Du Zhong, an old man in his seventies, and Xu Laosan got along very well. The two of them spent their days and nights going up the mountain and down to the sea, raiding bird nests, catching cicadas, digging for earthworms and fishing, catching red-clawed crabs, digging for razor clams, and stirring up sand clams...
They are very enthusiastic about anything related to food.
Xu Xinning admires Xu Laosan's social skills. He can get along with everyone, from toddlers who can just walk to toothless old people who are already walking with difficulty.
Du Zhong was so happy that he forgot all about his medical research. He felt that this was the life he was living, and that he had wasted the previous decades of his life. Fortunately, he met his little brother Xu Laosan, who was his lucky star!
Jiang Juecheng went back, taking some people with him and leaving a few for Ren Mujingheng to do.
Xu Mingyang also returned to his unit. He was not sent to his previous military region, but was instead assigned by Mu Zhenting to the military region where Xu Yaozu had been stationed, with his rank remaining the same.
Since meeting Xu Xinning that day, Xu Yaoyang had indeed gone home. The harmony at home was long gone. As soon as he arrived, he saw his wife, heavily pregnant, struggling to carry a large pig swill bucket toward the pigsty. His second wife's wife was slumped on a bamboo chair, cursing and swearing. His youngest daughter was sweeping the floor with a broom twice her height, and his son was picking sweet potato shreds, probably preparing for breakfast the next morning. The old man was nowhere to be seen, and he didn't know where he was.
Looking at his sallow and thin wife and his two timid children, Xu Yaoyang was deeply moved.
In the past, whenever they heard the sound of his bicycle, his two children would greet him happily, and his wife would always lean against the door frame, smiling at him and saying, "You're back? Dinner's ready soon!"
Back then, his parents always had smiles on their faces whenever they saw him.
Everything has changed, yet it seems as if nothing has changed except for the audience.
When Xu Yaoyang came back this time, he specially bought a lot of sponge cakes, as well as white sugar cakes that Grandma Xu loves to eat.
White sugar cakes were expensive and required sugar coupons to buy. They were only available in limited quantities each day, so Grandma Xu rarely got to eat them. It was only during one Chinese New Year that she casually mentioned it, and Xu Yaoyang remembered it.
It must be said that Xu Yaoyang is very dedicated to people who can help him in his future.
Upon hearing Xu Xinning's words, Xu Yaoyang, unlike his usual self, started helping his wife with housework as soon as he got home. He also expressed his concern for his wife and explained why he hadn't been home for so long.
Xu Yaoyang's wife felt warm inside, but the second wife was unhappy. She kept making sarcastic remarks and even directly criticized Xu Yaoyang's wife.
After dinner, Xu Yaoyang took the chicken cake and white sugar cake to the Xu family's old house.
The second wife noticed the changes in her son and then saw him carrying a chicken cake and a white sugar cake out the door, but he didn't give her a single one. The old woman slapped her thigh and cried at the door.
She talked about all the hardships she had endured over the years, but her son wouldn't say anything about it, so he took it out on his daughter-in-law.
The old man from the second wife was also feeling resentful, and returned to his room without saying a word.
When Xu Yaoyang arrived at the old house, the eldest son's family was still eating. Grandpa Xu and Old Man Du Zhong were drinking their homemade sweet potato soup.
When Xu Yaoyang entered, the whole family was stunned for a moment. It was Xu Yao's ancestor who reacted and waved to Xu Yaoyang: "Yaoyang, what brings you here? Come over and have a couple of drinks with your uncle."
Xu Yaoyang was quite happy. He walked over and handed the things in his hand to the old lady Xu, who had already stood up. He said with a smile, "Auntie, I happened to see some white sugar cake when I came back today, so I bought some for you. The sponge cake also looked fresh out of the oven and smelled very good, so I weighed some for you as well."
Grandma Xu accepted the cup with a smile and said, "Yaoyang, you're so kind. This is exactly what your aunt likes. Please sit down and have a drink. I'll get you some bowls and chopsticks."
When Grandma Xu stood up, Xu Xinning went to help prepare the bowls and chopsticks.
After Xu Yaoyang sat down, he glanced at Du Zhong curiously. Du Zhong glanced at him and felt that the man's eyes were not very honest, so he was not very enthusiastic.
After noticing the exchange between the two, Grandpa Xu introduced them, "This is your Uncle Du, this is my nephew Xu Yaoyang, and the woman with the big belly is his wife."
Du Zhong had a fairly good impression of Xu Yaoyang's wife. She was the one who showed him the way on the day he arrived. Then, remembering that her pregnancy didn't look too good, he said a few more words: "Pregnancy is a big deal for a woman. She can't overwork herself or move around too much. She needs to keep up with her nutrition. After all, she's eating for two. Your wife's pregnancy doesn't look good. If you don't take care of her, it won't be good for either the mother or the baby."
Xu Yaoyang looked at Grandpa Xu and Xu Yaozu apologetically and replied, "Thank you, Uncle Du. I'll have Ningning take a look tomorrow."
In fact, Du Zhong had been thinking about food all day since he arrived, and he hadn't even been to Xu Xinning's medical station yet. In his mind, the physiotherapy station was just a room of medium size. He never expected that Xu Xinning's medical station was an exception. It was not only a medical station, but also a very formal Chinese medicine pharmacy and a small pharmaceutical manufacturing point.
Grandpa Xu chimed in, "You should really take a good look at your wife. She's a whiz at both home and work; it's not easy for her."
Xu Yaozu asked curiously, "Doesn't Yaoyang come home every day? He should help out when he can. There's nothing shameful about helping your own wife."
Xu Laosan was always the one who loved to stir up trouble. He hoped the world would be in chaos so he would have endless gossip to eat. He chimed in, "Uncle hasn't been home for a long time."
Actually, not the adults in the Xu family knew much about this matter, and everyone found it strange that Xu Laosan had revealed it to them.
Xu Yaozu asked curiously, "Is your workplace very busy?"
Yang Chunqin: "It can't be that bad. How busy can the radio station be?"
At this time, the broadcasting station was actually an auxiliary department, which was dispensable. Although it was located in a separate place, it was still under the jurisdiction of the commune's propaganda department.
Xu Yaoyang said embarrassedly, "There are more things happening during typhoon season, and the leaders give us more tasks. I thought I would write something myself, so I stayed at the office."
Hsu Yao-tsu: "You are a hard-working person, and it's good that you're proactive at work, but you can't neglect your family."
Xu Yaoyang: "I know, but our unit is good in some ways. It's more relaxed than other units, but there's almost no chance of development."
Xu Xinning glanced at Xu Yaoyang; his intentions for coming today couldn't be clearer.
Xu Yaozu: "That makes sense. If it were a female colleague, this unit would be really good. If you work hard, you'll always have opportunities."
Xu Yaoyang was very happy and took the initiative to pour drinks for everyone.
All he wanted was Xu Yaozu's attitude.
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