Chapter 303: Dongzi

He Yushui had long since married, but He Daqing had always kept her room for her, and in the future, it would only belong to Yushui.

Moreover, her room was adjacent to Yi Zhonghai's home, and Yi Zhonghai's home currently only had two wing rooms (already converted into three) and one Ear Room, with no extra space for living.

Once Yi Jiabao brought his biological parents over, living there would undoubtedly be the most appropriate arrangement.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an followed custom and sent two Wild Boars and several dozen catties of pig bones to the two Sub-bureaus.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an assembled a wooden-board wind-shield tricycle, took his wife, child, and gifts to his father-in-law's house, and was let through after a simple inspection.

"Oh, my good grandson, come here, let Grandma hold you," the little one wasn't shy at all and giggled.

Zhang Ping'an brought in the cigarettes, tea leaves, Medicinal Wine, snacks, as well as five catties of fatty pork and two pheasants from behind.

"Oh my, why bring so much stuff over? Are you not planning to live anymore?"

Their family usually bought pork in small portions of three or four ounces, so the impact of five catties of fatty pork was still quite strong.

"Mom, I know how to hunt; these are basically all my prey, I didn't spend any money."

These were Wild Boars from Zhang Ping'an's space; they weren't much different from farm-raised pigs, with five layers of fat and lean meat, looking appetizing just to see.

"This child..."

At home, there were only the mother-in-law, the grandparents, and Li Aiguo's children; the eldest brother-in-law, his wife, and the father-in-law had to return after getting off work.

"Grandpa, Grandma."

"Hmm, where is the child?"

"Mom is holding him in the back."

"Little Aunt's husband!" X2

"Hey, here are some candies for you," Zhang Ping'an casually handed a handful of White Rabbit candies to the two children.

"Thank you, Little Aunt's husband."

"Haha, go play."

After cooking lunch, the father-in-law and the eldest brother-in-law Li were busy and couldn't make it back, so only Zhang Ping'an accompanied the old man for a drink; after the meal, they chatted for a while, and at two in the afternoon, he took the old man's special-supply cigarettes and liquor and went home.

Just as Zhang Ping'an arrived at the Siheyuan, Jia Donglai, Yan Jiekuang, and Yi Jiabao's family of three had all returned.

"Uncle."

"Zhang Shu." X2

"Doctor Zhang."

"Hmm, you all hurry home, it's quite cold outside. Brother Qi, sister-in-law, welcome to Sijiucheng, let's have a drink together when we have time."

Zhang Ping'an looked at the two carefully; apart from their expressions being somewhat weary and their complexions sallow, these were unavoidable.

"Good, good, good."

At Yi Zhonghai's home, Tan Cuicui had already prepared various ingredients, just waiting for them to come over so everyone could gather and have a lively time.

"Mom."

"Jiabao, Qingshan, sister-in-law, you're here, come in quickly."

Seeing the two looking weary, Tan Cuicui led them directly to Yushui's room.

"Qingshan, sister-in-law, you rest here for a while first, we'll have a good gathering tonight."

"That works, sorry to trouble you, sister-in-law."

The two were already in poor health, and having sat on the train for a day and a half, their bodies were indeed struggling to hold up.

"Don't say that, you rest first, just say if you need anything."

"Okay."

In the evening, Yi Zhonghai returned from work and ran into Jia Donglai, who was picking up his daughter from work.

"Donglai, have Jiabao and the others all returned?"

"They're back. Brother Jiabao and Uncle Qingshan are all at your house, so the job of picking up sister Jiabei fell to me."

"You rascal, you got the benefit and are still acting coy. Old brother, this kid doesn't take after you at all, he's a slippery one."

"Hahaha," Lao Jia didn't mind Yi Zhonghai's teasing at all; after all, his own son had "dug up" someone else's cabbage.

When Yi Zhonghai and his daughter returned home, Qi Qingshan and his wife had recovered after sleeping all afternoon and were helping Tan Cuicui in the kitchen.

"Brother Qingshan, sister-in-law."

Yi Zhonghai looked at Yang Qingmei's complexion and sighed slightly in his heart; this complexion was clearly much worse than when he had left before the new year.

"Old brother is back, we've come to bother you."

"Old brother, don't say such distant things, let's have a good drink tonight."

"Hahaha, good."

That night, Yi Zhonghai's home was very lively; the eight-immortal table in the small main room sat six people perfectly, and they toasted each other in a harmonious atmosphere.

After the meal, once the two children had returned to their respective rooms, Qi Qingshan finally stated the purpose of this trip.

"Old brother, come to think of it, this is our first time meeting while sober. Over these years, Jiabao and Jiabei have relied on you; not only did you provide for their food, clothing, housing, and transportation, but you also gave them a good education."

"Without you, we likely wouldn't have met in this lifetime; we are truly grateful to you," Qi Qingshan and his wife stood up and bowed to Yi Zhonghai and his wife.

"Old brother, don't be like this, this is all fate," Yi Zhonghai hurriedly helped the two up.

"Right, it's all fate. To be honest with you, old brother and sister-in-law, we actually came this time to see Jiabao's partner; I heard it's Donglai's twin sister."

"Yes, they are childhood sweethearts, though they only broke the ice on their relationship last year."

"Good, that's good. Old brother and sister-in-law, you also know our situation; we have at most half a year left. Jiabao and Jiabei will have to rely on you in the future."

"Sigh, don't worry, I have always treated them as my own children."

"Old brother..."

Emboldened by the alcohol, Qi Qingshan pulled Yi Zhonghai aside and rambled on about many things—there was regret, guilt, and even more, gratitude.

Yi Zhonghai and his wife sent the two back to Yushui's room.

"Sigh."

"Lao Yi, why don't we propose a marriage for Jiabao to Jia Laoge's family? It would settle a matter on the minds of Qingmei and her husband."

"That sounds good. I will go ask for the opinion of the older brother and sister-in-law first."

"Mm."

Yi Jiabao and Jia Dongzi were both old enough to marry, but it had been delayed because they went down to the countryside.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it? Lao Yi? Come in and speak. Didn't you have relatives visiting your home? How do you have time to run over here?"

"Brother and sister-in-law, did Donglai tell you about Jiabao's matter?"

"Mm, he told us roughly."

"Actually, Jiabao's biological parents have at most half a year left. I was thinking if we could let Jiabao and Xiao Zi get engaged first to settle their hearts."

"Lao Yi, I have no objection to this matter; the two children are old enough."

"That's right. We watched Jiabao grow up, and we are at ease handing Xiao Zi over to him. What do you say, Xiao Zi?"

"I will listen to whatever Father and Mother decide," Jia Dongzi said with an embarrassed smile.

"That's good. After the New Year, I will bring Qingshan and the others over to formally propose. It's not easy to find a matchmaker right now, so I'm afraid it will be a bit of a grievance to Xiao Zi."

It was the time of Destroy the Four Olds, and traditional wedding customs were considered feudal dross; basically, everything was a revolutionary-style wedding.

"It doesn't matter. Those are all empty formalities; keeping it simple is quite good too."

In the early hours of the morning, Yi Zhonghai and his son went to the Black Market to see if they could prepare more chicken, duck, fish, and meat to use after the New Year.

As luck would have it, Zhang Ping'an was currently sweeping through the Black Market for various antiques and ancient books, and he recognized Yi Zhonghai and his son at a glance, even though they were both wearing masks.

Zhang Ping'an guessed they were doing this for the guests they were hosting in the next few days. Carrying his basket, he walked straight over; Zhang Ping'an also wanted to see if Yi Zhonghai and the others could see through his disguise.

"Do you want some Wild Boar Meat?"

"Yes, how much per jin?" Yi Zhonghai said subconsciously, but when he looked up, he saw a fierce face with a scar.

The corners of Yi Zhonghai's mouth twitched. It was no wonder he didn't need to cover his face; with that appearance, no one would dare to go up and look for trouble.

"There's only ten jin left, give me twenty-five for it."

"Deal."

Yi Zhonghai did not hesitate and paid immediately. He had just walked a full circle and hadn't seen anyone selling pork, so he hadn't expected someone to approach him voluntarily.

"Many thanks."

"Just a transaction."

Yi Zhonghai and his son subsequently bought two chickens and a small basket of eggs before returning home satisfied.