Chen Sanshui tapped the cigarette in his hand and a kind smile broke out on his wrinkled face.
"Aqi is a cultured man, very polite, and respectful to us old people. He is a down-to-earth person - quite a good person."
"Yes! My brother-in-law is really handsome! He has always been very handsome, and he seems to be even more handsome after returning from abroad!"
"I heard he's doing pretty well at the shipyard!"
"The only bad thing is that you don't get to come back with him from time to time! Haha!"
…
Chen Xingling listened to his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law praising Gu Qi with a happy smile on his face, and silently gave his dear old man a few more kisses in his heart.
Great job!
After a while, she took out six packs of cigarettes from the box, gave two to her old father and one to each of her brothers.
"So many! Ling! This is too expensive! How can I buy so much at once! No no! It's too expensive!"
"Little sister, you-how much money is this going to cost you? Our family's financial situation is much better now than before, you don't need to buy these expensive things!"
Chen Xingling stuffed it in their hands and explained with a smile: "Aqi asked me to prepare this. Fourth brother is often not at home, so I didn't prepare any for him. You have to accept everything that Aqi gives you!"
All the brothers couldn't stop laughing!
Chen Xingling took out some toothpaste and soap from the space and gave them to his sisters-in-law, and each of his sisters-in-law a bottle of vanishing cream.
It was late at night, and several brothers and sisters-in-law went back to their rooms one after another, each with heavy burdens in their hands.
It was the first time that Chen Wuxing’s wife, who just got married last year, saw Chen Xingling and happily stroked the gift in her arms.
"Old Five, my sister-in-law is so kind. She gave us so many good things at once! No wonder you look forward to her coming back every day!"
"What nonsense! Even if my little sister doesn't bring back a penny, you have to take good care of her! We brothers only have this one sister, and we spoiled and coaxed her to grow up little by little. If you dare to treat my little sister badly, be careful! Don't say that I won't forgive you, my brothers and sisters-in-law won't forgive you either!"
"I know, I know."
In the room, Chen Sanshui was still smoking, while Liu Peiyun beside him was secretly wiping away tears.
"She is so thin...her complexion is not good...her parents' home is far away and her husband is not around, so even if she is wronged in her husband's home, no one would know! This child keeps saying that she is living a good life. Okay, I am not blind to see!"
Chen Sanshui sighed: "We have also taken a look at her mother-in-law. She has eyes on her head and looks down on us country people. It is not easy for Lingling to make a living under her!"
Liu Peiyun felt distressed and whispered, "Lingling has always been in good health since he was a child... He has never been this thin. Aqi is a really good kid, and his brother seems to be a real person too - how could he have such a bad mother!"
"Maybe they are like the deceased father-in-law." Chen Sanshui lowered his voice: "Dragon is like dragon, phoenix is like phoenix. It is impossible to give birth to such a good son out of thin air. Okay, no matter how bad the mother-in-law is, she is only a half-life. The key is that the son-in-law is good and can truly love our Lingling. He is the one Lingling will rely on for the rest of her life."
"But whenever I think of Lingling over the years..." Liu Peiyun sobbed, "I feel so heartbroken! If she wasn't so far away, I would have gone to see her a long time ago."
Chen Sanshui sighed and whispered, "My dear wife, stop crying and go to bed early. Didn't Lingling say that she would stay in Yucheng and would not go to her husband's house anymore. Let's take good care of her. We should take good care of our daughter."
“Yes, yes!”
"Go to sleep."
…
Chen Xingling upstairs had already gone to bed and fell asleep almost as soon as he touched the pillow.
She had been traveling a lot these past few days, and there were all kinds of people on the train. Even with Gu Yi around and her son in her arms, she still didn't dare to fall asleep.
Perhaps she was too tired and sleepy, or perhaps it was the familiar old room and the warm quilt that had been dried in the sun that gave her security and warmth, and she slept without dreams until dawn.
After getting up, she drank two large bowls of fresh fish porridge cooked by her mother.
People in the fishing village will go out to sea as long as the weather is good. Except for visiting relatives on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, they will still cast nets to catch fish and catch some fish and shrimp for their own consumption.
Mr. Chen has been hardworking for most of his life. He is an old man who cannot rest. He casts his nets several times early in the morning and specially picks out a big grouper to make fish porridge for his daughter and grandson.
Gu Yi ate porridge and nibbled on fried dough sticks, praising them for their deliciousness.
Little Huzi also likes to eat porridge. He wanted to eat it quickly but found it was too hot. He put some porridge in a small bowl and slurped it. After a while, he had finished a big bowl.
Chen Sanshui and Liu Peiyun looked at each other and laughed out loud with chrysanthemum wrinkles all over their faces.
"This kid! One look at him and you can tell he has the stomach of a southerner! Good job!"
As soon as Xiao Huzi had finished his meal, several cousins came running over and brought a lot of new toys to play with the little cousin.
"Steam a turbot for lunch." Chen Sanshui told his daughter, "I'll ask your mother to stew fish maw for you. It warms your stomach and nourishes your body. You must drink two bowls a day."
Chen Xingling laughed and said, "Let's eat when we come back in the afternoon. We may have to stay in the city for lunch. I'm going to go to Gu Qi's factory to see when he can get here. Besides, I have something else to do."
"Oh!" Liu Peiyun said, "Then go quickly and come back soon! I'll ask the boss to drive you there on a tractor and take you around the city."
"Little Tiger, do you want to...?" Gu Yi hesitated.
"Let him stay at home and play. I'll take care of him." Liu Peiyun smiled lovingly. "As long as children have company, things to play with and things to eat, they won't have a bad temper. It's windy and sunny outside, so you adults can go, and the children shouldn't follow."
Chen Xingling did not sneak away, but explained to his son. Only after he heard that he wanted to stay and play with his brothers and sisters did Chen Xingling and Gu Yi get on the walk-behind tractor.
Chen Daxing drove the tractor onto the village road and went straight to the city.
Gu Yi couldn't help but ask: "Sister-in-law, what are the names of your brothers? They all seem to have the word 'star' in their names, right?"
"Yes." Chen Xingling explained: "Chen Daxing, Chen Zhongxing, Chen Bingxing, Chen Jixing, Chen Wuxing. In the past, there was an old man who was a scholar in the fishing village. Many villagers would ask him to name their children when they were born. Many people named them according to the order of their generation, but my father said that it was not necessary, as long as it was easy to remember, so he named my brothers in order."
Gu Yi laughed and asked jokingly, "Sister-in-law, what about you? You are the sixth child, why are you not called 'Six Stars'?"
Chen Xingling smiled dumbly: "Your brother asked this question before. Actually, I originally planned to call it 'Liu Xing' or 'Lu Xing', but my parents thought it didn't sound good, so I racked my brains for several days and finally came up with the current name."
The journey didn't seem far as we were chatting, and we arrived at the shipyard gate an hour later.
Chen Xingling went straight to the concierge to ask.
The guard squinted his eyes and looked at her, then slowly shook his head: "No, Engineer Gu hasn't come back yet."
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