Knock knock——
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Uncle Xie turned around and saw a woman in a navy blue cotton and linen dress standing at the door. She was holding a pot of hot tomato stewed beef brisket in her hand.
Seeing Uncle Xie looking over, the woman said with a smile, "Brother Xie, why is your door open? I thought I heard Xixi's voice just now. It was quite noisy. Did you and your daughter have a fight?"
Uncle Xie rubbed his face helplessly and lamented, "We had a fight. The kid's temper has been getting worse and worse lately. He likes to get stuck in a rut."
But Uncle Xie did not elaborate on the specific reason.
"Alan, what are you holding in your hand?"
The woman named Alan walked into the house with a smile and placed the pot of beef brisket stewed with tomatoes on the coffee table in the living room. She said, "It's beef brisket stewed with tomatoes."
"Xixi likes this dish the most. I know she wants to maintain her figure, so I only add a little oil."
"I'll leave it here. When Xixi comes back, you can heat it up for her. The child is so skinny now that you can even see the bones. Being a celebrity is really hard."
"Okay, thank you very much, Alan."
Hearing Uncle Xie's words, Alan couldn't help but smile bitterly. She said, "Brother Xie, please stop talking like that. Compared to the great kindness you and your wife have shown me, what am I doing now? Nothing matters."
"Then I'll go back first."
After saying that, Alan went downstairs.
Xie Qian previously scolded Uncle Xie for forgetting his daughter and deceased wife after he had Aunt Lan, but in fact, Uncle Xie never looked for a new love.
There is nothing innocent between him and Alan.
As soon as Alan left, Uncle Xie picked up his phone and texted Xie Qian: [Your Aunt Lan made beef brisket with tomatoes and put it on the table. Come back and eat it when you've calmed down.]
After thinking for a while, Uncle Xie said, "Xixi, you're all Daddy has. You can be angry, but don't run away from home. If you leave, Daddy will have no home."
Xie Qian didn't go far either.
She wore a mask and sat in the old riverside park outside the community in a daze.
After receiving the text message from her father, Xie Qian felt a pang in her heart and finally turned around and went home.
The Xie family has been from Qingshi since their ancestors. Xie Qian's family lives in a small three-story Western-style building that they built themselves.
Uncle Xie and Xie Qian live on the second and third floors, while Aunt Lan, a long-term tenant, lives on the first floor.
Aunt Lan is a very experienced caregiver.
Xie Xi's mother was a kind woman. When she saw that it was not easy for Aunt Lan, a woman from another place, to make a living in Qing City, she rented the first floor to Aunt Lan.
Aunt Lan is also a woman who knows how to repay kindness.
During the two years when Xie's mother was seriously ill and bedridden, it was Aunt Lan who took good care of her. She only took the minimum wage and took very good care of Xie's mother.
Xie's mother was bedridden for two years, and until her death, her body was always clean, without even a bedsore.
After Xie's mother passed away, Aunt Lan still lived in Xie's house.
When Xie Qian was in junior high and high school, Aunt Lan usually took her to and from school on an electric scooter. Every night when she returned home, Aunt Lan would have dinner prepared for her.
To Xie Qian, Aunt Lan has become a family member.
There is an iron gate on the first floor of the Xie family's house facing the alley. Inside the gate is a small square courtyard, which is usually used to store electric bicycles and rain gear.
The door inside the yard is the real entrance to the Xie family.
Xie Qian entered the password and was about to open the door when it was pushed open from the inside.
Xie Qian looked up and met Aunt Lan's gentle and tolerant eyes. She was slightly stunned, then lowered her head in shame.
"Auntie Lan, did you hear me arguing with Dad?"
Aunt Lan nodded, "I heard it."
Hearing this, Xie Qian felt like something was stuck in her throat.
She wanted to apologize for what she said impulsively, but she was too embarrassed to speak.
Auntie Lan, on the other hand, was indifferent. She said to Xie Qian, "Whether you believe it or not, Qianqian, I don't have any ambiguous relationship with your father."
"Auntie Lan stayed here to take care of you and the Xie family in order to repay your mother for taking her in."
"Xixi, your father is a responsible man. You shouldn't slander him like that. He hasn't had an easy life these years."
Living in the same building, Aunt Lan knew how much Uncle Xie missed his deceased wife and how hard it was for him to come to terms with the death of his eldest daughter.
So no matter how much she dotes on Xie Qian, she cannot allow Xie Qian to slander Uncle Xie like this.
Aunt Lan is like the gentle breeze and drizzle, always gentle and tolerant, which makes Xie Qian feel even more ashamed.
Taking a deep breath, Xie Qian choked up and said, "I was wrong today. I shouldn't have said that to him. I'll apologize to Dad later."
Seeing that Xie Xi recognized her mistake, Aunt Lan smiled with relief and quickly took Xie Xi's arm and led her into the house.
She went to the small kitchen on the first floor to cut some fruit to entertain Xie Qian.
Xie Qian leaned against the door of the small kitchen, staring at Aunt Lan's busy figure. She suddenly said, "Actually, Aunt Lan, if you really want to be with my dad, I won't be angry."
Aunt Lan shook her head and laughed: "Aunt Lan doesn't have any ideas about marriage. I will never get married in this life."
Xie Qian frowned and asked curiously, "Why? Aunt Lan, have you ever been married before?"
Aunt Lan cut the cantaloupe into small pieces and put them on a plate. She tiptoed to open the cupboard to look for a fork and said without turning her head, "Aunt Lan is a person without a past. She doesn't talk about this."
She handed the cantaloupe to Xie Xi and then asked what happened today: "What happened between you two today? What did you quarrel about? Can you tell Auntie Lan?"
Xie Qian is very dependent on Aunt Lan.
When Aunt Lan asked, Xie Qian didn't hide anything and asked, "Do you remember the Song family who killed my sister?"
Aunt Lan nodded, "I know, it's one of the top wealthy families in Qing City."
"Mr. Song contracted a strange disease a few years ago. I heard that even after searching with famous doctors all over the world, there was no cure. But he's recovered now!"
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