I'm back in 1990

Chapter 676: This is a Big Family

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The Cheng family's siblings were all very concerned about the marriage of their fourth sister, Cheng Jing. Under the strong urging of Cheng's parents, brothers, sisters, and cousins, Cheng Jing told Huang Erhe about it.

"My family wants to meet you," Cheng Jing paused here, wanting to see Huang Erhe's reaction.

Huang Erhe was naturally very willing. After spending so much time together, he felt he understood her quite well, so he replied, "I've been wanting to visit you and your aunt for a while now, but I was afraid of being presumptuous, so I've been waiting for your call."

Hearing Huang Erhe say this, Cheng Jing felt relieved and smiled, "Then when are you free?"

Huang Erhe waved his hand: "It depends on when it's convenient for Uncle and Aunt. I'm available anytime."

The two had been together for quite some time, so they were naturally less reserved in their conversations than at the beginning. Cheng Jing gave Huang Erhe a reproachful look, but the smile on her face was impossible to hide.

"Then let's do it this Sunday."

Huang Erhe readily agreed: "Okay!"

Then Huang Erhe asked, "Does your dad smoke and drink?"

Cheng Jing knew that Huang Erhe was asking this because he wanted to prepare a gift for his first visit, which was a normal custom and etiquette. Therefore, Cheng Jing did not stop Huang Erhe from doing so, but she gave him a special reminder.

"My dad doesn't smoke good cigarettes. He usually smokes Peony brand cigarettes, and his liquor is just the bulk white liquor sold in the supermarket. Don't buy expensive cigarettes and liquor, otherwise he won't be willing to drink or smoke them."

Huang Erhe knew quite a bit about his future father-in-law's character from Cheng Jing. Although Cheng's father had been a leader for many years, he had not sought many benefits for his children.

None of her children work in government agencies or public institutions; they all work in private companies. Her eldest daughter, Chengli, works in a silk factory, but the factory's performance is declining day by day, and she hasn't received her salary in a long time.

The second son, Cheng Yishan, received some preferential treatment and took over his mother's job at the bicycle factory. However, he was just an ordinary worker in the workshop, and the factory's profits were not as good as before, so his salary was naturally not high.

Cheng Jing's third sister, Cheng Jie, is a tour guide working for China International Travel Service. Cheng Jing's younger brother, Cheng Yiwu, works at an auto repair shop. Her youngest sister, Cheng Ling, has been unemployed since graduating from high school, occasionally working part-time at fast food restaurants like KFC to earn some pocket money.

Cheng Jing was even worse off. She was originally a temporary worker in a street-run factory, but because of her deceased husband, she was taken in by this state-owned enterprise. She didn't receive any help from her family in arranging her job at all.

In other families, these siblings would definitely be considered second-generation officials! But the Cheng family's children haven't benefited from their father's influence at all. So, it's rare to see a leading cadre like Cheng's father. Yet, the six siblings in the Cheng family are stuck with such an incorruptible father.

Normally, Cheng's father drinks bulk liquor and smokes only Peony cigarettes. Although these cigarettes were considered high-end in the 1980s, they have now fallen out of favor and become the staple cigarettes of ordinary smokers.

This is because the elderly couple usually use their saved retirement pension to subsidize their children who are struggling financially, so the couple is quite strapped for cash!

This put Huang Erhe in a dilemma. It wasn't that he couldn't afford a nice or expensive gift, but rather that he was struggling with how to send a suitable gift. After much thought, he decided to go home and discuss it with his parents.

After hearing about the marriage, Lao Huang and Zeng Lijuan felt that such in-laws were hard to find even with a lantern. After thinking for a moment, Lao Huang said to his second son, "There are some 92 Jiannanchun liquors in the basement. Take a box and send it over."

Zeng Lijuan added, "As for cigarettes, just bring six cartons of Hongtashan! We'll give you better ones after you get married."

Zeng Lijuan didn't mean to be stingy; rather, she thought that once her second son married his daughter, he could legitimately offer his father-in-law good cigarettes and alcohol. There was plenty of good cigarettes and alcohol at home anyway, so her second son could just send some over. She wouldn't need to buy cigarettes and alcohol for her father-in-law anymore. Zeng Lijuan was no longer as calculating as before. Now, with such a good-money-making son, her worry wasn't about not having enough money, but about having more money than she could spend.

Old Huang agreed with Zeng Lijuan's opinion: "Yes, yes, your mother is right. Let's leave it at that for now. You can just buy some pastries and gift boxes from the supermarket. You can send more over after you get married."

Sunday arrived in the blink of an eye. In the afternoon, Huang Erhe drove Cheng Jing to the family compound where Cheng's parents lived.

This is a staff housing compound built in the late 1980s. There are only six four-story brick-concrete buildings in the compound, with a similar architectural layout to the home of Huang Erhe's parents, Lao Huang and Zeng Lijuan, in Qingjiang. It seems that the architects at that time copied the same design.

The Cheng family lived on the third floor. Huang Erhe carried a case of wine, while Cheng Jing followed behind carrying gift boxes of health supplements and cigarettes. The two entered the house together.

The married siblings, along with their respective partners, all came back today, whether they had a day off or not, eager to meet their future fourth sister's husband.

Even though Huang Erhe knew beforehand that Cheng Jing's siblings were at home, he still couldn't help but freeze at the door when he saw the house full of people. Wow, what a big family!

A large number of people gathered in the small living room. Before Huang Erhe entered, they were all busy. Upon seeing Huang Erhe, Cheng's siblings and their partners also stopped what they were doing.

Cheng's mother, who had been directing her sons and sons-in-law to set up the large round table with her back to the door, suddenly noticed that everyone had stopped what they were doing. The eldest daughter, Cheng Li, quietly tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered, "They're here!"

When Cheng's mother turned around, she saw her fourth daughter standing at the door with a handsome man.

Cheng's mother was overjoyed and quickly called out, "Oh dear, don't stand at the door! Come in, come in!" She hurriedly ushered Huang Erhe into the house, then turned and shouted into the room, "Old man, come out quickly!"

Hearing the noise, Cheng's father quickly put out his cigarette and came out of the room.

Huang Erhe then took the initiative to greet the two elders: "Hello, Uncle! Hello, Aunt!"

"Okay, okay," Cheng's parents responded with smiles.

"Please sit down, please sit down!" Cheng's mother called out to Huang Erhe while scolding her children who were staring intently at him: "What are you all standing there for? Cheng Ling, hurry up and make some tea!"

Cheng's children then realized what was happening and stepped forward to greet Huang Erhe. Cheng Yishan even took the case of wine from Huang Erhe's hands.

Cheng Jing then introduced her brothers and sisters to Huang Erhe one by one.

"This is my eldest sister, Cheng Li, and this is my brother-in-law, Sun Jianshe!"

Hello! Hello!

"This is my second brother, Cheng Yishan, and this is my second sister-in-law, Xie Li!"

Hello, hello!

"This is my third sister, Cheng Jie, and her husband, Lü Guanghua!"

"This is my younger brother, Cheng Yiwu, and this is my sister-in-law, Xing Jia!"

"The one making the tea is my younger sister, Cheng Ling."

Huang Erhe greeted everyone one by one, his face beaming with joy.

At this moment, several more children ran out of the house. Huang Erhe definitely recognized Mi Guo, but he couldn't match the others to his name.

Cheng Jing continued to introduce them to him: "The oldest one is my eldest sister's daughter, named Sun Yan; that one is my second brother's son, named Chenggong; and that one is my third sister's son, Lü Mo."

The children seemed to have been instructed beforehand, and they respectfully stepped forward to greet Huang Erhe.

"Hello, Uncle!"

"Hello, Uncle!"

Huang Erhe quickly responded with a smile, but what he was thinking was, "Wow, this family has a lot of people."