Myna. Xin. Wei was shocked, thinking that some kind of family feud would happen, but in fact, nothing happened. The next day, her father invited the shop owner and his two families to dinner.
Wei Xin still remembers these two shopkeepers, because she often went there to pick out fabrics for clothes when she was a child, and she can still recognize them. But Shopkeeper Zhao and Shopkeeper Li couldn't recognize her. Wei Xin was only four or five years old at that time, and now they are all grown-up girls. Mrs. Li said bluntly, "Miss Xin's appearance is completely different from when our eldest aunt was a girl."
Wei Jin touched his niece's head and smiled, "Everyone says that. But this girl is taller than me. I said she is as tall as a bamboo pole."
Mrs. Zhao took the tea brought by the waiter, and handed one cup to Mrs. Wei first, and the second cup to Wei Jin. She smiled and said, "Miss Xin is still growing taller. I think she still has a lot of growth to go."
Wei Xin, a girl who has no sense of modesty, followed up by saying, "I think I am at least 1.70cm tall."
Wei Jin didn't know how tall 170cm was, but it wasn't a bad thing for his niece to grow taller. Wei Jin smiled and said, "It's because they eat beef abroad. I heard that those foreigners eat beef three times a day, so they grow taller."
Here, Wei Jin, Old Lady Wei, Wei Xin, Mrs. Zhao, and Mrs. Li were chatting, while over there, Shopkeeper Sun Yan and Little Li were particularly happy to see Wei Nian, Chen Xuan, and Wei Yin. Sun Yan was always quick-witted, but now she was holding Chen Xuan and Wei Yin's hands, but she didn't know what to say for a moment, and said, "I heard the other day that the first and second bosses were back, and I wanted to go over. My husband said that it would take more than half a month to go back to China by boat, and then we would have to take a train back to Beijing in Shanghai. I thought that was the reason, and you should have a good rest for two days after the long journey, so I didn't go over. Alas, the two bosses still look the same as before, but there is something I can't describe."
Shopkeeper Li was holding the child and laughing, "The first boss now feels like those learned gentlemen in the university. The second boss is more handsome than those stars in the movies, and has more style."
"Yes, yes, that's what I mean."
Wei Yin is the kind of person whose beauty cannot be concealed even by plain clothes, and now she is even more outstanding. Chen Xuan has always dressed simply. She is 36 years old, and it is time for her to gain weight. However, it may be because of the tight workload in college. Chen Xuan has been studying and raising children at the same time. Although she has the help of Mrs. Wei and Brother Nian, Chen Xuan has to put in a lot of effort as a mother. In addition to the usual research projects, Chen Xuan has not shown any signs of gaining weight and is still thin. Because she has to take care of the four children, she wears ordinary jeans and T-shirts. Perhaps because she is full of poetry and books, and has been in school all these years, Chen Xuan still has a student spirit. She looks younger than her actual age, but she also has a scholarly temperament. Chen Xuan was very happy to see him and his wife, and pulled Sun Yan to sit down, "You are still the same, but Xiao Li has a beard, which makes him look older."
Everyone took their seats, and Wei Yin said, "Don't call me host or not. Ah Yan, you are a few years younger than us, so just call me second sister-in-law or second sister."
Sun Yan laughed, "I'm used to calling you that, and I'm not used to changing my name."
I haven't seen you for ten years, and you're like kids now.
Sun Yan and Shopkeeper Xiao Li are already the parents of four children. Even Shopkeeper Xiao Li's younger brother, Shopkeeper Li Er, has married Shopkeeper Zhao's daughter, Zhao Daya, and has become a parent. He already has two children. Together with Shopkeeper Zhao's children and grandchildren, the house is bustling with activity.
Sun Yan put a bib on her son and talked about the past few years. She said, "During the Japanese occupation, business was not as good as before, but it was still okay. It was just that it was difficult to make any major progress. Now that the Japanese devils are gone, everyone wants to get involved. The country is still not peaceful, so we think we should wait and see."
Shopkeeper Xiao Li said, "I heard that the first boss and the second master are both doctors, and the second boss is also a master. Oh, this is too glorious. There are not many teachers with doctors in universities nowadays."
Sun Yan asked, "Master, can you be a professor at a university now?"
"That's for sure." Shopkeeper Li looked confident.
Wei Nian heated his wife's cups, saucers and teacups. He didn't care about his diploma. He always thought that he was a businessman after all. However, he was very proud of his wife's achievements. He said, "When it comes to business, your boss is not as good as me and Ah Yin. When it comes to schoolwork, we are not as good as your boss. She is currently doing postdoctoral research at the university. She will stay at the university to teach or do research in the future."
Sun Yan and Xiao Li, the shopkeeper, both thought this was really amazing. Not to mention being a university professor, even if Miss Yun was teaching in a middle school, it would be a very respectable and affordable job. Sun Yan couldn't help but ask, "Second Master, is it expensive to study abroad?"
"That's different. Public schools abroad, from kindergarten to high school, are not expensive, but the fees of better private schools are still quite high." Wei Nian talked to the couple about the tuition fees of the children in the family, and then said, "When it comes to college entrance examinations, it's almost the same as in China. The better the university, the harder it is to get in. However, as long as you have excellent grades, there are scholarships in college, and you can also earn money part-time, and the same is true for master's and doctoral students. For example, when we took the college entrance examination, we paid for our own studies, and when we passed the master's and doctoral examinations, we received scholarships, so the pressure was not that great."
Sun Yan said sincerely, "I used to think that studying was not very useful. These years, I feel that if a foolish person studies for a lifetime, it is useless. But if a wise person studies, it is really useful. My husband and I are past the age of studying, but we want our children to study for a few more years in the future."
Chen Xuan agreed with what Sun Yan said, "That's right. Anian, you and Xiao Li, you are both smart people. If you have free time, you should read more books. You may not see any difference at first, but after a long time, one, two, three, five years, you will know the difference."
Sun Yan admired Chen Xuan very much and nodded, "I remember what the boss said."
Old Mrs. Wei always said to them, "We finally come out to eat, and now you're talking about school again."
Mrs. Li's children are now also studying in an excellent church school. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Old lady, there are many people studying here, isn't it just about going to school?"
After a while, the waiters brought up the cold dishes and hot dishes. Shopkeeper Li stood up and said, "The old lady, the second master, the second wife, and the second aunt have been abroad for many years. It's rare for us to get together. We have to ask the old lady to say a few words."
Old Mrs. Wei loves to speak. She always has banquets these days. She is particularly careful about her appearance. Today, she wears a lemon yellow floral dress with a watermelon red knitted thin jacket, which is very bright. Since she was asked to speak, she did not refuse. She stood up with a glass of wine and smiled, "I have been abroad for so many years. I have nothing else to do but miss you. Now that I am back, I am happy that we are all doing well in this world with so many disasters. Come, let's raise a toast to peace, cheers!"
Everyone drank the glass of wine and started talking more lively.
It's been ten years since we last met, and there's so much to say.
But like the old lady said, in these troubled times, peace is a blessing.
After a short rest in Beijing, the whole family prepared to return to their hometown to worship their ancestors. This time, not only did the Wei family go back, but also the children of Wei Jin's family took leave and went back together to worship their grandfather. In the words of Mrs. Wei, "After this worship, I don't know when we will be able to do it again." So, no matter how old or young, everyone went back to their hometown together.
This time back home, the road is still not easy to walk on.
However, given the conditions these days, there is nothing to complain about.
Chen Xuan packed up her belongings for the trip back home, and waited until the children were asleep before she said to Wei Nian, "Brother Nian, I thought that when I return home this time, I should also pay tribute to my father."
Wei Nian stretched out his arm and put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and said softly, "I have been thinking about my father-in-law these past two days. I went to my father-in-law's grave when my father's coffin was buried last time, and asked the village chief of Chenjia Village to help take care of it. But we can't always entrust it to others. We are abroad and can't take care of it all the time. I see that in China, people are cremated like monks after their death. What do you think? If we cremate my father-in-law's body and collect it in a jar, we can take it abroad and buy a cemetery for my father-in-law, so that it will be convenient for us to pay tribute to him. I just don't know if you are willing to do that. There are not many cremations here."
Chen Xuan said hurriedly, "I do."
After a pause, she continued, "Here, it's the sons who pay tribute to the dead, and the ones who visit the graves are usually the married daughters. We've been married for so many years, and there have been this and that, and I've never burned paper for him. You see, I don't have any brothers, and my second uncle and second aunt are like that, so how can they bear to burn paper for my father? It's better for him to follow us, and we can bury dad abroad. If he comes back in the future, I will bring him back and bury him nearby. Later, let Ayu remember to burn paper for his grandfather's grave."
Chen Xuan said, "We are just worried that it will be difficult to move. We need to bring more money with us so that we can spend money when the time comes."
"Don't worry about this, I have my own way."
Chen Xuan sighed, "You said my father was so unlucky. If he were alive and saw us living like this, I don't know how happy he would be. He passed away at such a young age that I don't even remember what he looked like."
"Although you don't remember him, people will know him through you." Wei Nian said softly, "Not only you and me, but also the children will know that their grandfather was a gentle and kind person. If you achieve great success in the future and become a figure recorded in books, people in later generations will also mention your family, your parents, husband, and children."
"I am very grateful to my father-in-law. Without him, I would not have you. Without you, I would not have the family and happiness I have now."
Chen Xuan leaned on her husband's shoulder and cried quietly.
The author has something to say: ps: Mr. Chen is really a good person, but his life is too short~ Good night everyone~