Hearing this, Aunt Zhou knew that the visitor was up to no good. She hurriedly went out to check and saw a middle-aged woman, thin as a skeleton, wearing patched clothes, standing with her hands on her hips at Aunt Zhou's door.
Seeing that the visitor was an unfamiliar face, Aunt Zhou asked:
Who are you looking for?
The old woman glanced at Aunt Zhou with disdain and asked impatiently:
"Is this the Ningwu family residence?"
Aunt Zhou nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, the old woman shoved Aunt Zhou aside, strode into the yard, looked around, and began to find fault with everything, inside and outside the house.
"You poor families don't deserve to marry a good girl like Ningqiu?"
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou suppressed her anger and said:
Are you a relative of Ning Qiu's family?
The old woman kicked a stool in the yard, snorted, and said:
“I am Ningqiu’s aunt. Has she never mentioned it to you? I’ve treated Ningqiu like my own daughter since she was little. Who would have thought she would be so useless and marry into such a poor family like yours?”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou quickly smiled apologetically:
"Oh, so it's her aunt. Ningqiu mentioned you to me, saying you've been very good to her. Ningqiu is really suffering because she married into our family."
Upon hearing Aunt Zhou's words, Jiang Yuwei, who had just entered from outside, quickly spoke up:
"Sigh, what's with all this talk about feeling wronged? It's just that the young couple's fate brought them together, what can you do? As long as they live a good life together, that's what matters most. We're still outsiders after all, we can't dictate what others do, don't you think, Auntie?"
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, the old woman felt as if she had been humiliated, but she couldn't refute them, so she could only nod stiffly.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei gave Aunt Zhou a wink, signaling her to go about her business, and then looked at the old woman in front of her and spoke:
"May I ask your name?"
The old woman glanced at her and said angrily:
"My surname is Tian, and I come from Tianjia Village."
Jiang Yuwei nodded with a smile and said:
"Alright, please come with me. The seat I've arranged for you isn't in this courtyard, it's in the courtyard next door."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei pointed to her own large brick and tile house not far away.
The old woman took one look and was immediately stunned, her jaw dropping as she asked incredulously, her mouth agape:
"So, is that courtyard the new house that was prepared for the young couple?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled but didn't say anything. Just as Aunt Zhou was about to explain, Jiang Yuwei shook her head at her.
Aunt Zhou immediately understood and hurriedly lowered her head to do her own thing.
Granny Tian glanced at Jiang Yuwei, then at Aunt Zhou, and finally at the large, blue-brick and tiled house in the distance. Her face immediately lit up with a fawning smile as she stepped forward, grabbed Aunt Zhou's arm, and asked:
"I see so many houses, are they all for the young couple? Can they even fit them all in?"
Aunt Zhou smiled as she prepared the bowls and chopsticks, then said perfunctorily to Granny Tian:
"Go live with them."
Upon hearing Aunt Zhou's words, Granny Tian's eyes lit up. She reached out and took the bowls and chopsticks from Aunt Zhou's arms, placing them one by one on the table while inquiring:
"Um, is Ningwu your only child?"
Aunt Zhou casually said:
"There's also an older son."
When Granny Tian heard that Aunt Zhou had another son, her smile deepened.
"Is your eldest son married yet?"
Seeing that Granny Tian was pestering Aunt Zhou with endless questions, Jiang Yuwei lost her patience and grabbed Granny Tian's arm, pulling her outside.
"Oh dear, Granny Tian, you're a guest today, there's no reason for you to do any work. Let Aunt Zhou handle those tasks herself, please go and take a seat."
As Jiang Yuwei pulled her by the arm and dragged her outside, Granny Tian anxiously shouted to Aunt Zhou:
"Well, if your eldest son isn't married yet, let him meet my daughter today. My daughter is here too; she's capable, and much prettier than Ning Qiu!"
Aunt Zhou just smiled at Granny Tian when she heard this. She knew that she couldn't afford to build a big brick house, so Granny Tian would definitely look down on her family. Therefore, Aunt Zhou wouldn't dare to take her daughter as her daughter-in-law. Who knows, she might be a mean and mean person like her mother.
Aunt Zhou knew that Jiang Yuwei had told her not to talk about the dilapidated house earlier, probably because she wanted to save face for her family in front of her relatives in Ningqiu, and also because she didn't want Granny Tian to look down on her family, thus ruining the good day for both families.
Granny Tian was forcibly dragged to the courtyard by Jiang Yuwei.
"Grandma Tian, you can sit at this table. Ning Qiu and the others haven't arrived yet. Have some melon seeds and a cup of tea first."
Grandma Tian's eyes widened at the sight of such a magnificent house. She completely forgot about the melon seeds and tea, and her bottom, which had just touched the stool, immediately bounced up.
He started wandering around the yard, muttering to himself:
"Hmph, Ning Qiu is lucky to live in such a big house. Most people can't handle such a nice house, only my daughter can keep it in check."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuwei thought to herself, "So only your daughter can keep this house in check? What? Is your daughter some kind of mythical creature?"
As Jiang Yuwei was thinking, she felt the ground in the courtyard begin to shake. Before she could speak, she heard a sweet, delicate voice coming from outside the courtyard:
"My lady, my lady, where are you?"
Upon hearing the sound, Granny Tian happily went out to greet them.
"Oh dear, my daughter, your mother is here!"
As she spoke, a chubby girl weighing over 200 pounds stood next to Granny Tian. Granny Tian was tucked under her armpits by her daughter, looking like a schoolbag charm.
With every step the girl took, the ground trembled three times. It seemed that Granny Tian had given all the good things in her house to her daughter, otherwise how could Granny Tian have become so thin?
Granny Tian helped her daughter sit down, then looked at Jiang Yuwei with a proud expression.
"Look how beautiful my little Jiao is. I told you she could keep this yard in check. Tsk tsk, this yard is perfect for my little Jiao to live in."
Jiang Yuwei burst out laughing upon hearing this.
"Yes, yes, yes, you're right, Xiao Jiao is quite pretty with her chubby and fair skin."
As the three were talking, the other guests arrived one after another.
After the village chief presided over the wedding ceremony for Ning Qiu and Ning Wu, everyone took their seats.
Granny Tian was a quick-witted woman who was eager to find a match between her daughter and Tiezhu, so she searched everywhere for Aunt Zhou.
Seeing Aunt Zhou carrying food into the courtyard from afar, I quickly pulled her aside and whispered:
"Sigh, do you agree to what I just told you? Where is your eldest son? Let him come out and meet my little darling!"
Seeing that Granny Tian was going on and on, Aunt Zhou decided she didn't want to hide it from her any longer and spoke up:
“This big brick house belongs to Jiang Yuwei’s family, not mine. Ning Qiu will live with us in that small courtyard after she gets married.”
Upon hearing this, Granny Tian felt a surge of anger. Feeling she had been tricked, she disregarded everything else and pointed at Aunt Zhou's nose, cursing:
"You old hag, how dare you, how dare you commit marriage fraud! Ningqiu! You're so unlucky! We're not going through with this marriage, let's go! Let's go home with your aunt."
As she spoke, Granny Tian ran over and grabbed Ning Qiu's arm.
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