Chapter 361 Don't Speak, Don't Think About It

"This was specially bought for the three children; every child in the family has one."

Seeing that Sister-in-law Fang was unwilling to accept the gift, Su Laosan placed it at the feet of her youngest son, got into his car, and drove away.

"Mom, can we take this toy?"

The youngest son stared longingly, tugging at Fang's sister-in-law's clothes and asking.

Sister-in-law Fang sighed, "Take it."

She knew that Su Laosan's gift was a genuine one. His nephew and niece were still young, and these toys were obviously not suitable for children. Su Laosan had specially bought them for his three sons.

This dedication...

Watching the taxi drive away, the mother and son took their toys and went back to their rented courtyard.

The courtyard was dilapidated, and the house was also dilapidated, but there was a hand pump well in the courtyard, so she didn't have to go out to fetch water. The key point was that it was cheaper than other courtyards nearby, so she accepted the dilapidated conditions.

The little girl from next door saw her holding the toy, glanced at it in surprise, and then, seeing the price tag on the product details page, exclaimed, "This toy costs over a hundred? So expensive!"

She looked Fang Dasao up and down, noticing that her clothes were patched up and that she wasn't exactly wealthy. Why was she so willing to spend money like that?

"It was a gift from the child's aunt's friend."

Sister-in-law Fang frowned and casually said that she wanted to take the child back to the house quickly.

The little girl's eyes darted around, and she leaned closer with a smile. "Is it your boyfriend or your girlfriend? I bet it's your girlfriend. Most people can't afford to give you such an expensive toy. Sister-in-law, how come the little ones have such a powerful uncle-in-law, and we've never seen him come over?"

The youngest son's mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something, but then he pouted and said nothing, only tightly clutching the hem of Fang's clothes.

The woman washing clothes by the water pump scoffed.

She said, "If her children really had such a powerful uncle, would they still be crammed into this shabby courtyard with us? He's probably not the uncle, he's the lover. Otherwise, how come we've never seen this aunt or uncle of theirs? What kind of family is this, giving gifts worth a hundred or two each time? These three items together must be worth a little over a thousand..."

Watch your mouth!

Sister-in-law Fang glanced at them coldly and warned, "Don't assume everyone else is dirty just because you're dirty yourself."

The woman glared, flung her clothes, and rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to fight. The young girl quickly smiled and tried to calm things down, "Sister-in-law Fang, don't be angry. Sister-in-law Lin didn't mean it. We're not educated people, just a bit gossipy, but we don't mean any harm. Sister-in-law Lin, please say less. Even if Sister-in-law Fang is easygoing, you can't just throw mud at people like that. It's not appropriate. Alright, alright, we'll run into each other again soon, let's all compromise..."

The woman continued washing clothes, shoving and banging them.

Sister-in-law Fang glanced at the woman, then pulled the child back into the house.

She closed the door, put her things down, and her youngest son hugged her arm, whispering, "Mom, why can't we say that those grocery stores outside are owned by my aunt's boyfriend?"

Sister-in-law Fang picked up her son, put him on a chair, and looked him straight in the eye. "Son, remember this: your aunt doesn't owe us anything, and neither does your uncle... Su Laosan. Even if your aunt and he hadn't gotten together, it would have been between your aunt and her boyfriend. These things have nothing to do with us. Why bring them up? Don't talk about them or think about them anymore, understand?"

The little guy looked listless, but nodded earnestly.

...

When Su Laosan returned, he was somewhat listless. Li Banxia didn't ask, and Aunt Qiu pretended not to notice.

The family went about their business as usual.

They moved to a new house in the second half of the year. It was a two-courtyard siheyuan with a front hall and a backyard. There were many more rooms than the old one, but everyone preferred to live in the front yard. Only the eldest son and his wife lived in the back yard, where they set up a study and only went there to read and study.

This house is also rented.

Su Laosan made a lot of money in the second half of the year and said he wanted to buy it, but Li Banxia refused.

Let him keep making money so that he can make a big splash next year.

With Fang Erniu as his catch, Su Laosan has been working very hard at everything he does for the past six months.

I learned a lot from Sister Yao.

This person seems to have a natural talent for building relationships with people. He would frequently send gifts to Sister-in-law Yao and buy nice things for his nephew, niece, and sister-in-law.

The dozen or so medicinal cuisine and health food stalls that cooperate with Sister Yao also give her monthly dividends.

Sister-in-law Yao praised Li Banxia countless times.

“Your son is born to do business. He can chat with anyone. Before, he would just try to make people laugh and talk nonsense. Now that he’s read more books and has a wider range of knowledge, plus I give him my insider tips from time to time, he’s completely different from the lazy good-for-nothing he was last year…”

Yao's sister-in-law naturally didn't care about the small favor Su Laosan gave her.

Her husband owns his own company and doesn't lack money. What she values ​​is Su Laosan's gratitude; he knows how to repay her while also being good to his sister-in-law and two nephews.

This is also why she was willing to keep revealing inside information to him, allowing him to take advantage of loopholes.

It doesn't matter who you give it to, but wouldn't it be better to use it to gain the greatest benefit?

To put it bluntly, the relationship between their two families is such that unless the sister-in-law divorces their eldest son, but even if they do divorce, with two nephews, they will be bound together for life.

The more capable her husband's in-laws are, the better her husband's life will be, which is something she is happy to see.

She works so diligently so that her family can live well; for her, her family's well-being is the maximization of her own interests.

Sister-in-law Yao didn't hide anything from Li Banxia; she told her everything very clearly.

Li Banxia also sighed, "This is the right way for in-laws to help each other. The Fang family..."

She shook her head.

As the days went by, for more than half a month before the Lunar New Year, everyone was extremely busy.

While worrying about when Fang Erniu would have any news, Su Laosan couldn't call her every day and could only wait anxiously. At the same time, he was busy with the allocation of goods and personnel for dozens of stores. When big customers wanted to order goods, he had to entertain them himself, and he didn't even have time to go home for meals or rest.

Li Banxia's health center started its holiday on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The phone kept ringing with orders, and despite the pressure, Su Laosan closed all his shops on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. He gave his employees a week of paid leave, settled their wages, distributed year-end bonuses and New Year's gifts, and sent them home for the holiday.

On the 30th, when he took Su Jiale out to play, he couldn't help but run to Sister-in-law Fang's place to ask if she had any news about Fang Erniu. He searched around for a long time but couldn't find her, so he went home disappointed.

That evening, while the family was having their New Year's Eve dinner, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Su Laosan handed the younger one to Su Laoda and ran to open the door. The person who came in was carrying a bag, with his back to him, watching the fireworks being set off in the park across the street.

"Who...are you looking for?"

Su Laosan felt that the figure looked somewhat familiar.

When the person turned around upon hearing the voice, his eyes widened immediately, "Second Brother!"