"Alright, alright, your Lin Family has backbone, satisfied?"
"...Did he just ask you...did you agree to him?"
"For my godson-in-law, for my son, I can’t comply. This ti Xiao Chi went too far. He needs to learn a lesson."
"Just a little lesson?"
"Old Lin, even if I don’t help, there’s still my old father. They didn’t tell him about Xiao Chi’s situation because of his age. My elder brother saw no success with , so he threatened to go to my old father. My dad always favored Xiao Chi the most, even my outstanding son couldn’t compare. Once my father gets involved, the punishnt can be reduced by half."
"Since that’s the case, give your i Family a ssage: two grandsons, let them choose. Today, I will make the decision for my son-in-law, if there’s i Langchi, there won’t be Han Yi, if there’s Han Yi, there won’t be i Langchi. You decide."
"Old Lin, don’t drag into this. Han Yi is my godson-in-law now, not my nephew. But I’ll definitely pass on your ssage. i Shuping, as a father, should deal with the mistakes he made in his youth."
"Old i, don’t bla for speaking harshly. i Shuping’s actions were simply too much. I have always despised n who toy with won. And this matter involves our family."
"Alright, alright, I’ll pass on your ssage. Aren’t you planning to go back ho? When are you leaving?"
"I’m leaving right away. Just reminding you so you don’t play favorites."
i Shuqing smiled helplessly, "You’re wronging here; you know . I haven’t even pulled strings for my son."
"Co on, don’t pretend in front of ; I know your little tricks. I’m done chatting idly with you, I gotta go. When I return, I’ll bring back so local specialties for you; I won’t shortchange you."
"The specialties aren’t important; what’s important is you let Xiao Wan and Little Star stay with us for a while. I miss them dearly."
"Get out of here; you just want my daughter to cook for you, right?"
"Old Lin, my daughter and granddaughter are precious to . Cooking or not, if my daughter wants to do it, how is that any of your business?"
"Old i, you seem to be forgetting sothing; that’s my daughter, not yours. Don’t keep calling her ’daughter’ like that so intimately. If I had known it was those two siblings, I wouldn’t have agreed to this, letting you take advantage for nothing."
"You stubborn soul, if I hadn’t called for your help with my godson, would you have found your wife and child now? Isn’t all of this because I acknowledge them as god-relatives? Think about it: when my goddaughter was helplessly crying to on the phone, where were you? My godson suffered so much in detention. Where were you as a father?"
"Alright, alright, you’re right, you’re right, I’m in the wrong, satisfied?"
"Humph, of course. I’m telling you, let my godson and goddaughter visit us more often. Without you showing up, they might have settled in the Capital City by now, with no place for you."
"..."
...
After finishing packing, Liang Hongi waited for a few minutes without seeing Lin Guozhi co out, so she went to the study to check. When she entered, she found him holding the phone, red-faced and arguing with i Shuqing over the kids.
Liang Hongi shook her head; two grown n acting like children.
If she hadn’t insisted on hanging up, who knows how long they’d argue.
The family didn’t have much clothing. They all wore heavy clothes, and the rest were suitable for the weather there, thin and not taking up much space.
They brought two bags of local specialties, a large plastic water jug, a gas stove, and a small bag of rice, just in case Little Star got hungry on the road and they couldn’t find a place to prepare hot water for formula, a good ergency asure.
They were driving back this ti, taking a three-day journey.
Lin Yinghui could actually drive; he had learned for a few days when they bought the big truck, but he wasn’t very proficient.
For the main road sections, it was still Lin Guozhi and Han Yi driving.
They traveled by day and stopped for the night whenever they reached a city, finding a guesthouse to stay overnight. They hustled all the way, and by noon on the third day, they had already reached their county town.
Initially, the group wanted to go to an uncle’s rice noodle shop but found out they had closed for the holiday.
After calculating the days, today was already the twenty-sixth of the New Year.
"Why don’t we buy so things in the county town? We return ho now, and there’s nothing in the house."
Liang Hongi thought that with so many people in their family, they couldn’t possibly eat at her elder brother’s house every day.
"Alright, let’s find a place to eat first; Little Star is hungry. After dinner, we can go straight to the departnt store."
"Dad, there’s no need for the departnt store; just find a market. We don’t lack what’s in the mall; now we need food for the New Year."
This ti, the whole family was "returning ho in splendor," so lots of guests were bound to visit, and food would definitely be needed.
After discussing, they decided to do just that, finding a rice noodle shop to have so rice noodles. Han Yi was worried Little Star wouldn’t be able to eat it, but she seed to like it, munching with her four little tiger teeth at the front, savoring it.
"It’s been a long ti since I’ve had such authentic rice noodles. When I was here in the military, this was my favorite thing to eat," Han Yi recalled, nostalgic for his ti here.
"Xiao Yi stayed here?" Lin Guozhi had co and gone so hastily the last ti that he didn’t get a chance to eat these. Thinking back over the years, he realized how much he missed them.
Back then, money was tight, and getting to enjoy a bowl of rice noodles was a luxury.
"I rember when Ah Hui was little, around Little Star’s age. Your mom and I rarely brought him to the county to sell goods. It was just after the communal al era ended, and everyone started earning work points. Our family was struggling back then. I took any free ti to hunt ga in the mountains, gathered it up, and secretly sold it in the town to exchange for so goods. That day, we just sold so wild ga, and your mom, Ah Hui, and I shared a bowl of rice noodles. To be honest, I only had two sips of soup, but even that made us really happy. Later, when we got back, we brought sothing for your grandparents. Even though it had clumped up by the ti we arrived ho, your grandparents still didn’t want to eat it, insisting on saving it for Ah Hui to have by himself at night."
Lin Guozhi reminisced about the past, filled with emotion. So many years had passed. The county had changed quite a bit.
Many new buildings had sprung up.
"Although it was poorer than now, those years your father was ho were the happiest tis for our family." Back then, her parents had only her, a daughter, which was rare at ho. People didn’t hold them in high regard.
Later, as she grew up, becoming quite pretty, so of the scoundrels in the village set their sights on Liang Hongi.
Fortunately, during her pri years, she t Lin Guozhi, which allowed her to avoid those scoundrels’ attentions.
With Lin Guozhi around, the Liang family could hold their heads high. In the villagers’ eyes, Lin Guozhi was without kin, almost like a live-in son-in-law.
Many believed Old Liang had struck it lucky, that heaven had given him a good son.
But things didn’t go as hoped, and such an incident occurred.
Listening to his in-laws talk about these matters, Han Yi was also deeply moved.
Without ntioning the past, since eting Lin Wan in Huai County, his life trajectory had shifted.
"Li Hongqi, I’m telling you, if you don’t get your dad out today, don’t co back to this house anymore!"
"Honey, stop making a fuss. It’s the holidays; let my dad stay until after the New Year and then leave, okay?"
Not far from the noodle shop, the na Li Hongqi caught their attention, making the whole family squint.
"Li Hongqi, if you want the baby in your belly, then get your dad out of here! I’m waiting downstairs today, and I give you ten minutes to get your dad and make him leave!"
"Honey, you know he offended people in the village. If you send him back now, they’ll beat him up."
"For soone like him, getting beaten to death wouldn’t be too much. An in-law like that spying on his daughter-in-law changing, I can’t accept that."
Li Hongqi’s wife, with her loud voice, made everyone around curious.
"What’s going on? An in-law peeping at his daughter-in-law changes clothes? Such news isn’t common!"
"Can you keep your voice down?" Li Hongqi hurriedly stepped forward to cover his wife’s mouth, but she gave him a cold side-eye, shrugged off his hand, and said, "Your wife was peeped at, and you’re scared like a dog. Why should I be afraid? At worst, I’ll lose face. Li Hongqi, I’m telling you, I can still marry well with the child after leaving you. To be honest, I was blind to have chosen you, a coward. Ask other n; which would tolerate their dad peeping at their wife? If it were them, they’d beat their dad half to death and sever ties. But you, you continue to take care of that beast, leaving your daughter-in-law neglected."
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