As the sun set, the evening breeze blew gently, and the branches swayed gently, Li Jie rode his bicycle back to the Han family courtyard.
"Chunming! Why are you back?"
Mother Han looked very surprised when her son came back. Then she turned her eyes and saw Guan Xiaoguan following her son.
"Xiaoguan is here! Come on, come in. Have you eaten?"
Li Jie saw Mother Han's unusually enthusiastic look and couldn't help but shook her head slightly. She must have been overthinking it and didn't know what was filling her head.
It seems that since New Year's Eve, Mother Han's attitude towards Guan Xiaoguan has changed. Her eyes look like she is looking at her daughter, but also at her daughter-in-law.
The reason why Mother Han behaved like this is quite normal. After all, her youngest son is almost 20 this year. If there was no such thing as going to college, Mother Han might have already started planning for her son's marriage.
Mother Han has been showing signs of this since last year. She can't help but look at any woman who comes a little closer to Li Jie.
To paraphrase a later saying, when we first meet, we start to think about what to name our children in the future.
As for whether the woman is willing or not, Mother Han has never considered it at all.
My son is so great!
Who doesn't want to get married?
Mothers are so confident!
Speaking of Guan Xiaoguan, Mother Han was extremely satisfied. She had an upright appearance, a well-educated family, cheerful and well-behaved (as Guan Xiaoguan pretended to be in front of her elders), and she also knew everything about her.
She is just a little bit younger, and has not yet reached the age of marriage (the age of marriage stipulated in the 50-year Marriage Law is twenty for men and eighteen for women).
But these are nothing. It just so happens that the fifth child is now in college. When she graduates in a few years, this girl will be twenty, and she will be able to get the certificate by then.
Although Guan Xiaoguan often had a cold face outside, she still behaved very well in front of her elders and family members. She smiled sweetly at Mother Han and whispered.
"Auntie, Brother Chunming and I ate at school. You don't have to be busy. I'll come over and get the food and leave."
When Mother Han heard that they had eaten together, she felt even happier. The smile on her face became a little brighter. She took Guan Xiaoguan's hand cordially, came to the table, and pressed her on the stool. .
"Okay, okay, okay, you've finished eating. Come on, sit down quickly and Auntie will pour you some water."
Mother Han behaved like this, no matter how stupid Guan Xiaoguan was, she still noticed something strange.
While Mother Han was pouring water, Guan Xiaoguan looked back at Li Jie with questioning eyes.
Li Jie shrugged to show that he didn't know what was going on. It was hard to talk about these things. If he pointed them out, it would be self-defeating and affect the existing relationship between the two.
"Mom, please entertain Xiaoguan first, and I'll go get something from the room."
"Oh, I know! Go ahead!" Mother Han replied casually, then walked to the table with a freshly brewed tea in her hands. "Come on, Xiaoguan, drink some water."
Guan Xiaoguan stood up quickly and took the tea cup with both hands.
"Thank you, aunt!"
A few minutes later, Li Jie walked out of the room. He had heard the conversation outside just now in the room. Most of the time, Mother Han pulled Guan Xiaoguan and asked questions.
Mother Han heard the footsteps and looked up, wondering: "Eh? Chunming, why did you take out these things?"
"Auntie, this is what I want." Before Li Jie could speak, Guan Xiaoguan explained: "I'm also preparing to take the college entrance examination. Brother Chunming is not the number one scholar, so his review materials must be precious."
"Okay, okay, okay, good at getting into college, good at getting into college!"
Mother Han took Guan Xiaoguan's little hand and patted it, her face blossomed with a smile and her wrinkles were squeezed into a ball.
"Also, what you said is wrong. What's not precious is just a pile of tattered books. Just take it and I'll ask your brother Chunming to give you more guidance later."
The corners of Li Jie's mouth twitched slightly. Mother Han was too enthusiastic and didn't notice Guan Xiaoguan's restraint at all. If she continued to stay, there was no telling what would come out of Mother Han's mouth.
In order to alleviate Guan Xiaoguan's embarrassment, he took the initiative to remind him.
"Xiaoguan, let's go, I'll take you back."
Mother Han's enthusiasm today frightened Guan Xiaoguan a little. She didn't know how to answer some of the words. Sitting there was like sitting on pins and needles. Li Jie spoke at the right time. When Guan Xiaoguan heard the words, he immediately felt like he had been granted amnesty. Agree.
"okay!"
Then she smiled at Mother Han again: "Auntie, it's getting late. Brother Chunming has to go to school later, so we'll leave first."
Mother Han, who was a little annoyed at first, immediately disappeared without a trace when she heard that her son would go back to school later.
Learning is the most important thing!
"Okay, be careful on the road."
Mother Han held Guan Xiaoguan's hand with a loving smile on her face. Then she remembered her son, turned to Li Jie and gave instructions.
"Chunming, you have to send Xiaoguan home safely. There are more and more second-rate people on the street recently. It's not safe for a girl to go out alone at night."
After giving the instructions, the Korean paused slightly and added another sentence.
"By the way, also, just now Xiaoguan said that she wants to go to college. You have to give her good tutoring and give her some snacks. It's a good thing to go to college. The old man will definitely be very happy if he knows."
"Okay, I get it!"
Li Jie smiled helplessly. He would do these things even if Mother Han didn't say anything.
There are indeed more and more unemployed young people on the streets recently. They neither go to work nor study, and they have nowhere to vent their energy. They are all young men. They gather together all day long, and it is indeed easy for them to get into trouble.
However, the current situation is not as exaggerated as Han Mu said, and it is not to the point where she cannot go out alone. After all, this is the capital, who dares to be so unscrupulous.
What Mother Han said about sending people home and helping them with their homework meant the same thing. She was just looking for an excuse for the two of them to spend more time together.
In the eyes of the old man, feelings come from everywhere, and there is no harm in having them everywhere.
After leaving the courtyard, Guan Xiaoguan let out a long breath. Mother Han's excessive enthusiasm made her feel a little at a loss.
At this time, the sky outside is completely dark. Now, unlike in later generations, there are street lights everywhere. For example, the area near Beiwanzi Hutong is pretty good. It is within the second ring road and is in a prime location. Basically, every alley is separated by about ten meters. There is a light.
Li Jie lowered his head and glanced at the time. It was already past seven o'clock, and there were obviously fewer pedestrians on the road.
There were a lot more people gathering next to the street lights to play chess and chat. There were many small groups like this along the way. After all, they could kill time and save electricity bills.
For example, Mr. Guan usually gathers at the entrance of the alley at this time to play chess with a group of his peers.
As soon as Li Jie and Guan Xiaoguan arrived at the entrance of the alley, they were stopped by the old man. When the old man learned that his granddaughter wanted to go to college, he was so happy that he immediately stopped playing chess and stopped chatting. He took the two juniors and hurried back to drink. Two glasses to celebrate.
