Mr. He was taken aback for a mont. He took a closer look, then broke into a smile. "Oh, it’s my son’s in-laws! When did you all get to Beijing City?"
"Today. Is Yue’er ho?"
Mr. He nodded. "She is. Co on in, she’s in the kitchen."
Liu Hongxing followed Xue Changlin into the courtyard, her eyes darting everywhere, unable to take it all in at once.
Mr. He shouted toward the kitchen, "Third Daughter-in-law, your father is here!"
Xue Yue ca out still holding a spatula. Her eyes lit up when she saw Xue Changlin.
"Dad, when did you get here? Why didn’t you call?"
Xue Yue had heard about Liu Hongxing’s situation from He Lang, but she hadn’t paid it much mind. When she hadn’t heard anything for two days, she’d assud they weren’t coming.
He Lang heard the voices and ca out of the house with the children.
"Dad. You’re here."
Xue Changlin nodded at He Lang, then looked at Xue Yue. "We arrived today. We don’t have Xing Jun’s address, so we ca to find you."
Xue Yue nodded. She saw Liu Hongxing too, but didn’t greet her.
"Dad, please wait a mont. I’m in the middle of cooking, it’ll be ready soon. He Lang, take Dad inside."
"Alright. Dad, let’s go inside and wait."
Xue Changlin looked at Ruanruan and Shiyi and smiled at them.
He Lang patted Shiyi on the head. "You two, greet him."
Ruanruan and Shiyi called out in unison, "Grandpa."
Xue Changlin nodded. "Yes."
He Lang led them inside. As soon as they sat down, Liu Hongxing anxiously asked He Lang, "Where is Little Jun living?"
He Lang replied, "Xing Jun is staying with Big Brother and his family. It’s not far from here."
Liu Hongxing grew restless, eager to find Xue Xingjun. He Lang saw through her and said, "You must be hungry, right? Big Brother’s family has probably already eaten. If you want to find Xing Jun, you can go over after we eat."
He Lang had been busy lately and was getting ho late, so his family ate dinner late. He figured Xue Xingzhou’s family had probably already finished their al. If his in-laws went over now, soone would have to cook for them all over again.
Xue Changlin asked He Lang, "How’s business?"
He Lang nodded. "It’s alright."
"That’s good."
An awkward silence fell. Although He Lang was Xue Changlin’s son-in-law, the two of them weren’t very familiar with each other and had nothing to say.
Liu Hongxing’s eyes kept scanning the room. ’Xue Yue has really made it big,’ she thought. In her eyes, the house was filled with nice things.
"Ti to eat."
Xue Yue called out from outside the room.
Once they were all seated at the dining table, Mr. He asked Xue Changlin, "How was the harvest this year?"
"Very good. We had plenty of rain this year, so the grain yield was high."
Liu Hongxing stared at the dishes on the table, already swallowing her saliva. There was fish, at, and fluffy white rice.
"Dad, let’s eat first."
"Right."
Liu Hongxing eagerly picked up a piece of at and put it in her mouth. It was rich but not greasy, so delicious that her eyes narrowed in pleasure.
Liu Hongxing’s chopsticks moved with lightning speed, causing both children to stop eating and stare at her.
Xue Changlin found this embarrassing and nudged her. "Eat slower. You’ll get a stomachache."
Liu Hongxing grunted in acknowledgnt, but her pace didn’t slow in the slightest. The others, however, weren’t surprised. Back when they held banquets in the village, all the villagers ate like this. If you ate slowly, there’d be nothing left.
After dinner, Liu Hongxing announced she was going to find Xue Xingjun.
Xue Yue said, "I’ll take you."
When they arrived at Xue Xingzhou’s place, his family had already eaten, but no one had gone to bed yet.
Seeing Xue Yue enter with her parents, Xue Xingjun imdiately ran over. "When did you arrive? Mom, how’s your stomach? Is it still hurting a lot?"
Liu Hongxing shook her head. "We got here this afternoon. It doesn’t hurt now." ’My stomach’s just a little bloated,’ she thought. ’I ate too much.’
Xue Xingjun then turned to his father. "Dad, how could the doctor say nothing’s wrong? If nothing’s wrong, why does it still hurt?"
Xue Changlin glanced at him. "I don’t know. We’ll find out when we go to the hospital tomorrow."
Xue Xingzhou looked at Xue Changlin and called out, "Dad."
Zhang Qian also called him "Dad," and Xue Changlin acknowledged them both. His gaze then fell on Tun Tun.
Zhang Qian noticed and said to Tun Tun, "Call him Grandpa."
Tun Tun only glanced at Xue Changlin. "Not Grandpa."
Zhang Qian blinked, feeling a little awkward. She patted her son’s head. "Be good. This is also Grandpa."
Tun Tun shook his head. "Not Grandpa."
No one else spoke, and the atmosphere grew a little quiet. Xue Yue’s eyelid twitched, and just as she was about to speak, she saw her father smile. "It’s alright. This must be Tun Tun, right?"
Xue Changlin had also heard about him from Xue Xingjun.
Zhang Qian nodded. "Yes."
Zhang Qian was too embarrassed to ntion the child’s full na, which was of the Zheng family. She was afraid it would make Xue Changlin uncomfortable.
"He looks healthy."
Zhang Qian was speechless for a mont. "Haha, yes, he is a little chubby."
Xue Changlin looked at the boy and said, "A little chubby is good. It ans he’s not lacking nutrition."
Xue Changlin’s words stirred a mory in Xue Xingzhou’s mind. He recalled that the original Xue Xingzhou had always been so thin you could see his ribs, his cheekbones sunken. Only after he arrived did he slowly regain his health.
Xue Yue said to Xue Changlin, "Big Brother doesn’t have many rooms here. You’ve seen Little Jun now, so why don’t you co back to my place to rest? You can have Little Jun take you to the hospital tomorrow morning."
"Alright." Xue Changlin nodded.
Liu Hongxing imdiately said, "I’m not going. I’ll just stay with Little Jun." She then grabbed Xue Xingjun’s arm. "Son, Mom will sleep with you."
The corner of Xue Xingjun’s mouth twitched. "Mom, my sister has a spare room. My room has a single bed. How are the two of us supposed to sleep?"
Liu Hongxing said, "It’s fine. Mom doesn’t take up much space."
A vein throbbed in Xue Xingjun’s temple. He wanted to say, ’Mom, have you looked at yourself recently? You call that not taking up much space?’
Xue Xingzhou said to Xue Xingjun, "You can squeeze in with Yun Lei. Give your room to her."
Xue Xingjun glanced at Zhang Yunlei and nodded helplessly.
"Dad, you should co back with then. I’ll bring you back over tomorrow morning," Xue Yue said.
Xue Changlin glanced at Liu Hongxing, who kept her eyes lowered, avoiding his gaze. "Alright."
Once Liu Hongxing followed Xue Xingjun into his room, she let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
Xue Xingjun teased, "What, did you do too many bad things in the past? Scared now?"
Liu Hongxing snapped irritably, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? Is that any way to talk to your mother? What did I do?"
Xue Xingjun muttered sheepishly, "If you didn’t do anything, then what are you so guilty about?"
"I’m not guilty!"
Liu Hongxing raised her voice, but then rembered she wasn’t at ho and quickly covered her mouth.
Xue Xingjun pursed his lips.
Liu Hongxing quickly sat on the bed and took off her shoes.
Sure enough, there was blood on the soles of her socks. The blisters on the bottom of her feet had broken.
Liu Hongxing winced in pain. "What did I do to deserve this? Your father’s lost his mind, insisting on making walk this whole way. My legs feel like they’re about to break. Forget seeing a doctor tomorrow, I’ll need to get my legs treated first."
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