As the autumn chill deepened in the evening, a gust of cold wind blew by, and Jiang Shuya tightened her clothes. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She pursed her lips, frowned, clutched her stomach, bent over, paused for a moment, and then slowly stood up.
Lin Moxiao, who was getting her car, came over when she saw this: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the hospital?"
She bit her lip and whispered, "It's okay, it'll be fine in a bit."
"Are you really alright? Don't you need to go to the hospital?" He knelt down to look at her.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I've never eaten dinner before, but I suddenly ate dinner today, and it was greasy food. Maybe I'm just not used to it. That's just how I am, I'm used to it."
Jiang Shuya remained calm while Lin Moxiao remained noncommittal: "What kind of habits have you developed! You're so irresponsible towards yourself! You're already so thin, why do you still want to lose weight!" He opened the car door and let her get in first.
He actually thought she was skipping meals to lose weight, which left her speechless: "It's not because I'm trying to lose weight, it's just that I've really gotten used to not eating dinner."
She didn't want to explain too much, and she didn't want to go to the hospital. She was genuinely quite busy. She would eat as soon as she woke up in the morning, or buy two steamed buns at the market if there was no food. Then she would go to the mall to take photos. Fast-moving consumer goods brands have a fast turnover of stock, so she had to keep up with the update schedule and find valuable brands. Then she would check yesterday's orders, process returns and exchanges, write down item numbers, pick up goods, and ship them. If she was hungry, she would eat takeout outside. If she didn't have time, she wouldn't eat. Usually, she would go home hungry. Her mother-in-law never left her any food. She wasn't good at cooking. She had tried, and it was terrible. Although she often did farm work when she was young, mostly helping her mother in the fields, boiling water, chopping firewood, and tending the pot, she was never allowed to cook because she disliked the fumes.
"You don't eat, and your family doesn't even ask about you? Nobody cares about you. You're an adult; you should take good care of yourself." He asked again.
"Yes, I'm taking good care of myself. Thank you for bringing me to the musical today." She replied rather perfunctorily.
Seeing that she didn't want to continue the conversation, he stopped talking and became curious about her husband. Then, thinking that she probably wouldn't tell her, he asked, "Are there any of your good friends at the store where you got your goods last time?"
"We're not exactly good friends, we're business partners. Why are you asking this?" Jiang Shuya asked.
"Oh!... I have a colleague's wife who wants to work in a shopping mall. Do you know anyone there?" He made up a lie casually.
"Your colleague's wife wants to work as a sales clerk in a shopping mall? You're not kidding, are you? Your colleague is a pilot, and his salary isn't enough?" Jiang Shuya retorted.
"Ah!...Yes! It's enough. People just want to support themselves, is that wrong? Besides, no job is inherently superior or inferior," Lin Moxiao retorted.
“That’s fine. I recently introduced two people to the business; they’re my neighbors.” Jiang Shuya said proudly. “One went to sell baby formula, and the other works at the store you went to. They’re doing very well.”
Having achieved her goal, Lin Moxiao fell silent.
"Could you drop me off at the mall entrance? My car is still there," Jiang Shuya said.
"Okay, be more careful when riding your bike at night, wear more clothes next time, and remember to eat on time," he said.
"Okay, it's fine, the streets are well-lit, there are streetlights." She replied.
The next day, in the early morning, Jiang Shuya was having breakfast. It was a rare treat to have breakfast today. There was rice porridge with side dishes, which was refreshing and not greasy. She ate very comfortably. The side dishes were crisp and tender, with a fresh and fragrant flavor, not too salty or bland. She felt that it was not made by her mother-in-law, but by Sister Xiaohui. Sure enough, after asking, she found out that Sister Xiaohui had personally delivered it yesterday.
Grandma dressed Tangtang in thick cotton clothes and pants, with a diaper underneath. She was quite heavy to hold. Her little face was rosy. She had slept in the second bedroom downstairs with Grandma since they came home late last night. When she saw her mother in the living room, she wanted to get down and run towards her, her little legs shuffling forward unsteadily. Grandma carefully supported her from behind, and they stumbled forward. Suddenly remembering that Tangtang was almost a year old, Jiang Shuya happily picked her up and spun her around in the living room, her laughter making Tangtang giggle.
“Xiao Hui came over last night, but you weren’t home. I asked her what she wanted to see you about, but she didn’t say. I told her to come back tonight.”
"Oh, okay, how is she doing with Zhang Qing?"
Jiang Shuya knew that her mother-in-law must know, because Zhang Qing would definitely tell her aunt about it.
The mother-in-law sighed, somewhat annoyed: "That Xiaohui is too petty. Liu Kai learned to cook from her, but she always kept it a secret. Zhang Qing is so good to her, never caring that she's late for get off work or leaves early, and even buys clothes for her son, but she doesn't appreciate it. She's inconsiderate and always makes the wrong proportions when cooking. Not only does she cheat and shirk her duties, but she also brings home leftover meat from the restaurant."
Jiang Shuya was shocked to hear this. She couldn't believe that Zhang Xiaohui was that kind of person. Considering that Zhang Xiaohui might not be home at the moment, she could only find out the truth when she came in the evening.
When evening came, Zhang Xiaohui did not appear, but the Wang family arrived. It was the old lady of the Wang family. She hesitated for a while and stood there without saying a word.
"Aunt Wang, do you need something from my mother-in-law?" Jiang Shuya, who had just returned, wondered if she should avoid suspicion, as the two of them often liked to gossip about other people's business.
“I…I’m not looking for your mother-in-law, I’m looking for you.” Old Mrs. Wang said somewhat awkwardly.
Jiang Shuya asked her to sit down and said, "Aunt Wang, what brings you here?"
Old Mrs. Wang sat on the stool with one side of her bottom and said, "I heard from the people at the door that you helped that Ding family's daughter-in-law find a job in the mall. Could you help my Er Ya find a job there too?"
Jiang Shuya was somewhat surprised, thinking to herself, "Your wife works in the mall, and you won't help outsiders, but you won't even lend a hand to your own family? You really are heartless."
Aunt Wang saw through her thoughts and said helplessly, "My daughter-in-law and Er Ya don't get along. She's determined to get rid of her, so how could she possibly be willing to help her find a job? I've talked to her about it several times, but she just won't agree. She wants her to go back to where she came from. If she goes back to that poor mountain village, what future will she have? She won't have enough to wear or eat. How can I, as her mother, bear to do that? Both of them are my flesh and blood!"
After saying that, she covered her face and cried.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Shuya took a tissue and handed it to her. Seeing this scene, her heart softened. Perhaps every mother loves her child, but they just express it in different ways. She couldn't bear to watch her suffer. Even if her parents were indifferent to her, they still hoped that she would live a better life!
Like Wang Jia Er Ya, who ran away more than ten years ago and suddenly returned home, her parents chose to forgive her unconditionally.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
