"Oh, my cousins are here? This is truly a rare treat! I never expected my cousins would actually come to my house!"
Then his gaze shifted from the tea on the table to An Xian, and he made a sarcastic remark.
“Sister Anxian, when my cousins come to your house, all I do is offer them some sweet soup.”
This is even worse than my mother.
Who exactly is looking down on their older cousins?
An Xian held back, about to retort, when her eyes fell on the book bag on An Ning's shoulder, and her eyes widened instantly.
"...You're carrying a book bag, what's that—"
An Ning glanced at the satchel on her shoulder and said casually, "Oh, this? Didn't your aunt tell you? I've been going to school with my older sister and the others lately."
Qiao Qiuniang looked at Anning in surprise as she entered the room. "Why are you back so early? Didn't you say you were going to stay at the school for lunch?"
An Ning sighed.
"Mother, don't even mention it. It's all because that young master He is so picky. He kept insisting on eating that herbal jelly."
He said that ever since his younger sister made it for him at home, he has never forgotten the taste.
"Hurry up, let's make six servings of herbal jelly. I'll take them back to the school. Once Young Master He started making a fuss, everyone else in the school wanted some too."
Qiao Qiuniang frowned. "But Lewazi said that we can't put those things on the shelves yet. He said we can only start selling them after the shelves are set up."
"You agreed so readily, what about Lewazi—"
"It's alright, Mom, you guys make it. Make a lot, it'll be perfect as a dessert before the meal."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qiuniang and An Ning both looked towards An Le who had just entered.
An Ning chuckled and moved closer, surrounding An Le with a wide grin.
"Little sister, I set the price for this herbal jelly at the price you mentioned before."
"I only charged Young Master He 250 copper coins, but I charged the others 500 copper coins each."
"Two hundred and fifty?" Anle grinned. "Yeah, okay."
Not seeing any of An Jing and the others, An Le casually asked.
"Where are your older sister and the others? Did you come back alone?"
"My older sister and her friends like to study!"
There are many things we don't understand. We just arrived, so we definitely won't be able to keep up with the lessons taught by the master in the school.
So the eldest sister and the others stayed there, diligently seeking knowledge.
I came back by myself, intending to grab some food and head back.
Qiao Qiuniang hurriedly smiled.
"Then I'll hurry up and cook the taro balls. There were a lot prepared in the freezer a long time ago, just waiting for the opening. I didn't expect that so many portions would be sold before the opening."
Anle's eyes lit up. "Mother, make a few more portions of taro balls and take them to my eldest sister and the others."
Bring an extra portion for the Master to try.
"We won't charge the teacher's share, so it will be easier for my older sister and the others to ask him more questions in the future."
Qiao Qiuniang smiled knowingly, "Okay, I understand."
Qiao Qiuniang didn't care about the children and hurriedly went to do the work at hand.
An Ning plopped down in the chair opposite her, then looked at her three older cousins and An Xian, sizing them up.
"My dear cousins, you're such rare guests! Did you come all this way just to support my family?"
Wu Qiaoxin smiled and said, "I just came here with my cousin Anxian to sit for a while. I heard that my uncle's family opened a shop, so I came to take a look."
An Ning smiled and went along with the pretense, "Oh, is that so? Even Aunt and the others haven't come before. Cousin, are you here on behalf of Aunt and Uncle?"
Wu Qiaolan shook her head. "Dad and Mom are so busy with Aunt's affairs that they don't have time to think about Uncle. We came here on our own because we wanted to sit down."
"Once my parents have some free time, they will definitely come to congratulate me in person."
An Ning secretly curled her lip. What a lame excuse. When her family's shop opened, the matter of An Manyi's husband's family owing money hadn't even come to light yet. Why didn't she come over then?
However, since we've come this far, let's not blame her for bringing up such a sensitive topic.
"My aunt's matter has caused quite a stir. I heard she owes fifty taels of silver."
This matter has really worried Grandma San's family.
I heard that even my aunt's family contributed money. I wonder how much my aunt and uncle plan to contribute?
Wu Qiaohui frowned, displeased with what she was hearing.
"What does this have to do with my parents? This is a problem on my aunt's side, why should my parents have to pay for it?"
An Ning blinked. "How can it be unrelated? This matter has a lot to do with your parents!"
My aunt's marriage was arranged by my aunt and uncle!
Since something like this has happened, we should naturally help out, right?
Besides, now that Third Grandma's family is in trouble, are my aunt and uncle just going to stand by and watch?
Wu Qiaolan covered her mouth and smiled, "Actually, if we're talking about it, my maternal uncle's family is the closest, right?"
Anning sighed, "It seems my father wants to get closer to Third Grandmother's family."
But my third grandmother's family really looked down on my family!
Didn't they kick my dad out a long time ago?
Sigh, if it weren't for the fact that my father and my aunt and her brother still had a good relationship, my mother would never have invited my cousin and her brother into the family, given how they've distanced themselves from each other now.
How could we possibly call them aunt and uncle again?
Wu Qiaohui muttered, "In the end, isn't this just a change of address? In the past, you cousins always called her aunt and uncle. Your family isn't this close to my family anymore, so naturally my parents won't come over."
Wu Qiaoxin glanced at Wu Qiaohui and scolded her, "Third sister, what nonsense are you talking about? In the end, aren't we all family? This blood relationship can never be broken."
Her third sister is a bit foolish; how could she say such a thing?
They just come here to eat, drink, and take things for free. Once you say that, you've exposed the truth, the relationship is over, and it's even less likely they'll get anything for free.
She had been craving the pastries here for days, but unfortunately they were too expensive. Even if she wanted to try them, she simply couldn't afford them.
Compared to the young ladies from wealthy families around them, her family was still somewhat lacking.
Their daily allowance is nothing compared to the substantial monthly allowances held by those high-society ladies.
Her mother was stingy, and each of them only received thirty coins a month as pocket money.
She dared not let anyone know about this situation, for fear that the young ladies and gentlemen in those circles would find out, and she couldn't bear the shame.
But all the young men and women around them had tried the pastries here, while they hadn't.
If I ever get involved in this industry in the future, I won't even be able to get a word in edgewise when we meet and talk.
Everyone in this circle is talking about her uncle's pastries lately. If she doesn't come over and try them, and use the pastries as a topic of conversation, she won't be able to fit in.
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