CHAPTER 196: 196

Lu Xiaoting silently patted his rounded belly and let out a contented burp, "I’m stuffed!"

Susu, with a smile in her eyes, glanced at the man’s action and chuckled. She extended her "evil hand" and pinched the flesh on the man’s waist.

Lu Xiaoting sat up straight without a change in expression, silently sucking in his stomach.

Susu blinked, "..."

This man, he’s quite concerned about his image in front of her.

The couple, having spent a total of 4 days in the Capital, called home with reluctance before boarding the train back.

They had traveled light, but returned with bags big and small.

As soon as the siblings opened their eyes, they saw their parents sleeping soundly beside them.

Rubbing their eyes, they pounced on them excitedly.

Lu Xiaoting was woken by his children’s weight on him, waking up to several pairs of rolling eyes staring at him.

"Daddy."

"Dad, you’re back. Are you hungry? Shall I make you some malted milk to drink?"

"No need, Dad will cook for you." Lu Xiaoting, worried about waking his wife, took the three little ones to the living room, where Xiao Yu was revising yesterday’s recitations perched on a stool.

Lu Xiaoting quietly poured a cup of hot milk for his eldest.

"Thank you, Dad."

"Xiuhua, how did you manage to fall when you were just fine? Your brother-in-law and I hurried over when we heard about it from Xian Yue on the phone."

Uncle Su and Aunt Su, with two large bamboo baskets on their backs, had come over early in the morning.

"Brother, sister-in-law." Mrs. Lu touched her tightly bound leg, "I don’t know what happened. By the time I realized it, I had already fallen, and the pain made me break out in sweat and tears.

Thank goodness Susu was home. Otherwise, Old Lu would have been even more panicked on his own."

Father Lu said sternly, "Nonsense, I’m of an age; what’s there for me to panic about?"

The sisters-in-law exchanged a look, barely suppressing a twitch at the corners of their mouths.

"Uncle, Aunt, why don’t you have lunch here before you leave?" suggested Susu, peeking her head in after returning from the market with the triplets.

"That’s fine, save us the trouble of dropping by the in-laws. We’ll eat here before going over," Aunt Su smiled and nodded.

Mrs. Lu was overjoyed, flashing a big grin, "Old Lu, hurry and help Susu with the cooking."

"No need to trouble my brother-in-law." Aunt Su rolled up her sleeves and went outside.

Living Room

Under the bustling efforts of Aunt Su and Susu, it wasn’t long before a pot of stewed ribs was ready, along with a large bowl of cold mixed veggies. The staple was steamed buns.

Looking at the plump white buns and the ribs, the older generation started reminiscing about the old times.

Back then, they couldn’t even think about eating meat, let alone white flour buns; there was never enough grain for the number of mouths to feed at home. Without switching to coarser grains, the finer ones would be gone in just a few meals.

City life required money for everything; even eggs were considered a precious luxury.

In the old days, a small handful of noodles during holidays was a treat, and there was no question of eating them in water; they would eat the noodles with the broth to save what they could. Each family member getting a small bowl was already quite good.

Somehow, they didn’t starve to death, having barely scraped by even through the most challenging times, not to mention the great famine in the early ’60s.

Listening to this, Susu felt life had been hard and, thinking of the food she had wasted in later years, she was so ashamed she couldn’t lift her head.

After the meal, Uncle Su and his wife left some dry goods for the family before they went to see their daughter and grandchild. That evening, they stayed at their younger son’s house.

Seeing their sensible daughter-in-law, the old couple felt comforted, thankful that Cheng He was brave and decisive; otherwise, their home wouldn’t be as well-off as it was now.

Cheng He was now the manager of a small restaurant nearby, making a good few hundred yuan a month. His wife, Wang Caixia, didn’t work outside and took care of the cooking and laundry for the family.

A home with a daughter-in-law is different, everything is clean and tidy.

Cheng He didn’t look as he had in his earlier years upon first arriving in the Provincial City—skinny and dark, looking every bit like a walking monkey.

Now, there was no need to endure the blistering sun or soaking rains outside; her complexion had lightened a full shade, and she had even become more well-rounded. The little restaurant was managed in an orderly and organized manner.

...

To facilitate Mrs. Lu’s mobility and prevent her from lying in bed all day, bored and listless, Lu Xiaoting had removed the threshold of the hall’s door, allowing Mrs. Lu to move in and out anytime in her wheelchair.

Sunday

Susu woke up naturally from her sleep and, upon opening her eyes, realized she was the only one left on the family kang. She rubbed her eyes and lazily folded the quilt.

In the yard

The triplets were running around their brother, chirping and giggling with joy.

"Ah~ Brother, don’t catch me~"

"Giggle, giggle, Lele, you’re about to be caught~"

The little girl shrieked like a scared chicken, chased by her third brother.

Second brother, Pingping, with a stern face, shouted, "Third brother, behave yourself and don’t bully your sister."

"Hehehe... Lele, I’m gonna catch you."

"Ah~ Mom, save me~"

Susu squatted down and hugged her daughter, who was terrified by her third brother, and said with a mix of laughter and tears, "Aren’t you tired from all this running around?"

"Not tired."

Susu, "..."

Turning her head, she saw Father-in-law cleaning up the grounds by the wall, and Mother-in-law sitting in her wheelchair, watching and directing. However, she noticed that the Lu siblings were nowhere in sight.

"Where are your dad and Little Aunt?"

"Dad said he had to go to work today and would be back later."

"Little Aunt went out."

"Your Little Aunt went out?"

"Mhm, Little Aunt dressed up really prettily."

Susu’s eyes narrowed; that wasn’t right. Usually, on her days off, Xiaomei stayed at home and hardly went anywhere, except to check the accounts at the restaurant.

Yet today, she had actually gone out, and piecing together events from the past few weeks, Susu’s eyes gleamed with realization.

Meanwhile, at People’s Park, a young man and a stylishly dressed young woman were walking side by side—with, of course, some distance between them.

The park was populated with pairs of men and women comrades, all on dates or arranged meetings.

"Mr. Lu, you, you look really beautiful today," the man stammered out.

Lu Xiaomei couldn’t help touching her flushed cheeks, and her lips curved up involuntarily, "It’s okay, Mr. Jiang, you also look very spirited today."

Jiang Feng’s mind went blank, and he opened and closed his mouth without a word, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, he remembered his aunt’s advice.

"When you go, don’t be like a mute, you as a guy must take some initiative; how can you expect a girl to start talking all the time?

If you really run out of things to say, just ask about her studies or chat about what she likes to eat.

Many male comrades in our unit are interested in Miss Lu, but she doesn’t bother with them. She’s a good girl."

Lu Xiaomei glanced at the tall man next to her, clenched her fist, and was about to speak when she heard his voice.

"Mr. Lu, I heard you studied at a junior college in the Provincial City? I also went to university in our Provincial City..."

----

"Father, Mother, Tianyu, Pingping, An’an, and Lele, I’m back."

"Look what Little Aunt brought you all—something tasty to eat—" Bouncing in cheerfully, Lu Xiaomei stopped in her tracks and quietly shifted to the side.

"Oh, our Xiaomei is back? Dressed up so pretty today."

"Sister-in-law, why do you keep staring at me?"