After a long separation, everyone is happy to meet again.
When Tian Yu saw his father, whom he hadn't seen for 11 years and whose temples already had white hair, the emotions he had been holding back could no longer be contained. His nose suddenly felt sore and he hugged the man and burst into tears.
Emotions are the most powerful thing. In the end, not only did Tian Hongxing, who was very proud of herself, fail to control herself and cried until her eyes were swollen, but even Tian Mi and her sisters were not spared and stood by wiping their tears.
The whole family had a good time venting their emotions, and when everyone had calmed down, Tian Hongxing happily gave each of his grandchildren a red envelope that he had prepared in advance.
Tian Yu pressed a wet towel against his eyes and waved his hand to refuse: "Dad, keep the money and buy yourself some nice things."
Hearing this, Tian Hongxing glared and tried to stuff the money into the children's hands: "This is for my grandson, not for you. Besides, Mi's two children also have it. As a grandfather, can I be partial to one and ignore the other?"
Seeing that her father looked like he would get angry if she didn't accept it, Tian Yu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. She wanted to persuade him again, but her husband patted her shoulder.
She turned around and met Lao Chen's gentle gaze. Knowing that he was sensible in his actions, she didn't say anything else.
Chen Gang first thanked his father-in-law, then nodded to the children.
As the eldest son, Chen Xun took the lead and accepted a red envelope: "Thank you, Grandpa."
"Hey! Hey! No thanks! Xunxun looks like grandpa, almost as tall as grandpa." Then he pulled his shy little son over and pointed at their faces with a smile: "Look, don't you look exactly like your uncle?"
They really look alike. If they weren't three years apart, everyone would believe they were twins.
So everyone had a good time talking about this topic.
While chatting and laughing, Tian Yu did not delay and began to pick out gifts from the luggage he brought back, from food to clothes to daily necessities, filling up two large packages.
"How much did this cost? You young people just don't know how to control your money. You spend it lavishly. You will have trouble spending money in the future." Tian Hongxing took the clothes her daughter bought for her, tried them on her body, feeling both happy and sad.
"It's a rare opportunity for me to come back. Besides, many things in Shanghai don't require tickets. It's a rare opportunity and not expensive. If I buy something for you, you can wear it and it can't be returned. Your fourth sister and little brother are grown up, so what's wrong with me, as their elder sister, buying them some bright clothes?" In fact, it wasn't cheap, but as she said, it was a rare opportunity to come back, so some money should be spent.
Tian Hongxing listened to her daughter's chatter happily, and asked, "Did you buy it for your in-laws?"
"I bought it. I have everything. Your daughter is not stupid."
So, Tian Hongxing put the clothes away carefully, sat down with Zhenzhu in his arms, and then took Guoguo in his arms lovingly. It was the first time for him to see the two little ones from the old family.
Chengcheng is a cute, chubby little boy, but he just won't let him hold him.
The two little sisters look alike and have a good relationship. They are not uncomfortable being held by their grandfather. They miss him very much during the days they have been apart. Their little heads are close together, chattering about their own topics.
".We've seen the family, and will go back to my in-laws later. They're definitely looking forward to it." After chatting with his daughter and son-in-law for a while, although Tian Hongxing was reluctant to let them go, he was not unreasonable. He was already very happy that the children came back to see him first.
Thinking of this, Tian Hongxing couldn't help but say to the two of them: "We should go back there first."
Chen Gang smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, Dad. We are all family. It doesn't matter which place we go back to first. Besides, aren't we going to kowtow to the children's great-grandfather? We should come here first."
In fact, before returning, Chen Gang had already discussed this matter with his parents. They all understood that the dead are the most important.
Hearing this, Tian Hongxing's smile faltered. Thinking of his parents' tragic death, he still felt bad. After a while, he sighed, "You are so thoughtful. How about I take you there now? After you kowtow, I will ask Lu Hui to take you back. You can still make it in time for dinner."
This time Chen Gang did not refuse.
When they set off, Tian Hongxing asked Guoguo and Chengcheng to stay.
Although the four olds were being destroyed these days, he himself was not superstitious, but he always wanted to protect the younger ones a little more, fearing that he would scare the children if he went to the cemetery.
As for Luan Hongmei and Tian Changqing, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention them much.
After the eldest sister and the others went to visit the grave, Tian Mi and Lou Luhui took the children back to the bedroom.
The four little crazy kids took off their shoes and laughed and made noise on the bed, sometimes even stacking on top of each other, which made the couple very upset.
It was also at this time that Tian Mi heard from her husband that they had caught a suspicious person and would stay in the county town to watch the eagle at night and might not be able to make it back in time.
She didn't expect that something like this would happen when her husband went to pick someone up. She immediately frowned and asked, "What exactly happened? Tell me about it."
Lou Luhui sat on the edge of the bed to prevent the children who were playing wildly on the bed from rolling down. He did not hide anything from his wife and told her the whole story.
After listening to her husband's narration, Tian Mi frowned and asked, "Have you told Dad about this?"
This dad refers to my father-in-law Lou Zhan.
"I told you, Dad has already identified the person. Maybe we can find out who the person is after we go back."
Hearing this, Tian Mi felt relieved: "That's good, otherwise I would always be worried."
"I'm sorry." Lou Luhui kissed his wife's forehead and said apologetically.
Tian Mi patted her husband and said, "The children are here." Zhenzhu is a talkative girl who talks a lot. Now that the little ones are here, she basically won't let her husband do anything intimate with her.
Hearing this, Lou Luhui raised his hands to cover his face and sighed, "You're right, our little girl is just a leaky little cotton jacket, she has delayed so many good things for me."
Tian Mi was speechless and didn't bother to pay attention to him. This man was thinking about that thing all day long. But after complaining, she sighed: "Luckily this time, Fourth Sister has a sharp eye."
"Not only that, that girl's mouth is even sharper, like a knife." The man in a bad mood complained.
"It's better for girls to be stronger so that they won't be bullied in the future." Sitting on the bed was uncomfortable, so Tian Mi took off her shoes and got on the bed.
"Who dares to bully her? You don't know, I think Wan Jia and that young man are also smart, but when facing the fourth girl, they are defeated by each other and are clearly being used." At this point, Lou Luhui said with a smile: "You don't know how powerful our fourth sister's mouth and face are."
"What's the matter?"
"Didn't I take her and Xiao Wan with me to pick them up? When we picked them up, when my eldest sister asked the fourth girl who Xiao Wan was, guess what that girl said?"
Although he was not sure, Tian Mi could guess it based on his understanding of his fourth sister.
The fact was indeed just as she had guessed. The little girl directly introduced Wan Jiayu to her eldest sister and brother-in-law as their future fourth brother-in-law.
To this day, Lou Luhui still remembers the shocked expressions on Old Chen and his eldest sister's faces.
so funny.
You know what, after listening to her husband's retelling, Tian Mi imagined the scene and found it funny too.
I could even imagine my elder sister beating someone with a feather duster.
The reason why he didn't do anything now is probably because he is still a little unfamiliar with the fourth girl.
Once we get more familiar with each other, we'll just wait and see. I'll definitely punish her, just like I've punished myself countless times before.
The cemetery was located on a slope two miles away from the village.
Most of the deceased members of the Tian family were buried here. It is said that a fortune teller had looked it up a few years ago and it was a Feng Shui treasured land.
Tian Hongxing led her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, and met many villagers who greeted them or came up to chat along the way.
In addition, it had just rained and the road was muddy. We stopped and started many times and it took us more than half an hour to reach our destination.
After bowing to the old man and the old lady, on the way back, Tian Hongxing asked the third girl who followed him: "You are going to leave the day after tomorrow, right? Do you want to hold the engagement party at home?"
"Engagement?" Tian Yu was surprised. Although she had heard from her second sister that Commander Wang's son wanted to date her third sister, she didn't know that the two had already started discussing marriage.
Thinking of this, she and her husband looked at each other and saw smiles in each other's eyes. If Wang Lu got the news, she didn't know how happy he would be.
"Yes, you and your son-in-law don't know yet, right? The third girl is dating that kid Lin Kun." Tian Hongxing had a smile on her face when she said this, and it was obvious that she was very satisfied with her prospective son-in-law.
Tian Xin was naturally shy, especially when it came to dating. Now that everyone was staring at her, her face turned red: "Is it too early to get engaged?"
They were just starting out, and she hadn't gotten used to her new identity yet. Whenever she met Wang Linkun's eyes these past two days, she felt like she was in the clouds, with her feet soft and unreal.
Tian Hongxing sighed, "Dad is not rushing you, I just feel that if you continue to go to the army, I don't know how long it will take you to come home. I will definitely not be able to see you get married, so I want to arrange the marriage at home, so that I can feel at ease."
After saying this, he raised his hand and patted his daughter's head gently: "However, this is not the most important reason. The main reason is that you decided to get married after you turn 20, so it will take at least half a year. During this period, it is better to get engaged so that you can have a good status. Otherwise, if you don't get married for a long time, people will talk about you. In this day and age, rumors can kill people."
Another thing is, if they get engaged, the future third son-in-law will be able to kowtow to the old man and his family before leaving. However, this is his own selfish desire and there is no need to say it out loud to add pressure to the children.
Tian Xin is not afraid of rumors. She is basically the type of person who just lives her own life. She is too busy with her studies, and as long as others don't say anything to her face, she won't hear it at all.
Besides, the overall environment in the army is relatively safe and clean, and few people would talk nonsense.
But her father was right. Her eldest sister only came home once every 11 years, and her father did not see her second sister’s wedding. She did not know what her fourth sister would be like in the future, or whether she would hold her wedding in her hometown, so she should consider her father’s feelings.
Especially the death of her grandparents was a huge blow to her father. Her engagement could at least make him feel better.
Thinking of this, Tian Xin had already made a decision in her heart, but she didn't rush to say it. She had to discuss this matter with Wang Linkun first.
When Lou Luhui left with his eldest sister's family, he took Wan Jia and the young boy with him.
After his father took the twins to his third uncle's house to discuss military enlistment, Tian Mi also prepared to start cooking dinner.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Tian Mi asked with a smile when she saw that her third sister frowned even when picking vegetables.
Tian Xue interrupted: "What else could it be? It's because of love."
Tian Mi rolled her eyes at her and pointed at the fish in the bucket: "You are everywhere, go kill the fish."
Tian Xue frowned at her sister, then took the fish to the well outside to clean it up.
Seeing her fourth sister go out mumbling, Tian Xin pursed her lips in amusement and told her second sister about her father's suggestion of engagement.
Tian Mi thought it was still fast, but in this era, it was considered normal speed, and there were even faster ones: "What do you think? Don't consider any external factors, just consider Wang Linkun as a person. Are you willing to get engaged?"
".I am willing." Tian Xin really thought about it seriously.
"Go and tell him if you're willing." When it comes to love, as long as you're willing, there's no need for others to get involved. Of course, the prerequisite is that the man has good character.
Tian Xin paused and said, "Now?"
"Go ahead, and ask Xiangyang to come and light the fire for me."
So the next day.
When Lou Luhui stayed up all night and brought his eldest sister's family back, he heard about his third sister's engagement that day.
"Why are you engaged suddenly?" the man asked curiously after eating a bowl of noodles, washing up, and being pressed by his wife on the bed to catch up on his sleep.
Tian Mi then told his father his idea.
Lou Luhui sighed: "That's right. It's not easy for Dad either. How about we hold another wedding banquet at home? Make Dad happy?" At the end, he was really eager to do it.
"Go to sleep quickly. I'm busy." Tian Mi has learned to ignore her husband's occasional 'romantic' thoughts. After rolling her eyes at him, she prepared to go out and help.
The engagement party was at noon. Although only family members, a few elderly uncles, and village cadres came together, we had to set up two tables.
Lou Luhui sat up: "I'll go help you."
"No need. We have enough manpower. Wait until you have a good sleep and then tell me what happened with the questions I asked last night. As for you, just go to sleep now." Tian Mi pushed her husband back onto the bed, leaned over and kissed his narrow eyes before leaving.
Wedding banquets in the 1970s advocated keeping everything simple, and engagement banquets were even simpler.
The entire wedding banquet was nothing special except for the dishes on the table.
Well, that’s not the case.
Perhaps the most special thing is that after a banquet and drinking half a catty of wine, Tian Hongxing's laughter could almost blow the roof off, and he felt very proud and happy.
On the contrary, the uncles and village cadres who came to eat were so envious and jealous of Tian Hongxing's three outstanding sons-in-law that one wave after another.
Such a blessed girl gave birth to a son.
I still remember that the Tian family gave birth to four daughters in a row. Although they were not laughed at for being extinct, they were still talked about by others.
Who could have thought that twenty years later, each girl would be more capable than the other.
Who says girls are bound to lose money
Look at the clothes and shoes Brother Tian is wearing, they were all bought by his daughter.
Looking at the wine and cigarettes on the table, they were also the best things they had ever seen.
All of them were brought back by the three sons-in-law. I’m so envious.
So, the elderly uncles were fine, but several village cadres who were about the same age as Tian Hongxing, or even younger, were jealous and raised their glasses to flatter and pour wine.
Although the sons-in-law did not like this kind of socializing, they all cooperated patiently in order to satisfy their old husbands' vanity which only occurred once every few years.
In the end, one of today's protagonists, Wang Linkun, who successfully became the son-in-law of the Tian family and had a formal status, was drunk, which ended this lively engagement party.
The third sister is getting engaged today, and the other three sisters told her to just look pretty.
So most of the kitchen work was done by the three sisters, although Xiang Yang and brothers Chen Xun and Chen Zhao also helped.
But it is not easy to prepare two large tables of dishes.
"Did you get any useful information yesterday?" After the wedding banquet, Tian Mi lazily lay on the bed, asking her husband to press her shoulders. She finally had time to care about what happened yesterday.
Lou Luhui pinched his wife's back skillfully: "Well, the man's name is Qian Shun. He said he would do the job for money, but the look in his eyes when he looked at me was full of hatred. I don't think it's that simple."
"Whose money are you using to do this?" Tian Mi turned his head and asked.
When this was mentioned, Lou Luhui sneered: "It was Mr. Zeng, Chief of Staff Zeng."
"Not him?" Tian Mi remembered Mr. Zeng. He loved his two children very much. When he was in Beijing, he came over almost every day to play with the children. Her father-in-law said that every time he finished playing with the children, he would go home and call and scold his son. Mr. Zeng had a good relationship with his father, so Tian Mi didn't quite believe it was him.
Lou Lu replied confidently: "No, Qian Shun's explanation made me more certain about the direction."
"What direction?"
"Qian Shun directed his spearhead towards Mr. Zeng, clearly intending to cause an internal fight between our two families. The commander of the military region and the chief of staff are not on good terms, and what the other party is after is not simple hatred. There must be other forces taking the opportunity to get involved." Be it in politics or the military, everyone has opponents.
Tian Mi sat up and said, "You mean someone found the culprit before us, and then teamed up with that person to sow discord. If Dad and Zeng Lao really target us, they can take advantage of the situation, right?"
Lou Luhui turned his wife around and continued to massage her shoulders: "Not bad, Tiantian is really smart."
"Could it be an enemy spy?" Tian Mi continued to think divergently. Even if she only knew a little about this era, she knew that spies were not very uncommon at that time.
"No, at my father's level, there can't be spies. At most, it's a fight between factions, and it's easy to guess what their plan is. They won't take the initiative to kill, but they don't mind helping out a little when the person takes action, such as cleaning up the mess or adding fuel to the fire. Otherwise, they wouldn't hide so deeply under my father's nose." Having said this, Lou Lu couldn't help but look back and his expression darkened again. He was very disgusted with those so-called people who were only concerned with fighting for power and had no bottom line.
Tian Mi didn't like this either. Was he just watching the show and not losing out whether the other party succeeded or not? Not only were they scheming against each other, but they were also involved in a murder case: "Do you have a target?"
"Well, before I came back this morning, I talked to my dad on the phone, and he has already decided on the candidate."
This was really unexpected and surprising. Tian Mi was stunned for a long time before she was sure that she had heard it correctly. She turned around and looked at her husband: "Who is it?"
"She is Deputy Commander Chen's wife." Speaking of Chen, Lou Lu's face was indifferent, without any respect as he had shown when he mentioned Zeng before.
Deputy Commander Chen? It seemed that on the day they first arrived in Beijing, Deputy Commander Chen and Deputy Commander Han were waiting at the door with Mr. Zeng.
As for the appearance of Mr. Chen's wife, Tian Mi recalled it carefully in his mind.
It seemed that apart from being very young and having a huge age gap with Deputy Commander Chen, there was no special impression of her. She had only appeared once.
However, their nanny often comes to play with Aunt Gu at home.
But what about her motive? "Tell me more about it."
"It's not easy to talk about this over the phone. I'll ask Dad about it in detail after I return to Beijing. But at this point, I can probably guess the whole story."
Now, Tian Mi became even more curious and urged, "Tell me quickly."
Lou Luhui simply took off his shoes and lay down with his wife in his arms: "Deputy Commander Chen had a wife before, and this one is his later wife. The age difference between the two is about 20 years."
As soon as her husband started talking, Tian Mi started to imagine what would happen next. She originally felt a little sympathetic towards the serious-looking Deputy Commander Chen. If his wife was really the mastermind behind his repeated attacks on her husband, then even if she failed, his military career would be ruined.
However, all the sympathy turned into disgust when she heard the husband start like this: "Getting promoted and getting rich means losing your wife. Did you realize in middle age that your previous wife was a matchmaker's arrangement? You were young and didn't understand love at that time. It wasn't until you met your current wife that you knew what true love was?"
"Pfft, that's right but not entirely." Lou Luhui was amused by his wife's tone, and before she could ask again, he continued, "Deputy Commander Chen married a wife with a good family background in his early years. He was able to climb to the position of brigade commander at the age of 40, not because of his outstanding ability, but because of his father-in-law. Later, within two years of his father-in-law's death, his previous wife also passed away. It was said that she was in poor health. In fact, these are not bad. The most criticized thing is that the previous wife who was very kind to him passed away less than two months later, and the later wife who was one year younger than his son was married. Then, he gave birth to a daughter 7 months later, and told the public that it was a premature baby."
As for Deputy Commander Chen, he has been serving as deputy commander for nearly twenty years after his father-in-law passed away. Now that he is about to retire, he still cannot be promoted. Who knows whether this is due to his lack of personal ability or his substandard political standing
Hey~ Tian Mi was even more disgusted. That is to say, before his ex-wife died, he had already gotten together with the woman he married later. And because they had a child, he had to marry her within two months despite the gossip of others: "Disgusting! Why didn't anyone report it?"
"Who will report it? That happened nearly 20 years ago, and there's no evidence. In fact, this kind of situation was very common back then. No one cared about divorcing the original wife and marrying a young and beautiful wife. If it happened in the past two years, they definitely wouldn't be so comfortable."
Because of this, over the years, my father has looked down on Deputy Commander Chen from the bottom of his heart, always thinking that he is too hypocritical.
It was rare that he gossiped with them in private, saying that if Deputy Commander Chen's later wife had not given birth to only a daughter, he might have dropped out of school to take care of his eldest son left by his ex-wife.
"What about the eldest son that Deputy Commander Chen had with his ex-wife?" Tian Mi liked the satisfying plot of exciting novels. Seeing that the retribution for the evildoers was about to come, she was naturally curious about the current situation of her ex-wife's child and hoped that he was doing well.
Speaking of him, Lou Luhui chuckled: "Brother Ling did not join the army, he joined the political field, he has good abilities, plus the connections left by his grandfather, he is only in his forties, but he has already become a deputy provincial and ministerial level official, his future is limitless."
This is the correct route for a cool novel. Tian Mi felt relieved and then asked, "You haven't mentioned the girl that Deputy Commander Chen married in the end. Why are you targeting you?"
(End of this chapter)