73 Dim

Sometimes, Aunt Hui would call her daughter at home. The International phone bill was expensive, and she was a little embarrassed at Qu Zhi’s house, always hanging up the phone in a hurry after a few words.

Once, Qu Zhi saw her holding up the microphone and speaking so quickly. She smiled and patted her shoulder. “Just call, it’s fine! I’ll deduct it from your salary, okay?”

Of course, she wouldn’t do that, but it would make Aunt Hui feel better. She knew Aunt Hui’s temper well.

Since then, Aunt Hui’s tone had become much more natural. She would hold the microphone and speak for a long time. Sometimes, she would even mention Qu Zhi as naturally as if she was talking about her family.

Aunt Hui would call her daughter every Wednesday and Sunday.

There was a time difference between her and her daughter, so Aunt Hui had to call her on time.

On Wednesday, Aunt Hui would make very short calls because her daughter had to take care of her child and was busy with family matters after work. Her daughter got off work at about 3:30 pm. It was about 10:30 pm in China, which was just the time when Aunt Hui was done cleaning up. On Sunday, the phone call would be longer and earlier. After she finished her phone call, she would go and clean the house, as if she had an endless amount of energy.

Every Wednesday, when it was almost 10:30, Aunt Hui would sit on the sofa and look at the clock on the wall. She looked so nervous, as if she was afraid that time would pass by quickly.

She was so serious, and Chuchu would be curious sometimes. However, Aunt Hui was so serious and focused, and she didn’t want to disturb her grandmother.

Chuchu leaned over and whispered into Qu Zhi’s ear, “What’s Grandma doing?”

“Grandma wants to chat with her precious daughter?”

Chuchu held her head and thought for a moment. “That’s not right. You’re Grandma’s daughter, Mom.”

Qu Zhi laughed.

“Grandma has two daughters. They are your aunties.”

“It’s so late. Why is Auntie not sleeping?”

Qu Zhi didn’t know how to explain the time difference to her, so she incited her to ask Liang Wen, “Dad knows. Let’s go and ask.”

Liang Wen didn’t know what to say. “It’s just that we’re too far away. If we talk here, it’ll take hours to hear.”

Chuchu tilted her head and pouted. She still didn’t understand how far that was.

Why did grandma send Auntie to such a faraway place? Do she not like Auntie?

However, once she picked up the phone, her Grandmother’s face would always flushed with excitement, and the smile would remain on her face. Her eyes would sparkle as if her daughter was right beside her.

In fact, she didn’t talk about anything particularly important. She just talked about her daily life and recent events. The other party spoke for a very short time, and it was usually Aunt Hui who spoke.

Aunt Hui spoke so happily that sometimes Sisi would look at her in a daze, thinking that her Grandmother was telling a story to someone else on the phone.

By this time, Sisi had already learned how to crawl and could also speak some simple words.

The floor was cold, and Qu Zhi had even laid out a carpet for her room. Although Sisi was still young, she could get up very quickly. Sometimes, Aunt Hui would laugh so hard that she couldn’t even straighten her back when she saw her struggling to crawl.

Sisi was very likable. When Aunt Hui was on the phone, she often wanted to stick her head out to take a look. Her two big eyes were like black grapes. As soon as Aunt Hui looked at her, she reached out for a hug. Aunt Hui, of course, carried her while talking to her daughter on the phone.

This Sunday, Aunt Hui was still on the phone with her daughter, but after the call, she was completely exhausted. She was a little absent-minded when she was washing the dishes and almost broke them.

She was in a daze for the past few days after the phone call. Sometimes, she couldn’t even hear what Qu Zhi said to her.

“What’s going on?” after the meal, Qu Zhi finally asked about this matter.

Although Aunt Hui didn’t say anything, her unhappiness was written all over her face, and her brows couldn’t be untied.

Aunt Hui sighed and shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears.

“She’s not coming back for the new year again.” Aunt Hui’s tears kept rolling, but they still didn’t fall.

She had been working for a year just for this day.

It was only during the new year that she didn’t have to go to other people’s houses to join in the fun. She was busy and had her family to accompany her. It was only at this time that she had a place of her own.

“Stay in our house, then.” In any case, everyone had already treated Aunt Hui as family.

“Aren’t you guys going home?”

“Of course not.” Qu Zhi smiled at Aunt Hui, she already had her own plans.