Chapter 1078

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Mom, you never went anywhere when you were young; now you should go see the world."

Wang Erhai said the same.

Li Xiulan's face showed a simple, honest smile as she explained:

"I've been to quite a few places too — I've been to Guangzhou, I've been to Beijing; that counts as having seen big cities!"

Zhang Yueran asked with a smile:

"Mom, when did you go to Beijing?"

Li Xiulan said with a smile:

"Last year or the year before during National Day, Xiao Juan took us to Beijing to see Xiao Hua, and then Xiao Hua took us to Tiananmen, and to the Great Wall!"

Zhang Yueran asked with a smile:

"Is Beijing fun?"

"It's fun all right, but it costs too much — just taking a taxi costs dozens of yuan; big cities have high costs, not like our small place, and staying there isn't comfortable either!"

Li Xiulan thought back to that trip to Beijing — taxis costing dozens of yuan, lodging costing several hundred yuan — and her heart still ached at the expense.

If she knew that the hotel Du Xiaojuan had arranged cost several thousand yuan a night, she would probably feel the pain even more unbearably.

Fortunately, this truth she would probably never know.

"Mom, if you want to go anywhere in the future, just tell me and Erhai; we'll take you there!"

Zhang Yueran said enthusiastically with a smile.

Li Xiulan laughed heartily:

"I don't want to go anywhere — at most I'll go to the county town to see you all, go to Guangzhou to see Dashan and Xiao Juan, and later when Xiao Hua starts working, wherever he settles down I'll go visit him there; as for traveling, I don't have the strength for it anymore!"

This was Li Xiulan's honest truth.

Although in her heart she longed to go out and wander a bit.

But her physical condition was what it was — she really couldn't withstand the exertion anymore.

Wang Zhanggen's health was even worse than hers, even less able to endure the strain.

Besides, she could never just leave Wang Zhanggen behind and go traveling outside on her own.

The group was chatting away.

The car had already gotten onto the expressway.

At this moment Li Xiulan's mobile phone rang.

It was Wang Zhanggen calling.

"Hello, what is it?"

Li Xiulan answered the call, asking impatiently.

Because she knew, when Wang Zhanggen called, it was never anything good.

"Have you reached the county town?"

Wang Zhanggen on the other end asked in a cold tone.

"We got there long ago; now Erhai's driving and we're already on the expressway!"

Li Xiulan answered truthfully.

Wang Zhanggen, however, said coldly:

"Tell him to come back to Shanggou Village and pick me up to go together!"

"What?" Li Xiulan was utterly astonished.

"Don't you 'what' me! I'm telling you to hurry up and have Erhai drive back to Shanggou Village to get me — are you deaf!"

Wang Zhanggen shouted impatiently.

"No, Wang Zhanggen, are you sick! You're the one who said you weren't going! Now we're already on the expressway, and you want Erhai to turn back and get you — what kind of stunt is this!"

Li Xiulan couldn't help but directly scold Wang Zhanggen.

Wang Zhanggen was simply unreasonable.

She'd asked him long ago whether he was coming, and he insisted he wasn't!

And now that they were already on the expressway, he wanted Wang Erhai to turn back and fetch him!

"Cut the crap and hurry up and have Erhai come back for me — without me, the head of the family, in the big group photo, can it even count as a big group photo!"

Wang Zhanggen roared in a huff.

Li Xiulan was so angry she gritted her teeth.

But she also couldn't deny that without Wang Zhanggen in the big group photo, it really wouldn't count as a big group photo.

"Mom, what did Dad say?"

Wang Erhai had already sensed something was off and hurriedly asked.

Li Xiulan told him truthfully:

"Your dad's gone who knows what nerve — originally he said he wasn't going, and now he wants you to go back to the village to pick him up!"

Wang Erhai didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"I'm already on the expressway; to turn back I'd have to get off at the next interchange, then turn around and go back — this whole hassle would take at least over an hour!"

Li Xiulan said:

"Then forget him, let's just head straight to Guangzhou!"

She then shouted into the phone:

"If you want to come, drive yourself over. Erhai can't possibly turn back to pick you up!"

"How am I supposed to get there? Don't you know my leg is broken?" Wang Changgen said angrily, and even ordered:

"Give the phone to Wang Erhai, I'll talk to him!"

Li Xiulan said to Wang Erhai:

"Your dad wants to talk to you."

Wang Erhai smiled wryly:

"I'm driving right now, it's not convenient to take the call, Mom, turn on speakerphone."

Li Xiulan turned on the speakerphone.

"Hello, Dad, what's up?" Wang Erhai shouted and asked.

"Wang Erhai, you hurry back to Shanggou Village and pick me up!"

Wang Changgen shouted in a commanding tone.

"Dad, how about I call a rideshare to give you a lift over?"

Wang Erhai offered a relatively appropriate solution; this way, although it would cost a bit more money, it wouldn't be as troublesome as turning back for a trip.

But Wang Changgen said:

"I told you to come back, so you come back. Where does all this nonsense come from!"

Wang Erhai was indescribably depressed, but also helpless.

With Wang Changgen's tone this agitated, if he didn't turn back to get him, who knows, he might just do something stupid.

This man easily gets stuck in a dead end; you can't persuade him no matter what.

Especially in recent years, as his body has gotten worse and worse, his temper has also gotten stinkier and stinkier.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll get off at the next expressway exit, then turn back and pick you up. That should be fine, right!"

Wang Erhai compromised in the end.

Zhang Yueran, listening to everything on the side, frowned, but didn't say anything.

She wanted to say something but it wasn't appropriate to say.

After all, Li Xiulan was right there in the car.

She couldn't very well badmouth her father-in-law in front of her mother-in-law.

"Yueran, I have to go back and get my dad, you think..."

Wang Erhai asked Zhang Yueran.

Before he could finish, Zhang Yueran cut him off:

"Go back then. It's Saturday today anyway, we're not in a rush."

Li Xiulan said with a smile:

"Yueran is still the sensible one. Really sorry about that. That old man is just like that — not to mention a body full of ailments, his temper is dead stinky!"

Wang Erhai couldn't help but complain:

"Not that I'm saying anything, but last time he went down to Guangzhou to see his grandson it was the same, causing all kinds of trouble, really makes you speechless!"

Li Xiulan could only comfort:

"Erhai, just bear with it. No matter what, he's your dad. Besides, his health is getting worse by the day; who knows when he'll pass on."

Hearing this, Wang Erhai didn't say anything more.

Sometimes he even felt that if that old man passed away, it might not be a bad thing.

But once this thought popped up, he would feel intense self-reproach. No matter how you put it, that's his own biological father; how could he have such an unfilial thought?

"Fine, fine, fine. Haven't I been putting up with him all along?"

Wang Erhai said this one sentence, then didn't say anything more.

The car reached the next expressway exit, then left the toll station, made a U-turn, got back on the expressway, then took the expressway straight to the town, then got off the expressway at the town, and took the township road to Shanggou Village.

Returning to Shanggou Village, the time was already nearly eleven o'clock.

This time was very awkward.

If they set off directly, they wouldn't arrive at the postpartum center until after two in the afternoon; what about lunch then?

So Wang Erhai said to Li Xiulan:

"Mom, how about we eat lunch at home first, then set off?"

But Wang Changgen was unwilling:

"Eat what eat! All day you just know eat eat eat! It's already very late! Hurry up and set off!"