Xu Shu steeled himself, his tongue brushing against his chapped lips, his tone revealing an unyielding certainty.
"Our most important task right now is to finalize this marriage and urge Yao Yao's parents to transfer the money. We can put everything else aside for now and deal with it later!"
Li Guixiang raised her eyelids and twisted the hem of her clothes as she agreed.
Xu Zao's eyes widened, and she muttered in a sour tone, as if she had been drinking vinegar.
"Exactly! Does she even deserve him? If anyone should be marrying, it should be me! Brother, why didn't you think of me first when you had such a good opportunity..."
As she spoke, she gently poked Xu Shu's arm with her finger, acting both coquettish and complaining.
Just now, Shen Huaichuan was wearing a military green vest, and somehow the corner of his shirt was turned up, revealing glimpses of his muscular physique. Xu Zao stared at him so intently that she almost drooled onto her shirt.
Xu Shu rolled his eyes at his sister's expression, annoyed.
"What's so great about him? He's so fierce, everyone says he's the living devil of the military region, he never gives the girls in the arts troupe a kind look! Marrying him is sure to be a nightmare! You should ask your sister-in-law's parents to find you a rich doctor in the city, or a minor leader in a government agency, that would be a real blessing!"
Li Guixiang rubbed her swollen wrist, the bones still aching painfully, and spat out a "pui" sound.
"Exactly! That man even dared to lay a hand on an old woman like me. How could I possibly have a good life if I married him? He'd probably break my legs! Only someone as resilient as Zhou Qiqi could endure such a beating!"
Xu Shu waved his hand.
"Alright, let's not talk about them anymore, we have important things to discuss."
Li Guixiang looked at her son with relief.
"Okay, kid, you tell us. You're so capable, we'll listen to whatever you say."
Xu Shu gave a stern warning.
"Yaoyao is spoiled in the city, and she has a bad temper. You can't treat her like you treat Qiqi, and you can't make her do chores. You have to take good care of her, especially you, Mother. Control your temper and don't give her the cold shoulder, do you hear me?"
Li Guixiang pouted, "Me, serve her? She's married into the family, so she's our daughter-in-law. What kind of mother-in-law serves her daughter-in-law?"
Xu Shu knew his mother's temperament, so he quickly tried to persuade her.
"Just stay here for a few days, bear with it! Once the money arrives, and she's heavily pregnant, won't she be completely tied to the Xu family? Then you can do whatever you want with her!"
Li Guixiang reluctantly agreed, "Okay, fine..."
Xu Shu then looked at his father and sister, "Have you both memorized it?"
"I know, I know."
Old Xu grinned sheepishly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
Xu Zao nodded hurriedly, "Don't worry, brother, I know what I'm doing!"
Xu Shu was relieved and then asked, "By the way, did you bring the wedding money I asked you to bring?"
"If you don't send money home, where will the family find any spare money?"
Li Guixiang pursed her lips, and seeing Xu Shu's face darken, she patted the small bundle in her hand and said smugly.
"However, Zhou Qiqi's father left behind a jade pendant, saying it was an old artifact passed down from their ancestors, which could protect the Zhou family's descendants. He originally wanted to give it to his grandson after you two had a child, but then he thought, since she's not our daughter-in-law anymore, he sold it. Hey, he got three hundred yuan! That's enough for you to run errands in the city!"
Xu Shu patted his chest, his peach blossom eyes narrowing into slits, "Now I'm relieved!"
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Besides the jade pendant, is there anything else of value? If so, let's sell it together; there's no point in keeping it."
Li Guixiang shook her head.
"Have she sold all the other items during the years she was with us? Otherwise, how could we have built those three big brick houses?"
Xu Shu smacked his lips, feeling a little regretful.
"Oh well, it's gone, it's gone. Three hundred yuan is enough."
He repeatedly explained the precautions to his family members before leading them to the clinic.
The lights in the clinic didn't go out with the lights-out signal; a warm yellow light shone from the side room where Lin Yao was staying.
The door was open, casting shadows on the ground. A shadowy figure could be vaguely seen, holding up something greasy and gnawing on it with relish, eating quickly and hurriedly as if it hadn't eaten in centuries.
Li Guixiang muttered, "Did a mouse get into the house?"
Xu Zao glanced at the shadow and wondered, "Are there rats this big in the city too?"
Xu Shu slapped his thigh, "Oh no! The braised food I just bought today!"
He hurriedly ran into the house, complaining as he went.
"Yaoyao, why didn't you keep an eye on things? That braised food is for Mom and Dad's welcome dinner, how could it be wasted..."
Before Zi could finish speaking, he saw Lin Yao sitting under the chandelier, holding half a pig's trotter in her hand, happily gnawing on it.
Xu Shu was stunned. "Yao Yao, it's you? What are you doing here?"
Why can't I eat it?
Lin Yao rolled her eyes, clearly unhappy, and Xu Shu quickly tried to coax her.
"No, no, I'm not saying you can't eat it. I just thought, you never usually eat these things, right? You think they're dirty..."
"I don't know what's wrong with me today, I suddenly feel like eating. What's wrong? Why are you making such a fuss about such a small amount of food? You scared me!"
Lin Yao was startled by his shout and suddenly felt that the pig's trotter in her hand was greasy, so she raised her hand and threw it on Xu Shu's forehead.
The pig's trotter was shiny and slippery. It rolled down his forehead and onto the ground with a "slurp," landing right on Li Guixiang, who had just entered the room.
Li Guixiang saw this scene as soon as she entered the door, "You shameless..."
He had just uttered the curse when he saw the gleaming gold bracelet on Lin Yao's wrist. The word "slut" that was on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down, and he almost bit off the root of his tongue.
She forced a smile, "Shu'er, this must be Yao Yao, right?"
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