CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER 376: WATCHING THE NEWS SIMULCAST

"What’s all this gibberish? I can’t understand," Mrs. Song teased him with a laugh. Then she feigned a stern look to scare Song Yuanming, "If it weren’t for your second sister-in-law telling me you were a big help to her in Imperial City, I would have taught you a lesson."

"Mom, you’re my real mom, how could you bear to discipline me!" Song Yuanming chuckled as he scratched the back of his head and stood up from his chair to pull at Mrs. Song, "Mom, come sit down and watch TV with us! The show about the Eight Immortals crossing the sea is really interesting," he coaxed her to join them.

"Alright, alright," Mrs. Song lightly swatted away Song Yuanming’s hand, pretending to be annoyed, she glared at him, "You father and son watch it yourselves! I don’t have that much free time to sit and watch TV, I should start preparing dinner now, sigh." Mrs. Song glanced at the large television with a conflicted expression before turning and walking into the kitchen next to the main room. Tonight was special since her second son’s family had come, and although they had just had some boiled eggs to tide them over, she needed to prepare a lavish dinner.

"Mom, that’s going to be hard on you. You’ll have to make some extra delicious dishes. Although your cooking skills can’t compare to my second sister-in-law’s, I still love eating the food you make—the taste of a mother’s cooking!" After all, Song Yuanming was the Song family’s youngest son. Despite having experienced quite a bit over the year and changing a lot, he still had no trouble throwing tantrums or acting cute with his parents.

"This boy, always talking nonsense," Mrs. Song shook her head amusedly upon hearing what Song Yuanming said from the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanyao came back into the house holding the boy and girl twins. The weather at the old house was quite chilly, but the sun was nice today, and the cotton blankets and pillows might have been carefully aired out by Mrs. Song, making them warm and comfortable. The twins were put to bed and slept especially sweetly.

"Sister-in-law, about earlier, don’t take it to heart. Tianxin seems to have been led astray by Qinghua; she’s pretty brash with everyone these days." Song Yuanyao had been home for a while and naturally noticed that the little tag-along who used to follow her had changed. She and Xu Xiuxiu had a good relationship as sisters-in-law, and she didn’t want her to feel upset, so she quickly offered some comforting words.

"It’s okay, she’s just a child," Xu Xiuxiu replied with an unconcerned expression, smiling back at Song Yuanyao. She truly wasn’t bothered by it as there was no point in getting worked up. If Tianxin could get along well, then great; if not, she wouldn’t force it.

Hearing this, Song Yuanyao breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Mrs. Song was preparing dinner, Song Yuanyao didn’t stay in the house with Xu Xiuxiu for long. After Song Yuanhuan led Song Chengguang into the house, she made an excuse to help Mrs. Song and left, giving Xu Xiuxiu and her husband some space to talk.

"Aren’t you happy?" Even though Song Chengguang was still nearby, Song Yuanhuan was completely unconcerned about the setting when it came to comforting Xu Xiuxiu.

"No," Xu Xiuxiu shook her head lightly.

"Really not?" Song Yuanhuan wrapped his arm around her slender waist, his deep black eyes closely watching her face, as if he wasn’t going to miss any slight expression.

"Really not," Xu Xiuxiu smiled, hugging his strong waist and looking up, "She’s just a child." Xu Xiuxiu used the same response she gave to Song Yuanyao.

When Xu Xiuxiu said those words, both Song Yuan Yao and Song Yuanhuan heard them as if she meant, "Song Tianxin is still a child; I won’t hold it against her." However, only Xu Xiuxiu herself knew the true meaning behind her words. Although she didn’t need to quibble with a child, not needing to didn’t mean she wouldn’t, just like earlier when Tianxin had asked her to buy clothes. If Xu Xiuxiu truly hadn’t minded, there was absolutely no need for her to awkwardly change the subject at that moment. In reality, she was angry, but she wasn’t the type to take her anger out on others. Therefore, she used the phrase "she is just a child" to gloss over the incident.

Though there had been a minor discord earlier, by dinner time, the atmosphere at home was still very harmonious. After all, it was a family reunion, and this time, with the purchase of a car and a large color TV, everyone discernibly saw how pleased Father Song was, and no one wanted to make trouble during dinner.

Because of the large color TV, the women finished eating quickly and then gathered around the TV to watch, while the men slowly enjoyed their drinks and dishes.

"Song Tiezhu! Still drinking, huh!" Suddenly, an energetic elderly man entered the door, leaning on a cane. "I heard today that the second youngster has made a name for himself, drove a car back home, and even bought a large color TV. I just took a few looks at the car standing outside by the light. It’s a Hongqi brand car, not bad, not bad. Yuanhuan, this youngster, I wasn’t wrong about him. He has really made something of himself." The old man said as he walked toward the hall.

"Second Uncle, you’re here!" In the village, Father Song Song Tiezhu had a high standing, and, with his son’s success, many people were polite to Father Song. However, few could address Father Song by his name, and this veteran revolutionary was definitely one of them.

"Second Grandpa." Song Yuanhuan also immediately put down his glass and went up to support the elderly man.

"Good, you youngster, good!" Second Grandpa seemed very pleased, looking at Song Yuanhuan coming up to support him, his aged face bursting into a wide smile. "From the time you wore open-crotch pants, I always thought you would be the most successful." He heartily praised Yuanhuan and, without waiting for a response, stretched his neck toward the color TV. "Your Second Grandpa, I listen to the radio often, but I’ve never watched such a big color TV in my life! Help me take a look."

"Sure." Song Yuanhuan smiled and nodded.

"Good evening, Second Grandpa. Have you had dinner?" Xu Xiuxiu, seeing that the elderly man was the second grandfather, immediately stood up from her chair and walked over to support him with Song Yuanhuan.

"I have." The old man replied heartily. Although his health wasn’t great due to his youthful revolutionary activities, his spirit was still strong.

"Then Second Grandpa, why don’t you sit and watch TV, and I’ll get you some tea and cut some fruit for you to eat." Xu Xiuxiu cheerfully settled the old man, then waved at Song Chengguang, "Chengguang, come, you watch TV with Second Great-grandpa."

Song Chengguang scurried over to Second Grandpa, "Second Great-grandpa, Chengguang will watch TV with you."

"Good, good." The old man nodded happily, settled comfortably, and then looked up at Song Yuanhuan, "Is this your eldest son?" The old man seldom went out these days, following a daily routine, and although Song Yuanhuan had brought young Song Chengguang to see him a while back, children change so quickly, and the grown Song Chengguang looked quite different from before, so the old man could hardly recognize him.

"Yes."

"Not bad, not bad. He has a level head, clever and quick-witted." The old man patted Song Chengguang on the back of his head in praise, then instructed Song Yuanhuan, "Yuanhuan, tell your wife not to busy herself too much, Second Grandpa just wants to watch the news broadcast. Hurry up and set it up for me to watch."