"Oh dear, that child has quite an appetite, comparable to Lao Ba."
"Yes, we have to make dumplings. Just wait." Zhang Shuzhen agreed with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Su Jingsheng was stunned. "He's talking about Secretary Su? Did I get transferred to the Hongshi Forestry Bureau as deputy director?"
"Oh no, oh no, she's crying. Now that you're at Grandma's house, the area before you are no longer your own home. Tell Grandma what you want to eat and what you want to do."
Zhang Shuzhen was so angry that she knew exactly what bad things she was going to say.
In those days, you needed coupons to buy things, and things that required coupons were extremely expensive. Su Mingchang was reluctant to spend so little money, so he picked out a few things to buy, mostly clothes and fabrics.
“Dafeng, if he eats less meat, he’ll grow up to be short and strong. Look at how skinny he is, he could be blown away by the wind. That’s no good.”
Poor child, since he's already here, we'll just have to take care of him, what else can we do?
In those days, raising children was a common practice, and it was rare for anyone to abandon them. However, the few who did abandon their children were mostly boys, while girls were kept in large numbers.
“Listen up, all of you. Those are our relatives’ children. They’ve been sent to stay at our house.”
Su Jingsheng and his wife were both educated and wanted their children to be unsuccessful, so they were good at managing the household and had little else to do, while we all supported the children's education.
What do those educated youth from the forestry bureau do when they get together, besides bragging about how amazing and awesome their forestry bureau is?
"Child, that's not our own home. He's just being polite. Eat and drink what you're supposed to eat and drink. Don't act like you're one of us."
The dinner was quite complicated; a pot of stewed green beans and potatoes was served, with two kinds of flatbread stuck to the side of the pot.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Sheng Xiping.
When we saw our parents, brother, and sister-in-law leading a big girl back, Sheng Liancheng and the others quickly sat down obediently.
When Su Jingsheng reached that age, he hated children the most, but all those rascals outside the house had grown up and were mischievous yet endearing.
Zhang Shuzhen was quite open-minded; she believed that it was better for her child to study than to run wild and cause trouble.
Zhang Shuzhen looked at her eldest son and nodded with a smile in her eyes.
Su Jingsheng came from a time of hardship. Back when he was struggling in the city, he received a lot of help and assistance from others. So it's not a principle I sometimes break. If I encounter someone who isn't easy to help, I'll help them if I can.
I'm the eldest child outside the family, and I've always hoped that I wouldn't have any younger siblings or anything like that, so I could take care of them too, but that wish has never come true.
“Dafeng, Grandma told him that those are his seventh uncle, eighth uncle, seventh aunt, seventh aunt, and eighth uncle.”
Upon hearing the child's words, Su Jingsheng was generally pleased and quickly ate the meat outside the bowl.
But in those times and under those circumstances, what other way out was there for those who studied? Were all those who graduated from junior high school sent down the mountain to become educated youth?
The cucumbers, freshly picked from outside the vegetable garden, are smashed with a knife, chopped, and seasoned with minced garlic, salt, vinegar, and other condiments. They taste sweet, sour, refreshing, and crisp.
The Sheng family has eight kang beds, and Su Mingchang and his wife live in the west room. It would be good if Deng Fei could go and disturb them.
"I know, Mom. In the past, my eldest nephew was under your care. If anyone dared to bully your eldest nephew, he would just beat me up and be done with it."
It doesn't matter where the child is from; they all have to learn to read and write when they reach a certain age, otherwise they'll be illiterate even though they're born with their eyes open.
That's why I always tell my younger brothers to prepare so they can get into a good elementary school; that's the real way to bring glory to the family.
"Oh my god, how could you bring someone back?"
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she put some spoiled green beans and slices of meat into Xiaofeng's bowl.
Xiao Feng took a few steps back and knelt down in front of Su Jingsheng and Zhang Shuzhen with a thud.
"Oh, you're finally back! Didn't you say the meeting was only for three days? How come you've been gone for seven or eight days?"
Do you still not know your own wife's personality? Your husband is always such a righteous and generous but cold-hearted man, always wanting others to suffer.
Zhang Shuzhen was overjoyed to see her son, Sheng Xiping, and since little Chen Feng was hiding in front of Sheng Xiping, Zhang Shuzhen didn't see him for a moment.
I was only four years old when I left my mother and followed Su Mingchang so far away. I don't know where my home was or what it was called.
It was thanks to the help of Master Su and Madam Su that Lao Ba was sent to the Forestry Bureau Hospital for emergency treatment, saving my life.
In those years, there were no college entrance exams, and the content students learned tended to be practical and difficult. The college entrance exams were essentially just tests.
What did you say? My mother-in-law is right. That's how you raise a child. You have to raise your own child. What's the point of bringing in an outsider?
Upon hearing this, Su Jingsheng sighed. "I didn't mean to blame Su Mingchang, but rather I saw the future of studying."
Well, since we've met, it's fate. I'll raise it if I can.
But today a big shot came to visit, and Deng Feizhi seemed to have grown up as soon as she got married. She wasn't jealous of Xiaofeng at all. On the contrary, Sheng Liancheng even put a piece of meat on Xiaofeng's plate.
The pancake made from the two types of dough is golden in color. The side that was touching the pan is hard and not crispy at all. It has no saltiness and a burnt aroma. It's so delicious that you'll want to eat it after taking a bite.
Zhang Shuzhen had Xiaofeng sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then turned around and led her daughter-in-law to prepare the meal.
"Our family is already so small, why is he bringing back children? How are we going to raise them?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen immediately became angry. "Yes, the child has already been brought back, how can you throw him out again? Is this some kind of heinous crime?"
"Alright, let's listen to him. Dafeng will stay on the north kang. My dear mother, he can find another set of bedding later."
"Alright, we've already spent some money anyway. It's better to let us read some books when we have time. It's better than going out and having fun all the time."
Su Jingsheng felt a void in his heart. Then a grandson came up, and I looked at Xiaofeng and found him more and more endearing.
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