Chapter 28 Chapter 28 What is going on?
Charlie wasn't a great cook, and her aunt generally forbade her from cooking. Furthermore, in her family, dinner was the most important meal of the day, with everyone seated, so they placed a lot of importance on what they ate.
Xia Pingzhi didn't want Xia Li to give her orders, so it would be best if she didn't go into the kitchen at this time and just wait until dinner was over to wash the dishes.
Charlie wasn't about to do something she wasn't good at. Since her aunt wasn't home at this hour, her solution was to just go out and buy some food, vegetables and meat. She wouldn't be buying from home every day anyway. She'd wait until her aunt came home and then decide whether to cook more or just make some soup.
However, after she bought the vegetables for a while, the two still hadn't returned. She looked up and saw that it was already half past six.
What is going on?
Xia Li was getting a little anxious waiting alone in the house, so she simply went to the yard to wait. She moved a stool and sat outside, fanning away mosquitoes with a fan in her hand.
"We're home, we're home." After a while, she heard the voice of her aunt Xia Pingzhi coming from outside the door. The voice gradually became louder and louder. As for who she was talking to, there was no doubt that it was Jiang Zai.
Listening to my aunt's tone, although she said she was home, her tone didn't make you feel tired. She seemed to be still feeling unsatisfied. If it weren't for the evening meal, I guess neither of them would have rushed back.
She shook her head helplessly.
Xia Pingzhi walked in, holding Jiang Zai's hand. She let the child in first, then followed behind, holding a bag in her other hand. After she entered the door, she saw Xia Li still standing in front of the house and urged, "Xia Li, come over and help me get the things. What are you standing there like an idiot for?" She was annoyed.
Xia Li gave a bitter smile and walked over to take the things: "Aunt, did you go to give money to the toy store? Didn't you buy toys yesterday and the day before yesterday? Why are you buying more today? And, is this car different? Why did you buy another one? You can't just buy Jiangzai whatever he wants."
She really felt helpless about her aunt's behavior of loving the child. This was not the way to love a child.
"Who told you that it was our Jiangzai who insisted on having it? I bought it for the child because I thought the toy was nice. You can't wrongly accuse the child." Xia Pingzhi said as she glared at Xia Li lightly, and then touched Jiangzai's little head beside her to comfort him.
Jiangzai is a good child and cannot be wrongly accused by his mother Xia Li, otherwise her aunt will feel sad.
Jiang Zai was touched on the head, and he raised his head and smiled sweetly, then said to Xia Pingzhi, "Auntie, I'm hungry."
Yes, during the long period of being alone with Xia Pingzhi, Jiang Zai was conquered little by little. He was no longer shy around Xia Pingzhi and would call her "Auntie" again and again. Xia Li felt that her aunt was confused by the repeated calls of "Auntie".
Xia Li was feeling a little sad now. Jiang Zai was clearly closer to her aunt. Even her own mother couldn't compare to her aunt. Just a few days ago, Jiang Zai was always clinging to her whenever he had time, but now he was closer to his aunt Xia Pingzhi, even sleeping with her at night.
On the contrary, Xia Li was a little uncomfortable with this, but her aunt was very happy. She meant that since Xia Li went to work during the day, she was the one taking care of the child, so she might as well take care of the child to sleep by herself first, so that the child would not be unable to see anyone when he woke up in the morning. Later, when the child got used to it, he could be allowed to sleep alone.
But Xia Li thought about it and realized that she was being pretentious. Ordinary people would not encounter such a good thing. There were elders who took care of her children wholeheartedly and did not expect anything in return.
"Come in quickly, clean up and eat." Since you are hungry, don't stay outside.
The three of them entered the house one after another. Xia Li put her things down first, while Xia Pingzhi took Jiang Zi with her and went to wash their hands together.
After Xia Pingzhi and Jiang Zai finished washing up, they came over to the table and looked at the two dishes. She casually asked, "Did you buy them from the place at the intersection?" A few new restaurants had opened up in this area recently. Xia Li had brought food home from work a few times, and Xia Pingzhi had actually bought it herself, but for some reason, neither of them had gotten used to the food. The old restaurant at the intersection still tasted just right, like now. Sometimes, when they didn't have time or didn't feel like cooking, they'd just go and grab a couple of dishes.
"Yes, Auntie. I can't get used to eating it at other places, so I buy it from that store."
After putting the things down, Xia Li came over directly. She walked to Xia Pingzhi's side and asked her where Jiang Zai had gone.
Xia Pingzhi pointed to the bathroom, indicating to Xia Li that her child was using the toilet inside.
oh.
"Aunt, what do you think we should do later? Cook or make soup?"
Xia Pingzhi thought about it and decided to cook. The child said he was hungry, so it would take a while to make soup. When she looked at the time, she realized that it was too late. She didn't say anything more to Xia Li and went straight to the kitchen.
"Go see Jiangzai later." He instructed Xia Li before leaving.
Charlie could only tearfully agree. It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned this, but once she did, she realized that raising a child wasn't exactly easy, especially with something like this. It wasn't the kind of thing that made her feel happy. But what could she do? He was still too young, and she probably would be fine in a year or two.
Charlie resigned herself to her fate and walked to the bathroom door, waiting for the villain to finish his personal work.
When she finally dealt with him, she breathed a sigh of relief. After washing her hands, she took him to the dining table and asked Jiang Zai, "Are you very hungry? If not, I'll get you a biscuit to fill your stomach first."
Seeing Jiangzi nod, Xia Li went to the cabinet nearby and opened a bag to take out. This was the butter biscuits she had bought. They tasted quite good and were very sweet. Both adults and children could eat them. When she bought them, she was thinking of giving them to her aunt and Jiangzi when they were hungry. They were also quite expensive. The pastry shop owner said that they used a lot of eggs and butter.
Charlie took one of the cookies for him, mainly because the butter biscuits were quite large and he couldn't eat too much. She took another one for herself, stuffed half of it into her mouth, and then went to her aunt to feed her directly.
"Oh, that scared me." Xia Pingzhi said vaguely, biting half a biscuit in her mouth. She was still by the pot and got scared.
Charlie poked her head out and asked, "Are you almost done?"
"Well, it will be ready soon. Take out the dishes first."
My aunt is always very efficient. Charlie nodded and went out with the dishes.
After putting it on the table, Xia Li didn't go to the kitchen, but sat directly next to Jiang Zai. She prepared to inquire about the situation while her aunt was still there.
"Jiang Zai, where did you go to play with your aunt today? Mom has been waiting for you at home for a long time." She pretended to be sad as she said this.
When Jiangzai saw his mother was sad, he was a little flustered. He had no idea about the adults' routine and blurted out everything at once.
Oh my God! It turns out that these two people didn’t come back at noon. They stayed outside all day and ate lunch outside.
Children are at the age when they can no longer hide their secrets. Although what they say may be a little confusing and incoherent, they certainly won't lie.
Jiang Zai got excited as she talked, talking about huge tigers, monkeys crawling around in the trees, and beautiful birds. He wondered who hadn't been to the zoo. Well, she hadn't been, but that was because she hadn't had the time.
Look, she is obviously his own aunt, but she has been so nice to him in just a few days, taking him out to play and buying him toys all the time.
She was so jealous.
When Xia Pingzhi came out of the kitchen, she saw the mother and son talking to each other in front of the dining table. She was very happy. Look, this is what a real mother and son should look like.
She went over and put the food down, making quite a noise, but the two men were so focused and had their heads lowered that they didn't even notice she had come over and were still whispering.
After putting down the meal, the person didn't leave, still standing there, just listening. Something seemed amiss. Charlie's expression wasn't right. She looked a little jealous. She reached out and patted her niece on the back. The force wasn't strong, but it startled her. She seemed very focused just now.
"Okay, okay, why compete with a child? These are just children's toys. One day when you have a day off, the three of us can go out together and have some fun." She said directly to her niece.
Charlie denied it flatly: "Aunt, I didn't mean that." She would never admit that she envied this kid. He was so happy that someone could take him out to play every day and he didn't have to go to work or school.
Wait, no school?
Xia Li suddenly remembered the little kindergarten card she had seen on the sofa, so she asked her aunt what it was and where she had gotten it from. As she asked, she scooped up a bowl of rice and placed it on the table in front of her aunt, then added another for herself and Jiang Zi.
After stuffing a mouthful of rice into her mouth, Xia Li heard her aunt say that it was a woman who handed the rice to her when she took Jiang Zai to the vegetable market to buy vegetables yesterday and was resting on a bench by the roadside.
"What's wrong?" Xia Pingzhi picked up a piece of meat for Jiang Zai and asked casually.
Xia Li laughed heartily, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and looked at Xia Pingzhi with a somewhat flattering look. Then she glanced at Jiang Zi, and said in a negotiating tone, "Aunt, do you think Jiang Zi is old enough to go to kindergarten? In a few years, he will go to elementary school. I saw that he didn't go to school over there before. Now that he's here, please don't delay him."
Xia Pingzhi slowed down her eating, apparently having heard Xia Li's words. "When do children usually go to kindergarten?" She spoke softly, seemingly talking to herself, as if not expecting Xia Li to answer. This stumped her; after all, she had no experience raising such a young child.
But it was also very novel. This child brought her many interesting experiences. In just a few days, this old woman felt like she was alive again.
Jiang Zai didn't know whether he understood or not. When he heard this, he stopped eating and looked up at the two of them.
Charlie had heard it, but she didn't really know what was going on, so she pretended not to hear and continued eating. She wasn't the type to rush, anyway. She knew you couldn't get fat in one sitting, so having it out loud was just the beginning, and it wouldn't be long before it was officially put on the agenda.
However, Xia Li felt a little guilty, as if she had done something particularly unfair to Jiang Zai and her aunt. They were in a good relationship now, and she did this. But then she thought again, she was considering the long-term. The child was old enough to go to school, and adults certainly couldn't watch him all the time. Her aunt would also understand her mother's desire for her son to succeed.
During the meal, the two adults were talking intermittently, and occasionally they would talk to Jiangzai. The child would feel left out, although it was unintentional, so they would try their best to take care of his emotions.
Xia Pingzhi pressed the issue of Xia Li finding jobs for those people in Zhaozhuang. She'd been paying attention ever since she'd mentioned it. Jobs were hard to come by any year, and regardless of the pay, many people longed for a stable job. Her main concern was that if Xia Li agreed to help them find jobs, they wouldn't land them, leaving them with complaints.
Of course, Xia Li had considered this reason. After all, she wasn't a complete novice; she'd been working for a few years. She comforted her aunt by saying that they'd made it clear at the time that finding a job wasn't easy, and that she was simply acting as a matchmaker out of respect for Jiang Dong's mother and her fellow townspeople. They'd said everything they needed to say upfront; not everyone would be chosen.
She'd made a few more calls in the past few days, and both sides had already agreed. Young people from the village who were suitable were almost ready to leave for the trip. Xia Li wasn't worried about any unforeseen consequences. They were covering their own travel and lodging expenses. Those were the only two major expenses, and travel was unavoidable. As for accommodation, they could choose the large bunk beds, which were quite cost-effective for a night, and they could make do with it. Dormitories would be arranged once they could return to work. Food and drink were even easier to solve. Since they were all working, they had to be prepared for hardship. If they earned money, they could eat whatever they wanted, and how they spent it was up to them. If they didn't, they could survive on steamed buns and cold water.
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