"You guys are eating here too?"
The three were enjoying their meal when a sharp voice suddenly rang out, causing them all to frown.
"You ordered so much food?" The loud question drew the attention of people at the next table, but the person speaking seemed oblivious, adopting a condescending and authoritative tone.
"Song Xia, your father's death compensation is not for you to squander. Do you have a clear conscience if you use your father's death compensation to live a carefree life?"
"Mom, they bought so many clothes!" Sun Hui exclaimed excitedly as she spotted Song Jiao's shopping bag, her voice as loud as her mother's. "She bought the coat you were reluctant to buy for me!"
Song Jiao frowned and pulled the shopping bag closer to herself. Judging from her aunt and Sun Hui's tone, she didn't deserve this coat.
"I thought you could take care of yourselves, but I didn't expect you to be so extravagant. Go and take these clothes back. Today I must teach you a lesson on behalf of my elder brother."
"Second Aunt, it's almost Chinese New Year, and we just want to buy ourselves a new outfit. Xiao Jun and Xiao Jiao's clothes are too small, and I haven't bought any clothes for almost a year. This is a public place, so please don't make such a fuss." Song Xia tried her best to calm herself down. She didn't understand the reasoning behind her second aunt's criticism. She only had the airs of an elder but had never done any favors for her elders. How dare she lecture others?
"Given your current circumstances, you dare to come to this mall to buy clothes?" Song Tianfang was furious. "Can't you wear clothes from the wholesale market? Why do you have to buy such expensive ones? You're just vain, just recklessly squandering the money your father worked so hard to leave you."
More and more people were looking this way. Song Xia took a deep breath and said, "Second Aunt, we only buy one good outfit a year, and it doesn't even cost more than six hundred."
"You think six hundred isn't much? Your family has no income, and you dare to spend it like this? And you even come to a restaurant to eat, how carefree! Song Xia, I'm only speaking up for you because I'm your second aunt. If I were a stranger, who would care about you?"
“You can ignore us too,” Song Jun said sarcastically. “No, you never did ignore us in the first place.”
Song Jiao said sternly, "Second Aunt, since you've never offered us any help, what right do you have to tell us what to do?"
Hearing what the two of them said, the surrounding people became even more interested in watching the show. Things are different now than before. In the past, whenever there was a conflict between elders and juniors, people would just point the finger at the young people for being ignorant. Now, those wronged young people have grown up and can see things more fairly. They are also more polite. So even though Song Tianfang was arguing so loudly, no one came up to persuade her or anything, let alone help her to criticize Song Xia and the others.
"Are you still trying to argue with me?" Song Tianfang was even angrier. "I'm doing this for your own good."
Song Jiao said mockingly, "If they really cared about us, they wouldn't have embarrassed us like this in public."
The boy at the next table seemed to have thought of some unpleasant things about himself, and when he heard her reply, he immediately laughed out loud, which made Song Tianfang's face even darker.
Song Xia explained calmly, "Second Aunt, we haven't squandered the money Dad left us. I've already planned to use it for Song Jun and Song Jiao's college education, so it won't bother you then."
"Who knows if you're telling the truth? What if you really run out of money? Do you think I, as your aunt, would just sit idly by? You're just taking advantage of having someone to rely on, so you spend money recklessly, aren't you?"
"Second Aunt, we've had our share of difficulties before, but we've never relied on you, so you can rest assured about that. These past few days, I only brought Xiao Jun and Xiao Jiao out to eat because I saw they were suffering from the food I cooked every day. Besides, this meal wasn't expensive; I used a group-buying coupon. It's New Year's Day, and we wanted to give the new year a good start. You don't need to be so angry. Although you are our aunt, you are not considered a direct relative in the law, so even if we go hungry in the future, no one will say anything to you if you don't care."
"You're making it sound nice, but how could I possibly just stand by and do nothing? How could I face my deceased brother then? I absolutely will not allow you to squander the money he left behind!"
Sun Hui chimed in from the side, "Yes, Song Jiao's clothes should be returned."
Song Jiao took a deep breath and said sarcastically, "Second Aunt, you didn't get the inheritance Dad left us, so you're angry because you saw us going out to buy clothes and eat, right? If you really care about us, why haven't you cooked us a single meal since Dad passed away? Every day, my sister has to rush to cook for us after she gets home from school. Today is New Year's Day, and I just wanted to make things easier for my sister. You did come to our house a few days ago, but you only brought a bag of clothes that Sun Hui didn't want and that I can't wear anymore. Is this what you call caring about us?"
Song Xia gently scolded her, "Xiao Jiao, don't be willful. She's still our second aunt, after all."
Song Jia gave a soft snort, stubbornly turning her head away with a wronged look.
From then on, the onlookers had a general idea of what had happened, and they became increasingly repulsed by Song Tianfang's lecturing elder demeanor.
Although they don't know what happened to the three siblings before, as their aunt, since you haven't helped them, what are you doing here lecturing them? Maybe you're just after their inheritance, which is why you're so angry when you see them spending money.
Bringing clothes that others can't wear to someone's door is shameless. But nowadays, people make such a big deal out of buying a new outfit. Is it really necessary?
Song Tianfang angrily pointed at Song Xia: "You don't know what's good for you! I'm doing this for your own good!"
Song Xia said expressionlessly, "Second Aunt, this is the only slightly better outfit we buy all year."
Song Jun said irritably, "If you really think we shouldn't have spent the money, how about you pay for what we spent today?"
Sun Hui immediately jumped up and down: "Why should we spend money on you? Aren't we family?"
At this moment, one of the onlookers said shrewdly, "If you're not going to spend money on them, then mind your own business."
"What do you know?" Song Tianfang shouted, looking at the source of the voice, "Those three orphans are squandering my brother's death compensation money. They're not even grown up yet. Shouldn't they be saving it?"
"Then why don't you take them home and take care of them? Put the money in a fixed-term deposit so that no one can withdraw it."
"Since you don't want to take on this responsibility, how they spend their father's inheritance is none of your business, right? You don't care now that they have money, I'm sure you won't care when they don't have money in the future."
Song Xia nodded. Wasn't it the same in her past life? When Song Jun and Song Jiao were exploiting her, she went to her aunt's house to ask for some money to tide her over, but her second aunt wouldn't even open the door. It was her uncle who took out his private savings to help her find her next job. So she didn't understand why her second aunt was so angry now.
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