"Silly girl, if you really want to honor my parents, I'll tell you a way they'd definitely like."
Looking at his slightly pouting wife in his arms, Chen Yang's lips curved into a mischievous grin.
Shen Xue didn't know what the older man was thinking. She was still feeling ashamed for having maliciously speculated about her in-laws' thoughts.
"What way? Oh, tell me quickly."
"No beating around the bush."
Seeing the woman who was even using her charm, Chen Yang's heart warmed. This silly girl genuinely wanted to honor his parents.
Chen Yang leaned into her ear and whispered.
"If you give them another grandson, my parents will definitely be overjoyed."
"Having grandsons and granddaughters would mean having both sons and daughters."
Chen Yang grinned mischievously. Hearing his words, Shen Xue's pretty face instantly turned red.
This troublesome fellow, he just knew how to tease her.
"Then, then, then, how about tonight, we let Mom and Dad bring Yan Yan over?"
However, what Chen Yang never expected was that after hearing his words, Shen Xue didn't shy away and push him away as usual.
Instead, she cautiously glanced at the baby in front of them, as if she had stolen something, her big, watery eyes negotiating with him. [Sū Dān Novel Network]
The older man's heart surged with blood. Had his shy wife finally opened up?
"Daddy, Mommy, what are you talking about?"
"Yan Yan wants to listen too."
But just then, as if noticing their evasive gazes, the little baby, who had been happily bouncing around, suddenly pounced into Chen Yang's arms.
Looking at her innocent, carefree, and expectant smile, Chen Yang suddenly felt a sense of guilt.
How could he bear to entrust such a cute baby to his in-laws?
"Daddy and Mommy are thinking about what gifts to prepare for Grandma and Grandpa."
Chen Yang stroked the baby's little head, only able to hope that their house would be built quickly. Then, it could be made into an adjoining suite, and they wouldn't have to worry about the little one.
"Yan Yan also wants to prepare gifts for Grandma and Grandpa."
Hearing Chen Yang's words, the baby's eyes sparkled.
She was also very excited to meet her grandparents, whom she had never seen before.
That night, the baby felt her Mommy was a little strange. Her face was flushed red, and she didn't tell her any good stories.
She just hugged her and rocked her. She was so sleepy, and Yan Yan fell asleep.
When Chen Yang came in after showering, he looked at the baby sleeping soundly on the small bed next to him, snoring loudly, and the couple exchanged a knowing smile.
He kissed the baby's little face and then, practically scrambling, pounced onto the bed.
"You, keep it down a bit."
"Wife, I haven't made a sound. It's you who needs to keep it down!"
"I haven't! If I tell you to keep it down, then keep it down, or we'll sleep in separate beds, hmph."
From inside the room, the woman's shy hums were heard intermittently, and the older man couldn't help but laugh and cry.
This night was as precious as timely rain, moistening everything silently.
To the point that, in his heart, Chen Yang kowtowed a hundred times to his parents in gratitude.
The next morning, Chen Yang woke up feeling refreshed. He looked at his wife, whose face was still flushed and who was sleeping soundly, and gently pecked her cheek.
"Daddy, I want a kiss too."
Unexpectedly, the baby next to him suddenly spoke, almost making Chen Yang jump out of his skin.
Indeed, the baby had been coaxed to sleep long ago yesterday. She had woken up early this morning.
Seeing that Daddy and Mommy were still asleep, the little one had been quietly biting her finger on the bed, not making a sound.
Now that she saw Chen Yang getting up, she finally spoke.
"Okay, Daddy will kiss you."
Chen Yang picked up the little one and gave her fair, tender cheek a big kiss. Then, he helped her put on her clothes.
The little one could dress herself, but she was still too young. She would often put one sleeve on and then her other little hand couldn't reach the other sleeve.
After fetching water and washing up, his mother-in-law had already started boiling red date porridge. Chen Yang then took the baby and his father-in-law to the old house to collect the fish.
Weighing the fish and keeping accounts, just as usual. It wasn't just Chen Yang; the villagers were also accustomed to it.
Everyone even helped carry the plastic buckets filled with fish onto the donkey carts. These days, everyone had earned quite a lot of money following Chen Yang to catch fish, which was more than the work points they earned in an entire year in previous years.
If it weren't for the fact that the fish run only lasted for July, they would have wished they could catch fish every day. This was all money!
"Yangzi, I've been through it, I know you young people have a lot of passion, but you also need to be gentle with people."
After sending the baby home to his mother-in-law, Shen Xue was still asleep. Chen Yang's face was a little flushed, and he didn't dare to look his mother-in-law in the eye.
"Mom, I understand. I'll rest earlier from now on."
Chen Yang felt too embarrassed to say more to his mother-in-law about such matters. He scooped up a bowl of porridge and hurried off to deliver fish with his father-in-law.
"What about the commune today?"
Shen Futang, driving the donkey cart and smoking his pipe, was clearly still worried about what Tian Zhijun had said yesterday.
"Dad, I've already spoken to Station Chief Wang yesterday. After we deliver the fish today, Station Chief Wang will personally accompany me to Wanli Commune to have a word with Director Liu."
"Don't you worry about this matter. Later, you and Second Uncle can borrow a few more donkey carts from the team. The brick factory should be ready to fire today, so hire some people to help us haul the bricks. Pay one yuan for both the donkey carts and the people."
Chen Yang handed the pre-ordered slip to Shen Fuguo. After the incident just now, his desire to build a house became even more urgent.
It felt quite awkward doing this under his in-laws' watchful eyes.
"Alright."
"It's good that you have a plan. If they really pursue it, just blame it on me. I'm the son of a landlord anyway, so it'll be enough to fool outsiders even if I'm taken away and shot."
"You must treat my daughter well."
Shen Futang tapped his pipe. His words warmed Chen Yang's heart. His father-in-law was willing to risk his life for him.
"Dad, you're overthinking it. It's not as serious as you imagine. If you're still worried, you can accompany me and Station Chief Wang to the commune later."
Chen Yang quickly reassured his father-in-law. If there were such risks, he would rather live in poverty than risk his life.
If he were gone, how could he provide a happy life for Shen Xue and the baby?
They traveled in silence. Upon reaching the aquatic product station, they indeed saw Zhao Wukang. The young man was already helping Master Zhang with weighing the fish.
He was also taking care of the fish temporarily kept in the aquatic product station's ponds. These fish needed to be well cared for to reach a certain quantity before the food factory's large trucks could be used to send them to the city's aquatic product company.
"Uncle, Brother-in-law, I'll help you unload the fish. Station Chief Wang said to look for him when Brother-in-law arrived. Let Uncle Zhang weigh the fish, and Station Chief Wang will accompany you to Wanli Commune."
As soon as the two arrived, Zhao Wukang rushed over to help unload the fish. Hearing his words, Chen Yang asked his father-in-law to wait there for the fish weighing and payment, while he went to Wang Jianguo's office.
"Station Chief Wang, I'll be troubling you today."
Chen Yang offered a cigarette. Wang Jianguo didn't hesitate. He picked up his briefcase from the shelf, tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and left the office with him.
"I'll ride my bicycle, you sit behind, I'll take you."
As the station chief of the aquatic product station, Wang Jianguo naturally had a bicycle, a Flying Pigeon brand 28-inch model.
Chen Yang didn't try to take over. Bicycles were still rare items in those days, and Wang Jianguo wouldn't have been willing to let him ride it even if he had offered.