"Old woman, why does that car downstairs have the same license plate as Xiao Chu's, but the car itself isn't the same?"
The person was still standing outside the door when Ding's father's voice could already be heard inside.
"You old geezer, keep your voice down! The baby just fell asleep, don't wake him up!" Ding's mother had just put the sleeping baby into the bedroom when she heard her husband's loud voice, which made her so angry that she walked straight from the bedroom to the front door.
"Kid? Who is it? Isn't Xiaowei still in school?"
Hearing what Ding's mother said, Ding's father was momentarily stunned.
"Dad, come in quickly, what are you doing standing at the door?"
The sound of his daughter's voice came from the living room, which made Mr. Ding realize what was happening, and he quickly came in.
"It really is you guys who came. I was wondering why that car downstairs had your license plate on it. You changed the car."
"Dad," Li Chu said with a smile as he stood up.
"It was just replaced by the higher-ups a while ago."
"That black car looks really impressive. By the way, is the little rascal asleep?"
"Old man, don't go in and tease the child. He just fell asleep for a while. You can hold him when he wakes up."
When Ding's mother saw that her husband wanted to go to the bedroom, she quickly reached out and grabbed him.
"I won't tease the child, I'll just go in and take a look. I haven't seen him in a long time."
"Alright, you guys sit down. I'll go cook. Jianguo and the others will be off work soon." Ding's mother glared at her husband, warning him not to cause any trouble, and then turned and walked towards the kitchen.
"Mom, let me help you. Don't you need to pick up Xiaowei from school?" Hearing her mother say she was going to cook, Ding Qiunan, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up and went to the kitchen.
"No need, it's not far. He walked back by himself with his classmates."
Seeing the mother and daughter go into the kitchen, Li Chu sat back down on the sofa. Since the kitchen was small, he didn't follow them.
A few minutes later, Ding's father came out of the bedroom with a big smile on his face.
"This chubby kid looks even more robust than Wenxuan did when he was a child."
As he spoke, Ding's father took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He was about to offer one to his son-in-law when he remembered that the child was still sleeping in the bedroom. He pointed to the balcony and said, "Come on, let's sit on the balcony."
"Dad, how have you and Mom been feeling lately?" Li Chu asked as he took the cigarette his father-in-law offered him from the balcony.
"I'm doing well, I can eat and sleep well every day."
It's clear that Mr. Ding is not entirely satisfied with moving here. He has lived in a single-story house for most of his life, and now that he's old, moving to an apartment building means having to go up and down stairs to get some exercise, which is really inconvenient.
People living in hutongs, unless they live in a tiny apartment of 10 or 20 square meters with seven or eight or more people, are generally not willing to move into apartment buildings.
Few people are willing to move into houses like Li Chu's, which have their own detached houses.
Some people saw that everyone else was living in apartment buildings, so they sold their detached houses and bought apartments instead. Later, they all regretted it and had nothing to say.
It's not just because detached houses became valuable later; the cramped spaces of apartment buildings alone made many people feel irritable and depressed.
slkslk.
“Dad, why don’t you and Mom move back to live there? Our old neighbors always ask about you and Mom whenever we run into each other.”
"Forget it, let's not bother anymore." Dad Ding waved his hand. "I've found a few old men here to play chess with."
At this point, Ding's father turned back and glanced into the house again, lowering his voice to say, "Actually, I don't mind, but it's your mother who feels it's not good for us to keep living at our son-in-law's house. It's not like we don't have sons."
Li Chu was both amused and exasperated. It seemed that the older generation was like this, especially those with sons, who were even less willing to live with their sons-in-law, except for those who had married into the family.
“My mom is overthinking things. So what if you stay at my place? It doesn’t matter who takes care of you.”
Mr. Ding smiled, took a puff of his cigarette, and said nothing.
"Dong dong dong"
A knocking sounded at the door, startling Mr. Ding so much that he dropped his cigarette.
"Oh dear, how could I forget about this little darling? I mustn't wake the child." He hurriedly ran over to open the door.
Li Chu picked up the cigarette butt from the ground, stubbed it out along with the cigarette in his hand, and put it in the ashtray on the windowsill before walking into the living room.
"Xiaowei, keep your voice down, Choubao is sleeping inside."
Mr. Ding opened the door, took the schoolbag from his grandson's hand, and whispered some instructions.
"Okay, Grandpa. Have my cousin and his wife returned?"
"No, your aunt and uncle are back."
"Ah? Hello, Uncle!" Ding Xiaowei had just changed into his slippers when he looked up and saw Li Chu standing in the living room. He quickly walked over and greeted him.
He both loved and feared his uncle. He loved him because he felt most comfortable around his uncle, but he feared him because of his military uniform.
How many children haven't been threatened by their parents that if they don't obey, the police will arrest them?
These children can't distinguish between police officers and soldiers at this age; they're just afraid of anyone in uniform.
Li Chu smiled and took out a few candies from his pocket and handed them over. Ding Xiaowei's eyes lit up as he put them into his own pocket.
"Thank you, Uncle. Where is my aunt?"
"You're cooking in the kitchen with your grandma."
"I'm going to do my homework now. I'll play with him when he wakes up."
Go!
"Go wash your face and hands first," said Ding's father after putting his schoolbag in another bedroom and coming out.
"Okay, Grandpa."
"He's like a mischievous monkey, incredibly naughty."
"Boys are all like that. If he were as quiet as a girl, he would probably be even more of a headache."
“You’re absolutely right. Boys should act like boys.” Mr. Ding nodded in deep agreement.
After Ding Xiaowei returned from school, the sound of footsteps going upstairs could be heard from time to time in the hallway.
“Brother-in-law, I saw the car downstairs and thought it was you and my sister coming. Sure enough.”
When Ding Jianguo returned, he didn't go to his own house first, but opened the door to this room first.
"Jianguo, it's time to get off work. Hasn't Xiaona come back yet?"
"It'll only take her a few minutes. You brought that brat back too."
Ding's father came out of the bedroom carrying the little stinky baby who had already woken up, and Ding Jianguo quickly went over to him.
"Hey, how did you feed him? This kid's gotten so chubby."
The little rascal stared wide-eyed at his great-grandfather's uncle from his great-grandfather's arms, then turned to look at his uncle who had come over, and made two "ah ah" sounds.
He then saw his grandfather, and this time he couldn't resist. He stretched out his arms, wanting his grandfather to hug him, and kicked his little legs.
Even the most unfamiliar child will feel uncomfortable being held by a stranger right after waking up.
Li Chu took the child, first carried him to the bathroom to urinate, and then returned to the living room where he became lively.
When Ding's dad took her, she stopped fussing and chatted with him casually.
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