Chapter 32

"Is this something I should know?"

If Shang Nanchen's expression wasn't so innocent, Jing Xian would have thought he did it on purpose and his tone was very angry.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel that what they said is correct.

It just sounds uncomfortable.

"Then how should I know?" Jing Xian's tone was not very good. It was not appropriate to quarrel during the New Year, and Shang Nanchen had just returned, so she didn't want to make him angry.

Shang Nanchen realized his problem and felt that his attitude just now might have made her unhappy. However, he did not let his male pride get in the way and said frankly, "I was just joking."

"oh."

Jing Xian was still unhappy.

Shang Nanchen had no choice but to explain: "I didn't know you didn't like jokes, so I won't joke anymore. I just thought that saying I didn't know might be a little too rigid, so I changed the way I put it, thinking you would understand."

Jing Xian: “…”

What can she say?

Are we going to let Shang Nanchen go back to the drawing board and start over?

Obviously that is impossible.

"You should be less clever!" Jing Xian said with disgust, "I'm really afraid that you might accidentally blow me up."

Shang Nanchen laughed: "How is that possible?"

“Anything is possible.”

Jing Xian snorted arrogantly, Shang Nanchen coaxed her a few words, and the atmosphere between the two returned to normal.

While cooking, we chat and talk about family matters.

Jing Xian told Shang Nanchen what had happened at home recently, so that Shang Nanchen had an idea of ​​what was going on.

"The two children are making good progress in their studies. They have almost mastered the first-grade curriculum. They can recognize the characters in the textbooks and write well. I am thinking of sending them to school when the new year starts."

Jing Xian couldn't let the two children follow her to the hospital all the time.

It's okay for just over a month, but if it's longer someone will definitely have opinions.

Shang Nanchen never said that the child was too young to be sent to school.

If the child is young, you can let him stay in school for two more years.

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Shang Nanchen taking over the matter saved Jing Xian a lot of worry.

Not long after, the two children came back.

It’s a good time to put up Spring Festival couplets.

Shang Nanchen wrote the couplets at home. When Jingxian went to the grocery store, she bought red paper. After cutting it, Shang Nanchen wrote two couplets. One was posted at the door of the house, and the other was posted at the front door.

He also wrote a few Chinese characters for "Fu Zi" and pasted them on the wall.

By the time he finished pasting, it was time for dinner.

The New Year’s Eve dinner in the evening was much more sumptuous.

After she cooked abalone and shrimp, she specially prepared the sauce, adding a lot of seasonings and chili oil. Then she put the cooked seafood in it. It looked very appetizing, completely different from the usual boiled seafood.

There are also a few abalones in the braised pork, and the braised pork looks delicious.

She stir-fried some Chinese cabbage and mixed some bean sprouts. Although the bean sprouts were warm, they tasted delicious.

Because there was rice soup from the rice we scooped up, we didn’t need to make soup.

“I wish every day was Chinese New Year!”

Fusheng sat at the table, looking at the food on the table. After he finished talking loudly, he sneaked over to Tiedan and whispered, "Brother, do you think we can celebrate the New Year like this in the future? I don't want to live like the old days."

Tiedan said, "How can things be the same now as before? We have a new mother. Without this mother, we will definitely have to live the same life as before."

"oh."

Fusheng nodded, not quite understanding.

After the last dish came out of the pot, Shang Nanchen brought the dishes and went into the house with Jing Xian to eat.

As soon as Shang Nanchen sat down, he heard his youngest son looking at him eagerly and asked loudly: "Dad, can you not change mothers for us in the future?"

"???"

Shang Nanchen's head was full of question marks.

"Why would I change your mother if I have nothing to do?" Shang Nanchen said to Jing Xian nervously, "I won't get divorced easily. You know..."

"You had no choice. You are still very soft-hearted. So far, they haven't slapped you in the face or sent you a letter, which clearly shows that they don't take you seriously. Although it's not appropriate to say this today, it would be even more unlucky to leave this matter for after the New Year." Jing Xian asked calmly, "I'm actually very curious, why don't you tell her?"

"She is the biological mother of two children after all. For the sake of the two children, I did not sue her." Shang Nanchen knew that others said he was a fool, but he was the one who left home after getting married.

Jing Xian had nothing to be embarrassed about in front of the two children.

"Let's not talk about the present, even in the past, once you get married, it's a lifelong thing. You can't owe her anything just because you're a soldier and leave home and don't come back. Are there few people like you? A lot! Did their wives make the same choice as your ex-wife? I dare not say there aren't any, there may be some, but the vast majority definitely didn't!"

Shang Nanchen looked straight at Jing Xian without saying a word, and listened to her quietly.

"There was a girl who got married, but her husband went to the battlefield and never came back. She remained a widow for the rest of her life. She could have remarried when she got the news of her husband's death, but she didn't."

There was one thing Jing Xian didn't say. She really wanted to ask, "Shang Nanchen, are you dead?"

"She knows that you two are getting divorced because she did something wrong to you, but because you gave her money, she feels that she did nothing wrong and that you really did wrong her. Did she ever go to see her mother during the six months she was helping to take care of the children? If she had gone to see her, she would have known that her mother was abusing the children. Or, she saw it but pretended not to see it? For a woman like this, I don't understand why you are so soft-hearted? Are you afraid that the two children will disown you for the sake of your two children?"

Jing Xian turned her head and looked at the two children: "You two are not children anymore, let me ask you one thing, if your father sued your mother, causing your mother to lose her job, be scorned by others, and never be able to hold her head up. It may also make you two lose face, will you hate your father?"

Tiedan frowned, and Shang Nanchen's expression darkened.

He was about to speak but was stopped by Jing Xian's look.

Fusheng looked at his brother anxiously, wanting to speak, but hesitated.

Everyone was looking at Tiedan, who seemed to be digesting what he had just said: "She did something shameful. Why should Fusheng and I be embarrassed? Is it because she gave birth to us?"

These words made Shang Nanchen's face turn pale.

He thought the two children didn't understand, but from what Tiedan said, it seemed that the children not only understood, but also understood very well.

"You know everything?" Shang Nanchen asked his son with a cold face.

This look is not for your son.

Before Tiedan nodded, Fusheng rushed over and said, "She invited a man to her home for dinner. The man called us little bastards. I wanted to eat, but the man wouldn't let me. He raised his hand and hit me. If my brother hadn't stopped me, he would have kicked me out and I would have been the one who got hit."

Shang Nanchen's eyes were red with anger, and he asked through gritted teeth: "Doesn't she care?"

"The woman said not to beat him to death, be careful that the man might be dead when you come back." Tiedan said in a muffled voice.

The hatred emanating from the young man was alarming.

Tiedan looked directly at Shang Nanchen: "Can't you kill him?"

"able!"

Shang Nanchen spoke without hesitation.

A tall man with red eyes said to the two young guys: "I can beat him!"

"Can I trust you?" Tiedan asked with a frown, and then said, "If you can't do it, I'll go by myself when I grow up."

Shang Nanchen shuddered suddenly, and he wished he could kill the couple with his own hands.

"You can trust me, I'm your father!"

Tiedan said calmly: "Oh, then I will believe you again."

Jing Xian didn't expect that there would be such things.

She thought that the two children would not have any sequelae after being abused like this. But now she saw it and understood everything. Fusheng was protected by his brother, and he was protected very well. And Tiedan had to go through so much hardship and beating to protect his brother.

When Jing Xian heard these words, she wanted to beat that damn woman to death.

They are her biological children.

Son!

How could she say such a thing!

"Let's eat. It's getting cold." It's all her fault. Why is she talking about such nonsense before eating?

Shang Nanchen sat at the table without moving his chopsticks.

The two children didn't move.

Jing Xian sighed: "What's the point of being angry now? Just get the job done. And how can the children eat if you don't pick up your chopsticks?"

Only then did Shang Nanchen pick up his chopsticks and take a bite.

Jing Xian gave the two children some braised pork: "Eat quickly. Mom took a long time to make today's braised pork. You two should eat more."

"Mom, you eat too." Fusheng said sweetly.

Jing Xian looked at the unclouded little face and couldn't help but raise her hand to rub his little head: "Our Fusheng will definitely be safe and sound in the future."

Tiedan immediately looked up at Jingxian, and Jingxian rubbed Tiedan and said, "We will definitely be very powerful in the future, and no one will bully Tiedan anymore. Tiedan and Fusheng are still young now, so let your parents protect you first, okay?"

Tiedan nodded and looked in the direction Jingxian was looking. He saw his father supporting his forehead with one hand as if to block his face. He pursed his lips and picked up a piece of braised pork with chopsticks and put it in his father's bowl.

Shang Nanchen looked up blankly when he saw the meat in the bowl.

Tiedan saw those eyes were frighteningly red and there were traces of water on the fingers, but he didn't feel scared at all.

"Dad, I don't blame you. You have your difficulties too. But can you come back earlier next time? Bring mom to me and my brother earlier, okay?" Tiedan's words made Jingxian turn her head away.

Such a child is so pitiful!

How could she bear not to be nice to such a child?

"good!"

The hoarse voice said heavily, and the tall man almost cried in front of the child.

"Dad, let's eat. Today is Chinese New Year." Tiedan said with a smile, "I want to eat braised pork!"

After eating it this time, it will take a long time before I can eat it again.

Seeing what his son was thinking, Shang Nanchen finally picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

He had suffered a lot outside for more than a month and had not slept well. Although this meal didn't start well, it inexplicably brought the family closer.

Fusheng shouted happily: "Let's eat meat!"

The atmosphere suddenly improved.

Jing Xian also secretly wiped away her tears and started eating with the children, chatting and laughing.

After dinner, the two children went out to play.

Shang Nanchen looked at his son's back as he ran out happily, and his expression became tense again.

"I'll go back after the New Year."

Jing Xian raised her eyebrows when she heard this and looked up at him: "Why are you going back? Do you really need to go back in person for this matter?"

Why go back in person when the matter can be resolved with a letter of report?

"How can I report them if I don't go back?" Shang Nanchen frowned.

"Can you write a report letter?" Shang Nanchen understood as soon as Jing Xian dialed the number.

He turned and went inside, buried his head in writing the report.

Shang Nanchen was not afraid of embarrassment. He used to worry that his two sons would not be able to hold their heads up. But the question Tiedan asked him today was like a thunderbolt. Yes, what did the embarrassing thing she did have to do with the children?

Understanding this point, Shang Nanchen wrote the report letter extremely smoothly.

He knew the man's name, work unit, address, etc. He wrote them all down clearly, including his ex-wife's, and put them in an envelope, waiting to go back to work after the New Year and mail them out.

When Jing Xian saw him come out with a relaxed look on his face, she knew that the report letter had been completed.

"We don't want the money."

Shang Nanchen looked at her in surprise: "This is not like you!"

"Why not like me?" Jing Xian rolled her eyes. "Shang Nanchen, in your eyes, am I obsessed with money? Don't you think about what we eat now? If we eat better, do you think we can raise two children? Isn't this money? I asked you to ask for money before because your salary was not enough. If we didn't live close to the hospital and school, we would have to buy a bicycle. Where did the money for the bicycle come from? Did it come from the wind?"

Shang Nanchen

After being scolded, he became obedient.

"That's not what I meant. I just..."

"You're stupid."

“…”

However,

Shang Nanchen didn't dare to refute.

On the surface, this matter seems to be in the past.

The report was on the dressing table on the cabinet, with the stamp still on the envelope. Jingxian could see it every time she combed her hair. She could also see it when she wiped her hands with gala oil.

I'm quite speechless.

New Year’s Eve.

After breakfast, Jingxian started to cook pork head.

The family also bought a lot of pig offal.

Jingxian thought that a pot of brine would last her a long time.

The house was filled with fragrance all morning.

After the pot of brining was ready, Fusheng ran home. Jingxian gave him a bowl and filled it with some brined spareribs and brined shrimp. Fusheng also wanted to give some to Tiedan, so he went out with the bowl.

The halogen scent is too overbearing.

The kids outside were drooling.

Tiedan ran over from a distance in an instant, pushing aside the children nearby and standing next to Fusheng. Li Yu followed closely behind, pushing away the children on Fusheng's other side as well, and like Tiedan, surrounded Fusheng like a door god.

"Brother, mom made salted pork ribs today. They are so delicious!" When Fusheng entered the house, Jingxian stuffed a piece of pork ribs into his mouth. Fusheng was so scared that he ran outside with the bowl in his arms without saying a word.

Tiedan's eyes lit up: "Really? Give me a piece to taste!"

Li Yu also wanted it, but was too embarrassed to ask for it, so he just watched eagerly.

Fusheng fed Tiedan a piece of pork ribs and gave Li Yu another piece. Li Yu took a bite and said loudly, "It's delicious!"

Now the other children started drooling.

They know that meat is a good thing and they can't just ask others for it.

The ribs are gone, only two pieces in total.

There are quite a few shrimps though.

Although shrimps are now one cent more expensive than before, Jingxian still bought a lot. This does not require tickets, and Jingxian is still willing to spend money on seafood. She thought that if she left the army, she might not be able to eat shrimps anymore. So she planned to let the two children eat enough.

Jing Xian accidentally bought too many shrimps and ate them all.

At this moment, there were quite a few shrimps in Fusheng's bowl.

He looked at the children around him, all of whom he usually played with.

After thinking for a while, he said, "One for each person, no one can snatch them away."

"You do it!" Li Yu said, and then he got a shrimp.

He peeled the shrimps skillfully and put them directly into his mouth, and the other children followed his example.

“It’s delicious!”

"Fusheng, your mom's cooking is much more delicious than mine!"

“I’m so jealous of you!”

“I have never eaten shrimps so delicious.”

…

A fat boy said slowly, "Fusheng, does your mother still need a son? Can I be her son?"

“No shortage!”

Fusheng immediately became alert and took two steps back holding the bowl before saying, "My mother only likes me and my brother, she won't like anyone else. Don't even think about it!"

After saying that, Fusheng turned around and ran home.

Tiedan stared at the little fat boy and asked, "Little Fatty, what's your name? Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Wei family." The little fat boy thought Tiedan agreed, and said excitedly with a red face.

"Wei Xiaopang, stop dreaming, okay? You will never be my mother's son in this life, okay?" Tiedan sneered after saying this, then turned to Li Yu and said, "I'm going back first, let's play together in the afternoon."

Li Yu looked at Wei Xiaopang who was about to cry and poked his soft face: "Wei Xiaopang, you are dreaming in broad daylight!"

Wei Xiaopang was not convinced: "Is it wrong for me to want to be Fusheng's mother's son?"

"That's right, go home and ask your grandfather to see if he will break your dog legs." Li Yu said and ran home. He wanted his mother to make brine too. The brine shrimps and brine spareribs were really delicious.

Fat Wei was chasing after him, but he ran so slowly that Li Yu disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He can then walk home slowly by himself.

Not in a hurry at all.

When I got home, the meal at Teacher Wei's house was ready.

Teacher Wei's eldest daughter-in-law worked at the Lisboa Post Office, and during the Chinese New Year, she brought her son to visit the old couple. Fat Wei walked in slowly, saw the food on the table, looked at his mother, then looked at his grandparents, and sighed.

When Teacher Wei heard his grandson sigh, he asked jokingly, "Wei Dong, why are you sighing?"

Wei Xiaopang immediately said to his grandfather: "Grandpa, I ate something delicious today. It was super delicious!"

"What delicious food have you been thinking about so much?" Wei Xiaopang's mother came in with something and glared at Wei Xiaopang. "Wei Dong, don't play tricks on me. I know I don't treat you badly, just by looking at your fat body. Don't think about eating all day. If you keep eating, I don't want to call you Wei Dong anymore. I'll just call you Fatty from now on!"

Wei Xiaopang didn't dare to talk back to his mother and whispered, "It's really delicious. You've never eaten it before."

"Did you go to someone else's house to ask for food?" Luo Lan's face darkened, and he grabbed a broom and was about to hit Wei Xiaopang.

Wei Xiaopang said quickly: "I didn't go to their house to eat! Fusheng brought the food out from home and shared it with us. Everyone got some, so I just ate a little bit!"

He was afraid that if he spoke too slowly, his mother would punish him.

Luo Lan glared at her son without saying anything else, then turned around and went out to bring food to her mother-in-law.

Grandma cooked a pot of seafood without adding salt, just a few slices of ginger, and took it out after cooking for a few minutes. The taste was original and especially delicious. Luo Lan didn't eat many things at all, so she didn't touch them when they were served on the table.

After seeing it, Wei Xiaopang said excitedly: "This is shrimp! Grandma, we have shrimp at home too?"

"You like this? Then eat more. If you still like it, grandma will buy you more in a few days."

This made Wei Xiaopang very excited. He peeled the shrimp and ate it himself. He found that although the taste was not as good as the one Fusheng gave him, it was not bad. At least it was better than the meal his mother cooked.

After finishing this meal, Fat Wei didn't want to leave.

"Grandma, can I live here in the future?"

Teacher Wei naturally welcomed his eldest grandson to stay here, but he was not in a position to ask for it, so he just looked at his wife.

Teacher Wei's wife, Xu Guizhi, said, "You can stay with grandma as long as you want."

Luo Lan didn't say anything, nor did he respond to Wei Xiaopang.

After Wei Xiaopang went out to play, Luo Lan said to her parents-in-law with a worried look on her face: "It's a bit chaotic out there right now. If it's not too much trouble, let Wei Dong live with you two for two years."

Teacher Wei frowned and asked, "Don't you have classes in schools outside?"

Speaking of classes, Luo Lan smiled bitterly: "What kind of classes are there? We are making revolution every day. I don't know when this revolution will end."

"Okay, leave the child here. Our military area is not as chaotic as the outside world, and the teachers will still give some lessons." Xu Guizhi said this, which was naturally what Commander Wei meant.

Luo Lan was no longer worried about her son.

Jing Xian brined the pork head and cut it into pieces while it was still hot. She brought a plate of it to Old Lady Wu's house.

"Auntie, this is my pork head. I'll bring it over for you to taste."

Mrs. Wu saw a bowl of pork head and said with a smile: "Oh, this smells so good! Jingxian, your cooking skills are amazing. In the past, you would have been a great chef!"

"That's not the case. At most I can cook some food." Jing Xian said a few polite words to Old Lady Wu and was about to go back.

Old Mrs. Wu hurriedly called the man to stop, went into the house and came out again with a bag of red mushrooms: "Take this back and stew chicken with it. It will taste great."

Jing Xian was not polite: "Then I won't be polite."

"You're welcome. Come and sit with me some other day!" Old Mrs. Wu enthusiastically escorted Jingxian to the door.

Jing Xian brought the mushrooms home and also brought a bowl to Ma Shufen's family next door.

Ma Shufen had long known that Jingxian often made halogen dishes. The new girl from the art troupe and Dr. Xu from the hospital came to eat it every day. Not only did she eat it herself, she also wanted to let everyone know how delicious Jingxian's halogen dishes were.

Family courtyard

It’s such a big place that basically everyone nearby will know about the smallest thing.

Even though Ma Shufen is Jingxian's neighbor, this is the first time she has seen Jingxian's stuff.

"Sister-in-law, we have a brined pig's head at home. I'll bring some to you. Please don't reject it." Jing Xian handed the bowl over with a smile.

Ma Shufen said quickly: "Why would you mind throwing it away? No, no. This is a rare thing, we have never eaten it before."

Jing Xian waited for Ma Shufen to bring in the pork head. When she came out, she was holding a bowl of peanuts.

The peanuts are fried in oil and sprinkled with salt.

"I made this myself. You can take it back to Shang Nanchen as a snack." Ma Shufen didn't have anything to offer. After thinking for a long time, she finally made up her mind to serve Jing Xian a bowl of peanuts.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

When Jingxian took it, she noticed that Ma Shufen had washed the dishes before putting the peanuts in the bowl.

She came back with the peanuts, and Shang Nanchen asked, "Did the neighbor give this to you?"

"Hmm, tsk?"

Shang Nanchen picked up a peanut with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He found that the peanut was salty: "It's a snack to go with wine!"

Fusheng came out of the house, saw the peanuts and said, "Mom, can I eat this after drinking?"