Chapter 262

<Pei Jing> still wore the same military uniform as yesterday, but he had already washed it and hung it to dry in his personal space, only putting it on again this morning.

There was nothing particularly different about <Zhang Jing>'s attire compared to usual, since she always dressed decently.

The dragon and phoenix twins wore matching outfits. The brother and sister looked extremely alike. Over this period of time, even their height and weight had remained synchronized. If not for <Wanqing> wearing a skirt, outsiders would not have been able to distinguish which was the brother and which was the sister.

Sister Zhang had gone early in the morning to queue up for groceries. Under Old Pei's instructions, she had deliberately bought more meat, just for the sake of treating the guests lavishly for lunch today.

The sun was just short of noontime when <Pei JianGuo> rode over on his bicycle, a young lady sitting on the back.

When Old Pei heard the sound, he hurriedly got up to welcome them in.

"<JianGuo>, I was planning to come earlier, but I had a lot going on at work today and couldn't take leave. So I arrived a bit late. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?" <Pei JianGuo> wheeled the bicycle in and leaned it against the wall, while introducing the two of them.

"Momo, this is my grandfather, uncle and aunt."

"Grandfather, uncle, aunt, this is <Guo Momo>, my girlfriend."

<Guo Momo> also hurried to greet them.

"Not late at all, work is important. You must be tired and hot from the trip over. Hurry in and cool down." Old Pei warmly welcomed them in.

<Pei Jing> and <Zhang Jing> followed them inside. The young lady looked quite young, with a round little face. When she smiled, two little dimples appeared. She wasn't especially pretty, but she looked rather cute. This was probably her first time visiting, so she seemed a little shy.

It was a rare occurrence for <Pei JianGuo> to bring gifts with him. As soon as they entered, <Guo Momo> took the things from <Pei JianGuo>'s hands and gave them to Old Pei. "Grandpa, I didn't know what you liked, but <JianGuo> said that you and uncle really enjoy drinking tea. So I brought some tea leaves for you."

"Ah child, it's good enough that you came. Why bring anything and spend your money?" Although Old Pei said this, he smiled so widely that the wrinkles on his face deepened. One could easily tell that he was extremely delighted on the inside.

<Guo Momo> smiled and walked over to <Zhang Jing> as well. "Auntie, I also brought you a jar of snow cream. I hope you don't look down on it."

"<Zhang Jing> laughed. "Well in that case, I won't stand on ceremony."

<Guo Momo> looked towards the dragon and phoenix twins. With strangers around, the two little ones were still quite well-behaved. "These must be the famous dragon and phoenix twin siblings that <JianGuo> always mentions. They really do look adorable. I've brought presents for you too."

"<Zhang Jing> saw how enthusiastic <Guo Momo> was. Disregarding everything else, the impression this young lady had given since entering was actually not bad at all.

She was warm and knew propriety, taking care to include every person in the household.

The twins looked towards their parents and only accepted the gifts after obtaining their consent. "Thank you, sister."

"I'm glad you like them. You two are just so cute!" <Guo Momo> also gave bracelets to the triplets, passing them to <Zhang Jing>.

Old Pei was extremely satisfied. He had originally prepared red packets, but after some thought, added more money inside before giving them to <Guo Momo>. "Dear child, I'll accept your gift. And this is a red packet from grandpa for you. I hope you won't look down on it."

<Guo Momo> declined for a while, but eventually <Pei JianGuo> took it and passed it to her before she bashfully accepted.

<Zhang Jing> also gave her a red packet. After all, it was the young lady's first time visiting, so she and <Pei Jing> were the elders.

Old Pei chatted with <Guo Momo> for a while, asking about her parents. He found out they were factory workers. She had two older brothers and an older sister. The eldest brother was already married, so they could be considered a decent working-class family.

Sister Zhang soon finished preparing lunch, with six dishes, three of which contained meat. One dish was all meat, truly a sumptuous reception.

After they finished eating, <Pei JianGuo> brought <Guo Momo> to see the vegetables growing in the backyard. Old Pei asked <Pei Jing>, "What do you two feel about <JianGuo>'s girlfriend?" "<Zhang Jing> didn't want to make any judgements about her son's matters given that <Wang Yue> had already divorced <Pei Yong>. "She seems fine," was all she said.

<Pei Jing> glanced at <Zhang Jing> but said, "The girl herself doesn't seem bad and they look well-matched. But she tries too hard to ingratiate herself."

The ingratiation encompassed not just <Guo Momo>'s gifts and words towards Old Pei and <Zhang Jing> during her first visit to her boyfriend's home. It also included her manner of speech and tone when interacting with <Pei JianGuo>, all of which centered around him.

And clearly, <Pei JianGuo> lapped up her fawning attention completely. His gaze towards her as she spoke betrayed his delight.

Of course there was nothing inherently wrong with this. The premise was that <Guo Momo> would not secretly harbor ulterior motives against them. If she turned out like <Wang Yue>, coveting this and that, it wouldn't take more than a few words for her to thoroughly control <Pei JianGuo>.

Old Pei was more open-minded about it however. "I actually think she's pretty good. As for the fawning, it just shows that she's quite smitten with <JianGuo> and thus willing to make an effort. Which is also a blessing for him."

"<Zhang Jing> was just reminding Old Pei not to expect too much, as the reality of the situation still stood.

She wasn't deliberately dampening his mood either. But the facts were plain.

<Wang Yue>'s criteria for a daughter-in-law were firstly a good family background, and secondly to have a job. <Guo Momo> failed on both counts. Even if Old Pei agreed, she still wouldn't get past <Wang Yue>'s checkpoint.

Moreover, even if <Pei JianGuo> insisted and somehow managed to marry her, their future lives would still face problems.

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts were an age old issue not easily resolved. <Pei JianGuo> also had somewhat of a mama's boy personality. If things went badly in future, Old Pei's peace would likely be affected too.

Old Pei sighed helplessly as he thought of <Wang Yue>'s reaction.

<Pei JianGuo> only stayed for a while before it was time to return to work. He left with <Guo Momo>.

After they were gone, <Pei Jing> pulled <Zhang Jing> outside. "Don't you have date trees in your personal space? Take one out for now. I should plant it first while I'm still here."

<Zhang Jing> looked at him in surprise. "Isn't there no more space left in the backyard? Why not plant it at grandpa's place?"

<Pei Jing> glanced towards the backyard direction and insisted, "Just plant it in our backyard." If things went as expected, the child should already be in her belly. Planting it now would allow it to adapt for a year before fruiting the year after, which would be perfect timing when his child started teething and could eat the dates.

<Zhang Jing> didn't know why he was so adamant, but still took out a date sapling. The apricot tree at the back had not been genetically modified and yielded tiny, sour fruit despite heavy production. Replacing it with a date tree seemed good too.

It was just that Old Pei's side...