Liu Changhe and his wife sighed. The old lady was more thoughtful; they didn't say anything. Even if you spoke now, you wouldn't understand the child's feelings. They decided to leave it as it was for now and wait until the child calmed down.
Besides, time heals all wounds, and the damage would gradually fade over the years. But this time, the decisive and wise old lady was wrong. She never saw her great-grandson loosen his grip, even as she closed her eyes.
“Jingze, your mother is unhappy. How can you make her feel this way? And if you make this decision, your mother will blame Hongmei. This is very bad. Think it through yourself.”
Liu Jingze understood this as well, and somewhat regretted telling his family about his decision. But he couldn't keep quiet; he was already twenty-five, and in the countryside, not being married at that age was considered a sin. So he decided to prepare himself for the worst.
As for what her mother said to Hongmei, those were just words spoken in anger. How could she possibly really blame the girl? It was only because she knew that everyone in the family was reasonable that she dared to say it.
"Grandma, I don't want to be unfilial, but I really have no other choice."
"Alright, stop talking. You're not just living for a woman; you're a human being too." The old lady waved her hand, refusing to listen to Liu Jingze.
Liu Changhe's wife patted her grandson's hand, then got out of bed, put on her shoes, and went outside. Even if they built a multi-story Western-style house, it wouldn't bring her any joy. The younger generation in the family were all incompetent, no good enough to be respected. This was their only hope, and it was this kind of thinking that saddened their family.
"Grandma, I'm leaving tomorrow. There are still several people waiting for me."
"Go on, you're all grown up now, you've got your wings. We're all old, you don't listen to us anymore."
Liu Jingze felt extremely sad after hearing the old lady's words. He didn't want things to be this way either. But he couldn't even bear the thought of living with someone else.
Let's leave it at that for now. I'm leaving tomorrow, and maybe the old man will forget about it since he won't see me.
Liu Jingze knew he was just deceiving himself, but he couldn't bear not thinking that way.
After Zhang Hongmei finished her Tai Chi practice and washed up, she went upstairs to pack some gifts: tea, a piece of He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum), and two bottles of Moutai. That was all she could give.
You don't need to do that when visiting the McCann family, but Huang Meihua is Chinese, and today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, so you have to go and pay your respects.
As she was carrying her things downstairs, she ran into Zeng Zhongkang, who was coming in.
"I have to go to McCann's house."
"This is just me washing up."
"No need to rush, we can make it if we leave at nine o'clock."
"Can you catch up with the gifts you brought down?" Zeng Zhongkang didn't complain about Zhang Hongmei, but nodded and went back to his room.
Zhang Hongmei picked up the car keys, put the gifts inside. Everything else was fine, but she didn't want everyone to see the two bottles of wine, so she put them in the car early on.
Shen Yunfang was cooking in the kitchen. Breakfast was steamed buns and dumpling soup. A pretty good combination.
Half an hour later, it was time for dinner at home. Everyone came over, even Zhao Hao, who usually sleeps in, was already sitting on the sofa.
After finishing breakfast and helping with the cleanup, Kong Yushun and the others left. They still had to prepare to make steamed buns. Now, these people no longer have conflicts over who does more or less work.
Zhao Tiancheng helped Wang Xinyi in from outside. "Hongmei, are you going to Sister Huang's house?"
Zhang Hongmei nodded, "Yes, I have to go in a bit. I've prepared tea, he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum), and wine."
“Okay, these are fine too. Also, bring the braised pig’s head, braised beef, and salt-baked chicken that I had Yunfang make in advance in the kitchen. That way, it won’t seem too monotonous.”
"Hehe. You're so thoughtful. I'll take it with me when I leave."
Cheng Guangxu had already gone back to his room to study, only Zhao Hao was still lingering in the living room. Two girls were helping to clean the kitchen. Shen Yunfang was exceptionally meticulous; she always had to thoroughly wipe the kitchen down.
"Hongmei, you're not coming back for lunch, are you?" Wang Xinyi sat down next to Zhang Hongmei.
"Well, I reckon we'll definitely have to stay for dinner. Don't worry about me, Zeng Zhongkang is coming with me."
"Okay, that puts my mind at ease. Alright, I need to go back to bed now. I feel much better this morning than usual; I feel more energetic."
"You are now a key person to protect. You must take good care of yourself, my Uncle Zhao and Zhao Haozheng have both lost weight."
"I know, that's why I didn't stand on ceremony and used your ginseng. It's very helpful in replenishing my vital energy."
Zhao Tiancheng quickly helped his wife up and slowly walked her into the house.
It's already 8:30, and Zeng Zhongkang is already sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper while waiting for me. Since it's still early, I picked up the newspaper and started reading the news.
Honestly, they claim to be equal, but how can they really be? Seeing the newspapers so vigorously promoting human rights, I have no desire to read any further.
The men in the family, Zhao Tiancheng and Zeng Zhongkang, always had newspapers in their hands whenever they had time, so I never noticed anything amiss.
She kept flipping through the pages, which drew several glances from Zeng Zhongkang across from her. He thought to himself, "Given your status, is it really okay to be so indifferent to politics?"
At nine o'clock, Zeng Zhongkang stood up and went to the kitchen. Shen Yunfang had already prepared the gifts, including twenty steamed buns. Although the gifts weren't expensive, they were certainly pleasing to the eye.
Zhang Hongmei lingered for a while before getting on the bus.
The two arrived at approximately 10:00.
Huang Meihua knew that Zhang Hongmei would definitely come today. Chinese people attach great importance to paying New Year's visits on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so she had instructed the kitchen early on the menu for today's dishes. She then sat in the living room and watched TV with Annie.
Hearing the car, Annie jumped up and shouted, "Grandma, my mom's here!" as she ran outside.
Zhang Hongmei got out of the car and was about to take the gift when Zeng Zhongkang refused. At that moment, Annie rushed over.
"Mom, why didn't you come sooner? I missed you so much."
Zhang Hongmei smiled awkwardly. Should she tell the child that she didn't want to go to her house so early? It was better not to say anything.
Annie, holding Zhang Hongmei's hand, didn't care that her mother hadn't answered her question. "Mom, let's go inside quickly. Grandma is waiting for us in the living room."
At this moment, Huang Meihua also came out. Zhang Hongmei stepped forward and said, "Godmother, Happy New Year!"
"Alright, alright, Happy New Year to everyone. Let's go inside. You've come all this way, why did you bring any gifts?"
I'll be happy as long as you come to see me more often. Your three older sisters will be coming over soon too. They're not very bright, so please be understanding and don't take it personally.
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