my best."
"You must work hard. I will be with you. We will be sisters for life."
The two sisters looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
-
Dinner was lively tonight. After tasting Aunt Guo's stew, Xu Yuansheng, Xiang Changchuan, and their nephew all praised it. Xu Yuansheng even asked Aunt Guo how to make a delicious stew.
After dinner, Gu Xi called Xu Yuansheng into her room, opened a locked box, took out a stack of ten-yuan bills, and handed them to her.
"This is the money you brought with you when you came to the army." Gu Xi looked at her gently. "Consider this money as your dowry."
She had been keeping this money, intending to give it to Xu Yuansheng as part of her dowry when she got married.
Xu Yuansheng pushed it back, "Big sister, no need, this was originally yours."
When arranging the wedding supplies, Aunt Feng and her sister had already given her dowry money, and all the betrothal gifts sent by Xiang Changchuan were also given to her.
"Don't be so polite with me. You know I'm not short of money. Keep it safe and use it to buy a house later."
Xu Yuansheng was a little confused, "Buy a house?"
How did the topic veer to this?
Gu Xi said, "Yes, we can't live in the military forever. Maybe one day your brother-in-law and Changchuan will be transferred to other jobs, and we will leave with them. Besides, the house we live in belongs to the military, not our own. People still need to have their own houses."
Houses and cars are things that people will inevitably need throughout their lives in the future.
Cars are out of the question for now, but houses are something we can think about. The college entrance exam will be reinstated in three years. If they get into university then, they can buy houses in the city. Isn't it more reassuring to live in your own house than to rent?
Gu Xi felt that not only should she buy a house, but her two younger sisters should also buy one, preferably in Beijing, so that she could settle there when she got old.
Xu Yuansheng was a little confused, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that her sister was right.
Although she had never thought about buying a house in the city before, according to her sister, if Xiang Changchuan's job is transferred in the future, or if they get old, they should at least have their own house to live in.
Buying a house... should definitely be included in future plans.
Xu Yuansheng eventually accepted the money.
There is a total of one thousand yuan here. She deliberately took it from her parents when she left Xujiatun with her younger sister.
However, she did not intend to spend the money and decided to save it as a dowry for her younger sister when she got married.
**
Since Aunt Guo came, she has kept the house tidy and organized, does all the housework, buys groceries, cooks, and even takes care of the children. As a result, Feng Min feels like she has nothing to do and is quite bored.
She secretly observed for a few days and found that Aunt Guo was indeed a good person with no problems, so she was finally relieved.
With the day of Feng Min's return to Beijing drawing ever closer, Shen Mingzheng had already asked someone to help him buy train tickets.
Gu Xi felt very reluctant to part with Feng Min. If she weren't worried that getting up at night to breastfeed the baby would disturb Feng Min's rest, she probably would have wanted to share a bed with Feng Min these past few nights.
The day before Feng Min left, Gu Yuanyang and his wife, Xiang Changchuan, Xu Yuansheng, and others came over for a meal as a farewell gesture.
Feng Min talked with them for a long time and gave them a lot of advice.
Everyone wrote down her instructions.
"Mom, I can't bear to part with you." Gu Xi hugged her son, looking at her with teary eyes, as if she was about to cry.
Feng Min quickly said, "Oh dear, you can't cry during postpartum confinement, it will ruin your eyes."
“Zhuzhu is almost two months old, and I’ve already finished my postpartum confinement.” Gu Xi wiped away her tears and handed the baby to her. “You see, Zhuzhu is also reluctant to part with you.”
Feng Min looked down at her grandson in her arms and found that he had woken up and was staring at her with his big, dark eyes. Although she knew that the child should be blind, his quiet and well-behaved appearance was so similar to Gu Xi that she had a strong sense of déjà vu and her heart softened.
“Our Zhuzhu is such a good boy, he’s so good-looking and pretty,” Feng Min said happily. “When Zhuzhu grows up a bit, remember to take some pictures of him and send them to Beijing so your dad, grandpa, and grandma can see him too.”
Gu Xi nodded and said, "I plan to buy a camera and record Zhuzhu's growth."
"That's good. I should have bought a camera and brought it with me when I came here." Feng Min was a little annoyed that she hadn't thought of this. "It's inconvenient for you to buy things here. When I go back to Beijing, I'll send you a camera and have someone print out a lot of photos."
Gu Xi nodded, calculating the time in her mind.
Soon, in three more years, she will be able to return to Beijing.
**
After Feng Min left, Gu Xi became depressed and couldn't muster any energy to do anything, not even eat, which worried Shen Mingzheng.
Fortunately, another child teased her, which helped her cheer up quickly.
The camera arrived sometime later, so Gu Xi decided to draw some portraits of her son and send them to her grandfather in Beijing.
Xu Yuansheng would come to see them during the day when she had nothing to do. Seeing her sister painting with great enthusiasm, she was immediately relieved.
She sat beside her sister, listening to her explain drawing techniques, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
After several days, Gu Xi finally completed several paintings.
Shen Mingzheng looked at it and said, "You drew it quite well, especially this one. Zhuzhu looks very cute when she yawns. Can I keep it?"
Although the photograph is very realistic, the painting exudes a warm and lovely feeling, which is quite rare and makes him want to keep it.
Seeing that he liked it, Gu Xi generously handed it to him, and put the rest in an envelope to be sent to Beijing.
As she wrote the address on the envelope, she chatted with him: "Mingrong has never met Zhuzhu either. I heard from Mom that he actually wanted to come and see us, but he couldn't come with Mom because he had to go to school. He cried so much back then..."
Shen Mingzheng still couldn't accept his younger brother's tendency to cry, and said incredulously, "How old is he? Why does he still cry so much?"
"He's not very old, only thirteen this year."
"Thirteen years old is not young anymore. When I was thirteen..."
Commander Shen suddenly fell silent and didn't say anything more.
Gu Xi, however, looked at him with great interest and leaned closer to ask, "Commander Shen, what were you like when you were thirteen? Did you beat up all the big and little kids in the family compound? Did you become the king of the military region's youth?"
Shen Mingzheng: "..."
Seeing his tense face and serious demeanor, Gu Xi knew she was right and burst into laughter.
Shen Mingzheng helped her up, his ears turning red, feeling a rare bit embarrassed about his past youthful arrogance.
When I was a teenager, I was full of energy and had endless energy every day. Fighting was the norm. Later, I joined the army and embarked on this path. Looking back on my teenage years, I can't help but laugh.
Gu Xi leaned against him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and nestled in his warm embrace.
Just then, a soft "poof" sounded from the side. She turned her head and saw that her son had woken up at some point. He wasn't crying or making a fuss; he was playing quietly by himself, puffing out his little mouth and blowing on his own saliva.
They are so well-behaved.
"Big brother, look at your son, he's so well-behaved. He doesn't fuss when he's awake." She said with a smile, "I wonder if he'll be like his father, beating up all the big and little kids when he was young, and growing up to be a steadfast warrior."
Shen Mingzheng also turned to look at the child, his expression softening.
He said, "No matter what he chooses to do in the future, as long as he doesn't commit crimes or break the law, and the path he chooses is correct, let him be. He doesn't have to follow my path."
Children are the legacy, the future, and the hope. He sincerely hopes that when his children grow up, they can choose the path they love and forge ahead without hesitation. This is the most beautiful wish of a new father.
On this winter night, the couple leaned against each other, quietly gazing at their newborn, tiny child.
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