Chapter 22 022 Homecoming
Elementary school knowledge is very simple, and my older cousin Song Shijia is a very self-disciplined top student, so it was naturally very easy to teach him. Every morning, he would do some reading comprehension and write short essays with Song Wanxia, and in the afternoon, he would review math on his own.
Even Song Xiaoli has "learned" simple word writing and arithmetic problems, which earned her high praise from her mother.
During her hospitalization, Hu Lixin would often come over during her lunch break to help Song Shijia with some math problems, and occasionally bring some snacks. However, after seeing him so often, and noticing that this kind uncle blushed inexplicably a few times, Song Xiaoli felt for some reason that he seemed to have ulterior motives, and became a little unhappy that her mother welcomed him like a naive and innocent girl.
"Mom, why is Uncle Hu so nice to us?" After Hu Lixin left, Song Xiaoli finally couldn't hold back and decided to speak ill of him to her mother, just in case he really had some bad intentions, so that her mother could be prepared in advance.
However, Song Wanxia had been spoiled by her family since childhood. Apart from her constant conflicts with the family next door, the only disgusting thing she had ever experienced was being schemed against by her husband's family to ruin her reputation, which led to her divorce.
Not long after, she found a well-behaved little girl, was quickly cured, and regained her innocent and charming appearance from her teenage years, without any paranoia.
“He’s a kind-hearted person,” Song Wanxia said with a smile as she made the bed. “Besides, he also said that because his appearance and accent are a bit different from ours, he doesn’t have many friends here. And he doesn’t have any relatives worth keeping in touch with. It just so happened that he ran into our family’s situation this time. He really likes you kids, so he comes to visit more often.”
In Song Wanxia's view, this was no big deal. Hu Lixin was a young man with savings and a stable salary. His family only had his mother to support, and she was capable of working, so they were naturally well-off. Under these circumstances, it was rare to find someone he got along with, so he would naturally take the initiative to deepen their relationship.
He works at the town's middle school and comes by bicycle around noon; it's less than a ten-minute ride.
Song Xiaoli had lived a very solitary life in her previous life and hadn't considered the possibility of developing a "circle of friends." She simply didn't want to let Hu Lixin get too close to her family, especially her mother.
In Song Xiaoli's eyes, her mother was just a silly young woman, and if she were to suffer any more trauma, she would be heartbroken.
"But he keeps buying this and that and sending them over. He must have spent more than ten yuan in the last few days. Our proper relatives in the commune who can't come to visit only send us a few cents or a yuan. Uncle Hu's family has only known us for a few days, how come they are so generous?"
Song Wanxia pondered for a moment, then nodded worriedly, "What you said makes sense."
Before Song Xiaoli could even express her delight, she continued, "Your Uncle Hu's family is small. I met his mother last time, and she's a gentle person who wouldn't force her son to pay her wages. He's unmarried, and without a woman to manage his money, he's incredibly generous when things get tough. I'll have to talk to him about it next time I see him."
Song Xiaoli felt a lump in her throat and pouted, ignoring her mother.
The older cousin was sitting on the hospital bed reading a book, but he had been listening to the noise the whole time. When he caught sight of his younger sister's upset expression, he couldn't help but purse his lips and smile silently.
He had been in the hospital for ten days. The doctor said he no longer needed IV drips, but he would still need to take the medicine for a few more days. After that, he just needed to rest and recover. Since Song Wanxia's leave was about to expire, she simply discharged him and told him to stay in the school dormitory until the exams, so he wouldn't have to travel in the wind in the mornings and evenings.
Today, Song Wanxia was tidying up her bedding, preparing to take her things home tonight. When Hu Lixin came at noon, he even asked Song Wanxia to wait for him to get off work so he could help take Song Shijia back to school and then bring some of her belongings home.
"Sega, you just washed and dried this blanket yesterday. Shake it clean today and take it back to school."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Auntie," Song Shijia replied with a shy smile.
They were referring to the blanket they had brought from their school dormitory. After using it in the hospital for so many days, it wasn't very clean anymore, so Song Wanxia took advantage of the sunny day yesterday to wash and dry it.
After sulking for a while, Song Xiaoli felt that her mother couldn't understand her "being prepared for danger in times of peace," and suddenly felt bored. She jumped off the bed where she was sitting and helped tidy up some loose things.
"Mom, there's still half a bag of milk candy left. Let my older brother take it and eat it. The nurse said that this milk candy is really made with milk. My older brother is feeling weak right now, so he should eat more good food."
“Okay, this bag of candy and the leftover cookies are all your older brother’s,” Song Wanxia patted her daughter’s head, feeling both gratified and a little jealous. “Do you really like your older brother that much?”
"I like my older brother and younger brother, and I also like my maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts, but my absolute favorite is my mom."
Song Wanxia, who was just feeling sour, was easily made to laugh by her daughter.
Song Xiaoli was both pleased that her mother was so easily fooled and worried that her mother was too easy to please. What would happen if her mother met a man who was good at sweet talk in the future?
"Sigh..." Song Xiaoli couldn't help but sigh secretly, thinking that she had to find a way to stick to her mother more. With her as a burden, she could make some men who were attracted to her mother's beauty hesitate. Moreover, after she became a child, she wouldn't be particularly guarded against and would be more likely to see through the true nature of her mother's suitors.
While Song Xiaoli was worrying about her mother's marriage, she was completely unaware that after her mother's divorce, not many people were pursuing her.
The marriage went smoothly because the older generation had a good relationship and felt that both families knew each other well. However, in the eyes of outsiders, Song Wanxia's family was not an easy family to please.
Putting aside the fact that there's a younger brother-in-law who's always looking to take advantage of her family, just look at herself. Her parents dote on their daughter, and her brother dotes on his sister. What if her in-laws do something to upset her, and she goes back to complain? Then the Song family will come and cause trouble. Wouldn't that be incredibly annoying?
Moreover, most families do not like to have a pampered girl as their daughter-in-law.
In her past life, Song Wanxia raised Song Xiaoli all by herself, never remarrying. However, back then, Song Xiaoli was focused on being a good child and making her mother happy, and didn't notice whether any suitors had appeared. Otherwise, she would be trying to find out about them now.
These days are getting warmer and the days are getting longer. When Hu Lixin came over from work, it was still bright outside. He supported Song Shijia, who was still a little unsteady on his feet, with one hand and carried the quilt with the other, walking in front of him. Song Wanxia carried her daughter and a bag of odds and ends behind him. They took Song Shijia back to his school dormitory, one in front and one behind.
As exams approached, more students chose to live on campus. When Song Shijia returned, there were already four people in the dormitory: three fifth graders and one fourth grader.
As a teacher at the town's primary school, Song Wanxia was naturally familiar to the children. When she came in, the children were a little uncomfortable. No matter what they were doing, they all stood up and greeted her with "Hello, Teacher Song".
Song Wanxia nodded to them, watched as her nephew was helped to sit on Hu Lixin's bed, thought for a moment, put Song Xiaoli down, gave each of the four children five White Rabbit milk candies, and also scattered some biscuits.
"Sega is sick and hasn't fully recovered yet. He has difficulty walking and getting food, so we might have to trouble you to take care of him."
In this day and age, giving children this kind of food is not considered stingy. In addition, three people in the dormitory are already familiar with Song Shijia and are counting on this academic genius to explain their problems to them, so why would they refuse such a small thing?
"Don't worry, Teacher Song, we'll wait for him to go to the classroom together, and we'll get him a portion of water and food when we get them."
"Thank you, big brothers." Song Xiaoli thanked them as well, making the young men feel quite embarrassed.
Song Shijia sat on the bed, made the bed himself, thanked Hu Lixin first, and then turned to Song Wanxia and said, "Auntie, I can manage by myself. You should take Xiaoli back quickly, or we'll have to travel through the night again."
The older folks always felt that children's shoulders were weak and they shouldn't go out too much at night, as it would easily frighten them. Song Wanxia didn't want her daughter to be exposed to the night wind, so she didn't fuss over it. She just gave Song Shijia the snacks and supplements, telling him to keep them safe and share some with his roommates. Then she hurriedly returned to the hospital, grabbed the remaining blanket, tied it to the back of Hu Lixin's bicycle, and left with him.
However, she was a little worried about letting Song Xiaoli sit in the back and wanted her to sit on the front bar instead.
"Mom, I can sit in the back!" Song Xiaoli said with a worried face. There was a perfectly good seat, but the front bar was just a round tube. If she sat there for a long time, her butt would definitely hurt terribly.
But this time, her mother wouldn't listen to her. "You're so small. What if you doze off on the way? If you get bumped and don't hold on tight to my clothes, you'll fall off."
When it comes to the child's safety, Song Wanxia doesn't tolerate her daughter's willfulness at all. She asked Hu Lixin for help. After she was seated, Hu Lixin lifted Song Xiaoli and placed her on the front bar of the bicycle. Then, Hu Lixin taught Song Xiaoli to face backward and hold onto her waist.
In this way, even if Song Xiaoli falls asleep on the way and is jolted to the side, Song Wanxia can react immediately, stop the car, and hug her.
Song Xiaoli couldn't get through to her mother and wanted to ask Hu Lixin to intercede for her, but Hu Lixin also felt that children shouldn't sit in the back.
As a result, she had no choice but to be seated on the front bar by the man and woman. A gentle breeze blew all the way, and Song Xiaoli hugged her mother, burying her face in her mother's arms, so she was not bothered by the wind and sand. However, since she could not see anything, her sense of touch was magnified infinitely. When they finally arrived at Songshan Commune, and Hu Lixin carried her down, she could not stand up straight for a while, and her buttocks hurt terribly.
Seeing the little girl's frustrated expression, Hu Lixin recalled his own experience of being forced to be carried around by Song Wanxia that day, which made his bottom hurt from being bounced around so much, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, alright, don't feel bad, we've arrived." Once they reached the commune's territory, there were many muddy areas, field paths, and steep slopes, making it unsuitable for carrying someone on a bicycle. So Hu Lixin carried Song Xiaoli off the bike.
"Song Xiaomei, why don't you ride your bike back first, and I'll take Xiaoli and walk slowly?"
"You helped bring me back, there's no reason for me to go back first." Song Wanxia also got out of the car. "Put Xiaoli on my seat, I'll push her..."
"No!" Song Xiaoli quickly refused. The bicycle seat was hard, and her butt was still sore. She didn't want to suffer any more.
"Okay, then Mommy will hug you."
Song Xiaoli hesitated for a moment, looking at her mother's height of 1.6 meters and her slender figure. Remembering that her mother couldn't carry her for long before, she still refused, "I want Uncle Hu to carry me."
Hu Lixin, being a grown man, was always stronger.
Song Wanxia felt a little embarrassed to trouble him so much, so she said to Hu Lixin, "Xiaoli likes you, so why don't you carry her and walk in front, and let me push the bicycle?"
"No need, no need. The child isn't that heavy, and the bicycle can be easily pushed." Hu Lixin's dark face flushed slightly, and his voice was quite excited. "It's rare to have a child who likes me."
Song Xiaoli sighed heavily. Alas, if she weren't still so young, she wouldn't have to trouble an outsider whose thoughts she couldn't understand.
Author's Note: Little Carp isn't very good at matters of the heart, so sometimes she might misjudge the situation.
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