In the evening, Li Ying walked slowly towards Sanyuan while cracking melon seeds.
When Gu Xuan was riding his bicycle to the gate of Sanyuan, he ran into an old woman who was spitting out melon seed shells.
She stopped her car and said calmly, "Mom."
"Hey." Li Ying's fat face trembled as he asked, "Is it hot today? Why aren't you wearing short sleeves? It's very hot here in mid-February. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought long sleeves. I would have only brought short sleeves."
Gu Xuan was still wearing a thin long-sleeved Dacron shirt and explained, "My sister-in-law said that it will rain in late February and early March of the lunar calendar and return to spring cold. You are old now, you can't be careless and only wear short sleeves."
"Oh! It's so hot!" Li Ying didn't care at all and pushed the door open and walked in first.
Gu Xuan followed with his bicycle and said calmly, "My sister-in-law also said that many people here catch colds during the rainy season, and those who catch colds feel very uncomfortable at that time, with sore hands and feet, dizzy and unable to get up."
Li Ying didn't care at all: "Don't listen to her! She just scares people all day long!"
Gu Xuan said with a sluggish face: "My sister-in-law is a native of Yucheng, but we are not. She knows the climate and culture here best. If I don't listen to her, how can I listen to you?"
Forehead?
Li Ying rolled her eyes, knowing that her daughter loved to argue with her, so she took a deep breath, turned around and walked forward.
At this time, little tiger came running down, jumping and greeting with a smile.
"Grandma! Aunt Xuan!"
Li Ying smiled instantly and said, "My dear grandson! Darling! What are you doing? Is your dad off work?"
Little Tiger answered crisply, "I'm going to borrow Aunt Xuan's textbooks to study. I'll go to the factory to find Dad after school this afternoon, and we'll come back together after he gets off work. Dad is drawing in the study."
Li Ying looked around and asked, "Where are your mother and aunt? They haven't come back yet?"
"Not yet." Little Tiger rushed towards Gu Xuan.
The aunt and niece talked and laughed, and then the big and the small went to the study.
Li Ying hated the "oppressive feeling" of the bookshelves and walls in the study being filled with books, so she simply sat on the steps to cool off and continued to crack melon seeds.
Although the second brother and his wife moved back to live with Gu Xuan, they rarely cook.
Gu Xuan came to Sanyuan for breakfast and brought lunch to school for lunch. Gu Yi and his wife ate in the cafeteria in the morning and one of them ate on the floor while the other ate in the cafeteria for lunch.
In the evening, the couple and Gu Xuan would eat at Sanyuan. Occasionally, when Gu Yi needed to work overtime, they would not have to do so. Zhao Xiaoxing would have dinner at Sanyuan regularly.
Since the young people don’t cook, she naturally doesn’t know how to cook either. She just eats wherever they go.
We go to the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch, and go to Sanyuan for dinner.
In fact, she really liked to eat at her eldest son's house, because her eldest daughter-in-law was very generous and there were meat and vegetables for almost every meal, and the dishes were rich and delicious.
The most important thing is that she can be lazy and not do anything. She doesn’t have to cook or wash the dishes herself - simplicity cannot be too much!
Unfortunately, Aqi said that after Aunt Cai returned to Dong after helping Qin Tiantian with her confinement, she would have to go back to her hometown with her.
When she thought of this, she couldn't help but regret it.
She didn't want to go back to her hometown in Beijing, not at all. Every day the house was deserted and she had to cook and wash dishes by herself. If she didn't cook, she would have nothing to eat, which made her feel miserable.
During the day I can go out and chat with neighbors, but at night I can be alone and quiet. Most of the time I can only eat melon seeds by myself against the wall, without anyone to talk to.
Otherwise, she had to find a way to stay and couldn't go back.
Her son and daughter are both in Yucheng, and she can't stand it if she doesn't live here and rely on them to enjoy the good life!
At this time, Gu Qi walked out of the study, went straight to the kitchen, and then took out a few potatoes and a handful of vegetables.
Next he sat on the steps and peeled potatoes.
"Mom, don't spit out the melon seed shells. Remember to clean up after you finish eating."
Li Ying didn't dare to refute and could only answer obediently.
Gu Qi always does things meticulously, neither too fast nor too slow, even when peeling potatoes.
Li Ying looked at her son's white, slender hands covered with mashed potatoes and grumbled, "Your hands are for drawing and designing machinery, not for doing housework! Leave these jobs for the women to do when they come back. Why don't you just do some work instead of doing these things?"
Gu Qi said calmly, "As long as you work hard with your own hands and as long as it is legal and compliant, it is a legitimate job. Mom, there are endless housework to do every day. If you don't do it, I won't do it, and others can also not do it, then we will have nothing to eat and nothing to wear."
Forehead?
Li Ying curled her lips and asked, "What's the point of marrying a wife? Just to do housework and take care of your family. Men need to make money and have a bright future, so how can they hide at home all day doing such work?"
Gu Qi said calmly: "This is your idea, not mine. In my opinion, I married my wife because we love each other and want to form a happy family. There should be no distinction between men and women when it comes to work, especially housework. The home belongs to both of us, not just my wife. I have to do the housework too, because I also have a share in this family."
Both of them are busy with their studies and careers, and the children are still young and can't be relied on. There are chores every day, and they can't be left behind, otherwise the family can't function.
When she is busy, he does more work. When he is busy or on a business trip, everything falls on his wife.
If you quibble about everything, your home will be in chaos every day.
He never cared too much about his work. After all, they all worked in the same department, he knew the most and had the most experience in design, so he didn't mind taking on more responsibilities.
This is the case at work, let alone at home!
Others are just colleagues, just friends and colleagues without blood ties, but family members are related to him by blood, they love him and he cannot be fussy about it.
Li Ying rolled her eyes secretly, "Don't think I don't know! She's always out early and back late, never at home! Little Tiger always relies on you to send her out in the morning and take her home in the evening. She's always taking care of her bath and sleeping at night. She's almost treating your home like a hotel! You just spoil her! The more you spoil her, the more she loses her way! You - you'll regret it sooner or later!"
After peeling the potatoes, Gu Qi placed them one by one in the corners.
Then he started picking vegetables.
"My wife, if I don't spoil her myself, who will do it for me? Hmm? Mom, will you spoil Xing'er? Is it possible?"
Forehead?
Li Ying was confused again and just ate melon seeds.
"I... I won't spoil her! I'm her mother-in-law, an elder. Why should I spoil her? She's my daughter-in-law, she has to be filial to me! This is a rule that has been passed down since ancient times, not something I said myself."
Gu Qijun's face darkened slightly. "You are an elder, but do you act like an elder? Elders are role models, they are the models who lead the way. You are lazy, you love to eat, you love to take advantage, you love to care about things, and you love to play mahjong and gamble. How can an elder like you be worthy of respect?"
Li Ying's face turned red and she turned away in embarrassment.
"But I—I am still your mother! She is your daughter-in-law, and I am her mother-in-law! This cannot be changed!"
Gu Qi hummed softly, and said, "I have never denied it, and neither has Xing'er. I only know that when I handed her over to you, I told you to take good care of her. But when I went home at the end of the year before last, I found that she was so thin and weak because of your harsh treatment. When I was away from home, she did all the housework by herself. I couldn't help her at that time. Now she has to work and go to school, and I can't help her much. I can only share more housework. In our family, there is no distinction between men and women, and no distinction between hers and mine."
"But you are a man!" Li Ying was quite dissatisfied: "You are the head of the family, you are the father of the little tiger! A man must have the dignity and -- and the prestige of a man. Yes! The prestige of a man!"
Gu Qi snorted softly, his tone containing obvious sneer.
"If, for the sake of a little bit of so-called face for a man, the family becomes restless all day long, people are divided, and the family doesn't feel like a home anymore - then what is the point of this so-called 'face'? The melon seeds in your hand can still be cracked and eaten. What is the use of such face? Can it be eaten, drunk, or cracked? Hmm?"
Li Ying was speechless after being asked back, and could not answer anything.
Gu Qi added: "A man's prestige is earned through hard work outside, through his own abilities and talents, so as to gain the respect and admiration of others. If it is gained by oppressing his wife or relatives, what kind of prestige is that?"
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