Chapter 265: Being a guest
On a recent rest day, the Hou family invited close relatives and friends to have a meal to celebrate their return.
Hou's mother wanted to invite more people, but Hou Deming refused.
He only invited the No. 8 courtyard, Mr. Shao and his daughter's family, and a few old colleagues, and did not invite anyone else.
Lu Shaotang and Chen Yanming happened to have something to do, so they did not go, and asked Lin Shu, Sister Lin and Doctor Shao to bring the children to go. In addition, Doctor Zhan and Zhan Jiali were also invited, after all, they were friends of the daughter-in-law and the children. Lin Shu and Sister Lin
had prepared the gifts long ago, and took the children to go after dinner in the morning.
They did not use the car of Lu Shaotang's unit, but called several three-wheeled vehicles and human-powered tricycles to go.
Mr. Shao dressed up nicely. He gave most of the tickets he received to Lin Shu, and gave her two hundred yuan of advance salary for one month.
Lin Shu naturally refused to take it, but he insisted that the cotton-padded clothes, bedding, daily necessities, etc. he helped to prepare were very expensive, and she had to accept them. If she didn't accept them, he would feel embarrassed to come here every day for free meals.
Lin Shu also saw that if she accepted his money and tickets, he would treat this place as his home and the children as his close people. He would eat and drink as he pleased, and he would be able to tell her naturally what clothes and supplies he needed.
Lin Shu didn't refuse anymore. Anyway, she had an account book, and she could deduct the money she spent on the old man from it, and she could continue to spend the rest on him.
Going to the Hou family today, the old man doesn't have to worry about buying gifts alone, just go with Lin Shu's family.
Because Lin Shu is willing to accept his money, he feels at ease.
The group went to the family compound of the ordnance factory.
Hou Deming was waiting at the intersection outside with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. Seeing them coming in a large group, he greeted them happily.
"Grandpa!"
"Grandpa Hou!"
...
Hou Deming greeted them one by one and asked, "Why didn't Shaotang and Yanming come?"
Lin Shu smiled and said, "They don't have a proper rest day at work. If they can't catch up, they won't have a rest. Let's ignore them. Yanming's girlfriend and sister will come to play."
Hou Deming: "Welcome, welcome!"
Hou Shuxian greeted the children warmly, especially Hou Ying and Tiantian, and asked her son to call them brother and sister.
Tang Peng's most concerned Director Lu and Director Chen did not come, and the excitement in his eyes dimmed a bit. However, seeing that Old Master Shao also cheered him up and entertained him warmly, "My parents will come over to help in a while."
Hou Deming asked Old Master Shao: "Brother Shao, how is work going? Are you still used to it?"
Old Doctor Shao smiled and said: "Habit, what's there to be uncomfortable with? I go to work at 9 am and get off work at 11:30 pm. I go to work at 1:30 pm and get off work at 3 pm. It's very easy."
He also takes students when he is in the clinic, killing two birds with one stone. By the way, he also helps to edit the book, but it hasn't officially started yet.
Hou Deming is very happy for him. It's great that a 70-year-old man can still be so energetic.
Panpan and Tiantian asked Hou Deming if the books had been returned to their units and if they could borrow them.
Seeing how much they loved reading, Hou Deming smiled and said, "Yes, there are, but they are in a mess and no one has organized them."
Hou Bo took the initiative to say, "Grandpa, we will come and help organize them when we have time."
Lu Ping, Lu An, Panpan and Tiantian were all happy to help.
They are now helping Doctor Shao organize the books at home, registering them one by one, and then placing them on the bookshelf in different categories for easy borrowing. Doctor Shao's
home has many medical books and ancient books, as well as some works by famous authors.
I wonder what kind of books Grandpa Hou has in abundance?
Hou Bo himself didn't know, because he didn't like reading very much before. He started to like reading after he went to the countryside and interacted with Panpan and Tiantian in the past two years.
They went home chatting and laughing.
The Hou family lived in a three-story red brick building. The first floor was the kitchen, bathroom, living room, guest room, warehouse, etc. The second floor was a few bedrooms, and the third floor was the attic.
Hou's mother was busy in the kitchen with three women. Although she could cook, it was a bit difficult for her to cook two tables of dishes to entertain guests, so she invited a neighbor with good cooking skills and the wife of the factory chef to come and help.
Hearing the voice of her eldest daughter-in-law, she immediately came out of the kitchen and called Sister Lin: "Lin Dan, hurry up and see how many dishes are prepared."
Sister Lin immediately asked the children to help carry the food they brought to the kitchen, rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands to help, she didn't think she was here as a guest.
Lin Shu wanted to help her but was pushed out by her, "Little sister, go outside and chat with them, and greet the Qiu Ran sisters later."
Mother Hou handed the kitchen to her daughter-in-law and came out to greet the guests. Originally, she wanted to invite all the neighbors, at least three or five tables, but the old man was only willing to invite two tables. The people
who came today were those who had a good relationship with him in the factory, the Tang family, and Lin Shu and his friends.
She called Lin Shu and the children, "Come, have some candy and melon seeds."
Old Doctor Shao had no shortage of people to talk to. In addition to Tang's father, there were also the factory secretary, the factory director, etc. They gathered together to chat.
Hou's mother greeted Lin Shu politely and said with regret, "Why didn't Director Lu and Director Chen come?"
Lin Shu explained again.
Hou's mother felt a little unhappy. It wasn't that she was unhappy, but she felt that the original joy of hosting the banquet had faded. When
she had good things happen to her, others would not be as excited as she was.
Of course, she didn't show it, and still entertained them warmly.
The old man resumed work, and the unit also repaid all the previous wages. The family was not short of money now, and she was busy preparing food.
In the past two years, she had been helped by her in-laws and the Lu family. Now that she had a family, she wanted to double the hospitality to make people feel her generosity and sincerity. She wished that Fang Dihua, Father Lu and others could come too.
Hou Deming asked Hou Bo and others to take the children around to visit.
Hou's mother also said hurriedly: "Yes, there are rooms for you upstairs. Go and see which one you like."
Hou Shuxian: "Mom, I still have my room. I want the one on the second floor that faces east and south."
She used to like to live at her parents' house.
The children went upstairs to have a look. They were not interested in the rooms and furnishings. After all, children have no requirements or aesthetics for this. They were interested in books and toys.
The chiming clock with a bird, colored glass, attics, wood carvings and other furnishings were all of their interest.
Hou Bo took them to find the books in the attic. There were really a lot of them, and the bundles had not been unpacked yet.
Panpan: "Oh, some of them are torn. Let's sort them out quickly."
The children rushed up, untied the ropes and sorted the books. If they couldn't untie them, they just cut them with scissors.
Some were responsible for recording, and some were responsible for singing and classifying. They were all busy for a while.
While he was busy, he heard the voices of the children downstairs, "Hou Bo, Yingying, Hou Wei! Are you back? Come out and play together?"
Hearing the more recognizable voices, Hou Bo and the other two looked unhappy, especially Hou Bo.
When Grandpa was suspended, most of his friends stopped playing with him. If they wanted to play, they would do it secretly or they could not play with him because they were afraid of being beaten by their parents. Three of them not only did not play with him, but also deliberately said bad things about his family and cursed them.
He didn't want to pay any attention to them.
Hou Ying and Hou Wei also said they didn't want to pay any attention
to them. Grandpa said that true friendship is revealed in times of adversity. Why should they bother to pay attention to them when there is no true friendship?
They were busy organizing books and ignored him.
Hou's mother came upstairs and said with a smile: "Hou Bo, Yingying, Xiaowei, Tietou and the others are here to play with you."
Hou Bo: "Grandma, we are busy."
Hou's mother: "Then let them come up to play with you?"
Hou Bo refused immediately, "No!"
Hou's mother frowned and advised: "How can you be so rude? We should be polite when they come to congratulate us. We will see them every day in the future."
Hou Wei: "Grandma, we won't see them every day."
Anyway, they only come over on weekends.
Hou's mother's face was a little gloomy. She felt that the children were alienated from her and were not obedient.
She wanted to persuade the children, but Hou Shuxian's voice came from downstairs, saying that someone was here again.
Several women who were not invited came to congratulate them and gave them eggs, cabbage and other gifts.
Hou's mother went downstairs to entertain them.
"Oh, auntie, you are finally back. I have been looking forward to seeing you."
"Sister, we can buy groceries together after you come back."
"I said a long time ago that sister-in-law would be back in two years. I really said it."
Sister Lin saw it in the kitchen and raised her eyebrows. These women quickly drew a line in the sand, and two of them even gloated behind their backs. Why did the children say those sour and bad words? Didn't they just imitate their parents? Why didn't
these people spit on them for being well-educated and treat them kindly?
Why are they rushing up like that?
Seeing this, the aunt who was cooking with her tried to persuade her, "Your mother-in-law is in a good mood now. Everyone who comes is a guest. It's auspicious."
They thought that Hou's mother must remember those things, but she didn't care about it just to save face, so they advised Sister Lin to be more open-minded.
Sister Lin smiled and continued to cook.
Those women and children sat downstairs and chatted, laughed, ate melon seeds and candies, and drank tea.
Hou Wei secretly looked down from the third floor stairs and ran back to report to his brothers and sisters, "They took everything. My third aunt had nothing to eat, so she went to the kitchen to help."
Hou Bo immediately took Hou Wei downstairs.
The kid named Tietou immediately called out to them, "What are you doing hiding upstairs? Come downstairs and play."
Hou Bo said coldly, "Didn't you say that my family is a group of counter-revolutionary bad elements and we were not worthy of playing with you?" As soon as
these words came out, the children downstairs looked embarrassed, and their grandmother was also very embarrassed.
An old woman said unhappily, "Why do you still hold a grudge? You shouldn't be like this. You're not open-minded."
"That's not a big deal. You're so young and so narrow-minded."
Hou's mother also hurriedly advised her grandson, "Hou Bo, be kind." She smiled and explained to the women that the child didn't mean that, "Eat candy, eat more candy."
Hou Deming heard it, but didn't care. As the chief engineer of the factory, he was naturally not suitable to care about the affairs of these women and children. Besides, even if he held a grudge in his heart, he couldn't say it out loud, so that people would talk about him being stingy or something. Fortunately,
Hou Bo and his friends have learned to be sensible now, and they are not impulsive, let alone ignorant.
They didn't talk about adults, but only about the children who had scolded them. However, the words they repeated were also said by the women, so they were also embarrassed.
Before the children were hurt, the women couldn't stand it anymore, and got up angrily and dragged the children away. Some
children were reluctant to leave because they wanted to eat delicious candies, so they were slapped in the face and then dragged away crying.
"Oh, they are rich now, we can't
afford to marry them!" "I came here with good intentions to congratulate you, but you are so angry!"
Several women helping in the kitchen couldn't help but fight back for the Hou family, "Are you here to congratulate me sincerely, or are you here to flatter me?"
"Not really, maybe we are jealous!"
Seeing someone speak up for the Hou family, the women who came to eat and drink for free quickly dragged their children away.
Hou's mother looked embarrassed and said to Lin Shu and several other women, "You are really a joke."
Everyone said not to bother with those people.
"They all hate others for what they have and laugh at others for what they don't have. If you take them seriously, you will feel depressed."
Hearing the women from the secretary's, factory director's and other families speak up for their families, she suppressed her unhappiness and entertained them more attentively.
After a while, Zhan Qiuran came with her sister, carrying malt extract, canned food, and a pound of brown sugar, which were very generous gifts.
Hou's mother warmly entertained them and introduced them to everyone, saying with a smile: "She is a very good surgeon at a young age. She is the girlfriend of our uncle's comrade-in-arms and they are getting married at the end of the year."
Everyone looked at Zhan Qiuran, some knew her and some didn't, and they all praised her for her beauty and ability, and wanted to make friends with her.
People always like to get along well with doctors, but who knows when they will ask for help?
Lin Shu pulled Zhan Qiuran to sit next to her, while Zhan Jiali was invited upstairs by the children.
Because it was the first dinner after returning home, Hou's mother used all her skills to prepare the ingredients and tried to make it as rich as possible.
Two large tables were set up, with chicken, duck, fish and eggs, and the portions were affordable, so that everyone could enjoy the meal.
The banquet lasted for two hours before it was over.
The colleagues at the factory also understood the situation. After chatting for a while after the meal, they took the initiative to say goodbye, allowing their relatives to sit together and talk about private matters.
When most of the outsiders had left, only the Tang family and Lin Shu were left at home.
Everyone spoke more casually.
Father Tang looked drunk, his face flushed, and he talked to Father Hou about their old times, how they had fought together when they first met, how they had fought for the factory, and how they later became in-laws.
He pulled Father Hou and said with deep affection: "Brother Hou, you don't know how much we missed you during your absence. It's good that you're back now, we'll still follow you in the future! We will definitely make our factory glorious again!"
Tang Peng: "Majestic again!"
Lin Shu and Zhan Qiuran couldn't help but shudder, and got goosebumps all over their bodies.
They really don't mind being corny.
Tang's mother also played the emotional card with Hou's mother. Her words were full of true friendship in times of adversity. When the Hou family got into trouble, the old Tang family was determined to stand with their in-laws. They would never draw a clear line between them, and would not treat their daughter-in-law any differently. They would only get better and better.
She said to Hou Shuxian: "During the days when your in-laws were not in Qizhou, Shuxian, do you think your parents were good to you? We really put you first in everything."
Although Hou Shuxian felt a little uncomfortable, she nodded and smiled, "Of course I am good."
She now has a son and a daughter, and she can't say no for the sake of the children.
Although the Tang family spoke against their conscience, she couldn't turn against them for the sake of the children. They didn't turn against them when her parents were sent down, and it's even more impossible now.
Besides, she couldn't find a better one if she left the Tang family. The Tang family was indeed good to her, so she would naturally continue to live like this.
Hou's mother's eyes were red again, and she held Tang's mother's hand, "When I went to the countryside, I was most worried about Shuxian. My in-laws took good care of her, which was great. Tang Peng is also responsible."
After the Tang family's emotional operation, Hou's mother burst into tears and felt that her relationship with them had reached a new level.
Hou Deming's expression remained normal, and he was not more excited, let alone red eyes.
Not to mention the children.
Hou Bo was older after all, and he even thought that grandma was partial to him?
Uncle didn't abandon my aunt, so he was responsible?
Then mother didn't abandon my father, and took good care of them all, how many times more responsible was that?
He wouldn't say it in public, but he knew it in his heart, so he was naturally closer to his third aunt's family and more and more alienated from his aunt's family.
Tang Peng's mind is full of the salary that his father-in-law gave him for more than two years, which is 7,000 to 8,000 yuan.
It's impossible to give so much money to his son and not to his daughter, right?
He wanted to find an opportunity to ask Hou Shuxian to borrow 1,000 or 2,000 yuan, so that it wouldn't all be taken away by his uncle and sister-in-law.
He asked Sister Lin, "Sister-in-law, do you and your nephews and nieces have to come back to live? The parents miss their grandchildren. If they are not around, the old people will be so lonely."
No matter what Sister Lin said that the children are used to the school or something, that is not an excuse, because it is easy to transfer schools, and this is where they were born, so won't they be more used to it? Even if they are not used to
it, won't they get used to it after living here for a few days?
In the final analysis, if you don't come back, it means you don't want to come back, don't want to live with your parents-
in-law, and be close to your grandma with your children. Isn't that bad? This touched the heart of Hou's mother. She really wanted her daughter-in-law and children to come back and live.
Family members are close only when they live together. It's not right to always live in a relative's house.
Sister Lin wanted to speak, but Lin Shu held her hand under the table and stopped her from speaking.
Hou Bo had been reminded by Panpan before, and the children also discussed the answer together. He said calmly: "Uncle, we will study with Grandpa Shao from Monday to Friday, and we will come back to accompany Grandpa and Grandma on Saturday and Sunday." Tang's mother
asked curiously: "Learning medicine at such a young age? Can you learn it well?"
Tang Peng also said: "Not all of them can learn medicine. It's also good to separate the two children and learn skills from Grandpa."
Hou Deming: "What skills do primary school students learn? If you want to learn my skills, At least they have to graduate from technical secondary school or high school. They can't understand it even in junior high school."
Hou's mother hurriedly smiled and tried to smooth things over, "He
just cares about the children." Hou Deming said, "The children all have to go to school. Their father is working on a project in the countryside, and their mother also has a job. If they really come back, we old couple won't have the energy to take care of them. Let's live with the Revolutionary Committee first and wait until the children grow up."
Seeing him say this, Tang Peng naturally didn't dare to object. Even if Hou's mother was unhappy, she couldn't say anything.
She felt that she was right. She also felt sorry for the children. Can you live outside as well as at home? At home , you
don't have to worry about food and drink, and you have plenty of money to spend.
But she saw that her daughter-in-law had not given in, so she could only give up and wait until her son came back.
In the afternoon, Zhan Qiuran and Zhan Jiali left first, and then the old couple of the Tang family also left. Tang Peng took the children to accompany Hou Shuxian to stay to entertain the guests.
Hou's mother wanted to keep them all for one night and go back tomorrow, "There is room at home."
Doctor Shao declined, "No, I have to go to work tomorrow, come back later when I have time."
Lin Shu smiled and said, "I have something to do at home, so it is not convenient for me to stay. Sister and the children can stay for one night."
Sister Lin had a draft, so she would stay for one day at most.
The children were quite happy. Changing places to live is like traveling, and they are always happy.
Hou Wei and others invited Pan Pan Tian Tian, Lu Ping and Lu An to stay as well.
They were warmly received at the Lu family, so when the brothers and sisters came to their home, they would of course give the best reception!
Lin Shu and Doctor Shao were leaving, so Hou Deming quickly asked his mother to prepare a return gift.
His mother did not search for anything, after all, her family was not poor, and she had to find a way to express her gratitude when receiving a favor from someone, so she packed a bag of snacks, candies, red and white sugar, etc.
Lin Shu left the candy for the children to eat, and only took a bag of white sugar and brown sugar to cook and snack.
After Lin Shu and Grandpa Shao left, the children went to the attic to look through books. Whoever found an interesting book would show it out loud, and then start reading aloud for everyone to listen.
Hou Wei knew few words, so he gave it to Tiantian to read.
In the evening, Hou Shuxian and her husband wanted to live here with the children. Hou Deming directly told Hou's mother to let Tang Peng go home to live. The two families were so close, there was no need to live in Yue's house.
Tang Peng was embarrassed to stay at his father-in-law's house, so he quietly told Hou Shuxian a few words and left.
Before going to bed, Hou Deming asked Hou's mother to give each child two yuan as pocket money so that they could buy snacks, toys and other things.
Originally he wanted to give five yuan, but Marquis thought it was too much, so he might as well give two yuan, and he would give it every time he came here, so that the children could come more often.
Hou Deming didn't care about these details. He directly put five hundred yuan in an envelope and gave it to Sister Lin, asking her to subsidize her living expenses and buy whatever she needed for the family.
Sewing machines, bicycles, radios, various paints and painting tools, etc., buy whatever you want. I also give my children more pocket money, go to amusement parks and zoos to watch more movies, and buy them more magazines and books.
From then on, he helped eighty every month.
The son is in the country, and the daughter-in-law also has a job and needs to socialize. If they have more money, they don't have to worry about calculations. She
would not be too tight on money to go out and socialize.
Besides, her son's family has received a lot of favors from the Lu family in the past two years, and they will slowly repay them in the future.
It is easier to repay when you have enough money, but how can you repay when you are already tight?
He did not give it to his eldest sister directly, but put the envelope in her room, and she slept sweetly with Yingying at night.
He wrote a note to express his gratitude to the Lin and Lu families, and told her not to refuse or tell anyone else, and to just take whatever the family gave her in the future.
Otherwise, the daughter-in-law would find out and make a fuss.
In the past, the old woman was partial to the daughter-in-law, and he did not care, but in the future he would give more money and things to his son's family.
This is what they deserve.
In the evening, he talked to Hou's mother about giving some money to her son's family, and Hou's mother agreed.
She said, "I know my daughter-in-law works hard, so she must be given some money."
Hou Deming: "Give her eighty yuan a month in the future."
"What?" Hou's mother was stunned, "Isn't that too much?"
Twenty or thirty yuan is enough.
The eldest brother and his wife both have salaries now.
Hou's father: "It's just eighty yuan, I've already boasted to Brother Shao. Also, if you give money to the daughter-in-law's family, don't give more than twenty yuan a month."
In order to prevent the daughter-in-law from doing housework all day at her husband's house, they arranged a job for her.
The Tang family also makes a lot of money.
Hou's mother hurriedly said, "No, I'll give you ten or eight yuan at most."