“Sister Hua, is this your son?”
The Yan family now consisted of Jin Zhanhua and Yan Chu. On weekdays, Yan Chu was not even there. Their home inevitably deserted. Yan Chu found a park for the old lady before the school holiday. Now, many elderly practice tai chi sword dance and fan dance there in the morning, and many elders take their children for a walk and chat there at noon and evening.
He was afraid that the old lady would be bored, so he encouraged her to join the group of the elderly in the park. The old lady was not happy at first. Her age was younger than those retirees, but her home was indeed lonely, and many people in the same quadrangle could not look up to her obedient Jinbao23JinbaoYan Chu's nickname, refers to valuables in general; precious; darling; sweetie, and she was impatient to get along with those who had no eyes.
After Yan Chu went to school, the old lady tried to go to the park for a few rounds. Unexpectedly, she indeed blended into it and gradually realized the fun. In addition to eating, she talked about life and her son with her new little sisters in the park every day, which could kill time.
As it happened, after Yan Chu got up in the morning, the old lady took her son to the park where she exercised every morning to show off with her sisters.
“He’s 14 years old, attend middle school this year, am I right? He looks so handsome, six points similar to you.”
A group of old ladies heard Jin Zhanhua praising her son every day. Their ears were almost callous. Apart from others, they finally saw the actual person today. His appearance was indeed a rare handsome youngster.
“I had three sons, and Jinbao looked like me. His two brothers followed their father.”
The old lady looked at her youngest son, who gave her a long face, not to mention how proud she was, “And my son has a good head. He assured me that he would give me the top ten in this semester’s midterm exam.”
Yan Chu listened to the old lady boasting, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Although he was sure of the top ten, the old lady did not look at the results of the original self. He said that the top ten and the old lady was sure that her son was in the top ten?
“Wow, your son is truly bright. When my smelly boys were studying, they were the bottom ones every time.”
No one doubted the old lady’s words and thought that since Yan Chu could guarantee the top 10 of the midterm exam, his usual performance must be around this level.
“That’s not right, my son…”
The old lady took her son to show off, which made her addicted.
She said that her obedient Jinbao was the best. Who wouldn’t like such a well-behaved and considerate child?
When he left, Yan Chu almost became a friend of the elderly women.
How considerate her son was. He accompanied the old lady in Tai Chi dances, asked his mother, Jin Zhanhua, if she was thirsty or not with a canteen, and helped fan her after dancing. Even girls were not so considerate.
Jin Zhanhua promised to bring her son next week, which freed him from a group of old ladies.
“Who said that Sister Hua spoiled her son? If an obedient child is a bad child, my family will be caught in prison. I think it’s jealousy.”
The oldest woman in this group was already 66, but she was in good spirits. After exercising every day, she went to the vegetable market to buy food and cooked breakfast for her old husband and grandchildren. She did not feel tired at all.
Because this dancing group was usually commensurate with their sisters, Yan Chu naturally could only call them politely as aunts. When such a handsome boy was called affectionately by aunts, they felt more than ten years younger.
“I think so too. Sure enough, you can’t believe all the rumors. You don’t know whether some words come from people or dogs.”
A group of old ladies glowed one by one. They did not know whether they had red faces after dancing or had just been coaxed into laughing too happily. Anyway, the old ladies who met Yan Chu today gave him a high evaluation.
They had not seen Yan Chu before. The first impression of meeting today was naturally the actual appearance of Yan Chu in their mind. Perhaps if anyone spoke ill of Yan Chu in front of them in the future, they would feel that they were jealous or listened to rumors.
After a while, the elderly dispersed in groups after exercise. Some people went home to prepare breakfast prepared by their daughter-in-law. A group of fewer leisure people had to rush home to prepare breakfast.
The old lady Xie Meifeng bought her granddaughter’s favorite steamed stuffed bun and soybean milk. She bought shrimp congee that she and her old husband liked to eat and slowly rushed home.
Xie Meifeng and her husband were retired small cadres, and their children had jobs. There was no need for them to subsidize. Except for a part of these pensions, they would save it for the children in the future. Naturally, the rest was how willing they spent it.
When the old lady grew older, she did not go to the kitchen much. She bought almost every meal outside, regardless of whether it was a state-owned restaurant or a government canteen. It was simple and easy to cook two dishes and steamed a pot of rice or porridge by herself.
These days, her eldest granddaughter moved back to live with them, the two elders. The old lady cooked by herself, so before buying breakfast, she went to the supply and marketing cooperatives and the free market, purchased a fresh silver carp and a piece of palm-sized pork, and then rushed home.
“Grandma, why did you go shopping by yourself again? Didn’t I say I’ll go with you then?”
Xi Xiaoxiao asked the old lady, took the ingredients and breakfast in her hand, and returned to the kitchen to put the porridge and soy milk into a cup.
“Grandma is in good health. I don’t need you to accompany me.”
The old lady shook her head and looked at the blackness under her granddaughter’s eyes. She sighed and asked: “You still have a nightmare. I told your Aunt Zhang that you must get stained with dirty things. She doesn’t believe it. Listen to Grandma, and after breakfast, Grandma will accompany you to the sorceress.”
Several years had passed since the days when people were panicking at the slightest move. Those people, who were humiliated and physically abused during the Cultural Revolution and knocked down, had begun to emerge again, and people were no longer so taboo about these things.
Although she could not put it on the surface, those great master sorceresses, and so on, were still secretly reborn to start the business.
“Grandma, I’m fine.”
Xi Xiaoxiao shook her head. Where did she encounter dirty things? It was all because she dreamed of the suffocation and painful feeling before death in her previous life every day. In her dream, there was still her unborn child with clear and crystalline blood called her mother. How could she sleep well?
There was a theory that the tears in a woman’s eyes after marriage were the water in your mind before marriage. Xi Xiaoxiao thought she must have entered a vast ocean before marriage.
That man was just a little better, sweet mouth, would coax her dizzy, not only killing their child but also killing herself.
There was a trace of grief in Xi Xiaoxiao’s eyes.
God gave her a chance to start over again. She did not want to immerse herself in hatred. Xi Xiaoxiao felt that she should forget the past and look forward again. This time, she would keep her eyes open. As for Yan Chu, she hoped that she would not have any contact with him in this life.
“Look at your dark circles, you look like a panda, and you say you are okay?”
The old lady sighed and looked at the miserable granddaughter: “In the future, you can live with your grandparents. The room at home is also empty. It happens that there is no one around us, and we are lonely.”
She felt that the current situation of her granddaughter could not be separated from the woman her son later married, so she felt sorry for Xiaoxiao. She was obviously their daughter, but because of the younger brother, who was born later, even her father did not put her at ease.
Now the two of them could take care of her a little when they were still alive. But when they kicked the bucket, who could this child rely on?
So she should exercise now. Only when Xiaoxiao grew up and married a reliable man could she leave at ease.
“Grandma, don’t worry. Don’t you think I can bounce and jump well?”
Xi Xiaoxiao’s face smiled, and that touch of gloom flushed away. With a stepmother, she had a stepfather, especially when her father valued sons over daughters, and the mother gave birth to a son.
Her best grandmother in her past life would leave in two years because of an accident. They were the best grandparents for her in the world. Otherwise, when she wanted to marry Yan Chu, everyone knew that it was not a good ending, but no one stopped her.
It was useless to overthink it. Xi Xiaoxiao put away her grief. Every day she lived now was given to her by God. She must live a brilliant life to be worthy of this adventure.
She should learn to put down her grief and think about what she regretted in her previous life, not living up to her in this life. There was also Grandma. She should stop the accident and let Grandma live healthily and peacefully.
“Why are you back again? I have nothing here for you to pick up.”
On Monday, Yan Chu went back to school last night. The old lady was upset, but she also knew that studying was a good thing. In addition, the old lady had a truly happy Sunday. Even though it was a parting night, she slept very sweetly. It was rare to miss the morning exercises and sleep until the sun rose in the morning.
As soon as she opened the door and was about to go out, she saw her eldest son and her second son’s family appear in the yard, followed by one, two, three, four, five, six, seven children.
The old lady rolled her eyes and turned to close the door.
