Chapter 48 Aunt Becomes Sister In a second bedroom on the third floor of a building in the forestry family compound, Liu Jianxin and his wife Sun Hong were coaxing their son Mingming to take medicine. The little guy had caught a cold these days, but he refused to take the medicine. The couple discussed how to force him to take medicine together. Mingming covered his mouth tightly with his little hands. The two sides were in a stalemate. There was a knock on the door. Liu Jianxin went to open the door and saw a girl standing outside the door with a smile. He couldn't believe his eyes:

"Peach Blossom? Meng Taohua!"

Meng Tao smiled and nodded: "It's me, Brother Liu. The security guard sent me downstairs, otherwise I wouldn't be able to find where you live."

Liu Jianxin hurriedly took the things from her hand and asked repeatedly: "What car did you take? You came so late, did you spend a long time looking for your home? Before you come, send me a telegram and we will pick you up at the station, which will save us trouble."

Before Meng Tao could answer, Sun Hong came out holding the crying Mingming and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Hey, look who's here?"

Liu Jianxin introduced the two people: "This is Meng Taohua, the girl on the train I told you about. Taohua, this is my wife Sun Hong, and our son Mingming."

Sun Hong greeted her enthusiastically: "Oh! It turns out that it's Sister Taohua who's here? Great, come in quickly!"

When Meng Tao heard her calling her sister, she also called her sister-in-law and looked at the cute little baby in her arms: "You are Mingming? I am Aunt Taohua."

The cute little baby was feeling unwell due to fever and had been crying just now. He looked at Meng Tao who was waving at him with red eyes, and suddenly opened his little arms and rushed over to hug her. Sun Hong was caught off guard and almost couldn't hold him. The two women exclaimed at the same time and hurriedly stabilized the child.

Meng Tao said, "Mingming, be good. Auntie is coming from outside, so she has to wash her hands first before she can hug you!"

Sun Hong almost dropped her son to the ground. She was so scared that her heart was pounding. She slapped his little butt hard and said, "You little brat, who did you take after? You don't care about anything when you see a beautiful woman! She's your aunt, she can't run away. Why are you so anxious?"

Liu Jianxin put the things on the coffee table and said, "Isn't this the same thing as you? When you first saw me, you chased me everywhere, and you came to my school every day to harass me, embarrassing me, but you couldn't get rid of me."

Sun Hong was angry at first, but after hearing what her husband said, she couldn't help laughing: "Sister Taohua, come and see your brother, how can he be so shameless!"

"I'm telling the truth."

Liu Jianxin was serious. He picked up the kettle and walked to the washbasin rack. He poured some hot water into it, took a clean towel, and asked Meng Tao to wash her face and hands.

Meng Tao washed her hands and face, then came over and picked up Mingming. The little guy was quite strong and looked at Meng Tao fearlessly. He called her "Auntie" in a baby voice as his mother had taught him.

Meng Tao agreed and pinched his face curiously: "Your personality is like mom's, that's great."

Then he smiled and asked Sun Hong: "Sister-in-law, were you really the one who took the initiative to pursue my brother Liu?"

Sun Hong chuckled: "Yes, that's it, so what? But I'm only telling you this, my sister. It can be regarded as my sister-in-law passing on some experience to you: if you meet someone you like, you must not miss him/her, no matter what the consequences are, just strike first and grab him/her first!"

Liu Jianxin made a cup of sugar water and handed it to Meng Tao, then glared at Sun Hong: "It's enough to have you as a carefree person, don't let it go astray."

"I think it's great that you're doing this, sister-in-law. How happy are you now? If I'm lucky enough to meet someone I really like, I might do the same." Meng Tao smiled.

"Don't worry, Sister Taohua, you will definitely meet a very, very good man. When the time comes, just hold on to him bravely and he will be yours."

The two of them were making Mingming laugh. Liu Jianxin was speechless. He was used to his wife's personality and didn't care about it. But if it affected her peach blossoms and her peach blossoms also became like this, he was afraid that someone would not be able to bear it in the future.

Meng Tao held Mingming and untied the net bag to take out something to eat. Mingming wanted to eat biscuits because he had a fever, but Meng Tao didn't give him any. She took out an orange. Mingming looked at the orange and nodded, agreeing to eat it. Meng Tao peeled the skin and fed it to him.

Liu Jianxin and Sun Hong were attracted by the aroma of the oranges. Meng Tao called them, "This orange is quite sweet. Come and have a try, brother and sister-in-law."

Sun Hong peeled an orange and ate a slice, praising it highly, while saying, "Sister, drink some water first. I'll cook you a bowl of noodles and two eggs later."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I've eaten. I'm not hungry."

"You're eating outside? You're wasting money. You should have come directly after getting off the car. Can your brother and sister-in-law let you starve?"

Sun Hong said as she stuffed two orange slices into Liu Jianxin's mouth. Liu Jianxin tasted the delicious fruit and nodded repeatedly, letting Sun Hong eat it herself. He also picked up an orange to peel it, but noticed that there was a cloth bag on the table that looked familiar. He looked at it again and again, reached out to touch it, and looked up at Meng Tao: "This... is for you, why did you bring it back?"

Meng Tao said, "Brother, I know these things, as well as the money and tickets, were given to Mingming by your relatives from your hometown. How can I, an adult, have the nerve to snatch food from Mingming?"

"Oh, I saved it for Mingming. This is for you."

"Don't lie to me, everything is intact, I can see that."

Liu Jianxin: “…”

When Liu Jianxin heard this, he knew his wife wanted to buy new clothes for Taohua, so he nodded in agreement: "I think it's great, Taohua, what do you think?"

Meng Tao: "Come again next time. I have to go back early tomorrow morning. I still have work to do in the production team."

Liu Jianxin and Sun Hong were surprised: "Didn't you come to see us? Why are you leaving in the blink of an eye?"

Meng Tao smiled: "Now I see you guys, don't I? I'm so happy to see you guys are doing well."

"You must be in trouble. What are you doing in Pingjiang? Tell your brother and sister-in-law."

Unable to convince the couple, Meng Tao had to make up an excuse.

"Really? You came here with the vehicle from your commune's supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Of course, how could I lie to you? The one who came to order the goods was a girl, my good friend, and she asked me to keep her company."

"Why doesn't the girl come to our house with you?"

"The hotel room can be reimbursed. I just came to visit you. We agreed that we have to take the bus back together tomorrow morning."

"Hey! Look at you, you thought you could stay a few more days, but you made us so happy for nothing."

Sun Hong sighed and pointed at the table: "You took so many things. This milk powder... is it imported? It's expensive!"

"Oh, the milk powder and other things were brought back from the provincial capital last time. They were given to me by my friends there. I didn't pay attention to them when they were in the bag. Otherwise, I would have given them to my eldest brother to bring back to Mingming. I'm an adult now, and I can't eat these."

Meng Tao looked at the speechless couple and said, "I have to find you first this time. It will be much more convenient when I come next time."

Liu Jianxin nodded: "When the farming season is over, come and stay for a few more days. I also called home. Mom and Dad are very happy to know about you. Dad said that when he is better, he will come over to see you and his good brother."

Meng Tao: "Liu...should I call you uncle or grandpa?"

Liu Jianxin paused, raised his hand and patted his forehead, then looked at Sun Hong: "I was wondering, why do you call me Sister Taohua? I always feel it's weird!"

Sun Hong was also stunned, then suddenly realized and laughed: I was so happy that night, but I actually got the generations wrong! She quickly taught her son: "This is your sister, not your aunt, you should understand it clearly!"

Meng Tao also laughed: There is only a few years difference between her and Liu Jianxin in age, who would remember so much?

But now she is at a loss. She was demoted in an instant and turned from an aunt into a sister.

Liu Jianxin said, "Your Grandpa Liu is over 60 years old. He has not been in good health and his eyesight has weakened. The last time I went back was because he was hospitalized again. But he is a stubborn old man. If he says he will come, he will definitely come. I am telling you now, and I will send you a telegram when I really go there."

Meng Tao nodded: "Okay, then I'm also mentally prepared. What medicine does Grandpa Liu take?"

"I'm not sure either. I live far away, so my mother and my second brother are taking care of me. I think I took Western medicine when I was in the hospital, and Chinese medicine when I got home. I used a little of both. Don't worry, I'll bring all the medicines with me when I go."

"Oh, that's fine." Meng Tao is not a doctor and doesn't know much, so he just asked.

After a good rest that night, Mingming's fever was gone the next morning. He was full of energy and laughter, and he kept pestering Meng Tao to play games.

Liu Jianxin and his wife agreed that since Meng Tao didn't want the things they forced on her, they would give them to her in person. If she still didn't want them, they would reason with her. In the end, Meng Tao was no match for the couple and had to accept it.

Sun Hong replaced it with a clean blue cloth bag. She didn't want the millet and peaches that Liu Jianxin brought from his hometown, so she left them for Mingming to make porridge. She divided the cured chicken, duck, smoked pork and salted duck eggs into two halves, half for each person. There were also high-quality dried mushrooms, black fungus, day lily, walnuts, chestnuts and almonds that they got from the forest farm in the mountains, plus dried fish and shrimp from the big lake that had just been sent by Sun Hong's hometown. The fish was really big, so it was cut into pieces and dried. Each piece of fish was four fingers thick.

After packing the things, the bag turned out to be even bigger than the one Meng Tao returned. There was no way Meng Tao could refuse.

The whole family gathered together to watch Sun Hong packing the money. Liu Jianxin chatted with Meng Tao about this and that, and there was another one named Mingming who kept trying to pull Meng Tao around the house to play. Sun Hong took advantage of Meng Tao's inattention and stuffed another roll of bills into the bag, then tied the bag tightly.

Liu Jianxin and Sun Hong held Mingming and only sent her to the bus stop as Meng Tao requested, because she still had to go find her fellow villagers. After watching the bus go away, the couple walked back to work.

(End of this chapter)