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Song Chunli was almost in tears after being talked to by Old Madam Huo. Since she married into the Huo family, she had had disputes with her mother-in-law and had never been able to win. Every time, she realized her mistakes and shortcomings.
"Mom, I know I was wrong. I won't say it again," Song Chunli said, wiping away her tears and getting up to go upstairs.
After everyone left, Old Madam Huo sighed and said, "Oh dear, was what I said a bit too harsh?"
Jiang Lifang didn't know how to answer; neither yes nor no was a good answer.
Old Madam Huo always knew that her second daughter-in-law was smart, and this was evident from her current behavior. She knew what to say and what not to say, unlike her eldest daughter-in-law, who sometimes couldn't grasp these things.
This is happening at home, so no one will tell anyone.
If this were said outside, what would people say about the Huo family!
"Perhaps we were too harsh," Old Madam Huo murmured. "But the Huo family is currently riding high, in a very crucial period of growth. There are plenty of people who are envious and jealous of our Huo family, just waiting to see us fail. We were just a simple, happy family, but now we have to be so petty and gossipy."
"Mom, you're getting old, please take care of yourself and don't overexert yourself." Jiang Lifang didn't follow up on what Old Madam Huo had said, but instead reminded her mother-in-law to take care of her health.
Those things are not her concern.
"Sigh, with your sister-in-law like that, if I didn't put in the effort, who knows how this family would be?" Old Madam Huo said. "Over the years, I've never interfered with you and Zhekun. I know you're a shrewd woman who knows how to manage your family well. Now, Tiantian and you are like mother and daughter, your son is filial, and your husband is respectful and loving. The family is harmonious, and your father-in-law and I have never worried about you."
Jiang Lifang smiled and said, "We used to be a family of three. After our daughter-in-law came in, we became a family of four. Then we had a grandson and a granddaughter, so we became a family of six. We have to work all the time, and when we come home, we rarely have any free time. How can we have time to worry about these things!"
"Yes! That's how we can prosper!" said Madam Huo. "Alright, that's enough. It's not comfortable for you to say these things in front of you. From now on, we can only keep a closer eye on things, and perhaps only after we close our eyes can we stop interfering."
After hearing her mother-in-law's words, Jiang Lifang didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
My parents-in-law have always shown more concern for my older brother's family than for their own.
Alas, people's hearts are always biased!
Even though I felt uncomfortable, my in-laws didn't do anything excessive.
"Mom, let me help you upstairs to rest," Jiang Lifang said. She figured she might as well take her grandchildren with her instead.
Mrs. Huo looked tired and let Jiang Lifang help her into the house.
Jiang Lifang shook off her previous gloom and went to Aunt Wang's place to take care of the children.
Song Chunli wiped away her tears inside the house. She knew her mother-in-law was right, but she still felt terrible.
Seeing that Jiang Lifang was so agreeable, Song Chunli felt resentful. She was clearly better than her second sister-in-law in every way, so why did the elders think she was inferior to her second sister-in-law in every way?
It used to be about family background; now it's about sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and granddaughters.
It's inferior in every way!
Fortunately, the second wife's family wasn't in Yanjing, otherwise, where would the first wife's family's status be?
While reflecting on her mistakes, Song Chunli compared the advantages and disadvantages of the two companies, and her petty nature got the better of her.
Jiang Lifang always knew that her sister-in-law was petty, but since they didn't usually see each other, especially during the New Year, she never held it against her.
Even if Song Chunli said something unpleasant in the past, she would pretend not to hear it and just let it go, so as not to cause a scene during the New Year and make herself a laughing stock.
He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie arrived at the Overseas Chinese Store.
Because of their very fashionable attire, the sales staff inside assumed they were overseas Chinese and were very enthusiastic towards them.
He Tiantian was choosing items in front, while Huo Yingjie followed behind with a shopping basket.
“Brother Yingjie, this flavor of chocolate tastes really good. Xiaoyan and Sister Lili both love it. I’ll buy some and send it to them,” He Tiantian said. “Grandma likes this kind of milk candy, so I’ll buy some too.”
"If you like it, then buy it," Huo Yingjie nodded. He had come along to spend some time alone with Tian Tian and help her carry things. As for what to buy, Tian Tian could decide for herself.
He Tiantian kept buying and taking things into the shopping basket, and soon the basket was full.
Huo Yingjie went to get two more shopping baskets. Given He Tiantian's shopping speed, one basket probably wouldn't be enough.
In the end, He Tiantian chose four shopping baskets just for snacks.
We arrived at another area showcasing Chinese specialty products, with silk and embroidery making up about a third of the space.
He Tiantian's eyes lit up when she saw these.
Grandma and great-grandmother would look beautiful in the silk cheongsams made here, so I personally picked out four pieces of silk, one in deep purple and one in royal blue, suitable for the elderly. There were also embroidered fabrics over there, and He Tiantian also picked out six pieces, two of which were in nice colors, to give to her mother.
Grandma Qi San liked white magnolia flowers, and Grandma liked white hibiscus flowers, which happened to be both in this collection.
As for jewelry, He Tiantian picked out two jade hairpins for the two elderly people and had the sales clerk wrap them up.
When the cashier saw so many items at checkout, she was quite dumbfounded.
"So much?" the saleswoman exclaimed in surprise. These things must cost over a thousand yuan. Did they really have that much money with them?
He Tiantian smiled and said, "Yes, that's all. Can you calculate how much it costs? How many overseas Chinese vouchers do we need?"
Hearing He Tiantian say this, she must know the rules, so it's not appropriate to continue to doubt that the other party has enough money.
Just as the cashier had guessed, it exceeded one thousand dollars. She said, "The total is one thousand three hundred and eighty-three dollars and sixty cents. You will need an equivalent amount of overseas Chinese coupons."
"Thank you," He Tiantian said politely, glancing at Huo Yingjie.
Huo Yingjie took out fourteen stacks of ten-dollar bills from his wallet, each stack containing ten ten-dollar bills, totaling one thousand four hundred dollars. He also took out one thousand four hundred dollars of overseas Chinese coupons.
Seeing how readily the two agreed, the cashier secretly rejoiced that she hadn't said anything earlier. Noticing that the two had taken so many things without any packaging, she suggested, "We have regular bags here, two cents each; or bags suitable for mailing, five cents each."
He Tiantian was just worrying about how to mail it when she heard this, and said, "Then give me six mailing bags first, and two super big bags, preferably big enough to hold all this silk."
"Don't worry, we often host Chinese and international guests here, so we have staff to help with packing. Just sort your food, and our staff will pack it for you," the cashier said, explaining that they offer this service.
"Thank you so much!" He Tiantian said with delight. She had been so focused on buying things that she had forgotten how to mail them.
If the cashier hadn't reminded them, she and Huo Yingjie probably would have gone through the trouble of taking it to the post office, which would have been time-consuming and laborious.
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