Hearing this, Mingrui opened the car door, leaned over and nodded to Meng Xingping and said "I understand", then said goodbye to Meng Xingping and the rest of the Meng family, sat upright in the driver's seat, and closed the car door again.
Wang Guilan stood at the door of the hall. When she saw Luo Yanqing start the car, she couldn't hold back anymore and hurried to the door of the courtyard. Her eyes were moist and full of reluctance, watching Luo Yanqing and Mingrui drive away.
It wasn't until the car was no longer visible that Wang Guilan, her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren turned around and walked into the courtyard gate.
There was nothing to do during the Chinese New Year. Knowing that my mother would probably be depressed at this time, the Meng Xingping brothers did not go back to their respective rooms. They followed Wang Guilan as if to discuss it, intending to talk to and comfort my mother.
At this moment, my mother and I were sitting on the kang, and Meng Xingping said: "Mother, Brother Luo can come to our house to see you during the Chinese New Year this year. I think he will definitely come again every year as long as he has time."
"What the third child is saying is, mother, Brother Luo should have forgiven you. You don't have to feel guilty about the past."
This is the voice of the boss Meng Xingwang.
"I talked with Mingrui's nephew. He was indeed the top scorer in the college entrance examination two years ago. I also learned from him that Minghan and Mingwei will take the college entrance examination in July this year."
Meng Xingmin said, he looked at Meng Xingwang: "Brother, my daughter will also take the college entrance examination this year. You have to pay more attention to her study. We don't say how well she will do in the exam. At least she can pass the exam like me, my uncle." Junior college, this way I can set a good example for the younger brothers and sisters below.”
After a pause, Meng Xingmin added: "Ming Rui, Ming Han and Ming Wei are both very good at studies. Looking back, their brother and sister did well in the exam. I think brother Luo and sister-in-law will definitely hold a celebration banquet for these two children. We should pay more attention to it." , when the college entrance examination results come out, I’ll call Brother Luo’s home to ask, so as not to miss the chance to say goodbye again.”
"Brother Luo, did you leave your home phone number for us?"
The fourth man, Meng Xingguo, asked the sixth man, Meng Xingmin.
"I asked Mingrui for it."
Meng Xingmin responded.
"Brother Luo, you have spent a lot of money this time."
Wang Guilan said something abruptly.
Meng Xinglai, the fifth child, said: "Mom, we all see it. Not to mention that the gifts brought by Brother Luo and the others are worth at least one or two hundred yuan. The red envelopes that my sister-in-law gave to Nannan and the younger generation are all added together. There are about two hundred yuan."
"The red envelopes my sister-in-law gave to the children contained two big solidarity packets stuffed inside." Meng Xingwang said, scratching his head in embarrassment: "Nannan, her mother gave Brother Luo's children two yuan each, mother, we will give it to you as a couple. Shame on you."
Wang Guilan waved her hand: "As long as you are willing, your brother Luo probably won't care about this."
The second child, Meng Xingsheng, said angrily: "Miao Miao's mother also gave her two yuan per child."
Meng Xingping: "Every child in our room is given five yuan."
Meng Xingguo: "I am the same as Third Brother."
Meng Xing came to see his mother and then the brothers one by one. He said, "Ye Sang didn't discuss it with me. She took the initiative and made six red envelopes, each with ten dollars stuffed in them."
The eldest Meng Xingwang and the second eldest Meng Xingsheng didn't feel much after hearing this. After all, one of them worked in a factory in the town and the other farmed at home. Their economic income was incomparable to that of the fifth eldest Meng Xinglai, a college student.
The third oldest Meng Xingping, the fourth oldest Meng Xingguo, and the sixth oldest Meng Xingmin all stared at Meng Xinglai: "The fifth brother and sister (fifth sister-in-law) are quite good at things!"
Meng Xinglai: "..." I don't know whether the brothers were mocking his wife or simply praising her. For a moment, Meng Xinglai didn't know how to answer the question.
"Fifth brother, we are praising fifth sister-in-law. Fifth sister-in-law is so generous and gives face to our parents!"
Meng Xingmin smiled and extended his thumb towards Meng Xinglai.
"Your fifth sister-in-law said that although our family is not divided, Brother Luo's family came to bring heavy gifts, and Sister-in-law Jiang Li gave each of our children 20 yuan in red envelopes. We can't afford much in this room. It’s still possible to give each of Brother Luo’s children ten yuan in red envelopes.”
Meng Xinglai and his wife had a son and a daughter, a twin brother and a daughter. Although they were young, Jiang Li did not ignore them when giving red envelopes, and he did not favor one over the other.
"My wife's red envelopes are all in denominations of five yuan." Meng Xingmin touched his nose and said, "I felt very shameless after knowing it. But next year, if Brother Luo brings the children over again, I will put more in the red envelopes."
"If you ask me, the most embarrassing among the brothers are me and the fourth child!"
Meng Xingping's mouth was full of bitterness: "If it hadn't been for Brother Luo's help back then, I, the Fourth, would not be where I am today. But now, the one from my family and the Fourth's family..."
"Okay, just from what Mingrui and his brothers and sisters are wearing, we can see that Brother Luo's family is not short of money. As long as you treat each other sincerely, they won't care how much you put in the red envelope. .”
With that said, Wang Guilan took out a red envelope from her trouser pocket: "This is what your sister-in-law Jiang Li gave me." She opened the red envelope and took out the money inside. The next moment, the Meng Xingping brothers all opened their eyes wide.
"Five hundred dollars!"
Meng Xingmin was amazed.
Meng Xinglai said: "The monthly salary of an ordinary worker in a state-owned factory is sixty or seventy yuan. Mom, the red envelope Sister-in-law Jiang Li gave you is equivalent to six or seven months' salary of an ordinary worker without food or water!"
"I don't want it. Your sister-in-law Jiang Li forced it on me and asked me to keep it as pocket money."
Wang Guilan felt very complicated in her heart. The New Year's money she gave to Mingrui and the others was ten yuan each, which she thought was very reasonable. Unexpectedly, Jiang Li, her real eldest daughter-in-law, gave each of her grandchildren in the Meng family A red envelope of twenty yuan, and an elder gave her five hundred yuan... At this moment, Wang Guilan's eyes couldn't help but feel sour.
She knew that Jiang Li could give her a big red envelope of 500 yuan, and her son Yan Qing must know it.
From this, it can be seen that the child has her as a mother in his heart, but because of knowing it, she feels more and more that what she did back then is not a human thing, and she feels more and more indebted to Luo Yanqing!
…
In the silence of the night, Meng Xingping put one hand behind his head and asked his wife: "You gave red envelopes to Brother Luo's children. Don't you know that Sister-in-law Jiang Li stuffed twenty yuan into the red envelopes for our children?"
"Know."
Hearing what his wife said, Meng Xingping turned over and lay on his side facing her: "Then what do you think?"
"What can I think? Do you think I don't have enough bag?"
Meng Xingping's wife's surname was Liu and her given name was Xuan. She said: "The red dollars are a lot of money. Besides, we only have three children in our family. Your brother Luo brought six children here. Besides, except for the red envelopes I gave him, , my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, and they all also receive donations. If we count them all, our family has provided quite a lot."
"Can the account be settled like this?" Meng Xingping frowned: "To take a step back, I will settle it according to what you said. Think about how many children we have in our family."
"14, what's wrong?"
There are four in the big room and two in the second room. They have three children in the third room, two in the fourth room, two in the fifth room and one in the sixth room.
"Twenty, how much does fourteen cost for a child? Two hundred and eighty. Including the gifts brought by Brother Luo and Sister-in-law Jiang Li, the total is at least five hundred yuan. In addition, Sister-in-law Jiang Li also stuffed something for my mother. There are hundreds of big red envelopes. In comparison, how much New Year’s money can the six of us brothers put together give to other people’s children?”
Meng Xingping said in a low tone: "The eldest brother works in the town, and his monthly salary is only a few dozen yuan. The second brother works at home and farm. The fourth, fifth, and sixth brothers and I are all outside. We should take the lead and be more generous. What's the result? You give me To be honest, I didn’t feel very comfortable with each of the children of Brother Luo’s family receiving 5 yuan as a lucky gift. Especially when Lao Wu said that his wife’s red envelopes for Mingrui and the others were all 10 yuan. At that moment, I felt extremely embarrassed.”
"How much did the fourth and sixth brothers give?"
Liu Xuan asked.
Meng Xingping: "It's the same as what you gave me."
Liu Xuan: "Then it's over. I'll give you more if you don't have it, but I'll give you less if you don't. As long as your heart comes to it, I think it's okay."
Meng Xingping: "Brother Luo and his wife are not ordinary people, and all the children in the family are very smart. The eldest Mingrui was the top scorer in the national college entrance examination two years ago and was admitted to Beijing Foreign Studies University. He will be a diplomat in Japan. This year, the second and third eldest children will take the exam. College entrance examination, in short, let me tell you, unless you don’t deal with Brother Luo and his family in the future, and you can’t ask for help from others, then you can do whatever you want, otherwise, you will change your behavior. "
"You say I'm stingy? But am I stingy? You should say it's because your brother Luo and his wife are living a good life and have broad hands." Liu Xuan was a little unconvinced: "I know you think the other party has helped you, but He and you are somewhat related by blood anyway, so isn’t it normal to help your brother? Besides, five yuan is a lot of money. If you spend it, you can buy a lot of things!"
Although she said this, in fact Liu Xuan also felt that she was indeed stingy compared to Meng Xingsheng's daughter-in-law Ye Sang, which made Meng Xingping lose face among her brothers.
Living next door to Meng Xingping and his family was still his half-brother Meng Qingdong's family.
Luo Yanqing and Jiang Li brought their children to Mawang Village to visit Wang Guilan. Meng Qingdong's family naturally knew about this. After all, they lived next door. There were two cars parked at the door of Wang Guilan's house, and Wang Guilan's side There was a lot of commotion in the courtyard. Even if they didn't deliberately listen and watch, Meng Qingdong's family knew that a distinguished guest was coming next door, and the distinguished guest was the son Wang Guilan gave birth to before entering the Meng family.
"Our family is somewhat related to the son your stepmother gave birth to before she entered the Meng family. He is here to wish your stepmother New Year's greetings. Why doesn't he come to our door to have a look? And your stepmother, this is Zhenhe We have drawn a clear line and don’t even come over to call us during lunch.”
Meng Qingdong's mother-in-law was lying on the kang muttering, especially when she thought of the gifts Luo Yanqing and Jiang Li took out from the trunk of the car, she felt like cat's claws in her heart, wishing she could go to the next door to carry all those things to her home.
"Didn't you instigate me to draw a clear line with my neighbor in the early years? This tree has a living bark and a person has a living face. I have already said that we should sever ties with him, and there are village cadres as witnesses. Now you are jealous of the next door? What's more, the brothers next door are all We re-filmed the sequence, from the eldest to the sixth, and I was not included in it."
There was a bit of resentment in Meng Qingdong's voice.
"Are you blaming me? But can you blame me? When I married you, you had a bad relationship with your stepmother, and you didn't even talk to the son you had with your stepmother. I didn't say that. Wrong?"
Meng Qingdong's mother-in-law was very dissatisfied: "If you really want to complain, blame your father. He was very clear in his calculations during his lifetime. He was afraid that your stepmother would treat you and your sister-in-law badly. He only planned for you, so he offended your stepmother and made others treat you badly." I saw you and your sister-in-law. But your father closed his eyes, kicked his legs, and walked very neatly!"
"My father..." Meng Qingdong didn't know how to continue.
His father remarried in his early years so that there would be a woman in the family to take care of him and his sister Honghong. And he also knew that his father was afraid that his brothers and sisters would be wronged at the hands of his stepmother, so before his death, he devoted himself to making plans for them, and did not care about his stepmother's children. A few kids didn't pay much attention.
Otherwise, after marrying him a wife and marrying off his sister Honghong, he would not have left his stepmother and several younger half-brothers and closed his eyes.
Meng Qingdong knew very well that his father died early due to overwork, but he also knew that his father had done something wrong. For example, he had always prevented his stepmother from visiting the child he had given birth to before, and he was wary of his stepmother in everything, and did not get close to the child born by his stepmother. As a result, the stepmother and her son were not close to him and his sister, which led to some things later.
For example, the stepmother's room was pulled away by the son she gave birth to before. The family's life improved more than ten years ago. Now, among the six sons born to the stepmother, except for Meng Xingwang and Meng Xingsheng, all the others are promising. .
However, they didn't even look at his half-brother.
Today, their half-brother came to visit. Look at the excitement. The whole village must be jealous!
"What's wrong with your father? Isn't it because of your father that the relationship between you and your stepmother's family is not as good as that of your neighbors?"
Meng Qingdong's mother-in-law was full of resentment and said nothing good: "I went to the King of Hell to report and left you with this mess. Now it's even more harmful to our family. We can't even get the glory of your stepmother. That old man Things are really harmful! Otherwise, if one or two of our sons can be supported by the third and fourth sons next door, our family will definitely be able to live a better life than others!"
"Is it useful for you to say this now?" Meng Qingdong sighed: "Go to sleep. After all, my father really had nothing to say to me when he was alive. Please stop complaining and make my father unable to close his eyes underground."
"I don't care!"
Meng Qingdong's mother-in-law turned over with her back to Meng Qingdong: "The old man has harmed our family. If he hadn't died early, let's see what I would do to him!"
Beicheng.
At the same time, Jiang Li and Luo Yanqing just lay on the bed. Jiang Li said, "Ruirui left our family over there. Do you have any objections?"
"They asked Luo Mingrui for it, right?"
Although it was a question, Luo Yanqing already had the answer in his heart.
"Yes." Jiang Li said, "We are relatives after all. If there is anything that happens, it is more convenient to call us."
Luo Yanqing: "I have no objection."
"Ruirui's grandma has aged a lot."
"Everyone ages."
"Mr. Luo, can you speak tactfully and with a little human touch?"
"Don't people age?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"If you want to say who is the smartest person in our family, it has to be you."
"Don't think that just because you please me, I won't care about you."
"What are you worrying about?"
Luo Yanqing's ink-like phoenix eyes were filled with innocence, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but Jiang Li didn't see it.
"Just pretend to be confused!" Jiang Li, the angry-eyed man, said, "In three or four days, your vacation will be completed. Where are you thinking about walking around next?"
Hearing this, Luo Yanqing took Jiang Li into his arms, and he gently rubbed her forehead with his chin: "I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to stay with you all the time."
"Okay, let's stay at home. I'll cook whatever you want to eat. Let's talk, read, and walk in the yard together every day." After a slight pause, Jiang Li added, "Tomorrow. After my parents leave at noon, we will go back to live in the compound."
The big house is lively when there are many people living there, but Captain Jiang and Cai Xiufen proposed to live back in their quadrangle when Jiang Li's family came back from Mawang Village this afternoon, saying that it was too big here, even if they lived together, But it's still not very convenient to move around between each other.
There are many courtyards. When Jiang Li arranged accommodation for Captain Jiang and others the day before New Year's Eve, he directly arranged several courtyards, and there was a certain distance between each courtyard. Everyone lived comfortably, but they were not used to it. Cai Xiufen proposed to live back, but Captain Jiang and Brother Jiang had no objection.
Therefore, except for Jiang Li's family, the bodyguards who used to take care of Jiang Liniang in the courtyard of Shuimu University, the housekeeper, and the gardener who hired and tended the flowers, there was no one else living in the mansion.
As for Jiang Hongfa and Jiang Boya, they returned to the Jiang family's old house on the afternoon of the first day of the new year.
"good."
Luo Yanqing responded, and then said: "It would be better for the children to live here in the mansion during the summer vacation."
Jiang Li said "hmm".
…
After lunch on the third day of the third year, Jiang Li and Luo Yanqing returned to their homes in the compound with their children.
"Happy New Year, Aunt Xue!"
At the entrance of the courtyard, Minghan had just come out of the courtyard and was about to play ball with her friends in the courtyard. When she saw the hostess of the Xue family next door walking over, she couldn't help but wish her a happy new year.
"Happy New Year to you too." Fang Ju asked with a smile on her face, "I wonder if your mother is at home?"
"here I am."
Minghan responded.
Fang Ju: "Is your mother busy or idle?"
"I'm free. Auntie, let's go in. I'm going to go play ball with my friends." Minghan said and was about to leave. Hearing this, Fang Ju waved her hand: "You go and play. Auntie will go in now."
After Minghan left, Fang Ju opened the courtyard door and entered the courtyard.
"Mom, Aunt Xue is here!"
Mingwei and Guoguo were sitting in the living room watching TV. When they saw Fang Ju walking in from the door, they said hello to Fang Ju, and then Guoguo shouted a few words in the direction of the study.
After a while, Jiang Li walked out of Luo Yanqing's study.
"Happy New Year, sister-in-law!"
Sitting on the sofa opposite Fang Ju, Jiang Liming had a smile in her eyes.
"Okay, okay, happy new year to everyone, everything goes well and everything goes well." Fang Ju said with a smile. Seeing Mingwei taking Guoguo back to the room, there was no one else in the living room except her and Jiang Li, so she talked about the Wen family What happened in the past few years.
After hearing what Fang Ju said, Jiang Li was slightly surprised: "Sister-in-law, you mean that Comrade Wen is very likely to get back together with the person in front of him?"
"I think it's almost the same. Otherwise, how could Wen Yue's mother come back to our compound from outside with Teacher Wen on New Year's Eve? And I heard that the person Wen Yue's mother married five years ago No, besides, Wen Yue’s mother was transferred back to Beicheng from the south in the first half of last year and now works in the Chinese Library.”
Fang Ju said this and sighed softly: "Actually, I couldn't understand why Teacher Wen divorced Wen Yue's mother. Wen Yue's mother is said to be a good woman with a gentle temper. She usually talks less, but She took good care of her family and Teacher Wen, but Teacher Wen didn't know what she was thinking. Not long after Wen Yue's mother gave birth to Wen Yu, she filed for divorce. It took a while, but in the end they divorced.
Now that the two of them can get together again, I think they are still destined to be husband and wife after all, don’t you think? "
Jiang Li nodded: "It is indeed fate."
Unexpectedly, Fang Ju said again: "But after Teacher Wen married Suman, I guess Teacher Wen chose to divorce Wen Yue's mother because she wanted a son."
"Being a boy or a girl depends on men, not us women." Jiang Li said softly: "Besides, this is a new society now. The country advocates equality between men and women. There are no sons in this family. As long as we raise our daughters well, they will not be better than boys." Not bad, not to mention that in ancient times there was a saying that 'women are not allowed to give way to men'. If Comrade Wen really chose to divorce Wenyue's mother because she failed to give birth to a boy, I can only say that his vision is narrow."
"Although what you said makes sense, the old ideas are deeply ingrained. If you have a wife in this family, who doesn't want to have a boy?" Fang Ju smiled: "I don't mean to say that having a girl is bad, but everyone thinks that having a boy is better. Better, I think this is how we can hold up the door."
"Yes, the traditional concept is indeed what my sister-in-law said."
Jiang Li looked indifferent: "By the way, has Comrade Wen released any news that he wants to get back together with Wen Yue's mother?"
"I haven't heard of it."
Fang Ju shook her head.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Minghan came back from outside and said as soon as he entered the living room: "Mom, Aunt Xue, Uncle Wen and Sister Wen Yue's mother just came back with their marriage certificate."
When Fang Ju and Jiang Li heard this, they looked at each other. Jiang Li asked, "How did you know?"
"Uncle Wen and Sister Wen Yue's mother, Aunt Song, are handing out wedding candies to everyone outside the courtyard!" Minghan said, showing the wedding candies in his hand: "Aunt Song gave this to me, Aunt Xue, you and My mother is also very happy!"
"Okay, mom and your Aunt Xue are both happy with your Uncle Wen's family."
Jiang Li took the wedding candies from Minghan's hand and gave two to Fang Ju.
Minghan: "I'm going back to my room."
"Didn't you say you were going to play ball with your friends before you went out? Why are you back so soon?"
Jiang Li asked with a soft smile.
"not at home."
Minghan felt a little unhappy: "They are not three-year-old children, but they actually like to follow adults to visit relatives."
Jiang Li laughed out loud: "What does age have to do with visiting relatives? Have you forgotten that you followed me and your dad to visit relatives yesterday? We are going to visit your great-grandfather and grandpa tomorrow. Don't you plan to go?" "
"That's different."
Minghan muttered.
"Why is it different?" Jiang Li smiled and shook his head: "You can't have double standards in life, do you understand?"
"I understand." Minghan puffed up his cheeks and said, "Mom, can I go back to my room now?"
Jiang Li nodded: "Yes."
Fang Ju smiled: "Your Minghan looks like a child!"
"He has a bit of a child's heart."
Jiang Li said, the doting in his eyes undisguised.
Then catch the bugs. . .
(End of chapter)
