Zuzi boldly divided two candies, giving one to Mr. Gu and the second daughter-in-law Qin Tao, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
The third family didn’t receive a single coin as a gift, originally feeling quite embarrassed, but seeing that the second family also only got one candy, they couldn’t help but feel the situation was both ironic and amusing:
"Truly like father, like son; and a rat’s child will know how to dig. Gu Qiusha married a country bumpkin, and their offspring turned out to be so rustic, bringing such an embarrassing gift, tsk tsk..."
Sun Jiao covered her mouth and laughed.
Zuzi gave her a fleeting glance, which suddenly made Sun Jiao feel a bit unnerved. Why did it feel like she had offended a deity?
She wasn’t wrong, after all—a rat’s child will indeed dig!
Country folks really just bring candy as a meeting gift, and only a single piece at that, such stinginess.
Out of the blue, Mr. Gu slapped the table: "You from the third family, if you don’t want to eat this meal, then leave, don’t spoil our appetite!"
Sun Jiao’s smile became even more strained.
Embarrassed, she said, "Dad, I..."
Gu Shiyin tried to mediate: "Dad, third sister-in-law is just straightforward, she didn’t mean anything else. On such a joyous day, everyone has carefully prepared gifts for you, why don’t you take a look at them one by one before the meal? Especially Pinting’s gift, she took a long time to choose it for you..." Get full chapters from N0velFire.ɴet
Her voice was gentle and mild, which slightly calmed Mr. Gu’s anger: "Alright."
Sun Jiao gave Gu Shiyin a grateful look.
In the whole family, only this little sister-in-law understood the situation, helping her smooth things over while highlighting Pinting’s effort.
Gu Pinting quickly brought out the already prepared scroll.
With the help of Gu Shiyin, she unfurled it on the spot.
On the meter-long scroll were four large characters in cursive script: "Longevity as eternal as the southern mountains."
Mr. Gu’s face was benevolent, and his mood improved considerably: "Not bad, not bad, this child has good taste in choosing calligraphy, isn’t this the work of the renowned calligrapher Chen Qiulan?"
Gu Shiyin’s eyes flickered: "Yes. Dad, you’ve always loved Chen’s unrestrained cursive style, right?"
Mr. Gu: "Yes, indeed."
Then suddenly, he turned serious: "This piece must be worth hundreds of thousands, Pinting, you’re being too extravagant. You’ve just graduated high school and haven’t even gone to college, your living expenses aren’t much, how did you learn to spend money recklessly?"
Gu Pinting laughed, as if waiting for this moment: "Grandpa, this is my first paycheck from a commercial poster shoot, how could giving it as a birthday gift be considered wasteful?"
Oh, Aunt really is prescient, even the lines were prepared for her in advance, as expected Grandpa would be so demanding.
"You’ve earned advertising fees already?" Mr. Gu was surprised, then appreciatively patted Gu Pinting’s shoulder, "Not bad, not bad, you’ve got potential, better than these uncles, aunts, and brothers."
The second family couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed.
Gu Xizhi’s business ventures were continually losing money, Qin Tao was a not too lucrative "plump" housewife, and Gu Jingyan was always thinking about digging up graves... sigh.
The third family, however, beamed with joy.
Especially Sun Jiao, who seemed as if her own daughter was about to ascend the throne as an Empress, and she herself the destined Empress Dowager, proudly straightening her neck, laughing non-stop:
"Dad, my Pinting not only has talent and looks, but also hasn’t fallen behind in her studies, hehe... squeak squeak squeak..."
Just as she was boasting, suddenly, she realized everyone was looking at her strangely.
Embarrassed, she laughed twice more: "Squeak squeak squeak..."
The sound scared her out of her wits.
She, she, she—how did she make a sound like a mouse’s squeak?