Yang Yuelan scooped the oil from the bottom of the pot into a jar, feeling very satisfied. The oil from roasting the meat would be delicious for stir-frying vegetables.

Wang Cuifen ate several pieces of roasted meat, and after she finished, she started to complain to Yang Yuelan about Xu Qingning: "You can't live like this. Buying so much meat at once, and using up so many meat coupons at the very beginning of the month, what are we going to do in the future?"

"We'll talk about it later." Although Yang Yuelan felt that Xu Qingning had bought too much meat, she wasn't buying it for herself. Her two grandsons had also eaten quite a bit. Anyway, meat coupons were rationed, and she wouldn't buy meat if she didn't have coupons.

Eating early or late makes no difference.

As long as it's edible.

"You really do indulge your daughter-in-law." Wang Cuifen felt that the reason why Yang Yuelan and Xu Qingning could get along so well was because Yang Yuelan, as the mother-in-law, always tolerated and suffered grievances. She gave all the good food in the house to her daughter-in-law, and she herself just ate whatever she could find.

She glanced into the room and saw that Xiao Tingshen and Xu Qingning were still talking. She whispered to Yang Yuelan, "What is Xiao Tingshen doing here looking for your daughter-in-law? Why have they been talking for so long? You need to keep an eye on them."

Everyone lived in the same courtyard.

This was the first time she had ever seen Xiao Tingshen come to see Xu Qingning, and that they had talked for so long.

“Xiao Tingshen is her brother-in-law. What’s there to be afraid of if she chats with her brother-in-law?” Yang Yuelan knew that Xu Qingning didn’t get along well with Xiao Tingshen and Tang Wenya, but she didn’t think anything of it.

She understood Wang Cuifen and didn't care about the gossipy old woman's words. After tidying up the kitchen, she didn't go inside to disturb the two of them. She picked up a broom and swept the yard, then sprinkled water back and forth in the yard to cool it down.

Zhao Jingyu's dormitory is right next to the west wall, and it's still quite hot in the afternoon.

After the two boys had eaten and drunk their fill, they took their comic books and sat in the shade, reading them with great interest.

Seeing that Yang Yuelan was ignoring her, Wang Cuifen felt awkward and pouted, then took the stool and went home.

Oh, the barbecue is so delicious, I haven't had enough!

"College student, you don't need to use Zhao Jingyu's name to make things happen. Even if Director Gao is Zhao Jingyu's mentor and has helped him, that's between Zhao Jingyu and Director Gao, and has nothing to do with you." Xu Qingning looked at him coolly. "Even if we're going to have dinner together, it will be Zhao Jingyu and me who treat Director Gao, not us using your graduation banquet to express our gratitude to Director Gao, right?"

People who speak in riddles are really speechless.

In comparison, Zhao Jingyu's greasy nature was acceptable to her; at least he spoke directly, so she didn't have to guess.

“Since that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say.” Xiao Tingshen couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up and looked into Xu Qingning’s beautiful peach blossom eyes. “Anyway, I still stand by what I said: I hope we can get along well in the future, instead of acting like enemies when we meet.”

No matter how outrageous Tang Wenya's actions were, Xu Qingning didn't suffer any losses, and she's doing quite well now.

There's no need to make it sound so bitter and resentful.

“Everything in this world has a cause and an effect. You have sown such a cause, so you have to bear such a consequence.” Xu Qingning had long since given up on talking to him. She met his gaze expressionlessly. “Don’t come looking for me anymore. I don’t welcome you at all. And I don’t want to see your Tang Wenya either.”

Jiang Yumei and Tang Wenya always said that she was shameless.

But she felt that they were the truly shameless ones. She had told them many times that she would no longer associate with them, but they still wouldn't give up and kept challenging her bottom line.

Tang Wenya must have known that Xiao Tingshen came to see her this time. Knowing this, she didn't stop her at all. Wasn't she afraid that she would go on a date with Xiao Tingshen? She really has no bottom line when it comes to her own selfishness.

After Xiao Tingshen left, Xu Qingning told Yang Yuelan about his purpose. Yang Yuelan was very supportive of her daughter-in-law: "Yes, that's how we should do it. They treated you like this, why should we go and make them proud? It's right not to go."

"Mom, from now on, let's just close the door and live our own little lives, and not talk to anyone else." Seeing Xiao Tingshen reminded Xu Qingning of the past, a past she didn't want to recall.

Life is about looking forward.

There is hope only if we look forward.

Upon learning that Xu Qingning refused to attend the college entrance celebration banquet, Xiao Yaodong was surprised: "How could Zhao Jingyu's wife be so ungrateful? If she doesn't want to go, fine, but it's not just us who will lose face."

Xiao Tingshen remained silent.

In fact, Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning don't care about saving face at all. They really are a couple, their style of doing things is so vulgar and direct, they have no manners at all.

Tang Wenya wasn't surprised when she heard that Xu Qingning had refused to attend the college entrance celebration banquet: "It's normal for her not to come; it would be abnormal if she did. How could she possibly give us face?"

“Yes, she’s not close to us at all, and she probably won’t come back to this house.” Jiang Yumei felt that Xu Qingning was too stubborn. Even if Tang Wenya did something wrong, she should forgive her sister for the sake of their sisterly bond, instead of holding a grudge.

What's past is past.

Xu Qingning kept bringing it up repeatedly, clearly trying to make things difficult for Tang Wenya.

"She only has eyes for her husband's family now. I heard that Zhao Jingyu's two little nephews have been staying at her house for more than a month. She buys them new clothes and delicious food every day to coax them. I've never seen her treat her own family so well." Tang Wenya had seen the two little brothers before, and they were much more fashionable than when they were in the village.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Tang Wenya saw Xu Jianguo push the door open and walk in, and immediately changed the subject, "No matter what, Qingning is Dad's biological daughter. It's fine if she doesn't come back to see us, but at least she should come back to see Dad..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Jianguo paused, then returned to his bedroom without saying a word.

He also felt that Xu Qingning was quite ruthless.

Parents are never wrong. Even if he did something wrong, it was because Xu Qingning was at fault first. But Xu Qingning held a grudge against him, so much so that she wouldn't even go home...

As a father, he felt he had failed.

The daughter he raised with great care only had eyes for her husband's family and didn't care about him as her father at all.

"Alright, stop talking. If she's not going, we'll go." Jiang Yumei didn't want to criticize Xu Qingning in front of Xu Jianguo. "Ting Shen getting into university is a great thing. Let's celebrate properly. I'll invite your aunt too. The more people, the more fun it will be."

No matter what, Xu Jianguo is still Xu Qingning's biological father.

He would definitely be unhappy if you criticized his daughter in front of him.

"Mom, why did you invite my aunt?" Tang Wenya asked, displeased. "This is a family dinner, what does my aunt have to do with it?"

She knew very well what kind of person Jiang Xuemei was.

She's never satisfied with taking advantage of others; she only maintains a superficial harmony with Jiang Xuemei because of her mother.

Otherwise, she would have stopped seeing this aunt long ago.

“Your aunt is family too!” Jiang Yumei said reproachfully. “Don’t forget, you loved going to your aunt’s house when you were little. Your aunt only has your cousin as a son and no daughters, so she treated you like her own daughter.”

"Mom, my aunt is your family, but not Xiao Tingshen's family!" Tang Wenya said, speechless. "You know very well what kind of person my mother-in-law is, and my aunt is a gossip. Don't let the two of them start arguing again."

"Don't worry, she won't. Your aunt knows what she's doing. Just say that she happened to be visiting us and came along." Jiang Yumei was happy to have Jiang Xuemei accompany her to dinner. With Jiang Xuemei backing her up, she wondered if Liu Yuzhen would still dare to be sarcastic towards her.

Anyway, Xiao Tingshen and Tang Wenya are now married, and the matter of going to the countryside is over.

It's time to teach Tang Wenya's mother-in-law a lesson.

Is being a leader something to be proud of?

The day after Xiao Tingshen received his admission notice, Xiao Yaodong held a banquet at the Ocean Company's guesthouse to celebrate his graduation and invited Gao Dejian and his son Gao Yang.

The Xiao Yaodong and Xu Jianguo families arrived at the guesthouse early, waiting for the father and son to arrive.

When Liu Yuzhen saw a stranger sitting next to Jiang Yumei, she asked Xiao Tingshen and learned that he was Jiang Yumei's sister.

Liu Yuzhen was immediately displeased and turned to question Tang Wenya: "Little Tang, why did your mother call your aunt here?"

Thanks to bookworm Beibei for the monthly pass, here's the second update.