There were many people on the road, probably visiting relatives and friends for the New Year. Occasionally, a tractor would rumble by, drawing the admiration of passersby.
But most of them use bullock carts or walk, and a few ride bicycles.
After informing his parents, Zhang Laoer slept well all night and went to Zhang Guofu's house early in the morning feeling refreshed.
"Uncle, good morning. Looking for my dad?" Zhang Mingzuo greeted him and pointed towards the main hall. "We're having a banquet in a few days. Let me know if I can help you with anything."
"I can't forget you." Zhang Laoer saw him following behind him, not even sweeping the yard, and smiled, "Where's your brother?"
"I just went to my grandparents' house. They said it snowed last night and he was worried about going to check it out."
"Xizi did a good job."
Zhang Guofu had already heard the noise in the living room. Seeing his daughter-in-law lift the door curtain, he did not stand up. He smiled and said, "This is not what should be done."
"Good morning, Second Grandpa."
As soon as Zhang Lao Er stepped into the living room, he saw the little kids sitting around their eldest brother, laughing happily, "Oh, little darlings, they're having a meeting."
"Eat, eat."
"Grandpa bought it for me."
The children deliberately gave different answers in their childish voices, which made Zhang Laoer laugh. He quickly took out some candy from his pocket and handed it to them.
Looking at the children with fair and tender faces, chubby hands, and big black eyes staring at you without blinking, Zhang Laoer can't wait to take them home.
When will he have a grandchild?
Zhang Guofu looked at his brother with amusement, "Why are you here so early today? Is there something urgent? Even if you don't come, I will go to my parents' house after breakfast."
Zhang Laoer understood what he meant. He usually met him at his parents' house, but he hadn't been there for a while. Before, he would miss his nephews studying and come to visit.
"Mom and Dad, there are so many people coming and going these days. There are too many guests." Zhang Laoer said as he looked at the children.
Zhang Guofu understood and stood up, asked his son to look after his grandchildren first, and led him into the study.
"Mom, my second uncle is here. He's going to the study with my dad now. Do you want me to prepare an extra breakfast?"
In the kitchen, Huang Cuilan and her eldest daughter-in-law Gong Xiaoya were preparing breakfast for the family. They were startled when they saw their second daughter-in-law rushing in.
Seeing this, Gong Xiaoya shook her head slightly at her sister-in-law and said, "Mom, let us do the work here. You take a rest first."
"Uh, okay, I'll go see if the kids are hungry."
Watching her mother-in-law walk away absentmindedly, Zhang Mingzuo's wife Wei Qiulian frowned, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong with Mom? Isn't it just preparing an extra breakfast?"
Gong Xiaoya glanced at her with a smile, "You don't think Mom is so stingy that she can't bear to spend a bowl of porridge, do you? She must be worried that Second Uncle is coming here so early in the morning to talk to Dad about something urgent."
"She's really... she doesn't understand their men's affairs, so why is she so anxious? She makes me look like a whistleblower. If I had known, I wouldn't have said anything."
Gong Xiaoya glanced at the door and said, "Okay, as long as you know what's going on. Our mother-in-law is pretty good."
"I know. I'm just telling you. You don't know how annoying Xiaoxian and I are. She's been giving us a hard time lately."
Gong Xiaoya has been spending more time in the provincial capital since she got married and has had little contact with her mother-in-law. She was surprised to hear this, because her mother-in-law said that her mother-in-law was not a powerful woman, so she didn't have to worry about living with them in the main house when she got old.
"Why haven't I heard you mention it?"
"Why? She didn't hit or scold me, nor did she withhold our food. She just waited until the men were not around to say some mean things and give us a cold shoulder. Who would dare to say she was a bad mother-in-law?"
"Luckily, my father-in-law is sensible and divided the family property for us early on. Otherwise, with the money in her hands, I don't know how we would have gotten through the day."
"Besides everything else, we didn't pass the exam this time, and she seemed to feel ashamed of us. She kept mentioning you and big brother in front of her, or she kept praising my eldest aunt's daughter-in-law."
Gong Xiaoya looked at her sister-in-law with sympathy. She really didn't know what was going on. But she didn't dare to interfere in this matter. Mingyuan would never allow her to say anything bad about her mother-in-law.
"Why doesn't she think about how her eldest aunt did it, and how her second aunt did it? How many people did her eldest aunt push to her house during that time? She, on the other hand, seems to be eager for someone to come and ask for advice.
Especially my grandma's cousins, who come home every few days. We have to take care of the children, visit relatives, and go to work. How can we have time to review?
If Dad hadn't come back one day to retrieve the documents and saw them, I'm sure those people would have stayed in our house forever. During that time, I got a headache whenever I heard those voices.
We didn't dare resign like Shitou, but we could always take a leave of absence. She went to complain to my mom again, making it seem like I, the daughter-in-law, was the one instigating her son.
Gong Xiaoya couldn't help laughing softly, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You are so stupid, why don't you go find grandma? The Huang family is most afraid of her!"
Wei Qiulian shook her head. "How could I not have considered it? We still don't dare to say it. There are too many things to deal with. If grandma, with her bad temper, gets involved, we won't be able to stay in this house any longer."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her voice, "And do you think the Mingzuo brothers haven't mentioned their opinions to their mother? There was a period of time when the two brothers didn't say a word to her. I guess there's something else going on. Didn't you see that when we went to the Huang family to pay New Year's greetings this year, none of the three brothers brought us and the children with them?"
Gong Xiaoya blinked. "Didn't Mingyuan and the others say that they would have guests at home?"
Wei Qiulian's heart sank when she heard this. Oh...how could she have forgotten that this sister-in-law had such complete faith in her man? At first, she thought she was just playing dumb.
"Also, it seems the Huang family did something together that caused a strained relationship between the two families. That's probably why they didn't let us go."
"Do you know what it is?"
Gong Xiaoya lifted the lid of the pot and shook her head. "Mingyuan wouldn't tell me these things. But I heard grandma and second aunt let it slip once, and it seemed to be related to my uncle."
Wei Qiulian smiled when she heard this and stuffed a handful of firewood into the stove. Her family was also native to the county town, so how could she not know why the Huang family and the Zhang family were at odds?
But since even Zhang Mingyuan didn't say these things, she would not say anything more.
Gong Xiaoya smiled and asked, "Have you met Uncle Mingzuo and Aunt Mingzuo?"
"I saw them when I was a child, but after they went to university, I didn't see them much. They..." Wei Qiulian paused, "They are very famous in the county. Almost everyone knows them."
"I've heard of your great names for a long time, but I wonder when they'll be back."
As Gong Xiaoya was speaking, she suddenly heard footsteps outside. She quickly looked outside the door and saw her mother-in-law walking towards her. She immediately winked at her sister-in-law and said, "Here she comes."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
