After two days of arduous travel, the group of seven finally arrived. Xia Liang felt exhausted and vowed never to drive such a long distance again. However, the thought of having to drive back to the capital made Xia Liang feel terrible.
Upon arriving in the provincial capital, Chen Yanling and her three fellow apprentices refused to stay at the Gu family's house, no matter how much Xia Liang tried to persuade them. Chen Yanling said, "Sister Xia, we don't want to disturb your family reunion. Yunxi and Yuanzhi have finally come back, their grandparents must miss them terribly, it would be so awkward for us to be there!" Xia Liang had no choice but to find a guesthouse and pay for it. The four disagreed, and Xia Liang said, "I understand you don't want to stay at my house, you're afraid you'll feel uncomfortable, but this is like you're accompanying me on a business trip, how could I possibly ask you to pay for your accommodation?" Xia Liang pulled out some banknotes and tickets from her bag and handed them to Chen Yanling: "I don't think you want to go back for dinner either, so you can take these. You need to eat and drink these next few days." Chen Yanling could only accept them. Xia Liang waved her hand: "Go inside and get some rest! You've been through so much and you must be tired. We're going back too." After Xia Liang's car left, the four of them returned to the guesthouse. The two rooms Xia Liang had booked for them were the best guesthouse in the provincial capital, unlike any they had stayed in before. Xia Liang said that life is meant to be enjoyed, and if you're unwilling to spend money, what's the point of making money?
Xia Liang drove the two children to the provincial party committee compound. People saw it from afar and gathered around, pointing and whispering, "Whose car is this? So high-profile, they actually brought an official vehicle back!" Xia Liang had already rolled down the car window, just in case there was a misunderstanding that would be difficult to explain.
Xia Liang greeted everyone warmly, hoping they wouldn't gossip about her behind her back. One of the older women said, "Oh! Gu family's daughter-in-law! You even drive a nice car now?" Xia Liang smiled and said, "It's from the company, from the company." Another woman said, "You're quite capable, you can even drive!" Xia Liang modestly flattered, "I just learned, I just learned, uh! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm taking the kids home now, I've been missing my grandparents!" The woman who had just praised Xia Liang waved her hand, "Go ahead, go ahead, her grandparents miss their granddaughter terribly too." Xia Liang drove a short distance before the older women behind her whispered, "Does the Gu family have that much money? They can actually afford a car!" "Another auntie said, 'I don't know, who knows if they secretly did anything...'" Her words were dripping with sarcasm, clearly revealing her attitude towards the Gu family. The auntie who had just praised Xia Liang glanced at the one who had spoken sourly: "What are you saying? Xia Liang said it was a company car! Are you all too idle, gossiping behind people's backs like those ignorant, vulgar women?" The auntie who had spoken sourly looked embarrassed and said, "I have to go home and cook. You guys chat." She then swung her arm and went home. Anyone could see she was unhappy, but no one was obligated to indulge her, and everyone dispersed.
Xia Liang led her two children into the house and saw her parents-in-law sitting on the sofa watching TV. Han Yulan heard the noise at the door, looked up, and was overjoyed to see her daughter-in-law and two granddaughters back. She went up to them and took their hands, saying, "Why didn't you tell us you were coming back? Your dad and I could have picked you up." Before Xia Liang could answer, Xiao Yuanzhi, whom she was holding, said, "Mom drove back, so Grandpa and Grandma didn't need to pick us up." Han Yulan looked at Xia Liang in surprise: "You bought a car? When did you do that?" Xia Liang smiled and replied, "About two months ago. The little one came with us shopping recently, but the weather was too cold, and she couldn't stand it. So I was thinking of buying a car so it would be more convenient for us to go out." Han Yulan felt sorry for her granddaughters being cold and nodded hurriedly: "Yes, it's more convenient to buy a car. Otherwise, bicycles are really inconvenient on cloudy or rainy days." After saying that, she pulled the two girls to sit down on the sofa and asked Wu Ma to prepare some food.
Gu Weiguo and Han Yulan had already eaten dinner. Wu Ma prepared the food for Xia Liang and her two children quite quickly, and it was ready in no time. The two little ones hadn't been eating well for the past few days, as the food at other places didn't suit their tastes, so they ate very little. Now that they were home and eating familiar food, they each ate two bowls of rice. Gu Weiguo and Han Yulan, who had already eaten, sat beside them watching them eat, their faces filled with undisguised affection.
After finishing their meal, the two little ones went to find their schoolbags and took out the things they had bought at the Beijing Department Store. One of them said sweetly, "Grandpa and Grandma, this is a reward from Mom for my sister and me getting perfect scores on our exams. My sister and I decided to buy you a gift." She then pulled out a box of face cream and a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from her schoolbag. She gave the face cream to Han Yulan and the Hongtashan cigarettes to Gu Weiguo, making the elderly couple very happy! Each of them held one granddaughter, showering her with love. Han Yulan hugged her eldest granddaughter and said, "Dabao, you got first place again this time?" Gu Yunxi nodded, "Yes, Grandma, my sister got first place too." Han Yulan laughed heartily. Her granddaughter was indeed smarter than other children's; not only was she good at studying, but she was also filial, always thinking of her younger sister and afraid she would suffer any losses—she wasn't the kind of person who was stingy.
In the evening, the elderly couple took their two children out to visit neighbors. At each house, they would deliberately take out the cigarettes their granddaughter had given them and distribute them, saying, "Oh dear! My granddaughter, she never buys me cigarettes I like! I hate Hongtashan cigarettes, but I can't refuse her kind offer, so I'll just have to smoke them." The old man, thoroughly impressed, thought, "If you don't want to smoke, then don't! And that smile on your face, can you stop pretending?"
Gu Yunxi saw her grandmother holding a bottle of face cream and saying to her old friends, "Look at my granddaughters, they got first place in their exams! Their mother asked them what reward they wanted, but they refused everything except a bottle of face cream for me and a pack of cigarettes for their grandfather. Those two silly kids!" The two sisters, who had asked for White Rabbit candy and chocolate, were speechless.
After spending the evening visiting neighbors with their grandparents, the two sisters finally witnessed another side of them. How come they had never noticed before that the old couple were so good at showing off? It seems that in the future, they should prepare more things for them that they can take out discreetly, so that they can show off naturally, Gu Yunxi thought.
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