On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people from Zhoujia Village came. It was still my third cousin Zhou Yidonggang who brought Zhou Wang with him. This time, Zhou Wang brought his wife and son with him.
When I went back on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year last year, crowds of people were busy with my second grandfather's funeral. Zhou Wang only brought his wife and son to meet them.
This time, Zhou Xiang took a closer look at Zhou Wang's wife. She was of medium build, pretty, and about the same age as Zhou Wang. She smiled at everyone she met and seemed to have a good temper. When she saw Zhou Xiang, she called him, "Fifth Aunt."
She even tugged at the little boy of three or four years old she was holding in her hand and said, "Call me Auntie."
"Auntie." The little boy was a little shy.
"Hey!" Zhou Xiang responded, extending his hand to hand over a red envelope, "Tiedan, your son's temperament is unlike you! Since you are the leader of your generation, your son must be generous and courageous."
"Fifth aunt, why are you calling me by my nickname again?" I'm already 27 or 28 years old, and being called Tiedan is really frustrating.
"Did anyone shout?" Zhou Xiang blinked. "Have I become so old that I've developed Alzheimer's?"
"Sister, you are my sister," Zhou Wang sat down next to Zhou Xiang, "Can you be my sister? You can be my aunt, not my great-aunt."
Zhou Yidong glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking about! What's wrong with your aunt calling you by your nickname? It's okay to call someone by their full name or nickname. It's affectionate for elders to call younger ones by their nicknames."
"Yes, yes, yes," Zhou Xiang nodded repeatedly. "Before, you were still a young man, and you didn't even have a wife! I only called you by your full name out of respect for you. Now you're twenty-eight, and you're a thick-skinned man. You can't get away with a wife or children. So what's wrong with calling you Tiedan? Ask Xiuying if she dislikes you because of the name Tiedan."
Liu Xiuying smiled and shook her head. "Tiedan is a very friendly name. It sounds much better to me than Zhou Wang."
"Iron Egg Dad."
A clear, childish voice froze Zhou Wang in place. In this room, everyone except his wife and son were elders, and he didn't dare to speak to them. He hadn't even tried to reason with his wife yet! His son came out to help. He couldn't beat his son, who was too young, and he didn't dare to, because every time he beat his son, he would be beaten by his father.
Hahahaha, everyone in the room burst into laughter. Zhou Xiang pulled the funny kid over and said, "Oh! It's my old eyes that are blurry. I didn't realize that our little Tiedan is such a scheming person!"
"Auntie." The little guy grabbed the red envelope and threw himself into Zhou Xiang's arms. "Look at daddy, he wants to beat me."
"He doesn't dare!"
"Yes," the little guy nodded in agreement, "He beat me, and grandpa beat him."
"Hahahaha," Zhou Xiang laughed even louder, "Yes, there are always higher mountains."
Zhou Wang's face turned dark red. He held it in until the end, then he laughed, "Forget it, why would I bother with a little brat like you?"
"You too." The little guy didn't back down and continued to argue with his father.
Zhou wanted to touch the little guy's head, "Yes, your father was also a little brat, running around the village like crazy and couldn't go home."
"Fifth Aunt," Zhou Wang said angrily, "My boy has been spoiled by his grandfather and is fearless. Don't tell him those things again. He has a good memory and always brings them up to argue with me."
"Really?" Zhou Xiang was exaggeratedly surprised. "No wonder there's a saying that goes, 'Evildoers will be punished by their own evildoers!'"
Zhou Wang simply went to the gym to play. He didn't want to bother with these people, young and old.
Zhou Xiang called home and asked his mother to come over for lunch and bring his luggage with him. He put his organized things at home and she would come to collect them in the afternoon.
Zhou Yidonggang sent Liu Xiuying and Xiao Tiedan away, and then asked what happened at the Zhou family?
"Nothing," Zhou Xiang smiled faintly. "They're planning to build a four-story villa there too, so we can't be an exception. My mom is sorting out her things over there, and there are many things she can't bear to throw away. Oh, and does anyone want the furniture at home?"
Seeing his niece change the subject, Zhou Yidong took over the conversation, "As long as we take them back, there will definitely be people who want them. They are all good things made of pure wood. Those long tables are perfect for use when the village holds business."
"Then take it back! There are still a lot of clothes and shoes, both for adults and children. If you don't mind, take them all back."
"Okay, okay, let Zhou Wang bring some people and a car to pick it up tomorrow."
Zhou Yidong didn't dislike it at all. Many of Zhou Xiang's clothes and shoes were mailed back from Beijing. No matter how old they were, there would always be people who wanted them. Moreover, he had never seen anyone in his cousin's family wear clothes that were too old in the past few years. The so-called old clothes might not really be old.
When Zhou Wang heard that there were old clothes, he immediately pulled his wife over to find his fifth aunt, "Fifth aunt, let's pick some out first, otherwise we won't be able to grab them when we go back."
Zhou Xiang waved his hand decisively, "Okay, I'll go pick it after lunch."
Thinking that there were still many clothes in his closet that he didn't like to wear, and seeing that Liu Xiuying was even thinner than him, he stood up and picked out some clothes that had been washed.
When Liu Xiuying saw these clothes, her eyes lit up. She didn't care at all about what her fifth aunt said about how many times they had been washed. After a few times of washing, they were still almost as good as new.
Seeing that his wife liked it, Zhou Wang shamelessly asked, "Where are the shoes? Doesn't Fifth Aunt have any shoes she doesn't wear?"
Zhou Xiang joked, "Aren't you afraid I might have athlete's foot?"
"Don't worry," Zhou Wang shook his head. "Even if I have athlete's foot, it's worth it to wear comfortable and good-looking shoes."
Zhou Xiang had no choice but to go look for shoes again. Zhou Wang followed her and asked, "Where are Fifth Uncle's old clothes and shoes?"
"You can't wear it." Zhou Xiang answered him without even turning his head.
"I'll take it back and revise it."
"Why bother? Go to the Zhou family at the food station this afternoon to look for your fourth uncle's old clothes and shoes. There are also many that were mailed back from the capital, so they are not bad."
"Okay, okay!"
Zhou wanted to find some sneakers and flat-heeled and wedge-heeled leather shoes suitable for wearing in the countryside.
Liu Xiuying's clothes were a little too big for her. Zhou had never imagined that a woman in the countryside who often worked in the fields would still have bound feet of around thirty-five or thirty-six.
Zhou Wang liked it very much. "Just put it away and put a pair of insoles on it."
Liu Xiuying looked at Zhou Xiang with a slightly red face, with some hope in her eyes.
Zhou Xiang waved his hand and said, "I found the things I no longer wear. If you like them, take them."
Zhou Wang quickly ran to the kitchen to look for sacks and snakeskin bags, but Zhou Xiang laughed at him, "No, you thought we were in Zhoujia Village! Every household has sacks and snakeskin bags?"
"Fifth Aunt," Zhou Wang went to Zhou Xiang as soon as he left the kitchen, "Give me some old sheets! I can use them to pack my bundle."
"I owe you!" Zhou Xiang complained, but still went to find two sheets.
Zhou Yidonggang had already covered half of his face and pretended to watch TV seriously.
Zhou's mother and Guo Jia came over with a bag of luggage. When they saw two bundles of sheets on the sofa, Zhou's mother was stunned. Zhou Wang proudly said that they were gifts from his fifth aunt to his wife.
Mother Zhou smiled and nodded. "Okay, your fifth aunt has a lot of old clothes. It's better to give some away than to let them go to waste at home."
Guo Jia helped Zhou's mother put things into the room, and then went to the kitchen to help.
Ling Ran went to invite Professor Chu over, and when Professor Chu and Xiao Qian arrived, they started eating.
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