1065 Acting Like a Mother-in-law



Xia Jun straightened his back and said proudly, "Hmph, the person who can defeat me isn't born yet! Your grandfather couldn't beat me when we were both in the army. It's the same even if he's already retired now!"

Zhang Wei and the other children were already helping out in the front yard. Zhang Wei and Xia Jun were also quite familiar with each other. For some reason, the two of them felt a sense of affinity from the moment they met. Xia Jun liked Zhang Wei a lot.

"Grandpa Xia! I'll bring you to my grandfather!" Zhang Wei said happily.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Xia Jun followed Zhang Wei to the backyard.

Xu Lan stood beside Qiao Mei and pointed at Xia Yao as she introduced him. "This is your second uncle."

"Hello, Second Uncle," Qiao Mei said respectfully with a slight nod.

Xia Yao took out a red packet from his bag. As he held it in his hand, they could all see that it looked quite thick. He smiled and said, "I didn't manage to come back to see you back then because of work. This is my first-meeting gift to you. It's just a small token."

Qiao Mei did not reject the gesture and accepted Xia Yao's red packet in a dignified manner. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Second Uncle and Second Aunt-in-law. I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Xia Guang said almost the same thing as Xia Yao. The two brothers had come to an agreement on the amount of money to put in the red packets. Qiao Mei and Xu Lan went into her room after everyone else had entered the house.

After just standing for a short while, Qiao Mei's back started to ache and it felt as if it was about to break.

"You must be exhausted. You can take a rest in the room first. Xia He and I can handle the things outside," Xu Lan said with heartache.

Qiao Mei slowly closed her eyes to rest for a while. Xu Lan and Xia He left the room quietly and went to the backyard to chat with everyone. The house was filled with people both inside and outside.

Xia Wen, Tan Jing, Xia Fang and Xia Xiu only arrived at night.

"It's been such a long time! Second Brother, Third Brother, you're back! It's rare for everyone to get together!" Xia Xiu said agitatedly.

Due to her work, Xia Xiu also rarely returned home. The few of them always missed out on chances to see one another because of work. It was rare for the entire family to be able to get together like this. It was a pity that Xia Zhe was still on a mission this year. It could only be considered a grand reunion if he was here as well.

"Eldest Sister, you still look the same! You haven't changed a bit," Xia Yao said happily.

Xia Xiu patted Xia Guang's shoulder and did not say anything, keeping her thoughts to herself. It must be tough for Xia Guang during this period of time. It was a good thing for Xia Guang to take some personal time to sort things through.

"Where's Qiao Mei? Why isn't she out here?" Xia Fang asked anxiously.

"Qiao Mei is exhausted from all the work during the day. She had been busy planning for today's event the past two days. She's resting in the room now. Let her sleep for a while. I think she has even lost some weight," Xu Lan said sadly.

"You're acting more and more like a mother-in-law. I'm just asking where Qiao Mei is. Look at how precious she is to you!" Xia Fang said and laughed as she pointed at Xu Lan.

Everyone felt a little emotional about the changes in Xu Lan, except for Tan Jing, who stood in the corner with a dark expression. She had not wanted to attend the new year dinner, but Xia Wen insisted that she must come and she could not find any reason to reject him.

She felt that she would only be embarrassing herself by coming here. What was the point?

Qiao Mei finally managed to wake up and she asked Zhang Qin to go to the state-owned restaurant and tell them to send the dishes over. It was time for dinner.

As soon as Qiao Mei reached the backyard, everyone cleared a path for her. All the chairs had already been lined with warm cushions.

"Come, take a seat. We can start eating since everyone is here," Xu Lan said.

At the dining table, the main conversation topic was about Qiao Mei's babies and everyone's wishes for these two children. Tan Jing lowered her head more and more. Every time someone spoke about the children, Tan Jing's heart would ache.

It was as if they were not talking about Qiao Mei's joyous news. To her, these were all voices complaining about her, tormenting her nerves over and over again.

After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere started to become very lively.

"Grandfather, this is the arrival of the first great-grandchildren in the family. Shouldn't you do something!" Xia He said.

"That's right, that's right! Father, it's time for you to take out those nice things of yours," Xia Fang said with a smile.

Xia Jun had never given away any of his cherished treasures. He felt honored to have these treasures and there were very few people who had ever seen them before, let alone him taking the initiative to give them away as gifts.