Shen Yu drove his family to the International Hotel and the Chinese restaurant Longfeng Pavilion. Shen Heping called Uncle Su and his family to come over for dinner and go to the cemetery to pay homage together in the afternoon.
Under the protection of his grandfather, little Yunhai played hide-and-seek with his grandmother and giggled with joy. Meng Tao walked to the window and looked at the street scene and the river not far away. At this time, the sea city seemed a little desolate and backward, but it would take off soon and gradually develop into the prosperous, beautiful and charming magic city in later generations.
After Shen Yu ordered the dishes, he came over, hugged his wife and asked, "What are you sighing about?"
"Why sigh? I'm just enjoying the scenery."
"No? Why did I hear you mumbling something?"
"Just talk nonsense."
Meng Tao smiled and grabbed his hand and bit it gently: "I'm hungry, when will my uncle and the others arrive?"
Shen Yu saw his parents and son having fun, not noticing them, and bent down to kiss his wife on the lips: "They are already on the way. Some of them will take the bus, and some will ride a bicycle. It will take about 20 minutes. I ordered some Haishi-style snacks to fill your stomach first. If you think they are delicious, you can bring some more back to Beijing later."
"OK."
Meng Tao thought of the educated youth in Hai City: "I wonder what Qian Liang, Qian Xiaoyun, and Xu Guoliang are doing right now. Sun Yutang is in Nan City. It's a pity that we don't have time to visit them."
"Next time."
Shen Yu also had some classmates, friends, and old colleagues here, but he did not disturb them because he brought the whole family here and the itinerary had already been arranged. They were going to go to the cemetery to pay homage to their ancestors and the whole family would have fun for a few days, so there was no need to cause any trouble.
Uncle Su's whole family arrived, and everyone sat down to have lunch, chatted for a while, and then began to prepare to go to the cemetery.
There was no need for too many people to go. Firstly, it would be bad to be too conspicuous. Although it was 1978 now, we still had to be careful about the impact. Secondly, there were not enough seats in the car. The business car that Shen Heping borrowed could only seat seven. In the end, it was Uncle Su and his aunt who took their sixteen-year-old grandson, Su Guodong, to visit the grave together.
Su Guodong called Shen Yu and Meng Tao his cousin and cousin-in-law. The young man had just entered high school. He was almost 1.8 meters tall and had good physical strength. When going up the mountain, he bravely carried Xiao Yunhai in his arms and even rode him on his shoulders while carrying him on his back. Xiao Yunhai was very happy, but was stopped by Shen Heping and Su's uncle, who felt that it was unsafe.
Xiao Yunhai also liked this cousin. The two of them talked a lot and laughed constantly, becoming close friends regardless of age difference.
It was already late in the evening when we returned from visiting graves in the suburbs. We went back to Uncle Su's house for dinner, where his two daughters-in-law had prepared dinner.
Uncle Su is about ten years older than Shen Heping. When they were young, Uncle Su often took Shen Heping to play together. The uncle and nephew have a very good relationship. Uncle Su was reluctant to let Shen Heping return to Beijing and wanted to keep them for a few more days.
Shen Heping said that the whole family would go to Gusu City for two days. Uncle Su was very happy to hear that and asked to take him and his aunt along because they had lived in Gusu City before and were very familiar with the attractions and stories there. They could act as guides and ensure that everyone would have a good time and a rewarding trip.
So early the next morning, a car of seven people set out to travel to Gusu City. Su Guodong was still with his grandparents accompanying his cousin's family. Su Guodong was holding little Yunhai happily, while the other brothers and sisters had no seats to go and could only envy him.
Traveling and sightseeing make people feel open-minded and happy, and they don't want to leave. Three days later, the group returned to Haishi. At this time, most people have started to go to work. Shen Heping and his family spent another day sightseeing in Haishi, bought some gifts for relatives and friends, then said goodbye to Uncle Su, Aunt Su and cousins, and took a plane back to Beijing.
Ding Hao came to pick up the passengers at the airport, but he was left alone. He could only stand aside and it was not even his turn to carry the luggage.
Xu Hengkai, Lu Jin, Han Chaoyang, Yan Xinhua and Xu Liwen and his wife, upon learning that the Shen family was coming back today, they all drove to the airport to greet them as if to join in the fun.
As soon as they met, several men surrounded Shen Yu, talking at once. Xu Liwen pulled Meng Tao and Xu Zhen aside and whispered to them with a happy face, "I'm pregnant!"
Meng Tao was amused by her mother-in-law and looked at Xu Liwen's belly: "Little mother, my third sister is so anxious to report to you, of course she is pregnant."
Xu Liwen nodded happily: "Grandma told me not to tell anyone yet, but I think I have to tell you, because I want to give birth to a good baby like Xiao Yunhai! Taotao, when you were pregnant with Xiao Yunhai, write down the daily menu, how to do prenatal education, how to take care of yourself, and I will copy it!"
After saying that, she turned around and ran towards Shen Heping who was holding little Yunhai, shouting, "Baby! I haven't seen you for so many days, you miss me so much!"
The speed was like wind, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other in shock. Xu Zhen hurriedly followed: She has just become pregnant, you can't let her hold the baby. If she uses too much force or the baby doesn't know how to be careful and touches her belly, something bad may happen.
Meng Tao was happy for Xu Liwen, but also scratched her head a little worried: when she was pregnant with Xiao Yunhai, she didn't pay attention to any diet or maintenance. She traveled all over the country with a big belly. Even the prenatal education was done at will, without any strict arrangements. However, Xu Liwen was so superstitious, so she could just follow her actual experience, or at most copy some things from the textbooks, and compile a set for her to see. It shouldn't be difficult.
The group went straight back to the Xu residence. Shen Heping called last night and said he would be back today. Grandpa and Grandma Xu were very happy: Shen Yu and Meng Tao went to Linshui Village before the New Year, and their daughter and son-in-law took Xiao Yunhai to Hai City. They hadn't seen them for a week and the two old people missed them very much.
As soon as Xiao Yunhai got in the car, he asked Shen Heping: "Grandpa, where is Wangwang?"
Shen Heping said, "Wangwang is at home. Let's go to my great-grandmother's house first. We can see Wangwang when we come back in the evening. Okay?"
Xiao Yunhai nodded slowly.
Meng Tao knew that her son missed Xiao Wangcai, and she missed the dog too. This time the whole family has been out for such a long time, and she felt sorry for leaving Xiao Wangcai alone at home. When she returns home in the evening, she will bring it into the space to eat something delicious and let it take a pine needle dew spring water bath to make it happy.
The Xu residence was bustling with activity. The welcoming banquet was ready. Grandpa Xu invited Elder Meng, Elder Dou, Elder Fang, Liu Yongsheng and others, as well as Grandma Xu's good sisters. Han Shufang and Wang Cuixi also came and asked Meng Tao how the relatives and friends in Linshui Village were doing. How were Dongmei and the little baby? Meng Tao answered one by one and conveyed the greetings from Aunt Yang and Aunt Yu. She also asked them to bring something and send it to them tomorrow.
Han Shufang and Wang Cuixi were very happy to hear that all their relatives and friends were doing well. They said angrily, "Oh, they are so polite. Why did they come all the way here to send gifts?"
"Yes, yes. Thank you and Shen Yu for your hard work."
Meng Tao: "It's not hard. We borrowed a car in the provincial capital and drove there ourselves. We put our things in the car and didn't have to carry them. We checked them in directly when we got back to the provincial capital, and then we went to Haishi.
By the way, Aunt Yu and her friends invited you two to live in Linshui Village for a while. Now Linshui Village has electric lights, a cement bridge has been built, and the cement road leads directly to the village. It is flat and not bumpy at all. The village has organized planting areas and breeding farms. This year, they are planning to organize orchards and forest areas for planting and breeding, and also to set up a processing plant... In short, the changes are quite big. You two can go and have a look when you are free."
"Great! We must go for sure. When little Yanran turns one year old, we will try to stay there for a while and have a good look around."
"Yes, take the kids with you!"
Before dinner, Meng Tao took Xiao Yunhai to see Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Duoduo. After the Chinese New Year, the two children seemed to have grown up a lot.
Meng Tao asked little Yunhai: "I haven't seen my brother Tangyuan for a long time. What should brother Yunhai do?"
Xiao Yunhai walked forward with open arms and hugged Xiao Tangyuan like a big brother. Xiao Tangyuan was usually very naughty, but now he leaned his head on Xiao Yunhai's shoulder quietly and obediently, and patted Xiao Yunhai's back with his hands. The two little guys looked so friendly and respectful to each other that the adults around them were all amused.
(End of this chapter)