1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 178 The pomegranate branch broke, an ominous premonition.

Chapter 178 The pomegranate branch broke, an ominous premonition.
"I think your store manager is quite good."

The aunt rolled her eyes at her daughter: "Didn't they take care of your puppy the other day? You broke the company rules and expect them to turn a blind eye? In my opinion, you're the one in the wrong, and the store manager is completely innocent."

"How old is that store manager?"

Grandma became interested and asked with a smile.

"Stop!"

My cousin felt a little uneasy under my grandmother's gaze: "Let's leave this topic at that. Nobody should ask anymore. I would never date Li Xiao. We're incompatible. Absolutely not."

"That's hard to say."

Grandma smiled enigmatically: "Have you ever heard of a pair of bickering lovers? I heard your mother say that, and there's a bit of that in them."

"Cough cough."

My cousin almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Screw this bickering couple! After the New Year, she applied to go to Shanghai and cut all ties with Li Xiao.

The dumplings were cooked, but Xu Yi, thinking about the hundred yuan, took advantage of the adults' inattention and poked a hole in each of the first dumplings to come out of the pot with his chopsticks.

"Oh my, Second Sister, come quick and see what your son is doing!"

My aunt came over from the kitchen with a bowl of dumpling soup, and when she saw the scene, she couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

"That brat, he needs a good beating!"

Chen Xiulan blushed and picked up the feather duster, intending to hit him again.

Xu Yi wasn't about to wait to be beaten; he dodged everywhere, causing another chaotic scene in the living room.

"Was your home this lively when you were a child?"

Gu Bin found it amusing and couldn't help but recall the times Lin Xiyu had been punished for being naughty when she was a child.

"This is a glorious tradition in our family."

Lin Xiyu remained calm and composed, answering with unwavering confidence: "Our children were all raised by being chased around with feather dusters. That's why they're all so physically fit; that's how they were trained."

"That's a good reason."

Gu Bin suppressed a laugh and nodded seriously in agreement: "I think you are very suitable to be a teacher. With such a good tradition, you will definitely be able to teach students who are well-rounded in morality, intelligence and physical fitness."

"I don't feel like you're complimenting me?"

Lin Xiyu narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously.

Believe in yourself.

Gu Bin chuckled and teased her, "Remove the word 'feeling'."

"Oh, you've tricked me again."

Lin Xiyu got angry and raised her fist to hit her.

"Don't hit him, don't hit him!"

Gu Bin promptly backed down: "Grandma's watching, please give me some face."

"Humph."

Lin Xiyu snorted arrogantly from the tip of her nose: "It's the New Year, I won't hold it against you."

"Don't you set off a string of firecrackers before eating dumplings?"

Gu Bin volunteered: "My cousin isn't here, I'll put it out."

"You are not needed."

Lin Xiyu rolled up her sleeves and pushed the person aside: "Does the fact that my cousin isn't here mean there's no one to put it out? Watch closely, I'll show you what I've got."

"can you?"

Gu Bin raised an eyebrow, looking at her with interest: "When you were at my grandfather's house, you kept your distance, covering your ears and backing away."

"Are those firecrackers at your house?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, "That's explosives, the kind that could flatten a mountain if thrown out."

"hehe."

Gu Bin found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Sister, I'll set off firecrackers with you."

Seeing that his sister was about to set off firecrackers, Xu Yi took the opportunity to escape his mother's pursuit and slipped out.

"I'll come first!"

My cousin also perked up, rubbing her hands together, ready to show off her skills.

"Carry it on a bamboo pole."

My aunt brought out the bamboo pole that my grandmother used to hang curtains.

"No need, just hang it on the tree."

My cousin didn't take it. Instead, she picked up a string of firecrackers and went to the courtyard, where she hung them on the pomegranate tree.

The pomegranate tree had lost all its leaves in winter, leaving only a bare trunk.

My cousin chose a thick tree branch and hung the firecrackers on it.

"Is it okay to hang it on a tree?"

Lin Xiyu recalled the scene before they moved, when Gu Bin compared the pomegranate tree to a love tree, and for some reason, a sense of unease welled up in her mind: "Won't it break the branches? I think it's better to use bamboo poles."

"fine."

My cousin said nonchalantly, "How could such a thick branch break? The firecracker would fall down halfway through its burning."

"alright."

Not wanting to spoil her cousin's fun, Lin Xiyu remained silent.

Firecrackers were lit, their festive colors illuminating everyone's eyes.

Xu Yi wasn't afraid of making a sound at all, and happily jumped and danced around the pomegranate tree.

The greedy flames snaked upwards along the firecrackers, and when they were halfway through burning, they suddenly seemed to go out of control, with a loud bang, igniting three or four firecrackers at the same time.

"Oh my god!"

A firecracker flew out and landed on Xu Yi.

At the same time, the pomegranate tree branch snapped in two with a cracking sound.

Lin Xiyu's breath hitched. Looking at the fallen tree branch, an indescribable panic surged into her heart once again.

"Xi Yu, what's wrong?"

Gu Bin realized something was wrong and reached out to support her.

"No, nothing?"

Lin Xiyu clutched her chest, forcing herself to calm down.

"Oh my god, I was so scared! My cotton-padded coat is torn."

Xu Yi's startled little voice came again, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oh, you're right."

The aunt was the first to notice something was wrong: "It's too dangerous. Luckily, the cotton-padded coat is thick. It would have been a real problem if the child had been injured."

"Come back soon"

Chen Xiulan panicked and rushed over, pulling her son back.

"Will you dare to be naughty again in the future?"

Grandma was both shocked and frightened, and scolded her grandson: "Everyone else is staying far away, but you're so close. If they don't blow you up, who will they blow up?"

"Are you injured?"

Lin Xiyu disregarded her own panic and stepped forward with concern, asking, "Have your younger brother take off his cotton-padded coat and check it carefully."

Xu Yi was wearing a cotton-padded jacket with a light outer garment over it. The clothes were newly bought before the Lunar New Year and cost more than 30 yuan.

Chen Xiulan was heartbroken. She took off her coat and slapped her son in a bad mood before taking off his cotton-padded jacket.

The cotton-padded jacket was even more clearly visible under the light; it had a hole blown under the armpit, about the size of a ping-pong ball, with all the cotton stuffing blown out and the edges charred, revealing the sweater underneath.

Fortunately, the sweater was hand-knitted by Chen Xiulan and was thick, so it wasn't blown through.

Grandma lifted her grandson's undershirt and saw that his skin was only slightly red and there were no obvious injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, he wasn't injured in the explosion."

Lin Xiyu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "This time it was really a close call. You have to remember to stay far away when setting off firecrackers in the future, and don't be so reckless again."

"Leilei too."

The aunt turned around and scolded her daughter: "I gave you a bamboo pole, but you insisted on hanging it on the tree. Now look what happened, you've blown all the branches off."

"Can you blame me for this?"

My cousin cried out in anguish, "Who would have thought the fuse would malfunction and ignite several of them at once? Besides, it's a quality issue; it was unavoidable even when hanging on a bamboo pole. I might have been injured too."

"Alright, stop blaming the child."

Grandma nudged her second daughter and urged her hurriedly, "It's cold inside. Quickly take Xiaoyi upstairs and change him into some new clothes. It's the New Year, don't let the child get cold."

"Walk."

Chen Xiulan, with a stern face, dragged her son upstairs.

"It would be great if we could install radiators in our home."

My aunt casually remarked, "One of my colleagues bought one; they have one in every room, right next to the wall. It doesn't take up any space at all, and it's much warmer than a chimney."

"The cold days will be over soon, let's talk about it next year."

Installing radiators costs a lot of money, and Grandma, knowing that her uncle works hard to earn money, didn't want to add to his burden.

"It was my oversight; I forgot about that."

My cousin looked guilty: "I'll definitely be thinking about this next October, and I'll install the radiators for Grandma as soon as winter comes."

"no need."

Grandma waved her hand, her eyes showing signs of fatigue: "I've lived my whole life without radiators. The new house is much warmer than the old one. With the doors and windows closed, it's not cold at all. Don't waste that money. Mind your own business and don't make Grandma worry about you. That's better than anything else."

"Grandma, the department store opens on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. I'll buy you a silk quilt."

Lin Xiyu, being very perceptive, put her arm around her grandmother's arm and deliberately tried to cheer her up: "I heard from my classmates in Hangzhou that they like to use silk quilts there. They are light, soft, and warm, and they don't feel heavy at all when you cover yourself with them."

"You've already bought a sweater, so you don't need to spend that money again."

Grandma felt a warm glow in her heart, as if it were being ironed.

"I'm buying a Simmons mattress for my grandma."

My cousin, not to be outdone, chimed in, "The Simmons mattress is so comfortable, it doesn't feel uncomfortable at all under my body."

"Okay, okay, Grandma knows you're all good children."

Grandma smiled kindly and said, "Grandma is used to sleeping on a hard bed and isn't used to sleeping on a soft one. Don't waste your money. We bought the shop before the New Year and haven't even made back the investment yet. We owe your boss money, so pay it back as soon as possible to save yourself the trouble. Don't keep delaying and let people talk behind our backs and say we have no credit."

"Uh."

My cousin was embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh: "Grandma, you don't need to worry about the money for the shop. I pay it back every month, and it'll be almost paid off soon."

"After paying back the money, you probably won't have much left, right?"

Grandma knew perfectly well: "You child, you're just stubborn. You'll argue with your own family over a puppy. You live alone outside, and when you come home, you can't even get a sip of hot water. What are you trying to achieve?"

"I've already tamed Coke, I can't bear to throw it away."

My cousin felt wronged and lowered her head, explaining in a low voice.

Its pitiful appearance does resemble that of a sick puppy.

"Forget it, don't force yourself."

The aunt softened and sighed helplessly, "Bring the Coke home. Anyway, I have nothing to do after I retire. I can walk the dog and get some exercise."

"real?!"

My cousin was pleasantly surprised.

The aunt smiled and playfully scolded, "When has your mother ever lied to you?"

"Mom, you're so great!"

My cousin jumped up from the sofa, hugged my aunt, and happily spun her around twice.

"Alright, alright, stop spinning."

Her aunt made her spin until she was dizzy, seemingly complaining, but actually showing her deep affection.

Xu Yi changed his clothes and came downstairs, and the family sat back down at the table.

The child was lucky; this time he didn't cheat and actually got the first coin.

His cousin kept her word and rewarded him with 100 yuan on the spot.

With the comfort of a hundred-yuan bill and the shadow of firecrackers cast over him, the poor little heart finally felt at ease.

The child instantly perked up, clutching his little money with delight, and didn't want to let go even when he went to bed.

The family ate dinner happily. While the elders were watching the opera performance, Lin Xiyu took a broom and swept the courtyard. When she picked up a pomegranate branch from the ground, for some reason, an ominous premonition arose again.

"what happened?"

Seeing her unusual expression, Gu Bin mistakenly thought she was heartbroken over the pomegranate tree: "It's just a branch, it's broken, it'll sprout new buds next year."

"It's all your fault."

Lin Xiyu smiled and playfully scolded, "When we were moving, I don't know what got into her, she suddenly said something about acacia trees, and when I saw the broken branches, I felt so uncomfortable."

"I just said it casually."

Gu Bin was both amused and exasperated: "You actually took it seriously?"

"what you say."

Lin Xiyu glared at him, annoyed: "When have I ever not taken it seriously?"

"Okay, okay, it was my fault, alright?"

Gu Bin hugged her from behind and gently comforted her, "I apologize to you. I will never dare to make such jokes again, lest I make my wife angry and I suffer the consequences myself."

"I don't know why seeing a pomegranate branch break makes me feel so sad."

Lin Xiyu rubbed her chest with her hands, finding it hard to understand herself: "I feel so suffocated inside, and I keep having this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"Don't even think about it, it won't happen."

Gu Bin didn't take it seriously and teased her with a smile: "That's because you care about me too much. Subconsciously, you took what we said under the pomegranate tree as our promise. That's why you had this thought when you saw the branch break."

"Is that right?"

Lin Xiyu still couldn't let it go.

"Believe me."

Gu Bin smiled and said, "It'll be alright. Our relationship isn't as fragile as a tree branch. Even if it breaks, I'll mend it again. I'll stick with you for the rest of my life and won't give you a chance to leave me."

"Can a broken branch be rejoined?"

Seeing how determined he was, Lin Xiyu felt somewhat better: "Do you think you're Zhang Wuji, able to reattach a broken leg?"

"I'd like to."

Gu Bin tightened his grip on her, saying, "If I were Zhang Wuji, you would be Zhao Min. Together, we'd wreak havoc on the martial arts world, then find a place to hide and have a whole bunch of kids."

"screw you"

Lin Xiyu's ears burned, and she playfully punched him: "Do you think I'm a Coca-Cola bottle, giving birth to a whole litter?"

"Having one child is fine too."

Gu Bin leaned close to her ear and deliberately seduced her: "I'll love any child you give birth to."

"Get out of here, who wants to have your baby?"

Lin Xiyu struggled a few times, trying to break free from his grasp.

"Isn't this just a matter of time?"

Gu Bin not only didn't let go, but hugged her even tighter: "How about we find a place right now to discuss this important life event?"

"It's getting late, you should go home."

Lin Xiyu blushed crimson from his teasing and chased after him with a red face.

"You chase me away as soon as we get down to business."

Gu Bin stubbornly refused to budge.