During the meal, everyone had their own thoughts.
Fang Yaozu put down his bowl, put his hands behind his back, and went out for a walk to digest his food.
Zhang Jun and Fang Lu also left their seats, arm in arm, and huddled together, whispering something to each other.
Xiaolong, carrying his new toy—a bamboo dragonfly that can fly—went to the nearby Labor Park with Panpan. The park was big, and there wasn't enough room to play anywhere else.
Sweetie and An'an watched with envy, chasing after Xiaolong and chattering away. Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue, sitting in their stroller, also leaned forward, wanting to follow.
Fang Qiao quickly finished the last bite of her meal, stood up, and said to Cheng Baidong, "Let's go, let's go take a look."
Cheng Baidong took off the scarf she had draped over the stroller for easy eating and handed it to her: "Put the scarf on, it's windy outside."
"Okay."
Fang Qiao took the scarf and casually wrapped it around her neck.
Just as she was about to leave, Yang Fengxia suddenly spoke up: "Xiao Qiao, why don't you let Bai Dong and his sister take the children to the park? You stay here and help me pack my things."
Fang Qiao glanced back at her but didn't say anything.
Yang Fengxia's eyes showed a pleading look as she said weakly, "Xiao Qiao, Mom can't handle this by herself."
Cheng Baidong offered, "Then let's go later. I'll help you pack first; it'll be faster with one more person."
"No need, you and Xiaojing go first, I'll come find you later."
Fang Qiao could tell at a glance that her mother, Yang Fengxia, had something to say to her since she had kept her alone. Perfect, she wanted to hear what her mother had to say.
Fang Qiao said, "By the way, when you go out, ask Xiaolong where he bought that bamboo dragonfly, and then go and buy two back. Tian Tian and An An are so envious, it wouldn't be right to let them watch Xiaolong play with it all by himself."
Cheng Baidong nodded: "Okay."
Cheng Baidong and Xiao Jing led the children out the door, and the once lively house suddenly became quiet.
Fang Qiao took off her scarf again, first glancing at Fang Hai, who still had half a bowl of rice left, then at Fang Xue, who was still sitting in her seat, and asked, "Isn't Big Sister going to clean up?"
Fang Xue smiled and said, "Little sister, I have chilblains on my hands and can't touch cold water, so I'll have to trouble you to wash the dishes for Mom yourself."
Upon hearing this, Fang Qiao paused, her hand already reaching to clear the chopsticks, and looked up at Fang Xue's face.
Her expression showed no abnormality, and Fang Qiao then focused her gaze on her hands.
Fang Xue's hands were very fair and clean, and she didn't appear to have any chilblains.
Fang Xue wasn't guilty at all and said with a smile, "It snowed the day before yesterday, and I just got chilblains. You can't see them on the surface, but when you touch them, there's a small bump inside. They get really itchy when it gets warm."
Fang Qiao chuckled, and instead of clearing away the chopsticks, she sat back down on the stool, mimicking her tone, and said with a smile, "Oh, is that so? That's really unfortunate. My hands have been suffering from chilblains in the countryside for years, and it's a chronic condition. My joints ache whenever it's cold, and I can't touch cold water. What should I do?"
Fang Xue's lips twitched: "Little sister, how come I've never heard of anyone getting chilblains and developing chronic illnesses?"
Even if it's just an excuse, it's still incredibly half-hearted.
Fang Qiao smiled and looked at her intently, saying, "So now you've heard."
"..."
Fang Qiao was making it clear to her that she was just making excuses on purpose, and what could she do about it? It was okay for her to make excuses, but not for her?
Fang Qiao spoke frankly and openly, which left Fang Xue speechless. She opened her mouth, but all the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat, and she suddenly didn't know how to respond.
Yang Fengxia quickly came to the rescue: "Xiao Qiao, you don't need to be so careful and nervous. Chilblains don't lead to any lasting problems. I got chilblains every year when I was young, and I still wash dishes and clothes as usual. Don't worry, you can wash them without any problems."
Yang Fengxia offered a long explanation, but only told Fang Qiao to wash the dishes, without mentioning Fang Xue at all. Her heart was practically siding with Fang Xue.
Fang Qiao chuckled softly, her voice gentle as she said, "Mom, I'm not the same as you were when you were young. My dad was a careless scatterbrain and didn't know how to cherish you. My husband, Bai Dong, is different from my dad. He's very attentive and cherishes me. Ever since we got married, he hasn't allowed me to put my hands in cold water to wash dishes."
Yang Fengxia felt extremely upset after her daughter bluntly told her that her husband didn't care about her.
This is outrageous!
What kind of daughter would dare to talk about her elders like that?
Fang Hai was also dumbfounded.
Little sister, is this something we can say in front of Mom?
Yang Fengxia glared at Fang Qiao secretly: "Then what do you want?"
"At least you should boil a pot of water," Fang Qiao said. "My family always uses hot water to wash dishes."
Boil water?
Boiling water requires firewood, doesn't it?
There wasn't even a place to chop firewood in the city; the firewood for our home was all bought, costing two cents a bundle.
Yang Fengxia was a little unhappy and complained, "Xiao Qiao, I've never seen you so delicate before. How come you can't even touch a drop of cold water after going to the countryside?"
"Who told me that no one cared about me before?" Fang Qiao said casually.
Yang Fengxia felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, and was too ashamed to get angry at Fang Qiao. She chuckled and explained, "Xiao Qiao, it's not that Mom doesn't love you, it's just that Mom has lived like this her whole life. I've lived half my life and I've never used hot water to wash dishes."
"Mom, I know you do love me, after all, what mother doesn't love her own child?"
Fang Qiao followed Yang Fengxia's lead and flattered her, saying gently, "I know you feel sorry for me, but now your son-in-law feels sorry for me even more than you do! You must be very happy to see that. If he knew that I had disobeyed him and washed the dishes with cold water on such a cold day, he would definitely be angry with me."
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