Lin Zhilan watched her figure disappear at the courtyard gate, shook her head with a smile, and turned back into the house.
When the two of them were talking outside just now, they knew to keep their voices down at first. But later, when Liu Chunhua talked about her own family affairs, she lost all her reservations. Her voice was so loud that Xu Yueyun heard everything.
She was helping Su Bingcheng set out the bowls and chopsticks. Seeing Lin Zhilan enter the room, she asked casually, "What's the matter with this Comrade Chunhua's mother-in-law?"
Lin Zhilan sighed and gave a rough account of the Ma family's affairs.
Hearing that Old Lady Ma favored her two younger sons, exploiting her eldest son to subsidize the two younger ones, Xu Yueyun shook her head helplessly.
It made her think of their own eldest son. He had obviously taken advantage of the family a lot and couldn't stand on his own feet, yet he blamed his parents for not supporting him enough.
His two younger brothers were successful on their own, but he still blamed his parents for being biased.
Old Lady Ma treated her eldest son the worst, yet this eldest son was foolishly filial.
And what about Su Ding?
If one really calculated it carefully, he was the one the family worried about the most.
His studies, his job, his marriage, and having children—the family paid for everything.
Even so, he still complained that the family favored his younger brothers.
"Stop thinking about it," Su Bingcheng knew at a glance what his wife was thinking. "As parents, we've given him everything we should. We don't expect him to provide for us in our old age. We'll just live our own lives well from now on."
"Are you finally thinking clearly now?" Xu Yueyun snorted coldly and rolled her eyes at him.
"Every family has its own difficulties. Mom, Dad, you came to the island to have fun, so don't think about those unhappy things anymore." Lin Zhilan linked her arm through Xu Yueyun's. "It's too late today. Get a good rest tonight, and I'll show you around tomorrow."
The reason she told her parents-in-law about the Ma family's affairs was so they wouldn't have any prejudice against Sister Chunhua.
Moreover, as for that old lady from the Ma family, it was best to steer clear of her.
At first glance, one could tell Xu Yueyun didn't know how to bicker with others. If they really clashed, she definitely wouldn't be a match for Old Lady Ma.
Just as they were talking, Su Lang came back with the two children, carrying the food they had bought.
After taking trains and boats these past few days, everyone was tired and went to bed early.
Early the next morning, Lin Zhilan got up.
Only to find that she was the latest one to wake up in the house.
As soon as she went downstairs, she saw Xu Yueyun standing in the courtyard, bending over to prune the rose bushes by the wall.
Linlin was squatting nearby, her small hands holding a bunch of cut flower branches, her little face glowing brightly in the morning light.
The rose branches had all been carefully stripped of their thorns by Xu Yueyun, so they weren't prickly at all.
"Mom, did you and Dad sleep well last night?" Lin Zhilan leaned against the doorframe, her voice still carrying a slight huskiness from just waking up.
Xu Yueyun straightened her back, looked back at her, and smiled. "Pretty good. The weather on the island is really comfortable, neither too cold nor too hot."
Lin Zhilan shrugged. "In a while, you'll know it's not that comfortable. By then, you'll wish you could shoot down the sun."
Xu Yueyun found it amusing. "It's fine. When the time comes, I'll buy you all electric fans."
"Hurry up and wash your face, then go eat breakfast before it gets cold. Su Lang went to the military base. Your dad took Chengzhou out for morning exercises and will be back in a bit."
Lin Zhilan blew a kiss to her daughter and mother-in-law. "Love you both, but you don't need to buy fans. We already bought them last year."
She hadn't washed up yet. Her hair was loosely tied, a few stray strands clinging to her smooth forehead, and the corners of her eyes still held a hint of lazy mistiness.
In the morning light, her face revealed a natural pink blush. She looked hazy and soft, exceptionally beautiful.
The key was that Xu Yueyun had never experienced a blown kiss from her daughter-in-law before, and her face instantly flushed red.
She looked down at her smiling little granddaughter. "Look at your mother..."
Halfway through her sentence, Xu Yueyun couldn't help but laugh as well.
Her younger daughter-in-law was becoming more and more unreserved in front of her.
Little Linlin thought her grandmother liked blown kisses, so she puckered her lips at her grandmother from a distance and gifted her several more soft, sweet kisses.
"You two!" Xu Yueyun gently poked her little granddaughter's forehead. "You just have to coax away your grandmother's heart, don't you?"
Linlin giggled. "I give my heart to Grandma too."
"Alright, alright, Grandma knows." Xu Yueyun couldn't withstand this kind of offensive. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, and her heart felt wonderfully sweet.
Xu Yueyun finished pruning the last rose branch and carried the small bundle of flowers into the house.
"Zhilan, do we have a vase at home? These flowers are blooming so beautifully; it would be a pity not to arrange them after cutting them."
Lin Zhilan wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, thought for a moment, and said, "We don't have a vase, but there are bamboo trees on the mountain. We can chop down a few, drill some holes, and use them as flower vessels."
"That works too. Will it be too difficult to do?" Xu Yueyun's eyes lit up, looking somewhat eager to try.
There was hardly any greenery in the capital during winter, let alone these flowers.
Arriving on the island and seeing so many flowers, Xu Yueyun was itching to do something with them.
"It's not hard." Lin Zhilan quickly finished her breakfast and cleared the table. "I'll go next door and call Wang Rou to see if she wants to go with us."
"I'll go call her! I'll go call her!" Linlin shouted, raising her little hand.
"Okay, you go."
Linlin responded crisply with an okay, and handed the flower branches in her hands to Xu Yueyun. "Grandma, hold these for me for a second."
Xu Yueyun took them with a smile and followed behind her as she walked out.
She didn't turn back until she saw her safely enter the courtyard next door.
Before long, Wang Rou brought Li Xuan over.
Linlin happily held Xu Yueyun's hand and introduced her to her friend, "Brother Li Xuan, this is my grandmother."
Li Xuan nodded. "Hello."
"Hello, my name is Xu Yueyun. Just call me Grandma Xu." Xu Yueyun could tell that the little boy in front of her was very well-mannered.
Wang Rou was also very elegant.
Xu Yueyun didn't think too much into it; she just felt that it might be because she painted.
"Grandma Xu," Li Xuan called out, then looked at Lin Zhilan. "Auntie Lin, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Li Xuan. Are you going up the mountain with us today too?"
"Yes." The little boy nodded, then stood silently beside Wang Rou.
Everyone packed their things and got ready to head up the mountain.
Xu Yueyun reminded Linlin to stay close to her mother and not run around.
Hearing this, Lin Zhilan said, "Mom, you should come with us too."
"I'll pass. You young people go have fun. I'll wait for you at home." Walking on flat ground was one thing, but Xu Yueyun didn't dare to go mountain climbing.
Lin Zhilan walked over, linked arms with her, and gently shook her arm with a smile. "The bamboo forest is just at the foot of the mountain. There's no climbing involved, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you. Besides, with me—a doctor—here, what do you have to worry about?"
Lin Zhilan had invited them over to recuperate and relax. What was the point if they just stayed cooped up in the house?
Xu Yueyun was moved by her words.
"Then I'll go too?"
"Yes, let's go!"
Lin Zhilan said decisively, taking her hand and walking out.
The back mountain wasn't far. Walking north out of the family compound, it was only a few hundred meters away.
