Just then, Panpan came over from outside, and Fang Qiao quickly waved to her.
"Panpan, come to your auntie quickly."
The last time they met was before National Day. It had been more than half a year since they last saw each other. When Panpan saw her, she was a little shy and whispered, "Auntie."
Fang Qiao reached out and pulled her to her side. Touching her hand, she said with concern, "Where did you go? Why are your hands so cold? Here, let Auntie warm them up for you."
Panpan answered obediently, "I went ice skating at Labor Park with my classmates."
Labor Park has a small pool that freezes over in winter. The ice is thick and solid, and Fang Qiao used to go ice skating there a lot when he was a child.
Fang Qiao nodded, feeling that Panpan's hand had warmed up a bit, so she let go of her hand, took out a red envelope she had prepared in advance from her pocket and handed it to her: "Here, this is New Year's money from your aunt."
"Thank you, Auntie," Panpan said obediently, but there was no joy on her face.
She lowered her eyes and silently put the red envelope into her pocket.
Fang Qiao asked with concern, "What's wrong, Panpan? Aren't you happy to receive your New Year's money?"
Panpan bit her lip, remained silent for a while, then secretly glanced at Zhang Jun sitting at the other end and whispered, "It's not that I'm unhappy, it's just that I don't feel happy about anything. No matter how much New Year's money I get, not a single penny will end up in my hands. My mom will take it all away in the end."
Even if Panpan speaks very softly, everyone in the room can hear her.
Zhang Jun was a little embarrassed and explained, "The child didn't know how to hold it securely. Her mother was leaving because she was afraid that if she put it in the child's hands, it might get lost again."
Panpan gave a soft hum and muttered, "Whether my mom takes me away or I lose her, it's all the same to me."
Zhang Jun: "..."
What's wrong with this child today?
Is this some kind of deliberate attempt to sabotage the adults?
Fang Qiao tried to smooth things over: "The adults mean well, but they should leave some money for the children. During the Lunar New Year, the children have plenty of money when they receive lucky money. A bunch of teenagers go to the grocery store with their friends, one buying a rice cake, another a big milk candy. Then when they ask our children, they find that our children don't have a single penny. How embarrassing would that be? Brother-in-law, don't you think?"
Zhang Jun chuckled awkwardly and nodded, "Yes, yes."
Fang Yaozu also said, "Xiao Zhang, talk to Xiao Xue later and tell her not to keep all the New Year's money for herself, but to leave some for the children."
"Dad, I'll talk to Xiaoxue about it later." Zhang Jun nodded repeatedly, then turned to Panpan and said, "Keep the New Year's money your aunt gave you safe, don't drop it."
“I’m sure I can hold it firmly, it definitely won’t fall.” Panpan smiled.
She is shy by nature; even when she is happy, she smiles modestly without showing her teeth.
Fang Qiao gave Panpan a New Year's money, Zhang Jun went out for a stroll, and Fang Xue came over instead.
Fang Xue secretly rolled her eyes at Panpan, took out a red envelope from the pocket of her brand-new light gray wool coat, handed it to Fang Qiao, and said, "I only have one child, Panpan. You have many children, so I won't give them to each one individually. You can accept it on behalf of the children."
When giving out red envelopes, children with more money get the advantage over children with fewer money.
Fang Xue felt that since she only had one child, Panpan, and she had only received one red envelope but had to return several, she felt she was at a disadvantage, so she simply sent out only one.
Fang Qiao was too lazy to get into a lawsuit with her over such a trivial matter; it was pointless.
Her family doesn't expect to get rich from such trivial matters.
After giving the red envelope, Fang Xue glanced at Fang Qiao and said, "Alright, little sister, you can continue to rest. I'll go back to tending the fire for Mom. Plucking the rooster's feathers is a lot of trouble, and one pot of hot water isn't enough."
Fang Qiao gave a faint "oh" to indicate that she understood.
Fang Xue was a little unhappy when she heard this, and said, "Aren't you going to help?"
"Hmm, I'm not going." Fang Qiao said calmly, "Big sister, you can go by yourself. There's no need to trouble so many people just to pluck a chicken feather."
Fang Xue didn't get a satisfactory answer, so she snorted and turned to leave.
Fang Qiao lowered her eyes and tried to talk to the child, her emotions completely unaffected.
At noon, the aroma of stewed chicken filled the entire courtyard, and Fang Hai returned from the hospital.
He was going home for dinner, and he was carrying an empty lunchbox in his hand, which he used to bring food to Dong Ping, who was still hospitalized.
The hospital cafeteria and nearby state-run restaurants are expensive, so bringing your own food home is cheaper than eating at the hospital. Over a few days, you can save several dollars.
"Little sister is here."
He placed the lunchbox on the windowsill outside the kitchen, turned around and greeted Fang Qiao with a smile on his face. He seemed to be in a good mood, which suggested that Dong Ping's condition at the hospital must be quite good.
Fang Qiao smiled and agreed, then asked, "How is your sister-in-law now?"
Fang Hai said, "It's alright. Although I still can't get out of bed, my condition is much better than when I was first admitted to the hospital. The doctor said that I can be discharged after a few more days of injections to prevent miscarriage."
"That's alright." Fang Qiao said with concern, "You can't be careless after you're discharged from the hospital. If possible, you should rest in bed as much as possible."
Fang Hai nodded: "That's what the doctor said too. Your sister-in-law said that as long as the baby can be saved, she's willing to stay in bed for ten months. She's willing to suffer for the sake of the child."
Fang Xue poked her head out from the kitchen and complained, "What kind of suffering is this? Lying in bed doing nothing is a blessing, not a torment. I never expected that my sister-in-law, who usually seems so virtuous, would be so good at shirking her responsibilities when it really matters."
Fang Xue's words were harsh, as if Dong Ping was deliberately slacking off by staying in bed to protect her pregnancy.
Fang Hai's face was grim as he explained, "Big sister, don't say that. Xiao Ping isn't being lazy. This pregnancy wasn't going well for her. She bled for a week a few days ago and barely managed to keep it. The doctor won't let her get out of bed easily, and even after she's discharged from the hospital, she won't be able to do heavy work."
"I was just saying a few words casually, you don't need to explain it to me like this on her behalf." Fang Xue felt from the bottom of her heart that Dong Ping was exaggerating the severity of the situation because she was deliberately trying to avoid doing any work.
She rolled her eyes expressionlessly: "As if anyone's never been pregnant before."
After saying that, she went back into the kitchen to start the fire.
Yang Fengxia glared at her: "How dare you talk to your brother like that? It's the New Year, can't you speak properly?"
Yang Fengxia loved Fang Xue, but she valued her two sons, Fang Hai and Fang Lu, even more.
In her heart, her youngest son, Fang Lu, was the most important, followed by Fang Hai, and then Fang Xue. As for Fang Qiao… she claimed to love him too, but no matter how well she said it, he always paled in comparison to her other three children.
Fang Xue rolled her eyes indignantly: "I didn't say anything."
"What you said makes me angry, and you call that nothing was said?" Yang Fengxia said irritably, "You should shut your mouth that's always causing trouble! Go apologize to your brother."
Fang Xue was unhappy: "I'm not going."
"If you don't go, I'll beat you up!" Yang Fengxia raised the large spatula in her hand, deliberately trying to scare her.
Fang Xue pouted and complained, "Why should I apologize? Mom, you can't be so biased!"
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