"Xu Kang and Xu Le have been born for four years now, and I haven't even seen you a few times. Suddenly you say you want to take them away? No matter how you look at it, something seems off."
Xu An's words struck a nerve with the three girls, making them furious that their schemes had been exposed. They glared at Xu An, their expressions suggesting they wanted to tear him apart.
My aunt-in-law was furious and in a fit of anger. She said, "You can't even talk to me nicely. You have to make me expose your shortcomings, right?"
She quickly walked into Xu An's kitchen. When she arrived, she had carefully examined all of Xu's belongings and clearly remembered that their rice jar was empty.
He easily lifted the nearly empty rice jar, placed it in the center of the yard, opened the lid, and pointed to the nearly empty jar, saying with great enthusiasm, "No matter what we're up to, with your rice jar almost empty, Xu Kang and Xu Le will at least have a full meal at our house, and won't go hungry or cold."
Upon hearing this, Xu Kang and Xu Le were the first to disagree. Their big, round eyes stared straight at their aunt, and they retorted in their childish voices.
"We have rice to eat, and we also have meat to eat."
"Yes, we ate delicious steamed eggs, bitter melon with pork, meat patties, and bone broth. It was so good!"
At this point, the aunt-in-law wouldn't listen to anything else and kept arguing about the empty rice jar.
“You can eat meat once a day, and you can eat meat every day. The rice jar is almost empty, and you won’t even be able to eat rice anymore. You’ll only be able to drink porridge with just a few grains of rice, and you won’t be able to poop for ten days or half a month.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard, and several people appeared at the gate.
"Anzi, I've brought you the pork and pork bones you requested."
"Here are the two bags of rice you ordered, brought up here."
"Oyster sauce, cornstarch, rice vinegar, cooking wine..."
"......"
Dozens of items of all kinds were piled up at the entrance of the courtyard.
Seeing this, the aunt, who was speaking eloquently in front of the empty rice jar, did not want to lose both face and pride, so she continued to shout in a show of bravado: "This family has no income, you can buy for a while, but can you buy for a lifetime?"
After saying that, he put down the rice container and quickly sat back down on the long bench.
"My dear in-law, please forgive my harsh words, but this is the truth, we..."
"Stop talking." This time it was Grandma Xu who interrupted her aunt: "Adopting two children is no small matter. You should go back and think about it some more, and we'll think about it some more too. Let's leave it at that for today."
My uncle was getting a little anxious and wanted to stand up and say something, but his mother pulled him back.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry, in-laws. Think it over carefully. We will definitely not mistreat the two children. We'll come back in a few days and give it a good consideration."
After saying that, the aunt took her son and daughter-in-law and left.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the aunt never once inquired about how Grandma Xu's foot was doing.
Watching the three leave, Third Grandma finally couldn't hold back anymore and started cursing loudly.
“I’m telling you, Alan, you’re getting worse and worse at life, and your mind is getting more and more muddled. You know perfectly well how your daughter has changed since she got married, so how did you manage to be swayed by her?”
Grandma Xu smiled but didn't reply. She reached out and patted Third Grandma: "Thank you for coming to help. I will think about this matter carefully."
With such a clear indication that she was being asked to leave, Third Grandma couldn't continue the conversation, as it was, after all, a family matter. Furthermore, Grandma Xu kept glancing at Xu An, clearly indicating she had something to say to him, so she took her leave.
As they reached the courtyard gate, Third Grandma paused and said earnestly, "I know the days ahead won't be easy, but we old folks are still here and can still help."
After everyone had left, Xu An closed the courtyard gate, and only then did Grandma Xu speak slowly.
“Anzi, I know you siblings are close, but what your aunt said is right. When you go to university, it won’t be easy for me, an old woman with mobility issues, to take care of two young children.”
Your aunt is indeed not very good at dealing with people, but she's not a bad person, just a bit cold.
I can guess what she's up to, but after these few years, once you've graduated from university and are working, whether you want to bring her back or not is up to you.
"Grandma, I'm an adult now, and I can understand many things."
Four years have passed since my parents passed away, and she hasn't come back even once. You're her biological mother; Aunt Hong called her the day you broke your leg. And what happened? She didn't show up, didn't send any money, not even a word of greeting.
It's only an hour's drive back from the city. No matter how busy you are, you shouldn't be unable to spare two or three hours. Besides, you were being treated at the city hospital at that time. Her workplace is only a 20-minute drive from the hospital. It wouldn't be impossible for her to make a trip there after get off work. But did she even come to see you once?
This person doesn't even care about their own mother, and suddenly shows up at the door saying they want to take Kang Kang and Le Le away. Do you think she can treat Kang Kang and Le Le well?
"But you have to go to school. What will happen to these two kids when you're not home?"
Xu An blurted out, "I never planned to go to university!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong. He had originally planned to tell his grandmother about this once his boxed lunch business was on track and he was making money. Real money would be more convincing than empty words.
If all else fails, he'll just fill out his college application with two of the top universities in the country. He knows his college entrance exam score and has absolutely no chance of getting into those two schools; he'll definitely fail.
If you fail the exam, you can legitimately choose not to go to university.
Unexpectedly, in a moment of panic, I blurted out this idea.
Grandma Xu glared angrily, propped herself up on her elbows and sat up in the rocking chair. She slammed her hand on the armrest and shouted at Xu An, "What did you say!"
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