“Old man, do you want to go to the square and take a look? Acheng’s father and the others should have arrived in our village. Should we invite them over for a meal?” Mother Yun thought of when Si Zhengwei visited them before, when the two families were practically relatives.
"I should go and call him, but I don't think he'll come. Last time he came to our house with Ah Cheng, we invited them to stay for dinner, but they wouldn't stay. And now that Ah Cheng isn't home."
"No matter what, we have to go and make the trip, otherwise they'll think we're impolite. If they really don't want to come, I'll cook a couple of dishes and you can bring them over later, that'll be just as good."
Neither of them had ever considered having someone stay at their home. Right now, it was just the two of them, the two elders, and their two children at home. Ever since Gao Shuzhen's scheme last time, the two of them would never easily bring anyone back.
Yun Zhiming thought this idea would work, "Then you cook the dishes at home first, and I'll go over and see how they're doing."
After Yun Zhiming finished speaking, he was about to walk out, but his mother called him back.
"Wait, why are you running so fast? I haven't finished speaking yet."
"Go ahead and say it," Yun Zhiming asked her, turning his head with a good temper.
"If A-Cheng's stepmother makes any demands, don't agree. Xiao-Qi told me that A-Cheng has suffered a lot of hidden losses at her hands." Yun's mother is now really afraid of Yun Qi's mother-in-law, and now there is another stepmother-in-law.
“I know, she can’t talk to me either. I can just go find Accountant Si.” Yun Zhiming thought for a moment and then called Junjun and Lele to go out with him.
"Why did you bring them along? They were having a good time playing." Mother Yun was worried about the crowds outside, especially the strangers. She was afraid Junjun and Lele would be bullied outside, so she had finally managed to coax them into playing with building blocks at home.
"I took them out and everything was fine. Besides, our village is now only for entry, not exit, so everything is fine." Yun Zhiming knew that the changes in the village this time made her a little nervous, afraid that strangers would break in from some corner.
"Then you must keep a close eye on them. If anything else happens, send them back."
"Don't worry, we'll definitely bring them back safe and sound. Is there anything else? If not, we're leaving." He watched as Junjun and Lele each grabbed one of his hands, trying to pull him away.
Mother Yun waved to signal that they could leave. As Yun Zhiming exited the back gate of the courtyard, he muttered to himself, "This old woman is getting more and more long-winded. I wonder if she's going through menopause, as everyone says."
"Grandpa, what is menopause?" Lele asked him curiously, tilting her head up.
"It's nothing, why are you asking so many questions, little girl?" Yun Zhiming didn't expect his little granddaughter to hear his mutterings, so he quickly changed the subject. "When we get outside, you have to stay close to your grandpa. There are a lot of outsiders in the village now, and they might take you away."
"Grandpa, is the wolf grandmother coming?" Last night, Yun Zhiming had just told them the story of the wolf grandmother, and he immediately quoted it.
"No, but I told you before that children shouldn't talk to strangers, do you remember?"
“I remember, anyone you haven’t met or don’t know is a stranger.” Junjun had a good memory and repeated what he had said earlier.
“Jun Jun and Le Le are both wonderful. Now we’re going to invite your grandfather to our house. Let’s go see your grandfather.”
Junjun and Lele still remember the grandpa who liked to hug them. Every time Si Zhengwei went to Pinghe Village to carry limestone, he would always make a special detour to the square to watch them play and hug them. So Junjun and Lele still have a good impression of him.
Yun Zhiming walked around the square with his two children for a while and then ran into Si Zhengwei and Village Chief Shi, who were arranging for the villagers to start fires and cook.
"Accountant Si, busy?" Yun Zhiming only recognized Si Piwei among these people, so he greeted him and just nodded to the others.
"Hello, Grandpa." Junjun and Lele greeted him politely in unison.
"Not busy, what brings you all here?" Si Zhengwei looked at his grandson and granddaughter, a happy smile curving his lips. He put down his pen, picked up Lele, and stroked Junjun's head with his other hand.
"Accountant Si, you can talk first. Leave the rest to us." The others, seeing that someone had come to see Accountant Si, guessed that it was his in-laws and tactfully walked away.
"Knowing you were coming, I came to say hello. You don't need to cook anything else tonight, just come to my place and have something to eat." After the others left, Yun Zhiming got straight to the point and stated the purpose of his visit.
"No need to trouble you, in-laws. Everyone's here, and we can't make exceptions. We'll definitely visit you properly when we have the chance." Si Zhengwei had come empty-handed several times, so he had declined several invitations to stay for a meal. Besides, it was even more inconvenient to visit now that he had his family with him.
"What's the big deal? Everyone in our two villages knows about our relationship. We're already making preparations at home. Once we're done, we'll go back together."
After Yun Zhiming finished speaking, he reached out to take Yun Zhengwei's hand and go back together, but Yun Zhengwei quickly reached out to stop him.
"You're too kind. I really have something to do right now. We need to discuss arrangements for tomorrow, so I really can't get away."
Hearing what he said, Yun Zhiming didn't press the matter further, and besides, he had indeed seen them discussing something together when he arrived.
"So where are you staying now, at the village entrance or in the square?" Yun Zhiming knew that the village had used both the square and the open space at the village entrance to accommodate the people from the new third village, which was why he asked the question.
"It's over there. My two boys are getting ready right now," Si Zhengwei told Yun Zhiming, pointing in a direction not far away.
Yun Zhiming only looked in a general direction. There was nothing he could do; his eyesight was failing him now, and things were blurry. For now, a general location was enough.
"Then you go ahead with your work. If you need anything, just let me know at home." After saying that, she reached out her hands to take Lele from her.
Lele obediently rushed over, "Junjun, Lele, let's say goodbye to your grandpa."
When they got home, Yun's mother saw that the three of them had returned, and she knew that the invitation had failed. She went back to the kitchen and started packing the food out of the pot.
"Take the food over to them later. There are so many people over there, so I just made something simple and not too fancy." Mother Yun knew that keeping a low profile was the best policy. She couldn't very well have others eating wild vegetables and grains while she was eating a feast; that would definitely make people jealous.
"Then you'd better hurry up, don't wait until they've finished eating before you deliver it. I saw they've already started cooking."
"It'll be ready soon, just bring the bamboo basket over."
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