Chapter 1
Qin Yao's family lives in a large courtyard that was converted from a quadrangle with four entrances. The large courtyard is different from a private courtyard. The front and back doors are open during the day, crossing two alleys. The vermilion color of the front door has peeled off. The original vermilion gate has now faded into earthy brown, with four door pins on the top, revealing the vicissitudes of life.
Chen Guixiang walked in front, passing through a corridor, and saw several side rooms and a small courtyard. On the side was a gate with hanging flowers, which was still painted with mottled red paint, like pieces of land cracked by drought. Only from the outline could one vaguely see some of the luxury and prosperity of the former royal family and nobles.
When Qin Yao walked in, her first feeling was that it was crowded. The corridor and the courtyard were very cramped, making people feel depressed. There were electric wires hanging in a mess above their heads, and there were several bare clotheslines scattered across the courtyard.
Passing through the hanging flower gate and entering the second courtyard, two old men were standing next to a persimmon tree, smoking. There was only one faucet in each courtyard, and two or three women were washing clothes around the faucet.
Xu Huiling and her daughter Juying were chatting outside Aunt Zhao's house in the Second Hospital. When they saw Chen Guixiang, they immediately called out, "Guixiang, is your Qin Yao back?"
She had a loud voice, and when she shouted all the birds in the trees flew away. Several families heard her shout and went out to watch the fun.
Qin Yao and Gu Cheng walked behind. The ground was uneven and covered with broken ice. Gu Cheng was afraid that she would fall, so he held her hand.
"I heard that your Yaoyao brought you a son-in-law who is a military officer..." Before Xu Huiling could finish her words, she caught a glimpse of Qin Yao walking towards her and was stunned.
The young girl was wearing a military coat and a hat. She had a light black braid hanging down her cheek. Her skin was white and translucent, and her lips were as red as cherries. In this world of ice and snow, she looked like a beauty carved out of ice.
Her eyebrows and eyes vaguely had the round and lovely look of that chubby girl, but in an instant they shrank and became such a stunning beauty.
"This - this is the girl from the Qin family!" A twenty-year-old young man in the yard widened his eyes. He and Qin Yao were childhood sweethearts who grew up in the same yard. That greedy fat girl grew up to be a fairy. He wished he could break his thigh.
Qin Yao smiled and called out to Xu Huiling, "Aunt Xu, Sister Juying."
Xu Huiling forced a smile. The others who had come out to see what kind of military officer son-in-law the Qin family's daughter had brought back were all a little heart-broken when they saw Qin Yao at this time. They couldn't tell how they felt.
It was like missing out on a "pearl". Her four older brothers were afraid to marry her because they were worried that she ate too much.
Now that he saw that Qin Yao had grown into such a beautiful woman, he regretted that he did not seize the opportunity. If he had married such a beautiful woman, he would also have had a father-in-law who was a skilled chef and he would not have to worry about food and drink.
There were people of all ages, male, female, old, young, all of them were secretly regretting so much that they slapped their thighs!
Now it’s all good, outsiders are getting the benefit for free!
Some people in the yard began to stare at the man standing next to Qin Yao with extremely unfriendly eyes. Gu Cheng was tall and wore the same military coat. He was scrutinized by several uncles and aunts with critical and harsh eyes.
"This kid has a pointed face and monkey cheeks. He is too delicate and not a decent person. He looks even worse than my son."
"Slicked-back hair and powdered face! What kind of official is he? Is he from the art troupe or the drama troupe?"
"He looks like a man without luck. How could Yaoyao like him?"
…
These old men and women whisper to each other regardless of the occasion, thinking that their voices are soft. But in fact, in this small courtyard, who can not hear them?
Qin Yao was extremely embarrassed. She turned her head to look at Gu Cheng. After getting off the train, Gu Cheng spoke a few words to Chen Guixiang with a gentle look. He did not put on a cold face when he went to his future mother-in-law's house. But because of this, he was disliked by a passerby as "too delicate" and "not steady enough."
Gu Cheng noticed her gaze and gave her a simple and harmless smile.
Qin Yao was stunned, she couldn't help screaming in her heart, his smile just now reminded her of the time when they first met, she hadn't seen such a pure little brother Gu for a long time.
I want to kiss him and sleep with him!
"Xiao Gu and our Yaoyao are a match made in heaven. I'll give you wedding candies later." Chen Guixiang smiled so hard that her eyes were closed. She didn't dare to look at the smile on her son-in-law's face for too long, as a mother's love would overflow at the sight of it.
Even when she met Xu Huiling who always competed with her, Chen Guixiang had no interest in bickering with her to show off.
The group walked through the side corridor and came to the third courtyard. Qin Chuanrong had been waiting in the house for a long time. When he heard the noise in the front yard, he resisted the urge to run out to greet him - it would be embarrassing to be so impatient when having a new son-in-law.
Qin Ersao, who was pregnant, stood at the door and looked in. If she hadn't been worried about falling and hurting her child, she would have wanted to go and watch the fun.
A three-year-old boy was standing next to my second sister-in-law's legs. He tilted his head and asked, "Second aunt, my little aunt is back."
"The second son's wife, please go inside and sit down." Chen Guixiang walked towards her home, and people behind her walked out of the corridor one after another. The third courtyard was more spacious and housed four families. Except for the Qin family, the windows of the other three families were crowded with people.
Qin Yao and Gu Cheng entered the house. There was a stove burning inside, so it was warmer than outside. Qin Yao let out a breath and introduced the people in her family to Gu Cheng.
The door of their house could not be closed. There was a group of people gathered outside, and there were people standing by the windows, wearing green cotton-padded jackets with red flowers, watching the fun together.
"Stand still, but don't touch my coal."
Chen Guixiang gave candies to the neighbors around her.
When Qin Chuanrong saw his son-in-law Gu Cheng, he couldn't help but reveal a look of disappointment. He thought he would meet a tall and honest man with a big head and thick neck, a convincing and reliable officer.
But Gu Cheng in front of him looked so handsome that he didn't look like a high-ranking official. Instead, he looked like a mainstay of the art troupe.
Qin Chuanrong felt bitter just to hear his daughter say that she had found an officer, an officer in the Navy Art Troupe, who was also an official.
It wasn't quite what he imagined.
"Xiao Gu..." Qin Chuanrong asked hesitantly, "Yaoyao said you were a captain of something. Oh, the captain of the art troupe? Are you tired from performing?"
Gu Cheng: “???”
he? Gu Cheng, captain of the art troupe? What should you perform for people? Fire a cannon at sea?
Qin Yao: “!?”
"I didn't say that." Qin Yao was incredulous. "Didn't I say that his name is Gu Cheng? Don't you know that Baozhen went to the island to have a blind date with him?"
Qin Chuanrong was stunned where he was. He was on a blind date with Chen Baozhen, the Gu family, the grandson of Chen Baozhen’s grandfather’s comrade-in-arms, and the grandson of Mr. Gu. And he——
"How come my son-in-law is so handsome? I misunderstood and thought he was someone's main man." Qin Chuanrong grinned, his heart beaming with joy.
Seeing how quickly her father-in-law changed his expression, the second sister-in-law pouted, but she was also happy in her heart. It would only benefit their family if her sister-in-law found a partner with good conditions.
Thinking of this, the second sister-in-law's tone of voice when speaking to Qin Yao became three points more enthusiastic. She smiled and said, "Yaoyao is still good at choosing a partner."
The second sister-in-law turned to Chen Guixiang and said, "Mom, you don't have to make a new bed. How about the second brother and I squeeze in next to the bed of the eldest brother and his wife, and let the younger sister and brother-in-law sleep in my bed."
Chen Guixiang said: "That won't work."
The second sister-in-law said, "Move my things to the side and make more room."
When the eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Qin family came back, they saw that the second sister-in-law, who was always very stingy, was very generous in making room for her.
The eldest and second sisters-in-law have been holding grudges against each other for a long time, all because of the house. There is too little space in the house, and they can even quarrel over a piece of land the size of a palm, and they measure it again and again with a ruler.
After Qin Yao left, the fourth child was able to live in the zoo dormitory, which freed up space and completely eased the conflict.
At noon, Qin Chuanrong took his eldest son to kill chickens and ducks and cook a table full of delicious dishes. He was very happy. Qin Chuanrong is a good cook and he never lacks food and drink. He is very famous in the area and many people invite him to prepare banquets for their weddings or birthdays. Every time he goes, he always brings back something.
Qin Chuanrong learned cooking as a self-taught person, without any proper master or inheritance. If you ask him to cook any dish or what is authentic or particular about it, he can’t say. He only knows how to cook delicious dishes.
This also made him feel a little less glorious and respectable in public. He especially wanted to train his children to become cadres. He had four sons. The eldest and second sons followed him to learn cooking, the third son went to the countryside to join the production team, and the fourth son was finally given a street job, but he went to the zoo.
However, his youngest daughter Qin Yao found such a son-in-law for him. Qin Chuanrong was very excited, but he had not yet put his mind to it. You know, a few days ago, he was looking forward to the fourth son becoming a section-level cadre.
"Yaoyao, look at your brother. He doesn't care about being a good person and instead takes care of animals." Qin Chuanrong was heartbroken. The job he found for the fourth brother was not to sweep the streets, but to manage street sweeping, which was at least a team leader level.
The fourth brother quit after working for a few days and secretly switched jobs with someone else, and really became a shit sweeper.
But the family that exchanged jobs with the fourth brother also felt that they were at a disadvantage and were furious with Qin Chuanrong, saying that he was taking advantage of the situation!
Qin Yao advised: "Dad, working in a zoo is also good. It saves trouble and you don't have to deal with so many people."
Qin Chuanrong is not good at speaking. Except for the second brother, the others are not good at speaking. The second brother who is good at speaking likes to be lazy, and Qin Chuanrong doesn't like the second brother like this.
"Yaoyao is right." After listening to what his little daughter said, Qin Chuanrong felt much better.
Fourth Brother Qin snorted at the side: "It's already pretty good. The zoo ticket fee is 50 cents a day. I go to the zoo every day for free. I make 15 cents a month, and an extra 180 cents a year."
"You guys want to go to the zoo, I can take you in for free, but you're rejecting such a good job, huh."
Brother Qin Si felt that he had made a fortune by changing jobs decisively, but no one in his family understood him.
The second sister-in-law couldn't help but say, "Who goes to the zoo every day?"
The sister-in-law held her breath and said nothing. She thought this job was good, and her son went with her twice.
"Sister, if you and your brother-in-law want to visit the zoo, tell me and I'll get you tickets."
Qin Yao: "...Okay."
In the small room, ten people gathered together to eat. It was the first time that Qin Yao felt the atmosphere of a big family. It was warm and lively. Moreover, as the youngest sister in the family, she was the darling of the family.
Her parents care about her, her brother loves her, and her sister-in-law can’t say she likes her, but she is also very polite to her.
After finishing the meal, Qin Yao, as the young lady of the family, said with some regret:
"If I had known, I would have gone home at the port."
Gu Cheng: “?”
That won't work.
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