Chapter 196: Father Xu and Uncle Lu, Who Didn’t Understand the Rules

“Dashuan, brother, sister-in-law, I heard from the eldest that his wife is pregnant. Out of excitement, I forgot to tell you about what the eldest asked us to do,” he said, letting out a sigh of self-reproach.

Dashuan and his wife exchanged glances, and Dashuan’s wife smiled, “What did your eldest tell us?”

“Not long ago, the machinery factory was hiring, right? The eldest asked me to let you know that Jianmin should give it a try. I got so excited that I completely forgot about it.”

“Oh, I thought it was something significant. Jianmin went, but the factory didn’t want him. Your eldest is kind; please thank him for me,” she replied.

The group chatted warmly for a while. Seeing that they didn’t seem upset, Dayong took his leave and went home.

Jianhua sent him to the door and rolled his eyes dismissively at his back.

Upon returning home, he found his parents sitting on the kang with serious expressions. He reassured them, saying, “It’s good to know what kind of people they are. There’s no need to worry about offending such petty individuals.”

Uncle Dashuan sighed and said, “If he hadn’t come today, I would have thought it was his eldest’s problem. All these years, I really misjudged Dayong.”

Jianhua chuckled and replied, “Dad, you’re just too honest. Do you think everyone is as straightforward as you? Uncle Dayong has plenty of schemes.”

Aunt Dashuan scolded playfully, “How can you talk to your father like that? Go away.”

Uncle Dashuan sighed again but smiled, “At least Xu Zhiqing and Xiao An are honest! They truly help others and never engage in any nonsense.”

The two siblings who didn’t engage in any nonsense were trying to put the kids to sleep. Niu Niu and Pi Pi were full of energy, crawling around on the kang and showing no signs of wanting to sleep.

Tang Tang had initially felt a bit sleepy, but the noise from her two brothers perked her up again.

Mother Xu and Aunt Lu were in Xu An’s room making cotton clothes for the kids. Hearing the sounds from next door, they couldn’t help but chuckle; these two little ones had so much energy!

Xu An watched the three of them getting more lively and sighed, “Maybe we should have Xiao Mo come over to put them to sleep before he leaves. Sister, should I go to the cow shed and call him back to help with putting them to sleep?”

Xu Ning laughed at his suggestion, “Forget it, you should go back to your room. You need to get up early for work tomorrow. Let us handle it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Mother Xu and Aunt Lu came in with smiles, saying to Xu An, “Xiao An, you should go rest; we’ll play with them.”

Niu Niu and Pi Pi were thrilled to see their grandmothers and crawled over excitedly.

Each of them picked up a child and began to pat and soothe them to sleep.

Xu An felt a wave of relief upon seeing them arrive; those two little ones could be so clingy.

When it came to handling children, he truly admired Xiao Mo. That kid could get Niu Niu and Pi Pi to listen to him; when he said it was time to sleep, they actually went to sleep, which was even more effective than his sister’s words.

Xiao Mo, who was being talked about, was chatting with Grandpa Qi, his dad and Uncle Lu.

Xiao Mo asked, “Grandpa Qi, Xiao Wang said his uncle is getting married next month and invited me to the banquet. How much should I give as a gift?”

Father Xu chuckled, “It’s his uncle getting married, not you. What banquet is he inviting you to?”

“Dad, why do you say it like that? My brother’s uncle is getting married; why can’t I go to the banquet? Xiao Wang’s grandmother even invited me and said to come early on a certain day to see the bride,” Xiao Mo replied.

Unhappy with his father’s response, Xiao Mo felt that his dad was disrespecting him and looking down on him.

Glancing at his father, he added, “Dad, you don’t need to worry about this. You don’t understand the customs in Yushu Village; I know how to handle it.”

Uncle Lu stifled a laugh and asked, “Xiao Mo, how much are you planning to give as a gift?”

“Uncle Lu, I asked the aunties in the village, and they all said to give fifty cents. But since I’m just a kid and don’t have as much to eat as they do, I’ll give twenty cents. If Grandpa Qi goes with me to the banquet, we can give fifty cents together; it won’t matter that I’m short by thirty cents,” Xiao Mo replied.

The others couldn’t help but burst into laughter at his frugal calculations.

Uncle Lu then asked, “Xiao Mo, how much have you saved? Is it enough for the gift?”

Xiao Mo glanced at them and then quietly felt his little pocket. “I haven’t saved much, just a few cents. It’s enough for me to take Grandpa Qi to the banquet, but I don’t have anything extra,” he said.

The three of them laughed again, unable to contain themselves.

Grandpa Qi chuckled and said, “Xiao Mo, Xiao Wang’s grandfather mentioned to me a few days ago that on that day, you and I should go together. We’ll give fifty cents as a gift, and then we’ll make sure to eat enough to get our money’s worth.”

Xiao Mo’s eyes sparkled at his words. “Grandpa Qi, let’s not eat breakfast that morning. We’ll save room so we can eat more at the banquet,” he suggested excitedly.

Father Xu and Uncle Lu exchanged speechless glances, wondering where this kind of frugal mentality came from.

If Xiao Mo knew what they were thinking, he would surely retort that they didn’t understand the customs of Yushu Village; it was common for people there to eat generously at banquets.