Chapter 38: Sneaking a peek at the new unit’s first official performance…
"How did we find them? They were all relatives," Jiang's mother said. "We knew someone might steal them, so we didn't take them all and leave them there. Even so, someone still tried."
Others wanted to take it, and they would find ways to take it. The host family couldn't keep an eye on it all the time, so those things were just displayed for show, to let everyone see that the bride had brought a dowry. Jiang San's wife's family didn't keep all the betrothal gifts, but gave some to the bride as a dowry, and also bought other things.
Third cousin Jiang's family didn't want the Jiang family to look down on her, or to be accused of selling their daughter. When she got married, they prepared all those things on the platter, not just to make it look good, but also to let others know that her family was reliable and to stop them from bullying her.
"If it was stolen, it was stolen," Jiang's mother said. "The first and second bills were real money, but the others weren't. The loss wasn't that much."
"Why not just show the real one in the front?" Jiang Moli asked.
"Do you think people won't touch those things?" Jiang's mother asked. "Turning them over and over again, there has to be real ones on both sides for them to look good. Actually, it's not like people don't know there might be fake ones in the middle, and some people will just take them, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"That's right, there's nothing we can do." Jiang Moli thought that there was no surveillance, but if there was, she would have seen it.
In the end, neither the Jiang family nor the third cousin's wife went to look for the lost money; they simply gave it away to ward off disaster. If they made a big deal about that little money, they'd be accused of being stingy. And if they did catch the person, a relative, how would they handle it? It would be a matter of a few words, and they'd have to pretend it never happened.
Whether you find the person or not, the outcome will be the same.
Jiang Moli sat at the table and ate the banquet. She didn't worry about those things. If she knew about them, she would ask.
Sheng Jiahao finally came, but he was a little late because he had some things to deal with. Sheng Jiahao and Jiang Moli sat at the same table. Jiang Moli was wondering if Sheng Jiahao would not come.
"I thought you weren't coming." Jiang Moli said.
"I still have to come." Sheng Jiahao said, "Everyone told me to come, so I'll come."
Sheng Jiahao didn't think others were being polite to him. He and Jiang Moli's parents had already met. Sheng Jiahao came to attend Jiang San's cousin's wedding banquet and gave a red envelope. He didn't think he was giving too much. He thought that by coming, others would know that Jiang Moli had a partner.
Others saw Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao sitting together and talking, and asked, "Moli, is this your boyfriend?"
"Yes, my boyfriend." Jiang Moli nodded.
There were many people attending the wedding banquet, some of whom Jiang Moli knew, and some of whom she didn't know. Jiang Moli sat at this table. She didn't run around, and it was quite good to have a few acquaintances at the table.
The wedding banquet began before nightfall. Even before the feast was over, some children had already run away, though not all the adults had. In those days, many families were short of food and clothing, and it was rare for them to have a banquet, so of course they had to eat more. Any leftovers were taken home. Some people packed a lot of food, waiting to take it home.
Jiang Moli didn't pretend. She didn't like taking food from banquets to eat. Jiang's mother would bring some back from banquets, and Jiang Moli ate some when she was little. As Jiang Moli got a little older, she didn't like eating the food from the banquets anymore, so Jiang's mother would eat it herself with Jiang's father. Jiang Yuqin didn't want to eat anything Jiang Moli didn't eat.
Jiang Yuqin didn't come to this wedding banquet. The Jiang family didn't invite her, and she didn't have the nerve to come. Zhao Guodong and his wife weren't invited either. It wasn't that the Jiang family disliked Zhao Guodong, but rather that socializing required money. Zhao Guodong wasn't a Jiang family child, and the other members of the Jiang family were distantly related to him. So they simply didn't bother him, saving him and his wife the trouble of figuring out how to get their money back.
When Zhao Guodong got married in the countryside, Mrs. Jiang and her people did not send any money or things to Zhao Guodong. They allowed Jiang's mother and Jiang Moli to send so many things to Zhao Guodong, which was already quite good. If they wanted to send more things, that was fine.
Although Zhao Guodong and his wife did not attend the wedding banquet, Aunt Jiang still left some clean food that was not served for Jiang's mother to take back to Zhao Guodong's family. Aunt Jiang knew that Zhao Guodong had a hard time. He was kicked out at a very young age and became Jiang's father's stepson. Jiang's father did not treat Zhao Guodong badly, and Zhao Guodong himself would also pay attention.
"You don't need so much." Jiang's mother said.
"Take it." Aunt Jiang said, "It's not easy for them, and it's not easy for you either."
Aunt Jiang is a woman, and she can understand how difficult it is.
"It's not a lot of food. Eat some and share in the good cheer." Aunt Jiang said, "Take it to them."
"Okay, then I'll take it to them." Jiang's mother said.
Jiang Moli leaned over to take a look, but she didn't go to see what it was.
After returning home, Sheng Jiahao also left, and then Jiang's mother took the things to Niu Cuihua and his wife. Aunt Jiang packed a lot of things, mostly meat and vegetables, without vermicelli and other things, but did pack some glutinous rice cakes.
"Mom." Niu Cuihua didn't expect Jiang's mother to come. She knew that Jiang's mother had gone to a banquet.
"These are all clean and haven't been served yet," Jiang's mother said. "My sister-in-law gave them to you. They didn't invite you, so don't think there's anything wrong with that. Guodong has no relationship with their family. If they invited you, you still have to pay a gift. It would be better not to invite you. It's the same when other people get married. They didn't pay a gift when you got married, so you don't have to go when someone in their family gets married."
Jiang's mother made it clear that these things needed to be sorted out to prevent Niu Cuihua from getting carried away and feeling that others were being unfair to them. There was no unfairness in this; the Jiang family had already done a good job.
Niu Cuihua took the bowl and poured out the dishes. There were quite a lot of dishes, including braised pork, spicy and sour squid, chicken soup, and bamboo shoots. There was really a lot of things. These things were quite large, each one could fill an entire plate, which showed that the Jiang family really treated them well.
"It's hot, and things spoil easily," Jiang's mother said. "We have a refrigerator over there. If you can't finish it, put it in the refrigerator. If you can finish it, eat it. The child is still young, so he needs more nutrition. If he eats more, his body will be stronger."
"I just cooked, but I haven't eaten yet." Niu Cuihua said, "Guodong is still at the factory and hasn't come back yet. Let's wait for him to come back and eat."
"Okay, I'll go back first." Jiang's mother said.
"Mom." Niu Cuihua called to Jiang's mother, "I'd better wash those lunch boxes."
"You don't have to wash them. I'll take them home and wash them," Jiang's mother said. "You, take good care of the children. Oh, and the older one has to go to kindergarten. You have to go to the kindergarten in late July or early August to see which one your child will attend. You have to decide whether to go to a nearby kindergarten or to the kindergarten at your workplace."
It doesn’t matter where you go to study, it’s not free for children, you have to pay for it.
Jiang's mother reminded Niu Cuihua, lest Niu Cuihua and her husband were not prepared. Jiang's mother took the lunch box and went back first, and did not stay with Niu Cuihua any longer.
Niu Cuihua looked at the delicious food on the table and saw her eldest daughter reaching for the braised pork. Niu Cuihua thought for a moment and gave her two pieces of braised pork to eat first.
"Is it delicious?" Niu Cuihua asked.
"It's delicious." The eldest daughter nodded.
When Zhao Guodong came back, he was surprised to see so many delicious foods on the table. "Did you spend money again?"
"No, my mom sent it over." Niu Cuihua said, "My mom said it was brought over from her sister-in-law. They are all clean and have never been served before. In fact, even if they were served before, I wouldn't mind them. It's good to have something to eat."
"So it was my mom who sent it." Zhao Guodong worked diligently at his workplace, and when he was asked to work overtime, he did. Zhao Guodong didn't expect to eat particularly well. Niu Cuihua had already spent most of the money he had given her, and Zhao Guodong was worried that he would run out of money later, so he said that.
"Yeah." Niu Cuihua said, "Come on, eat quickly. Mom said that if we can't finish it, we can put it in the refrigerator over there. If we can finish it, we will finish it."
"Eat." Zhao Guodong said, "You should eat more too."
"I didn't expect that my mother would send these to us. She said her sister-in-law asked her to bring them specially." Niu Cuihua said.
"The people at my uncle's side are pretty nice," Zhao Guodong said. "I didn't go there with my mom during the Lunar New Year, and she brought me some food when she came back. The people at the Jiang family aren't bad, they're quite kind-hearted. They're not related to me by blood, but they do better than my own grandparents."
With this comparison, it is even less likely that Zhao Guodong would think that the Jiang family is bad.
"this……"
"Cuihua, your previous thoughts were wrong. They didn't treat me badly." Zhao Guodong said, "It was my grandparents, my uncles and aunts who treated me badly. They would never let me get anything from the Zhao family. They would only make me pay more money."
"I can see it." Niu Cuihua said.
Zhao Guodong and his wife didn't eat all the food at once. They ate some and put the rest in Jiang's mother's refrigerator to keep it fresh for tomorrow. They would eat all day tomorrow and almost all of it would be gone. Zhao Guodong had to eat more because he worked, and the two children had to eat something good too.
Niu Cuihua went to open the refrigerator and found that the fresh-keeping section was empty. Niu Cuihua had originally thought that Jiang's mother would buy a lot of things and put them there, thinking that there would be more things here.
Jiang's mother is not working. She cooks at home and basically buys and cooks on the same day. There are some things in the refrigerator, but not much.
"Take that bag of mung beans from the refrigerator," Jiang's mother said. "It's hot out, so make some mung bean soup to clear away the heat."
"Can we take this whole bag back?" Niu Cuihua asked.
"Yes, you take it back." Jiang's mother nodded.
"Don't you have anything left?" Niu Cuihua said.
"Buy some more next time and take it back." Jiang's mother said.
"Let's not take it." Niu Cuihua saw Jiang's father coming out of the room, and she was worried that Jiang's mother would be in trouble.
"Just take it, it's just a bag of mung beans." Jiang Moli took out the bag of mung beans and stuffed it into Niu Cuihua's hand. "If it weren't for your brother's face and the sake of your nephew and niece, you would think we were willing to give it to you. Take it, these are dried mung beans. Go home and put them in a cool place. They can be kept for a long time. Cook some when you want to eat them."
Jiang's father didn't look at the bag of mung beans for long. Since his daughter and wife had said so, he naturally had no objection. Mung beans weren't particularly expensive, so Jiang's father didn't care. If he did, Jiang's mother could still say how kind he had been to Jiang Yuqin. However, Jiang's mother refrained from saying such things unless necessary, to avoid upsetting Jiang's father.
Niu Cuihua left with the bag of mung beans, feeling a little complicated.
At first, Niu Cuihua genuinely believed her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were mean, overly aggressive, and she felt her family was being shortchanged. Without a single household, Niu Cuihua and her husband had to raise their children on their own, and she felt the challenges of city life. It was especially when she accidentally spent so much money and had to carefully budget it that she realized how hard it was for Jiang's mother to save.
If Niu Cuihua lived with Jiang's mother and others, she wouldn't have these feelings. She would only think that Jiang's father and mother should be responsible for living expenses, and Niu Cuihua would never think of paying for it herself. Niu Cuihua and Zhao Guodong lived outside, and they had to find ways to handle things on their own and arrange those small details themselves.
Zhao Guodong frowned when he saw Niu Cuihua bringing over another bag of mung beans. "Did you get this from Mom?"
"My mom gave it to me, and my uncle saw it too. My younger sister stuffed the mung beans into my hand, so I took it." Niu Cuihua said, "I used to think my younger sister had a bad mouth, but now I think she's not bad after all."
"My younger sister has always been very nice. When we were in the countryside, she made some money and bought some things and sent them to us," Zhao Guodong said. "My younger sister is the youngest. She doesn't have to do that, and no one would say anything bad about her. She's just soft-hearted and worried that we'll suffer in the countryside. My younger sister is the same as mom, both with sharp tongues but soft hearts. Don't blame them for asking us to move out. It's really inconvenient for us to live there. I can't always rely on mom. Mom gave me her job, so I have to let her live a more stable life."
"Don't I already know?" Niu Cuihua said, "These past few days, when Miao Guifeng talked to me, I didn't listen much. Mom is right, Miao Guifeng has a conflict with her mother-in-law, and she wants me to have a conflict with her mother-in-law. When I first came here, I didn't understand things and didn't know all the twists and turns. I just listened to what Miao Guifeng said. She's wrong, and I'm wrong too."
"It's good to know. Don't do the wrong thing just because others tell you to." Zhao Guodong relaxed a little after hearing this, fearing that Niu Cuihua would get stuck in a dead end. "I guess there's not much money left from the money I gave you before. I'm going to have to spend a lot of money in the next two months. The child needs to go to kindergarten, and it may not even be enough for tuition by then."
"If that doesn't work, just let the child go to first grade instead of kindergarten." Niu Cuihua thinks this is not a complicated matter. Children in their countryside are like this, in order to spend less money.
"You still have to go," Zhao Guodong said. "If we don't let our children go to kindergarten, Mom will beat me with a rolling pin. Mom has always attached great importance to education. After she remarried, she asked me to go to school. I said I didn't want to go, but Mom still insisted that I go. Mom said that people need to be literate and educated so that they can have a better life in the future."
Zhao Guodong felt that what Jiang's mother said was right. It didn't matter whether a person could go to college or not. What mattered was that he had tried his best.
"You can also learn more characters when you have free time," said Zhao Guodong.
"Learn." Niu Cuihua said, and she thought of the TV she saw at Jiang's mother's house. "When we save more money, we will buy a TV too."
"Let's talk about it when we have money." Zhao Guodong said. If you don't have money, forget it, don't even think about buying a TV. The price of a TV is not cheap, it will cost a lot of money. "If you want to watch TV, go to my place and watch it for a while. I won't say anything to you."
"Watching TV consumes electricity." Niu Cuihua said, "Didn't you tell me not to bother me too much? Don't bother me when you can avoid it."
Niu Cuihua wanted to take her two children to visit Jiang's mother more often, but Jiang's mother didn't want to, and Niu Cuihua couldn't bring her children there all the time. Jiang's mother had already told Niu Cuihua to visit less often, so Niu Cuihua should have listened to her words instead of trying to embarrass Jiang's mother.
Because He Jingxian had sprained her foot, she recovered for several days and her condition has indeed improved a lot. Fortunately, the role of Cuiyun does not require very difficult movements, so He Jingxian can still adapt to it.
"Is your leg still not healed? Is it crippled? Move, move."
"Do you know what this verse is supposed to express? Don't be too stiff."
"It has to be a little softer, a little sadder, but also have a bit of tenacity."
…
After listening to He Jingxian's singing, the director had a terrible headache. He Jingxian's singing was rather stiff, making people feel that it was hard to listen to. The director wanted to replace He Jingxian, but who else could she replace her with? Aunt Qi was determined to let He Jingxian go. She had connections, so she complained a little, but she didn't dare to really change the actress.
So the director had to ask He Jingxian to learn more and constantly make adjustments. The director had to talk to He Jingxian about the height of the eyebrows and various subtle movements. The director did not perform directly on stage, but she still had a lot of professional knowledge and knew what to do.
He Jingxian felt uncomfortable. She felt that she had done a good job, so why did the director still have something to say? He Jingxian wondered if the director wanted Jiang Moli to continue playing this role. Jiang Moli went to the provincial Xiaobaihua to perform, and Jiang Moli was no longer in their unit.
Zhou Yaran watched He Jingxian being criticized, but she didn't kick her when she was down, nor did she insist on stepping on her. Zhou Yaran heard He Jingxian say, "My legs and feet will be completely healed soon, and they are almost healed now."
The director didn't want to hear He Jingxian say those things, and she didn't want He Jingxian to delay everyone's performance.
At noon, Aunt Qi had lunch with the director. She already knew about He Jingxian's performance.
"She just came out of school and still has a lot of things to adjust to," Aunt Qi said. "Those students are well protected in school..."
"Singing opera means suffering. In school, their teachers will also criticize them," the director said. "Strict teachers produce excellent students."
"Yes, a strict teacher produces excellent students." Aunt Qi said, "You are right. You should be stricter. If Jingxian does something wrong, just point it out directly. Don't be polite to her. She is new and has many shortcomings. You have to bear with her."
Second Aunt Qi was not very satisfied with He Jingxian's performance. He Jingxian was not as capable as she said.
Before, when He Jingxian was talking about herself in front of Aunt Qi, she described herself as a genius who was rare in a hundred years, almost like she was rare in a thousand years, or even in four thousand or five thousand years.
He Jingxian packages herself a little too much and is too blindly confident.
"Some things can't be solved by just being overly tolerant," the director said. "If she keeps acting badly and keeps being like that, then that won't work. Isn't she overthinking it?"
"Are you overthinking it?" Second Aunt Qi was puzzled.
"Moli is also going to play Cuiyun in the Provincial Little Hundred Flowers competition," the director said. "He Jingxian can't get over that hurdle. She competed with Moli in school. Now that she's come to our company, Moli is the Provincial Little Hundred Flowers competition. She's herself, and Moli is Moli. We need to relax a little. We need to know our own strengths. If we always compare ourselves to others, we won't necessarily be able to match them."
The director felt that He Jingxian was thinking a lot, and Jiang Moli was not hindering He Jingxian's development, but He Jingxian was always keeping an eye on what others were doing.
In the new unit, Jiang Moli's efforts were noticed by everyone. Even Ma Yuwen, who had disliked Jiang Moli before and thought that Jiang Moli had snatched her opportunities, had to admit that Jiang Moli did perform well.
Zhu Zhixuan and Ma Yuwen have a good relationship, and the two of them watched Jiang Moli rehearsing over there together.
"People still have to believe in talent. In front of those evil geniuses, people like us don't seem to be talented enough." Zhu Zhixuan sat next to Ma Yuwen. She kept a close eye on Ma Yuwen these days, fearing that Ma Yuwen would just go up and slap Jiang Moli.
Ma Yuwen and the others came to the provincial Xiaobaihua earlier, and they were older than Jiang Moli. They could indeed say that they were Jiang Moli's seniors. But they didn't behave as well as Jiang Moli. It was fine if others treated them as seniors, but if they insisted on saying they were seniors in front of others, that was very bad.
"I didn't believe it at first..." said Ma Yuwen.
Ma Yuwen had previously thought that if she didn't have talent, she wouldn't be able to enter the Provincial Little Hundred Flowers. Of those who could get in, how many didn't have talent? Everyone was talented, and their talent wasn't low. They had also gone through many trials and tribulations to get to the Provincial Little Hundred Flowers.
Jiang Moli hadn't officially participated in the provincial Xiaobaihua performance yet, and hadn't performed in front of an audience, but Ma Yuwen had already noticed the gap. Ma Yuwen wondered if Jiang Moli would be able to perform well in front of an audience.
The day arrived quickly, and Jiang Moli was about to officially participate in the provincial Xiaobaihua performance of "Five Women Paying Homage to Their Birthday." Most of the tickets had already been sold, and the show was about to begin in the evening.
Zhou Yaran came to find Jiang Moli specifically because she knew that Jiang Moli was making her debut at the Provincial Xiaobaihua Festival. As Jiang Moli's best friend, Zhou Moli naturally had to come and support her.
"How is it? Are you nervous? Do you feel any different?" Zhou Yiran asked.
"Not bad." Jiang Moli was still backstage, where quite a few people were. "Aren't you afraid that I'll be really nervous when you ask me this?"
Zhou Yiran came over, she didn't dare to leave casually, she was right in front of Jiang Moli.
"No," Zhou Yiran said, "You've seen a lot of big events, so there's no way you'd be nervous. Look at my palms, they're sweaty. I'm really nervous."
"Are you nervous?" Jiang Moli chuckled, "What are you nervous about?"
"I'm nervous and excited. My good friend is going to perform at the Provincial Xiaobaihua. This is a new starting point for you." Zhou Yiran said, "Although I haven't been to the Provincial Xiaobaihua, seeing you here makes me excited and my blood boils."
Zhou Yaran was happy for her friend, not because she was not there and her friend was working in such a good company, she would spoil it. She thought Jiang Moli would definitely perform well and do very well.
Sheng Jiahao, Jiang's mother, and Jiang's father were all there. They all felt this was a significant moment; they had to come and see it, to support Jiang Moli. However, they didn't make it backstage. Zhou Yaran did. Zhou Yaran was an opera singer, her mother knew many people, and Teacher Li had also taught her. When Zhou Yaran came backstage, several people greeted her.
"Do you want to come to our unit too?" Teacher Li joked.
"No, no." Zhou Yiran waved her hands, "I don't have that ability."
"I think you are still the same as when you were a child, unable to endure hardship." Teacher Li said.
Teacher Li was Zhou Yiran's teacher for a few days. She taught Zhou Yiran with all her heart, but Zhou Yiran herself was not up to the task.
"I have to enjoy myself." Zhou Yiran said, "Candy is so sweet. With my mother around, I'm doing well at my current workplace."
It’s so nice to have my mom’s support and handle everything easily.
Zhou Yiran understood clearly that it was useless for them to say anything more. She only stopped when others were polite to her. If they really asked her to come to the provincial flower shop, Zhou Yiran would be fine with a small role, but it would be difficult. In her previous workplace, with her mother's support, many things were easy to solve. If she changed workplaces, her mother would encourage her to work harder, and people around her would also encourage her to do her job well.
Given the Zhou family's abilities, if Zhou Yaran wanted to join the Provincial Little Hundred Flowers Academy, she could have gotten in. Zhou Yaran herself didn't want to, and the Zhou family was relieved. They didn't want to make things too complicated. At her current workplace, Zhou Yaran would at most be bothering her mother. If she went to another workplace, she'd have to find other people and use favors, which wouldn't be worth it.
After a while, the show began and Zhou Yiran went to the front desk.
Sheng Jiahao sat with Jiang's father and mother, while Zhou Yaran sat with her mother instead. She had dragged her mother along to watch the performance. She said it was her best friend's first time performing at the Provincial Xiaobaihua Theater, and she and her mother had come to support her, telling her not to be nervous and to help her perform smoothly.
Just as Zhou Yiran thought, the performance was very good, and some audience members commented on it.
"This Cuiyun seems to have changed. She feels very different. What a loyal maid."
"Her name is Cuiyun? I hadn't noticed it before, but I only noticed it today."
"Nowadays, if someone is acting well, you can tell it at a glance. You can even hear it without even watching."
…
Some people murmured a few words while watching, while others waited until the performance was over before they spoke.
The director and the others weren't just waiting for the stage; they also took a look at the audience. After the performance, some people from the Provincial Xiaobaihua heard what the audience had said and breathed a sigh of relief. Cuiyun had indeed found the right person. What was originally ordinary had now become exceptionally attractive.
After the curtain call, Jiang Moli returned to the backstage and took a few deep breaths. She was afraid of making mistakes and mixing up the lines before going on stage, but once she was on stage, everything felt natural again. Facing those people, she naturally sang the adapted lines instead of the ones she had originally learned.
"Good, you all did a great job, especially Jasmine." The director praised Jiang Moli, "You did a great job, keep it up."
"I will try my best." Jiang Moli said.
Those people from the Jiang family did not go backstage. They were worried about affecting Jiang Moli. They waited until Jiang Moli took off her makeup and changed her clothes, and then they went forward after Jiang Moli came out.
Zhou Yaran and her daughter also went there. Zhou Yaran insisted on seeing Jiang Moli before she would go home. Zhou's mother had no choice but to go along with her daughter and waited for her daughter to see Jiang Moli.
"Jasmine, Jasmine." Zhou Yiran stepped forward and hugged Jiang Moli.
Jiang Moli had a bouquet of flowers in her hand, which was given to her by Sheng Jiahao.
"That's great, you're really great." Zhou Yiran said, "I knew you could do it, you're amazing."
"It's okay, it's okay." Jiang Moli chuckled.
"It's more than just okay." Zhou Yiran said, "My mom just said that you acted very well and vividly."
"That's right." Zhou's mother added.
"Thank you." Jiang Moli said.
"What are you thanking me for? We didn't help you." Zhou Yiran said.
"Thank you for the tickets." Jiang Moli raised her eyebrows.
"We didn't pay for the tickets. My mom got them from someone for free." Zhou Yiran chuckled. "If the tickets don't sell out someday, I'll buy a few more."
The tickets are selling quite well now. Most of them were sold before the show started, and almost all of them were sold when the show was about to start.
When Zhou Yiran was sitting and listening to the opera, she looked at the people around her and found that there were indeed many audiences.
Of course, most of the audience did not come for Jiang Moli. Jiang Moli's name was promoted, but many people still thought that Jiang Moli was in the South City Theater, not the Provincial Xiaobaihua. Only a few people noticed Jiang Moli's name.
"It's so late, do you want to go back?" Jiang Moli asked.
"We have to go back, we have to go back, let's go back first." Zhou Yiran held Jiang Moli's hand, she was still a little excited.
"Go back and rest early." Jiang Moli said.
Sheng Jiahao stood beside Jiang Moli. When he watched Jiang Moli's performance tonight, he had another feeling. Although there were other people on the stage, his eyes and heart were all about Moli. He wanted to go up on stage and hug Moli, thinking about becoming a character in the play and thinking about how he could help Moli.
After Sheng Jiahao sent the Jiang family back, Jiang's father and mother went in first, and Jiang Moli talked to Sheng Jiahao for a while at the door.
"We have to go to other cities to perform in a few days." Jiang Moli said, "You have to wait for me here obediently and don't flirt with other women."
"Only you, no other woman." Sheng Jiahao said.
"Hmph." Jiang Moli snorted softly. She reached out and gently pinched Sheng Jiahao's face. "Remember, wait for the young lady to come back and favor you."
"Waiting for you." Sheng Jiahao took advantage of Jiang Moli's letting go and kissed her on the forehead when she was not prepared.
Jiang Moli was stunned for a moment. She looked at Sheng Jiahao, who was a little shy. She touched his face lightly and wanted to turn around and leave. The next moment, Jiang Moli was pulled into Sheng Jiahao's arms.
"Moli, I will always wait for you." Sheng Jiahao felt his heart beating fast. The feeling of being in love was so good. He wanted to be with Jiang Moli forever.
"Of course, if you don't wait for me, I won't wait for you either." Jiang Moli reached out and scratched Sheng Jiahao's palm. "I have to go back. Mom and Dad are at home. If I don't go back, they will come out looking for me."
"No, they know you're with me." Sheng Jiahao said, "Young couple, stay a little longer."
"You're the only one who can say it." Jiang Moli said happily.
When Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao were bored, Yang Bingrong and Miao Guifeng came back with a stove and other things. They had just come back from selling roasted sweet potatoes at the train station. Miao Guifeng saw a figure in front of them. They didn't need to look any further. When they saw the car, they knew who was coming. It was Jiang Moli's boyfriend.
Jiang Moli heard what Yang Bingrong and his wife were doing, so she didn't continue to bother with Sheng Jiahao.
"Go back first and get some rest." Jiang Moli said, "Don't stay up late, don't have dark circles under your eyes, take better care of yourself, that way you will look handsome."
"Okay, I'm going back." Sheng Jiahao said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Sheng Jiahao let go of his hand. He was really reluctant to let go and even hooked Jiang Moli's hand with his little finger.
"Come back soon, come back soon." Jiang Moli said.
Sheng Jiahao drove back, and Yang Bingrong and his wife continued on their way.
When Jiang Moli saw Yang Bingrong and his wife, she had not forgotten what Miao Guifeng had said about her outside. She did not look at Yang Bingrong and his wife for long and turned away.
Miao Guifeng felt a little uncomfortable when she saw Jiang Moli like this. Before, Jiang Moli would greet Miao Guifeng with kind words and a good tone. But now, Jiang Moli's attitude towards Miao Guifeng was much colder.
Jiang Moli was not Miao Guifeng's sister-in-law, so it was impossible for her to run to Miao Guifeng and curse her. Miao Guifeng's real sister-in-law did not come because it was far away and inconvenient for her to come.
"She just went back like that." Miao Guifeng muttered.
"It's so late, it's time to go back and rest." Yang Bingrong said, otherwise, what else should he say?
Jiang Moli is just an ordinary neighbor to them, not a relative. Even if she were a relative, it would be impossible for her to greet them warmly every time they meet.
"Rest, rest, she really needs a good rest." Miao Guifeng said, "We should also have a good rest."
Miao Guifeng was carrying her child on her back, who had already fallen asleep. She had to put the child down on the bed first. She would take the child out, feed him when he woke, and then do other things while he was still asleep.
Tonight, He Jingxian also went to see Jiang Moli's performance. She even wore a veil and entered the venue a little later because she was afraid that others would notice her. He Jingxian didn't want others to see her coming to see Jiang Moli's performance. She knew that the director was not very satisfied with her, so she wanted to see how Jiang Moli performed in her new unit.
When the show was over, He Jingxian heard others praising Jiang Moli. She could tell from watching that Jiang Moli was indeed talented. Jiang Moli didn't just sing casually; she sang very well and was well prepared. Jiang Moli's words hit He Jingxian hard. He Jingxian thought she had worked hard and sang well, but the director and the others were not satisfied. She wondered if those people did it on purpose, that they just looked down on her.
The assistant director had once praised He Jingxian, and He Jingxian thought that since she and Jiang Moli were playing the same role, she would definitely be better than Jiang Moli. If He Jingxian didn't find the feeling during rehearsal, she would just practice more.
When He Jingxian saw Jiang Moli's performance, she felt sad and indignant. She thought that God was too good to Jiang Moli. It had only been a short time, less than half a month, and Jiang Moli had adapted to the new unit so quickly, instead of waiting a month or two before performing on stage.
Before Jiang Moli, that role belonged to someone else. Didn’t others feel dissatisfied?
He Jingxian returned home a little late. When Qi's mother saw He Jingxian, she was not very satisfied.
"If there's nothing wrong, don't stay outside for so long." Qi's mother said.
"I'm going out to see a play." He Jingxian said, "I have to study."
He Jingxian had already told the Qi family before she left, and the Qi family didn't say anything at the time.
"You're back too late. Everyone needs to rest, and you're still making noise over there." Qi's mother said, "There are children at home who need to rest. You're watching a play. You're an actor yourself. Why are you watching others perform?"
Qi's mother has some opinions about He Jingxian, and He Jingxian insists on living with Qi's mother and others, so Qi's mother will naturally say a few more words to He Jingxian.
"After watching other people's performances, what do you think? Are they too good and you don't want to perform anymore?" Qi's mother asked, "Or are they too bad and you are the best?"
"I..." He Jingxian didn't know what to say for a moment. She suddenly thought of what Jiang Moli was thinking, "Everyone's performance is different and has their own characteristics. A thousand readers, a thousand Hamlets."
"What's so special? Stop quibbling with me and go get some rest." Qi's mother said, "Stop saying these nonsense. Are you bullying me for not having enough education and mocking me for being illiterate?"
He Jingxian opened her mouth, but didn't say anything else. Instead, she went to her room. Qi Shixin heard what his mother said, but he didn't go out.
"I told you long ago that we were going to move out and rent a house, but you insisted on living at home instead," Qi Shixin said. "That's how it is when we live at home. Our parents care about us, so it's inevitable that they'll nag us. What about you? Do you want to move out or stay here?"
Qi Shixin didn't care. He was used to living at home anyway, and his parents wouldn't say much to him, unless they did. Qi Shixin was just afraid that He Jingxian would offend others, that her family would be unhappy, and that there would be conflicts in the future.
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