After a moment of silence, Zhang Xuemei said, "Brother and sister-in-law, we can talk about the rest later. We're all brothers and sisters, so we should definitely help each other out. Alright, come over to our house sometime to learn how to make braised food. I'll head back now."
"Okay, sure."
That evening, Xu Minghan looked at his absent-minded wife and couldn't help but ask, "I wanted to ask you this at dinner. Why were you so distracted? Can't you tell me what's wrong?"
"Hey, I went to my eldest brother and sister-in-law's place today. My sister-in-law said that my second sister and her family are coming back. They're coming back with compensation."
"Didn't we already know we'd lose money?"
"What I want to say is that my second sister and her family might come to our area. My mom has a big mouth, and I guess she's already told my second sister and my younger brother about our situation."
Zhang Xuemei wasn't unwilling to help them, but she was just starting out herself, and her husband was preparing to do something else, so she had no clue how to help.
"Hmm, that is indeed a problem, but if all else fails, we've already taught them the braised food recipe. Anyway, we're going to teach others eventually." What Xu Minghan didn't say was that at most, it would just mean one less tuition fee. They're all family, and he wouldn't fuss about it.
"We'll see when the time comes!" Zhang Xuemei sighed helplessly. She was afraid that her second brother-in-law would not want to do this job, thinking that street vendors were shameful and hard-working.
Xu Minghan put his arm around his wife's shoulder and comforted her with a smile, "That's all for later, let's not think about it now. Right now, let's think about what I want to do in the future?"
"Actually, you can rest for a while and take it slow. There's no rush." Zhang Xuemei couldn't think of any good business ideas for the time being. She suggested that after putting down the braised food business, she could rest for a while and also look around at other places. She was sure she would come up with some good ideas.
Xu Minghan rested his chin on his wife's shoulder, sniffed her, and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to rely on you to support me. You can't look down on me."
"Alright, you're a little puppy, it's so itchy," Zhang Xuemei said with a laugh, pushing his head away. "Fine, I'll keep you, you little black-faced guy."
After saying that, the couple couldn't help but laugh; it was a rare moment of relaxation for them.
...
Before they knew it, it was the hot month of July. Panpan Kindergarten had already closed for the holidays, so Grandma Liu thought she might as well take the two children back to the village to stay for a while.
"Xuemei, how about I take the two children back to the village for two months? I'm quite worried about your father since we haven't been back for so long." Granny Liu has been here for about three months now, and she really misses home. There's no place like home.
Zhang Xuemei thought for a moment and asked with some concern, "Mom, I'm fine, but can you manage to take care of two children?" Panpan is already over four years old, or five years old according to the local dialect, so there's not too much to worry about. It's just that Linlin is not even one year old, which is a bit worrying.
"What's the big deal? I've raised six children, how could I not take care of two more?" Granny Liu thought they were worrying unnecessarily.
Xu Mingwan glanced at her third sister-in-law and whispered, "Mom, things are different now than before. Besides, Panpan is at a very active age right now. It's hot. What if she goes to play in the stream with those boys?"
What she didn't say was that quite a few children drown every summer, and if something were to happen, it could really cost a whole family their lives.
"This," Granny Liu thought of what had happened in the village a few years ago, and couldn't help but feel a little uncertain.
Xu Minghan looked down at Panpan and asked with a smile, "Panpan, would you like to go back with Grandma for a few days?"
"I miss Xiaowen and Xiaokai, Daddy, I want to go back." Xu Panpan nodded repeatedly. Although kindergarten was very fun, she still missed her two older brothers.
"Okay, then I'll go back and play for a while. Anyway, I have nothing to do right now," Xu Minghan said, patting his daughter's head.
I just finished handing over all my work last week. I sold the braised food recipe and gave the night market stall to my brother-in-law and his family. Now I'm pretty much free.
“That’s fine. You and Mom can take the two kids back for a while and keep an eye on them.” With her husband coming along, Zhang Xuemei felt much more at ease.
Xu Minghan felt that everyone was very welcoming to him as soon as he returned to the village. Sure enough, someone brought him some things again.
"Minghan, your third uncle's house has a lot of cucumbers growing. Here, have some for you. You can eat them raw or in salads."
"Thank you, Uncle. The daylilies you grow yourself are so fresh and delicious, they look so tempting." Xu Minghan took the vegetable basket from his Uncle Xu Hongzhen and put it aside. He took a daylily from the basket, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite. "Mmm, it's very juicy and the daylily flavor is very strong. I knew you were amazing, Uncle. Even the ones my mom grows don't taste as good as the ones you grow."
Xu Hongzhen looked at Xu Minghan with a regretful expression. Judging from what he said, how could a cucumber not taste like a cucumber? Could it be that he has also been mentally stimulated?
Thinking this, he carefully approached his sister-in-law, Granny Liu, and reminded her, "Sister-in-law, when you have time, take Minghan to see Old Fang and see if he can get some medicine. He's still young, we can't delay."
Granny Liu: "..."
Seeing that Granny Liu hadn't said anything, Xu Hongzhen thought his sister-in-law was embarrassed, so he comforted her, "Sister-in-law, this kind of thing should be done by my brother, but you know how unreliable he is, so it's still hard on you."
"No, Uncle, I don't understand what you're saying. Why would Minghan go to see a doctor when he's perfectly fine?" Granny Liu asked hurriedly when she saw Xu Hongzhen's increasingly strange words. Had something happened while she was away from home? How come she didn't know that Minghan had a health problem?
"Sister-in-law, don't keep it a secret anymore. My brother already said that Minghan is dying." Xu Hongzhen gritted his teeth and told him everything. Why should this family keep it a secret? If someone is sick, they should get treatment as soon as possible. There is always hope.
"Third Uncle, what nonsense are you talking about? Who is spreading rumors here? When did I become unwell?" Xu Minghan dropped the cucumber he was biting into on the ground with a thud. He quickly stepped forward and pulled his third uncle aside to ask, "Who is so shameless as to spread rumors about me?"
"Yes, Uncle, who told you all this? Our Minghan is perfectly fine, who's so wicked as to hate seeing others do well?" Granny Liu gripped the spatula tightly. As soon as Xu Hongzhen revealed who was spreading the rumors, she would rush to their house and beat that gossip to a pulp.
"This...are you really alright?" Xu Hongzhen saw that the serious expressions on the mother and son's faces were wavering. He really didn't want his nephew to have that kind of problem. After all, a man's health is still very important.
"Third Uncle, I'm really fine. Who said that? How come I didn't know anything about it?"
Xu Minghan was both amused and exasperated. What was going on? He wondered why everyone was looking at him strangely when he came back. He had initially thought they were just envious of him because they knew he had bought a house.
Xu Hongzhen shrank back and said in a low voice, "Don't blame your third uncle for being nosy. This is what your dad said. Everyone in the village knows, so I just... hehe."
Xu Minghan's vision went black, and he swayed. He quickly leaned against the wall to steady himself. Other people were tricking their fathers, but he was being tricked by his father!
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