The Fat Wife of the 1980s Awakens

Feng Dongling smiled naively: "Not today. The two kids at home are too naughty. Chunyan can't take care of them alone. I have to go back to make dinner for them. Let's do it tomorrow! Tomorrow Chunyan and I will bring the kids to see you. You haven't seen them yet! Chunyan will be very happy to know that you are back!"

Xu Xiufang responded with a warm smile: "Okay, but don't come over tomorrow. The weather is cold, and Huanhuan and Kangkang are still young. Don't let them catch a cold. We will go into the city to see you and go shopping."

Feng Dongling thought for a moment and readily agreed. Before leaving, Xu Xiufang went back to the house and got some dried meat and snacks suitable for children for him, which Feng Dongling gratefully accepted.

With Feng Dongling's departure, Xu Xiufang and his party headed to the old house for dinner.

The old house still looks the same as I remember, but the space seems to have shrunk a lot compared to a year ago.

The area where Xie's mother lives is tidy and clean. In comparison, the living environment of Xie Laosan and his family seems messy, as if no one has cleaned it up for a long time.

The most noticeable thing is the wet ground. The loess turns into mud when it meets water. You need to be careful when walking on it to avoid slipping.

Xu Xiufang and her companions had to carefully find the stone road to move forward.

At this time, Gu Xiaoling happened to witness this scene. She immediately scolded her eldest daughter Chunfeng: "Who told you to spill water on the aisle? Do you know that others still have to walk? What if your second uncle and second aunt's clothes are soiled?"

Chunfeng felt very aggrieved, but she dared not argue due to her mother's authority.

Seeing this, Gu Xiaoling hurriedly smiled and explained to Xu Xiufang, with helplessness in her tone: "Children are ignorant, second sister-in-law, don't take it to heart!"

Xu Xiufang glanced at her indifferently, secretly sighing in her heart that this woman had great endurance skills.

She didn't respond, but walked calmly past Gu Xiaoling, leaving the latter with a cold back.

Gu Xiaoling's face froze slightly, then returned to normal, and she watched Xu Xiufang and the others walk into the main room.

At the same time, on the other side, the pregnant Qin Yunli heard the noise and slowly walked out of the door with her belly bulging.

Pregnancy made her movements a little clumsy, but compared to what Xu Xiufang saw last year, her complexion had obviously improved and she looked radiant, obviously benefiting from the good care she had received.

Xu Xiufang and her family had heard about Qin Yunli's pregnancy a long time ago. They learned from letters from her parents that they had a blessing attitude towards it and did not comment too much on it.

When Qin Yunli saw Xu Xiufang and the others, a smile spread across her face: "Second brother, second sister-in-law, you are back?"

"Sister-in-law."

Xie Yi and Xu Xiufang responded in unison, and then tacitly helped Xie's mother move chairs and place bowls, while instructing Sanbao and other children to invite Grandpa Li to come out and share this rare family dinner time.

Sanbao, Xiaoyun and the lively children of the Dafang family, each of them like a thawed creek in spring, with laughter like silver bells, walked into the warm and timeless room of Xie's father and mother. Their arrival seemed to add a bit of vitality and vigor to the whole space.

Qin Yunli originally planned to take the opportunity to exchange a few more pleasantries in an attempt to narrow the distance between her and Xu Xiufang, but seeing that the other party still maintained that lukewarm attitude, her words disappeared quietly in her throat like an unopened bud, leaving behind a lonely silence.

Her eyes moved among the crowd and finally fixed on Boss Xie who was busy in the courtyard. She saw him concentrating on carrying one bucket of water after another. Sweat slowly slid down his resolute features, silently telling of the hardships and responsibilities of life.

Seeing this scene, Qin Yunli pursed her dry lips gently, but her eyes involuntarily swept to Xu Xiufang and her husband who were surrounded by the enthusiasm of Xie's mother.

Xu Xiufang seemed to have the keen insight into people's hearts and inadvertently caught the complicated look from Qin Yunli. She then looked at Boss Xie not far away, and something seemed to quietly awaken in her heart.

She asked Xie Yi beside her in a low voice that could be heard by the people around her, "When you came here to boil water, did you accidentally use up all the water stored at home?"

There was no trace of blame in his words, only a sense of inquiry.

Xie Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded in sudden realization, with a hint of apology in his tone: "It is true that a lot of it was used up."

He was originally confused as to why Xu Xiufang would mention this matter, but when his eyes met Qin Yunli's subtly changing expression, his doubts were resolved. His brows unconsciously twisted into a small knot, and he felt mixed emotions.

Xu Xiufang's voice was neither too loud nor too low, and it just lingered throughout the entire courtyard, allowing everyone to hear it clearly, including the slightly embarrassed Qin Yunli.

She didn't expect that her subtle emotions would be captured so delicately by Xu Xiufang, and even raised publicly. Her cheeks couldn't help but turn red, and she was eagerly looking for the right words in an attempt to save face.

As Xie's mother observed all this, an indescribable emotion surged in her heart, including anger and helplessness.

She wondered to herself what this daughter-in-law was planning. Was she so upset just over a few buckets of water?

Thinking about the large amount of items that my second son’s family usually sends back, I realize that they probably take into consideration the need to live together with my eldest brother’s family, so the amount they send back each time is quite generous.

Qin Yunli may have never carefully calculated the amount of money she spent on food and drink, but at this moment, she was fussing over a few buckets of water, which made Xie's mother feel both angry and ridiculous.

To ease the atmosphere, Xie's mother quickly tried to smooth things over: "Just use it. Anyway, the water is now taken from the well you dug. It's so convenient!"

While speaking, he deliberately emphasized the words "the well you dug", as if to remind Qin Yunli that this convenience was the result of their joint efforts.

In fact, what Qin Yunli really cared about was not those buckets of water, but her feeling that Xie's mother was overly partial to Xu Xiufang's family, while Xie Lao Da was silently bearing the consequences. This gap made her feel quite uncomfortable.

Faced with this sudden attention, Qin Yunli was so embarrassed that she almost wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She quickly agreed, "Yes, just use it. Let Dabin fetch water. It's very simple."

Xu Xiufang hesitated for a moment, and finally decided not to let Xie Yi go to the trouble of fetching water. After all, this was just a trivial matter.

At this moment, the children surrounded Mr. Xie and walked out of the house. The family sat around and shared dinner.

After the meal, Xu Xiufang and his wife did not rush to leave. Instead, they chose to sit around the stove in the main room, enjoying the rare tranquility and warmth.

The world of children is always full of laughter. Guo Jiajun and others asked Erbao to play the arm wrestling game. A group of boys gathered in a circle with great interest, and the scene was very lively.

On the other side, the girls' world is completely different - Xiaoxi is unable to go home because she is working in the county town, Erhua and Xiaohua are carefully braiding Xiaoyun's hair, and their laughter is as clear as silver bells, adding a bit of warmth to this winter night.

Mother Xie inadvertently noticed that Xu Xiufang was watching Erbao's "competition" with great interest, and a warm feeling rose in her heart.

She gently pulled Xie Yi over and walked into the inner room, closing the door behind her.

Xie Yi was well aware of his mother's familiar little gesture, and knew that his mother must have something on her mind that she wanted to ask about.