The old lady looked at the child in her arms and felt a little excited. Even though she liked Weiyu and the other three children very much, this was her blood-related descendant, which made her even happier.
Zhang Hongmei guided Ma Li into a conversation and had a good impression of her; she spoke eloquently and was at least not ignorant.
As it grew late, Hu Aifen and her mother-in-law went to cook. Zhang Hongmei, Ma Li, and Liu Xiuling were ushered out; they weren't needed. The three sisters-in-law chatted more to strengthen their bond.
The old lady took all the children back to her house, but how could five little ones stay inside? In the end, they had to gesture in the yard.
Zhang Hongmei also lay on the bed looking at Liu Chongyu. "Sister-in-law, this child might be a little hot. How about we give him a bath?"
"The first thing I did when we got back was to wash him. I also washed him every day on the train."
The old woman looked at the child lying on the bed and said, "He has a big frame; he'll definitely grow up to be strong."
"Sister-in-law, do you have enough milk? If not, we have formula at home. All four of my children grew up on formula."
"It's enough for now. I'm also thinking of letting him switch to formula after he's six months old."
"Mary, are you getting ready for work?"
"Yes, Grandma, my mother-in-law said she would help me take care of the child and that Jingxiang and I should both go to work. She said it's better for young people to go to work."
"So what do you and Jingxiang think?"
"Grandma, Jingxiang is straightforward but not very good at interpersonal relationships. Because of my appearance, I also don't like to interact with too many people. We both studied accounting."
My older brother suggested we get jobs at the bank. We both thought it sounded great, so we're planning to try it out in a couple of days.
"That's fine. Bank jobs are quite easy. You have your mother-in-law and grandmother at home, so you don't have to worry about the children." The old lady was quite relieved; at least she was a sensible person.
"Sister-in-law, your hairstyle might not suit you. Would you like me to cut it for you?"
"Red Plum, what kind of beauty suits me?"
"Sister-in-law, can you accept short hair?"
"Short hair, never tried it before?"
"Sister-in-law, let me gather them together for you, and you can see the effect."
Zhang Hongmei pulled Ma Li to sit on the bench, untied her braids, combed them neatly, and then lifted the ends of her hair to tidy them up.
The old lady watched the two of them fiddling around downstairs, then looked at Ma Li and thought she looked pretty good. She got out of bed, put on her shoes, and held up a mirror for Ma Li to see.
"Sister-in-law, do you think this is okay? It's not in shape yet, and besides, you've always braided your hair, so it's already curly. It'll still be like this after you cut it short. But it'll be fine in less than a week."
Looking at herself in the mirror, Ma Li felt that she had changed a lot.
"Hongmei, why don't you give it a try? I'm already like this, it just doesn't suit me. How much worse can it be?"
"Okay, sister-in-law, you go wash your hair, I'll go find some scissors."
Half an hour later, Ma Li looked at herself in the mirror and felt like she was a completely different person. Although it was still the same face, her bangs were above her eyebrows, a simple student-style haircut. Only now, the front was longer and the back shorter.
"Sister-in-law, how are you feeling?"
"Yeah, it looks pretty good. I think it makes me look more energetic."
The old lady nodded. "It looks neat and tidy. It also makes you look more energetic."
Actually, Zhang Hongmei designed the hairstyle based on that of a famous actress from her previous life, but while the idea was good, it didn't actually turn out that way.
Suddenly, I heard children shouting in the yard. It turned out that Zhang Shouyi had come over.
Although the four children were quite close to Zhang Shouyi, they would never be as affectionate as they were towards Zhang Hongmei, throwing themselves at her.
Liu Changhe and his two sons also came out. After introductions, Zhang Shouyi shook Liu Jingxiang's hand, having a good impression of this straightforward man.
In his past life, this young man was the one who took care of all the elderly people in the Liu family until the very end.
Surrounded by them, everyone entered the old lady's room.
Ma Li glanced up at the man who entered, then immediately lowered her head. She knew this was her boss, but he was so young and handsome; no wonder his four children were so beautiful.
After dinner, the old lady didn't go back with them. Now that the four little ones have been studying for longer, she has less time to spend with them. Luckily, this little one came to visit.
The four children were a little sad when they learned that their ancestor was staying and not going back. The old lady even wanted to stay and not go back with him.
"You four, let the old ancestor stay at home for a few days, and then come and pick him up in a while."
After listening to their mother, the four children quickly confirmed the time with the old lady.
"Grandma, shall we take my little brother back with us?" Wei Yu asked cutely, holding the old lady's hand.
"But my little brother needs his mom too. We'll come and pick him up in a few days once he's settled in."
The old lady was really gratified; all the love and care she had received hadn't been in vain.
"Our ancestor lives at home. Would you like to come and keep him company every Saturday and Sunday?"
"Grandma?"
"I've been staying at home for a while now, and I've helped raise Chongyu. You can come see me on Saturdays and Sundays."
Zhang Hongmei fell silent; she knew the old lady was quite lonely. "Okay, we'll come over on Saturday and Sunday. Actually, the whole family can move to Fuzeyuan and stay there too."
"It's too much trouble. I'm more comfortable here."
The family went home. The five little ones had been running around all day and were a bit listless, but with Zhang Hongmei talking to them, none of them fell asleep.
“Brother Zhang, Liu Jingxiang and his wife seem alright, much better than Liu Xiuling.”
"Yeah, I hate that woman too."
"Hehe, that just means you're charming!"
"My charm is enough for my wife to see."
When night fell, everyone in the family went to sleep, leaving only Liu Xiuling behind.
You are truly shameless!
Ever since the old lady called her over, Liu Xiuling had been feeling very uneasy. Her lapse in composure had indeed been discovered.
"Grandma."
“You’re this age, and you’ve been through so much, yet you haven’t made any progress? You’re making our family ashamed. Forget it, either go back to Haishi or go back to your hometown.”
"Grandma, there won't be a next time. I was just suddenly confused."
Hu Aifen overheard their conversation outside the door. What else was there to misunderstand? She was utterly disappointed.
He lifted the curtain and came in. "Grandma, don't let her go back to Haishi. I'll take her back to our hometown and find her an ordinary man to marry."
"mom."
"Don't call me. If you don't want to, do whatever you want."
"Aifen, let's go back together at the end of the year."
I'm getting older every day, and I don't know when I'll pass away. Even if I die, I want to die in my hometown.
"Milk!"
"Stop talking. We'll go back when Jingze comes back, take this little one with us, and send him over when he's four. We'll send him to Hongmei's place so she can teach him."
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