Mrs. Song, Liu Shuxiang, had been anxious all of last night, afraid that Xu Xiuxiu wouldn't take good care of her little grandson. Just after finishing breakfast, she wanted to check on the child in Xu Xiuxiu's room, picking up two freshly made pieces of tofu before heading out the door, only to see her second son arriving cheerfully with his wife and little grandson.
"Yuanhuan, when did you come back, why didn't you write a letter beforehand?" She had just received a letter from her son a couple of days ago, which mentioned nothing about taking leave and coming home, so seeing her robust son early in the morning was both surprising and joyful to Mrs. Song.
After all, among her four children, she saw her second son, Song Yuanhuan, the least. Her eldest son was always by her side, her younger son and daughter, though they were studying in middle school in the county, would come home on weekends. Only her second son, she scarcely saw throughout the year. Their rare meetings were always rushed, leaving her feeling guilty and wanting to treat him better. Consequently, she endured whatever troubles his wife caused, fearing that her son wouldn't be at ease in the military causing some trouble.
"Umm, the military suddenly gave me three days off," he replied, just as he had told Xu Xiuxiu the night before — not uttering a single word more. His cold, silent nature was indeed overpowering.
"Mom, Yuanhuan bought some things for you both, please take them inside first!" Seeing Song Yuanhuan's brief explanation and his silence that followed, Xu Xiuxiu immediately held little Chen Guang and made her presence felt.
From the memories of the original owner, Xu Xiuxiu knew that Song Yuanhuan was taciturn, the military aura he exuded was quite intimidating, but she hadn't expected him to be this reticent—unable to speak even a few kind words. This temperament might be popular in modern times, but in the 1980s, it was the epitome of being unappealing.
Mrs. Song, Liu Shuxiang, was used to her second son's temperament and didn't sense anything amiss. Upon hearing Xu Xiuxiu mention that her son had bought some things, her gaze shifted to what her son held, "It's enough that you came back, why waste money like this, you don't know how to handle daily life," Mrs. Song chided as she reached out to take the two bottles of sorghum liquor and a popular light grey floral blouse for women from Song Yuanhuan's hands while glancing at the smiling Xu Xiuxiu.
Whenever Song Yuanhuan came home in the past, he had always brought something for his parents, but Xu Xiuxiu always behaved indifferently—this was the first time Mrs. Song saw her son bring gifts, a sign that her daughter-in-law had matured a bit!
"Mom, these things didn't cost much, and besides, it's only right to bring something for you since Yuanhuan rarely comes home," Song Yuanhuan saw that Mrs. Song had taken the items and remained quiet. Helpless, Xu Xiuxiu had to intervene and speak up again, lest they thought she was overly frugal and temperamental like the original owner.
"Mom knows your intentions, but you both have many expenses to manage! Save where you can," Mrs. Song was clearly pleased by Xu Xiuxiu's words, but still couldn't help falling into adult's habitual lecturing.
"Don't worry, mom! We understand."
"That's good, now come inside. It's the weekend, and both Yuanying and Yuanyao are at home. They were just talking about their second brother!" Urging them, Mrs. Song wanted both to come inside quickly.
Song Yuanhuan and Xu Xiuxiu nodded and entered.
"Younger brother," the youngest of the Song family, Song Yuanying, only fourteen this year and just enrolled in middle school, was an energetic young boy who always looked up to his military second brother. Hence, he warmly greeted him upon seeing him. However, the young boy was clearly not too fond of Xu Xiuxiu, his second sister-in-law; after greeting Song Yuanhuan, he coolly called out "Second Sister-in-law" to her.
Xiuxiu smiled and nodded without speaking.
"Hello, big brother and sister-in-law!" The only daughter of the Song family, Song Yuan Yao, who was sixteen this year and a junior high school student in the county, politely greeted behind Song Yuanming in a gentle and quiet manner.
Xiuxiu had a good impression of this little sister-in-law and smiled as she began to speak, "Your big brother bought some school supplies for you two, and I was too busy serving this little master to get them for you, so when you have time, you two can go up to our room and get them yourselves!"
"Really? Thank you, big brother and sister-in-law." Upon hearing Xiuxiu's words, Song Yuanming's eyes immediately lit up, and he excitedly approached with gratitude evident in his attitude and tone.
The Song family was modest, and the elder Songs rarely bought school supplies. Normally, all school supplies came from Yuanhuan, who brought them along. However, since Xiuxiu had joined the family, she had often scolded Yuanhuan for wasting money on school supplies, and gradually, Yuanhuan bought less. Song Yuanming thought this time his elder brother had forgotten them again, but unexpectedly, he had bought them.
"Just thank your big brother, as he was the one who bought them," Xiuxiu said smilingly while adjusting the restless Song Chengguang in her arms into a different position. The original host seldom held Song Chengguang, thus her arms lacked strength. Although the little one was lively and active despite being skinny, Xiuxiu began to struggle to hold him.
"Let me hold Chengguang for a while! I haven't held him in a long time," Song Yuan Yao, seeing Xiuxiu's struggle, stepped forward smilingly, her eyes full of affection as she looked at Song Chengguang.
Xiuxiu smiled and nodded, relieved, as she handed the little guy over to Yuanyao's arms.
"What is sister-in-law doing in the kitchen?" Xiuxiu politely inquired, having seen Wang Qinghua busy in the kitchen as she entered the door holding Chengguang.
"Oh! She's frying bean dregs! We made tofu yesterday and ended up with a lot of leftover tofu dregs, so we need to fry them to prevent them from spoiling in this weather," Song Yuan Yao said while adjusting Song Chengguang in her arms and at the same time amusing the little one.
"Mommy…" Song Chengguang, cheered up, suddenly turned his head towards Xiuxiu with a babbling smile, his little expression seeming to confide something to her, utterly adorable.
Xiuxiu leaned forward, smiling, and playfully pinched his little nose, "Then I'll go help her out. Can you watch Chengguang for me for a bit?" Father Song and Song Tiezhu were sitting inside the house smoking heavily, evidently having something to discuss with Yuanhuan. She didn't want to crowd around here and make Qinghua complain again about her always being lazy, although it was true of the original host, but she didn't want to be like that.
"Yes! Sure!" Song Yuan Yao obediently nodded.
When Xiuxiu reached the kitchen, Wang Qinghua had already fried more than half of the tofu dregs. "Sister-in-law, do you need help with anything?" Xiuxiu stepped forward and actively asked.
Despite having quarreled with Wang Qinghua just yesterday, Xiuxiu saw that this uncle's wife, Wang Qinghua, was actually not bad, merely a bit greedy and sharp-tongued—a flaw that wasn't really significant. It just happened to clash with the original host who liked to bicker, which made them sizzle like water on hot oil.