After lunch, while tidying up the dishes and utensils in the kitchen, Luo Qiao said to Gu Qianru, "Auntie, Yichen and I will take the kids to visit my ntor later. We’ll be back for dinner in the evening."
She then told Lu Yiting, "Big Brother and his wife will be back soon. Don’t leave either. We can go back after dinner."
Gu Qianru looked at Luo Qiao: "All of your ntor’s children have returned to Capital City for the New Year. It must be quite lively."
Luo Qiao was aware of the situation there, so she planned to visit today just to pay her respects for the New Year to her ntor and his wife, without staying overnight as before.
In any case, things were as they were, and she wouldn’t interfere with her ntor and his wife’s decisions.
However, there are two sides to everything: if the ntor chose not to let them return to Capital City, the couple would have a peaceful life, but they might feel a bit lonely since she herself didn’t have much ti to accompany them.
Conversely, if they decided to let their children return, it ant they were ready for the interactions, which would inevitably lead to conflicts and problems. While troubleso, it would be lively.
Yipin had never stopped sending gifts, but that was only as per the couple’s needs, nothing more. So today was rely a visit to see the ntor and his wife without planning to stay for a al.
Today was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and it was inevitable to run into those people, but Luo Qiao was not interested in deep interactions.
After getting things ready, she inford Kong Xiangrui and agreed to have dinner together before heading out with the prepared gifts.
When she drove to her ntor’s house, there were many elderly people sunbathing at the foot of the wall. Soone saw Luo Qiao and Lu Yichen and said, "Hey, isn’t that Luo Qiao?"
Luo Qiao greeted everyone with a smile: "Happy New Year to all."
An old man said, "Your ntor and his wife ntioned that you wouldn’t return for the New Year this ti. How co you’re back again?"
Luo Qiao put the children down from the car: "I missed them, so I ca back."
"Ah, these must be triplets; they’ve grown so much."
"Luo Qiao, your two daughters are really beautiful, with such rosy skin. You’ve raised them well."
The kids, well taught by Luo Qiao, politely greeted the elderly n sunbathing by the wall: "Grandpas, Happy New Year."
The old n were delighted: "Ah, Happy New Year, Happy New Year, such good children."
After Lu Yichen brought down the gifts, Luo Qiao greeted everyone with a smile: "We’ll be heading inside now."
Yanyan and Yueyue actually wanted to rush in earlier, but they had to consider their younger brothers, so they held their brothers’ hands and walked through the gate before Yanyan yelled, "Master Grandfather, Master Grandmother, we’re back."
Feng Shumin heard the shout from inside the house: "Why does it sound so much like Yanyan’s voice?"
Yang Jiancheng, with a newspaper in hand, replied, "You must be missing them too much and hearing things. They just ca back for a visit in May; it’s a long way here, and with kids it’s inconvenient. Besides, they would have let us know beforehand if they were coming."
Yanyan, not getting a response, shouted again: "Master Grandfather, Master Grandmother, are you ho?"
Then a boy ca out of the room where Luo Qiao used to stay: "Who are you, shouting like that? Who is your grandfather and grandmother, claiming fake relatives?"
Now the old couple inside felt sothing was off and stood up, coming out from the inner room. When they saw the family of seven standing in the courtyard, Feng Shumin even gave her husband a pat: "I told you it was Yanyan’s voice, and you insisted it was my imagination."
They hurried out to greet them: "When did you all get back? Why didn’t you call us in advance?"
Luo Qiao smiled and said, "Master Father, Master Mother, Happy New Year. We wanted to give you a surprise, but it seems everyone says the sa thing upon seeing us. Next ti, we’ll inform you in advance."
The boy who had asked earlier suddenly said, "Great Grandfather, Great Grandmother, who are they? Why do they call you Master Grandfather, Master Grandmother?"
Yang Jiancheng, feeling a headache coming on with the child’s question, shouted to the other room: "Ruining, co out and take care of Ze Chao."
A man and a woman ca out of the room, and Feng Shumin introduced them: "This is my eldest grandson Yang Ruining and his wife Mao Xiaoxia, and that over there is their son Yang Zechao."
Before the elders could introduce her, Luo Qiao said to the couple: "Hello, I’m Luo Qiao, the youngest apprentice of your grandparents."
Yang Ruining replied, "Technically, we should call you Aunt, and my son should call you Great Aunt."
The nearby Yang Zechao, who should be older than Yanyan, retorted, "Who wants to call her Great Aunt? I already have a Great Aunt."
With this, the atmosphere beca sowhat awkward.
Yang Jiancheng looked at his eldest grandson: "Who taught him this?"
Yanyan and Yueyue also felt a bit offended, and Yanyan looked at Yang Zechao: "You can choose not to call her, to avoid making my mom sound old."
Luo Qiao quickly intervened, "Master Father, Master Mother, what the child said isn’t wrong. I am indeed your junior apprentice, but I really haven’t had any interactions with them. It’s better for us to stick to our own titles."
Then she turned to Yang Zechao, "What you said isn’t wrong. You don’t have to call that if you don’t want to. It’s just a title and it’s not a big deal."
Luo Qiao didn’t care about the distinction in seniority. Apart from her ntor, she had no interaction with them and didn’t plan to have any in the future, so the outco was for the best.
She would always rember her master’s kindness in her heart, and she had kept her promises over the years. Even when abroad, she ensured that soone took care of everything for them, and it would be the sa going forward, but this was only for the elderly couple.
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