Riding the wind of rebirth

This time, Mai Xiaomiao basically met all of Zhou Zhi's important relatives in his hometown. On the way back to Manzhou, Zhou Zhi asked Mai Xiaomiao what he felt about them.

"Everything is good." Mai Xiaomiao still misses fishing: "Why don't we go back to fish in the summer? My second brother said that we can catch fish fry in the ditch and put them in the fields in the summer, and we don't have to spend money to buy them."

"In terms of fishing environment, Jiachuan is far worse than Lianhe Township." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "But there are also many things to do here in the summer. There are no fireflies in Lianhe Township, but there are many here."

"You've been running around with me these past few days. Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Miao."

"No, it's quite fun." Mai Xiaomiao said with a smile: "I think Xueshan will become a mother in nine months, and I will also become an aunt."

"Well, I will probably be the baby's guarantor." Zhou Zhi was a little proud: "If the monk dares to arrange for someone else, I will never forgive him."

"What is Baobao for the baby?"

"It means godfather." Zhou Zhi explained the customs of Jiachuan to Mai Xiaomiao: "God of father. When I arrive in Manzhou, I have to pay my respects to my godfather and godmother. They are also students of Mr. Gu."

"Then can I be the baby's godmother?" Mai Xiaomiao asked.

"It should be possible." Zhou Zhi felt amused. The country did not stipulate that the godfather and godmother must be a couple, and he was embarrassed to argue with the American girl about the loopholes.

"Then I'll go talk to Xueshan." Mai Xiaomiao was very happy to get the answer she wanted: "You are the God of father, and I am the God of mother. We can't let others take our place!"

Today was supposed to be a working day, but when Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao returned home, they unexpectedly discovered that their mother had not gone to work, but was pretending to take care of the orchids in the yard.

Winter is the time when high-quality orchids are in full bloom. There are dozens of pots of orchids, all elegant and beautiful with a subtle fragrance.

"It's time for a big job." Zhou Zhi said with a smile, "Mom! I dug up the Milan tree from the little garden of my eldest lady."

"You're all back?" Mom came up to me and scolded me, "Xiao Miao was exhausted these past few days. She even fell asleep at the dinner table. Maybe you didn't take good care of Elbow."

"I'm the one who sleeps too much. You can't blame Elbow, Auntie." Mai Xiaomiao explained quickly.

"It's good to be sleepy. It's a blessing to be sleepy." Mom didn't care about what Zhou Zhi said about coming back to life. She took Mai Xiaomiao's hand and sat on the chair on the small flat ground in front of the house: "Auntie was like you when she was young. She still sleeps a lot now."

"Which relatives did you visit?"

"I saw my eldest aunt, brother Dayong, sister Xiaojuan'er, Xiaoyong, my eldest sister, my eldest cousin, my eldest cousin's wife, my fourth uncle, my fourth aunt, my youngest uncle, my youngest aunt, my fifth uncle, my fifth aunt, my second cousin, and my second cousin's wife."

"We've seen almost everything in Jiachuan." Mom said with a smile, "After dinner, let's go visit Elbow's godfather and godmother."

"Yes, Elbow told me on the way." Mai Xiaomiao nodded obediently.

Zhou Zhi was terrified when he heard this. He carried Mai Xiaomiao upstairs to sleep, but his mother just said "I was also very sleepy when I was young"? This is a matter of making light of a heavy task, but the purpose is great...

"Milan likes the sun and fat, so her elbows should be planted at the door." Grandma said.

"Oh." Zhou Zhi had no choice but to pick up the hoe and plant the flowers first. "I didn't take Miss Milan for nothing. I exchanged her for a pair of munias. Grandma, I also brought you a pair of birds, budgies, which are easier to raise than munias."

"This pair of birds is delightful." Grandma was particularly happy to see the blue and green budgies in the cage: "Last time you said to let Grandpa Yu find a dog to take care of it, but I thought if it ran away, I wouldn't be able to catch it back with my legs, so forget it. This one is good, very delightful."

"We used to raise a few egg-laying chickens, but they were killed during the campaign to create a clean city." Mom said, "The whole family has been unhappy for several days." "This is a bit too much." Zhou Zhi sighed, but there was nothing he could do. He asked, "What about the markets that Dad manages?"

"What can we do? Send more people to guard the place. Several leaders in your father's unit have to take shifts at various markets on weekends to prevent any sanitation problems."

"I hope I can get in. All my hard work won't be in vain." Mom also sighed: "By the way, what plans do Xueshan and Yang He have?"

"There are no plans for the future," Zhou Zhi said, "Xueshan should stay in Baimi Township for a while to get to know the relatives there, and maybe she will hold a concert in Baimi Township."

"When the classmates return to Jiachuan for the holidays, maybe they will invite the city again. They are the first among the classmates to get married."

"Anyway, the group provides one month of wedding leave, so they can arrange it as they wish."

"You guys really are... more leave than the country gives you!"

"You see, we usually work overtime a lot." Zhou Zhi planted Milan at the door: "One is doing two things. How can we have a day of 'a cup of tea, a pack of cigarettes, and a newspaper to read all day'?"

"Sister-in-law, is this your son?" Just as they were talking to this point, a middle-aged man wearing cadre uniform and a red armband on his sleeve walked over to the door and asked, "Is he back early from vacation?"

"This is my son, his name is Zhou Zhi. Zhou Zhi calls me Uncle Li. He is the secretary of our neighborhood street."

"Hello, Uncle Li." Zhou Zhi greeted him quickly.

"Growing flowers? It's a big one. Mm, it looks pretty."

"This is a Milan tree that I brought back from my hometown. Don't worry, Uncle Li. I will definitely clean it up after planting it. There won't be any dirt on it."

"Okay, okay. Your yard is big, but it's always the cleanest. I'm just doing my duty by coming over to say hello. I don't have any other intentions."

"Old Li, come in and sit for a while? You must be tired after patrolling all day. Come in and have some water and look at the flowers. It's almost time to get off work." Mom urged, "Come and try the real dragon pomelo I just brought from Jiachuan!"

Old Li hesitated for a moment before walking in. "Oh, your orchids are blooming so beautifully! Grandma is really good at growing flowers! We can't take care of them well at home."

"Take the flower you like home. If you are worried about not being able to take care of it well, just wait until the flowers are gone and bring it back to us!" My mother is quite generous.

"How can this be so embarrassing? Who is this..."

"Oh, this is my colleague from Elbow, Mai Xiaomiao. They came back to attend Jiachuan's wedding and they just came back."

"Then you and your family can have a good reunion." After eating two slices of Zhenlong pomelo, Lao Li stood up and said goodbye: "I won't bother you any more. I will also be watching the market on the weekend. You can tell Director Zhou that you don't have to go so early. You can just walk over slowly after breakfast."

"Elbow, pack a few grapefruits for Uncle Li. Also, the yellow Jianlan flower in the pot is big, put it in a bag and give it to Uncle Li to take away." My mother was really enthusiastic.

After sending the street official away, my mother said, "This time, Lao Li helped your father a lot in the cleanliness campaign. Although we are not from the same system, we have someone to help us on the street, so many things are much easier to do."

"Xiao Miao doesn't understand these things, huh? I heard that you Americans are very straightforward in everything and don't care about social etiquette?" (End of this chapter)