I'm back in 1990

Chapter 352: Still the same

On this trip back to Qingjiang, Huang Xiaochuan brought two minivans, which made the trip less conspicuous. After crossing the Yangtze River, the journey was smooth, but even so, it still took nearly seven hours.

Whenever Huang Xiaochuan takes a long-distance car trip, he thinks about highways. Unfortunately, the only highway between Shanghai and Jiangsu is the Shanghai-Jiading Expressway, which opened to traffic in 88. So many years have passed, and the golden age of highway development has still not arrived.

The happiest people when the two arrived home were naturally their parents.

After entering the house, the two immediately greeted Lao Huang and Zeng Lijuan.

"Mom and Dad, we're back!"

Hearing the commotion, Huang Erhe came out of the house with his fiancée, Fan Yingrong.

Huang Xiaochuan took the initiative to step forward and greet his second brother and sister-in-law.

"Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law!"

Yu Xiang also greeted the two of them along with Huang Xiaochuan.

Although the two brothers hadn't seen each other for several years, their relationship wasn't that deep because they hadn't spent time together since childhood.

Unlike Huang Dahai, although he wasn't very close to Huang Xiaochuan, he was still the eldest brother and did everything very well, behaving like a proper older brother.

After Huang Xiaochuan greeted Yu Xiang, Huang Erhe said to Fan Yingrong, "This is my younger brother Huang Xiaochuan, and that is his girlfriend Yu Xiang. She lives upstairs."

Fan Yingrong glanced at the two of them, smiled, and greeted them, "Hello!"

The attitude was lukewarm, like greeting a stranger.

Zeng Lijuan's face immediately fell, and Huang Erhe quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Don't stand up, let's sit down and talk."

Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "I rushed to greet my second sister-in-law and second brother as soon as I got back. I haven't had a chance to see my parents-in-law yet. Please have a seat. I'll take Yu Xiang back home first."

Yu Xiang was about to give Fan Yingrong the gifts she brought from Shanghai when Huang Xiaochuan pulled her away. Before leaving, Yu Xiang smiled apologetically at Fan Yingrong.

Zeng Lijuan immediately said, "Then you should go quickly! Don't keep your parents-in-law waiting."

Huang Xiaochuan turned around and took Yu Xiang upstairs. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of his second sister-in-law's disdainful expression.

Huang Xiaochuan couldn't help but laugh at himself. He had originally thought that since his eldest sister-in-law had changed in this life, his second sister-in-law should also have changed.

Looking back now, I realize I was being too optimistic. It seems she's still the same second sister-in-law from my past life.

This second sister-in-law is the daughter of an official family in the city where the Huang Erhe military unit is stationed. Her father's official position is not high, just a deputy director.

However, her eldest uncle was a local official, and there were also many other relatives, including cousins, who held various positions with low rank but great power. Therefore, Fan Yingrong's family was what later generations called a local small powerful clan.

Later, Huang Erhe was transferred to this place, which was fine, since he could be resettled according to his family's registered residence. But what was most outrageous was that he had a son who took the surname Fan and didn't even say goodbye to his parents. What's the difference between this and marrying into the family?

What's even more infuriating is that the second sister-in-law has two older brothers, each with a son, meaning the Fan family doesn't need another grandson. But Fan Yingrong did it anyway, and her parents and brothers actually supported her in doing so.

But back then, the Huang family followed the local customs of the second sister-in-law's family, giving betrothal gifts and dowry, with no shortage of gold jewelry. It was clearly a marriage proposal. How did it end up becoming a live-in son-in-law's family inexplicably?

Because of this incident, Lao Huang cut off all contact with Huang Erhe. Only Zeng Lijuan, as his mother, was soft-hearted and would still call Huang Erhe a few times a year, but Huang Erhe never took the initiative to call back.

Huang Xiaochuan always felt that the responsibility for this matter lay with Huang Erhe. Although Huang Xiaochuan didn't know the specific details, he was quite something that Huang Erhe hadn't said a word while his wife was causing all this trouble. So, after Huang Erhe settled in Shanxi Province in his previous life, Huang Xiaochuan had no contact with him. Perhaps Huang Erhe never intended to have any contact with Huang Xiaochuan anyway.

Huang Xiaochuan and Yu Xiang went upstairs. Zeng Lijuan didn't know how to treat her second daughter-in-law, but she regretted giving too much as a gift. If she had known this would happen, she would have just given two thousand.

He was also blaming his second son for being such a good-for-nothing, for being blind to have married such a woman. But he could only complain in his heart; the deed was done, and besides, Huang Erhe liked her, so who cares!

Old Huang witnessed the whole scene and was naturally unhappy, but as a father-in-law, there were some things he couldn't say to his daughter-in-law.

I can only talk to my son privately when I have the chance.

After Huang Erhe took Fan Yingrong back to their room, Lao Huang pulled Zeng Lijuan back into their room, closed the door tightly, and asked, "You didn't tell Lao Er about Xiao Chuan, did you? And about Xiao Chuan giving you money?"

Zeng Lijuan said angrily, "I didn't tell him that his brother's money is for us to use. What's there for me to talk to him about? Do you expect me to report to him?"

Old Huang warned, "Keep your mouth shut. Don't tell Xiao Chuan and his wife about this. Since ancient times, brothers have always divided the family property. Besides, Xiao Chuan earned what he earned himself. It has nothing to do with the eldest and second eldest brothers. Whether he wants to give it to them or not is his own business. You can't be confused about this. Don't tell Xiao Chuan that he should subsidize his two older brothers. With us here, it's not his turn. Do you understand?"

Zeng Lijuan rolled her eyes at Lao Huang: "I know without you telling me! I already regret giving the second son's family the 10,000 yuan as a meeting gift."

Old Huang waved his hand: "We've given it, so what's there to regret? We'll see how things go in the future. Anyway, we've just done our duty as parents."

Back in her room, Fan Yingrong was making a fuss with Huang Erhe.

"Erhe, I've met your parents, and I've also met your sister-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law. Shall we go back soon? I don't like living or eating here, and there's not even any aged vinegar."

Fan Yingrong didn't want to come to Huang Erhe's house at all, but her parents supported Huang Erhe. Her mother even said that no matter what, a daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws. So she reluctantly came along. After arriving, she vowed never to come again.

Huang Erhe was also troubled. His fiancée had been spoiled since childhood and was used to being domineering at home. Moreover, the matchmaker who introduced them said that with such a family, his career would definitely be smooth. In addition, Fan Yingrong was quite beautiful and treated him very well, which is why they decided to get married.

However, Fan Yingrong just couldn't bear to leave home. She had only been here for two or three days when she kept clamoring to go home.

Huang Erhe was quite understanding of her. As a native of the west who was used to eating noodles, she felt extremely uncomfortable without them. Moreover, the noodles available in Qingjiang were limited to just a few varieties, none of which suited her taste. Eating had become a major problem. The key issue was the lack of aged vinegar. He would definitely bring two bottles of aged vinegar next time he came back.

Huang Xiaochuan led Yu Xiang to the Yu family's house on the third floor, and as soon as they entered, he called out, "We're back!"

Zheng Aiying immediately came out of the kitchen to greet Huang Xiaochuan, smiling as she said, "Knowing you two were coming back, your dad and I were going to make dumplings for you."

Huang Xiaochuan looked and, sure enough, Lao Yu was sweating profusely as he kneaded dough and rolled out dumpling wrappers.

Because they were afraid of blowing the flour up, they didn't even turn on the electric fan.

"Why don't you turn on the air conditioner at home?" Huang Xiaochuan asked, looking at the air conditioner in the room.

"The line load can't keep up, and it will trip after a short time. Your dad's workplace will be coming to upgrade the capacity in the next few days, and it will be usable once it's done."

After Zheng Aiying's explanation, Huang Xiaochuan finally understood.

He went to the kitchen to wash his hands, then stood next to Lao Yu and said, "I'll help too!"

Old Yu wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Okay, you'll be in charge of packing them later."

Just then, Zheng Aiying came out carrying a bowl of dumpling filling and said, "I already told your mom to come over for dumplings tonight. Once the dumplings are ready, go and call them up. Your mom said your new sister-in-law doesn't like rice, so I thought I'd make dumplings for her. She should be able to eat them, right?"

In front of Lao Yu and Zheng Aiying, Huang Xiaochuan smiled but didn't say anything, only nodded.

Yu Xiang also put on an apron and came out to help wrap them.

Huang Xiaochuan quickly shooed her away: "Don't bother, I'm an expert. Just wait to eat!"

Yu Xiang rolled her eyes at Huang Xiaochuan: "What a jerk! Look at you, so self-important. I didn't wrap it for you, I wrapped it for my parents. Why are you being so presumptuous?"

The young couple flirted and teased each other in front of the elderly couple. Old Yu and Zheng Aiying secretly exchanged glances, unable to hide their smiles.

In addition to dumplings, Zheng Aiying also cooked several other dishes for dinner.

Old Yu took out two bottles of Moutai and said to Old Huang and Huang Erhe, "Tonight, the three of us will finish them. Xiao Chuan, if you don't like this, you can pick the wine you like. Take whatever you like."

"Alright!" Huang Xiaochuan acted as if he were at home, and went to Lao Yu's house to get a bottle of Yanghe liquor in celadon enamel. This liquor was almost ten years old, a standard aged liquor, and Huang Xiaochuan had been thinking about it for a long time.

Seeing the bottle of wine Huang Xiaochuan was holding, Old Yu chuckled: "You've got a good eye for quality, kid!"