A certain courtyard, the Ling family.
"Grandpa, Mom, this is my girlfriend, Su Huazhu."
“Hwaju, this is my grandpa, and this is my mom.”
After leading Su Huazhu into the house, Ling Xiaohe introduced her to his grandfather and mother, and then introduced her to his grandfather who was sitting on the sofa, and his mother who stood up when she saw them come in.
"Hello, Grandpa Ling. Hello, Auntie."
Su Huazhu greeted the Ling family patriarch and mother with a polite smile, carrying a gift she had brought specially.
When Ling's mother entered, her eyes lit up. This girl was even prettier than she had imagined, and her demeanor was simply too refined. Especially her outfit, which clearly showed that her family was quite well-off.
Her youngest son had specifically mentioned the Su family's situation beforehand, and she was satisfied with this marriage.
“Child, Xiaohe calls you Huazhu, so we’ll call you Huazhu too. We’ve finally met you today, we’ve been looking forward to you coming home for so long.”
Extremely satisfied, Ling's mother enthusiastically stepped forward to take Su Huazhu's hand and carefully looked her over several times.
"Good boy, Xiaohe, quickly go and pour your girlfriend some hot tea, don't let her get cold."
Grandpa Ling was very pleased with Su Huazhu's appearance; she was exactly the granddaughter-in-law he wanted. She was dignified, with clear eyes, gentle and polite—truly a child from a scholarly family.
Su Huazhu was truly surprised by their warm hospitality and kindness. She felt a little surprised, but couldn't help but feel relieved.
Although she had mentally prepared herself before coming, thinking she should just let things take their course, who doesn't want to be liked and recognized by others?! Especially in a situation like this where she's meeting the parents, she still took it to heart.
"Grandpa, you only care about your granddaughter-in-law and not your grandson. You really are a granddaughter-in-law who has forgotten her grandson."
While quickly pouring tea for his partner, Ling Xiaohe couldn't resist joking around with the old man.
“In my family, how can there be a grandson if there is no granddaughter-in-law?! Fortunately, you did a good job this time, finding such a good girl for our Ling family. It can be considered as making amends.”
The old man looked at Su Huazhu with a cheerful smile, as if he didn't want his grandson anymore.
Su Huazhu immediately relaxed, pursing her lips and smiling incessantly, her eyes sparkling, making anyone who saw her feel very comfortable.
“Huazhu, we asked this kid to take you home early, preferably to celebrate the New Year with us. But he hid you so well, afraid that if you came to our house we wouldn't let you go, saying he was afraid of scaring you away. Can't you believe it? He doesn't understand our feelings at all.”
Ling's mother then complained to her future daughter-in-law, Su Huazhu, about how she didn't give her youngest son any face. She really liked Su Huazhu more and more, and couldn't get enough of her.
Sure enough, the girl from this family with its rich heritage is different. She has never seen a girl as intelligent and charming as her youngest son's girlfriend. In particular, she is good in every way. At least conservatively speaking, she is no less than one in a thousand.
"Auntie, please don't blame Ling Xiaohe. We've only been dating for a short time, and we wanted to get to know each other better before telling our families."
Although Su Huazhu knew that Ling's mother was just being polite, she still gave her a very honest explanation.
Her mother had told her that girls who just randomly come to someone's door are worthless, and those who don't follow proper etiquette will be looked down upon. She had plenty of self-confidence; how could she possibly allow herself to be looked down upon?!
Upon hearing this, Ling's mother felt that her youngest son was still under consideration by the family. How could this be?! She was truly afraid that the family would not approve of such a good girl and would run away.
"Huazhu, don't worry. The men in our Ling family are the most obedient to their wives and treat them exceptionally well. His father and I never interfere with their lives. They can live however they want. If they want to live on their own, they can. We don't care about such things."
Most importantly, there's not enough room at home, so her son and daughter-in-law are living with them now, along with their grandchildren. She doesn't want her daughter-in-law to revolve around her, and she doesn't want to control her daughter-in-law.
"Yes, it's fine if you come back to see us during holidays or once a month. You have your own lives and work. If you have any questions or difficulties, you can come back and tell us."
This is Old Master Ling's minimum requirement: to live together every day and have a lively atmosphere, but he doesn't really like it when it's too noisy.
Su Huazhu truly felt the love and eagerness that Grandpa Ling and his mother had for her, and she had a feeling of being both amused and exasperated.
When Ling's father, brother, and sister-in-law returned from work, there was naturally another round of warm hospitality and liveliness. However, they didn't invite Ling's second brother's family to join them for dinner, mainly because they were worried that the scene would frighten Su Huazhu.
The meal was very plentiful, including braised pork, stewed mutton, stewed chicken soup, braised pig's trotters, steamed pork with rice flour, deep-fried meatballs, stir-fried shredded pork with vinegar, and roast duck that Brother Ling bought back.
The lavish meal clearly showed that the Ling family was satisfied with and fond of Su Huazhu, and Ling's mother kept putting food on her plate.
After dinner, the girl chatted in the living room. Ling's mother introduced her to the workplaces of her son and daughter-in-law, and even mentioned the workplaces of her second son and daughter-in-law.
They chatted until Ling's father and the others went to work, and the old man had long since gone upstairs to rest. After her sons and the others left, Ling's mother took out a red envelope and placed it in a small box in Su Huazhu's hand.
“Huazhu, this is your grandfather, your uncle and I are giving you a red envelope. The things in this box are the Ling family’s gifts for their granddaughters-in-law. Each of you granddaughters-in-law will receive one.”
The old man personally instructed her to give this gift to Su Huazhu, showing that he, as the head of the family, had accepted this granddaughter-in-law.
Su Huazhu never expected that Ling's mother would give her such a valuable gift. She was at a loss, looking at Ling Xiaohe and then at Ling's mother.
Ling Xiaohe pretended not to see it, but the corners of his mouth couldn't be suppressed and kept turning upwards.
"Huazhu, I'm entrusting Xiaohe to you. We won't take care of her anymore."
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