Chapter 352 Old Photos
The "Home of Glorious" sign can be hung by families of active military personnel, retired military personnel, and families of martyrs' families.
Su Xing and He Xu didn't want to guess anything bad, so they didn't ask anything.
Old Mrs. Qiao opened the door and called to the young couple, "Xiao Su, Xiao He, come in quickly."
The two followed Mrs. Qiao into the door, and Mrs. Qiao took two pairs of slippers from the shoe rack and gave them.
Several people changed their shoes and went into the house.
"Sit down and warm yourself up. I'll get you some hot water."
Old Mrs. Qiao walked towards the kitchen while smiling.
Su Xing and He Xu walked to the sofa and sat down.
They looked around the house inconspicuously. It was a two-bedroom apartment with old decoration. The furniture and objects inside were also very old.
But it was cleaned thoroughly and spotlessly.
They took a quick look around the room, and their eyes finally fell on an old-fashioned chest of drawers.
There were two photo frames on it. The photos in the frames were black and white, and the people in the photos were all men in military uniforms.
The older man was probably in his fifties and was wearing an old military uniform from the 1980s.
The younger man looked to be around 28 or 29 years old, and was wearing a military uniform from the 1990s.
Su Xing and He Xu suddenly felt a little heavy...
At this time, Old Mrs. Qiao walked out of the kitchen, her body high and low, holding a thermos in one hand and a few porcelain cups with handles in the other.
He Xu quickly stood up and took the things from Old Lady Qiao, "Grandma Qiao, let me take it."
Old Mrs. Qiao handed the thermos to He Xu and said, "Then I'll give you this."
He Xu took the thermos and retreated back to the sofa.
Old Mrs. Qiao put the cups on the coffee table and reached out to take the kettle to pour water for them.
He Xu said, "I'll do it myself."
He poured more than half a cup of hot water into several cups.
Old Mrs. Qiao took out another bag of apples and went to wash the fruits.
Su Xing said, "Grandma Qiao, please stop being busy."
Mrs. Qiao said, "Don't worry, don't worry. This is just a little more work. The apples I bought yesterday are so sweet. I'll wash two for you to try."
She insisted on taking a shower, so Su Xing and He Xu had no choice but to let her do what she wanted.
Old Mrs. Qiao washed a few apples and kept inviting them to eat.
Su Xing and He Xu each took one and ate them slowly.
Mrs. Qiao noticed that Su Xing glanced at the photo on the chest of drawers several times and couldn't help but ask, "Did I scare you? Then I'll turn the photo upside down."
Su Xing reached out and grabbed Mrs. Qiao’s sleeve, “Grandma Qiao, no need, we are not scared.”
He Xu also said: "We are not afraid."
Old Mrs. Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and laughed again, "They are my husband and son, they are all good people. Even if they really have ghosts, they won't scare people..."
When she said the last half of the sentence, her voice dropped a little.
She actually hoped that there were ghosts in this world, and that the old man and his son could come back to see her...
Su Xing and He Xu felt very uncomfortable when they saw the look of disappointment that flashed across Old Mrs. Qiao's face.
Su Xing opened his mouth and called out, "Grandma Qiao..."
After shouting, she didn't know what to say.
She wanted to ask about Grandma Qiao's family situation, but she was afraid of making the old lady sad...
He Xu handed the cup of water to Su Xing and patted the back of her hand soothingly.
Old Mrs. Qiao naturally saw what the two children were thinking. She put on a kind smile and took the initiative to talk, "My old man participated in the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. He was injured and had some problems. Later, he lived a hard life in the countryside, and his health became worse. Later, we returned to the city and our life became better. He lived a comfortable life for a few years, but his health was too bad, and he passed away in 86..."
"Alas..." She sighed softly, and then said, "My son, he was also a soldier... He died during the great flood in 98 while participating in flood relief efforts..."
The old lady summed up the life of her husband and son in just a few words.
Her tone was calm, and her emotions did not fluctuate too much, but Su Xing and He Xu felt that these words were very sad and desolate...
He Xu said: "Grandma Qiao, what about your other family members..."
Mrs. Qiao said: "My husband's family died during the war, and my mother's family didn't survive until the reform and opening up..."
She paused, then continued, "I have another grandson, but his mother took him away when she remarried. I haven't seen him for several years."
Old Mrs. Qiao pulled out a photo album from under the coffee table.
She opened the photo album and the first page was a family photo.
Sitting in the front was a middle-aged woman in her fifties or sixties, holding a little boy of two or three years old in her arms. Behind her stood a young couple in their twenties.
Obviously, this is a photo of Grandma Qiao with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson.
According to the calculation of time, Grandma Qiao's husband had already passed away by then.
Grandma Qiao pointed at the little boy in the photo and said, "This is my grandson. He is about one or two years older than Xiao Su."
Su Xing and the other two looked down at the photo, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Mrs. Qiao smiled and said, "Look at me, why am I talking to you about all this? You guys are going to spend the holiday with your family tonight, right?"
Su Xing said: "I'm studying in Beijing. I'm not from Beijing, so I can't go back."
She sent messages to her parents, grandparents, and other family members in the morning.
Students studying abroad can only call or send messages to their families to send their blessings.
He Xu looked at Su Xing and said, "I spent time with the elderly at home in the morning, and will spend time with my girlfriend in the afternoon."
Hearing this, Su Xing glanced at He Xu. It turned out that he didn't come back from the laboratory.
Mrs. Qiao suddenly invited, "Then... why don't you stay here for dinner? I'll make dumplings for you. I'm pretty good at mixing the stuffing!"
Su Xing met the old man's hopeful eyes. She couldn't say no, so she nodded subconsciously, "Okay, okay..."
After she had said the promise, she remembered that she had not yet asked He Xu for his opinion. She looked at He Xu apologetically.
He Xu smiled gently and spoke sincerely, nodding and saying, "Okay, let's make dumplings together. I also want to try the dumpling fillings prepared by Grandma Qiao."
When Mrs. Qiao heard that the two young men accepted her invitation, she smiled happily, "So what kind of filling do you want to eat? Celery and meat? Cabbage and meat? Or three fresh fillings?"
Su Xing said: "I'm not picky about food."
He Xu: "I can do anything."
"Then shall we eat cabbage and meat? I just bought a cabbage this morning, it's so juicy."
"Okay!"
"it is good."
The old lady was getting ready to get busy.
She wanted to put the photo album away, and when she picked it up, a photo fell out and landed right at Su Xing's feet.