Chapter 91 The whole family gives their blessings
Tian Yuan finally met his mother-in-law after overcoming all obstacles. It hadn't been easy, and those people had terrified Tian Yuan. His face was still pale when he sat next to the little old lady.
"Look at this child, he’s scared. Third daughter-in-law, go and make a cup of ginseng tea for this child to help him cope with the shock."
Grandma turned to face her grandson and his wife. Despite the fact that 'she' was a man, the more she looked at him, the more she liked him.
Just as Dean Dang Hong was about to get up, Pan Lei went to the kitchen, brought a tea set, and poured a cup of tea for Tian Yuan. He reached out to hold his hand as he worriedly looked at his pale face.
"Are you all right, baby? We're just fooling around. It's all a ruse. Don't be afraid, ah!"
This shameless jerk was brazen and groped his hand in the presence of so many elders. Tian Yuan, on the other hand, had a thin face and avoided touching his hands.
"It's just that it's a little difficult to accept. This is more exciting than watching a movie."
It was too harrowing to watch a martial arts film turn into an American gunfight movie in the blink of an eye.
Pan Lei poured him a cup of tea, but with so many elders in the room, he shouldn't have given him the first cup. Tian Yuan gave it to the little elderly lady.
"Grandma, have some tea."
The old lady’s small face bloomed like a flower, her wrinkled face full of smiles. She patted Tian Yuan's hand, but she was upset.
"Yo yo, look at this child. He’s better than all of you. Leizi ah, this child is far better than you. Granddaughter-in-law gave his tea to grandma."
Granddaughter-in-law? Tian Yuan raised his brows and threw Pan Lei a super big eye roll. He was a grandson-in-law, all right?
The old lady drank a sip of tea before pulling out a red packet and stuffing it into Tian Yuan's hand.
"It's a present from Grandma. Purchase some clothes that you like."
Pan Lei snatched it from Tian Yuan's grasp and stuffed it into his pocket the moment he noticed Tian Yuan's desire to return it.
"I'll keep his money for him, Grandma."
Grandpa and Grandma came from well-to-do families. It was just a small red envelope, but it could contain a rare Hetian jade or an heirloom. It would undoubtedly be worth a lot of money. When Pan Zhan married, his grandmother gave him and his wife a pair of jadeite glass[1] jade rings, which were very valuable ah!
They were both grandchildren-in-law. Tian Yuan would not be treated badly by Grandma either.
Pan Zhan laughed and shrugged his shoulders. The beautiful woman who stood beside him in a heroic stance smiled at them as well.
"Aren't you too careless, Big Brother? Tian'er has never been in a situation like this before, but you let them scare him. Can you afford to have him scared?"
Pan Zhan couldn't help himself any longer. He laughed as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I'm glad I married your sister-in-law after I got out of the army; otherwise, your sister-in-law would have been treated the same way."
"I would have fought alongside you, honey. I wouldn’t have backed down."
Pan Lei and his sister-in-law had a similar temper, and she enjoyed fighting. After getting into a fight, she and Pan Zhan got to know each other. She'd wanted to play a real CS[2] with these uncles for a long time. It'd be awesome to fight with real guns.
"As a result, you are the least successful of the three brothers. It was a waste of our family's hard work. You and Pan Ge are identical. You both have no idea how to serve your country. I have let down my military uniform."
The dignified old man who had just played tricks on Pan Lei stood at the door. When he looked at Pan Zhan, he had a heavy expression on his face. He was angry with his eldest grandson for leaving the army after only a few years. He gave up his uniform, and became a businessman. He was the Pan family's only businessman for three generations. Nobody knew who was to blame.
Pan Zhan coughed and lowered his head. The whole family still had opinions about his private decision to retire from the army.
Pan Lei's uncles and father entered the room as soon as the old man entered. They were all formally dressed in pine-green military uniforms. The ironed uniforms looked majestic, causing the room's happy atmosphere to abruptly turn serious.
Tian Yuan had no idea what the stars on their shoulders meant, but seeing eight or nine guards with live ammunition standing at the door made him gulp nervously. He was at a loss for words.
The guards had live ammunition in their guns, and these elders also had pistols on them. Shit! If things get hairy, will they pull out their guns and start shooting each other like in TV dramas?
Pan Lei took his hand and squeezed it. When Tian Yuan looked over, Pan Lei turned towards him and grimaced, making Tian Yuan smile and relax.
The old man carried his sword and the three elders in military uniforms carried guns as they sat down with a sullen face, as if holding a military meeting. The main topic of the meeting was how to resist the attacks from South Korea and the United States.
Pan Zhan's wife took the little beauty away. The room was big and it was full of people but no one dared to speak anymore.
"What are you standing for? Sit down."
When the old man spoke, everyone took their position. Dean Dang Hong sat beside Pan Lei's father. His second aunt sat next to his second uncle, the eldest aunt sat beside eldest uncle, and granny sat beside the old man. Pan Zhan sat a little farther away with his wife and daughter. Pan Zhan was rebuked and sat out of the way to avoid harm from any unexpected explosions.
"Leizi, take a seat across from us. If there is anything shameful, sit across from us and let the whole family know about it."
Tian Yuan tightened his grip on Pan Lei's hand. No way! Was the scene he imagined really going to happen? Would the entire family unite in opposition, forcing them to break up?
Pan Lei didn't hesitate. He dragged a small sofa over, let Tian Yuan sit down first, and then sat.
"Tian'er, this is grandpa and grandma."
Tian Yuan wanted to stand up and greet them when Pan Lei introduced him, but Pan Lei pressed down and stopped him.
"Grandpa, Tian'er was kidnapped two days ago and was frightened. He is still a little shocked, and will not stand up."
"Sit down; there is no need for such formality at home."
The old man nodded calmly as the old lady poked him with her arm. The old man remained unmoved.
"Eldest uncle and eldest aunt."
Tian Yuan nodded and smiled, and the eldest aunt returned his smile.
"Second uncle and second aunt."
Second uncle was not very serious, and nodded with a smile.
"My dad and mom."
Dean Dang Hong was ecstatic, but his father had no expression on his face. Were all soldiers truly selfless? Did they all have stiff faces? These faces suffering from facial paralysis… were they hereditary?
"Leizi, is he the one you’ll spend the rest of your life with? Can you promise to treat him well for the rest of your life?"
Pan Lei faced his parents and responded solemnly in front of the entire family.
"I promise."
"I heard that you quarreled the other day? Xiao Tian, can you stand Leizi's temper?"
Now that they were together, he accepted Pan Lei's strengths and weaknesses. No matter how enraged, Pan Lei wouldn’t dare hurt him.
Tian Yuan gave a nod.
"He is not sensible. I’ll teach him."
Pan Zhan chuckled, and so did all the other serious seniors. Leizi now had another parent to discipline him.
The old lady nudged the old man again, and he coughed.
"This child is good. It is a blessing for Leizi to have such a child accompany him for the rest of his life. Today, the entire family has gathered here. As their elders, do you have anything to say?"
At first glance, it appeared that the old man was the final authority figure in this large family. The real power, however, was in the hands of the old lady. She poked him twice and jumped to Tian Yuan's side without saying anything. The old man's words were as authoritative as a military directive. No one dared to have another opinion after the old couple had agreed.
"Have you given them our red packet, old lady?"
The old man asked in hushed tones, which made the old lady laugh.
"Yes, I did. It was the first one. This child is wonderful, and he has a good temper. He is more filial than these three children. He even offered me tea. It’s not easy for someone like Leizi, our family’s little devil, to meet this child."
The old man finally stopped grumbling. He now looked at Tian Yuan as if he were looking at his own grandson. Since he was a child, Pan Lei had been a bad thing. Meeting Tian Yuan, this gentle and elegant person, was a blessing for him.
Tian Yuan was embarrassed by the two aunties' red envelopes. Pan Lei, on the other hand, eagerly accepted all of the red envelopes handed to him before Tian Yuan could properly thank them. Pan Lei's mother presented them with a pair of rings, prompting Pan Zhan's wife to exclaim in awe.
"Wow! This is fantastic. It's a pair of limited edition foreign couple wedding rings. Third aunt, your gift is the best."
Pan Lei grabbed it and placed it on Tian Yuan's finger. He swung it left and right, thinking it looked good from every angle.
"Tian'er, will you agree to marry me if I kneel down and propose?"
He lowered his voice and whispered in Tian Yuan's ear that the wedding ring was ready. Even though there were no roses, wouldn’t a cauliflower from the kitchen suffice?
"If you dare to do something like this, I'll leave right away. Do you understand what it means to have shame? Just be honest and sit there."
Pan Lei was reluctant, but he didn't dare to provoke Tian Yuan. He wanted to get down on one knee and propose, ah! When was Tian'er going to nod his head?
"Third daughter-in-law, ask the kitchen to hurry up and prepare food. Leizi, call your second brother back. Let's eat quickly, so we can play a few rounds."
When the old man saw how crowded the place was, he didn't want to linger with a few drinks at the banquet, but instead wanted to eat quickly and play a few rounds afterward. Play what? Mahjong.
"Xiao Tian'er, do you know, your grandmother and I are so old, and we don’t even have entertainment. The nanny at home doesn’t play with us. If we go out, there is no one of our age to accompany us. The younger generation is busy, and they don’t want to accompany us. There are so many people today, just enough to play. Hurry up, and have a good meal.”
The old man was full of bitterness. The solemnity and majesty had just vanished all at once. It is said that the elderly are similar to children. The older they get, the more they have to be coaxed.
The men were no longer sullen as they sat together. In fact, they were not actually sullen and solemn, but they were used to acting solemn in the army. They couldn't forget who they were while wearing uniforms. They sat for tea in their unbuttoned military uniforms. Brothers, fathers, and sons sat together, having forgotten who their commander-in-chief was. It had devolved into a routine family gathering.
The topics they discussed were all about the military. They discussed the deployment of the military area, foreign warfare, the arrogance of the Americans, the situation in Iran, Saddam's downfall, Obama's re-election, and Ma Ying-jeou's attitude.
They were all soldiers who talked in speculative tones. Pan Zhan also joined in. Tian Yuan didn't say anything. He was preoccupied with his work. He didn't have the opportunity to be interested in news or politics, and he knew nothing about the military.
Dean Dang Hong, his mother-in-law, drew Tian Yuan aside. They were both of the same mind. They were both doctors, so there were bound to be plenty of topics for this mother-in-law and son-in-law to discuss.
In other words, the mother-in-law liked the son-in-law, and the son-in-law liked her son. She had always been very curious about Tian Yuan. She'd been eager to meet him ever since Leizi told her he'd found such a doctor as a partner. Now that she’d seen him, she thought that Leizi’s description of him was too one-sided. This child was better than she had expected.
Footnotes:
[1] It’s the best grade of jade. A finger-sized ring can be auctioned for a price of 10 million yuan.
Reading this like watching thrilling actions 🎬 movies from traditional fighting to modern fighting. Thank you
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