1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

"This is your aunt. Let your aunt give you a hug."

Su Man came to Chen Aihua's side to comfort her.

"Auntie?"

With Su Man by her side, Chen Xiaosui felt she had a backer and was less resistant. She stared at Chen Aihua and asked in confusion.

"Yes, I'm your aunt. Sui Sui calls me aunt. Your aunt will buy you candy."

Looking at the soft, sweet-smelling Chen Xiaosui, Chen Aihua grew to like her more and more.

"Auntie!"

Upon hearing that there was food, Chen Xiaohui immediately changed her mind.

hahaha~

This made Chen's mother, Chen's sister-in-law, and others laugh.

giggle~

Chen Xiaohui also laughed.

"Second brother, bring some candy back later."

Chen Aihua kissed Chen Xiaosui and then turned to look at Chen Weidong.

"You promised to do it yourself, and you want me to buy it for you? I don't care."

"Oh dear, Sui Sui is still your daughter, why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Chen Weidong smiled knowingly, and memories of the past instantly surfaced.

Chen Aihua has been like this since she was a child. You could say she's like a Pixiu, only going in and never going out. Whenever she's with him or Chen Jianguo, she never pays for anything.

They personally select the items when buying them, but disappear when it's time to pay.

It was for this reason that Chen Aihua liked to follow Chen Weidong since she was a child. The latter was not only generous, but also had the support of the Chen family, and was also very rich. Therefore, Chen Aihua liked to play with Chen Weidong the most.

Chen Aihua and Chen Weidong had always had a good relationship. However, in their previous life, Chen Weidong was truly hopeless. Coupled with the sale of the house and the passing of Old Mrs. and Old Mr. Chen, Chen Aihua harbored some resentment towards Chen Weidong, but more than anything, she felt disappointed in him.

Although Chen Aihua's life wasn't very good later on, she would still help Chen Weidong from time to time and come to see him.

"Okay, do you want an ice pop?"

Chen Weidong took off his coat and asked Chen Aihua.

"Eat!" *2

Chen Aihua spoke first, followed by Chen Xiaohui.

"Like aunt, like niece! She learns the bad things but not the good ones."

Chen's mother made a comment.

"This is what they call 'birds of a feather flock together'."

Chen Aihua was not ashamed but proud.

"We're family!"

Chen Xiaohui echoed this sentiment.

"What do you know? You're just spouting nonsense like your aunt."

Chen's mother tapped Chen Xiaosui's forehead with her finger.

Chen Weidong stopped listening to them, turned around, left the courtyard, and went to the grocery store.

"Aunt Ma, do you still have pork ribs in the shop?"

Pork ribs are now the cheapest part of a pig, while fatty meat is the most expensive. To buy it, you not only need to get up early to queue, but you also need to know the salesperson.

Relatively speaking, pork ribs are only a little more expensive than pork offal. With the same amount of meat coupons, you can buy more bones and meat, which seems like a good deal. You can buy them at almost every grocery store, but Chen Weidong still asked a few more questions.

"Yes, how many pounds do you want?"

"Four or five pounds will do."

Chen Weidong made a rough estimate of the people in his family.

"You bought so much? Did you have guests over?"

While weighing the items, Ma Mei asked a question.

"My younger sister is back, so I'm buying her some pork ribs to improve her diet."

"So it was Aiwa who came back."

Ma Mei weighed things up high, and basically every time the Chen family bought something, she would give them extra.

"Weidong, I heard from your mother that you've started working?"

"Yes, it's only been a few days."

Where do you work now?

"I found a temporary job as a security guard at the school at the entrance of our alley."

Although labor is no longer divided into different types of work, being a worker is considered more honorable, and the wages are higher.

"A school security guard! Not bad, keep up the good work, and your mom and the others won't have to worry so much."

Ma Mei was also very happy for Chen's mother. She could sense the worry in Chen's mother's eyes a while ago.

"Okay, Aunt Ma, I'll definitely work hard. Also, get me some popsicles and hard candy. Oh, and Aunt Ma, weigh out the pig offal for me too."

Chen Weidong nodded, knowing that the other party was also doing it for his own good.

He planned to use the pig offal to cook another dish, but unfortunately he didn't have any pig blood, otherwise he could have made some blood sausage.

……

"The popsicles are back, come out and eat them!"

As soon as Chen Weidong finished speaking, Chen Aihua ran out carrying Chen Xiaosui, followed by Chen Xiaoteng and Chen Xiaoting, who had just run back from outside.

"Let me see what's here. There's even milk ice cream! Second brother, did you get paid? You're so generous!"

Chen Aihua had already heard the news that Chen Weidong's family had returned, but she didn't know that Chen Weidong was earning money by writing articles, so she was a little surprised to see that Chen Weidong had bought so many milk ice creams.

"What? Does your second brother have to get paid before he can buy milk ice cream?"

"Hehe, I was just guessing."

Chen Aihua smiled, picked up a milk ice cream, took a bite, and then placed it in front of Chen Xiaosui. The latter immediately opened her mouth wide, startling Chen Aihua, who immediately said, "You can't eat too much, just a small bite is enough."

Chen Xiaosui behaved very obediently, took a bite, and her face immediately turned red, clearly because it was cold, but she was reluctant to spit it out.

"You eat it yourself, don't give it to her, she'll get a stomachache if she eats it later."

Chen Weidong took the remaining ice cream and went to the kitchen, handing one to each of his mother, sister-in-law, and Su Man.

"I'm not eating it, it's cold. You eat it yourself."

Chen's mother did not answer.

"Mom, just eat it. I bought it according to the number of people. If you don't eat it, it'll disintegrate in a little while. It's hot in the summer, eat one to cool down!"

When Chen's mother saw that Chen Weidong was holding a lot of ice cream, she took it from him.

"I bought pork ribs and offal, Mom. Let's stew the ribs with some potatoes. Then we'll stir-fry the offal with scallions and chili peppers. It'll definitely taste delicious."

"Okay, you can go now."

Chen's mother took the ribs and offal and began to wash them with water.

Chen Weidong went to the main room again and put a stick into the water glass.

"Grandma, I've put the ice cream in your cup. Remember to drink it when it melts."

Grandma Chen is getting old, and her body can't handle eating ice cream directly. It's much better if she waits for it to melt before eating it.

"I see."

Grandma Chen nodded with a smile. She liked to eat anything given to her by Chen Weidong.

"My grandfather hasn't come back yet?"

"No, he doesn't come back before mealtimes every day, you don't need to worry about him."

Grandma Chen said irritably, still somewhat resentful that Grandpa Chen was always out taking walks and playing chess and never coming home.

Chen Weidong nodded, not interfering. The old couple had lived like this their whole lives, and when it came to caring for each other, they were the ones who cared for each other the most.

Actually, it wasn't that Grandma Chen didn't want Grandpa Chen to go out, but she was worried about his health. After all, it was so hot outside, and Grandpa Chen was old and prone to heatstroke.

"Why is your school letting students leave so early this year?"

Chen Weidong asked Chen Aihua, "A few days ago, Chen's mother said that Chen Aihua would not be able to have a holiday for another week or two. I didn't expect her to come back today."

"This year, the college entrance examination was held at our school, so we came back home early for the holidays."

Chen Aihua took a bite and then licked Chen Xiaosui's lips; the aunt and niece showed the same expression.

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