bestfiction Chapter 350 Father Zhuang is coming up with a new idea again.
Chapter 350 Father Zhuang is coming up with a new idea again.
Chapter 350 Uncle Zhuang is coming up with a new idea again.
Zhuang Chaoying, along with Xiaoting, Tunan, and Pengfei, cleaned up a room in the neighboring courtyard for Hualin and his wife to stay in.
Zhuang Hualin carried a basin containing a toothbrush and toothpaste, and carefully placed it under the bed.
Then, she took out a towel from her bag, wiped her face, draped the towel over the chair, took off her shoes, lifted the mosquito net, and hurried inside.
The two lay in bed. The room was quiet, with only the buzzing of mosquitoes outside the mosquito net.
Zhuang Hualin sighed softly. "Xiangdong, go and register Pengfei's household registration tomorrow. I don't know why, but I'm just a little upset."
Xiang Dong quickly put down his fan and sat up. "Let me pour you a glass of water. Have some water and calm down," he said, getting up to stand.
Zhuang Hualin reached out and pulled him back down. "No need, I'm not thirsty."
Xiang Dong knew perfectly well why his wife was upset.
Looking back on all these years, he had seen the Zhuang family's attitude and actions.
My parents-in-law favor sons over daughters and have never paid much attention to Hualin. Now that Pengfei's household registration is involved, who knows if they will hide the registration and deliberately prevent Pengfei from registering his household?
Moreover, given the tense relationship between the eldest brother's family and the Zhuang family, and the fact that they received so much care from the eldest brother and sister-in-law, it's possible that the Zhuang family might become jealous and deliberately cause trouble.
Thinking of this, Xiang Dong was also worried, but he still tried to remain calm and reassure her. "Don't worry, we'll go together tomorrow, and we'll solve any problems together."
To try and cheer Hualin up, she changed the subject. "Hualin, your two courtyards are quite large, aren't they?"
Zhuang Hualin glanced at him and said softly.
“It’s big, but it has nothing to do with us. Don’t mention that our eldest brother bought a house when we go back to the village.”
Actually, there were some things she didn't say. After all, they were her parents who gave her life and raised her. If they knew that her older brother and sister-in-law lived in such a big house, while their precious grandsons Zhendong and Zhenbei were crammed into the inner room with the two old people, who knows what kind of wicked ideas they might have.
They might make a fuss again, asking their elder brother and sister-in-law to contribute money and effort to help the farm, which would create a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Zhuang Hualin felt increasingly agitated as she thought about it. She turned over and prayed silently that everything would go smoothly for Pengfei's household registration tomorrow.
. . . . . . . .
It was just after sunrise. Hualin and Xiangdong were staying at their older brother and sister-in-law's house, so it was only right to buy them breakfast, which would also save their older brother from getting up so early. After all, with the three of them in the family, their older brother would have to prepare enough food for quite a few people.
When they returned with breakfast, the older brother just opened the door, carrying a vegetable basket, and was about to go out.
"Brother, I bought steamed buns and tofu pudding."
"You've been on the train for three days, why don't you get some more sleep?"
Xiang Dong smiled broadly, holding two paper bags in his hands. "I usually get up around this time, it's a habit."
After breakfast, Hualin and his wife took Pengfei back to the village to finalize the household registration.
Xiang Dong carried two boxes of pastries and two cans of tea, while Peng Fei carried a watermelon. The three of them walked towards the farmhouse.
Half an hour later, the three of them walked into the gate of the Zhuang family's house.
Hua Lin looked inside. "Mom and Dad, is anyone home?"
At that moment, Zhendong and Zhenbei were watching TV in the living room. Hearing the sound, the two came out of the house and immediately saw their cousin Pengfei.
The last time Zhendong saw Pengfei was when he was caught writing a letter of denunciation for his father. That incident terrified him. Why did Pengfei suddenly appear today, along with his aunt and uncle?
He was surprised, reached out and gently nudged Zhenbei, whispering, "Go call Grandpa and Grandma."
Hua Lin frowned, looking at his two nephews who didn't speak to him when they saw him, and felt disappointed.
They both have the same bloodline from the Zhuang family, so why is there such a big difference between the eldest brother's and the younger brother's children? The gap between these younger generations is too obvious. Both of their children were quite good, but they've been corrupted by the Ganmei couple.
She couldn't help but ask, "Zhendong, don't you recognize your aunt anymore?"
Zhendong looked at them somewhat awkwardly and forced a smile. "Aunt, Uncle, Brother Pengfei, please come in."
Uncle Zhuang and Aunt Zhuang came out of the room.
Hua Lin was still a little surprised when he saw them. The last time he saw them was when he brought Pengfei back during the summer vacation. He didn't expect that after five years, the two of them would have aged so much.
"Dad, mom."
Pengfei quickly called out, "Grandpa and Grandma!"
These two old guys haven't had a good time in the last six months.
Ganmei is still cleaning toilets and living a miserable life. His wife has come back, and they argue every three days and have a big fight every five days, making the house no longer peaceful.
Sure enough, a few days ago, his wife got angry again and went back to her parents' home. So, the tiring chores of grocery shopping and cooking, which used to be done by Gu Zhendong and Zhen Bei, fell on Grandma Zhuang's shoulders again.
After a long day, my back aches and my waist hurts. I'm getting old, and instead of enjoying my retirement, I'm suffering.
These past few days, when Uncle Zhuang goes out for a walk, he always hears the old neighbors talking about how Xiaoting was the top scholar in the imperial examination and how Pengfei was admitted to Jiaotong University.
Those words were like needles, piercing Zhuang Adie's heart.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. In his mind, if his own sons, Zhendong and Zhenbei, had their eldest son to help guide them, how could they be inferior to others? Even now, he still believes that if his eldest son could manage Zhendong and Zhenbei like Guan Pengfei, they would definitely be able to get into the top high school and then smoothly get into a good university.
But now, Zhendong is in a technical school and Zhenbei is in the affiliated high school of the machinery factory. Compared with Pengfei, who only became successful because of Chaoying, they are far inferior. This makes him unable to hold his head up in front of his old neighbors.
His reputation was the most important thing in his life. He believed that one's life depended on one's image. If the old neighbors in the factory found out that his boss had cut ties with them, they would laugh at his family behind their backs.
He and his wife didn't care, but how could Ganmei, Zhendong, and Zhenbei face people and work in the machinery factory after this? What would happen if word got out?
Looking at the old man's appearance, Granny Zhuang knew exactly what he would do when he bent over, having lived with him for over forty years.
She greeted him warmly. "My dear grandson, come inside quickly. Hualin and Xiangdong, you two have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Pengfei got into Jiaotong University, he's going to be successful."
Grandpa Zhuang nodded, his hands behind his back. "They're all successful, all my grandsons are successful." His words were somewhat comical, but tinged with a hint of awkwardness.
Xiang Dong placed the things he bought on the table inside the house. "It's just a small token of my appreciation, Mom and Dad, please don't mind."
"Hualin, Xiangdong, you two chat, Mom will go cut some watermelon for you." After saying that, Grandma Zhuang turned and went into the kitchen.
A little while later, Granny Zhuang came out with an iron plate and placed the watermelon on the table. "Pengfei, eat some watermelon, it's sweet." As she spoke, she took two of the sweetest pieces of watermelon from the middle and handed them to Zhendong and Zhenbei, who were sitting to the side.
Pengfei snorted inwardly. He already knew what kind of people his maternal grandparents were, and this wasn't the first time he'd seen such differential treatment. He didn't care anymore.
He picked up a watermelon, sat down, and started eating it, thinking to himself that they were at least somewhat respectable elders, as they hadn't given them leftover watermelon.
“Dad, Mom, Pengfei has also been admitted to university. Xiangdong and I are thinking of transferring Pengfei’s household registration back to Suzhou.”
Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhuang's mind raced.
Pengfei's household registration is in Suzhou, and he will go to university when school starts, so the room in the eldest son's house will be empty.
He suddenly had an idea: to have Zhenbei move in and have his uncle help him with his studies. Zhenbei knew nothing about what happened last time and didn't get involved in the reporting. With Hualin there to persuade him, Chaoying might agree. Then, Zhenbei could get into university next year and make his parents proud.
He held a palm-leaf fan in his hand, fanning himself gently, then looked at Zhenbei and winked at Ganmei's mother.
Grandma Zhuang understood immediately. "Hua Lin, getting Dong Pengfei registered in the city is easy to arrange, but I have something I need your help with."
Hua Lin's heart skipped a beat; she knew things wouldn't be so easy, and the smile on her face instantly froze.