1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 177 let it slip: sleeping in one bed is a bit cramped.

"Uh."

Lin Xiyu was embarrassed: "Grandma, you're overthinking it. I'm not even married yet, it's too early to talk about having children."

"You're already nineteen."

Grandma counted on her fingers: "She'll graduate from university at 22, work for a year, and then she can get her marriage certificate. At the latest, she'll be able to have a baby in five years."

Let's talk about it in five years.

Lin Xiyu became increasingly embarrassed as she spoke, her face turning bright red.

"You and Xiaobin are both good-looking, your child will definitely be beautiful."

Grandma rarely saw her in such an awkward situation, and she found it amusing. In a good mood, she joked with her, "If only you could have more children, so they could be devoted to you and bring you joy."

Lin Xiyu's ears burned: "Now with the one-child policy, we can only have one child. It's impossible to have a son or daughter together."

"Not always."

Grandma looked at her teasingly and smiled leisurely: "Your Chen family has the gene for twins, maybe the children you have in the future will also be twins."

"what?"

Lin Xiyu was a little confused: "The Chen family has a gene for twins? How come I didn't know?"

"That's because you've never been to your hometown in Shanxi."

Grandma revealed the truth in one sentence: "Go back and visit when you have time, and you will know that your grandfather's younger sister, your second great-aunt, gave birth to twins, a pair of twins. And your fourth grandfather's son also gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, a pair of fraternal twins."

-

"Twins? That's wonderful!"

Lin Xiyu's eyes lit up when she heard about twins.

"No."

Grandma sighed softly, "No wonder your Chen family has the gene for twins. Having twins isn't something you can just do whenever you want. I was weak when I was young, and my children were affected by me, so they weren't very strong either. That's why I couldn't have twins. Your uncle doesn't have any children either, for the same reason."

"Uncle, take your time to recover. Once you're better, you'll have children."

Lin Xiyu sighed silently in her heart. It had come full circle again; the topic of her uncle's inability to have children was unavoidable.

-

"Oh, dumplings again. Grandma always serves dumplings to her son-in-law, it's always the same old thing."

The living room door opened from the outside, and my cousin came in, shivering from the cold. Seeing that Grandma was indeed making dumplings again, she held up the plastic bag in her hand and shook it, laughing and joking, "Luckily I had the foresight to stew two pig's trotters from home and bring them over for my brother-in-law Gu Bin to have as a snack with his drinks."

"What's wrong with dumplings?"

Grandma's sadness vanished the moment her cousin interrupted: "We northerners eat dumplings. How can it be called New Year if we don't eat dumplings?"

"Did you put a few coins in the dumplings?"

The aunt then came in, looking much happier than yesterday: "I happen to have a few 5-cent coins here, they're golden and look especially festive."

"I'll wrap it."

Lin Xiyu reached out and took it, washed it with water, and wrapped it in a dumpling.

"Whoever finds the first dumpling with a coin inside tonight will receive a 100 yuan reward."

My cousin received her year-end bonus and, with money in hand, felt especially confident.

"Yay!"

Xu Yi was sitting on the sofa watching a rebroadcast of the Spring Festival Gala when he heard about the 100 yuan prize, and he immediately perked up.

"We have one too?"

Chen Xiulan smiled and cheered.

"Have!"

My cousin took out a hundred-yuan bill from her wallet and slammed it on the table with great fanfare: "I'm just leaving the money here. Whoever is the first to find a coin in their dumpling, that hundred-yuan bill is theirs."

"I'll eat first, I'll eat first!"

Xu Yi yelled in his soft voice, "I want to eat the first batch of dumplings!"

"Keep your voice down, your whole family combined can't even speak as loud as you."

Chen Xiulan couldn't stand her son's useless attitude, so she slapped him on the head.

"Ouch, Grandma, my mom hit me again!"

Xu Yi jumped off the sofa and rushed into his grandmother's arms.

"You can't hit a child on the head. If you really make them stupid, you'll be crying again."

Grandma was indeed heartbroken. She rubbed his head and scolded him irritably.

"This child is too naughty."

Chen Xiulan sighed and rubbed her forehead: "Even Leilei's dog isn't as good as his clothes."

"How about the Coke?"

My cousin seized the opportunity to chime in: "You didn't cause any trouble at your house, did you?"

"More obedient than him."

Chen Xiulan pointed at her son and glared at him with displeasure.

"Mom, you're amazing!"

Xu Yi retorted defiantly, "You're comparing me to a dog."

"I'd be better off raising a dog than raising you."

Chen Xiulan looked disgusted: "Even Cola is more sensible than you; she doesn't know how to make people angry."

"What nonsense are you spouting during the New Year?"

Grandma, displeased with what she heard, began to scold again: "No matter how naughty your son is, he's still your own child. Now you despise him, but back then you were so determined to marry Xu Weiguo, threatening to die for him."

"Xiao Yi is spending the New Year at our house, why hasn't the Xu family made any moves?"

The aunt, not wanting the mother and daughter to argue, quickly changed the subject: "Do you think his grandparents would agree to this? Didn't they come to the house and cause trouble? During the lawsuit, they argued fiercely, almost to the point of physical violence."

"New Year's Eve is here."

Chen Xiulan scoffed, "Xiao Yi himself doesn't want to spend the New Year at his house, what can they do? Are they going to kidnap him?"

"Luckily, Xiaobin found a lawyer for me."

Auntie sighed with emotion: "Otherwise, with the Xu family's domineering attitude, you alone would definitely not be able to fight them."

"Why hasn't Gu Bin arrived yet?"

My cousin only realized at this moment that one person was missing: "This is not like him. He is always very attached to his wife. I heard that he did not go home on New Year's Eve and spent the night on the sofa upstairs."

"Not a sofa."

Xu Yi didn't think much of it and almost let it slip.

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu quickly interrupted him.

"What do you mean?"

My cousin's gossipy eyes lit up as she keenly caught the key point.

Don't listen to him.

Lin Xiyu's heart pounded like a drum: "He's talking nonsense."

"Xiao Yi, tell your cousin."

Her cousin ignored her: "Your future brother-in-law didn't sleep on the sofa, where did he sleep?"

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu coughed twice and gave her younger brother a warning look.

"Xiao Yi, tell your cousin."

My cousin pulled out her trump card and took out another hundred yuan from her wallet, coaxing the child: "I'll give you another hundred yuan."

"hey-hey."

Xu Yi chuckled, touching his nose.

"If you dare say anything out of line, I'll beat you up!"

Lin Xiyu clenched her fist, a blatant threat.

"On the ground."

Xu Yi glanced at his cousin, then at his sister, hesitated for a few seconds, and chose to save his own life.

"hehe."

My older cousin chuckled and gave her younger cousin a knowing look: "Based on my years of experience watching movies, that's probably not true. Sleeping on the floor is impossible, unless someone pushed him off the sofa."

"Don't make wild guesses."

Lin Xiyu glanced away guiltily: "Who would be so creepy as to provoke him in the middle of the night?" "I don't believe he'd fall to the ground if no one pushed him."

My cousin smiled like a sly fox, her face brimming with gossip.

"Forget it if you don't believe it."

Lin Xiyu used her mother's beating as a shield: "Mom will be home tonight, who would dare to cause trouble in front of her?"

"Ai?"

Chen Xiulan suddenly interjected, "On New Year's Eve, in the middle of the night, I thought I heard a thud. I thought it was Xiao Yi falling off the bed. Could it be Xiao Bin instead?"

"He actually rolled off the sofa?"

My cousin got even more excited and burst into loud laughter: "I thought Xiao Yi made it up, but it turns out it's true."

"It wasn't me to begin with."

Xu Yi, being a proud child, felt it necessary to defend himself: "Since starting elementary school, I haven't fallen off the bed once."

"Xiao Bin is so big now, but he still can't sleep peacefully."

Grandma believed her and covered her mouth with a laugh: "She can even fall off the sofa!"

"Your sofa is too narrow."

The aunt chuckled and joked, "In my opinion, we should replace it with a foldable sofa bed. This kind of thing happens often in the future, and we can't let our son-in-law always have to sleep on the sofa. It's embarrassing for him to keep falling off."

"I think so too"

My cousin couldn't stop laughing: "The scene of Gu Bin falling off the sofa was so hilarious, it's funny just thinking about it."

"Dong dong."

Just then, a soft knock came from outside the door.

"People from Shandong are just uncanny; whoever you name, they'll come."

My cousin, wanting to see some fun, rushed to the door first: "It's probably Xiaobin. I'll go open the door."

"It's very lively at home; I can hear laughter from outside."

The door opened, and sure enough, Gu Bin was standing outside carrying a gift box.

"We were just talking about you, and here you are."

My cousin looked him up and down, then smiled in a rather ambiguous way.

What are you saying about me?

Gu Bin was unaware of the truth, which made her feel uneasy.

"They're saying you're handsome."

My cousin deliberately didn't tell him: "Look at that black wool coat, it looks so stylish on you, like a Hong Kong or Taiwanese celebrity."

"I feel like your eyes are wandering a bit."

Gu Bin was not someone who could be easily fooled. He turned the tables on her: "You haven't done something wrong and are trying to trick me, have you?"

"How could I dare to lie to you? You're my brother-in-law."

My cousin quickly denied it: "My dear sister is staring at me like a wolf. If I dare to lie to you even half a word, she'll pounce on me and bite me."

"is it?"

Gu Bin would never believe her. He glanced at Lin Xiyu, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a bad premonition welled up inside him.

Lin Xiyu's face was a mix of white with red, red with black, and black with purple, the colors alternating like a vibrant palette.

He had a bad feeling and subconsciously looked at Xu Yi. Sure enough, he saw the little guy avoiding his eyes and not daring to look him in the eye.

"Xiao Yi, is the temple fair fun?"

At this moment, even if he were slow-witted, he would understand what was going on.

It's highly likely that the little guy let it slip and revealed what happened on the 30th.

As for what was said, just a little provocation and he'll tell you himself.

I didn't say anything.

Upon hearing about the temple fair, Xu Yi shuddered in surprise and promptly revealed the truth: "It was my cousin who made wild guesses and insisted that you fell off the sofa."

"sofa?"

Gu Bin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then he understood the situation.

Fortunately, I arrived in time before my cousin uncovered the truth.

"Xiaobin, are you uncomfortable sleeping on the sofa?"

Chen Xiulan mistakenly thought that he was embarrassed to admit it and took the blame: "That sofa was indeed a bit narrow. It was my oversight. I shouldn't have let you sleep on the sofa."

"Where can we sleep if not on the sofa?"

My cousin chimed in smoothly, "There are only two rooms upstairs. Second Aunt and Xiao Yi sleep in one, and Xi Yu sleeps in the other. If he doesn't sleep on the sofa, does he mean he'll sleep on the floor?"

Sleeping on the floor is definitely not an option.

Chen Xiulan held her son-in-law in high regard and was not about to let him suffer any injustice: "How about this, you and Xiyu can switch places from now on. Let her sleep on the sofa and you can sleep on the bed."

"Why?"

Lin Xiyu muttered under her breath, "That's my bed, why should I give it to him?"

Chen Xiulan feigned dissatisfaction: "Xiao Bin rarely stays at home for one night, can't you just make do?"

"I remember that bed was 1.2 meters wide."

My cousin's shrewd eyes darted between Gu Bin and Lin Xiyu, her smile incredibly suggestive: "Sleeping together isn't impossible, it's just a bit cramped, we might fall off."

"Ai?!"

Chen Xiulan snapped out of her daze and stared wide-eyed at her daughter.

There was a moment of silence in the living room. Not only did Lin Xiyu blush, but Gu Bin was also embarrassed and covered half of his face with his hand.

"The dumplings are all wrapped, Xiyu, go and get them ready."

Grandma, being an old and shrewd woman, could easily see through the trick. Using this as an excuse, she waved her hand and ushered the person into the kitchen.

"Oh, good."

Lin Xiyu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She picked up the bamboo mat with the dumplings on it and ran away in a flash.

"I'll go help."

Gu Bin put down the gift box and took a few long strides to follow.

"Hey, hey."

Chen Xiulan wanted to ask more questions, but the two had already disappeared into the kitchen.

"Stop asking."

Grandma gave her a disdainful look: "As an elder, you have no sense at all. We've all been through this, can't you understand this little thing? There's no need to dig into it."

"So it's true?"

Chen Xiulan felt terrible: "These kids are outrageous. They ganged up on me and kept it all from me."

"If I don't hide it from you, who else can I hide it from?"

Xu Yi muttered fearlessly.

"And you, you brat!"

Chen Xiulan was furious and raised her arm to hit him: "You've learned to lie too. I asked you just now, and you still dared to say you didn't know."

"Grandma, help me!"

Xu Yi darted away and hid in his grandmother's arms again.

"Alright, calm down."

Grandma's face darkened: "What's all this commotion during the New Year? Isn't it chaotic enough already?"

"It's not that I want to cause trouble, it's them."

Chen Xiulan wanted to argue, but her grandmother shut her down with a single sentence.

"You don't even know what happened in your own home, yet you have the nerve to scold your child?"

"Cough cough."

Chen Xiulan blushed and said nothing more.

"Second sister, don't overthink it."

Auntie smiled and said, "Xiaobin and Xiyu have such a good relationship, you should be happy about it. Your Xiyu is so sensible and easy to take care of, unlike mine. She finally broke up with her high school classmate, but now she's at odds with the store manager. I don't know what's wrong with her, she's always causing trouble."

"Hey, hey, Mom!"

My cousin stopped laughing: "Why are you dragging me into this again? Besides, my disagreement with Li Xiao is purely for work, it has nothing to do with our relationship."

"Leilei is 20 years old, it's time for her to find a serious partner."

Grandma always had endless worries for her family.