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Chapter 677: Chapter 667 Welcome on Both Sides
A few people talked about their hometown on the way, and after about an hour and a bit more, they arrived at Liu Jianjun’s home in Xinghe Village.
Xinghe Village is the closest place to the county town. It takes twice as much time to return to Gaijiatun, and also, Old Li is living here now. Therefore, when Shen Yunfang and her family went back to their hometown, the first place they chose to stay was here.
As they were about to enter the courtyard, several people were already standing at the door waiting.
"You two just carry the kids straight into the house, don’t wake them up. If they get blown by the cold wind and catch a cold, that wouldn’t be good. Your older sister has already tidied up your room, and she’s heated up the kang too," Liu Jianjun instructed after he stopped the horse-drawn carriage and jumped down.
"Okay," Li Hongjun responded without further comment. He carefully held the child sideways in his arms, adjusted the blanket around them, and then picked them up, blanket and all.
"Be careful," he reminded his wife cautiously as they walked inside.
Shen Yunfang, of course, understood what he meant—the hot-water bottle from the bed had already been taken back to the space by her, and now there was nothing in the cart that shouldn’t see the light of day.
Li Xianglian had been waiting at the door early on. Seeing the carriage stop, she didn’t bother with the others and rushed over. When she saw her younger brother carrying the child into the house, she wanted to take over, "Is the child asleep? Give them to me. You’ve been tired from the road; I’ll carry them inside."
Li Hongjun stepped aside slightly, "No need, sister. You go and meet Yunfang." After he spoke, he went inside and said to Old Li at the door, "Dad, I’ll take the children in first," completely ignoring Li Xianghe.
"Second Uncle, come with me, I’ll show you the way," Shuanzi had just been chased into the house by his mother, who told him to stay out of the way and not cause trouble. But with his restless nature, how could he just sit still? There he was, waiting inside the door for his second uncle, and as soon as he saw his second uncle carrying his little brother inside, he quickly scrambled over, offering to show the way.
On the other side, Shen Yunfang followed her husband’s example and picked up Manman sideways. Just as she was about to get off the carriage, Li Xianglian approached, "Here, Yunfang, let me hold the child."
"No need, big sister. The child will wake up if I hand them over. I’d better hold them myself," Shen Yunfang didn’t pass the child to her but said instead, "Big sister, could you help carry the luggage we brought into the house? It’s all on the cart."
"Ah, sure, I’m here. You go on and carry the child inside quickly."
At this point, Old Li and Li Xianghe from the door had already followed Li Hongjun into the house. Shen Yunfang figured she wouldn’t get to experience a welcoming crowd either.
When she pushed the door and entered the room, Jiajia was already waiting there.
"Second Aunt, you’re finally here. Is my little sister asleep? Quick, bring her in here. I’ve heated up the kang, and it’s nice and warm," Jiajia, who had always been close to her second aunt Shen Yunfang, had visited her second aunt’s home several times afterward, making their relationship even stronger.
"Ah, Jiajia has grown taller and even prettier. I haven’t seen you for a year, and you’ve become a big girl already," Shen Yunfang praised the child with a chuckle.
Jiajia’s smile grew even sweeter upon hearing this, but her little face turned red, a bit embarrassed.
Then Shen Yunfang also entered the room and laid Manman on the readied kang next to Pangpang.
"You take off the child’s clothes; I’ll go outside," Li Hongjun said after seeing his wife enter the room. He carefully placed the child upon the kang and instructed her before he left himself.
Several other people were waiting outside to greet them.
Shen Yunfang didn’t mind him and took off her shoes to get onto the kang, carefully starting to undress her daughter and son.
The children were bundled up in down jackets and down pants. If she didn’t take them off, they’d be too warm with the heat from the kang below.
Shitou, Jiajia, and Shuanzi saw no one was minding them and wriggled into the second aunt’s room, each like a little mouse. With a look from their second aunt, they took off their shoes, climbed onto the kang, and sat there, eagerly watching their second aunt busy with their little brother and sister.
"Haven’t seen you in a year, looks like there’ve been some changes, huh? Tell me, how’s school been this year?" Shen Yunfang asked in a hushed voice, struggling with her daughter’s little cotton pants.
"Hehe, pretty good, pretty good." Shuanzi, afraid someone would say something, hurriedly laughed a few times, trying to bluff his way through.
"Second aunt, don’t listen to him. He nearly got held back this time." Jiajia revealed his secret without any courtesy.
"Sis, don’t talk nonsense. It’s just that I failed math, right? The teacher said I just need to take a makeup exam when school starts." Shuanzi was a bit defiant.
"With your skills, even if you pass the makeup exam, so what?"
"Don’t look down on people..."
"Keep your voices down, don’t disturb your brother and sister." Shitou commanded the scene with authority.
Shen Yunfang chuckled as she listened to the siblings bicker. In no time, she managed to change the child’s clothes, leaving only thermal underwear on, and tucked the child into bed.
"Let’s go, let’s talk in the other room." She then led the three little "tails" to the main room.
The main room was the west room where Li Xianglian and her husband lived, with a big brick bed. The table on the bed was already set, and Li Xianglian was busy placing dishes on the table.
"Big sis, need any help with anything else? I’ll help you tidy up." Shen Yunfang had already seen Li Xianghe sitting on the bed, waiting for dinner, but not wanting to be like her, she turned on her heels and went straight to the kitchen to help Li Xianglian.
"No need, everything’s ready, no need for you to get involved, just go sit down." Li Xianglian said with a smile, standing straight and wiping the sweat from her brow. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
"Mom, I’ll help you." Jiajia went over and grabbed the spatula from her mother’s hand.
"I’ll carry the plates." Shuanzi saw a freshly cooked dish on the stove and carried it to the room.
Shitou was even more straightforward; he sat down at the stove to tend the fire.
"Oh, you kids don’t need to help..." Li Xianglian was squeezed to the side by the children and complained a bit disgruntled.
"Big sis, just wait to enjoy your blessings. Your three kids are so filial." Shen Yunfang really envied her elder sister; her three children were indeed raised well.
Perhaps because the family was poor, the children started taking on responsibilities early, knowing to cherish their parents and always looking for opportunities to help the adults with whatever they could.
"Ah, blessings... I don’t care about that. As long as each one of them leads a good life, that’s mission accomplished for me as a mother." Li Xianglian spoke of her children with a face full of satisfaction.
"You shouldn’t say that so soon. You want to complete your mission? That’s still a long way off. We mothers, as long as we’re not dead, our mission is never complete."
"That’s true. Look at Shitou, he’s grown up now, he’ll be eighteen this year. It’s time to find a match. Once he’s married and has kids, I’ll still need to look after them. Then there’s Jiajia; it’ll be time to find her a husband, too..."
"Mom, what are you talking about? How old am I? You’re all about finding me a husband, but second aunt said we should all aim for university. I won’t consider getting married until I’ve finished college." Jiajia and Shitou, listening to the two adults’ unreliable talk in the room, were both dissatisfied.
"Good, good, my kids are ambitious. As long as you get into a university, your mom will support you, even if I have to smash the pot and sell the iron," Li Xianglian said, laughing heartily.
