Chapter 243
"Mom, Dad, when did you get back? Why didn't you let me pick you up!"
Just last night, Mingli had been grumbling to his wife, saying that his parents had probably forgotten about him after going to Rongcheng, since they hadn't been back for so long.
Luo Tong felt he was just jealous. If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't take time off, there probably would have been two more people going to Rongcheng—namely, Mingli and herself.
Zhong Yanyan saw that both her son and daughter-in-law looked well, and Grandpa Nan had been taken good care of, which made her very satisfied.
"We arrived in the county town yesterday and stayed at Luo Tong's house for the night, then hurried back at noon today. You two go wash up quickly, it's time to eat."
Zhong Yanyan made spicy fish for dinner. At Nan Jingyu's strong request, she also stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cabbage, and steamed an egg custard for the old man.
During the meal, Luo Tong was puzzled to see her father-in-law constantly picking at the pickled cabbage. "Dad, there's plenty of fish here, don't hesitate to eat it."
Nan Jingyu thought to himself, this is a beautiful misunderstanding. It wasn't that he was reluctant to eat the fish, but rather he was trying to save his own backside from the spicy food.
"You guys eat, you eat. I've had my fill of it over in Rongcheng, I prefer the pickled cabbage."
Zhong Yanyan knew the inside story, but she chose to keep her mouth shut for the sake of her old man's pride. Mingli, however, took it to heart. "Are there really that many delicious things in Rongcheng?"
"There sure are. During the twenty-odd days we stayed there, your sister bought all sorts of food back. Some were delicious, but others we just couldn't get used to."
Old Master Nan said, "Daya is filial. This trip must have cost you quite a bit of money."
"Tell me about it!" Even though she was her biological mother, Zhong Yanyan had to admit that her daughter really knew how to spend money.
"But they usually eat at restaurants anyway. Nannan is busy with work and only cooks at home on her days off. You have no idea how happy those two kids were eating my cooking every day during this time."
Thinking of the prices at restaurants and imagining his sister buying three meals a day outside, Mingli couldn't help but click his tongue. "Does she contribute her entire month's salary to the restaurants?"
Nan Jingyu was unhappy to hear his son talk about his precious daughter like that. He tapped the edge of his plate with his chopsticks, startling Mingli. Let's just say, if he didn't tone it down after a general warning, a swift kick would be coming next.
He immediately changed his tune. "Dad, I was wrong. It's only right for my sister to eat out since she's so busy with work. From now on, I'll send half my salary to her every month so she doesn't run out of money."
Luo Tong watched this scene, wanting to laugh but feeling too embarrassed to do so. It was Zhong Yanyan who smoothed things over. "Alright, your sister earns a high salary. Even if she eats meat every meal, she won't go broke. She doesn't care for your little bit of wages."
Being truly married into the family was somewhat different from before. Luo Tong suddenly didn't know how to respond, and she was afraid her parents-in-law would be upset if she didn't do enough chores, so as soon as they finished eating, she rushed to clean up the room.
When Mingli tried to help, she quietly refused, afraid her parents-in-law would see and think she was lazy.
When it was time for bed, Zhong Yanyan wanted to go to the west room to ask Grandpa Nan to sleep in the east room with them, but when she went over, she saw the old man was already asleep.
Mingli said, "Forget it, Mom. Dad and I will sleep in the west room, and you and Luo Tong can take the east room tonight. It's been quite a hassle coming home every day lately. Starting tomorrow, we'll stay in town and only come back on our days off."
This had been discussed a long time ago, so Zhong Yanyan naturally didn't refuse. Besides, it was cold, and her heart ached for the two kids.
"You decide for yourselves. I just have one thing to say: living out there, you two must accommodate each other. Quarreling hurts your relationship, understand?"
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll definitely learn from Dad and my brother-in-law and take good care of your daughter-in-law!"
Before going to sleep, Zhong Yanyan said the same thing to Luo Tong. Luo Tong agreed repeatedly, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll take good care of Mingli."
Zhong Yanyan corrected her, "I'm not telling you to just take care of him. Husband and wife need to be considerate of each other to go the distance. Just look at your sister and brother-in-law."
Luo Tong also felt that Nan Sheng and Lin Han were an incredibly sweet couple. Her brother-in-law, in particular, looked very aloof, but whenever her sister was around, his gaze would soften remarkably.
Sicheng took the train to Rongcheng half a month after Zhong Yanyan returned home. He stayed in the county town for a week before Lin Han picked him up and took him to the family courtyard.
The two-story buildings in the county town had already broadened Sicheng's horizons, so seeing the houses in the family courtyard no longer surprised him. After all, he lived in a single-story house at home too, just with less orderly furniture.
Lin Han usually lived alone in the family courtyard and didn't have many groceries. He told Sicheng where the vegetable patch was and said, "If I can't come back at noon, just cook something simple yourself or eat some pastries to hold you over. I'll bring back meals from the military base in the morning and evening."
After staying with Nan Sheng for a week, Sicheng felt relieved seeing that his second aunt was consistently kind to him. Now, living alone with his second uncle, he felt even more at ease.
"Don't worry, Second Uncle. I'm old enough to take care of myself."
"No need to be polite with me. Take these next few days to wander around. Once you enter the military district, you won't have as much time to play."
When Sicheng left home, his parents gave him a huge sum of one hundred yuan, telling him to be socially graceful and buy things for his second uncle and aunt frequently.
However, as soon as he got off the train, his second uncle was waiting at the station entrance. He didn't even have time to buy anything, and to this day, he hadn't touched a single cent of that money.
Speaking of which, a scandal had recently erupted in the government. The cafeteria had purchased low-quality meat to save money. They had done this before without any issues, but as the frequency increased, the people in charge grew bolder, resulting in nearly half the staff getting food poisoning.
Nan Sheng was among the first batch to show symptoms. She couldn't even bother with her afternoon nap and hurried to the restroom to handle her urgent business. One trip wasn't enough; she ended up running back and forth three times before she was done.
Su Jie had rushed out to the clinic to buy medicine right after Nan Sheng's second trip to the restroom. Just as Nan Sheng was recovering, Su Jie started feeling it too.
"Director, why... why is my stomach hurting too?"
Without time to say more, she dashed to the restroom, only to find that the poor girl had to wait in line. She kept clenching her behind, terrified that a moment of inattention would lead to a disaster.
After finally resolving the issue, Su Jie felt like she had died and come back to life. Returning to the office, she complained, "There are so many people with stomachaches today. Everyone is lining up for the restroom. I feel like I smell like crap."
Hearing this, Nan Sheng immediately stood up. It seemed this was a collective incident, and she needed to go out and check the situation.