As soon as Guan Qiongzhi entered, Tan Ziying, carrying gifts, followed. The two exchanged a bitter smile...
To save money for their families, they followed Zhang Xiaofeng to cause trouble, but ended up making a mess of things. None of their family members understood their good intentions. They either blamed them for being shameful or said they were short-sighted. They ended up like Pigsy looking in the mirror, pleasing neither side. Sigh!
Aunt Shi didn't give the two a friendly look. When she encountered Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu coming down from upstairs, she told the two children to find Hua Li.
Hua Li heard Xiao Xiu say through the door that Commander Yang and Commander Leng's wives had arrived. She hurriedly stood up from Luo Shicheng's arms, wiped her face clean with a handkerchief in front of the mirror, tidied her hair, opened the door, and went downstairs to the living room.
Luo Yan had no interest in watching the three housewives exchange pleasantries, and went out to play with Xiao Xiu.
As Luo Yan stepped out of the gate, she saw Yang Tie and Leng Jian standing under the ginkgo tree by the gate. The two of them also noticed Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu coming out of the gate. The four of them looked at each other, and the atmosphere was awkward for a moment.
Xiao Xiu shielded Luo Yan behind him, asking, "What are you doing here?"
Yang Tie scratched his head sheepishly, "I came with my mom."
Leng Jian: "Me too."
They were following secretly, but their mother didn't know.
Luo Yan peeked out from behind Xiao Xiu, "Big brother, little brother..."
It was all the adults' insatiable greed that caused the problem; it had nothing to do with the children, and there was no need to hold a grudge. Luo Yan called out to the two of them sweetly, making Yang Tie and Leng Jian blush.
"We're going to play 'slap-slap', do you want to play?"
Yang Tie and Leng Jian took out their pajamas from their pockets and asked Xiao Xiu, who then looked at Luo Yan with her eyes.
Luo Yan nodded, and the four children happily played under the tree.
Outside the door, four children were laughing and joking. Inside, Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi were apologizing to Hua Li.
The daughter had already paved the way, so Hua Li could simply follow the steps and generously express her forgiveness, while listening to Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi complain.
As a woman herself, Hua Li understood Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi's predicament and knew that their demands for her medical expenses were all about money. However, that was not a reason for them to bully her. Hua Li chatted warmly with the two of them on the surface, but in reality, she was always wary of them.
"Hua Li, your family has never been seen to have any dealings with Commander Zhuang's family before, so why do you seem to be very familiar with Commander Zhuang?"
Tan Ziying asked the question casually.
Hua Li smiled faintly, "Don't even mention it, it's all thanks to Commander Yang and Commander Leng..."
Tan Ziying asked curiously, "What does this have to do with our boss?"
Hua Li then recounted the story of the two children's fight with Yang Tie and Leng Jian on the playground.
"Yanyan defeated both of your children by herself, and even performed brick-breaking on the spot. If it were really my Yanyan's fault, we wouldn't have had to wait until now; Yang Tie and Leng Jian's hands would have been broken back then."
Commander Zhuang values talent, so naturally he pays close attention to my Yan Yan. The fact that she was found so quickly this time is thanks to Commander Zhuang's help.
Guan Qiongzhi was taken aback. "How come I didn't know about this?"
Tan Ziying made the same expression: "Yeah, I've never heard my husband say that either."
The father is no match for Luo Shicheng, and his son can't even beat a three-year-old girl. How could he possibly have the face to tell his own wife this?
Hua Li, seemingly unaffected, picked up his tea and sipped it leisurely. After the two of them had figured out the reason, he said...
"It's normal for kids to fight and play. There's no right or wrong in it. If you don't believe me, we might fight until we're broke, but the kids might already be back to normal by now."
Hua Li's words made Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi even more embarrassed, and they awkwardly got up to take their leave.
Guan Qiongzhi glanced at the two cans of food she had brought over with a pained expression. It wasn't that she was stingy, but her family really didn't have any money. To buy these two cans of food, she would have to eat thin porridge that was barely visible for a month.
Hua Li watched coldly without saying a word, then got up and saw the two off.
Aunt Shi waited at the door and handed two bamboo baskets woven from bamboo strips to Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi.
Each of the two bamboo baskets contained a pound of cured meat, a pound of white sugar, two pounds of apples, and two pounds of steamed rice cake.
Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi were both stunned by the expensive return gift.
Her two cans of food were nothing compared to these things, and Guan Qiongzhi waved her hands repeatedly.
Tan Ziying's family didn't have the same heavy burden as Guan Qiongzhi's, but in those days of scarcity, it wasn't easy to just give away so many things. Besides, what she gave away was less than half the value of what the other person had, so how could she accept it?
Hua Li took the bamboo basket from Aunt Shi and forced it into the hands of the two of them.
“We’re neighbors, if we’re too polite, it’ll make us feel distant.”
Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi couldn't refuse any longer, so they accepted the gift and thanked them repeatedly. But when they walked out the door, they saw their heartless little thing with its arm in a sling, happily playing with Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu with one hand.
Now, Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi were truly embarrassed, so they simply pretended not to know each other and quickly went home with their bamboo baskets.
Yang Tie and Leng Jian, who were disliked by their mother, were completely unaware of this. They only remembered their mother when their stomachs started growling at noon.
Aunt Shi came out and called Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu home for dinner. Yang Tie asked Aunt Shi a question.
Why haven't my mom and Aunt Guan come out yet?
Aunt Shi was both amused and exasperated by the question, "Your mother and Aunt Guan have been gone for a long time. It's a wonder you were standing guard at the door and didn't even know."
Yang Tie scratched his head sheepishly and beckoned Leng Jian to go home.
Aunt Shi called out to the two of them, "Don't go home, eat here."
Yang Tie and Leng Jian were about to say no, but Xiao Xiu grabbed their hands and pulled them inside the door. Luo Yan also waved for the two of them to come in.
"Big brother, little brother, eat meat."
Upon entering the house, the dining table was already set, and the aroma of meat wafted into their noses. Yang Tie and Leng Jian's stomachs were rumbling like thunder, and they couldn't bring themselves to refuse.
Hua Li took care of the matter downstairs. Luo Shicheng took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and took a nap. He skipped lunch.
After seeing Tan Ziying and Guan Qiongzhi off, Hua Li saw that it was still early and rode her bicycle to work.
Aunt Shi set aside a portion of the food for Luo Shicheng, and served the rest to the four children.
Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu didn't eat much, but Yang Tie had a big appetite, and Leng Jian rarely ate meat at home all year round. After Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu finished eating, the two of them devoured the remaining food in no time.
Older people love to see children eat and drink well. Aunt Shi laughed as she watched. After the meal, she let the four children go out to play and digest. Once they had digested, she cut up some watermelon for them to eat.
There are no secrets in the compound, especially since the four children were playing right in front of the Sun family's house.
Soon the whole compound knew that the Sun, Yang, and Leng families had reconciled, and the four children were playing and eating together. They even went to visit Kong Feng, the little nephew who was being fostered by Political Commissar Kong.
Kong Feng was in poor health and not very familiar with the children in the compound. He got injured because he secretly tried to break bricks after seeing the other children doing it.
Kong Feng's mother, Feng Dingxiang, took Kong Feng to the hospital to see a doctor for his injuries. She was persuaded and encouraged by Zhang Xiaofeng to go with Zhang Xiaofeng to find Hua Li. Now that no one is encouraging her, she has naturally calmed down.
When she saw the four children come to play with Kong Feng, Feng Dingxiang happily pushed Kong Feng into the yard so that all five children could play together.
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