After calming Zheng Lanxiang down, Jiang Shuyin put on her makeup, wore a knee-length champagne-colored dress, and drove over in long boots.
Jiang Shuyin found it troublesome to be careful when getting off the bus because she was wearing a skirt.
Lunch was a proper meal, and everyone came. Jiang Jianli even hired someone to keep the tab. The table was set up at the only entrance, where the delivery trucks that usually come and go also came today, and the trucks were parked on the side of the road.
Jiang Shuyi parked her car further away and walked over, asking, "How much did everyone else give?"
The person keeping the books was someone Jiang Jianli knew; he was an accountant and had met her before: "You're family."
Family members either don't give gifts, or they give several times more than others.
He didn't say anything, but Jiang Shu showed him and transferred 200 yuan to him as payment for his meal.
As soon as she left, the person keeping the books filled in the name and amount and said to the person collecting the money next to him, "You see, there's going to be a big fuss today. His daughter is something else now. She works in the superpowered individuals department. Jiang Jianli didn't handle his relationship with the previous woman well, and this girl is going to stand up for her mother today."
"Why wasn't it handled properly? Why didn't you cause any trouble?" the person collecting the money asked.
The bookkeeper looked around and whispered to him, "Don't tell anyone about this. Jiang Jianli originally came here to work, but somehow he ended up staying at this woman's house. This woman is ruthless; once she's got a man, she won't let go. When she got pregnant, she asserted her dominance and made Jiang Jianli break off his relationship with her."
"So this is a case of a mistress taking over, and the first wife didn't make a fuss at all?" the man who collected the money wondered.
Who doesn't love to hear gossip from acquaintances? The bookkeeper figured this wasn't a secret anymore, and seeing that some people didn't know, she quickly shared it: "The woman in front of me is an honest countrywoman, how can she compare to this one? But she is indeed smart, knowing to keep her daughter by her side. Jiang Jianli made a scene twice because of her daughter. Who wouldn't want such a desirable daughter?"
But the child is not young anymore and has his own ideas. He sides with his biological mother, but since his biological father has a concubine and a son, it's uncertain whether he will become a stepfather.
If they can't tell someone else, they'll have the person who collects the money post it in the group chat, and then the person in the group will tell the family what they said. Before long, almost everyone knows about it.
Jiang Shuyin walked around the round tables covered with red plastic film and reached the villa entrance. Jiang Jianli saw her immediately, his face beaming with smiles, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes extending like fish tails to his temples: "You're here? Your Aunt Huang is upstairs, and your little brother is still sleeping. I'll take you to see him."
He kept rambling on about his son, how much he cried and how much of a fuss he caused, and finally he brought up her as a child to compare: "He was much more mischievous and robust than you. Dad is really happy. I never thought this day would come..."
This made Jiang Shu laugh.
Huang Li saw a smile on her face through the window, and his tense expression relaxed. He simply said, "You're here."
Afraid that she might hurt her son, he held him in his arms and let her see him.
Jiang Shuyin didn't see through her intentions and had no intention of hugging her at all; it would be tiring for her arms and cause her distress.
I took a closer look through the bed.
What can you tell about a baby who is a month old? He is a little thinner than when he was a newborn, his face is not as swollen, he is generally not bad-looking like Huang Li, and his eyes are like those of the Jiang family, with double eyelids and almond-shaped eyes.
Even though Jiang Shuyin was unhappy, she couldn't scold the newborn child. She scoffed and turned to leave.
Huang Li didn't understand what she meant and took her anger out on Jiang Jianli: "Why is she giving me that attitude? It's not like I asked her to come."
"Okay, okay, I'll go talk to her." Jiang Jianli went out, wanting to have a good talk with his daughter.
Jiang Shu led the group to the table with the most women, shook off his hand, picked up her wine glass, and stood up to toast the aunties and grandmas: "You may not know me, Jiang Jianli is my father. I didn't want to come to his son's banquet today, but he insisted on making trouble, so I came."
The people at the table looked at each other, wondering what kind of situation this was.
Jiang Jianli said with a stern face, "Xiao Yin."
Implies a warning.
Would Jiang Shuyin be afraid? She continued, "My dad is a pretty open-minded person. He's willing to marry into a family and can't control himself. When he was with a woman, we thought he was just going to work honestly. But then—he was living in someone's house and sleeping with her."
These words, though without using any profanity, thoroughly insulted Jiang Jianli from head to toe.
"Jiang Shuyin!" Jiang Jianli's face turned bright red as he grabbed her.
Fearing a fight would break out, the women at the table stood up like startled swallows.
Jiang Shuyin remained motionless, while Jiang Jianli knelt down instead. He was furious and about to go over, but when he lifted his foot, he couldn't lift it and stumbled and fell to the ground.
Looking down, I realized my feet were frozen solid.
Looking up again, how could he not understand that this daughter was quite capable: "You are my daughter. If I lose face, neither will you."
Startled swallows returned to their nests, and the aunties and grandmothers sat down again. Two of them went to help Jiang Jianli up, looking at the strange lump of ice on his foot.
Jiang Shuyin drank the wine, feeling a burning sensation from her throat to her stomach. She squinted to suppress the bitterness: "Dad, a person's face is what they give themselves. You've already made me lose face. I've found a new one for myself, but you probably don't recognize me anymore. Sometimes I want to hit you, but when I raise my hand, I remember how good you were to me. It's quite a dilemma."
Why are you neither good nor bad? If you were even a little worse, I could have dealt with you. Well then, since you can't be the bad guy, I'll be.
Today I'm here to settle things once and for all. Either you stay kneeling and I go from table to table talking to you, or you let me leave satisfied. Choose.
She was wearing a dress and sat gracefully on the bench.
The ice on Jiang Jianli's ankle climbed all the way up to his knee, breaking his kneecap. He slammed to the ground with a "thud" and knelt down, his face turning from liver-colored to black. He was furious, his whole body heaving with each breath.
"Jiang—Shu—Yin!"
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