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Zhou Xiuhua saw that it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon. Her second son, who usually would have been ho by now, was almost three hours late. Could sothing have happened to him?
Then she recalled that among all of Xie Family's children, her son was the tallest and most robust. Just his height alone was enough to deter most people from provoking him! Besides, he was a military man, Rong Wei. Who would dare to ss with Rong Wei recklessly?
"How co he's not back yet? I'm so worried!" Zhou Xiuhua restlessly peered through the wide-open yard gate towards the road, but still, there was no sign of him!
As dusk approached, Zhou Xiuhua grew even more anxious.
"Mom, I'm back!" As Xie Jingchen just entered through the back door, he saw several little nephews and nieces playing together with mud!
"Second Uncle? You're back~!" The oldest child, Xie Yuhua, the eldest son of his younger brother and fourth in line, exclaid in surprise, then dashed towards the front yard, screaming as he ran, "Grandma, Second Uncle has co back; he entered through the back door!"
The remaining boy, ranked sixth, Xie Yufan, was the younger son of his youngest brother. It turned out that the children were just playing with mud and digging up earthworms to feed the chickens at ho! Such is the life of rural children, having no fancy toys, the older ones often look after and play with the younger ones, always engaging in tasks within their capabilities.
"Aling, Aqing, Fanzi, do you still rember Second Uncle?" Xie Jingchen, holding the youngest niece, asked with a smile.
By now, the comparatively older niece, Aling, sensibly holding Xiao Liu, Xie Yufan, obediently nodded her head and happily called out, "Second Uncle, grandma has been waiting for you at the gate since early morning!"
Already six years old and fifth in line, Xie Yuling, the articulate one, responded and even taught Xiao Liu to call him Second Uncle, then looked at Zhang Shan Ni with a shy smile, yet was too shy to speak.
"Let's go, mom must be very anxious!" Xie Jingchen, holding his little niece in one arm, left the little girl feeling at ease as she simply played with the mud in her hand, occasionally casting curious glances at the unfamiliar Zhang Shan Ni and her hardly rembered Second Uncle.
"Here, let carry the bag, and you hold the little girl," Zhang Shan Ni conveniently took the cloth bag from Xie Jingchen's hand, feeling much less nervous with sothing in her hands!
"Okay." Having seen her boldness and watched how she easily lifted the cloth bag, Xie Jingchen didn't mind and continued holding his little niece, as the older niece led Xiao Liu in front, with Zhang Shan Ni quietly following behind.
Just then, they were t by an old lady, around her fifties, rushing towards them, shouting "Shitou, you're finally back! Why did you enter through the back door? Why is it so late today..." Zhou Xiuhua, upon seeing the girl following behind her son, finally caught herself mid-sentence. Was this the girl her son brought back from the military?
But wait, her son hadn't ntioned in the telegram that he was bringing soone back; he even said he was coming back to look for a partner! Most importantly, this girl looked sowhat familiar to her—
"Mom, I took a detour from Qing Mountain," Xie Jingchen pulled his mother into the main hall, placed his backpack and little niece down, telling Xiao Si, Xiao Wu to take Xiao Liu and Xiaoqi out to play.
Then he pulled the sowhat bewildered Zhang Shan Ni over, placed the items she was nervously clutching outside the house, then went forward to introduce them, bluntly stating, "Mom, this is the wife I decided upon while I was back; her na is Zhang Shan Ni."
Zhou Xiuhua widened her eyes, glanced at her son, then stared directly at Zhang Shanni with a frown.
"Little girl, this is my mother, address her properly."
Seeing the disappointnt in the old lady's eyes, Zhang Shanni had no way out. She glanced at Xie Jingchen, who was paying attention to her, steeled herself, shyly called out "Mother," and then put on a big smile.
A smile for everyone you et is the basic courtesy. No matter if the old lady liked her or not, she and Xie Jingchen had co to a mutual understanding, so even if she was reluctant, she would still smilingly greet her.
First establish the relationship, and as ti goes by, true characters will be revealed!
"Ah..." Zhou Xiuhua appeared stunned and nodded, pulling her son as if wanting to say sothing, then realized the young girl was still smiling at her amicably, leaving her sowhat at a loss.
What... what is this situation? Zhang Shanni, this girl in Qing Mountain's Team, is famously capable, although her parents are sowhat irresponsible -- this, almost everyone in three villages knows!
"Little girl, go tidy up the wild ga in the cloth sack and make dinner while you're at it. The kitchen is in the building we just passed on the east side." Xie Jingchen knew that the wife he had chosen was sowhat unexpected, so he wanted to explain things to his mother while they were alone.
"Alright, mother, you two chat, I'll go get busy." Zhang Shanni, unfamiliar with life's ways, knew that Xie Jingchen was a responsible young man, and she trusted him to so extent, obediently following his instructions.
Besides, the cooking and household skills of the original owner were top-notch, not to ntion the survival skills she learned in her previous life; skinning and cooking were just trivial matters.
"Mother..." In this Old Xie Family, although big decisions in the household were made by the father Xie Tiesheng, matters of marrying sons and daughters were handled by the mother, and despite so minor issues, everything major was clear-headed, showing that the mother's judgnt was still good.
After sending off Zhang Shanni, Xie Jingchen told his mother all about their journey.
Mother and son, due to their frequent separations and reunions and his inherently filial and respectful nature, appeared in Zhou Xiuhua's eyes as the best and kindest son. He sacrificed a lot for the family, so she was very attentive to his matters. Knowing Zhang Shanni's plight, she also showed a hint of sympathy.
"Mother, look, could I have not saved her under those circumstances? And, don't judge her parents too harshly; she's very clear-headed. I told her to cut ties with her parents, and she didn't utter a word, that's when I decided to marry her."
Saying this, Xie Jingchen took out the ring to show his mother, the ring still covered in mud from being dug out of the ground.
"Moreover, I spent 300 coins on a large silver dowry, but after leaving Shanglin Village, she dug out a gold ring from a hidden spot and handed it to , saying it was her dowry."
Zhou Xiuhua looked surprised at the weighty gold ring in her son's hand. She hadn't expected that the Zhang family's younger daughter was also quite calculating. This thing probably ca from Old Mrs. Zhang before she died!
"I knew this because her older sister and second sister also got a gold ring in their dowries... Speaking of which, San Ni really is capable; our team doesn't know just how many young n have their eyes on her!"
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