Chapter 213 This is mutually beneficial, a win-win situation...
Just as Li Hong was feeling uneasy, she heard the door open.
As the door opened, her daughter's voice came through.
"Dad, Mom, Mingli and the others have arrived."
Li Hong and Tang Jianguo hurriedly went to greet them, and even Tang Xin, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, happily stood up.
"You must be tired after such a long train ride." Li Hong walked up to Fu's mother and warmly pulled her to sit down.
Mrs. Fu replied, "It's alright, it's alright. We bought a soft sleeper ticket, so it's not too tiring."
Li Hong, however, had her own perspective: "Spending two days and two nights on the train, even if you're not tired, you'd be incredibly bored."
Fu's mother smiled and said sincerely, "If I were alone on the train for such a long time, I would definitely be bored. But with Mingli traveling with me, I really don't feel bored at all."
Li Hong listened with envy; she had never seen such a good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship.
She no longer believed that her niece was just lucky; she thought that their harmonious relationship must have come from careful consideration.
Li Hong did not continue to pursue this topic.
Some words, when spoken appropriately, are simply a sign of concern; when spoken excessively, they become meddling.
Li Hong asked everyone to sit down at the dining table, saying, "You must all be hungry, so please sit down and eat."
When Fu's mother saw the large table of delicious food laid out on the dining table, she understood Li Hong's good intentions and said gratefully, "Thank you for making so much good food."
"What's so hard about it? It's just home-cooked food."
After everyone sat down, Li Hong and Tang Mingmei served rice to everyone.
Tang Mingli originally intended to help, but Li Hong forcefully stopped her, so she had no choice but to accept being a distinguished guest.
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Cooking skills are a talent, and Li Hong has demonstrated this to the fullest extent.
She came from a modest family and had never had much to eat growing up. After marrying into the Tang family, her life was neither particularly good nor bad. However, when it came to cooking, she could intuitively create a delicious dish even if she had never tasted it before.
Tonight's dinner table features a dish she cooked for the first time—braised abalone.
She nervously recommended the dish to everyone: "When I was buying groceries, someone said it was nutritious, so I bought some and tried making it. You guys try it and see how it tastes."
Tang Mingli picked up a piece, took a bite, swallowed it, and couldn't wait to praise, "Delicious! It's just as good as what the chef at Guangcheng Restaurant makes."
"Really? You're just flattering me, aren't you?" Li Hong was flattered.
It was her first time cooking abalone, and she just wanted it to taste good, since she was after all, it was also for its nutritional value.
Originally reluctant to eat it, I couldn't resist picking up a piece to taste after hearing Tang Mingli's praise.
After tasting it, she almost became narcissistic, but thankfully, she still spoke modestly.
"The taste is actually quite good."
Since it's still okay, of course we should encourage everyone to eat more.
During the conversation, Li Hong asked Tang Mingli and Fu's mother why they went to Beijing.
Fu's mother was taken aback, thinking that Fu Ci had already told her, but it turned out she didn't know.
She smiled slightly and whispered, "The story I wrote won an award. Let's go collect it."
I feel a little embarrassed to say it to myself.
This shocked the Tang family, and they all looked up at Fu's mother.
Tang Xin, in particular, was originally a child and didn't have much say at the dinner table, but after hearing how amazing Grandma Fu was, her eyes were full of admiration, and she couldn't help but say, "Grandma, you're so amazing."
Faced with the child's sincere admiration, Fu's mother felt even more embarrassed.
"Grandma wasn't anything special, she was probably just lucky."
Even Li Hong, who considered herself the most ignorant person at the table, disagreed with this statement.
"How could it be just luck? Let alone winning an award, it's difficult to even get an article published in a newspaper. Anyway, I can forget about it in my lifetime."
Li Hong made a self-deprecating remark, which somewhat eased Fu's mother's embarrassment.
Tang Mingli noticed that her mother-in-law seemed quite at ease, so she joked, "Mom's success is inseparable from my role as her daughter-in-law."
Li Hong asked, "What do you mean?"
Tang Mingli said without any hesitation, "I am her strong support."
Although it was said in a joking tone, Fu's mother completely agreed.
"Indeed, without Mingli's encouragement, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to submit articles to newspapers."
Without even taking that first step, there would be no way we would have achieved what we have today.
Thinking of all this, Fu's mother's tone became even more sincere, "Without Mingli, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"Mom, what you're saying..." Just when everyone thought she would say something modest and deflect, Tang Mingli changed the subject, "It's really the truth."
Everyone was amused by this unexpected turn of events.
Li Hong then asked, "Did you see Tiananmen Square during your trip to Beijing?"
Tang Mingli smiled. Sure enough, most elderly people have a thing for Tiananmen Square.
She didn't answer the question proactively, but instead looked at her mother-in-law.
When Tiananmen Square was mentioned, Fu's mother was clearly excited.
"I saw it, I saw it! I even took a picture to remember it."
"Oh, you even took photos?" Li Hong's eyes were full of undisguised envy.
Upon seeing this, Tang Mingmei immediately made a promise: "Mom, when I'm not so busy, I'll take you and Dad to Beijing to see Tiananmen Square."
Before Li Hong could speak, Tang Xin asked anxiously, "Mom, what about me?"
Tang Mingmei smiled and said, "Of course I won't leave you out."
"Yay!"
Just the promise made Tang Xin as happy as if she could go to Beijing the next day.
Li Hong was naturally drawn to it, but in her mind, Beijing was the most distant place, so distant that it was almost unreachable.
Just for her wish to see Tiananmen Square, she felt it was too much trouble and too expensive for her daughter to take the whole family on such a long trip.
So he said, "Never mind, I was just saying."
Tang Xin disagreed and whispered, "But I really want to go to Beijing."
"Silly child, Beijing is so far away."
Tang Xin has always been a sensible child. Although she was disappointed when she heard her grandmother say that, she didn't make a fuss anymore.
Tang Mingmei was almost amused by her mother's words, and said, "So what if it's far? It'll only take two or three days by train. If I say I'll take you, I will. Anyway, when that day comes, don't complain, just listen to me."
Seeing their daughter's reaction, Li Hong and Tang Jianguo said nothing more.
They don't know when it started, but gradually they began to listen to whatever their daughter said.
Their daughter has become the head of the family.
After dinner, everyone moved to the living room to drink tea, and Li Hong began to clear the table.
After clearing the table, seeing that her daughter and husband had made tea and brought out fruit to greet her, she went back into the kitchen hoping for a better future.
However, before turning around, he subconsciously glanced at Tang Mingli, hesitated, and then looked away.
Tang Mingli happened to notice this and suspected that her aunt might have something to say to her, so she slowly pulled herself out of the conversation and went to the kitchen as well.
Li Hong was washing the dishes while lost in thought and didn't notice Tang Mingli coming in, even though she knew Tang Mingli was calling her.
Li Hong was startled, and the bowl in her hand almost slipped into the sink.
"Did I scare you?" Tang Mingli hadn't expected that her aunt should have noticed her coming in normally.
Li Hong quickly denied it: "No, no, I was just lost in thought."
Tang Mingli asked, "What are you thinking about so intently?"
"I..." Li Hong hesitated again.
Although Tang Mingli was curious, she wasn't one to pry into things, so she smiled and said, "Would it be convenient for you to tell me? If it's inconvenient, it's fine if you don't tell me."
Li Hong shook her head.
Actually, the person she most wanted to confide in was Mingli.
After glancing at her partner in the kitchen to make sure no one else was coming, Li Hong lowered her voice and spoke.
"I want to talk to you about your sister."
What happened to my sister?
Upon hearing that it was related to Tang Mingmei, Tang Mingli subconsciously lowered her voice, thinking that something had happened to her cousin.
“Your sister…” Li Hong struggled for a moment, but finally gritted her teeth and told Tang Mingli everything, “She’s a bit heartless.”
This surprised Tang Mingli.
My cousin is no longer the same person she used to be. How could she suddenly become so heartless again?
"I only just found out that she actually had the idea of opening her own shop."
Tang Mingli thought she was going to hear something shocking, but she didn't expect this. She found it both funny and helpless.
"Hasn't my sister always wanted to start her own business?"
“That’s different. That was before she came to Shenzhen. After she came to Shenzhen, you and Fu Ci arranged a job for her, a good job at that, and you also helped her find an apartment and solved her schooling problem. How could she still think like that?”
In Li Hong's view, Mingli and Fu Ci had helped her so much, so she should work hard at the store to repay their kindness. Besides, the pay at the store was quite good, so she should be content.
"But..." Tang Mingli wanted to laugh, but was afraid that speaking softly would attract the attention of the people chatting outside, so she could only bite her lower lip tightly and it took a lot of effort to restrain herself.
"But we've always known that my cousin will open her own shop in the future."
Tang Mingli knew that her cousin had told her about her dreams. And to be precise, it wasn't just that they gave her cousin a job; her cousin also helped her a lot when she resigned and wanted to try something new.
This is mutually beneficial and a win-win situation.
After hearing what her niece said, Li Hong was dumbfounded.
"So, I was just overthinking everything?"
Tang Mingli didn't want to discourage her, but she could only nod.
“Actually, I think my sister is right to think this way. People should take control of their lives. This job is good, but it still depends on Fu Ci’s clothing factory. I don’t think Fu Ci would do something like this, but things are unpredictable. Who can guarantee that Fu Ci’s physical store will always be doing well and can keep going? What will my sister do if the market changes one day and the clothing store can’t stay open?”
She didn't say that the clothing store could continue operating even if her cousin stopped working there; she was simply asking her aunt a question from her cousin's perspective.
This question really stumped Li Hong.
Yes, Fu Ci and Ming Li certainly wouldn't be that heartless. But in business matters, no one can really predict the future.
"We must trust her and believe that she makes every decision after careful consideration."
Li Hong nodded.
My niece is absolutely right. Our daughter is no longer the willful, unruly, and immature girl she used to be. After experiencing a failed marriage, what she thinks, what decision she makes, isn't more correct than what her parents did?
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Author's Note: Have a great weekend. Red envelopes will still be given out in this chapter.
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