Two hundred and eighty-third Zhang Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors
At the dinner table, Li Qingqing happily greeted Hu Lai to sit next to him. This small detail made Xie Lan smile, while Li Ziqiang's hand paused for a moment.
Hu Lai, who had been eating airplane food for a day, looked at the sumptuous meal in front of him and drooled happily. He raised his chopsticks to pick up the food.
But he was blocked by his mother.
"You have a special World Cup package."
After saying that, my mother turned around and walked into the kitchen again.
Hu Lai had a bad feeling when he heard this name.
Sure enough, the next thing he saw was his mother bringing him a plate from the kitchen and placing it in front of him. It contained boiled chicken breast, boiled beef, boiled shrimp, boiled broccoli...
"What kind of World Cup package is this?" Hu Lai protested. "This is a traditional French package!"
"Oh, aren't you going to the national team for training in two days? I'm afraid that too much greasy food at home these two days will affect your physical condition, so I made specially made athlete recipes for you... These dishes are all the ones I made online.
Searched." Xie Lan explained.
"Mom, do you have a misunderstanding about what athletes eat? Athletes can't eat this every day? Besides, this was not the case last time I came back..."
"Isn't the World Cup about to begin? Let me tell you Hu Lai, you are no longer my son..." Xie Lan said with a serious expression.
"So Mom, you're finally going to tell me that I paid for the phone bill as a gift?"
Xie Lan raised his hand and made a slapping gesture: "Nonsense! I mean you are the hope of fans all over the country now. I have to keep an eye on you to avoid any mistakes... Otherwise, you can ask your coach!"
Hu Lai followed the sound and turned his attention to Li Ziqiang, who saw the latter looking at Hu Lai with a calm expression on his face: "There's no need to be so exaggerated, Sister Xie..."
Hu Lai breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.
"It doesn't have to be like this every day. But the first meal after coming back should really be lighter, so today's meal will be like this."
The smile froze on Hu Lai's face before it fully bloomed. He looked at the delicious food on the table, and then looked at the plate in front of him. It was like taking a picture with a domestic mobile phone and an American mobile phone.
The dishes that come out are the same. The former makes people appetizing, but the latter makes people not want to eat it...
Li Ziqiang looked at Hu Lai's deflated appearance and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
With the endorsement of Li Ziqiang, a professional coach, Xie Lan clapped his hands: "Okay, let's eat! Come on, let's raise your glasses first! Oh, Hu Lai, you can only drink boiled water..."
"I know..." Hu Lai rolled his eyes and picked up the glass filled with boiled water.
After giving special instructions to his son, Xie Lan held the wine glass, put one hand on his hip, and continued:
"Today's meal... is of great significance. First of all, it is to welcome Qingqing and our Hu Lai who have returned from abroad with great honors. This is a welcoming banquet! Secondly, I would like to congratulate Qingqing and Lao Li on their move. From now on, everyone will be neighbors. As the saying goes
Well, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Since we are neighbors, we should communicate more and help more. Lao Li, if you have any questions, just ask and we will definitely help!"
Seeing how enthusiastic the other party was speaking, Li Ziqiang waved his hand quickly: "No need to trouble you..."
"Hey, no trouble, no trouble!" Xie Lan waved his hand.
Hu Lixin was also nearby and explained to Li Ziqiang: "Xie Lan is right, Lao Li. We are all neighbors, not to mention just ordinary neighbors. You are Hu Lai's coach, so you should take care of each other..."
"That's what Lao Hu said. In fact, we have met several times before. Who knew you were Hu Lai's high school coach? I mean, Lao Li, you look kind, but you really don't dare to think about it..."
Xie Lan turned to everyone again: "The third point, I have told Lao Li before, since Hu Lai went to Europe to play football, he has not been able to come back every Spring Festival, so every year at this time we will advance the Spring Festival. Therefore, the first
Three o'clock is of course the Chinese New Year! The fourth o'clock is that the World Cup is coming, so this meal is a way to cheer Hu Lai off!"
Hu Lai complained in a low voice: "Good guy, you were trying to catch me up two paragraphs ago, now I'm going to be sent away... My butt is not even hot yet..."
"Hu Lai, what did you say?" Xie Lan glanced at him.
"No, no, no, no. On behalf of everyone in the national team, I would like to thank my mother for cheering!" Hu Lai quickly stood up, holding the cup in both hands, and took the initiative to propose a "wine".
Li Qingqing, who had been sitting next to Hu Lai and watching Hu's mother speak with a smile, saw this and also stood up and picked up the glass with juice: "Thank you, auntie, for cooking this big table of delicious dishes, auntie, for your hard work!"
Xie Lan said with a smile: "Half of this table is your father's specialty, Qingqing."
Li Qingqing turned to his father again: "Dad, you have worked hard too!"
Li Ziqiang looked at his well-behaved daughter with a happy smile on his face.
He could see that his daughter was very happy after Xie Lan and the others came, maybe because the family was finally lively...
Although being neighbors with Hu Lai was a bit beyond his imagination, it made him feel as if he had been stabbed in the back. But seeing his daughter so happy, Li Ziqiang didn't care so much.
After his wife passed away, his daughter was his only one. If his daughter was happy, he, the father, would be happy.
He then picked up the wine glass.
Hu Lixin also raised his glass next to him.
Five people sat around the table, clinked the glasses together, and made a crisp sound: "Cheers!"
"Come on, come on, twist as you like. If you can't reach it, stand up and stretch out your hands. Qingqing, this is your home, so don't be polite!" After drinking the first cup full of ritual, Xie Lan greeted her like a host.
Come, everyone.
"Lao Hu, please treat Lao Li well!"
"Hu Lai, please eat your World Cup set meal. Let me tell you, eat this love set meal that your mother and I made for you, and I will ensure that you score more goals in the World Cup!"
Hu Lai gave his mother a dead fish-eye look, deadlier than the boiled chicken breast he was chewing.
※※※
The dinner party was going on, and the laughter and laughter in the restaurant gave this usually quiet house a more lively atmosphere.
Li Qingqing had already finished eating, but she was still sitting at the dining table, listening to Hu Lai's mother telling embarrassing stories about Hu Lai's childhood, and hearing Hu Lai's angrily rebuttal and denial, which made her laugh out loud.
As for her father, she and Hu Lai's father were drinking to the point where they were holding each other's shoulders and whispering...
This was the first time she saw her father drink so much.
No, when her mother was sick before, she also saw her father drunk alone...
But after she broke him, she never saw her father drunk again.
I don’t know if my father really doesn’t get drunk anymore, or if he only gets drunk when he can’t see him.
In fact, she is not afraid of her father getting drunk. She even thinks that under such circumstances, it would be a good thing to let her father get drunk. At least it can vent all the depression in his heart.
So now when she sees her father drinking too much, she is quite happy. Such a father is a normal father!
Don't always be so bitter and resentful. Your daughter has grown up, and you have fulfilled the promise you made before your mother's hospital bed, and your mother will definitely be happy for you!
Li Qingqing looked away from his father and turned to Hu Lai's mother. Hearing what she said, he laughed again.
After Li Qingqing looked away, Li Ziqiang, who was whispering to Hu Lixin, suddenly raised his head and looked at his daughter.
Seeing her smiling face, Li Ziqiang also smiled slightly.
Then he lowered his head again and clinked glasses with Hu Lixin.
※※※
After Xie Lan, Li Qingqing and Hu Lai worked hard in the restaurant and kitchen, they finally cleaned up the mess after the meal.
This time Xie Lan did not refuse Li Qingqing's offer of help. After all, both men were so drunk that they could not move. She was really too busy by herself and needed help.
Of course, she didn't just ask Li Qingqing to help, she also called Hu Lai to help her in the kitchen.
The three of them were chatting in the kitchen while washing dishes, and they didn't find it difficult to deal with the mountains of pots and pans.
When it was time to say goodbye after busy work, Xie Lan asked Li Qingqing: "Qingqing, is it okay for you to be alone? Do you want Hu Lai to help you?"
Li Qingqing smiled and shook her head: "No, Auntie. It's fine with me. You are quite tired too, so you should go back and rest early."
"Hey, how tired can you be? Besides, it's so convenient to go home. Just turn right and you'll be home in one step. Why do you think this is such a hassle? You really don't want to help me?"
Li Qingqing said firmly: "No need, Auntie. Thank you."
Xie Lan didn't force it: "Okay, it's next door anyway. If you really can't handle anything, just come and knock on the door. No matter how late it is, there's always someone knocking on the door. Auntie usually goes to bed very late."
After saying that, she asked Hu Lai to help his father up, and the three of them went out together, turned right, and entered the front door of their house.
After closing the door, Li Qingqing turned around and walked towards Li Ziqiang, who was lying on the sofa, and asked softly: "Dad, are you okay?"
Li Ziqiang, who had been keeping his eyes closed before, heard the sound and opened his eyes, saw his daughter, and suddenly asked: "Qingqing, before you planned to buy this house, did Hu Lai tell you that his home is here?"
Li Qingqing shook his head in surprise: "No. I just knew that he bought a house, so I wanted to buy a house too. But I don't know where he bought his new house..."
Li Ziqiang looked directly at his daughter. After two seconds, he smiled: "I believe you."
After saying that, he struggled to get up from the sofa.
Li Qingqing wanted to come up to help him, but he waved his hand and refused: "I'm not drunk."
He staggered to his bedroom alone.
"Go to bed early, you've also been on a plane all day..." After leaving these words to his daughter, Li Ziqiang closed the door and entered the bedroom.
Li Qingqing did not rush back to her room, but turned around and walked to the balcony. Then she looked to the left in the balcony and saw light coming from the balcony on the left.
The orange light is like a small orange lamp in the dark night, making people feel warm and peaceful inside just by looking at it.
That is the Hu Lai family.
※※※
Xie Lan finally settled Hu Lixin down, then came to his son's room and knocked on the door: "Are you asleep?"
"No. The door is unlocked."
Xie Lan opened the door and saw her son lying on the bed playing with his mobile phone. She immediately smiled and said, "Are you chatting with Li Qingqing?"
"No, let's talk to Brother Huan and the others."
"Oh..." Xie Lan was obviously disappointed, and his smile disappeared instantly.
Hu Lai also saw the change in his mother's expression. He couldn't understand: "We've been chatting all night, and we're still chatting... How can there be so much to talk about!"
Xie Lan wanted to give his son a look: "You don't understand, there are so many things to talk about."
Hu Lai felt that he couldn't talk to his mother. She was the best stalker he had ever seen in his career, so it was best not to get entangled with her when he met her. The correct response was to give in quickly: "Okay, okay, okay.
,I don't understand."
Xie Lan remembered that he was here on business, so he lowered his voice: "There is a question that I have never been embarrassed to ask in front of the father and daughter... Where is Qingqing's mother, why haven't I seen her?"
"Oh, Li Qingqing's mother died of cancer when she was ten years old."
Hu Lai said it lightly, but Xie Lan's eyes widened: "Ah... Qingqing is such a cheerful girl, but I didn't expect that... I really can't tell!"
"Yes, I was surprised when I first heard the news. I couldn't imagine it from her look. She is quite strong."
"More than being strong? At ten years old, a ten-year-old child has no mother...it's still a girl, how pitiful it must be!" Xie Lan said with red eyes and her voice choked up.
Seeing that his mother was about to cry, Hu Lai was a little at a loss. He sat up from the bed and wanted to comfort her but didn't know how.
Fortunately, Xie Lan quickly adjusted her emotions. She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, and then said viciously to her son: "You must be nicer to Qingqing in the future!"
Hu Lai:???
He didn't expect that he could be shot in this way.
Mom, your son owes money to others to the point of selling himself. Isn’t this good enough?