The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 616 A Visit (A long chapter of 6,500 words)

Well, that's Xinghui KTV, a famous karaoke bar in Shanghai. It's said that the average spending per person easily exceeds 10,000 yuan, and it's quite normal for a private room to cost a million yuan in one night.

Unfortunately, Hu Biao, that country bumpkin, didn't get to see it for himself.

The key reason was that the old man glared at him and uttered a curse:
"If you can't drink, then drink less. This is Xiao Hu's first time here, so please be mindful of your image."

Good heavens! The poor future father-in-law was jolted awake by his father's scolding, and suddenly became much more sober.

He immediately withdrew his arm from Hu Biao's shoulder and sat up straight.

After that, the Guangxi briefcase in the cup was replaced with rice wine, and he didn't mention a word about going to karaoke or him paying for everyone's meals.

This result left Hu Biao quite disappointed.

Today was a bit strange too. After drinking, he inexplicably wanted to sing a few songs. Yes! That's it, and it definitely wasn't for anything else.

Later, with his future mother-in-law's sympathy, Hu Biao replaced his Guangxi briefcase with rice wine, successfully getting through the family dinner.

By the time the family dinner ended, it was only a little past 8:30 p.m.

However, Hu Biao got up very early in the morning and drove for eleven or twelve hours. Now, slightly drunk, he couldn't help but let out a big yawn.

Upon seeing this, the woman immediately felt sorry for her future mother-in-law, who was being helped to move her brother-in-law, who had gotten drunk at some point and was now crawling on the table, to the guest room.

He then scolded Annie, "You brat, you have no sense at all! Hurry up and take Xiao Hu down to rest."

I've already tidied your room; the bedding is freshly washed and aired.

Not to mention Annie, who suddenly wondered if she had been adopted as a baby after hearing her mother's cursing.

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao felt instantly wide awake; his future mother-in-law was so thoughtful, arranging for Annie to sleep with him even before he returned to his hometown.

He was deeply moved and even decided that he would take good care of his mother-in-law from now on.

Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, the future father-in-law, with a hot towel on his head and a cup of hot tea in his hand, suddenly added:
"Annie, come up quickly after you see Xiao Hu downstairs. I have something to ask you."

Seeing his future father-in-law's menacing demeanor, Hu Biao couldn't help but sigh, knowing that his hopes of sleeping with Annie were dashed.

Sleepiness surged up again, and I let out two big yawns in a row.

Annie then led Hu Biao to an apartment downstairs with an almost identical layout.

Upon entering, Hu Biao was surprised to see that Annie, who usually exudes a mature and sophisticated aura, had her entire room decorated and furnished in a pink and girly style.

Sure enough! No matter how strong a woman may seem on the outside, she is ultimately just a girl at heart.

As Hu Biao was looking around the room with interest, Annie said apologetically from behind him, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hu! I didn't know so many people would come today."

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao knew that Annie was referring to the fact that she was having a real headache dealing with so many of the An family's relatives today.

Therefore, he turned around, reached out, and ruffled Annie's hair, solemnly saying:
"What are you thinking! I'm just worried that if I don't perform well, it might embarrass my father-in-law and mother-in-law."

From now on, we're all family, so why would I dislike them because of these things?

Annie didn't say anything, she just threw herself into Hu Biao's arms, and the two of them hugged quietly like that; they did nothing, but it felt exceptionally wonderful.

The two then hugged for five or six minutes.

If her future father-in-law hadn't called Annie, the hug would probably have lasted even longer.

That night, Hu Biao slept alone in Annie's bed, but the familiar scent of this young vixen filled his nostrils, and he slept soundly all night...

The following day, Hu Biao's trip to his future father-in-law's house finally returned to normal.

This refers to my father-in-law's house. At least there weren't many uninvited relatives there. It was just my sister Annie and her husband, my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law Mina.

Even the old man, after eating a bowl of Hu Biao's signature oil-splashed noodles early the next morning, took the remaining half-jar of gecko medicinal wine with him, saying he was going to visit a friend.

However, before leaving, he did tell Hu Biao to remember to visit Singapore when he had time.

During the daytime, Annie's family took Hu Biao, this country bumpkin, to stroll around the Bund, Lujiazui, Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, City God Temple, and Yu Garden.

This gave this country bumpkin a good taste of the prosperity of Shanghai.

Along with that, his future mother-in-law also bought Hu Biao several sets of clothes from head to toe, all of which were quite expensive.

In the evening, Hu Biao finally took the initiative to cook, using all his culinary skills to make his father-in-law's family very satisfied with the meal.

It should be noted that every time they ate, all three men at the table tacitly avoided mentioning drinking.

The future father-in-law was embarrassed by his embarrassment at the family dinner and couldn't bring himself to speak.

This was Hu Biao's first visit, so he was too embarrassed to show that he was a heavy drinker.

As for her brother-in-law? In Annie's words:

He's a novice but has a huge addiction; he can only drink about three bottles of beer, the small kind with 330ml bottles, but the way he holds the glass is fiercer than anyone else's.

I made a fool of myself at the banquet that night, and who knows how much my older sister scolded me behind my back. I guess I won't dare to drink for a while.

But then again! Old An's father-in-law and his two sons-in-law are both terrible drinkers, so it's like birds of a feather flock together.

And so, Hu Biao stayed at Lao An's house for another two days.

On the 12th day of their rest period, which was the 13th day of the eighth lunar month, and the day after tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, they finally took Annie back to their hometown in western Hunan.

When Hu Biao left, the trunk of his G-Class, which had been emptied, was not only filled up again.

Even the back seat was almost completely stuffed with things, all of which were gifts that Annie had prepared for Hu Biao's family.

Aside from a small portion, it contained clothes, bags, cosmetics, and other items that Annie had bought while shopping with Hu Biao over the past two days.

Most of the other local specialties, health supplements, cigarettes, alcohol, and tea from Shanghai were things Annie had taken from her father-in-law.

During the process, the father-in-law also protested, but with the mother-in-law's approval and suppression, such protests had no effect whatsoever.

******
On the way back to Hu Biao's hometown of Xinning City in Xiangxi, Hu Biao and Annie didn't have much to talk about.

The total distance along the way was nearly 1400 kilometers, which is 100 kilometers farther than the journey from Beijing to Shanghai, but the main route was the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway.

The maximum speed limit here is 120 kilometers per hour, and Hu Biao set the cruise control to 130 kilometers per hour, which is also within the allowed range.

So, after about the same amount of time, a few minutes before 5 p.m., a road sign for "Hujia Village" appeared in front of Annie.

Although Annie had already spent more than half a month in Xinning City during her last time travel.

Hujia Village also came to worship their ancestors once with Hu Biao, and even opened a new page in the old Hu family's genealogy under the name 'Hu Anshi'.

It's only been about two months since I came here again.

She could only say that the landscape was still vaguely as she remembered it, but the details of the roads, houses, and pedestrians had a different feel to them.

Of course! Anne was naturally in a great mood.

Even seeing a black dog lying on top of a spotted dog in broad daylight, doing *that* kind of thing, still feels quite endearing.

Not to mention other situations, even the wind blowing in from the open car window felt sweet to her.

This continued until Hu Biao had driven along a cement road four and a half meters wide for a kilometer or two, and was about to reach the village entrance.

As Hu Biao slowed down slightly, he suddenly said, "Boss lady, sit tight and hold on tight."

Although somewhat surprised, Annie still reached out and gripped the handrail beside her tightly.

Just as he grabbed the steering wheel, Hu Biao deftly turned it with one hand, sending his brand-new Mercedes-Benz G-Class plunging headfirst into a harvested paddy field.

After calmly turning off the engine, Hu Biao picked up his phone and made a call.

As soon as the call connected, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dad! I accidentally drove the car into the field when I entered the village."

Yes, that's the place where Tieguai Li used to live, the place where they raised fish.

My vehicle is quite heavy! I'm afraid we won't be able to get it done if we don't have enough people. Remember to call all the men in the village who are available.

Cigarettes and betel nuts? I have both in my car. In the county town, I bought a whole box of cigarettes and betel nuts. The cigarettes were 100 yuan worth of He Tianxia brand, and the betel nuts were 100 yuan a pack of He Cheng Tianxia brand.

"Anyone who comes to help will receive a pack of cigarettes and a pack of betel nuts."

The scene above left Annie completely dumbfounded; why did this guy have to drive a perfectly good car into the paddy field?
Fortunately, Hu Biao had already hung up the phone by then and turned to explain to her:

"If we do this, the whole Hu family village will know that Hu Jianshe's son is successful. He not only bought a car, but it's a good car worth more than two million yuan."

In addition, she has a girlfriend who is as beautiful as an angel, no longer the despised and unwanted person she used to be.

After a 'pfft' sound, Annie couldn't help but burst into laughter.

At this point, Annie finally realized that Hu Biao was aiming for a triumphant return, wanting to restore the Hu family's former prestige.

Annie, who has lived in Northeast China for many years, is a true Northeastern girl.

When it comes to how to make men save face, we are all too familiar with it.

Even if a girl from Northeast China makes her husband kneel on a washboard at home, she still has to give him face in public and obey his every word.

Besides! My own husband's request doesn't sound unreasonable at all.

Doesn't the Hu family have any pride?
After laughing, Annie's expression changed, and she sat up straight in her seat; with just these few small adjustments, she immediately transformed from her original languid state into an elegant one.

Then, she opened the makeup mirror to touch up her makeup. Her incredibly serious and focused demeanor far surpassed even her seriousness when competing with others for an important endorsement deal in the workplace…

Just as Hu Biao had expected, it took almost an hour to get the muddy Mercedes-Benz G-Class out of the paddy field.

Not only the young and old of Hujia Village, but everyone knew that Hu Jianshe's son had made something of himself.

He owns a chain of large hotels in the capital city, owns luxury cars worth several million yuan each, and has a girlfriend who is as beautiful and elegant as a female celebrity.

Even people in the surrounding villages and towns knew about this news.

There's no way around it! In this day and age, things like WeChat Moments and video platforms have emerged.

While the car was being moved out, the men and women of Hujia Village took many photos of the car and Annie with their phones.

After some fuss, Annie got into the muddy G-Wagon and continued on her way.

Not long after, we arrived at a rather old two-story red brick building.

Before she could even get out of the car, she immediately felt the warmth of the Hu family. Hu's father, who had rushed back ahead of time, lit the firecrackers, and a series of crackling sounds filled the air.

Such a warm welcome is just the beginning.

After getting out of the car, she originally wanted to go to the trunk to take out her luggage and gifts.

As a result, she was led by the hand by Hu Biao's sister and went into the house to rest. Hu Biao and his brother-in-law naturally took care of getting her things.

Upon entering the house, Hu's parents and sister handed him a large red envelope without any explanation.

According to Aunt Hu, this is a custom in Hunan; a young woman is always given a red envelope the first time she visits.

After sitting on the sofa for a short while, Aunt Hu called for dinner to be served.

The table was laden with chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Although the cooking skills weren't as good as Hu Biao's, it was filled with an indescribable warm and comforting flavor, which made Annie very satisfied.

The only thing that bothered her was that even with her large appetite and good appetite, she still couldn't finish all the food that her mother and sister kept putting into her bowl.

During the process, Annie noticed that Hu Biao's expression seemed a bit strange.

But at the dinner table, I was too embarrassed to ask.

After they finished eating and only the two of them remained in the main room, she lowered her voice and asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so strange?"

Hu Biao glanced around and answered in a low voice:
"When they heard you were coming, my parents started preparing the house more than a month in advance."

After my sister and brother-in-law came yesterday, they even dragged these two laborers into an extra cleaning campaign.

Not only did they give their big yellow dog a bath, they also scrubbed the dog's usual dark food bowl until it shone with a steel wool pad.

So much so that during dinner just now, Da Huang looked at the food in the brand-new bowl and didn't dare to take a bite.

Upon hearing this, Annie, both amused and exasperated, said:
“I am clean, that’s true, but it’s not as exaggerated as you’re making it out to be. You should quickly tell your aunt and sister to just do what they normally do, and not to do this on purpose.”

Hu Biao nodded in agreement upon hearing this, saying:
"Of course you have to say it! Otherwise, believe me, when you go to the bathroom later, just frown at the pigs in the pigpen whenever you pass by."

Tonight, the elderly couple are determined to thoroughly clean the two pigs in the pigsty.

"Nonsense! Uncle and Auntie aren't that kind of bored people." Annie complained to Hu Biao in a cute voice, and lightly slapped him on the body.

He secretly resolved that when he saw the two pigs in the pigpen, he must not frown no matter what.

At the same time, the girl was also feeling very happy. After all, it felt so good to be valued by Hu Biao's family...

The nights in the rural areas of western Hunan are exceptionally quiet; many elderly people usually go to bed after 9 p.m.

After 10 p.m., Hujia Village becomes even quieter, with only the occasional bark of a dog, the croaking of frogs, and the sound of the night wind rustling through the treetops.

Annie, who had just finished showering, changed into her pajamas, and was wearing a trench coat as she walked upstairs, was anything but calm inside.

What do you mean? According to past practice, these two days are the days when her period is coming.

This was also the main reason why I secretly laughed when I overheard Hu Biao and Hu's mother talking on the phone and arranging for the two of them to sleep together.

Therefore, she assumed that once they arrived at Hu Biao's hometown, he would only be able to sleep with her; otherwise, what? That big jerk wouldn't just run a red light, would he?

As a result, my relatives, who are usually incredibly punctual, didn't show up at all today.

Is it really impossible to escape tonight?
With such conflicted feelings, she entered Hu Biao's room on the second floor and saw Hu Biao staring at her expectantly.

Anne suddenly thought of all the things they had gone through together and couldn't help but smile slightly.

After experiencing so much, some of my former principles and convictions no longer seem important.

With this thought in mind, she turned off the lights in the room, walked towards her own pig's trotter, and then everything fell into place naturally.

At the most crucial moment, it's unclear what Annie was thinking. Perhaps it was her curiosity and thirst for knowledge that triggered her desire to connect theory with practice.

Anyway, Annie looked up and glanced in a certain direction.

That single glance, so alluring and seductive, ignited a fire within Hu Biao; for a normal man, it was far more than a simple phrase like 'pure yet seductive' could adequately describe it.

At seven o'clock in the morning, after being awakened by a series of terrible pig squeals, Annie, who had evolved into a woman comrade, glanced at Hu Biao, who was sleeping like a dead pig next to her.

He immediately muttered a disdainful remark under his breath:
"So what if a large animal is powerful?"

I wanted to take a nap, but the pig was squealing so loudly that I couldn't fall asleep. So I carefully put away the tattered pillowcase, got dressed, and went downstairs.

Hu Biao, on the other hand, rolled over and continued to snore.

As soon as Annie came downstairs, she was spotted by Aunt Hu, who was boiling water on a large stove in the yard. Aunt Hu immediately called out to her:
"Xiao An, did I disturb you?"
I originally planned to wait until after breakfast to slaughter the pig, but the butcher had other things to do in the morning, so he came a little earlier; if you're scared, just go upstairs, it'll be done soon.

"Once the pork is divided, I'll make a topping with fresh meat and offal for you; the rice noodles will taste even better that way."

As everyone knows, Annie is a very unique girl; when she watches videos, she likes to watch things like slaughtering pigs, cutting up pig heads and pork.

In addition, he had also heard from Hu Biao that the two pigs his family raised were originally intended to be sold during the Chinese New Year, with the other one being slaughtered for food.

The practice of slaughtering pigs today is tantamount to killing the pigs meant for the Lunar New Year in advance to entertain oneself.

In this situation, besides feeling moved, she felt an indescribable eagerness to try, but she felt no fear whatsoever.

She quickly said, "Auntie, I'm not afraid! On the contrary, I've never seen anyone slaughter a pig in real life before, so it feels quite novel and intriguing."

"You go about your business, don't worry about me. I'm going to see how to slaughter a pig."

After saying that, Annie hurriedly walked towards the pigpen; she hadn't taken two steps when she saw Hu's father and brother-in-law, along with two other people, a group of four, carrying a fat pig towards the yard.

Several long benches, a door panel, and a large wooden bucket had already been placed in the yard, presumably tools for slaughtering pigs.

Today's butcher is a sprightly old man in his sixties who was also present yesterday when he brought the G-Wagon out of the field.

Annie remembered that Hu Biao had introduced him as Hu Laoguanzi.

However, what Annie didn't know was that in Hunan Province, the nickname "Lao Guanzi" was somewhat similar to "Old Rascal".

He inadvertently noticed that Annie was watching them catch the pig with great interest, not at all bothered by the dirt and noise, but rather looking very curious.

He immediately became interested and greeted them in his heavily accented Mandarin:
"Biao Yazi's new bride is quite brave! City people have never seen a pig slaughtered before, right? Do you want to come and help catch the pig's tail? It's a lot of fun."

Upon hearing this, Hu's parents didn't even have time to scold Hu the old man for being shameless.

Perhaps it was everything about the Hu family that made Annie feel exceptionally relaxed, as if she were back home, because she answered without any hesitation:

"What's there to be afraid of? I'd even kill a pig, let alone catch it by the tail."

Hearing such a reply, Old Hu became even more excited; after pressing the pig down onto a long bench, he called out, "Alright! You can slaughter the pig today."

I, Old Hu, am almost seventy years old, and I've never seen a young girl slaughtering a pig, let alone such a beautiful one.

This time, Annie didn't say anything, but went straight up and took the pig-slaughtering knife from Old Hu.

Ignoring the Chanel suit she was wearing, even a fat pig like her could buy quite a few pieces.

With one leg kneeling on the pig, one hand holding the pig's chin and forcefully pulling it back to expose the throat, while the other hand holding a sharp knife thrusts it straight in, piercing the pig's heart.

When the knife is flipped over and pulled out, blood immediately spurts out with the knife and flows into the blood basin that was prepared below.

The whole process was incredibly smooth. One hand, adorned with exquisitely manicured nails, was placed on the struggling fat pig, rendering it completely immobile.

Such a scene left Mr. Hu, his father, his brother-in-law, and the others completely dumbfounded.

It was only at this point that Annie snapped out of her excitement about slaughtering a pig for the first time and realized that her behavior had been rather unladylike.

This made her feel uneasy and worried that it might affect how her parents viewed her.

With this worry in mind, Annie cautiously looked at Aunt Hu.

But then, after a moment of stunned silence, Hu's mother suddenly slapped her thigh hard and exclaimed, "That rascal Hu Biao has finally found a reliable wife!"

I'm also worried that he'll be like his father, the kind of person who's hard to talk back to, and that we'll be bullied when we get old.

"Now that's great, with a wife like Xiao An, there's nothing to worry about."

Annie: "..."

(End of this chapter)