Meng Tao said: "It's good that you can come, no need for red envelopes."

Meng Changshou said with a straight face: "What is due to you must be given, take it!"

Meng Tao accepted it and stuffed it into the shoulder bag she was carrying. She took out a red apple from the bag and handed it to Meng Jinshan: "Are you hungry? It's not time for dinner yet. Eat an apple first."

Meng Jinshan took it happily. The last time he came, Sister Taohua also gave him a big red apple. It was sweet and crispy and very delicious. He had been thinking about it all the time.

Meng Changshou controlled Meng Jinshan: "I asked someone to cook noodles for me when I first came to Jinniu. How could you be hungry so quickly? Bring it to me and I'll keep it. If I put it in your hands, you'll eat it all in a short while. Mice can't keep overnight food!"

Meng Tao took out another bag of cakes, tore open the plastic bag, and stuffed it into Meng Changshou's mouth to see if that would shut him up.

This is a product of the county food factory. They bought a lot of it at the store just now. Meng Tao and Zhou Cuiling opened a package to taste it and found it tasted good. The snacks made by food factories in this era do not have too many additives and the quality is okay, so they secretly put a few packages into the space, intending to give them to Taurus.

Meng Changshou was reluctant to eat it at first. Such beautiful snacks, each one looked like a golden egg, must be very expensive. He wanted to put it away, but it smelled too sweet and he had never eaten it before. So he picked up a cake to taste it, and ended up eating three in a row, not caring about the gold mountain.

At Meng Tao's signal, Meng Jinshan slipped out holding his red apple.

Meng Zhehan and Zhang Guoqing were carrying things back from the car when they saw Meng Changshou. They didn't know who he was. Meng Tao told them that this was the eldest brother of Meng Shengli's grandfather, and introduced him to Meng Changshou: "Last time I went to the provincial capital to do business, I got help from this brother. His last name is also Meng, so I took him as my godfather."

Meng Changshou responded with an "oh". He had heard about this from Jinniu. When he saw Meng Zhehan dressed like a city dweller with an extraordinary demeanor, he stood up involuntarily.

Meng Zhehan put down what he was holding, bowed formally to Meng Changshou as a junior, and called him "Hello, grandpa".

Meng Changshou was a little flattered and at a loss. Meng Zhehan stepped forward to help him sit down, and then sat on another chair and talked to Meng Changshou humbly and politely. Meng Changshou soon recovered and was very fond of Meng Zhehan. He thought that this young man was really great, sensible, polite and approachable, unlike Taohua, that girl, who only knew how to bully others at home. This is the attitude of the younger generation towards the elders.

Meng Changshou saw Zhang Guoqing and Wang Tiegen carrying two heavy sacks into the kitchen, so he asked what they were. Meng Zhehan told him, "It's Chinese cabbage, potatoes and some meat. The commune's food store has too little and it's not fresh enough, so we went to the county fruit and vegetable company to buy them. We need to prepare more dishes for the banquet."

Meng Changshou glared: "It's just an engagement. The two adults will meet and set up one or two tables. Why do we need to buy so much? How much will it cost?"

"There are quite a few people coming from the man's family, so we have to entertain them. And some of Meng Shengli's grandfather's old friends are coming too,"

"Oh, Taohua, why didn't you tell me earlier that it won't work without an adult by your side... How can the man's words be everything? We have the final say in our family's engagement, and we shouldn't let too many people come... Isn't it expensive to eat and drink?"

"It's okay, Grandpa. It won't cost much. We can afford it."

"Ah, you kids, this is not the way to spend your money."

Meng Changshou pointed at the two large bags that Meng Zhehan had just brought in and asked, "What are these?"

Meng Zhehan: "Give the man's family some things, such as fabrics, clothes, candies, etc. The man is here today to give gifts and propose marriage, so we have to prepare some gifts in return."

Meng Changshou felt distressed again: What a bunch of silly kids, they don’t even know how much the man’s betrothal gift is, but they prepare the return gift first and buy so much. It turns out that it won’t work without an old man watching over them!

Meng Tao didn't know what the two people were talking about in the main room, so she went into the kitchen to busy herself.

After Meng Zhehan came, Zhang Guoqing stayed close to his teacher, while Zhou Cuiling followed her fiancé. They all stayed in the Meng family yard and helped Meng Tao with the work.

At six o'clock, Shen Yu and Liu Yongsheng had not arrived yet. Captain Bao and Zhou Shi'an had come to see them twice. Meng Tao said that if they didn't come at this time, they might arrive tomorrow. Perhaps Shen Yu would take Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu to rest in Mengzhou, and Liu Yongsheng and his party would pass by Jiangping City, and might stay at Liu Jianxin's place for one night.

After hearing this, everyone stopped being anxious and waited until after eight o'clock. After confirming that the guests would not arrive today, they all went to rest.

At around ten o'clock the next morning, Shen Yu and his son, Grandpa Xu, Grandma Xu, Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu arrived at Linshui Village.

They drove two jeeps into the village, and the other two cars, as well as the entourage of Grandpa Xu and Uncle Xu, stayed in the commune and stayed in the commune hotel at night. They did not follow them into Linshui Village.

Meng Tao, Meng Zhehan, Meng Changshou, Captain Bao, Zhou Shian and others walked to the parking lot to greet them.

When they saw Meng Tao for the first time, although Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu had heard Shen Yu say it beforehand, they couldn't help but be surprised: they both knew the late Old Lady Meng, and Meng Tao's appearance was really similar to that of Old Lady Meng when she was young.

Shen Heping almost didn't recognize Meng Tao. He felt that this girl had changed so much. When he saw her at Qianjin Steel Plant, she was dark, thin and looked so small. It had not been long since he last saw her, and suddenly she became fair and tender, gained weight and seemed to have grown taller. It was like a completely different person.

Grandma Xu's eyes were red. She hugged Meng Tao in her arms and called her dear grandson. Meng Tao's nose was sore and tears almost fell. She missed her grandmother in her previous life, who called her like that.

Shen Yu was watching Meng Tao almost cry, and felt very distressed. The eldest aunt came forward to hug Grandma Xu and Meng Tao and said, "I want to kiss my dear grandson too!" This made everyone around laugh.

Meng Changshou and Meng Zhehan received Grandpa Xu, Uncle Xu, and Shen Heping, politely calling them "relatives", and invited them to come in and sit down. Although the "relatives" came in a car and seemed to have a good family background and perhaps even hold some official position in the city, with Meng Zhehan following them, just like Uncle Xu and Shen Heping following Grandpa Xu, Meng Changshou inexplicably felt very confident and was no longer stage-frightened.

Grandpa Xu looked at Meng Zhehan and nodded secretly: He is worthy of being the eldest grandson of old fox Meng, he is so cunning and thoughtful, it is rare.

Everyone sat and talked and drank tea for a while, and when they were about to have lunch, Liu Yongsheng and his party arrived.

Liu Yongsheng and his wife Han Shuying, youngest son Liu Jicheng, eldest son Liu Jianxin and eldest daughter-in-law Sun Hong and grandson Mingming; Wang Cuixi and Xu Yuting, mother and son of the Xu family, a total of eight people, drove a medium-sized van and got off at the bridge head. The medium-sized van could not cross the small earth bridge, so they turned back to the commune hotel to wait.

At this point, all the people who should have arrived had arrived, and the Meng family courtyard was filled with guests and friends, with an unprecedented festive and lively atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)