◎ Second update ◎ 

“You have so many candy wrappers?” Liang Baoling blinked her big eyes as she looked at the small tin box in front of her. 

She also had candy wrappers, but not many, because she rarely had the chance to eat candy in the village. 

Xu Shengya really has more than ten candy wrappers, and they are colorful and very beautiful! 

Looking at Xu Shengya, Liang Baoling thought her new friend seemed even more beautiful! 

“Do you like them?” Xu Shengya put her hands on the table and pushed the small tin box in front of Liang Baoling. “I have been saving them for a long time. This one is orange-flavored, and this one is peach-flavored…” 

Xu Shengya told her new friend the story behind each candy wrapper. As they talked, their heads got closer and closer, and their voices became louder and louder. 

“I like them, the candy wrapper is so pretty!” 

“Then pick some to look at.” Xu Shengya was very generous and wasn’t afraid they might get broken. 

The two of them studied looked at the candy wrappers for a while. Liang Baoling thought the sound of the wax paper was crisp and pleasant, especially the bright colors, which were so beautiful. 

“Pick three and I’ll give them to you.” Xu Shengya counted and found that she had thirteen candy wrappers in total. She gave three to Liang Baoling and had ten for herself, which was a lot! 

“Really?” Liang Baoling looked at Xu Shengya and nodded seriously. She chose carefully and finally picked out purple, orange, and a red candy wrapper. 

Just then, Xu Shengwei, who had been kicked out earlier, came back in. This time he stood quietly and did not dare to disturb the two of them, fearing that he would be kicked out again. 

Seeing that his sister had given Liang Baoling three candy wrappers, he thought the matter should be over, so he leaned forward and asked, “Have you finished looking? Do you want to go play marbles?” 

He met a new friend today, and he really wanted to show off his skills in front of Liang Baoling, to let her see that he’s the best at playing marbles in the courtyard! 

He already knows all the kids in the neighborhood, so when a new one comes along, it seems especially precious. 

“Do you want to go?” Xu Shengya looked at her new friend and took care of her seriously, “My second brother is very good at playing marbles.” 

Xu Shengwei, with a hint of tears and a proud look, felt that his sister understood him well. He decided to generously forgive her for kicking him out earlier.  

“Well, he’s just a bit worse than Xiaolong, Binzi, and Biaozi in our courtyard…” Xu Shengya added.

Xu Shengwei: “…”? I still don’t forgive you! 

“Sure!” Liang Baoling loved playing with anything, including marbles. “Let’s go play together.” 

Xu Shengya and Liang Baoling walked out hand in hand, and Xu Shengwei followed behind them and called out to his playmates along the way, “Let’s play marbles!” 

“Does Mengmeng want to go?” Liang Baozhen asked her little niece. She had come to a strange place today and was a little dizzy from the bus ride this morning. She stayed in her mother’s arms, looking listless. 

Liang Baoying touched her daughter’s little face, smiled, and shook her head. “We still have to go to Jianguo’s house to sit down, so we’ll get ready to go there now.” 

Song Jianguo’s home is in the eastern part of the city, and it was just right to pass through Crescent Alley. It would take over forty minutes by bus. 

Song Chunhua and Liang Zhigao rarely go to the city, especially during the New Year, so they have to visit their in-laws. 

“Then let’s go first, otherwise it will be too late.” 

Except for Liang Baoling, who was playing at Xu’s house, everyone else in the Liang family was getting ready to leave. Liang Zhigao, Song Chunhua, and the eldest daughter’s family were going to the eldest son-in-law’s house. While Liang Baojun was going to find Xiao Quan from the neighboring production team at the towel factory. 

Song Jianguo said goodbye to Xu Shengjie’s family with a heavy heart. Taking one last look at the bustling scene in the courtyard, he couldn’t hide his desire to return to the city. 

Zhou Yun watched her in-laws leave, then she rubbed her waist. She was not in good health, and she was a little tired after working so hard today. 

“Grandma, go and rest for a while and take a nap.” Liang Baozhen helped Zhou Yun into the house and rubbed her waist. 

Zhou Yun lay comfortably on the bed, feeling drowsy, and muttered to her granddaughter-in-law, “Your family are finally here to see us, but our house is too small to accommodate them, and we can’t entertain them well.” 

“What’s the big deal? My parents won’t mind these things. The house is comfortable, and they would be worried about the food at home if they stayed overnight in the city.” 

No matter where they go, Liang Zhigao and Song Chunhua are always thinking about their home and can’t fully relax. 

Today, the family went into the city to visit their two in-laws and prepared to take the last bus back. 

In the afternoon, the courtyard was bustling with activity. A group of children were having a lot of fun playing marbles, picture cards, and jumping rope. Everyone was very welcoming to their new friend. 

However, the faces of several little boys in the courtyard became increasingly upset. 

Because Liang Baoling is so good at playing marbles! 

Liang Baoling had always been active in the village, going up mountains and down rivers, climbing trees to pick bird eggs, not to mention playing marbles and jumping ropes… This time she showed off her skills in front of her new group of friends, and they were stunned!

“Liang Baoling, you’re remarkable!” Xu Shengya saw that the four boys who were the best at playing marbles in the courtyard had all lost, and she looked at Liang Baoling with eyes full of admiration, thinking that she seemed even more impressive! 

When Song Chunhua and the others came back, Liang Baoling was still playing with the children in the courtyard. When she heard her family calling her to leave, she felt reluctant to go. 

“Look at you, you were embarrassed earlier, but now you’re having fun playing with others?” 

Liang Baoling ignored her mother’s remark and said goodbye to her new friends she had met today, especially Xu Shengya, who gave her three candy wrappers! The two of them held hands and whispered to each other. 

“Father, Mother, please be careful on your way back.” Liang Baozhen had only met her parents and family in the city for half a day, and now they had to part again, leaving her feeling a bit reluctant. 

“I know. Just live your life well.” Song Chunhua talked with her daughter and son-in-law for a while, then went to say goodbye to Zhou Yun. 

In the end, Zhou Yun also prepared New Year gifts for the Liang family to take away. It had been lively and bustling earlier, but now it had quieted down significantly as the family left. 

Liang Baozhen sent her family all the way to the entrance of the alley, and Xu Shengya followed them. They had just become friends and had to say goodbye quickly. The two held hands and chatted with their heads close together the whole way.

“Can you come to my house next time? I’ll take you to pick bird eggs and fish in the river. Do you still want to eat bugs?”

“Sure! I want to visit your house too. I’m just not sure if I can go with my sister-in-law when she visits next time.” Xu Shengya was excited just thinking about it. 

“Alright, don’t see us off. Go back inside; it’s cold out here.” Liang Zhigao and Song Chunhua said to their daughter and called her family back, the group separated at the entrance of the alley. 

As soon as she turned around, Song Chunhua’s face looked unhappy. She was holding back her frustration, and when she returned to Xu’s courtyard, she forced herself to smile for a long time and suppressed the anger she felt from her eldest son-in-law, Song Jianguo. 

On the bus ride home, Song Chunhua remained silent the entire way, but Liang Zhigao touched his wife’s arm to calm her down. It was New Year’s Day, so she couldn’t get angry, especially with her son and daughter around. 

When she got home, she closed the door and talked to her eldest daughter, Liang Baoying, alone, “Were they like this the last time you went back to the city with Jianguo to visit his family?” 

Liang Baoying recalled that when her family entered the Song family home, her in-laws were indifferent to her parents, who came to pay New Year’s greetings. They followed all the etiquette, but they were distant. Compared to the warmth they experienced at the Xu family’s home earlier, the Song family’s attitude was strikingly different. 

Even during the brief time, they spent drinking tea and chatting, Song Chunhua noticed that the Song family was not welcoming. There was an air of superiority and disdain towards people from the countryside. When her daughter-in-law handed them a few tea bowls for drinking water, the look in their eyes was full of disgust. 

She had not been very supportive of Baoying and Song Jianguo’s marriage, not for any other reason, but because it was a marriage in the city, and she always felt that Jianguo was calculating. At first, Baoying fell in love with the educated youth Song Jianguo and often looked at him secretly, but Song Jianguo always pretended not to notice. As a result, when he realized that there was no hope of returning to the city, he found Baoying again and soon came to discuss marriage. 

Everyone in the village said that it was inappropriate to marry an educated youth. Who knew if he would fly back to the city? 

Today, it seems that there are more problems with Song Jianguo’s family members.

Seeing Song Chunhua’s frustration, Liang Baoying clenched her hands and comforted her mother. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again with a smile on her face. “Mother, how could that be? Last time we went to Jianguo’s home, his parents were very nice to us. Today… I guess the family was just too busy. Don’t take it to heart.” 

Song Chunhua sighed. Her eldest daughter was the gentlest and least clever among her children. Being too soft-tempered was not a good thing. “I’m just worried that you’ll be bullied. Most of those people in the city look down on people from the countryside. Not everyone is like Xiao Xu’s grandmother, but they should at least make an effort to be polite. Today, I’ve seen that your in-law has some opinions. Jianguo got married in the village on his own, so it’s normal for them to have opinions. But their anger should be directed at Song Jianguo… He was the one who came to ask for marriage! I don’t mind so much but I’m just worried about you and Mengmeng.” 

It is said that a mother always thinks about her children. Song Chunhua felt a little upset today but did not show any expression; after all, they were Baoying’s in-laws. 

“It’s all my fault. I made you and father suffer.” Liang Baoying just wanted to live her own life. If nothing happened, she would not easily go to her in-laws. “Mother, think about it, we rarely go to the city, so how can we have the chance to suffer?” 

This also made Song Chunhua slightly satisfied. At least Baoying was at home, which has some advantages. 

However, when Song Chunhua left the house, Liang Baoying saw her husband, Song Jianguo, coming back. Just as she was about to talk about what happened at his house today, she heard Song Jianguo say solemnly, “Baoying, let’s get a divorce.”