Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 773 Picking Up People

Xia Maosheng said, "It's not much money, I'll give you the principal. Besides, you'll get dividends next year, so what are you afraid of?"

Liu Huasheng felt a surge of excitement. "That's right, there will be dividends next year. Xiaowei said how much?" "A million or so. Wow, I'm going to make a fortune!"

Xia Maosheng called out a few times on the other end of the phone, but there was no response. He cursed and hung up. By the time Liu Huasheng realized what was happening, he only heard a busy tone, then smiled and hung up. He was thrilled, his heart burning with excitement.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Huasheng picked up the phone and called Li Tie. Humans are social animals; it's hard not to share. He hadn't even considered that half the money still belonged to Li Tie. But then again, if not Li Tie, who else could he talk to? He didn't even have anyone to talk to! (T^T)

Here, the three cars left the city and headed straight for Chuanzhou.

Longcheng wasn't far from Chuanzhou, and the area was mostly flat; they quickly reached their destination: the city gate.

Historically, Longcheng was a military fortress, and Chuanzhou was a garrison town, both of which were quite important and served as bridgeheads for thousands of years of agricultural and pastoral warfare.

"If only General Li Guang were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross Yinshan." This is the front line of defense for Yinshan.

Like other places in this era, the factory area and residential area were mixed together. Passing through the mining bureau area and past several coal washing pools, you would reach the residential area, a large area of ​​tall bungalows.

Cars can't go into the alley; they can only park outside. The three of them got out of the car and followed Xia Maosheng inside.

Almost at the very back, in the second-to-last row and the innermost house, Xia Maosheng opened the courtyard gate.

The yard wasn't big, nor was it small. It looked like a vegetable garden. There were no dogs in the yard, only a few chickens digging in the snow. When they heard a sound, they quickly ran to the corner of the wall, clucking and looking at the door.

Xia Maosheng called out, "Dad, Mom," and then closed the courtyard gate and went inside.

Upon entering the main room, a wave of heat rushed out as soon as the door opened. Xia's mother was steaming buns, and the kitchen was filled with thick smoke, making it impossible to see anything. Xia Maosheng opened the door and said, "Mom, why don't you let the smoke out a bit when you're steaming? It's so damp."

Xia's mother's voice came from inside the house: "Turn it off after a moment, don't let it get cold. Why are you back today?"

The three men went inside, closed the door tightly, and went into the inner room. Xia Maosheng looked around and asked, "Where's my dad?"

When Xia's mother saw Chen Hui and Xiao Wei, she smiled and said, "Come in and sit down. What are you doing here on such a cold day?"

Xia Maosheng said, "We're picking you up. Didn't we agree to spend the New Year in Fengtian? It's perfect timing, Xiao Huisheng, aren't you coming?"

Xia's mother said, "Yes, we're going. Your dad went to your sister's house. He was originally planning to take the train there tomorrow or the day after. It's not like I can't find the way. Why bother with all this trouble, in this snowy and windy weather?"

Xia's mother put down her needlework, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, and said, "Sit down, I'll get you some steamed buns, freshly steamed, big meat buns."

Xia Maosheng went to get some bowls and plates, and brought over some soy sauce, vinegar, and chili powder. He smiled and said, "Come on, have some. My mom's steamed buns are pretty good. Let's have this for lunch." The three of them hadn't eaten yet.

A short while later, steaming hot, freshly steamed meat buns were brought over. Xia's mother said, "Eat these, they're fresh out of the steamer, they got a little cold from steaming." The three of them took the buns to eat, and Xiao Wei didn't dip them in soy sauce or vinegar, he just ate them with his bare mouth.

While eating, Xia Maosheng said, "Mom, why did you steam so many buns? We're leaving soon, aren't we?"

Xia's mother said, "I thought I'd bring you some, just as a token of my affection. Your sister's family can send some too. Now that we're leaving, she'll have to take care of her elderly relatives back home, won't she?"

Xia Maosheng shook his head: "You're an old person too, and your brother-in-law's family is also elderly. Why would you take care of them? Don't they have sons or daughters?"

Xia's mother said, "Oh dear, it's just a few steamed buns, you don't need to worry about it."

Xia Maosheng said to Xiaowei and Chen Hui, "Don't you think my mom is just making trouble for no reason? Over the years, the kids have been running around everywhere, and I've never eaten at my two brothers-in-law's houses, but my mom prepares food for them every year, as if it's their duty."

Xia's mother said, "Our family is better off, and theirs is worse off. Why are you comparing us? Besides, aren't you just showing your sister's favor?"

Xia Maosheng shook his head and remained silent, though he was not happy about it.

Xiao Wei said, "The old lady is fine, let her do whatever she wants, don't worry about it, as long as she's happy."

Chen Hui glanced at the busy Xia Ma and whispered, "Once you have a child, just send your parents to Fengtian to have a baby. Just stay far away. It's still your sister's in-laws' house. If you stay far away, these problems won't happen. What's the use of getting angry?"

Xia Maosheng said, "My daughter is doing a bit better, and her circumstances are better too. Her in-laws are doing alright. My older sister's situation is a bit worse, even though her family's circumstances aren't actually bad."

When my sister first started her business, she worked alongside her eldest sister. But her sister's in-laws were a real scumbag. They were dirt poor. Her brother-in-law was the second son, with two younger brothers. They relied on my sister's family for everything – building houses, buying things, weddings – every penny my sister earned went to them. It was infuriating.

Chen Hui asked, "His brother hasn't done anything, so why doesn't he go out and earn money himself?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Doing this is too tiring, doing that is too dirty, so it's best to just lie on the kang (heated brick bed) and get paid. Isn't that great? When we run out of money, we can just have the old lady come and ask for it. We can buy a TV if we need one, buy a bicycle if we need one, and build a big house. Isn't that wonderful?"

Xia's mother came in, patted Xia Maosheng on the shoulder, and said, "Your eldest sister has had it tough enough. Now that she's married, she's family. It has nothing to do with you, so why are you worrying about all this?"

Xia Maosheng said, "My sister is just like you, so bratty. It's our duty to help take care of the elderly in the family, but what about her two younger brothers and one older brother? How old are they? If they were children, let's not even talk about how old they are, even if they were teenagers, I would think it's normal to look after them and give them some money or something. They're all older than me, don't they know how to go out and earn money? They just shamelessly sponge off my sister, as if she owes them something?"

Xia's mother sighed.

After finishing the steamed buns, the group tidied up. Xia's mother had already prepared everything to take, which was loaded into the car. The steamed buns were packed into the trunk, and several chickens were caught and delivered to a few neighbors to sell, though they agreed to pay after the New Year, so there was no fear of the deal falling through. The remaining two chickens were given to her sister's family, one for each of them, which was essentially for her in-laws.

After tidying up the house, checking the water, electricity, doors and windows, locking several doors, I took my things, got into the car, and drove to Xia Maosheng's eldest sister's house.

My older sister's family runs a stationery store on a side street next to the school. It's actually a general store that mainly sells stationery, but also has clothes and shoes. The store isn't big, only about 30 square meters.

After parking the car at the store entrance, Xiaowei said to Chen Hui, "This is my first time staying here. This guy went out to meet Geng Hui late at night, leaving me here all alone. There's no heating, and the kang (heated brick bed) can't be turned on. I almost froze to death here."

Xia Maosheng hugged Xiaowei and laughed, saying, "It's great now. We have heating, and the kang (heated brick bed) can be heated. My sister lives here now; she used to rent a place."

(End of this chapter)