No matter how you look at it, the picture of a two-year-old Mengmeng struggling to hold a car toy the size of a football and handing it to another little boy who is half a head taller than her is a bit disharmonious.
But this happened right before our eyes.
Dongdong’s eyes fell on this car toy and couldn’t move away.
It can be seen that he likes this toy very much, but he doesn't know how to communicate with others, which makes him a little embarrassed to take it.
"Brother, give it!" Mengmeng took another step forward: "It's so heavy."
"Dongdong, please take it quickly, thank you sister." Li Xiaojuan coaxed him and said.
But Cheng Tiandong is really not good at communicating. He bit his lip with his teeth, and his eyes were still on the car and toys. At night, he grabbed his grandma's clothes with one hand, looked back at his grandma, and then looked at his cousin Mengmeng, but he couldn't open his mouth.
Mengmeng couldn't hold her anymore, and accidentally, the car toy fell to the ground with a 'clang' sound.
Mengmeng also said "Ouch". Fortunately, she is not tall and the toy was not broken.
Seeing that the car toy fell to the ground, Dongdong did not hesitate this time. He quickly knelt down to pick it up and held it in his arms: "Thank you... thank you!"
"Hehe." Mengmeng smiled very happily when she heard her cousin say thank you.
Li Xiaojuan led the two of them home, holding each other's hands.
"Mom, your stewed chicken is almost dry. I'll add some more hot water." Cheng Xiaolin happened to come out of the kitchen and said to her mother when she saw her coming in.
"I just talked to you and forgot to look at the pot." Li Xiaojuan said.
She asked her daughter: "Have you tasted it? It will be ready soon."
Cheng Xiaolin nodded: "I can eat it, but Dongdong and Mengmeng are in vain. Let's stew for a while."
This is also a very ordinary farmyard, with a structure of red bricks and cement boards. The yard is quite large, and the things in the yard are divided into categories and arranged very neatly.
Cao Shujie replaced his wife from the kitchen: "You go and talk to our mother, I'll watch."
When he saw his nephew Cheng Tiandong coming in with his toy car and his daughter Mengmeng, he thought that his nephew was fine. Cao Shujie waved to him, but Cheng Tiandong was still the same as before, turning his head to look at him and making no move.
"A bit lonely." Cao Shujie looked at his nephew and said to himself.
He knew what was going on, but he couldn't control it.
The smell of chicken in the pot came. Cao Shujie looked at the time, opened the lid of the pot and picked up a piece to taste. The meat fell into pieces as soon as he bit it.
"Heat the pot." Cao Shujie turned off the gas stove and took the pot directly to the north room.
During the meal, Li Xiaojuan was busy and let her grandson and granddaughter eat first. She was not in a hurry.
At this time, Cheng Xiaolin discovered something.
Her daughter was holding a spoon in her hand, holding a small bowl and pulling the meat into her mouth.
But her nephew Cheng Tiandong sat there obediently, waiting for his grandma to feed him.
He is a little over 3 years old, so I can’t say that this is wrong, but when compared with Mengmeng, I can see the difference between them.
Li Xiaojuan put another piece of meat into Mengmeng's mouth, but Mengmeng refused: "Grandma, mother, eat it yourself."
Mengmeng was eating chicken in her mouth and her speech was slurred.
Li Xiaojuan said, "It's okay," and was about to continue stuffing the chicken into her granddaughter's mouth. Cheng Xiaolin said, "Mom, we won't feed it. Just let Mengmeng eat it by herself."
Hearing what her daughter said, Li Xiaojuan gave up and went to feed her grandson again. Cheng Xiaolin was helpless: "Mom, Dongdong is so big, can't you let him eat by himself?"
"It's no use. If he doesn't eat well, if you don't care, he can eat for more than half an hour." Li Xiaojuan said.
Cheng Xiaolin wanted to refute, but her husband pulled her clothes. Cao Shujie shook his head and motioned for her to stop talking and eat.
After dinner, Mengmeng took her cousin Cheng Tiandong to play in the yard, and then Cheng Xiaolin spoke out what was in her heart.
Obviously, Li Xiaojuan is not an ignorant person, and she also understands the truth, but actually doing it is another matter.
"Mom, can't you let Yingying come back? Or let them find some work nearby." Cheng Xiaolin made a suggestion.
"If it doesn't work out, I'll contract some land at home to plant fruit trees," she said.
Li Xiaojuan rolled her eyes at her: "Linlin, don't think that your mother-in-law's family is making money growing fruit trees. Everyone else is also making money. It's not that easy."
Obviously, this is useless, and some things are not as easy as imagined.
However, during dinner, Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin found that their nephew Dongdong looked much more lively. Under Li Xiaojuan's guidance, he knew how to call "aunt" and "uncle".
Li Xiaojuan was very happy to see the changes in her grandson. She could see that her grandson and granddaughter were in a much better mood when they played together.
But it is impossible for her granddaughter to stay here for a long time to play with her grandson. It is simply unrealistic.
In the evening, Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin and their family rested in the room arranged by Li Xiaojuan. Mengmeng was practicing somersaults on the bed.
She was very cautious. After her head touched the quilt, she curled up into a ball and rolled forward.
After the somersault was successful, Mengmeng said happily: "Dad, you come too."
Cao Shujie was embarrassed. He was so old, he might be useless.
Cheng Xiaolin couldn't help but laugh beside her. She hugged her daughter over and said, "Mengmeng, stop making such a fuss. Your father is useless. It's useless."
"I can!" Mengmeng emphasized again, staring at her parents, begging for praise.
Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin also followed her wish. Seeing how easily satisfied their daughter was, and thinking about their nephew who didn't talk much, they had some thoughts in their hearts.
"Husband, I think it's right for us to come back. It's not about how much money we have to earn a year. Mengmeng has to go to school in the capital. As long as our family is happy," Cheng Xiaolin said.
The comparison between her daughter and her nephew made her feel more and more that their choice was correct.
Is Beijing good?
From all aspects, whether it is the convenience of life, personal development space, or educational issues, it is definitely very good.
But her husband was busy in the capital all the time, his body was visibly weak, his spirit was not in good condition, and they did not have more time to spend with Mengmeng.
Unlike now, when I no longer have to worry about myself mentally, it seems that all the crux of the problem have been resolved.
Her husband's energy is getting better and better, and his body is much healthier than when he was in the capital. Now they can basically grow up with Mengmeng every day, which is great!
As for how much money she makes, she always thinks it’s enough to spend. No matter how much money she makes, what will happen if she’s exhausted?
…
The next afternoon, Cao Shujie and his family of three had lunch at his mother-in-law's house and drove away under the reluctant eyes of his mother-in-law, Li Xiaojuan.
As the car drove away, Cao Shujie glanced back in the rearview mirror and realized that the person who had the biggest reaction was his nephew Cheng Tiandong.
He grabbed grandma's hand and jumped up and down, and even wanted to drive away their car.
Cao Shujie sighed when he saw this scene, but he also knew that even if they stayed for two more days, it would be useless as they would only treat the symptoms but not the root cause.
"Husband, let's go home directly? I'll call our mother first." Cheng Xiaolin asked him.
Cao Shujie shook his head: "First go to Ji Guangyou's place and settle the payment for the fruit saplings."
After hearing what he said, Cheng Xiaolin didn't say anything else.
Mengmeng may have been playing with her cousin in the morning and didn't sleep well. She fell asleep on her mother's lap not long after getting in the car.
Cheng Xiaolin smoothed her daughter's hair with her hands, and felt particularly satisfied when she looked at her peaceful face while sleeping.
