At a steel plant on the outskirts of the provincial capital, not far from the family housing, a tall man in his fifties stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the intersection with a smile.
A colleague passing by jokingly said, "Old Gong, are you waiting for your wife?"
"Go away, you are waiting for your wife." Gong Chunsheng knew that his old colleague was from the south, and his family called their daughter-in-law "wife". What a dishonest old man.
"Haha...are you angry out of shame?"
The passersby all smiled when they heard this, said hello to each other and went home. Look at this old Gong, he can't even close his mouth. Who else could he be waiting for if not his little girl?
"Old Gong is really lucky."
"The population is small. If there were more, like us, we wouldn't be able to support them, let alone send two children to college."
"Okay, everyone, stop talking." A middle-aged woman saw the well-mannered wife of Old Gong coming out and hurriedly waved to greet her.
Liu Shuhua took a few steps forward, exchanged a few words with them, and quickly came to her husband's side. "It's not the same as waiting at home?"
"Why did you come downstairs too?"
"I noticed you haven't come up for a long time." Liu Shuhua, eight years younger than her husband, looked much younger, and of course her eyesight was better. "I'm coming."
"Mingyuan and our Xiaoya?"
Liu Shuhua nodded gently, "Remember my words, don't mention the betrothal gift in front of Mingyuan."
"I'm giving him a good daughter for nothing?"
"You have such a bad temper! Are you still trying to make some money from the bride price? Anyway, whatever you have will be given back to her husband's family, so why bother to cause trouble with your in-laws?"
Seeing his future son-in-law approaching, Old Gong muttered quietly, "I'm just worried that he has too many brothers."
Liu Shuhua turned her head and glared at him warningly. Seeing that he kept silent, she pulled him forward to greet him with satisfaction and waved with a smile: "Mingyuan, why don't you take the car? You must be exhausted."
"Mom, didn't you see me?"
"I knew Mingyuan was suffering because he was riding a bicycle and carrying you."
Seeing her boyfriend acting like a spoiled brat with her mother, Xizi turned around and said hello to Old Gong in amusement: "Uncle, are you off work?"
"Yeah, come home quickly. Xiaoya's mother has already cooked dinner. You must be starving, right?"
"Then I'm in luck. Thank you, auntie."
"We're all family, why be so polite?" Liu Shuhua pulled her daughter over and asked, "Where's your car at work?"
Gong Xiaoya nodded, "Mingyuan said it was too far and asked me to sit behind him."
Liu Shuhua looked at her son-in-law's back and was even more satisfied. He was a caring person. He had a good family background, was good-looking, and his elders were easy to get along with. There was nothing to complain about.
"Mom, tomorrow is the weekend, I want to go back with Mingyuan."
Liu Shuhua rolled her eyes at her daughter with dismay. She wasn't even married yet, yet she was already frequently visiting her husband's family with her boyfriend. How could she not understand that a girl should be reserved?
"Hehe..." Gong Xiaoya blushed and lowered her head.
Seeing her daughter like this, Liu Shuhua didn't say much. Being outside with so many people coming and going was definitely not the right place to talk. Of course, she didn't know that her daughter had already made several trips to the county town before they even got engaged.
"Go spend more time with Mingyuan's grandparents, and be more diligent with his parents. By the way, I went to your second aunt's house a few days ago, and she gave me a scarf. Take it to Mingyuan's sister."
"Thank you, Mom."
Liu Shuhua felt even more upset when she saw her daughter smiling happily.
Fortunately, the Zhang family is not difficult to deal with, and the mother-in-law is also a soft-tempered person, otherwise she would really not be at ease marrying off this heartless and silly girl.
Because Gong Chunsheng was one of the earliest employees and an eighth-level technician, the Gong family was lucky enough to be allocated a large apartment with three rooms in the first residential building. In addition, Gong Xiaoya's only eldest brother worked in the city and had already bought a house, married and had children. As a result, the Gong family had a very spacious living space.
When Gong Xiaoya saw her father pulling Xizi to sit down, she was about to sit at the dinner table, but Liu Shuhua pulled her aside first. She looked at her mother in surprise.
"Come back to the room with me to get the scarf first."
Gong Xiaoya grinned when she heard that, "Mingyuan, you have a drink with my dad first, I'll run some errands with my mom."
Xizi, who was talking to her future father-in-law, smiled and nodded, and continued to pour wine for him.
In the bedroom, Liu Shuhua took out a red scarf from the cupboard, then opened the cupboard door and took out two cans of fruit. "This is for Mingyuan's grandparents."
Seeing her mother was a little reluctant, Gong Xiaoya shook her hand and said, "No need, leave it for you and Dad. Mingyuan's grandparents don't lack these things, and his uncles and aunts are very filial."
"What do you know? You shouldn't go empty-handed. Did Mingyuan tell you where you'll live after your wedding and where you'll hold your wedding banquet?"
Gong Xiaoya glanced at her guiltily, "Mom, I want him to apply for housing. There are a lot of people in my unit waiting for dormitory allocation."
Liu Shuhua pondered for a moment. "That's fine. At most, I'll raise some money for you so you can buy a yard in the city like your brother. The dormitory your company gave you is too small. If you have children in the future, there won't be enough space for them, and there won't be any room for relatives to stay."
"Mom, no need. I've saved a lot of money in the past few years. In a few years, when Mingyuan's two younger brothers get married, he won't have to support the family anymore. By then, he can buy any house."
"You..." Liu Shuhua shook her head and smiled bitterly, "Mingyuan told you that he has to support the family?"
"No, it's obvious. He's the eldest, and he has three younger siblings. How can he survive on his dad's salary alone? Mom, there's one more thing."
Liu Shuhua glanced at her.
"Mingyuan said he doesn't plan a big banquet for his cousin's wedding during the first month of the lunar year. I think I'll keep it simple. He's the eldest son. If we make it too grand now, what will happen to his two younger brothers in the future?"
Liu Shuhua now doesn't want to see her daughter at all.
She thought she'd become more careful after going to college, but she'd become even more stupid. Zhang Mingyuan's two younger brothers are now in the Revolutionary Committee, one in the army, and have bright futures. Why should you worry about them? And that girl is so pretty and has such a capable uncle. Why should you worry about her?
What do you mean by "not a big banquet"? A few simple tables is a banquet, a buffet is also a banquet. He looked silly, so he must not have asked clearly what was going on.
"Mom, do you think what I said makes sense?"
Liu Shuhua rolled her eyes at her, then thought about some recent news she'd heard about the Zhang family. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said, "Just don't regret it in the future."
"I know my mother is the most sensible."
"Stop flattering me! Since you always follow Mingyuan's lead, then don't say anything. If their family asks for your opinion, just say the elders have the final say."
"Mom, hey, will my dad be angry?"
"You still know this? Forget it, leave your dad to me. I heard that the Zhang family is well-known for their kindness and they shouldn't bring shame to our family. I'll persuade your dad later."
Gong Xiaoya rubbed against her side, took her arm and swung it, "Mom, you are the best, no wonder my sister-in-law likes you so much. There is no other mother as good as you in the world."
"Alright, alright, eat early and go over there. You..." What else could Liu Shuhua say? She hoped that her in-laws would not wrong the child in the future because of her easy-going family.
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