Chapter 86 Forgotten Lost Graduation Certificate
"Isn't it what they said?" Li Hui didn't think it was her fault at all. "What's wrong with me eating a chicken leg? Can't I eat it?"
Even Guo's father didn't want to talk to Li Hui. Li Hui truly only thought of herself and never considered others. If Li Hui were usually diligent, that would be fine, but the key issue was that Li Hui never thought of helping Fan Yani and her husband, or Niu Cuihua and her husband. Li Hui only liked to take advantage of others. After taking advantage, Li Hui would still look down on them for being rural women, thinking they only deserved to do those menial jobs.
"No one said you couldn't eat it, and no one took the chicken leg from your bowl," said Guo's mother. "If you want to eat it, then eat it properly and stop talking."
Guo's mother didn't want to make the atmosphere more tense; it was a rare occasion for everyone to have New Year's Eve dinner together, but Li Hui insisted on doing it this way. As for Fan Yani serving chicken and duck legs to the elderly couple and their children, there was nothing wrong with that. In the countryside, filial people all do the same as Fan Yani, although most elderly people would let their grandchildren eat them.
Guo's mother also wanted her grandchildren to eat, but Fan Yani gestured for her to eat by herself, so she did. Having stayed with Fan Yani for a while, Guo's mother's thinking had changed somewhat; she now believed that one should consider one's own needs and not be completely selfless. She also believed in gratitude and repaying kindness, and not always thinking about personal gain. How could one be so preoccupied with seeking personal benefit at every moment?
Li Hui rolled her eyes, then picked up another piece of duck meat for herself. She wasn't about to throw down her bowl and chopsticks and leave. They had paid for the meal, so they should eat here and, moreover, eat a lot.
"Eat." Li Hui put more meat on Guo Peng's plate. "Did you hear me? Just this one meal."
"Eat," Guo Peng said, not wanting things to get any worse.
Fan Yani glanced at Guo Peng. This was how Guo Peng's encounter with Li Hui went; Guo Peng was completely under Li Hui's control.
Qin Li'an was very unhappy because his mother's beloved grandson had been wronged. His mother hadn't sought justice for him and had even had to pay him compensation, which was tantamount to criticizing him. Worried that her precious grandson would be upset, Qin Li'an's mother specially gave him a chicken leg.
"The chicken leg is tender and smooth, eat it," said Qin's mother.
You Yun didn't necessarily want to give her child chicken or duck legs; as long as there was meat to eat, that was fine. Sister Qin Er also didn't offer chicken or duck legs; if her child wanted some, she would simply prepare some for him.
“The other one has to be mine too,” Qin Li’an said.
Qin Li'an glanced at You Yun's son. The child was quite young, but he could already eat meat.
An just didn't want his younger brother to eat the chicken leg; he wanted to eat it all himself.
You Yun was too lazy to explain; Qin Li'an's little schemes couldn't be hidden from her at all.
"Eat it all, it's all yours," Qin's mother coaxed Qin Li'an.
Mr. Qin remained silent. As long as the meal went smoothly without any other problems, that was fine. Second Sister Qin understood her father's thoughts; turning a blind eye would save her some trouble.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Qin Erjie's family didn't stay at the Qin family home to celebrate. She didn't want to hear Qin Li'an say that her husband was a ragpicker. Previously, when Qin Erjie's husband worked at a recycling station, Qin Li'an had spoken of him that way, with a derogatory tone. Qin Erjie's husband, a grown man, naturally wouldn't argue with a child. Besides, his job at the recycling station was arranged by Qin's older brother; let the child say a few words.
That's because Brother-in-law Qin didn't care. If it were Song Fenglan, she would have turned around and left. Brother-in-law Qin came from the countryside; he was a native farmer. He knew he didn't fit in with the people in the capital, so he had to think more about his wife and not let her lose too much face.
If a grown man argues with a child, people will say he's petty and that Sister Qin married such a useless man.
Qin's second sister's husband now works as a security guard at her school. People say he married a good wife, but the implication is that he's just a kept man. He understands what they mean, but he didn't say anything to them, and when he got home, he didn't get angry with his wife. He doesn't have that much ability to back out; it's already a miracle his wife hasn't abandoned him.
Many educated youths who went to college after taking the college entrance examination abandoned their wives and children, completely disregarding their former children, let alone their former husbands and wives.
“It was the right thing for my younger brother not to come.” Qin Erjie and her husband were walking down the street with their child when Qin Erjie couldn’t help but sigh, “Mom is so biased. She always says that since Li’an and his sister don’t have their biological mother around, and the children have a stepmother, she should take extra care of them. Is that really taking extra care of them? She’s clearly just trying to spoil them rotten.”
Qin Erjie had spoken to Qin's mother, but Qin's mother still hadn't changed her attitude towards her beloved grandson. Qin's mother still felt that everyone around her was bullying her beloved grandson.
"You can't control it either," said Qin's second brother-in-law.
“I don’t care. He’s not my biological son. If I interfere, people will think I’m meddling too much,” said Qin Erjie. “I’ve said it before, and my aunt has said it too, but it’s no use. Mom is convinced that her precious grandson has been wronged. She even said that there are many things her precious grandson can’t do in the future, and that adults shouldn’t involve children in their affairs. She says the same thing when it comes to her precious grandson. But she doesn’t say the same thing when it comes to Zihang.”
Seeing how much Qin's mother doted on Qin Li'an, Qin Erjie was speechless. No wonder Song Fenglan didn't want to come to the Qin family anymore; what was she going to do there, to see how Qin's mother spoiled her precious grandson?
“Once people have a prejudice, it’s hard to change it,” said Qin Erjie. “Mom has doted on her precious grandson for so long, how could she possibly ignore him? No matter how well my sister-in-law behaves or does, it’s useless. From the very beginning, Mom thought my sister-in-law was a scheming woman who was trying to get my brother to marry her.”
"Don't say it." Qin's second brother-in-law thought about how formidable Song Fenglan and her husband were, and if they were to say those things, Song Fenglan and her husband would definitely be unhappy.
“I didn’t say that. Do I look like someone who meddles in other people’s business?” said Sister Qin.
"It doesn't seem like it," said Qin's second brother-in-law.
"That's settled then," said Sister Qin. "If you need anything, you can ask Yizhou for help, but don't ask your sister-in-law. Your sister-in-law doesn't owe us anything, and neither does my brother. It's just that he's my brother, so if you really need his help, he'll still lend a hand."
Second Sister Qin thought that everyone has their own families and should maintain some boundaries. Her mother wanted everyone to help her eldest brother Qin, but that was impossible.
Brother Qin's life has been just like that. It's not that Second Sister Qin is saying anything unpleasant, but facts speak louder than words.
At this time, Song Fenglan and the others finished their New Year's Eve dinner and did not go home, but stayed at the Song family home to celebrate the New Year. Cao Fang was pregnant and not suitable to stay up late, so Song's second brother took Cao Fang home first.
Everyone lives on the same street, and the houses are very close to each other, making it very convenient to travel back and forth.
Qin Zihang had a lot of fun playing with his older cousins. They were building blocks together, and Song Heng thought he'd give it a try to see if he could outdo his sister. As it turned out, Song Heng wasn't as good at building blocks as his sister.
In the evening, everyone had some late-night snacks, including roasted meat, lamb chops, beef, pork belly, mushrooms, and so on, all seasoned with special condiments made by Song's mother.
"Do you have roasted sweet potatoes?" Qin Zihang asked.
Back in Nancheng, Song Fenglan often roasted sweet potatoes for Qin Zihang. Fatty Sister-in-law was very skilled at growing sweet potatoes and yams, and she would often pack some to give to Song Fenglan's family. Since Zhang Xiaohu frequently ate at Song Fenglan's house, Fatty Sister-in-law packed extra, essentially including Zhang Xiaohu's share of sweet potatoes as well.
"Sweet potato?" Song's mother looked at Qin Zihang. "Do you like roasted sweet potatoes?"
"It's alright," Qin Zihang said. "The sweet potatoes are a bit sweet, and the taste is alright."
Song's mother didn't like sweet potatoes, but she ate them quite often when she was on the farm. Cornmeal, sweet potato slices, and other such things were cooked in rice with a little bran, and Song's mother ate them not just for a day or two, but sometimes every day. After returning to the capital, Song's mother didn't crave sweet potatoes. She would occasionally eat a little dried sweet potato, but only a small amount; she preferred other pastries and desserts.
"Then let's roast them." Song's mother turned to Aunt Tao, "Do you have any sweet potatoes at home?"
"Yes," said Sister-in-law Song. "I bought some."
Sister-in-law Song didn't intend for her mother and the others to eat; she just wanted some for herself and the children. It wasn't about saving money, but rather that Sister-in-law Song often ate like this when she was a child. Although it was a bit cloying, it was still nice to have it sometimes.
"I'll go get them," said Sister-in-law Song. "I only bought some small sweet potatoes, not the big ones, so we can roast them over the charcoal fire."
"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law," Song Fenglan said. "Eating these things occasionally is good for your health."
Song Fenglan didn't say why her sister-in-law was still thinking about these things; sweet potatoes are also a kind of food, and food is not divided into expensive and cheap.
"Wait a minute," Sister-in-law Song said with a smile, "roast a few more so everyone can have a taste."
Sister-in-law Song and Aunt Tao went to get some sweet potatoes, which they put in the fire in the yard to roast. It's their own yard, so things are usually easy to manage.
“Zihang likes roasted sweet potatoes as much as steamed ones; he prefers the fragrant kind,” Song Fenglan said.
“Don’t talk about him. Don’t you also like to eat sweet things?” Song’s mother said. “When I give you pastries, you have to smell them first and take a small bite. If they taste good, you will eat them. If they don’t taste good, you won’t want to eat more.”
“That’s how it is. If it doesn’t taste good, why should I eat more? Wouldn’t that be pointless and just hurting myself?” Song Fenglan said. “I don’t want to coax myself into eating something I don’t like.”
"Look at you, you're like this yourself, and you still have the nerve to talk about Hangbao," said Song's mother.
The group huddled around the fire, some continuing to eat the roasted meat, while others, feeling cold, went back inside to rest. It was quite chilly outside, even though they were wearing thick clothes. However, eating roasted meat was definitely better done outdoors; the chill wasn't felt as intense inside.
After the sweet potatoes were roasted, Song Fenglan asked Qin Yizhou to break one open. She would only eat half of it, not the rest.
The roasted sweet potatoes have a sweet aroma and a slightly charred skin that's easy to peel. Unlike steamed sweet potatoes, which are less moist, roasted sweet potatoes have just the right amount of moisture, making you want to keep eating them after each bite.
Song Fenglan was afraid of getting a sore throat, so she didn't eat too much. After the New Year, she went to her workplace and still had to attend meetings and give lectures. Song Fenglan didn't teach undergraduates at a university or mentor many students, but she still had to teach some colleagues at the research institute. She was worried that eating too much "heaty" food would upset her throat.
"Have some water." Qin Yizhou handed a water glass to Song Fenglan.
"Let her fetch the water herself," Song's mother couldn't help but say. Qin Yizhou was like a devoted nanny, handing Song Fenglan whatever she needed. How many men could do what Qin Yizhou did? Song's mother was worried that Qin Yizhou would be unhappy later, which was why she said that.
"It's okay. When I'm around, I can still do some small things for her," Qin Yizhou said. "It makes me feel like I'm still pretty useful. I even feel like I'm a gigolo now."
Qin Yizhou said these words in a joking tone. He genuinely felt that his wife was very capable, and he wasn't unhappy at all; on the contrary, he was quite proud. Being able to help his wife with more things also reflected his own value.
"..." Song's mother did not expect
Since Qin Yizhou said that, well, I'd better not talk about these people anymore. It's a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.
"Mom, do you want some corn?" Qin Zihang handed Song Fenglan a roasted corn.
“You eat,” Song Fenglan said.
After eating and staying up all night to welcome the New Year, Song Fenglan and her family of three went back to sleep.
Just as Song Fenglan lay down, she suddenly realized something: she hadn't received her graduation certificate and degree certificate yet. Logically, Nancheng University should have already sent them to her, and she should have received them by now. Why hadn't she received them?
"What's wrong?" Qin Yizhou saw Song Fenglan suddenly sit up, so he sat up as well.
"Where are my graduation certificate and degree certificate?" Song Fenglan asked Qin Yizhou. "I didn't receive them before the Lunar New Year at my workplace. I gave them the address of the research institute so they could send them directly to the institute."
"Hasn't it arrived yet?" Qin Yizhou asked. Such a big thing, and Song Fenglan only thought of it now?
"No, I haven't received it," Song Fenglan said. "It's alright, I'll check at my workplace in a few days. If it hasn't arrived, it's probably lost in transit..."
After all, in Song Fenglan's previous life, some people could lose their graduation certificates and degree certificates, let alone now.
"If it's lost, just get a replacement," Qin Yizhou said.
"It's unrealistic to expect me to get a replacement, or to get one just for me," Song Fenglan said. "I hope it wasn't lost. I don't want the school to just give me a certificate."
Song Fenglan was so busy that she had forgotten about her degree certificate and graduation certificate. It was only when she was about to go to bed tonight that she suddenly remembered them.
"Don't worry, it won't get lost," Qin Yizhou said.
"I hope so," Song Fenglan said.
Guo Peng and his wife did not stay up with Guo's mother and others to celebrate the New Year. They went home early, otherwise Li Hui would have started arguing with those people.
“Your mother doesn’t like me, and neither does your father.” Li Hui held back for a while, but she was still very angry and she had to say it.
Guo Peng was already asleep when Li Hui shook him awake, forcing him to listen to what she had to say.
"Don't you dislike them either?" Guo Peng was a little dazed. He had just fallen asleep when his wife woke him up.
You see, he's been working a lot of overtime lately. With so many people setting off firecrackers, all sorts of things can happen, and he's worried about people causing trouble at the grain bureau. Since Guo Peng works at the grain bureau, he naturally has to patrol more often.
Guo Peng was quite tired and just wanted to rest early, as he still had patrols and overtime to do. If there was a shortage of food or any problems, all of them would be held responsible.
“They don’t like me, so why should I like them?” Li Hui said. “Did you see what happened tonight? I was just eating a chicken leg, not a whole chicken, and they were giving me attitude. I wanted to leave right then and there, but I remembered we paid for it, so I didn’t. If I had left, they would probably have talked about me behind my back, saying I have a bad temper.”
"That's just how they are." Guo Peng said with his eyes closed.
"I'm talking to you, did you hear me?" Li Hui shook Guo Peng's arm again. She had already turned on the light and could see Guo Peng's closed eyes. "They have so many mouths to feed, and they pay so little. Shouldn't they do more work? How dare they say I don't work? Are they even human?"
"Not human, not human." Guo Peng could only open his eyes. "Are you done talking? If you're done, go to sleep!"
"They haven't finished!" Li Hui said, "They're just taking advantage of the fact that we don't have children..."
“We have a daughter,” Guo Peng said, “your niece from your maternal family.”
“My niece from my maternal family…you don’t treat her like your own daughter at all,” Li Hui said. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. My niece, my niece, all you do is say she’s my niece. Let me make this clear, she’s our daughter, and you don’t treat her like one!”
"Should we have her bring it over?" Guo Peng asked.
"..." Li Hui became even more unhappy upon hearing this. "Why take them over? Your mother takes care of Fan Yani's child and your brother's child. Can't she help us take care of our children? Just because we don't have our own children, does that mean we have to suffer? Let me tell you, I still have to let my niece, my daughter, stay with your mother and let your mother take care of her."
Li Hui didn't want to take care of the child. She felt her life was pretty good now; she could go dancing in her free time, buy the food she liked, and buy nice clothes. If that child were around, Li Hui would have to take care of him even more, and she felt she would collapse. All the child knew was to call out, "Mommy, Mommy."
He calls for his mother all the time, and when something happens, his mother has to solve the problem.
So annoying!
If Li Hui had a biological daughter, she could take care of her. But since she didn't have one, she wasn't going to help. Li Hui didn't want her family to suffer, so she insisted that Guo's mother take care of the child; this was her excuse for not helping.
"Then let her stay with Mom." Guo Peng didn't know how to take care of the child. He was a grown man, and the child was a girl. Guo Peng was afraid of not being able to handle things properly and that he wouldn't take good care of the child. With his mother there, he could feel more at ease.
Even though the child called Guo Peng "Dad," Guo Peng still didn't feel like a father. He felt like he was just looking at someone else's child, with a layer between them.
“I told you about the bad attitude those people gave me, and all you ever talk about is the child,” Li Hui said through gritted teeth. “You’re just siding with them.”
“I am not on their side,” Guo Peng said.
“It’s just a chicken leg, they eat so many other dishes,” Li Hui said. “Next year, our family definitely won’t be able to afford that much money. We don’t necessarily have to go over for New Year’s Eve dinner; we can eat at home.”
"We'll talk about next year's problems next year." Guo Peng didn't want to continue. "Go to sleep, go to sleep."
Guo Peng was tired and didn't want to argue with Li Hui, nor did he want to continue talking about those pointless topics.
"You... never mind." Li Hui looked at Guo Peng's deadpan state, and nothing she said would make a difference. "Our family still needs to be careful, so they don't get all the benefits. Don't keep so much money in your hands either. If you leave it with me, I'm not as soft-hearted as you. They can just give you the money over with a single word."
"It's money for raising children," Guo Peng said.
"Come on, besides the money for raising the child, you also gave money to your parents," Li Hui said.
“That’s alimony, money for their retirement,” Guo Peng said. “My parents don’t live with us, they live with Yani. They also eat with my younger brother and sister-in-law, not with us.”
"You're always making excuses for them." Li Hui rolled her eyes. "My parents raised me all these years, and I haven't given them that much money."
Li Hui got angry just thinking about it, but she couldn't possibly give her parents that much money; she had to spend it herself.
“This is different.” Guo Peng said, sounding a little impatient.
“How is it different? Your parents are parents, but mine aren’t?” Li Hui said. “Go to sleep, go to sleep.”
Li Hui snorted coldly. How could she have married such a man? She was suffering so much.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Yizhou and Song Fenglan originally planned to take Qin Zihang out for a walk, but there were too many people out, and the weather was quite cold, so they didn't go out. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Song family hosted a dinner party, and Aunt Yu and others went to eat.
Song Fenglan's family also went over, and Aunt Song gave Qin Zihang a large red envelope as soon as she saw him. Aunt Song gave the same amount of money to all the children in the Song family and to Qin Zihang, and the amounts were all quite large. The red envelopes she gave to the other children were smaller. When it came to Jiang Yufei's child, Aunt Song didn't give them anything.
"..." Jiang Yufei looked at her child, then at Aunt Song.
Forget it, as long as I can get into the Song family, I shouldn't worry about these things.
If it were someone else, they might say they wouldn't come if their elders hadn't invited them. But Jiang Yufei wasn't like that. Even though the Song family hadn't invited her, she came because she heard from Aunt Yu.
Every time Jiang Ersao saw the Song family's house, she couldn't help but marvel at how wealthy the Song family was.
The Song family specially hired a chef from the hotel to cook, so they didn't let Song's sister-in-law and mother run around preparing the dishes.
Jiang Ersao naturally noticed that Jiang Yufei's child hadn't received a red envelope. The Song family hadn't even bothered to make a gesture, not even giving an empty envelope. Jiang Ersao was alarmed; she didn't know what was going on and could only quietly ask her husband.
“In the past, Yufei tried to kick Fenglan out of the house and wouldn’t let her cousin live in the house,” Jiang Erge explained. In short, the Song family remembered what Jiang Yufei had done.
The fact that the Song family didn't kick Jiang Yufei out is already considered kind to her. Jiang Yufei's man has also come over; she should just be thick-skinned and pretend she knows nothing. Treat it as a free meal and don't think about giving him a red envelope.
Aren't they all relatives?
"Wouldn't it be enough for Yufei to apologize?" said Jiang Ersao.
Jiang Ersao didn't understand. They were all relatives; if there was a problem, an apology would suffice. But the Song family's attitude was so firm; they clearly didn't want to reconcile with Jiang Yufei.
“Apologizing won’t work,” Jiang Erge said in a low voice. “Wait a while, don’t ask them about their work.”
"I won't ask anymore." Seeing how Jiang Yufei was treated, Jiang Ersao thought to herself, how could she possibly expect the Song family to treat her well? If the Song family could be so heartless towards Jiang Yufei, what chance did they have of treating someone like her who wasn't related to them by blood?
On her way from the Jiang family home, Jiang Ersao was thinking about how to approach the Song family and ask them to arrange a suitable job for her. Now, having learned from Jiang Yufei's experience, Jiang Ersao decided she shouldn't make a mistake and risk being treated coldly; that wouldn't be a good thing.
Hearing his wife's words, Jiang Erge breathed a sigh of relief. He had just been thinking that if his wife insisted on asking, he should tell the Song family. Jiang Erge didn't want the Song family to feel that he was making demands of them, and he was even more worried that the Song family would disrespect him and that he would become the next Jiang Yufei.
The Song family didn't pay much attention to Jiang Ersao; with so many people around, there was plenty of room for conversation. Song's father's cousins and siblings who lived in the capital came to get together, while those who didn't were left out.
Few members of the Song family remained in the capital. Some had lived in other cities in their early years, and the family members were scattered in various places, not putting all their eggs in one basket.
To put it bluntly, Jiang Ersao is not worth all their effort.
Looking at others and then at her own family, Jiang Ersao felt that her mother-in-law was not like Song's mother's biological sister, but rather like a maid or old woman serving a young lady.
After finishing her meal, Jiang Yufei wanted to go to Song Fenglan, but Aunt Yu stopped her.
"The pastries are nice, you should try them." Aunt Yu shook her head at Jiang Yufei.
When Jiang Yufei goes to Song Fenglan at this moment, is she going to apologize, or is she going to say something else? Doesn't Jiang Yufei already despise the Song family enough?
Aunt Yu believes that Jiang Yufei should sit quietly to the side and avoid showing off her presence.
Song Fenglan didn't pay much attention to Jiang Yufei; whatever Jiang Yufei was like, it didn't matter. Song Fenglan chatted and laughed with her relatives from the Song family side, and they were praising Qin Zihang again.
“Your son is smart and quick-witted. With parents like you, he’s sure to have a bright future.”
"Hangbao is good-looking. He looks like his father and you too. He will definitely grow up to be a handsome man who will be popular with everyone."
"I heard your Hangbao skipped a grade, that's amazing, amazing."
...
Qin Zihang felt embarrassed when he heard people praising him, but he still said, "Yes, I look like my mother, I look exactly like my mother."
“Yes, he looks like Mom.” Song Fenglan looked at Qin Zihang standing behind her. “Weren’t you going out to play? Why did you come here?”
"Have a piece of pastry." Qin Zihang was a little embarrassed. He didn't come over to listen because he heard others praising him.
Those people were so good at praising people; Qin Zihang's cheeks flushed from the compliments.
"The tips of her ears are all red," Song Fenglan said.
"I went to play with my older brother and sister." Qin Zihang quickly slipped away, barely managing to keep his pointed ears from turning red.
Song Fenglan stopped staring at Qin Zihang and started chatting with the others.
“They’re right. Zihang is good. I wish I had a grandson like him. Fenglan, you’re good at having children, and your parents are good at having children too. They gave birth to you,” said Aunt Song. “The children I gave birth to are all good-for-nothings. I wish I didn’t have those children.”
Aunt Song didn't mind letting the other relatives in the Song family know about her affairs; such things couldn't be hidden anyway. Aunt Song had no intention of acknowledging the Tang family members; what were they anyway? They all only knew how to take benefits from her and didn't want to give anything in return.
Before the Lunar New Year, Tang Shaotao and his group sent New Year's gifts to Aunt Song. They seemed expensive, but they weren't anything special; they were just putting on an act. Aunt Song knew they were after the gifts she already had, which was why they were behaving so filially.
Aunt Song doesn't need the filial piety of people like Tang Shaotao. She stated frankly that she would never divide her property among them. However, those people are still persistent and are trying to soften Aunt Song's heart. Aunt Song will eventually regret it.
"Don't overthink it." The relative gently patted Aunt Song's hand. Not to mention Aunt Song, they themselves had also been sent to farms and criticized in previous years. They had survived the most difficult time and were now living good lives. It was impossible for them to go through the same hardships as before.
The group stayed at the Song family's house for a while before dispersing.
The Song family relatives left first, followed by Aunt Yu and her family.
The Song family had some food left over, so Song's mother asked Aunt Tao to pack some for Aunt Yu to take back.
"I can't accept this, taking both food and gifts," Aunt Yu said.
"Here you are, take it. Whether you eat it yourself or save it to entertain guests, it's fine," said Song's mother. "We're all family, no need to be polite."
Mrs. Song knew that Aunt Yu was facing difficulties. She had witnessed Aunt Yu's failure to pay for Jiang Erge's shop, which had even resulted in losses. Mrs. Song didn't allow Jiang Erge and his wife to work at her company. She believed that their current setbacks were simply part of Jiang Erge's journey of self-improvement, and everyone has their own path. Once Jiang Erge found the right path, he wouldn't need anyone else's help.
“Okay, we’ll take it then,” Aunt Yu said.
Song's mother prepared these things for Aunt Yu, but not for Jiang Yufei. Song's mother's thinking was that she hadn't kicked Jiang Yufei out and had invited her to dinner at home, which was already giving Jiang Yufei face.
As for whether Aunt Yu should share the things with Jiang Yufei, that's up to Aunt Yu herself.
Aunt Yu didn't give anything to Jiang Yufei, but Jiang Yufei wanted it and kept her eyes on the hands of the other members of the Jiang family. When they reached the intersection, Aunt Yu said that everyone was going in different directions and they should go their separate ways.
"Mom," Jiang Yufei looked at Aunt Yu, "have you forgotten something?"
"No, I haven't forgotten!" Aunt Yu understood what Jiang Yufei was thinking. There were quite a few things, but there were many people in the family, so it was difficult to divide them among Jiang Yufei.
Aunt Yu and her husband were thinking of having their children live separately. Their eldest son's family and their second son's family all lived at home, and with so many people eating together, they had to cook a lot of food each meal. The main problem was that with so many children, they were constantly chattering. Aunt Yu and her husband felt awkward about asking their two sons to pay for their meals, but not paying was also problematic—so many mouths to feed, it was too much to handle.
When Jiang Erge's family wasn't home, Jiang Dage would take out some things. After Jiang Erge returned, Jiang Dage would check whether they had taken anything out; either they didn't take anything out, or they did.
In addition, Aunt Yu rented a shop for Jiang Erge for a year and would occasionally go over to help. Even though the shop was losing money, Jiang Dasao still felt that Jiang Erge had spent all that money and that the eldest branch of the family had suffered a loss.
Jiang Yufei watched helplessly as her mother left with the things, and she couldn't help but stomp her feet twice.
"Go back," Jiang Yufei's man said.
“Mom didn’t even share any of the food with us,” Jiang Yufei said.
“My eldest brother and second brother are both here,” Jiang Yufei’s husband said.
Jiang's eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law didn't want Aunt Yu to share the things with Jiang Yufei. Those things were valuable and should belong to their own family. There were so many mouths to feed in the family, and they ate meat very infrequently. It was so kind of the Song family to give them those good things.
Upon arriving home, Aunt Yu asked Grandma Jiang to come out so that everyone could finalize the division of the family property.
Grandma Jiang had no objection to the division of the family property. In any case, her son would have to support her in her old age, and she would live with whichever grandson her son lived with.
If it were before, Aunt Yu wouldn't have talked much about dividing the family property, but now she can.
“Since you’re all here, it’s a good time to divide the family property,” Aunt Yu said.
There was only one kitchen, which was shared by Brother Jiang's family and Brother Jiang's second family. Everyone slept in their own rooms, and there were also some other households. Aunt Yu and her husband were not particularly old, so they naturally didn't get a share of the money they had.
Song Fenglan didn't know exactly how the Jiang family divided their property; by the time she found out, the Jiang family had already finished dividing their property.
When Song Fenglan found out, she wasn't surprised. It's easy for conflicts to arise when brothers have their own families and haven't separated their households. Only after separating their households can they feel more at ease.
At home, Song Fenglan talked to Qin Yizhou about the Jiang family, her tone indifferent.
“My aunt has some things, but probably not many,” Song Fenglan said. “Some were lost during the war, and she also incurred expenses after her marriage.”
"It's good to separate the family." Qin Yizhou understood this; he and his older brother had done the same thing, and it was better to separate the family sooner rather than later, so they wouldn't become enemies.
Qin Yizhou and his older brother Qin weren't exactly enemies, but their relationship couldn't possibly be as good as it used to be. While Qin Yizhou was still...
Before they got married, Brother Qin and his friends treated Qin Yizhou very well, and Tian Keshu didn't make things difficult for him at that time.
After Qin Yizhou got married, those people revealed their true colors. To be precise, those people originally thought Qin Yizhou was useful and needed to be used by him. They believed that Song Fenglan had been whispering in Qin Yizhou's ear, making him distant from them, and they also believed that Song Fenglan had ruined Qin Yizhou's future.
Now, it is Tian Keshu who ruined Brother Qin's future, not Song Fenglan.
"It doesn't matter how they divide it, we're not involved, so it'll save us trouble," Song Fenglan said. "The sooner they divide it, the better."
"Yes, that's right," Qin Yizhou said.
After the New Year, the Qin family invited Qin Yizhou's family over for dinner, saying they were hosting a banquet, but Qin Yizhou's family declined. This angered Qin's mother, but her anger was useless; Qin Yizhou had already given those people a lot of face, yet Qin's mother still insisted on making trouble.
Time quickly came to work. While Qin Zihang was still on winter vacation, Song Fenglan had to go to work.
After starting work, Song Fenglan asked about the graduation certificate and degree certificate, and inquired whether the mail from Nancheng University had arrived.
"Let me ask," the assistant said.
After giving her instructions, Song Fenglan went off to do her work.
The assistant immediately contacted Nancheng University. After learning that Song Fenglan hadn't received her graduation and degree certificates, the university staff assumed they had likely lost them en route. They assured them that they would resend them.
If it were anyone else, the staff at Nancheng University would certainly not have paid attention, but this was Song Fenglan. Some people working at Nancheng University knew a little about Song Fenglan; she had been recruited by a research institute in the capital before even graduating from university, and she had worked at the same research institute in Nancheng. There were even specific instructions from above to ensure the items were delivered to Song Fenglan safely.
The staff reported to their superiors, who then said that Song Fenglan should have her graduation certificate and degree certificate remade.
Song Fenglan didn't care how her assistant communicated with the staff at Nancheng University. She figured she had already graduated, had a stable job, and was capable; whether she had her diploma and degree certificate or not didn't matter, as it wouldn't affect her work.
When Song Fenglan got busy, she forgot about her graduation certificate again.
A few days later, someone from Nancheng University went to the capital on a business trip and delivered the graduation certificate and degree certificate to the research institute, which is how Song Fenglan finally received them. Since someone from Nancheng University was going to the capital, the university didn't mail them again, fearing they might get lost, and simply had them delivered to the research institute.
The leadership of Nancheng University values Song Fenglan highly. If Song Fenglan does a good job, then Song Fenglan will be an outstanding alumna of Nancheng University.
Song Fenglan and the others were unaware that the missing email had been taken by someone else, who had taken a liking to the graduation certificate and degree certificate inside. Although the majors listed seemed difficult to understand, as long as one didn't pursue work related to those majors, doing something simpler would be manageable.
Song Fenglan was very happy to take her graduation certificate and degree certificate home, and she even showed them to Qin Yizhou and Qin Zihang.
"Mom, is this my university graduation certificate?" Qin Zihang reached out to touch it, but immediately withdrew his hand, afraid of breaking it.
"Thump." Song Fenglan shoved the graduation certificate directly into Qin Zihang's hand, letting the child take a look.
In her past life, Song Fenglan had already pursued master's and doctoral degrees, so she wasn't as excited about these certificates anymore. She just wanted to show them to her family. Song Fenglan mainly wanted her son to see them, hoping he would study hard and get into a good university.
"Wow!" Qin Zihang exclaimed, "Mom, it has your name on it, and your photo too."
"It's alright," Song Fenglan said.
“I will have such a certificate in the future,” Qin Zihang said.
"You will be. We're all waiting for you to become the most educated person in this family," Song Fenglan encouraged Qin Zihang.
After seeing Song Fenglan's graduation photos, Qin Yizhou realized that his wife was truly remarkable. Qin Yizhou himself had been recommended to attend university; only after graduating could he be promoted.
"I will try my best, I definitely will." Qin Zihang clenched his small fist and reached out to touch Song Fenglan's name; he recognized those characters.
I'm so envious! I'm so envious!
Qin Zihang really wanted to get his graduation certificate and degree certificate as soon as possible. His mother was amazing; she always kept her word, and he had to keep his word too.
Before the aviation university even started its semester, Ding Wenbo came to the lab. When Song Fenglan saw him, she said, "Why didn't you spend more time with your parents at home?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
