Chapter 9

“Are you Shuangxi?”

Yan Fangming was very excited to see his sister. He hadn’t been home for almost two years, and in the blink of an eye, his sister had grown up so much.

“Who are you? How do you know me?”

Shuangxi covered his forehead and looked at him curiously.

It’s no wonder that she couldn’t recognize him. She was only three years old when Yan Fangming came back last time. He left after just two days of getting to know him, and she had long forgotten what he looked like.

Yan Fangming smiled and squatted down, touching her pigtails lovingly with his big hands, “I’m your brother, don’t you remember me?”

“Brother? Are you really my brother?”

When Shuangxi heard that this man was her brother, her eyes widened instantly. Then when she saw the green military uniform he was wearing, she completely believed it.

She pouted her lips in disdain, “Brother, why did you come back just now? I almost forgot what you look like!”

If her father hadn’t nagging her at home all day long, she would have forgotten that she had a brother.

Upon hearing this, Yan Fangming took out a pack of egg cakes from his bag and gave it to her. He immediately apologized, “It’s my fault. I will try to come back to accompany Shuangxi more often in the future. Can Shuangxi forgive me?”

Shuangxi was holding the egg cake in his arms. What could he not forgive? He kept nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice, “Then I will forgive you. After all, you are my brother, ah!”

Yan Fangming was amused by her adult tone and couldn’t help but pinch her little face, “Little girl.”

“Brother, mom has stewed a big fish! And there are also crayfish! Come home and eat!”

Shuangxi said this and took his hand and walked home, completely forgetting to call her father for dinner.

“Mom! Brother is back!”

Upon hearing this, Wu Xiaoying in the room hurried out, and was stunned for a moment when she saw the tall and handsome figure in the yard.

Yan Fangming greeted her with a smile, “Aunt, I’m back.”

When Wu Xiaoying married him, he was already eighteen, and his mother had just passed away, so he didn’t change his words. In their place, no one would say anything if he didn’t change his words in this situation.

“Why did you come back so suddenly? You didn’t even send a message to your family so that your father could pick you up. Are you tired? Come in!”

Wu Xiaoying reacted and quickly asked him to go inside to rest, and sent Shuangxi to call for help.

“Shuangxi, didn’t I ask you to call your dad to eat? Go quickly and tell him that your brother is back!”

“Hey! I’ll go right away!”

Shuangxi put the egg cake in the room and ran out.

As soon as Yan Fangming entered the room, he saw Xiang Nuan standing there pretty and charmingly. She had a polite and decent smile on her fair and delicate face, and he actually felt a little dazzled.

Wu Xiaoying introduced the two people with a smile, “Fang Ming, this is the educated youth from the city, her name is Xiang Nuan, she is staying in our house temporarily.

Nuannuan, this is my eldest son, Fang Ming, who is three years older than you. You can just call him Brother Fang Ming, we are not strangers. “

“Hello to the educated youth.”

Yan Fangming greeted him first upon hearing this.

Xiang Nuan also nodded politely, “Hello, Brother Fang Ming, just call me by my name.”

“Yes, why call her educated youth? It sounds strange. Just call her Nuannuan like us.”

Wu Xiaoying said this with a smile. To be honest, in her heart, Yan Fangming, her stepson, was not as close to Xiang Nuan as before. After all, the relationship of more than ten years was not fake. This was only the third time she had met Yan Fangming, and he could only stay for a few days every time he came back.

In her heart, Xiang Nuan is her relative, and she hopes that the children at home can get along well with each other.

Yan Fangming nodded, “Okay, Nuannuan.”

Xiang Nuan always felt a little awkward when she heard the word “Nuan Nuan” coming out of his mouth. She really meant to call him by his full name! But since Wu Ma had said so, it was hard to refute.

“Wash your hands and have dinner. You came back at the right time. I stewed fish tonight and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to eat it! And there’s also crayfish tofu. I remember you love it!”

Wu Xiaoying did not expect to have a deep mother-son relationship with her stepson. She just wanted to get along on the surface and have her man agree with her.

Besides, if a child doesn’t go home for a long time and only stays for a few days when he comes back, he must be made happy.

“good.”

Yan Fangming went to the yard to fetch water to wash up. When he came back, Wu Xiaoying asked them to eat first. Yan Fangming said he would wait for his father to come back before eating.

“Aunt, these are the leather shoes I bought for you. Try them on to see if they fit your feet.”

Yan Fangming took out a pair of brand new women’s leather shoes from his luggage bag. They were obviously worth a lot of money, and Wu Xiaoying liked them at first sight.

“Why did you buy me leather shoes, kid? I already have shoes to wear, you are just wasting money!

Where did you buy this? Can I return it?

She really cares about money. This pair of shoes must have cost twenty or thirty yuan. She walks on muddy ground every day, so even the best shoes would be wasted.

Yan Fangming had expected her to say this, “You can’t return it after you buy it. It didn’t cost much. Shoes are meant to be worn. You can wear them when the weather gets colder.”

“You kid, don’t buy anything from now on! You haven’t married yet, you can’t be so extravagant!”

Yan Fangming nodded and listened, “Okay, I’ll remember that.”

Wu Xiaoying smiled with satisfaction and touched the shoes in her hand lovingly, “Then let me try?”

“Let’s try it.”

She found a pair of clean socks from the box, then sat on a stool and took off her patched cloth shoes and socks. After changing her socks, she began to try on shoes.

“That’s right, you’re thoughtful.”

Wu Xiaoying was very happy. This child was filial and even remembered her shoe size.

Yan Fangming said, “Get up and take a few steps to see.”

Wu Xiaoying stood up and walked back and forth in the room a few steps. The shoes fit her feet well and were comfortable to walk in.

“Very good, following you closely!”

Xiang Nuan said flatteringly, “Aunt, these shoes suit you very well. They look good.”

Wu Xiaoying smiled happily, took two more steps, then quickly took it off, wiped it clean and put it away, planning to wear it when she went out to sit at a banquet in the fall.

“Hey, Nuannuan, I didn’t know you were at home, so I didn’t prepare any for you. This is the peach cake I bought at the city supply and marketing cooperative. You can keep it for yourself.”

Yan Fangming took out another bag of peach cakes from his bag. Xiang Nuan could smell the fragrance coming from them even through the oil paper. She remembered that her mother often bought them for her when she was a child. Later, when she grew up and ate more delicious food, she gradually disliked this stuff. Now, she even felt a little greedy when she smelled the aroma.

But she was too embarrassed to ask for it, and there was no shortage in the space, so she smiled and waved her hand, “No need, Brother Fang Ming, leave it for Shuangxi to eat.”

“And what else? You’re welcome.”

Yan Fangming did not miss the fleeting greed in her eyes just now, and stuffed it into her hand without saying a word.

“Take it, you are not a stranger.”

Wu Xiaoying also smiled and asked her to accept it, so Xiang Nuan stopped being pretentious and accepted it happily.

“Thank you, Brother Fang Ming.”

Yan Fangming smiled and took out the gifts for Shuangxi and Yan Mancang. Soon Shuangxi pulled her father into the house.

The father and son hadn’t seen each other for almost two years, and they missed each other very much, but it was unrealistic for two grown men to hug each other and talk to each other. Yan Mancang just smiled and walked over to pat his son’s shoulder, tears flashing in his eyes, “Okay, you’ve become stronger. How long can you stay after this trip?”

Every time his son came back, he counted the days, feeling happy and sad.

“I can stay for six or seven days.”

Yan Fangming also felt sad. He hadn’t been back for two years and felt that his father had aged a lot, with more white hair on both sides of his head.

Yan Mancang nodded, then sat cross-legged on the kang. Yan Fangming brought over the cigarettes, alcohol and leather shoes he had bought for him.

“Dad, this is all to honor you.”

Yan Mancang looked at the things on the kang and expressed his satisfaction, as they were all his favorites.

Like Wu Xiaoying, he complained a few words and told her not to spend money recklessly, and then happily accepted it.

In addition to some food, Shuangxi’s gift also included a skirt. Although this girl is usually naughty, she also loves beauty. She couldn’t take her eyes off the skirt and kept asking to try it on.

“Eat first, I’ll be waiting for you. After dinner, take a shower and try again.”

Wu Xiaoying disliked that she was dirty after working hard all day.

“All right.”

Shuangxi didn’t want to dirty her skirt, so she agreed.

As always, Shuangxi was the one who livened up the atmosphere at the dinner table. She kept talking about what happened today, which did not delay her meal at all. The adults also said a few words from time to time, and the meal was very comfortable and warm.