Meng Shuyun still had a smile on her face as she teased the two little ones and asked them slowly.
Su Xiumei quickly replied, "It's a job from Qingxian to Beijing, recommended by my colleague Kang Shun. He's an acquaintance, someone I can trust."
As she spoke, she gently tugged at Zhou Xianye's sleeve, signaling him not to be too nervous.
Meng Shuyun nodded slightly in agreement, then instructed, "Be careful not to drive while fatigued on long trips. Xiumei, go and pack the pickled plums in a jar for Xianye to take with him to keep him alert on the road. Buy him some gifts to thank him when you come back."
Her voice was gentle yet tinged with concern.
"Yes, Mother," the couple replied in unison, joy evident in each other's eyes.
Su Xiumei turned away to prepare the pickled plums, while Zhou Xianye carefully took out his salary for the month from his pocket and handed it to Meng Shuyun with both hands: "Mom, this is my salary for this month. I've chopped all the firewood, filled the water tank, and checked the water pipes and electrical circuits. If there are any problems, I'll fix them when I get back."
Meng Shuyun naturally took the wages from Zhou Xianye's hand, counted them, and found that it totaled forty-five yuan.
She put the money away, then asked Zhou Xianye to watch the child while she went back to her room, saying she would be out soon.
A moment later, she came out of the room with two rolls of 100-yuan bills in her hand. She walked up to Zhou Xianye and handed him one of the rolls: "Having money on you when you go out gives you confidence. Take this; you won't be short of cash if you need it urgently."
When Zhou Xianye saw the large denomination of silver in Meng Shuyun's hand, his eyes were filled with surprise, but then he was filled with emotion.
His eyes reddened slightly, and his voice choked with emotion: "Thank you, Mother. I will earn a lot of money in the future, and Su Xiumei and I will take good care of you in your old age."
His words were full of sincerity and determination.
Su Xiumei, who came out of the kitchen, was moved to tears when she saw this scene.
She knew how good Meng Shuyun had been to them, and the couple kept this kindness firmly in their hearts.
Meng Shuyun watched this scene with a calm heart, but she secretly clicked her tongue in her heart, thinking it was a bit inappropriate for a grown man to cry so much.
However, she had also realized these days that Zhou Xianye and Su Xiumei were genuinely living their lives and were down-to-earth people, which was why she went out of her way to care about them.
As the saying goes, time reveals all.
Before going to bed, Meng Shuyun took out her bankbook and account book from the cabinet.
By the dim light, she carefully examined the records.
The income during this period was very considerable. Under the management of Su Xiumei and Su Xiulan, the hair accessory business became more and more stable, and the orders had risen to five thousand. Even people from the neighboring county came here specifically to pick up goods.
The amount of money each child gives as filial piety varies. She roughly calculated that, at the current pace, she would be able to buy a house in a while.
When the time comes, each person will have their own room, and she can contribute a little extra, so this old woman won't have any worries.
Thinking of Su Xiangnan, who suddenly became rich after returning from the New Year holiday, and who gave the most money as a filial gift, I haven't heard from him recently. I wonder how he and Gu Xue are doing in Beijing.
Beijing. Night fell over the bustling city, its streets ablaze with lights.
Su Xiangnan's face was covered with bruises and small wounds, and every step he took was extremely difficult. He limped along, dragging his exhausted body.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if burning with two flames, as he searched for Gu Xue's figure one by one among the tens of thousands of warehouses. His eyes were filled with anxiety and determination, as if he would not give up until he found Gu Xue.
...
The Meng family.
As soon as it was dawn, Su Xiumei got out of bed and rushed into the kitchen.
She quickly kneaded the dough and prepared the dumpling filling. Before long, a large pot of plump white dumplings was ready.
She even boiled a few eggs, carefully wrapped them in a towel, and prepared them for the person going out. After everything was ready, she personally saw the person off at the door, her eyes full of concern and reluctance.
Seeing Su Xiumei's reddened eyes and tearful face, Meng Shuyun's heart softened. She took Su Xiumei's hand and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Why don't you come with me? It'll save you from worrying about me all the time. I'll take care of Xiaoli and Xiaojuan at home. Those two kids are very well-behaved."
"I'm not going. I'd only cause trouble. I'll just stay home and wait for him to come back." Su Xiumei blushed slightly and said somewhat embarrassedly. She knew that Meng Shuyun was teasing her, but she didn't take it to heart.
Meng Shuyun was thinking about Su Xiangnan; he hadn't called home in a long time.
She thought about going to the convenience store to call Su Xiangnan and ask about the situation.
Upon arriving at the convenience store, Meng Shuyun dialed the phone. The dial tone rang for a long time, but no one answered.
Undeterred, she dialed again, but still received no answer.
Su Xiumei comforted him, saying, "Xiang Nan is probably too busy to make a call. He'll definitely call back when he has some free time."
Meng Shuyun verbally agreed, but a strange unease welled up inside her, as if something had gone wrong over there.
Su Xiumei went back to work on her hair accessories, while Meng Shuyun went out to pick up the Xiaoli and Xiaojuan sisters from school.
Unexpectedly, before Meng Shuyun even reached the school, she spotted Xiaoli, who had an injured arm, sitting on the back of her homeroom teacher's bicycle.
As soon as the homeroom teacher saw Meng Shuyun, she hurriedly greeted her: "Grandma Xiaoli, it's great to see you! This saves me from having to make another trip. The two sisters got into a fight with their classmates and accidentally twisted their arms. I was just about to take them to the hospital."
Xiaoli's face was pale. The old Chinese medicine doctor was twisting her arm to put it back in place. The child was in so much pain that tears were welling up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and didn't utter a sound. Her eyes were full of stubbornness.
"Grandma, I didn't start it. It was Fatty who bullied my sister." Xiaoli looked at Meng Shuyun anxiously, afraid that she wouldn't believe her.
Meng Shuyun naturally believed Xiaoli. She patted Xiaoli's head tenderly and gently comforted her, "Grandma believes you. Tell Grandma quickly, how did he bully your sister?"
Xiaoli had just lowered her head and glanced at her homeroom teacher when, before she could speak, the teacher interrupted, "Xiaoli's grandma, this is what happened, Fatty Tiger..."
Meng Shuyun's face darkened, and she interrupted the homeroom teacher directly: "Homeroom teacher, I told the child to speak, not you. Are you afraid the child will lie?"
The homeroom teacher's face turned pale and then red, and he awkwardly explained, "Xiaoli is still young, and there are some things she might not remember very clearly."
“Adults make mistakes sometimes, so if you can’t remember, just tell me slowly,” Meng Shuyun persisted.
Xiaoli, holding Meng Shuyun's hand as if she had found a pillar of support, recounted the whole story in one go: "Fat Tiger bullied people, threw stones at my sister, and even ordered his people to take off my sister's clothes, saying that his father and aunt bullied people in the same way."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
