Bird's Nest

School leaders and substitute teachers all know that Song Dongdong is Song Shixia's biological brother, and they usually take special care of him.

Therefore, after the physical education teacher discovered that Song Dongdong had better physical fitness than his peers, he recommended to the school that Song Dongdong apply for military school.

Song Dongdong has no plans for the future. He likes playing football and wants to be a football player. He would be very willing to enter a military academy to defend his country.

Song Shixia was sincerely happy for his brother. There is no boy who doesn't like military uniform, especially since his brother's personality is very suitable for this career.

At present, the younger brother is just in good physical condition. He needs to keep up with the nutrition during the adolescent development stage, and he can grow taller. She asked her brother to give Song Dongdong more living expenses every week, because boys at this age consume a lot of energy and are easily hungry.

Parents in the countryside are so happy when a soldier comes into the family.

Han Rong was happy for her daughter-in-law.

"Our family is going to have a soldier!" Her eyes dimmed a little after she said that. She remembered that her son died in a mission and no trace of his body was left.

Song Shixia sensitively noticed her mother-in-law's lost mood, and immediately thought of Ji Weiqing's brother.

In the original plot, Ji Weiqing's brother will come back a few years later. He did not sacrifice himself, but just faked his death to complete a great and difficult mission. He had to hide his identity and make it impossible to find him. The mission was so confidential that even her father-in-law didn't know.

Song Shixia held her mother-in-law's shoulders.

"Mom, I bought some freshly harvested bird's nests from Tong Ren Tang. I'll cook some for you to try."

Han Rong forced a smile and said, "You eat it. You young people eat bird's nest for nourishment. I am so old, why should I eat bird's nest?"

Song Shixia was not interested in bird's nests. In fact, it was not until decades later when artificial bird's nests appeared on the market and ordinary people could afford them that people realized that bird's nests were not that precious.

The value of pure natural bird's nests is limited by the small production of swiftlets, as well as the collection and processing costs. However, it is not beyond the reach of ordinary people. It is marketing that has raised the price, making ordinary people believe that scarcity makes things valuable.

Just like in this era, collecting bird's nests requires climbing cliffs, and the labor and transportation costs go up. When ordinary people hear about bird's nests, it's the same concept as when ancient people heard about the Manchu-Han banquet.

"Mom, you have trouble sleeping, so you should eat more bird's nests to nourish your body. We young people don't need to take nutritional supplements."

Han Rong couldn't refuse; her daughter-in-law's kindness was hard to reject.

"Such a precious thing, why don't you leave it to your sister-in-law." She remembered that Song Qiu Sheng was dating a city girl who came from a very wealthy family.

Song Shixia smiled faintly: "My sister-in-law's family has no shortage of bird's nests, so you can eat it with confidence. If you think it tastes good, I will buy it next time."

She remembered that there seemed to be a few boxes of bird's nests given by others on the shelves of her space. They were said to be pure natural bird's nests imported from foreign countries. After she received them, she threw them in the space and never took care of them.

Our partners are all big bosses, they won’t fool around with gifts.

While boiling bird's nest on the small stove, Song Shixia used the excuse of going to the attic to look for medicinal materials. He dug out a few boxes of bird's nests that were given as gifts by others. He looked at the place of production and the raw materials and found that they were indeed imported.

Song Shixia removed the outer packaging, leaving only the box containing the bird's nest. The gift box contained a lot of dried bird's nests, one box could be eaten for three months, and it was estimated that there were more than a hundred nests.

Han Rong plucked out a visible white hair in front of the mirror. It was strange that her peers had more than half of their hair white, but she only had one or two white hairs on her head, and she had to pick them out carefully.

Yu Fang's mother next door is a generation younger than her, and most of her hair is white. When the two of them stand together, it is hard to tell who is older.

Han Rong turned around in front of her husband.

"Can you see how I've changed?"

Ji Xueya pushed his reading glasses.

"Nothing has changed. Where are you going in such a fancy dress?"

Han Rong glared at her husband.

"What's so fancy about these clothes? Isn't this how I usually dress?"

Ji Xueya had glasses on his nose and his eyes scanned his wife.

"Tsk tsk, she's already a grandmother and still wears such fancy clothes."

Han Rong said unhappily, "If I go with you now, people will think we are brother and sister. Do you think we look like a couple? You are an old man, and I don't even have a single white hair."

Ji Xueya's hair was half white, but he didn't care about it. However, when his wife brought it up, he became a little unconvinced.

"Oh, do you think it's a good thing when people say you're young? People will think this old lady is not mature or stable at all."

Han Rong was amused.

"Okay, what you said makes sense, just stay at home and read the newspaper."

Ji Xueya shouted at his wife's back,

"When will you be back?"

"I'm not coming back. I'm staying at my son's house to accompany Xiao Song and our baby."

Ji Xueya blew his beard and shook the newspaper.

"They don't go home every day. One of them is studying at university and doesn't even go home. The other one lives in his son's house and eats, drinks, defecates and urinates. What kind of nonsense is that!"

Ten minutes after his wife went out, Ji Xueya slammed the newspaper on the table, slipped into the bathroom, and talked to himself in front of the mirror on the wall.

He pinched his chin and said, "Who doesn't have white hair when they get old? People in their 50s and 60s don't even have a single white hair. It's so scary to tell others about it."

The more Ji Xueya looked at him, the more satisfied he became. Women are just like that. They have long hair but short knowledge. He looked so majestic when he went out with his white hair. Those new recruits had to salute him when they saw him.

Han Rong's complexion is getting better and better, but the neighbors on the street are puzzled. It stands to reason that Han Rong will help her daughter-in-law take care of the children after retirement, which must be a lot of trivial troubles. What mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can get along well?

The harmony is because they don't see each other often. As long as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don't live together, they will be harmonious. If they live together, there will definitely be chaos.

But Han Rong, on the other hand, would stay at her son's house for ten days or half a month, and would go back again after two days. Her complexion was getting better and better, and those who didn't know her would think she was enjoying herself.

Everyone knows how hard it is to take care of children. Not only do you have to help with housework and cooking, you are even worse than a nanny.

Han Rong was being pulled by someone at the entrance of the alley.

"Old Han, why do you look better and better after visiting your daughter-in-law's house?"

In the eyes of neighbors, Han Rong always looks pale at work. It’s not because she can’t afford to eat or is malnourished, but because she is busy at work. Sometimes she even looks dark after being busy for too long.

It was only in the past two years when she handed over her work and retired that her complexion began to improve, but it was not as rosy as it is now. Her face seemed to have become plump, just like the rich ladies on TV.

Han Rong smiled from the bottom of her heart.

"My daughter-in-law is worried that I won't sleep well, so she goes to Tong Ren Tang to buy bird's nests every few days. She often deals with people, and she can buy a bowl of bird's nests every two weeks. She studied Chinese medicine, and I don't know where she got the donkey-hide gelatin from. It is said that eating it is good for women's health, so she gives it to me every day. I have a good sleep every day and I feel more energetic."

The neighbors were envious after hearing this. This wasn't just being a nanny; this was a way to enjoy life!

If any daughter-in-law could treat her mother-in-law as her own mother like Xiao Song does, the family would be much more stable.

"Xiao Song also hired a nanny for me. She usually does the housework. If I don't want to cook, I'll just take a rest and watch TV. It's much better to be at my daughter-in-law's house than to serve the old man at home." The old man would eat in the cafeteria or go to a restaurant when he was alone at home. Anyway, his family had left him money.

A neighbor was puzzled: "You haven't helped much. What does your daughter-in-law think? Why don't you just hire a nanny? Don't you two have a quarrel living under the same roof?"

"What are you arguing about? My son is on a business trip, and my daughter-in-law is busy with her studies. It's just me and the nanny at home. I have to take care of my grandson myself. I can't just leave everything to the nanny and let her do nothing."

The neighbors didn't understand, but after hearing what Han Rong said, they felt it made sense.

"Yes, the nanny is just helping out, so the child should be taken care of by the grandmother. It is said that you should marry a virtuous woman, and your son has picked a good wife."

We all deeply agree that

"I heard someone say your son married a girl from the countryside who never went to school. We thought your family would be in turmoil. Now we envy your life."

Han Rong covered her mouth and smiled: "Your daughter-in-law is not bad. Don't just envy me. My comrade Xiao Song always talks about putting yourself in someone else's shoes. She said that I was good to her and she felt my kindness, so she treated me like her own mother and respected me."

After Han Rong left, the neighbors fell into deep thought. If they could improve the relationship between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law by putting themselves in their shoes, could they also change their relationship with their daughter-in-law?

The matter between Ge Qing and her father had not yet been investigated, and Ji Weiqing had already returned from his business trip.

Song Shixia hurriedly put away the documents. She had been doing her homework in Professor Ji's study when he was not at home. On the desk was a thick stack of contracts and two law books that Song Shixia had borrowed temporarily. She was dazzled by the pile of documents.

Professor Ji was standing at the door of the study, wearing a windbreaker and carrying a suitcase. The first thing he did when he got home was to organize the information in the suitcase.

Song Shixia put the contract under the book, stood up calmly to greet him,

"I've never seen this dress of yours before."

"I didn't have time to bring clothes on my business trip, and when I got back I found the temperature had dropped. These are the clothes my senior gave me."

Song Shixia seemed to be thinking about something. No wonder it looked a bit retro. It turned out to be an old piece of clothing.

She couldn't help but complain: "You were in such a rush on this business trip. You were gone when I got home."

Professor Ji smiled and said, "I still remember why you suddenly wanted to take my class?"

Song Shixia put one hand on his waist and took the initiative.

"I haven't asked you yet. Didn't you say you were just an ordinary professor? What does senior engineer mean? And there are a lot of titles that I can't even remember. No wonder you have a high salary. Professor Xie next door only makes one-third of yours. That's what an ordinary professor makes!"

Ji Weiqing covered his lips with one hand, but Song Shixia still noticed that he was smiling.

Song Shixia complained aggrievedly: "I thought that our family is an ordinary teaching staff family, with a low income, so we can only spend money frugally. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to fill the hole when I touched the money in your passbook that time..."

"At most, you are young and have a bright future. You became a professor at a young age. Once you have more experience, you will definitely become a textbook-level figure. Who would have thought that you are only one step away."

The more Song Shixia thought about it, the more she felt wronged. Especially when she thought about the soaring prices in a few years, tens of thousands of yuan would be just a drop in the bucket. It would be a huge expense for the two children to grow up, get married and buy a house. If they wanted to manage their finances, tens of thousands of yuan would not be enough, not to mention if the elderly at home got sick...

So when Sister Yao Xue mentioned doing business together, she agreed without much hesitation.

If she had known he was so capable, she would have continued to lie down. Anyway, with his current status, he could get a good salary by just hanging around in any tech company.

Not to mention that Ji Weiqing was hired, and in addition to his salary, he also received bonuses, and he received separate wages for each business trip. Even if prices rise in the future, these miscellaneous incomes will only be higher, not lower, with his qualifications as a senior engineer and his status as a professor, and it will not be a problem for him to support a family of several people.

Ji Weiqing put down his suitcase, walked quickly to his wife and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew."

He didn't expect her to be so slow-witted that she didn't know his specific position even after more than a year of marriage.

Song Shixia grabbed his clothes.

"It's all your fault. Now that the company has been registered and the funds have been paid, you can't regret it."

Ji Weiqing coaxed her softly: "It's all my fault. What can I do to make you happy?"

Song Shixia muttered: "I haven't thought about it yet. I'm not really angry. I just feel that I could have a peaceful life, but I chose to fight because I was afraid that my family would have no money to spend."

Ji Weiqing gently stroked her hair.

"Every life has a different meaning. Since you have chosen this path, it means that you subconsciously like to start a business and strive. I don't think you are greedy and lazy."

Song Shixia listened to his heartbeat.

"You're right. My subconscious mind does have an obsession with money. Once I think about not having money, I feel particularly uneasy. I only feel at ease when I see the money in my passbook increasing. Is this a bad idea?"

"From the time I met you until now, you have been making money with your own ability. A gentleman loves money and earns it in a proper way. I don't think it's shameful to like money."

Song Shixia sniffed and said, "Maybe my life was too hard when I was a kid, so I fantasized about being extremely rich when I grow up, so that I could buy whatever I like without blinking an eye."

Ji Weiqing comforted her in a low voice: "Making money is your favorite career. You can keep insisting on it. My parents and I are your backers."

Song Shixia looked at him firmly, "Well, I will definitely make the company bigger with Sister Yao Xue and strive to make it one of the Fortune 500. The fact that you hid it from me is temporarily forgotten, but you have to owe me a promise, otherwise I will be upset."

"I can owe you ten promises, but when have I failed to fulfill my promises to you?"

Song Shixia shook his head. "One is one. You are a future academician. How dare I let you owe me ten promises?"

Ji Weiqing: "It's too early to become an academician. You have to finish at least 100 papers first. I didn't introduce you as so outstanding. Comrade Xiao Xia, can you please not look down on me?"

Song Shixia pushed him away with a feigned disdain: "Come on, Comrade Su said that you have published more than half of your papers. After half a year, you must have only ten papers left to complete, right? You are just being nice. I don't believe you are not excellent."

Ji Weiqing changed his excuse: "I am not good at making money. My income will not be as high as yours in the future. My family will have to rely on Comrade Xiaoxia for subsidies."

Song Shixia waved his hand and said generously: "It's no big deal. When the company makes its first pot of gold, I will take care of all our expenses!"