Xiao Mi’s mother’s eyes narrowed with surprise upon hearing about Tian Sisi’s family background. A retired old revolutionary from Beijing? That was a veteran cadre.
No wonder the children from this household were all outstanding – the young n handso and the ladies beautiful, every single one of them talented and with good manners, dressed differently than common folks – clearly, they ca from a solid background.
Tian Sisi brought two bowls of sweet dumplings over to Tian Shouhua and loudly said to the two who were enthusiastically drinking, "Beautiful sister, Brother Shouhua, have sothing to eat before continuing with the drinks. Otherwise, it’s not good for your stomach."
Being called a beautiful sister by a stylish young lady felt extrely pleasant to Xiao Mi, who happily took one of the bowls Tian Sisi handed over and started to eat. Tian Shouhua also took a bowl and ate with big bites.
Tian Sisi watched Tian Shouhua eat the sweet dumplings with a beaming smile. She had secretly put so hangover fruit into the dumplings. Although the color was slightly off, the poor lighting that evening coupled with Tian Shouhua’s blurred vision from drinking too much ant he probably wouldn’t notice.
While Tian Shouhua remained clueless, Tian Xinhua did notice but he kept silent. Instead, he glanced at Tian Sisi, who was grinning like a little fox, and thought for sure this Ah Nan must be up to so mischief! Who knows what she added to the fourth brother’s dumplings?
After they finished eating the dumplings, the competition continued with them downing bowl after bowl of liquor. Several bowls later, Tian Shouhua was inwardly astonished to find himself becoming more sober the more he drank. Could it be that he was the legendary drinker who never gets drunk?
Tian Xinhua also sensed sothing was amiss. It seed that Ah Nan must have added sothing sobriety-inducing to the fourth brother’s dumplings. Where did she get all these oddities from? Tian Xinhua was extrely curious but he did not plan to ask Tian Sisi; he was waiting for her to tell him herself.
After two jars of liquor, Xiao Mi finally succumbed, finished the last bowl and fell forward onto the table with a thud.
Tian Shouhua couldn’t help but smile proudly, not because he won the contest, but because of his recent realization. He was now utterly convinced of his unique talent, a rare genius indeed! (Tian Sisi chuckled secretly)
Xiao Mi’s mother panicked; her daughter drunk? That was as rare as the sun rising from the west. She quickly called over so relatives who had co together to help carry her daughter to the car, as they still needed to get ho.
Seeing her cousin so drunk as to be unconscious, Xuanlepang couldn’t help but feel both amused and annoyed. She had intended to help her aunt assist Xiao Mi, but Xiao Mi’s mother had held her back. Where was it proper for the bride to do such chores?
Tian Bajin was delighted and repeatedly gave Tian Shouhua thumbs up. Not bad, he didn’t dishonor Yuequan Village, and that girl from before wasn’t half bad either. A woman who could drink around ten jin (about 5 liters) of liquor was surely no lesser than any man.
At bedti, Granny Zhao tried to start a conversation with the Old Man, "Hubby, what kind of person do you think Ah Nan should marry in the future? I really can’t bear to see Ah Nan leave."
"What’s gotten into you today? Ah Nan is still so young; why worry about this now?" The Old Man glanced at Granny Zhao several tis, speaking rather irritably.
"Ti flies really fast, you know. When Ah Nan first ca to our family, she was just this little, and look, it hasn’t been long, and now Ah Nan is already ten. Blink, and she’ll soon grow up to be a young lady."
The Old Man was flustered by Granny Zhao’s words, "What’s this about getting married or not? In the end, when Ah Nan gets married, it has to be to soone I’ve approved. If I don’t find them agreeable, I’d rather have Ah Nan stay at ho."
"You think whoever you approve of is definitely good? Besides, if you make Ah Nan stay a spinster at ho, wouldn’t the villagers laugh us to death?" Granny Zhao gave the Old Man a scolding glance.
"This won’t do and that won’t do, then what do you suggest we do?" The Old Man was getting heated.
"I think what Tian Hemiao’s wife (Aunt Tian Chunsheng) said today made so sense. She suggested keeping our family’s ’water’ from flowing into outsiders’ fields and keeping Ah Nan in our Tian Family. That way, we could both see Ah Nan every day. How nice that would be!"
The Old Man eyed Granny Zhao suspiciously. He now understood why this old lady suddenly brought up this topic; she was harboring this idea. But truth be told, the idea wasn’t bad— at least they wouldn’t have to worry about Ah Nan being mistreated.
"Aiyo, don’t worry about the villagers gossiping. Ah Nan isn’t our Tian Family’s own girl, who in the village doesn’t know that?" Seeing that the Old Man remained silent for a long ti, Granny Zhao urged again.
"Then who do you think is suitable?"
"At first, I was considering Zhonghua and Weihua from the Ai Guo family, but Ah Nan doesn’t have much contact with them, certainly no feelings, and Donghua and the others are a bit too young. So, I was thinking it should be Xinhua—he’s the right age, and most importantly, he spends the most ti playing with Ah Nan and they get along the best. Aren’t they just like the childhood sweethearts described in plays?"
Granny Zhao beca more pleased the more she talked, feeling her idea was truly great. The Old Man was tempted too; Xinhua really was pretty suitable. But when it ca to the matters of the heart, it was still up to the two young ones themselves. If neither Ah Nan nor Xinhua had that sort of feelings, forcing them as adults would be futile.
Besides, Ah Nan still had a biological father watching over her. A lifeti commitnt can’t be decided solely by the Tian Family. Right then, the Old Man said:
"Let’s just go with the flow. Don’t go around spreading word about this matter. Whatever happened before, let it continue. If Ah Nan and Xinhua have feelings for each other, they’ll naturally co together. If there’s no such sentint, no amount of coercion from us will make a difference."
Granny Zhao thought about it and agreed—forced lons aren’t sweet, and it was still up to the children’s feelings. Sigh, she really hoped Ah Nan and Xinhua could be together, or even with Shouhua or Qinghua—not bad, as long as they were under her watchful eye.
Granny Zhao hadn’t thought in this direction before, but after being reminded today, the idea of keeping Tian Sisi within the Tian Family floated to her mind like water lilies in a pond, soon filling the entire pond completely.
He Xuewen left the house early the next morning, taking with him the electric baton and spray that Tian Sisi repeatedly reminded him about, as well as the Old Man’s entrustnt to inquire after his comrade Old Zhang in Beijing.
The Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, and the weather was getting hotter by the day. On this Saturday, they didn’t visit Huangkeng Village, but hosted a birthday banquet at the He Family ho in the evening, celebrating He Chengsi and Zhong iying’s birthdays in advance with the sa group as before—except Xiao Wei Guo was missing.
The next day Tian Sisi, Tian Xinhua, and Jianguo rode their bicycles to Huangkeng Village, mainly to see if Shou Jizu was obediently working and to check if Wei Guo was being bullied in the village. They also brought along so grains and at.
When they arrived at Huangkeng Village, it was almost eleven o’clock, and Tian Manlan had already stopped work and co ho to cook lunch, with Wei Guo helping with the fire. Tian Sisi and the others carried the things they brought into the kitchen; Wei Guo was overjoyed to see them, happily running over from the stove. (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to vote for a recomndation ticket or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian to read.)
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