"Mom, no need. Panpan is old enough to go to kindergarten. Besides, I've already paid the tuition. They won't give a refund if she doesn't go!" Xu Minghan knew his mother was worried about the money, so he deliberately said that the kindergarten tuition had already been paid.
"If they're willing to take you, just let them! Can't you take a break?"
Old Xu stopped his wife from speaking further, saying that if the parents didn't take care of the child, who would? The two of them, being elderly, also had a lot to do every day.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, Granny Liu stopped saying anything.
"Okay, I'll pack some things for you to take back. There's not much food for the two of us at home."
Granny Liu thought to herself that she had saved up about twenty eggs in the cupboard, and she would give them all to her third son. She also had some dried bamboo shoots left over from last year, and she would take some with her.
I took a jar of dried plum vegetables and salted duck eggs. Oh, and there's still a bag of dried shiitake mushrooms that someone gave me as a gift during the New Year. I took them all. As I was packing, the things piled up all over the floor.
Old Xu got angry when he saw the mess on the ground. "Are we even going to live like this? He took everything away. What are we going to eat?"
"You old codger, how can you be so stingy? How many bellies do you have? This is your own son, and you still can't bear to part with him. Honestly, I can't even be bothered to talk to you."
Granny Liu wished she could crack open his head to see what was inside, how could he be so stingy.
Xu Minghan pretended not to hear his father's nagging. Anyway, his mother had packed everything, so he could just take it with him.
"Mom and Dad, this is money for you two. Go buy something nice to eat." Xu Minghan took out four hundred yuan from his pocket and gave two hundred yuan to each of them.
Old Xu quickly took the money, his face instantly beaming with joy. "You still have a conscience, knowing to be filial to your father. Old woman, see if there's anything else in the house and decorate it."
Granny Liu rolled her eyes at him, "Money basket."
Then she looked at her third son with concern, "Third son, keep this money for yourself, why are you giving it to us? Your father and I don't spend much money at home, we grow our own vegetables, it's enough for us!"
Xu Minghan pressed down his mother's outstretched hand and comforted her, "Yes! Let your son show you some filial piety. I'll make you a big one when I come back for the New Year."
Xu Minghan is now happy to speak first to please them; haven't you noticed how much more kind his father's eyes are looking at him?
"Oh dear, speaking of the New Year, I just remembered. When you come back for the New Year, you might have to stay in the attic on the second floor."
Granny Liu felt like she had forgotten to tell him something, and only when her third son mentioned the New Year did she realize that she had forgotten to tell him that the house had been taken back.
Xu Minghan looked at his mother in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the house next door belonging to my second uncle?"
“When the family planning officials came before, they didn’t see you, so they pushed the stove away. Now your second sister-in-law doesn’t want you to live here anymore.”
Xu Minghan really didn't expect this to be the reason, because such a thing hadn't happened in his previous life.
However, Xu Minghan felt that since it was ultimately his fault, his aunt's anger was understandable. "Mom, has the stove been repaired yet? How much did it cost? I'll get it for you."
"Why wasn't it repaired? If it hadn't been repaired, your second aunt would have demanded two hundred yuan in compensation from us. I only spent a few dozen yuan to repair it, so why should we give her two hundred?"
Speaking of this, Granny Liu gets angry. When the stove was being repaired, her second sister-in-law even came to supervise the work, afraid that she would damage it. They were no longer living in this dilapidated house, so whether it was repaired or not, it would still be the same.
Thinking of this, she got angry again and shouted at Old Man Xu: "Remember to take back the land we borrowed from them to farm. Since we won't live in the house anymore, we should take back the land too."
"Don't worry! I've already talked to my second brother, and he'll return the crops to us after the harvest."
Old Xu is such a stingy person, he wouldn't even give his son away, how could he let his brother take advantage for nothing? He had already made arrangements with the other party.
"Aunt Bai, I saw that Xu Laoda's son, Minghan, is back. What? Didn't he come back to see you, his second uncle and aunt?" A busybody saw Bai Tingmei washing clothes in her yard and couldn't help but start a conversation.
Bai Tingmei paused in wringing her clothes, glanced at the other person, and said, "What do I need him to see? He's not my own son. You're just too talkative."
After saying that, she ignored the person who had spoken, wrung out the clothes, hung them up to dry, and went straight inside, leaving those who were expecting a good show feeling quite bored.
"Tch, he has no temper at all. I thought we were going to start a fight."
"That's right, the old house of Xu Lao Er's family, the one that was lent to that kid Xu Minghan, even the stove has been torn down!"
"You're late with the news! They've already fixed it, it's brand new!"
"Yes, didn't Old Master Xu's family also lend their land to Old Master Xu's family to farm? They've taken over!"
Outside, people were discussing the latest happenings in the village. Inside, Bai Tingmei flung her hand away and glared angrily at Xu Lao Er, who was lying on a recliner.
"Your older brother is really something. We were farming that land just fine, and he didn't plant anything there. Why did he take it back? Go talk to him and ask him to let us continue farming there." Bai Tingmei nudged Xu Lao Er, urging him to go and talk to him as soon as possible.
Xu Lao Er pulled his hand back, "I'm not going. You've already taken back that old house, so it's only right that you take back the land, brother. There's no reason for you to get all the benefits."
Bai Tingmei angrily pinched Xu Lao Er's thigh, "Who are you on? Does my word no longer carry weight?"
Xu Lao Er was somewhat afraid of his wife, but even more afraid of his elder brother, so he still stubbornly said, "You go if you want! I'm afraid my brother will scold me."
Bai Tingmei was furious. How could a grown man be afraid of his brother? It was hilarious.
But she was also afraid of her brother-in-law. His big eyes glared at her as if he were about to hit her, and she didn't dare to do it!
So he chuckled and said, "I was angry back then, so go and tell my brother that we'll let Minghan continue living in the house, and we'll continue farming the land. Is that alright?"
"Why don't you talk to your sister-in-law? It's easier for you women to talk about these things."
Bai Tingmei grew impatient with the old man's passing the buck and stood up, shouting, "I'll do it myself, you don't need to. From now on, you'll cook for yourself too, you won't need me anymore."
Xu Minghan had just left with his daughter when Bai Tingmei arrived at Xu Lao's house.
"Sister-in-law, you're busy! I heard Minghan is back? You know, I was angry back then too. Anyone would be angry if the stove in a perfectly good house was torn down."
After calming down and thinking about it, it wasn't a big deal. If Minghan wanted to stay, he could continue staying.
Granny Liu could tell from her expression that she was eyeing that piece of land! But things didn't go as she wished.
"No need for his second aunt. My Minghan said he'll just live on the second floor from now on. It's not uninhabitable upstairs if we clean it up. He can just eat with us from now on."
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