Chapter 128 The Salted Fish 'Steals Half a Day of Leisure from a Busy Life'.
Grandma Chen is a bully who preys on the weak. She acts tough in front of Zhao Yangyang, but immediately cowers when facing Zhong Li. After all, Zhong Li is very eloquent, fearless, and always has a point.
"I can't argue with you. You're so pretty, yet you spew filth from your mouth." Old Mrs. Chen retreated upstairs.
Zhong Li said sarcastically, "You'd better watch where you're going, or you'll fall into a cesspool."
Zhao Yangyang came down and told Huang Boyuan and his wife about meeting the child at the epidemic prevention station. "He had a parasitic disease before, but he has been dewormed and is very healthy now."
"Thank you, comrade, and also to the staff of your unit."
Huang Boyuan and his wife expressed their deepest gratitude to everyone.
Old Mrs. Chen went upstairs and pouted, "Even a mute person is so rare."
The door to the long side apartment on the third floor opened, and a female relative came out. "Zhong Li speaks so vulgarly and disgustingly, and she has such a pretty face but no substance."
The woman speaking was Xiao Ye, who hadn't gotten along with Zhong Li before. Her husband, Jiang Changtian, had been demoted and transferred here. Feeling ashamed, Xiao Ye didn't interact much with others.
"This lady next door, you really know how to talk, you can tell right from wrong." Old Mrs. Chen praised the lady next door.
Xiao Ye glanced sideways. She disliked Zhong Li and Chen Ruifeng next door, simply because Chen Ruifeng wore an imported Rolex watch. In Xiao Ye's eyes, only her husband, Jiang Changtian, was the best man in the army; no other man was worthy of carrying Jiang Changtian's shoes.
As her neighbor, why should Chen Ruifeng wear a better watch than her husband?
Xiao Ye also wanted her husband to wear an imported watch, but those watches were just too expensive! Yet she couldn't swallow her pride.
How amazing her husband is! Although his family was poor, he got promoted three times in a row after joining the army. In the past, Xiao Ye was incredibly successful, but now…
Xiao Ye believed that this was just a temporary setback for her husband, and that her husband, Jiang Changtian, would be more successful than all the male officers in this family compound!
"Grandma, your daughter-in-law's name is Zhao Yangyang, right?"
Grandma Chen nodded.
Xiao Ye said, "A woman named Yangyang sounds too masculine and might overpower men. Besides, her surname is Zhao. Do you know Zhao Kuangyin, who donned the yellow robe? Your daughter-in-law might suppress your son."
Grandma Chen blinked at her and asked, "So, what's your name, lady?"
Xiao Ye said confidently, "My name is Xiao Ye, Ye as in leaf, a little leaf held in someone's palm."
"Little Leaf? That sounds like you're not destined to be a proper wife. In the old days, if your parents named you that, they meant you were going to be someone's concubine."
"Ye Zi's life is too fragile," Old Mrs. Chen shook her head.
Xiao Ye: "??????"
“My son is a military officer, so of course he has to marry someone who is destined to be a legal wife. He doesn’t want a concubine.”
“Yangyang is a name that sounds upright and honest, and it sounds like someone who would be the first wife. Besides, my daughter-in-law is from Shanghai.”
Xiao Ye's face was practically splitting open. She had lived in the family compound for so many years, and this was the first time she had ever encountered such an extreme old lady. In the past, she was the one who would criticize other people's names, never someone who would speak so sarcastically to her.
This uneducated old lady said she was destined to be a concubine!
Xiao Ye took a few deep breaths and forced a smile: "Your son's name is Chen Ruifeng, right? It's a good name. It sounds like he's ambitious and unstoppable, and he'll have a successful career in government in the future."
Grandma Chen smiled and said, "Young lady, you're right about that."
Xiao Ye then changed the subject: "However, there is one problem. Your son should not wear an imported watch, but a domestic one. Imported watches are from overseas and will bring him bad luck."
Grandma Chen was taken aback: "What does this have to do with anything?"
"There's too much water overseas! His name is Ruifeng, but too much water will make him rust!"
Xiao Ye: "From now on, your family should use domestically made products, and the more rustic the better. This way, the sword will remain sharp and incomparably potent, ensuring your son's future success in his official career and preventing him from rusting!"
Grandma Chen: "???"
"What you said makes some sense."
Xiao Ye was delighted, thinking that it would be even better if Grandma Chen caused a ruckus at home and managed to destroy Chen Ruifeng's imported watch.
Huang Boyuan and his wife took Huang Shuyun away, and Xiao Pang was very reluctant to part with him.
My friend is gone!
"My good friend never criticizes me!"
"He loves everything I make!" Huang Shuyun had only been gone for a day, but Xiao Pang already missed him terribly and was sighing and complaining at home.
Upon hearing his son's words, Li Jianzhi struggled to swallow the words that were escaping his throat. He thought to himself: Xiao Lou wants to criticize you, but will he even be able to speak?
"Xiao Lou used to teach me to draw, but I haven't finished the drawing yet. I don't know when I'll see him again?"
Qin Xiangxiang asked in surprise, "He even taught you to draw? How good is it?"
Qin Xiangxiang had always wanted her child to learn some skills, whether it was playing the piano, harmonica, or accordion, she should at least know one of them, or singing, art, or painting.
At least it's good for cultivating one's character!
"These were all drawn by Xiaolou." Xiaopang went back to his room and took out a notebook with blank pages filled with drawings of Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, and the White Dragon Horse.
The most outstanding piece is a scroll depicting Sun Wukong riding the clouds, which fills the entire page.
Qin Xiangxiang was stunned: "This was drawn by a four or five-year-old child? It really shows a family tradition of artistic skill."
Li Jianzhi leaned over for a look and then exclaimed, "Xiao Lou has a real talent for painting."
"That's amazing."
Little Fatty: "He even taught me how to draw."
Qin Xiangxiang became interested: "Let me see what you drew?"
"I drew an old lady bravely fighting a cobra!" Little Fatty turned to the last page and showed off his "artwork".
An old woman with a triangular face was holding two steel needles in her hand, and in front of her was a snake with its tongue flicking out.
Qin Xiangxiang: "???"
Li Jianzhi glanced at him and said, "Our son has basically no talent for painting."
Huang Boyuan and his wife took their son by boat back home. When Grandpa Huang saw his grandson, he was overjoyed and wept tears of joy.
"This is truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune! The child has been found."
"It's good that the child has been found."
However… Grandpa Huang weighed his grandson in his hand and felt something was off. “This child seems to have gained weight?”
Huang Boyuan: "I have gained a little weight. I'm eating well at someone else's house and I've become quite plump."
Old Master Huang: "..."
"You really do encounter all sorts of things when you live a long life." Master Huang stroked his gray beard. "The child was abducted, but he still came back chubby and healthy. It's true that fortune and misfortune are intertwined."
His wife, Yang Xinhui, said, "The family that took Xiaoyun in was kind-hearted. Thanks to them, Xiaoyun didn't suffer too much."
The couple told Master Huang about everything that had happened in the family compound. It turned out that a family member surnamed Zhao worked at the epidemic prevention station and brought the child back home, intending to take him in for a while. However, they encountered a mean-spirited mother-in-law who wanted to kick the child out. In the end, the child went to Xiao Pang's house and finally started living a better life.
Grandpa Huang nodded: "Xiao Yun is so lucky, she has met many kind people along the way."
"We should also go to the epidemic prevention station to present a banner and thank those people."
"And the families of two female military dependents, Zhao Yangyang and Qin Xiangxiang, also benefited greatly from their kindness."
Huang Boyuan nodded: "Of course, of course, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"The boy who took Xiaoyun in seems to really enjoy cooking. How about we give them our old cookbook?"
"That's a good idea."
"Xiao Yun still says she wants to eat the dishes that Little Fatty Brother makes!"
The Huang family presented a banner to the epidemic prevention station, delivered some gifts to Zhao Yangyang's family, and finally visited Qin Xiangxiang's family. They first presented a calligraphy piece by Master Huang, saying, "My father hasn't written anything for many years. This piece was specially written for you to thank you for your kindness."
The calligraphy piece contained only the word "goodness," along with Master Huang's signature and seal.
Huang Boyuan said, "If you need it in the future, I can also write calligraphy specifically for you."
"Okay, I'll definitely ask if I need anything. I don't stand on ceremony." Qin Xiangxiang smiled. She was happy to receive such a masterpiece of calligraphy. She thought that displaying it at home would be too low-key, so she decided to hang it in the factory director's office instead.
Huang Boyuan: "No need to be polite, just speak up!"
"I actually wanted to ask you to write the signboard for our factory, but there's another sentence I'd like to write as a piece of calligraphy as well. Would that be a bit too greedy?"
Huang Boyuan repeatedly said, "No, no, you can contact me again if you need anything for the factory's signboard. What kind of calligraphy do you need?"
Qin Xiangxiang shamelessly said, "Help me write a line—'Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life.'"
"It's best to write the character '闲' (xián, meaning idle/leisurely) separately, one size larger."
This was the most elegant phrase Qin Xiangxiang could come up with, one that best reflected her state of mind. The less elegant way to say it was... salted fish.
"Actually, I really want your grandfather to draw me a salted fish lying on the shore sunbathing."
Huang Boyuan: "??????"
Over the years, countless people have come to ask his father, Master Huang, to paint for others, but Huang Boyuan has never heard such a strange request from the woman in front of him.
"Okay, I'll go back and ask my father for his opinion."
Qin Xiangxiang: "???? Actually, I was just joking." How could she possibly have such a master paint a salted fish for her?
"But Mr. Huang, if you're serious, then go ahead and ask him for me. Maybe your father really is willing to paint it."
Huang Boyuan: "..."
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