Fang Qiao wasn't convinced that such people didn't exist; she knew that there were people who chose to be childless in every era.
However, such people are certainly not of the same intellectual level as ordinary people, and they will definitely prioritize like-minded people when choosing a partner.
Fang Qiao finds it hard to believe that someone like that would choose to be with Sun Shuyi.
Wu Tianyou was clearly a capable man; he managed to make Sun Shuyi beam with joy with just a few words.
She glanced at Fang Qiao sideways and snorted, "For Tianyou's sake, I'll let bygones be bygones this time for your cursing me."
Wu Tianyou bowed slightly to Fang Qiao: "I'm sorry, it was indeed Shuyi who misspoke just now. I apologize to you on her behalf. Please forgive me."
"Why are you apologizing to her? She even criticized me." Sun Shuyi pouted in dissatisfaction, grabbed Wu Tianyou's arm, and pulled him away: "You're not allowed to apologize to her."
Wu Tianyou looked embarrassed, but he obediently let Sun Shuyi pull him away.
Li Dan was left standing there awkwardly.
She touched Liu Lai'er's hair to ease the awkwardness and explained to Fang Qiao, "Xiao Qiao, I'm sorry about earlier. I trusted Sun Shuyi and thought that she had realized her mistake because she had a boyfriend. I didn't expect it was just a pretext to cause trouble."
Fang Qiao waved her hand dismissively and said, "Sister Dan, I'm fine, you don't need to apologize."
Li Dan has already been excluded from Fang Qiao's circle of friends, so whether she apologizes or not is irrelevant to Fang Qiao.
"I'm relieved that you're not angry." Li Dan chuckled twice, making conversation as she went, and asked, "You live so close by, why didn't you bring Tian Tian along? Lai'er is about the same age as your Tian Tian, you could bring her along so they could play together."
Fang Qiao joked in a lighthearted tone, "The child is making a fuss, I just want to have a quiet meal. Let her uncle look after her at home."
"Oh, that's alright. Anyway, our two families live close by. We can hang out together another day." Li Dan nodded with a smile.
The two appeared to be having a pleasant conversation, but they both knew the real story.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Dan led Liu Lai'er away.
After a while, Sanxi's mother and the others arrived and sat at the same table with Fang Qiao.
After all three tables were filled, the meal began quickly.
It was called a grand feast, but in reality, it only consisted of four dishes and one soup.
The dishes were stir-fries ordered from the factory canteen, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. The meat dishes were braised pork with potatoes and braised fish chunks, and the vegetable dishes were stir-fried green peppers with eggs and cold spinach salad. The soup was made with thin rice noodles and meatballs, but there were only a few meatballs, and the rest was all thin rice noodles, so it looked like a thin soup. However, the mixed grain steamed buns were plentiful.
Sanxi's mother tore at the mixed-grain steamed bun in her hand, pursed her lips, and said with some disdain, "They collected so much money, but they can't even bear to let the canteen staff prepare some decent dishes. This little bit of food costs at most two yuan. They're really stingy."
"Exactly, of all the dishes on the table, this plate of pork is the only decent one."
"Why serve grass carp at a banquet? Not only are there many bones, but it also has a muddy smell. Two pounds of fish only cost three or four cents each at the market. This Li Dan looks like a very respectable person, but she's really good at shrewd calculations behind the scenes."
"He's nowhere near as good as the one before Liu Dongliang."
"How can she compare to others?"
The others spoke up, but Fang Qiao only listened and did not participate.
After dinner, Fang Qiao went home.
Because of the banquet next door, the courtyard was noisy, so the family members were still awake and were sitting together in the main room playing cards. An'an's cradle was placed next to Cheng Baidong, who rocked it from time to time.
Xiao Jing and Tian Tian were playing cards with great concentration, while Cheng Baidong seemed completely relaxed and at ease.
"I'm back."
Fang Qiao hummed in agreement, glancing at the cards in his hand. There were only four or five cards left, while the other two people each had a large handful, with the few having at least ten cards.
No wonder Cheng Baidong was so relaxed, while Xiao Jing and Tian Tian looked like they were facing a formidable enemy.
Fang Qiao glanced at An An in the cradle; An An was open-eyed and playing with a rattle in her hand.
When her daughter stopped fussing, Fang Qiao pulled up a small stool, sat down, and asked, "What are you playing?"
Cheng Baidong said, "They run fast."
"Run Fast" is a card game that can be played by three or four people.
When playing, you first remove the two Jokers, three 2s, and one Ace, leaving 48 cards. Whoever plays all their cards first wins.
As she spoke, Tian Tian played a single Ace.
Then Cheng Baidong played his big cards without hesitation.
Once the highest 2 was played, everyone else naturally didn't want it, and Cheng Baidong successfully played out his last two pairs.
After playing all his cards, Cheng Baidong opened his empty hands and said with a smile, "I won."
Xiaojing and Tiantian reluctantly put down their cards.
Sweetie pouted, looking aggrieved, and snuggled into Fang Qiao's arms for comfort: "Auntie, it's so hard. I can't win at all!"
Fang Qiao, with Tian Tian in her arms, glanced sideways at Cheng Baidong and clicked her tongue: "You're not ashamed to bully a three-year-old."
"At the card table, nothing is too big or small." Cheng Baidong gently stroked Tian Tian's furrowed brow with his fingertip, teaching her, "Even children should be willing to accept the consequences of their bets."
"Okay." Sweetie sighed like a little adult and said, "A bet's a bet, I'll sweep the floor tomorrow!"
"Good girl." Cheng Baidong patted Tian Tian's head and asked with a smile, "Want to play again?"
"Let's play!" Tian Tian grabbed Fang Qiao's arm and said loudly, "You're all adults, and I'm a child. It's not fair! I need help!"
Cheng Baidong approved: "Okay!"
"Auntie, auntie, we're in the same class, just the two of us!" Sweetie was overjoyed. She moved Fang Qiao's little stool next to her and patted the table, urging, "Deal the cards! Deal the cards!"
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