The driver quickly found the delivery driver.

"This tricycle has two seats. You can go back with Mr. Li later."

"Okay, thank you, Master."

The tricycle wasn't big, but Mr. Li was a kind man. He managed to load all that furniture into just one cart, and to prevent things from falling off, he even covered the furniture with plastic tarpaulins.

The driver was driving quite fast, and when they got back to the courtyard, the shuttle bus hadn't arrived yet.

*

A large courtyard.

Jiang Xuan carried some newly bought kitchen utensils into the kitchen and saw Ma Xiaolan cutting potatoes.

Not knowing how to address the person, she greeted them warmly, "Are you cooking?"

Ma Xiaolan looked up, smiled, and said, "Wow, your family has bought so much furniture."

"We just moved here and don't have anything yet, so we went to the market today and bought everything. By the way, my name is Jiang Xuan, what should I call you?"

"My name is Ma Xiaolan."

"Then I'll call you Sister Lan."

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "Okay. I just tidied up the cupboard; you can use the left half."

"good."

Jiang Xuan opened the cupboard and found that the left cupboard had been wiped clean again. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Lan."

"What?"

"Did you clean this cabinet?"

"Okay, I wiped it. If it's not clean, wipe it again."

"No, I think it's quite clean."

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "Your family hasn't bought rice, flour, or oil yet, has it?"

"Sister Lan, I bought it, but she hasn't brought it in yet. I went on a big shopping spree today, buying everything I could think of."

"Okay, then put them on this wooden board later, otherwise they'll get damp."

"Okay." Jiang Xuan tidied up the pots and pans.

"Why don't you not cook lunch today? I'm going to make potato chips and bring you a bowl."

Jiang Xuan felt a warmth in her heart, thinking that Sister Lan was a really nice person.

"Thank you, Sister Lan." After a pause, Jiang Xuan said, "But your mother-in-law and I just had a fight, so it doesn't seem right for me to go to your house for a meal again?"

Ma Xiaolan laughed and said, "It's their precious grandson's birthday today. They went to their eldest son's house for lunch and won't be back for lunch."

"Them? You mean your father-in-law and mother-in-law?"

"And my aunt Xiuxiu and her family."

"Then why didn't you come along?"

"My mother-in-law won't let me go."

Ma Xiaolan spoke casually, but Jiang Xuan was filled with anger.

This family is going too far. They went to such lengths to celebrate the eldest son's child's birthday, but didn't let the younger daughter-in-law come along. This is clearly favoritism towards the eldest son.

She snatched the kitchen knife from Ma Xiaolan's hand. "Sister Lan, you need to take better care of yourself. They're having a big meal, and you're still making potato chips? Do you have any meat at home? I bought some flour, let's make some noodles with minced meat sauce."

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "I bought a pound of meat after get off work this morning, intending to make dumplings for Xiuxiu, but my mother-in-law took it to my eldest son's house."

"ah?"

"It's okay, I'm not hungry either. It's just that Xiuxiu needs to eat lunch, otherwise I wouldn't have made it."

Just then, the door opened, and a little girl, about the same height as Fanxing and with delicate features, walked in carrying a schoolbag.

"Mom, I'm home."

"Okay, wash your hands first, the food will be ready soon."

"Sister Lan, where is the kindergarten around this courtyard? Doesn't it include lunch?"

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "Xiuxiu is already in second grade."

Jiang Xuan was shocked. "She's only a few years old, and she's already in second grade."

"He's 8 years old. He just isn't getting enough nutrition, so he hasn't grown taller."

"Wait a minute, Sister Lan, isn't elementary school on summer vacation right now?"

“It’s summer vacation, so I found a tutoring class for her. Xiuxiu’s grades are still pretty good, but the main problem is that our home environment isn’t good, so she can’t do her homework.”

At this moment, Sun Xiuxiu came in after washing her hands. When she saw Jiang Xuan, she quickly lowered her head.

"Xiuxiu, this is our new neighbor, Aunt Xuanxuan."

Sun Xiuxiu was timid and didn't greet anyone.

"This child is a bit shy, I'm sorry you had to see him like this."

"It's okay." Jiang Xuan patted Sun Xiuxiu's head and said softly, "Xiuxiu, wait a moment, I'll give you a small gift."

After saying that, Jiang Xuan went home and came out a while later with two pretty little butterfly hair clips.

She bought these for Lu Fanxing; she bought five or six pairs.

"Here's a pair of hair clips for you. Do you like them?"

Sun Xiuxiu hid behind her mother, too afraid to speak.

Ma Xiaolan said gently, "Xiuxiu, since Auntie is giving it to you, just take it."

Sun Xiuxiu then took the hair clip and whispered a thank you.

"Sister Lan, don't cook. My sister should be here soon. Let's all go out to eat. It's on me."

"Forget it, eating out is too expensive."

"Oh, Sister Lan, please say yes! I like Xiuxiu, and I want to take her out for some good food, is that so wrong?"

Sun Xiuxiu looked at her mother with longing eyes.

Ma Xiaolan also felt sorry for her daughter. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Okay, I'll go change my clothes first."

As soon as Ma Xiaolan came out of the house, Zhou Dongmei's voice came in, "Jiang Xuan, I left the hoe at the door for you."

Jiang Xuan chased after her, "Thank you, Sister Mei. Please stay for dinner."

"No, I started preparing the dough when I left home this morning, and it's probably risen by now. I need to hurry back and make steamed buns. Come over and have some hot steamed buns when you have time later."

"Okay, Sister Mei, you can go ahead and get busy. Thank you for your hard work today."

"It's alright." Zhou Dongmei's voice had already faded into the distance.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Xiaomei came in carrying the fabric.

Jiang Xuan hadn't put the fabric in the tricycle earlier because she was afraid of getting it dirty.

"Sister Xuanxuan, is that tricycle going that fast? When did you get back?"

"I just got back a little while ago, little sister. Let's go out for lunch with Sister Lan and Xiuxiu today."

Jiang Xuan pointed to Ma Xiaolan and Xiuxiu.

"Okay." Lu Xiaomei looked at Ma Xiaolan. "Sister Lan, were you sleeping just now?"

"I took a nap."

"That's right. Don't be so obedient in the future. I think your mother-in-law has been bullying you for a long time."

Ma Xiaolan blushed and remained silent.

Jiang Xuan tugged at Lu Xiaomei and secretly pointed at Sun Xiuxiu, signaling her not to say these things in front of the children.

Lu Xiaomei understood and said nothing more.

When Ma Xiaolan saw the fabric in Lu Xiaomei's hand, she asked, "You bought so much fabric?"

Jiang Xuan: "I bought it near Xiguan Road, it was quite cheap."

As she spoke, Jiang Xuan took out a piece of Dacron floral fabric from inside. "Sister Lan, this is for you. It will look good as a shirt for you or a dress for Xiuxiu."

Ma Xiaolan was startled and quickly said, "No, no, I can't accept such expensive fabric from you. You should put it away right away."

"Take it, it's not expensive at all. I bought a lot, and the boss gave it to me at the market wholesale price."

"This kind of Dacron fabric is very popular now, and even the wholesale price is not cheap. Dacron garments are the best-selling product in our factory."

Jiang Xuan's eyes lit up. "Sister Lan, you work in a garment factory?"