Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten-Chapter 748 - 750: The Son’s Evaluation of the Father

Chapter 748: Chapter 750: The Son’s Evaluation of the Father

Gong Zhuang stepped off the train with his family, "Xiao Ming, watch your mom."

"Xiao Xin, pay attention."

Why are there so many people celebrating the New Year here? Aren’t they supposed to go home for the holiday? Gong Zhuang wiped his sweat; he actually decided last minute to come to Beijing for the New Year.

Besides wanting to see how his second brother’s newly acquired house looked, he also wanted his wife, Miao Cuihua, to see how life was in Beijing.

"So many people." Miao Cuihua, having lived this far, was leaving her hometown for the first time. Honestly, if it weren’t for her husband’s insistence and the children’s constant encouragement, she’d have reluctantly taken leave to go north.

Actually, during this entire trip, Miao Cuihua regretted countless times. All she could do was hope Gong Tao’s house was nice, or else don’t blame her.

"By the way, do you think eldest brother knows we’re coming?" Miao Cuihua was nervous; what if no one came to pick them up?

"Mom, don’t worry. I called Ni Zi." Gong Jiaming was jubilant, jumping around continuously, "My second uncle is here."

"Ah, your second uncle is here?" Miao Cuihua sighed in relief upon hearing someone was coming to pick them up. Even though the children knew their way around, arriving on a grand New Year in the Imperial City might not be ideal.

Even though they had prepared gifts, they planned to stay until the Lantern Festival, which was her husband’s idea. For such a long time, she knew she would not be happy if relatives stayed that long at her house.

"Second brother." Seeing Gong Tao, Gong Zhuang fully relaxed, because handling so many people plus carrying so many goods, all with his wife’s first visit here, required his constant vigilance, which made him anxious.

Seeing Gong Zhuang, Gong Tao also relaxed entirely, as he was nearly overwhelmed by the crowd; had he not found them soon, he would have gone crazy.

"Third, you’re here. Let’s talk outside; there are too many people here." Gong Tao was scared by the crowd, never imagining the train station would be so packed one day.

"Hello, second brother." Miao Cuihua was quite nervous; she thought her hometown was lively, not expecting Beijing to be bustling like this.

Seeing the people in the station, she was quite frightened.

"Go back, take a good bath, and have a solid sleep." Gong Tao knew the exhaustion of long-distance train travel.

Talking about food now was useless to them.

"Is it a kang bed?" Gong Jiaming asked excitedly. Though he laid on a kang in the Northeast, he never had during winter, and he really wanted to. He couldn’t believe it would be put to use this time.

"If you want to sleep on the kang, there’s the kang; but there’s warm air inside, so we don’t heat the kang anymore." Having slept on a kang for several years, Gong Tao was a bit unused to suddenly not doing so.

But there was no other choice. After all, this was Beijing; gathering that much firewood would be troublesome.

Warm air? Wow, Gong Jiaming was thrilled, "Can we wear short sleeves inside?" This was winter; wearing short sleeves in winter would surely make people envious.

"Short sleeves would be a bit cold; a long sleeve is sufficient." Seeing the excited Gong Jiaming, Gong Tao could only say children recover fast.

Warm air? Miao Cuihua’s eyes lit up upon hearing that, "Second brother, can I wash clothes then?"

Throughout the trip, Miao Cuihua was quite dissatisfied, itching to wash all her worn clothes, but she worried they wouldn’t dry. With warm air, there was nothing to fear.

Hearing his wife’s words, Gong Zhuang tried to intervene, sighing, knowing she was capable but not wanting her too capable.

"Yes, the clothes dry after hanging overnight; cotton clothes dry in two or three days." Gong Tao was aware of this sister-in-law’s cleanliness.

Understanding this, Miao Cuihua was content, constantly saying, "Beijing is pretty good; coming here for winter in the future sounds great."

While saying the South is attractive, its winter is truly uncomfortable—cold and especially wet. The North isn’t as cold, and with warm air, Miao Cuihua considered her husband’s suggestion worth considering.

"Yes, in the future we’ll stick with second brother, rather than worrying about those family messes." Seeing his wife’s concession, Gong Zhuang was happy.

Gong Tao, walking ahead, glanced back at Gong Zhuang, suspecting some hidden issues. Knowing her father, the Miao family shouldn’t have problems, whereas only the Gong family might have laughable issues.

Gong Zhuang paid no mind to his second brother’s gaze; some things should be kept from him in case he softened.

Some people and some matters shouldn’t be cared about, or one would only suffer.

Watching Gong Zhuang constantly wink and gesticulate at him, Gong Tao could only shake his head; the kid kept secrets likely fearing he’d soften, which was fine, as some things unknown are beneficial, or else it becomes a burden.

"After resting for two days, we’ll go to the foreign trade store for New Year goods." Everything needed for the festival at home was ready; Miao Cuihua hadn’t visited Beijing or the foreign trade store yet, so they’d show her around. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Hearing they would visit the foreign trade store, Gong Jiaming was very excited; exploring the store, with abundant and quality goods, is a shame to miss.

"Second uncle, can I buy more stuff?" Gong Jiaming pulled onto Gong Tao’s arm, quietly asking.

Buying more things, what does that mean? Gong Tao initially planned to host the family well during their New Year visit to Beijing, considering the prosperous recent years. But hearing Gong Jiaming’s desire to buy significantly more led to hesitation.

Not because of money scarcity, but once the habit begins, can it halt later?

Unexpectedly, the son hadn’t dismissed the thought. Gong Zhuang unsatisfactorily glared at his son.

Gong Jiaming truly wasn’t afraid of his dad; he aimed for a bargain with his second uncle, "Second uncle, I’ll pay for it, add a bit extra, but I don’t have Foreign Exchange Certificates."

Uh, what’s going on? Gong Tao didn’t understand; usually buying from the foreign trade store didn’t consider such. Wan Qiweng consistently delivered many certificates monthly, enough for their families.

"I’m bringing items for friends; I told them prices would be higher. It’s better than my dad, blindly helping, never thought about profiting." Gong Jiaming disdainfully stared at Gong Zhuang.

Is this the son mocking his father? Gong Tao was dumbfounded; Gong Zhuang angered.

The son increasingly looked down on him, previously covert, now openly before the second brother—really needs stern teaching, otherwise he’d gradually disregard him as a father.

Being quick-witted, Gong Jiaming sensed his father’s displeasure and immediately hugged Gong Tao, seeking backup, "Second uncle, Dad’s gonna hit me."

Shouting like that, for Gong Zhuang, whether to continue disciplining or not brought quite an awkward situation.