"Grandpa, we have already got off the bus and will be at the second exit soon."
"Okay, you two slow down, I'll wait for you right here at the exit."
In less than a minute, Ma Lingling saw her grandfather. She waved vigorously, and then said to the mobile phone:
"Grandpa, I saw you."
After saying that, he hung up the phone, took his little brother's hand and walked towards grandpa.
"I miss you, grandpa!" Ma Xu shouted.
"Grandpa misses you too, Lingling, is the road going well?" Father Xu asked with concern.
"It went smoothly, nothing happened."
"That's good. Are you two hungry? Do you want to go back after eating?" Father Xu suggested.
Ma Lingling quickly refused: "Grandpa, no need. My mother prepared rice balls and I just ate them in the car. I'm not hungry at all now."
Father Xu nodded, took the suitcase from his granddaughter, and then took the two of them into a taxi.
In less than an hour, the taxi finally arrived at the courtyard. Xu's mother had been waiting for almost half an hour.
After the relatives met and exchanged greetings, Xu's mother took Ma Lingling and her brother into the yard.
"Woof woof woof..."
Ma Lingling looked at the wolf dog and sighed: "Wow, Mark grows up so fast. I remember that during the Chinese New Year, he was not even as high as my calves."
"Cousin, dad said Mark is a big wolfdog. As long as he has meat to eat, he will grow very fast." Coco interjected.
"Mark doesn't eat meat every day, right?" Ma Lingling said in surprise.
Xu's mother took over the words: "Don't listen to your cousin's nonsense. People are running out of meat. Where is the meat for dogs to eat? Just chew some bones."
"But dad..."
"Your dad is also unreliable sometimes!"
Then Xu's mother changed the subject: "Okay, Lingling, I packed up your and Xiaoxu's room last night, one for each, and I'll take you to see it."
"Thank you grandma."
"If you say thank you to grandma, just treat this place as your own home, don't be polite." Xu Ma said happily.
Ma Lingling's room was on the second floor, next to the bedrooms of the Coco sisters, and the quilts and sheets were all brand new; Ma Xu lived on the first floor, and as a naughty boy, it would be bad if he fell down while walking up the stairs on the second floor.
After settling down, Xu Ma took Ma Lingling and asked about the situation in Luyang. Although she usually called, she was afraid that there would be good news but not bad news.
Yang Lina came over with a bowl of soup: "Lingling, drink a bowl of mung bean soup quickly. The weather is too hot. Don't get heatstroke."
"Thank you, auntie."
"What a good boy. Why are you so polite to my aunt? Just drink it quickly!" Yang Lina said with a smile.
Ma Lingling took a big sip and said quickly: "It's so sweet!"
"There's still more in the pot. If it's not enough, I'll give you more."
"That's enough. I drank four boxes of yogurt in the taxi just now. If I drink more, I'll feel bloated."
Xu's mother complained: "It's true for your grandpa, yogurt is not a good thing, it's almost expired, and he still makes you drink it hard."
Ma Lingling's face turned a little red. In fact, it had nothing to do with her grandfather. It was because the two siblings were greedy and drank so much without knowing it.
After scolding her husband for a few words, Xu's mother began to ask about her daughter's family. Yang Lina did not leave and stayed with her.
"How are your parents working?"
"Fortunately, they are both employees of the railway system. There is no need to worry about unemployment. They are just much busier than before. My dad now has to work overtime every two days."
Yang Lina comforted her: "This is normal. There is a shortage of supplies everywhere now, and the railway must be extremely busy."
"Is there enough food at home? Are you hungry?" Xu's mother continued to ask.
"It's enough to eat. My dad bought a dozen bags of rice before and there's still a lot left! Besides, it's not like we can't buy food now, so why are we hungry?"
Yang Lina asked curiously: "Is it easy to buy food in Luyang?"
"You can only buy it at designated grain stores. They have rice and flour, but the purchase is limited. It's also hard to buy vegetables. I heard that the water shortage is so serious that many vegetable greenhouses have been abandoned."
Xu's mother felt distressed after hearing this:
"No wonder you and Xiaoxu have lost so much weight. What can you do if you don't eat vegetables? There is no nutrition at all. Grandma will cook more delicious food for you later to replenish your body."
In fact, this is also a bit of Xu Ting's selfishness. My brother's family is rich, so there will definitely be no shortage of oil and water in the food.
"Thank you grandma, grandma, you are the best." Ma Lingling took Ma Xu's arm and said coquettishly.
"Tell grandma what you want to eat, and grandma will cook it for you tonight."
"I like to eat whatever grandma makes."
"You little girl, I don't know who you learned this from, your mouth feels like it's been smeared with honey..."
Xu's mother nodded with satisfaction. Her daughter did not lie to her. She basically said the same thing as her granddaughter. Then she asked about the situation of the eldest son's family:
"Is your uncle's family okay?"
Ma Lingling hesitated for a moment, nodded and said, "It should be okay."
Xu Ma naturally saw something was wrong, so she asked nervously:
"Did something happen at your uncle's house?"
"Oh, grandma, my mother didn't let me say it."
"This is grandma's house. Don't listen to your mother. Speak quickly. Grandma is getting anxious." Xu's mother urged.
Ma Lingling nodded: "Actually, it's not a big deal. After the power was restored, my uncle sold all the rice he had stored up.
He also said that my uncle was a liar and there was no need to stock up on so much food, but that he deliberately let him waste money."
"and after?"
"Later, the price of food skyrocketed, and my uncle said that my mother was unkind and that she was on the same side as my uncle and wanted to make fun of him."
"Your uncle..."
Although Xu Ma was relieved, she didn't know what to say.
"Brother, it's true. He seems to have forgotten who advised him to stock up on food in the first place. He really regards his kindness as a donkey's heart and lungs." Yang Lina said coldly.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Ma Lingling quickly made up for it and said, "But don't worry, grandma. My dad just sent a bag of rice to my uncle's family last month. I'm sure they will not be short of food."
"Your uncle is too ignorant. I will talk to him later." Xu Ma sighed.
After all, this is not a glorious thing, so we can only let it go.
Next, Xu's mother asked about Ma Lingling's study situation and learned that her granddaughter ranked twenty-fifth in the grade in the final exam. She couldn't help but feel elated and rewarded her with two thousand yuan of pocket money on the spot.
"Thank you, grandma." Ma Lingling said happily.
Yang Lina couldn't help but express her gratitude. She went back to the second floor and picked out an unopened Parker gold pen from her husband's study.
The gold pen is not too expensive, with a price tag of more than 1,500 yuan, so it is just right for a gift.
However, at the current price of gold, the price of this pen will at least triple.
"Lingling, your brother-in-law and I reward you with this pen. I hope you can maintain good grades and get admitted to a prestigious university."
"Thank you, auntie."
Ma Lingling happily took the pen. This pen was expensive at first glance. Although she is not a show-off person, who doesn't like good things!