But the next day, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning these things. Although they didn't know if they were true or not, they were content with the reality of their lives. There was no need to take things too seriously.
"Mom and Dad, is there something you need?" Early in the morning, Granny Liu called her sons and daughters-in-law, as well as her youngest daughter and her husband, to her third son's house.
Granny Liu coughed lightly twice, looked at the people sitting in the room, and smiled.
"There must be something I need to tell you. Your father and I are getting old, and the farthest we've ever been is Tianshui City. We want to travel around while we can still move around."
The other day I heard someone say that it's popular to go to Hainan to spend the winter now, it's much warmer there than here, so your dad and I were thinking, why don't you two go with them?"
"Mom, now? It's only October, isn't it a bit too early?" Zhou Nianmei really did want to go on a trip. After all, many of her friends often went on trips, and she had been craving it for a long time. But she was thinking of traveling in April or May.
“Oh, you don’t understand. Now that we’ve decided, we need to book a place there in advance. I heard from one of my old friends that places in Hainan are in high demand and hard to book around the Lunar New Year. So I thought, why don’t we just spend the Lunar New Year there this year?”
"That's right, your mom and I have already asked around. We heard that we can even play in the water that day. The temperature there is around 20 degrees Celsius in winter, so it's much more comfortable to spend the winter there than here."
As he grew old, Old Xu wanted to enjoy life as much as possible. He was seventy-five years old this year and didn't know how many more years he had to live. Naturally, he wanted to take advantage of his remaining mobility to travel around more, so that he could show off to his old friends who had already passed away when he got to the afterlife.
“Yes, your dad and I are getting old, and we suffer from various aches and pains every winter. The doctor last time we went to see him said that we should go to a warm place to spend the winter, which would make us feel more comfortable.”
Xu Mingri nodded repeatedly, "Let alone Mom and Dad, even I find winter unbearable now. It's cold outside, and even colder at home. Turning on the air conditioner makes it uncomfortable. Since the doctor says Hainan is good, why don't we all go there?"
“Let’s go too. We don’t have anything to do at home anyway, and Yan Hong has already retired.” Xu Minghe was the first to raise his hand in agreement. He usually goes fishing at the reservoir with his old friends. Who knows, they might even go sea fishing when they go to Hainan.
"Since you're all going, Minghui and I will go too. It's a rare opportunity for the whole family to do something together." Chen Fengjuan was also itching to join in. After working hard for most of her life, it was finally her turn to relax.
Xu Mingjiang and Chu Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance. "We were originally planning to make a trip to Beijing at the end of the year to eat Peking duck, but since you're both going to Hainan, we'll change our plans too."
"Xiao Wan, what do you say about Xiao Wan?" Granny Liu looked at her youngest daughter and son-in-law, who were silent.
"Mom, we're all fine with it, but my in-laws said the other day they wanted to go out with us. I was wondering if we should invite them too?"
"Go ahead and invite them, it'll be more fun with more people. Xuemei, you too, invite your parents, and ask your older brother and younger brother if they're both free. If they're both free, we'll all go out and have some fun together." Granny Liu said excitedly, making it really feel like a family gathering.
Zhang Xuemei counted on her fingers, "My goodness, there are so many people here. Let me see, my eldest brother and sister-in-law, my second brother and sister-in-law, Minghan and I, Minghe Yanhong, Xiao Mingjiang, Xiao Wan Baichuan, plus Mom and Dad, that makes fourteen people. Add Baichuan's parents, my parents, my eldest brother and sister-in-law, my younger brother and sister-in-law, and that makes twenty-two people."
"Wow, then we can charter a whole bus!"
"Who would take a bus? We'll just fly there. I'm so old, I've never flown before. I should at least experience it." Old Xu had been longing to fly for a long time, and this time he was determined to try it.
"How much money would it cost for so many people to fly? I'd rather take the train and save some money." Speaking of money, Granny Liu felt a pang of regret.
Zhang Xuemei put her arm around her mother-in-law's shoulder and comforted her with a smile, "Mom, since we've finally managed to go out, let's not worry about the money. Don't worry, we'll cover all your and Dad's expenses this time."
"Yes, we brothers split the cost, so we can buy whatever we want without any worries."
Hearing this, Xu Mingwan was unhappy. "How come you forgot about me? I'll also contribute to my parents' expenses."
“That’s right, count us in,” Lu Baichuan added.
Grandma Liu was overjoyed to see the children scrambling for the food. "Good, good, you are all so filial. Your father and I are so happy."
"That's a good deal then. We'll divide the work and each person will be responsible for a part." Zhang Xuemei's only trip in her previous life was with a tour group. This time, she's taking so many people with her, so she needs to do a good job of the preparations.
...
"Mom and Dad, are you ready? We're flying to Hainan today." Before dawn, Zhang Xuemei was already running around the living room, afraid of forgetting anything.
"Alright, alright, let's go!"
The flight was at 10 a.m., but the group had already arrived at the airport at 7 a.m.
"Come on, this is our first time traveling together. Let's all stand together and take a group photo with the airport." Xu Minghan took out a camera from his bag and asked a passerby to take the photo.
"Come on, let's all shout together, 'Cheese!'"
"Eggplant~"
The moment the shutter clicked, Zhang Xuemei and Xu Minghan clasped hands tightly, their faces beaming with smiles.
"Minghan, it's so good to have you..."
"Xuemei, it's so good to have you..."
End of article
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