Although the family was harmonious and happy, the men were tactless and rarely paid attention to such things.
Grandma Liu never imagined that the first person to say such thoughtful words to her would be her little granddaughter.
Her sweet little girl really loved her, aww, her Nannan wanted to show her piety.
The child's immature words filled her heart to the brim.
She felt warm all over.
Hearing no response from her for a long time, the little baby thought she disagreed, but still softly rubbing against her.
Her little body swayed until she resembled a fried dough twist, delicate and soft, she said, "Grandma, go, let's go, hmm. We've made money this year, so don't be afraid of not having enough money. Just buy whatever you want. I'll earn more and more silver for you later on!"
The old woman pretended that sand was blown into her eyes, turned her head to wipe away the wetness in the corners of her eyes, and smiled, "Okay, since you want to go, I'll take you with me. Why don't we all go together? Let's have some fun today. We can buy whatever we want, eat whatever we like. I'll listen to you!"
The baby's little face brightened proudly as the sun. She clapped her little palms and bounced, cheering, "Yehey, we can go shopping. Brother, hurry up and get ready. We'll go to town together today and have fun!"
Seeing this scene, all the adults in the family laughed in unison.
Waiting for an opportunity when no one was around, Grandpa Liu quietly edged closer to his wife's side.
Looking at the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes that couldn't be hidden, Grandpa Willow coughed, "Wife, so many years have passed in a flash, I-I, thank you."
The husband said awkwardly.
Obviously, he had a belly full of emotional words to say, but he choked on them and blushed. All he could utter was a thank you.
Grandma Liu rolled her eyes and pushed him away, "Yeah-yeah, how could I not know that mouth of yours?! It's clumsy as hell, not as sweet as our Nannan."
Grandma Liu grinned. Having been married for decades, some words needn't be said, but she could understand.
Understood him.
"The luckiest thing in my life was marrying you and making you my wife. Wife, from now on, when I come back from work, I'll share the chores with you. I won't let you work as hard as before."
Grandma Liu turned her back to the old man to pack up, but her lips curled into a smile uncontrollably. Still, she spoke toughly, "You-just have to take care of your work in the fields. There's no need for you to worry about the matters at home. You're not an iron man. If you're exhausted and I still have to serve you, then I'd be more tired."
Grandpa Liu stood behind her with his hands behind his back, smirking.
A refreshing warmth filled the air.
The years have still been good.
On the other side, Chen Xiulan also pretended to complain, "Our daughter only has her grandparents in her eyes, and there is no such thing as me."
Liu Dalin smirked, leaning closer to his wife. "It's not like you don't know that our daughter is filial to her elders in the family. Besides, you still have me, don't you? Look into my eyes, aren't you in them? You don't have to be jealous of our parents, right?"
His wife gave him a blank look. "Come on, you – We are our daughter's parents. You-married-don't be so glib in front of me, else I'll let Mother skin you!"
She smiled and fled, her cheeks dyed with a crimson hue.
The married Liu Dalin: "…" Was hit with 10,000 points of violence in the body.
Liu Zhixia and Liu Zhiqiu, who heard that the whole family would be going shopping for fun, were about to go crazy. When they got back to their rooms, they pulled their little backpack onto their backs. They also rushed their parents to get ready so they could go out, forgetting their rendezvous with their pals.
The family got ready to leave, then went to the village entrance to wait for their ride.
Because only Li has an ox cart in the whole village, when there were festivals and many people went to town, they had to wait for their turn when the cart couldn't accommodate all of them.
Li usually could also earn some money by driving people in his ox cart.
When they arrived under the ancient acacia tree at the entrance of the village, there were a lot of people standing at a glance. They were waiting for their ride to town so they could buy some stuff.
When the adults saw the Liu family, they greeted them warmly. They started chatting and gossiping, making the place lively.
"Brother Liu, Sister Liu, are you also going to the town? Yoo-hoo, the whole family is out. With us together, it'll be lively."
Grandpa Liu hee-hawed: "Yes, our dearest baby has been distressed about us old people working tiredly day by day. She said it's just in time for the holidays, so she insisted on dragging the whole family out to go shopping, buy some stuff, relax and have fun."
"Your little poppet is really filial. How old is she, huh? She's just so sweet."
"Hahaha," Grandpa Liu laughed. "This little baby is just trying to have some excitement." He said so, but his old face was all smiles.
That smug look was especially hateful.
There were also other families around who brought their little kids to town with them. Seeing Liu Zhixia, Liu Zhiqiu and Liu Yusheng, all of them swarmed excitedly, chattering about things that they could buy.
Exhilarated, excited and expectant.
Liu Yusheng stood amongst them, her small lips pursed with a smile, listening carefully to each and every one of them. It was obviously lively, but something felt missing in her heart – it wasn't complete enough.
She looked around the circle, looking at the small carrot heads. In the end, she realized that Axiu was missing.
He was the only one missing on such a festive day.
He was a bit of a loner, so even when he was playing with these friends, he didn't really fit in.
It was supposed to be a day of reunion, but what was he doing now? Alone in a cabin, squatting in the sand and practicing writing? Or was he sitting alone on the boulder, dazed and alone?
Thinking about this, her pleasant mood slowly sank.
She pursed her lips,walked over to Grandma Liu, and tugged at her sleeve. "Grandma, today is so lively. Why don't we call Brother Axiu to go shopping with us? No one else is with him but his mother."
Grandma Liu gave an ouch, "Oh my, look at my memory. I forgot to call on Wanrong. It's a big holiday, yet the mother and son are in the cabin. I don't know how they are doing."
As she spoke, she looked up at the road and found that the ox cart had yet to arrive. This amount of time should be enough time to ran a round trip to the cabin.
With that in mind, she took Liu Yusheng to the cabin. "Husband, I'll go to the cabin and call Wanrong and Axiu to join us. If the ox cart comes back, wait for us."
The old man nodded, "Okay, go."
With the support of her grandparents, Liu Yusheng's walk became lighter.
This was the first mid-autumn since she's been able to talk neatly. She started being able to voice her opinions and really participate in the holiday. Not only that, it felt different when she was in the company of her loved ones.
She was much happier.
Because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Liu Yusheng had told Axiu the night before that she wouldn't be going to the cabin today, and would be spending the festival at home with her family.
That was why there was no sign of Axiu beside the boulder.
The little baby ran pitter-patter towards the cabin and before she could get close, her voice ripped off in the distance, "Brother Axiu, Brother Axiu, come out quickly. It's me, Nannan. I've come to play with you!"