It takes twelve hours to drive from Beijing to Qingzhou. Xia Shao didn't leave school until nearly ten o'clock in the morning. Chatting and joking with friends on the way was not boring, but when she returned to Dongshi, it was almost ten o'clock at night.
Xia Shao called her parents and told her to take Zhou Mingxu back to Shili Village and then go home, and pick up his grandparents on the way. At ten o'clock in the evening, according to the habits of the villagers, most people should rest at this time, but the street lights at the entrance of the village are on. When Xia Shao's car drove by, she saw a large group of people standing under the telephone pole. When they saw a car approaching from a distance, they all waved their hands.
Zhou Mingxu was stunned in the car. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, scratched his head and smiled bitterly: "This is too exaggerated... Why do you make it look like you are greeting the leader?"
When he was mumbling, the car had stopped at the entrance of the village. As soon as Xia Shao got out of the car, the village elder Wang Shudang held his hand first. His hands were shaking with excitement and he couldn't help but say: "Oh, Xiao Shao is back! This time My kid has a lot of potential!"
Xia Shao originally thought that the villagers came out to greet her because she and Zhou Mingxu came back from Beijing University. Although this was a bit exaggerated, Shili Village suddenly produced two students from Beijing University this year, which was indeed very honorable for the village. Well, it is not impossible to engage in such a big battle. However, now it seems that it is not because of this. spiritual realm
"Isn't it! In our village, an entrepreneur should be very impressive! This child, if he studies well, can marry into the old chairman's family! In the past, some people said that the old Xia family burned high incense in his previous life , let’s see now, maybe the land in our village is good, and a noble person will come from it!” At this time, an aunt in the village said, it was a cold winter day, she was well-dressed, her cheeks were red from the cold under the street lamp, But his eyes were filled with joy and envy.
The villagers agreed and praised him all the time. Xia Shao lowered his eyes and frowned without trace. The capital and Qing Province are thousands of miles apart. People in the capital are naturally well-informed about her and Xu Tianyin's affairs. Here in Qing Province, people in the upper circles must also have information channels. But how did the young and old in the village know
The affair between Xia Shao and Xu Tianyin started with a proposal from Capital University. This matter was posted online, and Xia Zhiyuan saw it the next day. It is conceivable that there must be a lot of people seeing it here in Dongshi. It has been almost half a year, so it is not impossible that the news has spread to the ears of people in the village. But what Xia Shao cares about is that the villagers seem to think that she will definitely marry into the Xu family.
Although Xia Shao knew whether she would marry into the Xu family, after all, she and Xu Tianyin were not even engaged, let alone getting married. In the words of the elders, it is nameless. In this case, this fight made it seem like she had married into the Xu family, which naturally made Xia Shao unhappy, who had always been low-key. Moreover, if the whole village is like this, what will happen to Dongshi? How were your parents treated during this time
Even if the marriage between Xia Shao and Xu Tianyin is a certainty, Xia Shao has to think about her parents' reputation. She doesn't want her family to be said to be royal relatives before they get married! Moreover, this is not a good reputation for Mr. Xu. The old man has been honest throughout his life and is still loved and respected by the people. His future granddaughter-in-law returns to her hometown in the winter of the twelfth lunar month and has the villagers and young people in the village greet her at the entrance of the village? What is this!
Xia Shao was unhappy, but she didn't show it too much. She just said: "Uncle Wang, why did you call the young and old in the village out on such a cold day? Let everyone go back and rest. I will come back to visit all uncles another day. Auntie."
The villagers hurriedly said it was okay, but Xia Shao frowned again. The elders and children in the village have all come out. Is this okay? What should I do if I catch a cold and get sick
At this time, Zhou Mingxu had already taken the things he bought out of the car, and Zhou Wang and his wife had already talked to their son with a smile. Aunt Zhou said to her son: "You're such a big boy! You came back in Xiaoshao's car! How dare you sit in it!"
Zhou Mingxu smiled bitterly and scratched his head, "Why don't you dare to sit in your friend's car?"
Aunt Zhou glared at her son, but there was a proud smile in her eyes. Not only did he think it was very honorable for his son to ride back in Xia Shao's car, but also because when his son was a child, he was not the smartest among the children in the village, and was even stupid. The elders in the village say that this child is not very clever in what he does and may not be promising when he grows up, but what about now? Among the children born and raised in the village, my son is the most promising! Although the son of the old Du family and the daughter of the old Liu family were both admitted to college, their schools were not as good as Zhou Mingxu's. Moreover, it has been a year and a half since Du Ping went to the capital to study at university and he has never come back during the holidays. Although Lao Du's family said he was studying in the capital on a work-study basis, there were already rumors in the village. No matter how hard you work and study, forget about the summer vacation. Can you come back to see your parents during the Chinese New Year? Someone asked Du Ping early this year whether he would come back to celebrate the New Year, and the old Du family didn't have an accurate answer.
Looking at the things her son bought for her and her husband in the capital, and then looking at Lao Du and his wife standing at the end of the crowd with no expression on their faces, Aunt Zhou suddenly sighed. At this time, Old Uncle Wang had already begun to greet everyone to go home. The villagers chatted a few more words with Xia Shao, and then they went back to their homes in three steps. As they left, they saw Zhou Wang and his wife carrying a Then he praised Zhou Mingxu enviously, and his voice quickly faded away.
Xia Shao left the village elder Uncle Wang behind. The two of them seemed to be talking to each other. This made some people look back at the entrance of the village from a distance, very curious, but because they were far away, they could not hear what the two were talking about. .
At the entrance of the village, Old Uncle Wang smiled nonchalantly and said, "Hey! Look at what you kid said. You were raised by the people in our village and it was all of our own initiative to come out to greet you. Don't feel bad about it!"
spontaneous? Xia Shao frowned and saw that although Old Uncle Wang was smiling, his eyes were a little dodgey.
"Uncle Wang, you are always a good village chief in my heart. You have done a lot of practical things for the village. I didn't know that you always like to engage in formalism and organize the elderly and children in the village to go to the village head at night. Let the cold wind blow." No matter how spontaneous the villagers are, who doesn't feel sorry for the elderly and children at home? Xia Shao's face immediately darkened, "If you don't tell the truth, I will leave."
After saying that, Xia Shao turned around and got in the car.
When Old Uncle Wang saw that Xia Shao was really unhappy, he quickly pulled her back and hesitated for a long time before telling the truth, "Oh! Xiao Shao, this matter... actually has nothing to do with you, Old Uncle Wang." The matter is actually arranged by the superiors. Your old Uncle Wang is a village official, no matter how big or small a sesame or a mung bean is. Your Uncle Wang is still the section chief of the Cadastral Section of the Bureau of Land and Resources. If we don’t follow the instructions from the superiors, what will happen to you, Wang? Uncle is not good either."
"What's going on?" Xia Shao asked.
"Speaking of which, it's all because of your stubborn grandpa!" Uncle Wang started to speak, which made Xia Shao stunned. "Two days ago, two city government staff came to the village and approached your grandpa, saying they were giving him money. He arranged things for retired veteran cadres. When he was young, didn't he have a bad temper and offend people, so they didn't give him the treatment of a retired soldier? Now he has been given the treatment of a retired veteran cadre and personally visited him to give it to him. He has a good temper. You still stink so much that you had to scold me! The whole village, old and young, watched the excitement. Alas! I guess those officials also knew that you were promising and were going to marry into the old chairman’s family, so they thought of getting rid of this matter. Okay, but your grandpa just won't accept it. He scolds me every time he comes. Those people from the government probably came to me in order to complete the task. The idea was theirs, and I can't do anything about it." Spiritual Realm
Xia Shao frowned after hearing this, these officials!
Seeing that Xia Shao was unhappy, Old Uncle Wang sighed, "Oh! Xiao Shao, those people who go to the countryside to work at the grassroots level are just trying to make ends meet. Although this idea is wrong, it might also be the intention of the superiors. This In these days, the official level is crushing people to death, and there is nothing they can do about it. Calm down your anger, go back and persuade your grandfather, and he should accept the treatment given to him. "
"I understand, Uncle Wang. Thank you for telling me. Just get in the car and I will take you home." Xia Shao said.
The thing was like this, although Xia Shao didn't like this arrangement, she was a little relieved. She originally thought that the incident in the village was because they knew that Xu Tianyin was coming to the Xia family for a formal visit during the Chinese New Year. Only her own family members knew about this matter. Xia Shao knew her parents' temperaments and they would never show off, but the same could not be said for her uncles and aunts. Again, Xia Shao didn't want her parents to be said to be the family members of the country's leaders before their daughter was married. So, since it wasn't her uncle Xia Zhitao or her aunt Xia Zhimei who made it public, it would be best. She thought they really couldn't remember their lessons and became restless again.
Since it wasn't, Xia Shao was at least relieved. As for those who are officials, it is naturally easy to handle.
When Uncle Wang heard that Xia Shao was going to drive him back, he was immediately flattered and said no. Xia Shao said she was going to pick up her grandparents and happened to be on her way, so Uncle Wang hesitated and got in the car. Before getting in the car, he looked at the muddy soles of his shoes. Seeing that Xia Shao didn't care, he got into the car uneasily.
Xia Guoxi and Jiang Shuhui just received a call from their son and daughter-in-law, saying that Xia Shao was back and would pick them up soon. The two old men originally planned to go to sleep, but then they quickly got up to tidy up. Xia Shao's car was parked at the door. When they entered the house, Jiang Shuhui had just packed a few clothes.
"Grandma, I'm back!" Xia Shao walked in with a smile on her face.
When Jiang Shuhui saw her granddaughter coming back, a loving smile suddenly appeared on the old man's face. He came over and looked her over first, then nodded, "She's not too thin this time. It seems like the food at the old chairman's house is delicious."
Xia Shao smiled immediately, then looked at Xia Guoxi, nodded and said, "Grandpa."
"Okay, okay. Just come back." Xia Guoxi still felt guilty for Xia Shao. It was not natural to see her, but it could be seen that he was still happy to see his granddaughter. However, the old man looked more like he had a lot to ask and just packed his things and was about to go out, so he endured it.
Xia Shao didn't ask about the government staff coming to see the elderly. Dang even went out with her grandparents, put the two elderly people in the car, and then drove out of the village.
…
Dongshi, Taoyuan District.
Li Juan kept looking out at home, not listening to her mumbling, "Why haven't you come back yet? Lao Xia, do you think my daughter is tired from driving for a day and something happened on the road?"
Xia Zhiyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He sat in the warm and bright living room, drinking hot tea and saying nothing. If he opens his mouth, his wife is sure to say a lot more.
But he didn't speak. Li Juan turned around and saw the tea he was drinking, and immediately said: "Don't drink it! Don't drink it! That's for my daughter!"
Xia Zhiyuan suddenly became speechless, smiled bitterly, and put down the tea cup - okay! Before his daughter even entered the house, his status in the family had already begun to plummet.
"Can't she just make it again when she comes back?" Xia Zhiyuan muttered with a smile, but after he finished speaking, he knew that he was talking too fast.
Sure enough, Li Juan turned around and said: "As a father, you just don't know how to feel sorry for your daughter. She has been driving all day. In this cold day, it is much better to drink hot tea and warm up as soon as you enter the house. Okay? Make it again? Then you can’t drink it until later?”
"Why do you have to wait a while? If you add a pot of hot water, can you drink the tea?"
"Wouldn't adding hot water make the tea weak? Your daughter is picky about the tea. It's not like you don't know. By then she will find it tastes bad." Lingyu
Xia Zhiyuan chuckled and thought he should shut up. Anyway, when it comes to children, the mother always makes sense.
While the couple was talking, Xia Shao helped the two old people into the yard. She has a good ear and can hear her parents mumbling from afar. Xia Shao smiled and narrowed her eyes, full of warmth, and said from afar: "Dad, Mom, what are you planning for me? I sneezed several times on the way."
When Xia Zhiyuan heard this, he immediately stood up from the sofa. However, Li Juan, who was standing at the door, ran out the moment she heard her daughter's voice. At the door, the mother and daughter hugged happily. Li Juan looked her daughter up and down, and then she noticed that the two old people were also nearby. She was immediately embarrassed and helped the old people into the house.
After arriving in the room and sitting down, she greeted her parents. As soon as Xia Shao took the hot tea that Li Juan pushed over her, she turned around and was nagging.
"It's not what Mom said about you, you kid is too capable! You didn't say anything in advance about driving home! Your dad and I thought you were coming back by plane. How great would it be if you came back by plane? It would be useful Why did you get home so late? You have been driving for more than ten hours on the road, so you are not afraid of being tired. Didn’t you read what the TV and newspapers said? How many accidents happened due to fatigue driving? You are not allowed to drive next time, do you hear me?"
Li Juan babbled a lot of stories, Xia Shao held the tea cup, and before taking a sip of the hot tea, she put on a bitter smile on her lips, "Mom, if you listen to what is in the newspapers and TV, then no means of transportation are really safe. Yes. Planes and trains all have accidents."
"Xiao Shao is right." Xia Zhiyuan agreed. After he finished agreeing, he noticed that his wife was staring at the father and daughter. He immediately put on a serious face and looked at his daughter, "But your mother's worries are justified. The driving time is too long. You will get tired, and if you are tired, something will happen easily, and that’s right.”
Li Juan then let her husband go, took a look outside, and came back and said, "Hey! Did you buy a new car? You kid, you have a car at home and a car in Hong Kong, and you went to school and bought another one. You're just spending money indiscriminately." Money!" After saying that, he frowned and thought for a while, "When you go back to school, ask your dad to take you back. Both of you, father and daughter, can drive, so you can alternate between the two of you, so you won't be tired."
"No need. Senior brother is here to pay New Year greetings. When we go back, we will go back together and let him drive. There is no need for dad to see me off." Xia Shao said.
Li Juan was stunned, and the two old people who were drinking tea and watching a movie on the sofa were also stunned after entering the room. Although Xia Shao had called back to tell them, until now, they still feel that this is like a dream! Mr. Xu's grandson is coming to the Xia family to meet his elders? Is it true that the old Xia family is getting married to the founding father's family
Compared to Xia Zhiyuan and Li Juan, who had already gone to the capital to meet Xu Tianyin after the proposal, Xia Guoxi was the most excited and the one who couldn't believe it! Mr. Xu, during the Anti-Japanese War, that was his leader! He has a bad impression of today's officials, but the only old man he respects is Mr. Xu. Although he dreamed of seeing his leader again before stepping into the coffin, Xia Guoxi also knew that Mr. Xu was now the leader of the country, and not everyone could see him if he wanted to. At that time, because of his stubborn temper, he offended others, and after he was discharged from the army, he was not given a job in the city. Some of the military cadres who retired with him had laughed at him for who knows how many years. Their children were all children of cadres, their jobs were well arranged, and their families were wealthy. Only I have lived in the countryside for half my life, and my children are all workers, so their lives are not as good as others. But I didn't expect that the old Xia family would undergo such earth-shaking changes because of this granddaughter! Those old guys who usually look down on themselves, despite being treated as retired officers, are already visited by government officials every year. But now, he will actually marry Mr. Xu
Is this a dream
But compared to Xia Guo, who was as happy as in a dream, Xia Zhiyuan was unhappy.
This time he was really unhappy. He stared, raised his voice, and looked at his daughter, "What? Is that guy better at driving than your dad? He has only been driving for a few years! Your dad has been an experienced driver for many years. !”
Li Juan chuckled and quickly winked at her daughter. Xia Shao reluctantly put down the tea cup and quickly explained, "Dad, why are you obedient and not listening to the important point? Your daughter obviously feels sorry for you. You drive me to school, and you have to fly back. You are old, and I am not Don’t you want to have to go back and forth on the road?”
"Really? I've seen girls who are outgoing! Before they get married, their elbows are turned outward, and they don't like your father anymore." Xia Zhiyuan snorted.
Xia Shao smiled bitterly, stood up quickly, went to the back of the sofa to squeeze his father's shoulders, and for the first time acted like a fool, "I'm just such a dad, who can compare to me? No one can compare to me!"
Xia Shao's temperament is well known to her family. She is not calm and calm like a girl of her age. Although she is usually filial, she is often unreasonable to her parents. She doesn't act coquettishly often, and it's rare to hear such words. Li Juan laughed first, but Xia Zhiyuan couldn't hold it in for long and finally laughed too.