Chapter 315 I Can't Get Used to It
Xia Zhizhi was not a staff member here, so even if she had registered, she couldn't go around making trouble. She just sat obediently in Xia Bangguo's chair and watched Grandma Zeng handle the work.
As for Xia Bangguo, he was squeezed onto the small table near the window.
Xia Zhizhi thought this was not a good idea, but Grandma Zeng stopped her and said, "His eyesight is not very good. It's bright there, so he can see."
Xia Bangguo: ...
A closer look revealed that Zeng Zelan and her husband actually lived a very simple life. The enamel mug they used for drinking tea had several pieces of porcelain knocked off it, the pens they used for work had a lot of paint worn off, and their clothes were all worn to the point of being hairy and white.
As for the clothes that Xia Zhizhi gave her as a gift, Grandma Zeng put them away, saying that she wanted to save them for the New Year.
Their generation experienced the Long March and endured a lot of hardships. Even if conditions permit now, their past experiences do not allow them to be extravagant and wasteful.
The reason why he was willing to make so many new clothes for Xia Zhizhi was purely out of guilt and to make up for her.
Xia Zhizhi crossed her legs, touched the book on the table, and leisurely flipped through it page by page.
Look at the calendar on the desk, it’s December 20th.
At noon, it started snowing outside the window, and the road was slippery and inconvenient to walk on. My colleagues in the office brought me lunch.
The working lunch consists of one meat and two vegetable dishes.
The taste is still very good.
In the afternoon, Xia Zhizhi took a pen and scribbled on the turned calendar page.
She was not stupid, so she knew that in such a place, she couldn't just scribble or draw nonsense and output something that didn't exist.
She just doodled some short stories about the People's Liberation Army, mainly about people united and united as one, and just treated it as a way to pass the time. Not to mention, it was quite fun.
Seeing her scribbling and correcting things on the calendar listlessly, Zeng's grandmother felt a little distressed. After all, young people are full of energy, and it is really boring to sit there all day. But everyone has to go to work, and she was worried about leaving her alone at home.
After all, everyone in the Xia family is busy at work and at school. They can spare no time to accompany her for a day, but it is impossible for them to take leave every day to accompany her.
There are still about 40 days to the Chinese New Year. Even the children at my second child's house are too busy to take a holiday and are still working hard in school.
"Is it boring to accompany grandma to work? It's a pity that the weather is bad today, otherwise we could go for a walk outside."
Xia Zhizhi shook her head: "It's not boring. This is my first time back to the General Political Department Office. I also know the leader's residence and office yard. It's a great experience."
Grandma Zeng looked at the date and sighed, "Time flies so fast. It's already the 20th, and it's the leader's birthday. A year has passed in a flash. When he had his birthday last year, I temporarily invited your grandfather and a few comrades to his residence. We had dinner according to custom, four dishes and one soup, and each person had a small bowl of noodles, as well as roasted sweet potatoes and boiled corn. After your grandfather finished eating, he came back and said he was hungry. In the middle of the night, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he called Comrade You (the chef of the Xia family) to make him a bowl of noodles."
Xia Bangguo added with his eyes wide open: "I hadn't eaten all day, and it was late when I went there. Everyone had almost finished eating, so I just ate two corns. I must have been hungry at night."
"When times were hard, a corn cob could last several days. But things are really going backwards as time goes by," Great-grandmother ignored him and told Xia Zhizhi some interesting stories from past years.
There aren't many interesting things to say, and if you look closely, they're all bitter.
It's nothing more than finding joy in suffering.
When they got home in the evening, the Xia family had a chef assigned by their superiors to cook. Ah Ju had nothing to do at home, so he tidied up the room for Xia Zhizhi, and then knitted sweaters at home. He didn't feel tired, so he just sat in the house, knitting all day long in the same posture.
Seeing Xia Zhizhi coming back, he immediately stood up and went to greet her. He first got her shoes, changed her shoes, helped her take off her scarf, hung up her clothes, and then filled some hot water for Xia Zhizhi to wash her face, and then prepared to eat.
Xia Bangguo couldn't help but clear his throat and said, "Comrade Xia Zhizhi, you are already so old, you should learn to do things by yourself. How can you just wait for others to serve you every day?"
Xia Zhizhi's eyes widened, looking at Xia Bangguo in disbelief: "Grandpa, what are you talking about? This is caring! We are a loving family. They love me and take care of me. Isn't that what they should do?"
Xia Bangguo didn't agree with her nonsense and started to glare at her: "If there are things you don't know how to do, everyone can help you do it, but for the things you know how to do, you have to do it yourself. You can't indulge your laziness. Xia Zhi is a gay man, do you want him to follow you around all the time?"
This old man is so annoying. He gets angry all day long. Can everyone live according to his ideas?
Taking advantage of one's age to bully others - 10 points.
-30 points for being ready to boss her around.
-50 points for not loving her well.
But considering his previous contributions in fighting on the battlefield, I give him +1000.
Xia Zhizhi reluctantly tolerated him.
Xia Zhizhi pouted and dived into her great-grandmother's arms: "I left my dear grandma and mom and dad when I was young, and no one has ever been nice to me. Now that grandma is nice to me, I really can't refuse. I'm not a good child, no wonder grandpa doesn't like me..."
Grandma Zeng hugged Xia Zhizhi distressedly and said, "Nonsense, you are the best child. Whose child can be as sensible and capable as you? Don't worry about what your grandfather says, he is just too talkative."
Grandma Zeng was in a good mood these two days because Xia Zhizhi came home. She didn't bother to scold Xia Bangguo at all. But when she saw him constantly pointing fingers, she couldn't stand it anymore.
After finally coaxing Xia Zhizhi to stop howling, Grandma Zeng turned her anger to Xia Bangguo: "If you are used to it, then watch it. If you are not used to it, then move out. Why do you have so many things to do every day? Anyway, I am not used to you either. I will apply for you tomorrow and you can live in Zhonglanhai!"
Xia Bangguo was so angry that he blew his beard and glared: "I am her grandfather, what's wrong with me saying a few words to her?"
Xia Zhizhi pulled on Grandma's sleeve and said pitifully, "Grandma, you and the other grandpas are angry because of Zhizhi. Zhizhi will leave tomorrow and won't stay here to make Grandpa unhappy."
Zeng Zelan was really going to be pissed off by Xia Bangguo. The child was finally found, and before he had even had two days of peace, he was asked to speak too much here to show off his ability.
Zeng Zelan hugged Xia Zhizhi and said, "Let's go, let's go. We'll move to Yu'er Hutong tomorrow. I think he doesn't like you, he just can't like me. He can't like anyone. If he wasn't so troublesome, would his children and grandchildren be unwilling to live with him?"
When Grandma Zeng turned around, she saw Xia Bangguo still standing there with his eyes wide open. She was furious: "I get angry when I see him. If I'm dead, you should bury me separately from him."