Chen Yang spoke at length with his eldest sister. As it was nearing mealtime, he and Shen Xue hurried into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Otherwise, everyone would be hungry soon.
Not long after, Chen Yang's future brother-in-law, Li Zhengpeng, a lecturer at Jinling University, also arrived at the Chen family home. Li Zhengpeng parked his heavy-duty bicycle and carried in two packs of pastries wrapped in brown paper. He was getting married soon, and visiting his future parents-in-law's home made him feel a bit apprehensive. He was from Shanghai, and both his parents were workers at a steel rolling mill there. After being selected for university while in the army, he was assigned to teach at Jinling University and had no relatives in this city. He still hadn't been allocated housing by his workplace, which made him anxious. If he got married now, how would Li Juan and he live? They couldn't possibly live with her parents forever. This always made him feel awkward whenever he visited Li Juan's home.
"Uncle and Aunt?"
Since they weren't married yet, Li Zhengpeng hadn't changed his address. Upon entering and seeing Chen Juan sitting primly, he was a bit puzzled. He knew his girlfriend's personality well. On the surface, she was very quiet, but in reality, she was lively and spirited. She rarely sat so formally.
"Second brother and sister-in-law are back."
Chen Juan whispered to Li Zhengpeng, who immediately understood. So that was why; she wanted to maintain her image as the eldest sister in front of her younger brother and sister-in-law. He didn't know that Chen Juan had already made a fool of herself in front of Shen Xue and was now trying desperately to salvage her reputation.
"You didn't even let me know that my brother and sister-in-law were coming. I didn't prepare any welcome gifts." Li Zhengpeng widened his eyes at Li Juan. It was said that the younger brother-in-law could be a significant hurdle before marriage. Chen Yang was back, so he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"I didn't know either. I just got home and already made a fool of myself in front of my sister-in-law." Chen Juan shrugged helplessly, admitting she hadn't prepared anything either. Then, the couple sat side-by-side on the sofa, sitting ramrod straight.
When Chen Yang came out with a dish, he saw Li Zhengpeng and Chen Juan sitting stiffly side-by-side on the sofa and was utterly bewildered. This wasn't a meeting at work. What was going on with them?
"Hello, brother-in-law."
After putting down the dish, Chen Yang, feeling no sense of formality, went forward and shook Li Zhengpeng's hand. His brother-in-law was incredibly good to his elder sister. His nephew from his past life had inherited his good traits and was a little warm guy. In his previous life, Chen Yang had no children, and he loved his eldest sister's nephew the most. It couldn't be helped. His younger sister and brother-in-law were very progressive and insisted on being DINKS. Since he had no children, this was the only grandchild in the extended family, so how could he not dote on him?
"Second brother, hello. My name is Li Zhengpeng." Li Zhengpeng hadn't expected his future brother-in-law to be so easygoing and felt much less nervous.
"We're not married yet, so don't call me brother-in-law. Just call him by his given name." Li Juan was a little shy. Hearing this, Li Zhengpeng scratched the back of his head and gave a shy smile.
"Calling me 'Lao Li' is fine too." Chen Yang looked at the couple, amused. His brother-in-law, although not old, always acted like an old man.
"Xiao Li, come, come, Yan Yan, Hao Hao, call your aunt's husband." Just then, Chen Liming and Qin Lifen, the elderly couple, returned with the two little ones. Seeing the children, Li Zhengpeng immediately smiled.
"Have some pastries, have some pastries." Li Zhengpeng quickly offered the pastries he had bought to the two children.
"Uncle's husband." "Hello, Uncle's husband." The two children called out sweetly.
"Dad, Mom, you're back just in time. Wake Xiao Yu up, it's time to eat." Chen Yang took the roast chicken from his father's hand, intending to chop it up and plate it. Unlike before, when it was just the two children, it wasn't appropriate for so many people to eat by tearing it apart.
"This girl, sleeping in the afternoon. At your age, how can you sleep so much? Have you no ambition?" Qin Lifen immediately unleashed her characteristic maternal demeanor upon hearing Chen Yang's words.
Chen Liming looked at the table full of dishes and his opinion of his son and daughter-in-law soared. In the past, neighbors had mocked their family, saying Chen Yang had no foresight for marrying a country girl and would be a peasant his whole life. Now, looking at his daughter-in-law preparing a table full of fragrant dishes and giving them such a pair of twins, who wouldn't envy them? A daughter-in-law as virtuous and capable as this – he wanted to see who would dare to say his son had no foresight to their faces. What was wrong with a country wife? Tracing back three generations, which family had always been prosperous? And tracing forward three generations, who knew which family's lineage would continue to flourish?
Chen Yu was dragged up by Qin Lifen, feeling bewildered. However, seeing the table full of delicious food, the little girl's unhappiness immediately vanished.
"Dad, you and Mom say a few words?" The whole family sat around the table. The family's eight immortal table was too high for the two little ones to reach, so the elderly couple specifically held them. After pouring wine for his father and Li Zhengpeng, Chen Yang quickly handed the microphone to his father. It had been five years, and the family was finally having a meal together. Given his father's temperament, he surely had many things to say.
"I have nothing to say. Let your dad speak. After drinking, he'll have plenty to say. Let him say his piece first, and if he gets drunk later and acts foolishly, I won't take responsibility." Qin Lifen placed a chicken drumstick in each of the two children's bowls. Didn't she see her grandchildren drooling with anticipation? She had no inclination to speak.
"It's rare for our family to be gathered together like this. Juan Juan is about to get married, and Yang Yang has brought back two children. Although Xiao Yu is the most troublesome, she'll definitely be able to get into university." "Your mother and I, the most content and proud thing in our lives is having raised the three of you children. Seeing you all settled and successful makes us happier than any reward. Today, let's welcome Yang Yang and Xiao Xue home, and also welcome Zhengpeng into our Chen family. Let's raise our glasses."
Chen Liming, uncharacteristically verbose, then picked up his bowl and took a large gulp.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, I want to raise my glass too." The little child, seeing everyone holding their bowls, held up his chicken leg with his chubby little hand.
"Okay, okay, my mistake, Grandpa's mistake. I forgot to welcome you two little ones." "Grandpa will take another drink as punishment." Chen Liming's face crinkled with a smile as he looked at the two children. He had smiled more today than in the entire year.
"Dad, take it easy, don't get drunk later." "Don't make a fool of yourself in front of your grandchildren." Chen Yu, after eating a piece of braised pork, never forgot her role as the mood enhancer.
"My drinking capacity, that's not just talk. This little bit of wine can't get me drunk." "Another bowl, and I'll be perfectly fine." Chen Liming heard this and took another drink. Chen Yang looked at his father, who was acting like an old child, and couldn't help but chuckle. However, he glanced at his younger sister and secretly thought that in the future, he couldn't let the little ones play with their aunt anymore. If they learned Chen Yu's skills, he would be the one to suffer.