On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhao Qinglan and her family stayed at home to receive guests.
Li Huai's position is not low now, and quite a few people from the family quarters come to his home to pay New Year's greetings.
When people come to pay New Year's visits, they naturally chat about everyday things, and most of the conversation revolves around the children.
Zhao Qinglan has four children, three of whom are currently in university. The youngest child almost always gets first place in his exams. When people talk about his children, they can only praise them.
With Tao Ailian gone, every guest who came to visit for the New Year was both warm and envious of Zhao Qinglan.
After all, Zhao Qinglan seems like a winner in life no matter how you look at it.
Her husband is reliable and holds a high position, her children are successful, and she herself is also successful in her career.
Fortunately, over the years, both she and her children have heard so many kind words that they have developed an immunity to them.
Even so, once no one comes to the door, the whole family is exhausted.
Li Huai, along with the children, also visited several homes to offer New Year's greetings.
After the first day of the Lunar New Year, there was nothing much going on in their family. This year, Zhang Yu and Song Yi also returned to Beijing with their child for the New Year. They had neither relatives nor friends in the vicinity.
Most of the shops outside were closed before the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, so the family stayed at home, watching TV and playing cards to pass the time. It was a rare time for the family to have a lively and relaxing time.
Zhao Qinglan didn't participate, letting the four children fight on their own, while she occasionally watched.
The eldest and second children are in one group, while the youngest and third children are in another.
Erwa thought that he and his brother would win easily if they teamed up, but unexpectedly, Xiaoduo and Sanwa kept winning.
In the end, the eldest child was beaten so badly that he lost all his temper.
Actually, his skills weren't bad, his younger brother was a bit worse, and his sister was about the same level as him. Unfortunately, the third brother's skills were too high, and the two sides were not evenly matched, so they could only lose one after another.
After watching a few rounds, Zhao Qinglan began to understand the game's mechanics.
I reckon the younger son can not only remember the cards, but also calculate their value.
With this kind of fighting style, it's no wonder that the eldest and second children couldn't win.
Xiao Duo, on the other hand, was constantly winning thanks to her younger brother, and her face was beaming with joy.
The siblings were just having fun as a family and didn't gamble with money, so Zhao Qinglan suggested sticking up notes.
In the end, the eldest and second children looked utterly defeated.
When Li Huai returned home for dinner and saw this scene, he was startled, thinking he had seen a ghost.
Once he understood what was going on, he laughed gleefully.
"You two can't even beat your own brother, you're no good."
The two children, who had been mocked, exchanged a glance, and the second child spoke up: "Dad, if you think you can do it, then you do it."
Li Huai waved his hand. "I don't have the time for that." Actually, he was also afraid of losing to his youngest son; he had his pride.
Zhao Qinglan called the children to eat before stopping the card game.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the older kids were watching TV when the phone rang.
Erwa was the closest, so he got up, took a few steps, and answered the phone.
"Hello, oh, yes, wait a minute." Erwa covered the microphone and looked at Dawa. "Brother, it's for you, your classmate."
The eldest son walked over with a surprised look. As soon as he answered the phone, the second son winked at his older sister and younger brother and mouthed "woman".
The group's attention was immediately drawn away from the television.
"It's me, Li Yansen, Ji Rou!" Da Wa's voice rose.
Perhaps because he had dreamt about her not long ago, and it was an embarrassing dream, Da Wa felt awkward talking to Ji Rou on the phone now.
However, he did want to talk to her. Before leaving school for the holidays, Ji Rou asked him for her contact information. He thought about it and gave her his home phone number. Unexpectedly, she actually called him.
Seeing that his younger siblings were all staring at them, the eldest child wished he could move the phone away, but he couldn't. He could only lower his voice, cover his mouth, and continue talking to Ji Rou.
Zhao Qinglan was tidying up inside when Erwa ran over excitedly to deliver the news.
"Mom, a female classmate called my brother."
Hmm, is something going on with the eldest child?
Zhao Qinglan, her gossipy nature piqued, immediately went outside.
When the eldest child makes a phone call, a whole group of people perk up their ears to listen in with concern.
When the eldest child finally couldn't stand the stares and hung up the phone, the second child spoke first.
"Brother, what does this sister want with you?"
The older brother gave his younger brother a warning look, and the younger brother shrank back, but when he saw that his mother was also there, his courage returned.
"Mom, you want to know too, right?"
"This child," Zhao Qinglan coughed lightly, pretending not to care, and said, "It's alright, Mom is just a little curious."
The older child dared not argue with his mother, and explained, "It was just a friend from school who asked me something."
"Just friends, bro?" Xiao Duo asked with a curious look.
The older child couldn't bring himself to be harsh with his younger sister, feeling utterly helpless. "Our relationship is closer than that of ordinary friends."
"Oh," Xiaoduo murmured meaningfully.
Zhao Qinglan cleared her throat again and emphasized, "Dawa, you're an adult now, Mom doesn't object to you dating."
The older child forced a smile. "Thank you, Mom."
Li Huai came home a little late. As soon as he got home and lay down on the bed, his wife started sharing gossip with him with great enthusiasm.
"Something's up with our eldest child."
"What's going on?" he asked, puzzled.
"Today, a girl called Da Wa."
"That doesn't prove anything, does it?" Li Huai asked, puzzled. "What did they say on the phone?"
"They didn't say anything on the phone, but you have to trust my intuition. There's definitely something going on with Da Wa this time. Maybe we'll become parents-in-law after Da Wa graduates."
Li Huai laughed out loud. "Are you so eager to become a mother-in-law?"
"No, it's just that we finally have someone in our family who's finally getting it. I'm so excited."
When their daughters have problems, their first reaction is worry. But now that their sons have problems, they're all overjoyed. It's true that the feeling of bringing a daughter into their own family is different from that of sending a daughter to someone else's.
Because of this, Zhao Qinglan started talking about what to do when she has grandchildren in the future.
Li Huai managed to stop her in time, allowing his excited wife to fall asleep.
Erwa and Xiaoduo are also very inquisitive, wondering if they will soon have a sister-in-law.
The older child dealt with his younger siblings with a straight face, but his face turned red when he returned to his room.
However, he was in a good mood at all. The thought of Ji Rou talking to him on the phone made him smile.
Perhaps, once he gets to school, he should confront Ji Rou.
In this kind of situation, it's not good to let the girl take the initiative. The classmates have already assumed that they are a couple, and they also have feelings for each other. As an adult man, he should show his responsibility.
After having that dream, he realized that Ji Rou was completely different from other women in his eyes.
Now that you've realized your own feelings, be decisive. You have to fight for your own happiness.
As for his family, he won't hide it from them once he and Ji Rou are together.
The more he thought about it, the better he felt. Resting his head on his arm, he was already envisioning a bright future for himself and Ji Rou.
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