CHAPTER 968: CHAPTER 653: THE PLAN

Chapter 652

Old Master Zhao picked up his tobacco pipe, tapped it on the edge of the kang, and said proudly, "I told you, this Xiaomi kid is exceptional. Not only does she keep calm when things happen, but she also gets right to the point. This kid has a bright future!"

"Look at you..." Old Lady Zhao looked at him amusedly, "No matter how good she is, she’s not your pick, so what’s all the pride about?"

"You can’t put it like that. If I hadn’t gone to Yuanbao’s house to help, and Chuxia hadn’t come looking for me, he wouldn’t have met our Chuxia, right? Then this wouldn’t have happened, would it?"

"You’re not so old that you’re confused, but you’re starting to make up stories? At that time, it was clearly Qihui who wanted to join the army, and Chuxia accompanied Qihui to find Xiaomi. How did it turn into Chuxia looking for you?"

"If I wasn’t there, would Chuxia have gone?" Old Master Zhao said, looking at Chuxia, "Xia, tell me, if your grandpa wasn’t there, would you and your sister have dared to go look?"

Chuxia quickly said, "Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare. If grandpa wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have dared to cause a fuss. It was because we knew grandpa had our back that we boldly went to find him."

Old Lady Zhao shook her head with a smile, "Xia, just go along with your grandpa, give him some face. The more you say it, the more credit he’ll take for himself."

Chuxia hugged her grandma’s arm with a smile, "Grandma, grandpa’s telling the truth."

"This child..." Old Lady Zhao poked her granddaughter’s forehead with a face of helplessness, "You, you just indulge him."

"What are you saying?" Old Master Zhao glared at his wife, "I’m not a child, how can you say you’re indulging me? I’m just looking for some fun, joking with the kids, and look at you, does a compliment from the kids make you secretly uncomfortable?"

"Alright, alright, I was wrong. Thanks to you, our Xia found such a good husband. It’s all because of you, all because of you."

"Look at your attitude, not sincere at all..." Old Master Zhao laughed, "Forget it, I won’t mess around with you, don’t let the kids see us being silly."

Chuxia: "..."

Luo Xiaoqiong: "..."

Seeing the blank expressions on the younger generation’s faces, Old Lady Zhao laughed, "The older this old man gets, the more he becomes like a child, just likes to joke around. Did he look angry just now?

Let me tell you, if I didn’t go along with him, he would really get upset. But when I do, he feels embarrassed to take the credit."

"Look at you..." Old Master Zhao gave Old Lady Zhao a dissatisfied look, got up, and stepped off the kang, "You all wait here at home, I’m going out for a stroll."

Old Lady Zhao frowned and stopped him, "At your age, why go out for a senseless stroll? What if you get bumped into or trip, where will you go to regret it?"

"I’m not as weak as you make me out to be. I even helped out with the fire rescue last night, didn’t get bumped or tripped. I’m strong and healthy, but you’ve made me sound like a sickly person."

Mumbling, Old Master Zhao went out the door. Old Lady Zhao shook her head with a helpless face, "This man, has this flaw, won’t accept he’s getting old, insists on acting like he’s in his twenties."

Chuxia quickly tried to smooth things over, "Grandma, grandpa knows his limits. Yesterday when you said not to get too close, he just helped coordinate from outside. He listens to you."

"I know..." Old Lady Zhao laughed, "I’m not really worried, it’s just his refusal to accept aging that’s a bit troubling."

Luo Xiaoqiong chimed in with a laugh, "That shows grandpa has a childlike heart. With such a personality, he’s sure to live to a hundred years old."

"You two..." Old Lady Zhao shook her head helplessly, "Listening to you both talk, he’s suddenly full of good points?"

"Of course!" Chuxia flatteringly pulled on Old Lady Zhao’s arm, "Grandma, shall we go take a look too? Just stand outside, not squeeze in, okay?"

Actually, Old Lady Zhao also wanted to know the current outcome, hesitated a little, then agreed, but repeatedly emphasized not to let Chuxia squeeze into crowded places.

Just as the three stepped off the kang, Lin Baohe, Zhao Yulan, Zhou Mikang, and Lin Wenbin came back.

"Didn’t you see grandpa?" Chuxia asked.

"No, did your grandpa go too?" Zhao Yulan looked at Old Lady Zhao with confusion, "Mom, didn’t dad say he didn’t want to get involved?"

"He was worried about you, so he went to join in the fun just now. Don’t worry, he’s so old, he’ll be fine, he’ll come back by himself soon. You all sit and rest first, have some water, Chuxia... Chuxia has been anxious." Old Lady Zhao glanced at her daughter’s and son-in-law’s expressions and knew they weren’t aware of Chuxia’s pregnancy yet, fearing they’d get too excited, she swallowed the words back.

"Now the people in the village are all helping to build the straw house. Lin Baohai’s family lives in the straw house, Old Man Lin and Old Lady Lin live in the west room of Lin Baojiang’s house..." Zhou Mikang paused at this point and continued, "Chuxia, you can’t handle any commotion now, so I firmly didn’t let them move in with us. My parents might feel a little uncomfortable about it, but I insisted on doing this."

"Okay." Chuxia replied but said nothing more.

Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe were stunned, immediately understanding.

"Xia..." Zhao Yulan stood up excitedly, "The result... the result of the checkup is really... is... I’m going to be a grandmother, and your dad is going to be a grandfather?"

"Yes." Chuxia replied again, her cheeks slightly flushed. For her, this matter was somewhat embarrassing to talk about. Even considering that timeline, she was only twenty-three years old.

"Baohe..." Zhao Yulan turned to Lin Baohe, "Did you hear that, did you hear that?"

"Yes... yes, yes, yes..." Lin Baohe, at this point, didn’t know what else to do besides nod repeatedly.

Lin Wenbin’s face was equally remarkable. He was going to be an uncle, which was a very happy thing, but thinking about the pain his sister would endure in the coming period, he felt saddened. A girl of only eighteen years old, isn’t this a bit too early?

But even thinking this way at the moment, he dared not really say it out loud. He knew the elders have been looking forward to this day for a long time. If he really said something like that, he would be spoiling the mood. So he could only look at Zhou Mikang: "Brother-in-law, you must cherish my sister even more in the future."

"That’s certain." Zhou Mikang nodded repeatedly, then discontentedly rebuffed, "What you’re saying is a bit redundant. When have I not cared for Chuxia?"

Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe finally calmed down, "Xiaomi, the result is definitely correct, right?" Lin Baohe looked at Zhou Mikang and asked.

"Dad, no problem, absolutely no problem."

"That’s good, that’s good. Haven’t you told the family yet?"

"No..." Zhou Mikang shook his head, "If I say it now, grandpa, grandma, and mom, dad will run right over. Thinking about it, better to tell them when we go back."

"Indeed, indeed..." Zhao Yulan nodded repeatedly, "The in-laws must be thinking about this too. If they know, who knows how nervous they’ll get. By the way, did the doctor say anything about if long periods in the car are a problem now?"

"On the way back, we’ll stop to rest every two hours, stretch our legs. Anyway, there are two cars, just open the long seats at the back, lay down some quilts, let Chuxia lie down there so she’s not too tired."

"Stop, stop, stop..." Chuxia looked at the two, eyebrows furrowing, "Can you not talk about me like I’m some severely disabled patient? Mom, when you were pregnant with me, you even worked in the fields, and I’m still perfectly healthy, aren’t I?"

Zhao Yulan hurriedly retorted: "That’s different. You’re weak; you can’t fuss like mom did."

Old Lady Zhao agreed: "Yes, Xia, your body can’t compare with your mom’s, you need to be careful. Besides, you weren’t ordinarily weak as a child, how can you say you were perfectly healthy?

And your mom, if she hadn’t left remnants of her illness when you were born, she wouldn’t have just had you. Every time the weather changes, her legs and feet ache terribly.

These are health problems left from postpartum, I’m telling you, now you have the conditions, don’t be careless or negligent, take care of your body, and take care of the baby’s health too."

"Mom, it’s because of having me that you’ve suffered so much..." Chuxia looked at Zhao Yulan with a face full of concern, "Mom, I will be good to you and dad for the rest of my life."

"This child, why bring this up?" Zhao Yulan affectionately patted her daughter’s head, "You’re already very filial, mom and dad both see it, Xiaomi is also very filial, this is mom and dad’s good fortune."

"Dad..." Chuxia turned to Lin Baohe, "You didn’t feel good about not letting grandpa and grandma come live with us?"

"No, didn’t feel bad..." Lin Baohe quickly waved his hand, "I just felt a bit sad seeing them cry like that, but now I think about it, when they did those things back then, there was no remorse, why should I feel sad?

If it wasn’t for them, your body wouldn’t be so weak, mom wouldn’t have remnants of illness, Xia, Xiaomi, you guys rest assured, I won’t meddle in their matters anymore."

Chuxia sighed and asked, "Is Auntie, Uncle, and Xiaoxiang still over there?"

Lin Baohe nodded: "Yes, they must help put up the straw house. They can’t ignore it, as she’s their real daughter. If they kept their distance, people would gossip."

"I know..." Chuxia nodded, "I just feel that the elder couple must be putting pressure on them, Auntie and Uncle are caught in between, probably finding it really hard."

"Your Auntie doesn’t buy their ways, don’t worry..." Zhao Yulan wasn’t worried about this, "Don’t look at your Auntie tolerating her mother-in-law, but with the elder couple, she’ll say what needs to be said, or else she wouldn’t have revealed your dad’s origins last time. You guys help your Auntie when you can." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)