259 relatives
After breakfast, Li Wei and Sister Wei took the child home under Da Luo's escort.
Although it was called going back to her parents' home, it was actually just a short walk. After dropping Li Wei and the child off, Da Luo went home.
He wasn't as lucky as Li Wei, who could go out and find peace and quiet. He had to help entertain the relatives. Before he left, his mother repeatedly told him to come back as soon as possible to help entertain the guests.
Li Wei, accompanied by Sister Wei and a nanny to look after the child, returned to her parents' home. Her aunt Cheng Fei, who was also returning to her parents' home, laughed and said, "Look at your style, you're just like a young mistress, surrounded by servants, tsk tsk."
Ding Anping, worried that Li Wei might feel embarrassed, quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Xiao Ming has so many children, how can one person take care of them all, right, Ding Ding?"
Dingding nodded solemnly, then jumped up to get down from her father's arms: "Daddy, Daddy, I want to see the baby! Dingding wants to see the baby!"
Li Wei naturally didn't care about these things. If you're afraid of what people say, you'll suffer. If you want to be at ease, you can't be afraid of what people say. She's spending her own money, so let whoever wants to talk, talk. Anyway, her aunt isn't an outsider. Li Wei smiled at her uncle and handed Roy to her aunt: "Here, let your great-aunt hold you."
Upon hearing this address, Li Wei suddenly realized that her aunt had unknowingly aged considerably, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Cheng Fei glared at Li Wei: "What are you laughing at? If you hadn't been causing all this trouble, would I be a grandmother at such a young age? I can't be bothered with you. Come on, Xiao Bao, let's go play in Great-Grandma's room." Cheng Fei picked up the child and left.
Xiao Ya had already been taken to Old Mrs. Cheng's room by her maternal grandmother, and the second son, Luo Er, was also carried in by Sister Wei. Basically, the Li family women gathered in Old Mrs. Cheng's room. There was no other reason than that it had a large heated kang bed, the room was spacious, and there was plenty of sunlight, making it the best room in the entire building.
Most importantly, with the family's treasured elder, Grandpa Cheng and his wife, around, their children also enjoy coming over.
This large kang (heated brick bed) originally didn't have a floor. Later, the old lady complained that sleeping in a bed was uncomfortable and not warm enough in winter. So, Li Zhaoxing and his wife specially hired a craftsman to build a large kang. Because of its careful design, it's very warm in winter without being too hot. Therefore, the entire Li family likes it very much.
Especially Li Lin. She slept almost the entire winter vacation in her maternal grandmother's room.
Li Wei, who thought she could finally relax, had just eaten lunch at her parents' house when Da Luo arrived. His cousin had come and insisted on seeing the child. His mother had sent him to find Li Wei and bring her back to check on her.
Although Li Wei was unwilling, it wasn't far. Her in-laws had previously received favors from this person. Given her aunt Zhao Chunyan's personality, no one would allow Li Wei to take the child back in the cold wind to babysit. That's why her cousin was the only one who would do it.
When Li Wei left home that morning, her mother-in-law hesitated. She also wanted Li Wei to meet her cousin at home. But Da Luo knew what Li Wei was thinking. He told his mother, "If it doesn't work out, I'll bring them back later. It's so close anyway."
Only then did Aunt Zhao Chunyan readily allow them to pass.
It was expected that they would have to go back now. Seeing Da Luo looking at her apologetically, Li Wei felt relieved: "It's okay, I'll go and hold Xiao Ya, you hold the eldest, and let Auntie hold the second one. Sister Wei, you can eat here first, so you don't have to run back and forth."
Sister Wei wouldn't have it, so she put down her rice bowl and quickly wrapped the child up. She held Luo Er, while the Luo family's aunt held Xiao Ya, and Da Luo held Luo Yi. Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Li Wei hurriedly ran to the bathroom to quickly fix her hair, took out a powder puff to touch up her face, applied some lipstick, and looked at her clothes. They were alright, but she was worried that she would have to go back to meet guests at noon, so she was dressed quite nicely and didn't take them off.
As soon as Li Wei came out of the bathroom, Li Lin ran over and very attentively draped the white fur cloak over her sister, grinning, "Sister, sister, let me help you, hehe."
Li Wei found her expression amusing: "Alright, I'll lend you this dress when I get back this afternoon, okay? Stop smiling so obsequiously."
Honestly, this girl always thinks other people's things are better. Actually, Li Lin has quite a few clothes. Basically, whatever her aunt buys for Li Wei, she'll also get a similar style for Li Lin. Although the quality might be a little different, they're still pretty good. After all, some clothes are just one style.
Li Lin had been eyeing her sister's cloak for a long time, and today she finally got the chance to stay with her sister when she came back. Now that she had received a promise, she happily watched Li Wei's family leave.
Grandma Cheng added, "Come back for dinner tonight."
The Luo and Li families were only a few minutes' walk apart. Li Wei quickly returned to the Luo family home. As soon as she entered the house, she was taken aback by the people in the room.
I never expected that all the relatives would gather like this. It's quite a large gathering, with at least twenty or thirty people, men, women, and children.
First, the children were taken to the nursery and settled in. Just as the children were put down, several aunts came in. A group of people surrounded the three strollers, marveling at them. The third aunt took the opportunity to point out to Li Wei the legendary cousin and cousin-in-law.
Li Wei greeted them politely, took off her cloak and handed it to Luo Er, addressing her distinguished cousin.
Unlike the vulgar and petty nature of Da Luo's two cheap aunts, this cousin named Chen Juan was of medium height and well-maintained. More importantly, she was both beautiful and had an outstanding temperament. Although she spoke in a friendly manner, there was a hint of dominance in her eyes and brows, clearly indicating that she was someone who could give orders.
Such a person is undoubtedly shrewd and capable, so Li Wei had no choice but to be fully prepared to respond. However, she was different from other girls her age; she was much more confident and composed. After all, he was just a slightly outstanding relative, and there was nothing to be afraid of.
Soon the group moved to the living room, where the third uncle formally introduced Li Wei to her cousin and uncle, as well as their son Liu Shuo and daughter-in-law Ye Zi, who also worked in a public institution. One was a refined young man, and the other was a pretty woman with smiling eyes.
The remaining children were Zhong Meng, the daughter of Luo Peiyun, and her son Zhong Yongjia. Zhong Xin had known them for a long time, but they were surprisingly absent today. Zhong Meng had just graduated from university and was currently looking for a job. She was a far cry from the "dream" in her name; she was quite ordinary-looking, but unlike her mother, she lacked her mother's mercenary nature and was very quiet. Zhong Yongjia was in high school and clearly a mischievous boy.
Luo Peiyun's husband, Zhong Qingxiang, is a section chief in a government agency. In her early years, Luo Peiyun also got a good job through her husband's connections, so her family's financial situation was relatively better than her sister's.
Second Aunt Luo Peifang's family is relatively ordinary. Her husband, Liu Songqing, is a technician in a state-owned enterprise, while she herself doesn't have a formal job and works as a saleswoman in a shopping mall. She has a good image and temperament, and her clothes are decent. She doesn't have the slightly arrogant petty-bourgeois air of her sister. She has two daughters. One of them, Liu Yanni, is three or four years older than Luo Peifang. She is very charming and beautiful. She graduated from teachers' college last year and teaches at a primary school. She is also very cheerful. After Luo Peifang introduced her to Li Wei, she took Li Wei's hand and asked her all sorts of questions, acting very familiar with her.
My second aunt's other daughter is also in vocational high school, just like my cousin Zhong. Both of them are studying early childhood education. Although she's not as pretty as her older sister, she's still quite plump and cute. Perhaps because she's quite close to my cousin Zhong, and influenced by her, she doesn't seem to like Li Wei very much. After being introduced by Lao Luo, she gave Li Wei a warm smile, but after a couple of hums, she turned her head and continued playing video games with Luo San.
She was gently scolded by her mother, but didn't react much; she's probably spoiled at home.
Today's main guests were my cousin's family of four. The men were all gathered together discussing business and current events.
The women formed their own circle and started chatting casually.
This cousin was clearly quite interested in Li Wei. Wen Yan asked Li Wei about some trivial matters in her daily life, as well as her studies. Although the questions seemed trivial, they were all very relevant and made Li Wei have to be careful in dealing with them, while still maintaining the gentle and polite demeanor of a lady of etiquette.
On the surface, Chen Juan appeared calm, but in reality, she was quite surprised. She had thought that her cousin was just a scheming scoundrel, and deep down, she didn't think much of Lao Luo.
And how good can the children raised by such a person, with a wife who has little education, be?
Although she had never heard anything outrageous about her nephews, she never expected that Luo Jianhua would actually get into university, especially since he got in early, during his second year of high school. This surprised her greatly. Could it be that a golden phoenix has finally flown out of the chicken coop?
Later I heard that he had even gotten married and had children. That's the kind of thing that kids from wealthy families do. It's normal for boys from wealthy families to act recklessly. For example, her own son had countless girlfriends during high school and college.
Especially after hearing her cousin say that her in-laws lived not far away, Chen Juan thought it was quite possible; they were probably all spoiled kids.
But now that she had met Li Wei and the young couple Da Luo, especially Da Luo, who, despite his young age, was remarkably composed and calm in his speech and manner, showing none of the youthful arrogance she had imagined, she was quite impressed.
What surprised her even more was Li Wei. This was not the kind of frivolous and impetuous young girl who didn't know her place. Her way of speaking and talking was completely different from that of her mother-in-law, who was more than half her age. She was neither humble nor arrogant, and she spoke with reason and evidence. She did not have the coquettishness, frivolity, and naivety of young girls nowadays.
In particular, the children were taken very well cared for, and the allocation of manpower was handled calmly and effortlessly, without a trace of panic or reluctance.
Aunt Chen Juan was secretly surprised. She was much more affectionate towards Li Wei than towards her cousin-in-law Zhao Chunyan. She chatted with her for a long time until Lao Luo and his wife invited her to stay for dinner, at which point she got up to say goodbye.
It was already a great honor for Li Wei to have lunch at the Luo family's house amidst her busy schedule, so there was no reason for her to stay for dinner. Watching her cousin's family of four leave, Li Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn it, they're finally gone. Interrogating prisoners is nothing special. Li Wei couldn't possibly admire these relatives from the bottom of her heart.
By the way, did she commit any crime?
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