Training the Heavens

Chapter 165 Ice and Fire

Before she could finish her sigh, her beautiful wife ran off with the two children. "Dad, Mom, Zhendong and Zhenbei's grandpa misses them too, and sent a message asking me to take the two children home. I'll be there first."

"Ah? You are leaving too? When will you be back?" The old woman was stunned. If she left, would she be able to come back before the New Year?
"We'll see. If Zhendong and Zhenbei's grandfather insists on keeping them for two more days, I can't force them to take the children away." The beautiful daughter-in-law is no fool. Every New Year's Eve, Huang Ling is busy at home. Now that Huang Ling has returned to her parents' home, isn't it her turn to do all the work? She doesn't want to be tired, so this year she will stay at her parents' home until the holiday is over before returning.

"Then you'd better try to come back earlier, otherwise it will be so lonely at home during the New Year." The old woman wanted to be angry but didn't dare to. Her beautiful daughter-in-law was not as easy to bully as Huang Ling. She had a strong personality. She could only say pitifully.

The beautiful daughter-in-law completely ignored her pretending to be pitiful. In the past, she was too lazy to take care of the old woman when she was sick, let alone at this time, she just left with the two children.

Lao Deng and the old woman saw that she was still holding the welfare benefits given to Ganmei by the factory, but they still didn't dare to say anything. After the three of them had walked out of sight, they slammed the table and cursed, "Chaoying is too unreasonable. He can't even control his wife!"

If Zhuang Tunan heard this, he would probably laugh out loud in anger. The Ganmei couple treated you like this, but you didn't dare to get angry. Instead, Huang Ling served them wholeheartedly, but ended up with nothing. It seems that in their opinion, good people should be pointed at with guns!
Now Zhuang Tunan doesn't have to worry about these troubles at all. He stays at his grandparents' house happily, eating the plum cakes made by his grandmother with Zhuang Xiaoting.

This thing is made of flour as the skin and red bean paste as the filling. It is baked in a plum-shaped mold and finally sprinkled with red and green silk. It tastes sweet and sticky. It is said that Emperor Qianlong praised it highly when he ate it when he visited the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhuang Tunan doesn't believe this legend, because if you open the search software and combine the four words "Cixi", "Qianlong" and "praise without limit", you can find a lot of local special snacks, a mess of everything.

Anyway, after he finished searching, he had only one feeling: these two guys really had never eaten anything good, and it felt like they were just about to eat shit.

Having said that, snacks like plum blossom cakes are still very popular among children in this era of material scarcity. Xiaoting ate one and wanted to eat more, but she didn't dare to. She just stared at the plum blossom cake while secretly glancing at her grandparents.

Zhuang Tunan saw the opportunity and immediately put on the Zhuang family's eye drops. He took a plum blossom cake and stuffed it directly into Zhuang Xiaoting's mouth, saying, "Xiaoting, don't be afraid. This is not your grandparents' house. Eat whatever you want. Grandma and Grandpa will definitely not scold you."

When they heard this, the smiles on their faces froze. Grandma couldn't help but ask, "Tunan, what's going on? Is Xiaoting being bullied at her grandfather's house?"

"Mom" Huang Ling wanted to say something.

Zhuang Tunan interrupted immediately, "Grandma, Xiaoting gets bullied every New Year when she goes to his house. Not only does Zhendong and Zhenbei bully her, but grandpa and grandma also help her. They always give Xiaoting the smallest red envelope, and then they secretly nag her behind her back, saying that Xiaoting is a money-loser and shouldn't be given a red envelope. They even... "

"Tunan, stop talking. We finally get home. Don't let grandma and grandpa worry." Tears kept welling up in Huang Ling's eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall in order not to worry her parents.

"Tunan, please continue." Grandpa's face darkened.

With someone backing him up, Zhuang Tunan spoke even more enthusiastically, "Last year during the Chinese New Year, grandma made Xiaoting sleep in the same bed with Zhendong and Zhenbei. Xiaoting didn't want to sleep with them, and grandma insisted that it was okay. Mom refused, so she ended up holding Xiaoting in her arms and letting her sleep while sitting in the living room."

"What about Chaoying? What did Chaoying say?" Grandpa asked Huang Ling. His question hit the nail on the head. Whether it was the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or between son-in-law and father-in-law, the most important thing was your significant other. If your husband/daughter-in-law stood by you, everything would be easy; they would definitely handle their parents' concerns.

If you really can't handle it, just meet less often. When you have to meet, your husband/daughter-in-law can protect you. Then even if there are conflicts, you won't feel too uncomfortable.

"My dad didn't say anything, but I heard that Aunt Hualin didn't even have a bed, so she slept on the dining table until she went to Guizhou to work in the countryside." Zhuang Tunan once again provided an assist.

At this time, grandma and grandpa finally understood. "It seems that their family really favors boys over girls. Huang Ling, you should celebrate the New Year here this year. Grandma will make you some delicious food!"

"Really?" Zhuang Xiaoting's eyes widened immediately.

"That's great! Xiaoting can finally sleep in bed when she stays up all night to celebrate the New Year." Zhuang Tunan also applauded.

Seeing the two children's reactions, Huang Ling softened her heart. "Dad, Mom, I hope this won't be too much trouble for you."

"You are a piece of flesh and blood that fell from my body, what's the problem with that? I just regret that I gave birth to you. If Tuanan and Xiaoting had an uncle, they wouldn't be bullied by others!" Grandma wiped away her tears as she spoke.

Grandpa also sighed, "Hey, let's not talk about these things, Huang Ling. We couldn't help you before, but now we have restored your working conditions and paid you back your wages from previous years. You don't have to swallow your anger in the future, you have us two to help you with everything!"

"Yes, we have to look forward. Huang Ling, let's take the children out shopping tomorrow morning. We haven't bought them new clothes in many years. Let's make up for it this year and buy them all." Grandma wiped her tears and hugged Xiaoting, feeling distressed.

My grandparents are both intellectuals, with high salaries and titles. The total amount of money they would have paid out over the years is not a small sum. Money gives you confidence. When they woke up in the morning, they took their family of three to South Street, the most prosperous street in Changzhou, and went to the department store to buy clothes and New Year's goods.

Not only did he buy clothes for Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting, brother and sister, but he also bought two sets for Huang Ling. Logically, three of the four people in the family should have new clothes, so the last one should definitely be bought some as well.

However, my grandparents didn't even mention Zhuang Chaoying's name. It was obvious that they still had some resentment towards their son-in-law.

While both were preparing for the Chinese New Year, the scenes in Changzhou and Suzhou were completely different: ice and fire.

After shopping, the family of five went to a noodle shop to eat silver noodles. When they came back, they found two strangers at the door. "Hey, my little ancestor, you are finally back."

(End of this chapter)