Chapter 1311: A Face Full of Shared Glory

No sooner had their family left than the crowd began to gossip: "That son of Changsheng's is truly handsome; one look tells you he's blessed with fortune."

"Changsheng now has both a son and a daughter; he has completely turned his luck around."

"Zhao Lamei really is lucky; who would have thought she'd actually bear a son?"

"Your words are truly sour. When she had no son, you constantly called her a childless household behind her back; now that she has a son, you speak in this tone. How interesting."

"What did I say that you're criticizing me so? What, do you want to curry favor with them? Even then, you'd have to see if they'd even look at you."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Who's currying favor? I'm just speaking about the matter at hand. If something can be done, isn't one allowed to speak of it?"

"What did I do? Explain it clearly to me."

"You know perfectly well what you did. Before they left the village, you wanted to adopt your sixth child into their family; they refused. Now that they have a son, you've started being sarcastic."

"You're spouting nonsense! I'll let you spout nonsense..."

There we go; one reached out, the other wasn't a coward either, and they immediately started fighting.

The Xiao family had already arrived home by then. They knew this return would cause an uproar, but they never expected someone to actually come to blows over their family's affairs.

The old man had prepared plenty of provisions; two tables would have been more than enough. Thinking that their large family would occupy one table, Xiao Fu approached the hired cooks and instructed them to prepare food for three tables.

He had just finished speaking when the village secretary's daughter-in-law walked in carrying a basket of vegetables: "Changsheng, Lamei, my husband told me to pick extra vegetables so we can stir more into the pot later."

The vegetable patch behind the house is currently being tended by the secretary's family. The agreement was that if they returned, they could pick and eat; if they left, they could take some with them. If they couldn't return, the secretary's family would handle it as they saw fit, so they didn't feel particularly ashamed.

The kitchen is professional; they usually cater banquets for villages within ten li. Three tables are nothing to them.

After ushering the family inside, Xiao Fu personally went out to invite guests.

By the time everyone had arrived, the meal was ready.

Never before had Xiao Fu and Xiao Mu felt as satisfied as they did now. Xiao Mu, who had never drunk alcohol, surprisingly drank three cups for the first time; truly, years of pent-up grievance were finally released today, in this very moment.

After three cups, Xiao Mu didn't stay outside at the banquet but returned to the room to watch over her son.

Xia Qiu helped carry some food and dishes into the room. As Xiao Mu ate, tears began to flow.

This startled Xia Qiu, but she quickly understood why her mother was crying: "Mom, let the past be the past. Now that we have a younger brother, our days ahead will be as sweet as honey."

Hearing the words of flattery from the people at the banquet outside praising her husband, she nodded heavily: "Yes, your younger brother is our family's hope. With him, our future has real promise."

At the banquet outside, Xiao Fu was performing beyond his usual capacity today; the more he drank, the more he talked.

Hearing someone praise Qiu Shaofeng and Fu Yan Cheng, his face broke into a wide smile.

He patted Qiu Shaofeng's shoulder: "His wife is my daughter. She is now an accountant at the textile factory in the city. Perhaps one day, when the opportunity arises, my son-in-law might even move to the city to become a worker. Our future won't be bad."

Afterwards, he patted Fu Yan Cheng: "My second son-in-law is now a regular company-grade officer. My Chuxue is also very impressive; she even represented the factory at the Canton Fair and secured numerous foreign trade orders for the factory."

As he spoke these words, his eyes were full of show-off pride; his face was a picture of shared glory.