Chapter 396: Condolences to the Heroes
Old Lady Jiang hurried forward, pressed down her shoulders, tapped her forehead and said with a sullen smile: "Child, your belly is so big, why don't you pay attention to it? Am I such a picky person? If you don't know me, you would think I'm an old lady who is difficult to serve!"
Fang Hongye quickly smiled and shook her head: "No, grandma, I have been lying in bed for a whole day. Isn't this an opportunity for me to take advantage of your visit to get down and move around?
Grandma, what did you bring? It smells so good. I just finished breakfast and I’m hungry again…”
Old Mrs. Jiang greeted the two in-laws and put the thermos bucket on the table. "I know you don't like the food in the hospital. The food here is tasteless. I specially asked Xiao Zhang to make chicken soup porridge with your favorite sour pickles."
Fang Hongye drank a small bowl of it to show her support.
The fragrance of the chicken soup porridge gradually spread in the ward with closed windows, making everyone drool.
Fang Hongye patted the people beside her and asked An Zhixia to sit down. She looked at her belly with a hint of joy in her eyes. "Why did you come here when the hospital is so chaotic? You just took advantage of Brother Yuan not being around, otherwise you would have suffered. Your brother will scold you when he comes back from washing the dishes."
An Zhixia smiled flatteringly: "I'm going to get sick from being bored at home. It's good for the baby in my belly to get some fresh air and relax."
"What can a peanut-sized thing feel?" An Zhiqiu's resentful voice came from behind her. "If you want to go out and play, tell me, and I'll drive you around slowly."
An Zhixia exclaimed and patted her head: "My Xiao Hui is still at the TV station. My brother happened to drive back and forth between home and the hospital these days."
An Zhiqiu raised his eyebrows and nodded, then took the apple and peeled it skillfully, giving a quarter to his wife, sister, grandmother, and mother-in-law. However, Mrs. Jiang and Aunt Fang gave them to their own younger generations.
The apples are sweet, sour and crispy, and their fragrance wafts lightly in the air.
An Zhixia bit the food happily, "No, brother, aren't you going to work today?"
She raised her wrist to look at the watch. It was already time to go to work, but her brother was not panicked at all and was still sitting steadily. She couldn't help but lean over to his ear and ask in a low voice.
An Zhiqiu smiled and said, "You girl, just say you want to eat canned food, but you are still shy. Well, don't you just want to go out with me for a walk and get some fresh air?"
He stood up, helped the stunned girl up, greeted a few people, and walked out with a smile.
An Zhixia also said goodbye to the elders and sister-in-law, and slowly followed her brother's steps.
After they went out, An Zhiqiu stood shoulder to shoulder with her, with his arms outstretched to protect her, ready to respond to any emergency at any time.
Seeing her brother's solemn and nervous look, An Zhixia's eyebrows curved. In fact, she already had a guess in her heart. She sighed and said, "Brother, can you tell me now? Do my sister-in-law and the others not know?"
An Zhiqiu had a faint smile on his face, without showing any sadness or irritability, "I was two minutes late when I got home yesterday afternoon, and was found out by Deputy Director Huang. I was temporarily suspended from work without pay and am staying at home to reflect on my mistakes.
It just so happened that your sister-in-law was about to give birth, so I told my family that I had asked for a long vacation.
But Xia Xia, I'm not stupid. I know what they mean. Aren't they just trying to control me and force you to submit?
Our family doesn't need this little money. Besides, my brother is a good cook, so he can eat wherever he goes. I can also collect several dozen yuan in rent every month, and I also earned a house from working at the TV station, so we are not losing out."
An Zhixia turned her head and stared at her brother's eyes. She still saw a trace of loneliness and unwillingness in his eyes that pretended to be calm and indifferent. She knew that her brother liked to record "Tao Tie" on TV and pass on his skills to the whole country and even the world.
After experiencing a bigger stage, returning to a small kitchen, no one can accept this gap, right?
"Brother, you should spend more time with your sister-in-law during this period. Shao Tongfeng still has a tough battle to fight at the TV station. Once the result is out, you can continue to return to the screen and do the career you like," she said with a low voice and a chuckle.
"Brother, the world on the screen shouldn't be tainted with so much filth."
An Zhiqiu was slightly surprised. The two of them had just arrived at an open area. He took out money and tickets to buy canned food at the supply and marketing cooperative next to the hospital.
"Brother, there are a lot of things in the cans that pregnant women shouldn't eat," An Zhixia said sadly, "You have to avoid certain foods when you're pregnant, and you have to avoid certain foods when you're breastfeeding. Some people even have to be careful when they're preparing for pregnancy. Alas, a woman has to devote three or four years to having a child."
After listening to the discussion, An Zhiqiu nodded in agreement: "If we have children, we have to be responsible for them. There are certain rules for how a child should be raised. I want three children. If there are more, I can't take care of them. If there are fewer, it will be too lonely."
An Zhixia hasn't given birth yet, but she's already thinking about her future life. She has completely given up on her previous plan to form a team. "We have many children in our family, so I only want two to make it a perfect match."
Because the child had to go home for lunch, An Zhixia didn't stay too long.
An Zhiqiu first rode his motorcycle to the office, parked the car in his own yard, and then drove the gray sports car that Fang Yuan gave to An Zhixia to pick her up.
On the way back, An Zhiqiu drove very slowly, only slightly faster than a bicycle. He also bought food at a state-owned restaurant on the way and arrived home on time.
An Zhiqiu parked the car at the east gate of the transport team, and the two of them carried their belongings into the family compound.
By the time the food was served, the little ones had also gone home from school.
The children liked him as their uncle and asked him how his aunt was doing and when she would give birth. They agreed to go see the baby as soon as possible.
An Zhiqiu agreed with a smile, then turned his head and said to An Zhixia, "Just now I rode my motorcycle to the station to drive, and that Deputy Director Huang really didn't do any work. He just stared at me as I entered the family compound and then drove behind the office building.
She thought she had something on me, so she gathered a group of people while I was washing the car to sue me for misusing the public vehicle for personal purposes. It was so ugly."
The one big and three small ones all looked up from their bowls at him.
An Zhiqiu didn't keep me in suspense and said directly, "I just folded my arms and let her do what she wanted, watching her stir up public opinion. She herself was so excited that she even asked the comrades in the police station to come and escalate my crime of using the public car for personal purposes into the crime of stealing public property.
Later, the director and his team came. The director pretended to appease both sides and asked me for the car keys. They thought that the car was also sponsored by the supply and marketing cooperative. After Brother Qian found an excuse to take back the car because you resigned, these people were staring at your gray car.
I saw that they were getting more and more outrageous, so I opened the car and took out the driver's license to show them.
When they saw your name written on it, their faces turned green and they directly accused you of embezzling public funds.
However, everyone has proved that this car was available when the TV station's overseas channel was first established, so this accusation is not true at all.
Tsk tsk, you didn’t see their expressions when the duck that was about to fall flew away, it was so satisfying.”
The three little ones laughed heartily and said, "We won't give them any!"
"Brother, you can drive back and forth these days. It's a waste to leave the car idle anyway. Besides, it's cold now. How painful it is to ride a motorcycle? You can bear it, but uncle and aunt can't." An Zhixia said with a smile, "By the way, take me for a walk when you have nothing to do and get some fresh air. When pregnant women are in a good mood, they can give birth to beautiful, smart and healthy children."
An Zhiqiu did not refuse and put the car keys back into his pocket.
After waking up from a nap, An Zhixia just gathered herself together and opened the door to welcome her sisters-in-law who came to visit, but she unexpectedly welcomed several uninvited guests.
Director Bai, Director Chen from Channel 1, and the main pillars of the station came to the door with fruits, canned food, and milk powder, smiling.
Feeling the director's unrestrained naked gaze, An Zhixia shouted from the doorway: "Sister Deng, we have guests. Do you have hot water?"
Mrs. Deng responded straightforwardly and came over from next door carrying a thermos.
An Zhixia didn't need to do anything, she started by pouring tea for a few people.
"Sister-in-law, if you have nothing to do, come with me and chat with the guests." An Zhixia pulled her arm, pushed her onto the kang and said with a smile.
"Deputy Director Xiao An, the reason we are here this time is, first, to visit and express our condolences to you, the great contributor to the TV station, and second, to discuss some matters in the station with you. You see, this concerns the organization..." Director Chen chuckled and said to Mrs. Deng. At this point, anyone with a little bit of discernment would leave automatically.
Mrs. Deng was indeed a little reserved, but she felt the strength of An Zhixia's arm, and remembered that An Zhixia had voluntarily resigned from the TV station and Fang Yuan's entrustment before leaving, so she didn't even lift her butt or raise her eyelids.
"I'm not an outsider. I'm the cousin of Grandma Zhixia's cousin's son-in-law. It's too complicated to talk about seniority, so I'll just call him by his side, but this doesn't deny that we are close relatives.
Your TV station is talking nicely, coming to thank the great contributors, but those who were bullied by you have resigned, so why are you still pretending to be here? Do we want your little gift?"
An Zhixia also acted as if she had been wronged, and was not as carefree as she was when she left before.
"This," Director Chen looked at the director, "the organization was just giving Deputy Director Xiao An a heads-up, there was no other intention, I didn't expect Deputy Director Xiao An to be so angry.
So our director came to your house in person to understand the situation. We have something to say. How can an organization waste talent? Our country is in a period of rapid development and every second counts. Deputy Xiao An, please raise any grievances and requests you have. "
An Zhixia lowered her head and touched her still flat belly, chuckled and shook her head: "It's not that I don't want to dedicate myself to the country and the organization, it's just that the baby in my belly is too noisy. It's only the size of a peanut, but it's already competing with me for nutrition.
I feel dizzy if I stand for a while at home. If I were to work in the organization with such physical condition, I would probably hinder the work progress of my comrades.
Besides, we have many children in our family, and my husband is out driving a sports car all day, so the burden of educating this child falls on me. "
(End of this chapter)
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