The old lady smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright, as long as you and Tu Nan are happy!"
"Thank you, Grandma!"
At this moment, Zhang Amei led Jiang Xiaoyue out, seemingly to take Jiang Xiaoyue to Wu Shanshan's movie theater across the street.
Huang Ling, who was fiddling with newspapers at the newsstand, and Song Ying, who was serving customers, both saw Jiang Xiaoyue, but neither of them spoke, because they didn't know the situation and dared not say anything, for fear that Zhang Amei would overthink it.
To their even greater surprise, when Grandma Zhuang saw Jiang Xiaoyue, she excitedly pulled Grandpa Zhuang aside and said, "Dad, isn't that Jiang Xiaoyue?"
Grandpa Zhuang nodded and said, "Yes! What's she doing here?"
Grandma Zhuang hurried over, grabbed Jiang Xiaoyue's arm, and said, "Xiaoyue, Xiaoyue, what are you doing here?"
Jiang Xiaoyue turned her head and saw Grandma Zhuang, and said with a smile, "Oh, Grandma, what are you doing here?"
Grandma Zhuang pointed at Huang Ling and said, "This is our eldest daughter's family. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, so this is my uncle's family! We'll be neighbors from now on. This is my mother-in-law's family, and this is my boyfriend's family!"
"Really? You found a boyfriend as soon as you left the orphanage. That's great, you're settled now!"
"Okay, Grandma Zhuang, I'm going to the other side now! My mother-in-law asked me to help my sister-in-law!"
"Oh, go ahead! Go ahead! There will be plenty of opportunities to meet again!"
Jiang Xiaoyue followed Zhang Amei toward the movie theater across the street.
Grandma Zhuang sighed and returned to Grandpa Zhuang's side, saying, "Dad, look, Xiaoyue has found a husband. If Zhennan hadn't disappeared, she would be our granddaughter-in-law!"
Old Master Zhuang said somewhat angrily, "Why are you bringing up Zhennan when we're happy? It's bad luck!"
Huang Ling then asked Grandma Zhuang, "Mom, do you know that girl?"
"Not only do I know her, I've watched her grow up!"
"Then why don't I recognize him?"
"Of course you wouldn't recognize it since you live far away. To the left of our house is a cemetery, where our family's ancestral graves are located. Further ahead, about three houses away, is an orphanage where thirty or forty orphans lived. Zhennan and Zhenbei used to play there a lot when they were little."
"Then why isn't she at the orphanage anymore?"
"She's an adult now! Orphanages don't keep idle people. Once they turn eighteen, they kick them out and they have to find work themselves. Xiaoyue is lucky; she stayed a few more years before the director kicked her out not long ago!"
"An orphanage has this rule?"
"No, originally the government was supposed to help me find a job and register my household registration, but the old director is too old and doesn't want to talk to the leaders. In the end, we had no choice but to do it this way!"
"Oh! I understand!"
Then Zhang Amei led Jiang Xiaoyue to the movie theater.
Although the movie hadn't started playing yet, the cinema was already open, so Zhang Amei led Jiang Xiaoyue inside.
As soon as they arrived at the office door, Zhang Amei knocked on it.
Wu Shanshan, who was washing up, opened the door and saw Zhang Amei, and hurriedly said, "Mom, what brings you here?"
Zhang Amei pointed at Jiang Xiaoyue and said, "This is your brother's wife. She's currently unemployed. You can arrange something for her to help you out for now. Let me tell you, treat her well. If you upset her, I'll tear down your movie theater!"
Upon hearing that it was her younger brother's wife, Wu Shanshan was overjoyed, after all, Wu Xiaojun was her own brother. So she said, "Mom, don't worry, leave your wife to me, I'll take good care of her. If she loses even a hair, don't say you'll tear my movie theater apart, or even chop me into eight pieces, I won't complain. Besides, I'm heavily pregnant and don't know what to do! I'm so happy you've sent me a helper! Thank you, Mom!"
"It's alright. Let your sister-in-law get familiar with the place this morning, and then we'll take her to buy furniture this afternoon. We'll hold your brother's wedding banquet and consummation ceremony in a couple of days."
"Mom, is this true? That's wonderful! You can rest assured leaving your sister-in-law in my care. I'll cover their furniture and the wedding banquet. If I don't make proper arrangements for my brother's wedding, I'm not worthy of the Wu surname!"
"Okay, you two familiarize yourselves with the room first. I'll go measure the room dimensions with your dad and see what kind of furniture would be suitable!"
Jiang Xiaoyue chimed in, "Mom, we don't need to spend too much. Just buy the cheapest one we can afford!"
Zhang Amei was very excited after hearing Jiang Xiaoyue's words. Before she could speak, Wu Shanshan spoke up and said, "No, Mom, the furniture for my brother and sister-in-law must be the best. I'll pay for it myself, buy the best!"
After saying this, Wu Shanshan turned around and went into the house. She came out a couple of minutes later with a wad of hundred-yuan bills in her hand. She said to Zhang Amei, "Mom, this is ten thousand yuan. You can decide what to buy for my brother and sister-in-law. Don't try to save me any money. Buy them the best you can!"
Zhang Amei took the wad of money and said, "I thank you on behalf of Xiaojun, Shanshan!"
"What are you thanking me for? Xiaojun is my own brother, it's only right that I spend some money on him."
"Okay, I'll be going now. You two chat and get to know each other!"
After saying that, Zhang Amei turned around and left.
Wu Shanshan ushered Jiang Xiaoyue into her office and had her sit on the sofa. She brought out fruit and candy for Jiang Xiaoyue to eat and asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
Jiang Xiaoyue took a piece of candy and said, "I, my name is Jiang Xiaoyue. Sister, I'll be relying on you from now on. Please forgive me if I make any mistakes!"
Wu Shanshan said with a smile, "Why are you being so formal? You're my sister-in-law, and I'm your sister-in-law. We're relatives and family, so why are we talking like strangers?"
"Oh, sis, what movies do you show at our theater?"
"Our cinema's theme is horror, so we show Hong Kong zombies and ghosts, and foreign vampires and the like!"
"Right! It sounds pretty scary, but I still think Stephen Chow's movies are the best. Several of his movies this year are quite good. They're not only funny, but also thought-provoking."
"Oh, that's pretty good. You've seen a lot of movies, haven't you?"
“I grew up in an orphanage. Our director often showed us classic revolutionary films, like ‘Mine Warfare,’ ‘Tunnel Warfare,’ ‘Little Soldier Zhang Ga,’ and ‘The Shining Red Star’!”
"Oh, those are all outdated movies. Our theater will only show the newest ones!"
"Really? Then I'm in for a treat!"
"Okay, you eat here for a bit. I'm going to the restroom, I'll come back and we'll continue chatting in a bit!"
As soon as Wu Shanshan left the office, she went to the restroom in the back.
She had just stepped out of the office when Zhou Chengzhi came out of the bedroom wearing only his underwear. When he saw a strange woman in the room, and a very beautiful one at that, he was so frightened that he quickly hid back in the doorway and asked, "Who, who are you?"
Jiang Xiaoyue wasn't shy at all; instead, she laughed and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm Wu Xiaojun's girlfriend!"
Zhou Chengzhi gave an awkward laugh and said, "Oh, so it's your sister-in-law! Where's your sister?"
"She went to the restroom. You don't need to hide; we're all family!"
"That won't do! How can a brother-in-law be naked in front of his sister-in-law!"
"Brother-in-law, to tell you the truth, I was sent by Zhuang Zhennan!"
"Zhuang Zhennan? What did he send you here for?"
"He saw that the villagers were living a happy and harmonious life, so he sent me to sabotage them!"
"So you weren't truly sincere towards Wu Xiaojun?"
"Yes, I fell deeply in love with this innocent young man yesterday. I want to marry him. Don't tell my sister that I know Zhuang Zhennan!"
"Okay! I'll keep it a secret! You sit down first, I'll get dressed!"
Wu Shanshan returned shortly after, and Zhou Chengzhi also got dressed and left the bedroom.
Upon seeing Zhou Chengzhi's clothes, Wu Shanshan asked curiously, "Zhou Chengzhi, what are you doing? Why are you dressed like this today?"
"Isn't it my sister-in-law who's here? I can't let you down, can I?"
"Really? You've never been this formal before!"
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