Chapter 413: Grown-up Girl
The corners of Mrs. Zeng's mouth, which had been drooping, suddenly lifted up. She hurriedly took two steps forward, hugged Xia Zhizhi, and said lovingly, "Oh, my dear grandson, you came back suddenly. Why didn't you send a telegram to your family so that I could send someone to pick you up? How did you get back after getting off the train?"
Xia Zhizhi quickly put down the melon seeds in her hand and hugged him back, and began to tell lies: "I dreamed that grandma said she missed me, and I missed grandma so much, so I wanted to give her a surprise, so I secretly took a bus back. There were a lot of buses at the train station, so I got off the train and took the bus home."
Hearing Xia Zhizhi say this, Zeng Zelan felt distressed: "Oh, the bus is crowded at this time. Our Zhizhi has to sit on the train for several days and still squeeze on the bus. How hard it is!"
Xia Zhizhi buried her head in the old lady's arms and began to twist: "As long as I can see grandma, Zhizhi will feel happy and won't feel tired at all!"
You know it's a lie as soon as you hear it, but Zeng Zelan doesn't think so. How could their little girl lie to others? This is what she thinks in her heart.
Zeng Zelan grasped Xia Zhizhi's hand distressedly, looked at her carefully, and touched her up and down: "Our Zhizhi has grown taller and thinner. It's better to go home. Grandma will give you good nourishment. Poor child, I don't know how much you have suffered outside. I don't know how long you haven't eaten meat. Look at your thin arms..."
Xia Zhizhi has grown a little taller. After all, this age is the time when people grow up, and when people grow taller, they will look thin and tall.
To say that she has lost weight again is definitely not the case. She has always been in this shape. But in the old lady's mind, this child must have been eating coarse food and choked on vegetables for most of the past six months.
The old lady felt sorry for her granddaughter. She thought that her granddaughter was just like a little cabbage with no one loving her. She was so pitiful that her eyes couldn't help but tear up.
The meal was ready. Xia Bangguo was standing nearby, and was speechless when he saw the grandfather and grandson arguing endlessly, even wiping away tears.
After all, according to Xia Bangguo's understanding of Xia Zhizhi, this child is extremely lazy and would never let herself down no matter who else she lets down.
During the Chinese New Year, Jiao Jiaoxuan didn't gain any weight. He must be so thin because he was born that way. After all, there is no fat person in his family.
So he bluntly advised Zeng Zelan: "Look at what you said. It's not like I didn't give her money. She's a grown-up, not stupid. She has money and tickets, so she can eat anything outside. Why would she deliberately starve herself?"
Zeng Zelan glared at him in dissatisfaction: "What do you know? How can the food outside be delicious? Besides, our Zhizhi is so skinny that she may not be able to squeeze past others when she goes to a joint-venture hotel to eat!"
Xia Bangguo knew there was nothing to argue about this topic, so he pointed to the steaming food on the table and said, "Yes, yes, you are right. Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Look, the food is ready. Hurry up and let her eat more."
Zeng Zelan quickly pulled Xia Zhizhi to sit down and served her some food. She didn't stop even when her bowl was full.
Xia Bangguo sighed helplessly, lowered his head to eat his meal, and pretended he didn't see it.
People say that a person's character can be seen at the age of three. Xia Bangguo is so old, it is natural that his character will not change easily.
He still couldn't get used to the fact that the old woman was so spoiled with children. The Xia family's conditions were quite good at that time, but the children in the family were not used to being spoiled.
Just because Xia Zhizhi is not afraid of this old man doesn't mean that the other children in the Xia family are not afraid of him.
Even Xia Zhizhi's cousins, when they came here, would at most act coquettishly in front of the old lady, and would behave properly in front of the old man.
But Xia Zhizhi was a tough kid, no matter how hard she tried, she simply pretended not to see it. Saying anything would not work, because this was the old lady's darling, and the old lady protected the child very much, and it was impossible for her to beat the child, so she simply kept silent.
Anyway, the child is so old now, and she may not be able to stay at home for many years. When she gets married, it will be others who will have a headache.
After dinner, Xia Zhizhi took out the gifts for the old man and the old woman from her luggage.
Each person was given a pair of mink knee pads and a hat with fur earmuffs and a grey wool knitted pattern on the outside.
It's furry and extra warm, and the fur is out of sight, so it's very low-key.
Sure enough, no one could refuse a gift.
After receiving the gift, Xia Bangguo's complexion became much better.
He tried on the knee pads and hat with a serious expression. The corners of his mouth wanted to rise, but he suppressed them. He said to Xia Zhizhi with a serious face: "I think this is made of mink fur. It's not cheap. I know you have some money, but you have to save money. Why waste this money? You don't have to buy these for us two old people in the future. We have clothes to wear."
Xia Zhizhi didn't bother to pay attention to him, pretending she didn't hear him, and helped Zeng Zelan, who was trying on a hat, to adjust her earmuffs: "Grandma, you look really elegant in this hat. You can wear it after it snows in two days."
The product is really good. It is warm and simple.
Zeng Zelan admired the mirror for a long time before putting the things back into the cabinet.
Then she said to Xia Zhizhi, "It just so happens that you're back. I'll call your sister's workplace and tell her the good news. Ask her to come home so that our family can be reunited. She hasn't been home for a while."
Xia Qingqing is very filial. Unless she is out of town, she will go home from time to time to visit her grandma.
After hearing Zeng Zelan say this, Xia Zhizhi was about to ask her why Xia Qingqing hadn't been home recently, when she heard some noise outside.
It was her parents, Xia Sihua and Pan Wenjun who came.
When the old lady came home and saw Xia Zhizhi, she was happy for a while, but after realizing that Xia Zhizhi had not sent any letter, she asked the guard to go to Yuer Hutong and tell her parents that she was coming home.
Xia Sihua and his wife knew that when Xia Zhizhi arrived at Gongzang Hutong, the old lady would definitely not be willing to let her go home, and would definitely stay in Gongzang Hutong like she did last year.
The two men missed their daughter so much that they naturally went there in person.
Like the old lady, the two of them carefully looked at Xia Zhizhi and concluded that she had grown taller.
Pan Wenjun looked at Xia Zhizhi, who had become taller than herself, with a complicated expression of pity and reluctance.
After all, for parents, once their children grow up, it means they will get married soon.
It doesn't matter if I have a son, I'll just marry him into my family anyway.
As for daughters, once they get married, according to the subconscious view of most people in the country today, they naturally can no longer stay with their parents like they did before marriage.
Pan Wenjun touched Xia Zhizhi's head and said, "Our Zhizhi is already a grown-up girl."
Xia Sihua knew what Pan Wenjun was thinking, and he put his arm around her shoulders and comforted her, "No matter how old she is, she is still our daughter. Even if she is 80 years old, she is still our child."