"That, this..."
Xu Nianji stammered and said after a long while, "Little sister, your sister-in-law’s birthday is coming up, and she’s also about to have a baby. I was thinking, the chocolate you brought home last time, she loves it. South City doesn’t sell it, and even if there’s one, it’s not as good as what you brought last time."
"That’s all?" Xu Nianhua breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, I’ll buy a box next time and send it home; it’ll be enough for sister-in-law to eat."
"And also," Xu Nianji said, "I want to buy your sister-in-law a watch. There aren’t many styles here; do you think Ningbei has more options? She likes silver, the smaller ones suitable for girls."
"Once you buy it, let me know the price, and I’ll send you the money. Don’t send it home just yet, send it to the county, and I’ll go get it."
"Also, make sure you don’t let anything slip to your sister-in-law."
Xu Nianji kept reminding her incessantly.
Xu Nianhua: "..."
Ugh.
She was stuffed full with dog food.
Everyone says his wife isn’t a match for him, that he’ll leave her sooner or later. Some people even secretly hope for Xu Nianji to divorce so they could have a chance.
Many in the village regret it, saying if they knew he would be this successful, they would have married him.
But the fact is, he cherishes his wife dearly, afraid to break her by holding or biting her. Look, he values his wife’s birthday, chocolates and watches, even surprises her. How thoughtful!
"Little sister, are you listening?" Xu Nianji muttered after not hearing any sound on the phone for a while, "My phone here is working, and there’s money on the card."
"I’m here, big brother, there are so many watch styles; what if I choose one that your wife doesn’t like?" Xu Nianhua asked.
"No worries, I trust your taste." Xu Nianji, knowing well his own limitations, can deliver goods and do hard labor, but picking a watch? Forget it, even his own mom might complain!
Xu Nianhua replied, "Alright, I’ll select one and send it back."
"Okay, thanks, little sister." Xu Nianji held the phone, thrilled to hear Xu Nianhua agree readily.
Zhou He has given him two children, and now that life is better, he naturally doesn’t want to neglect her.
"Your brother is quite romantic." Su Lie was sitting nearby, and the phone wasn’t soundproof, so he heard everything clearly.
"Big brother didn’t easily find his wife, naturally he cherishes her." Xu Nianhua sighed; in their past life, they never became husband and wife.
Jiang Wanru asked, "Tell us about it."
Xu Nianhua paused for a moment and said, "Back then, the family was poor. Originally, we planned to marry sister-in-law in ’78, but my second uncle’s son proposed to a city girl, and the village had a tradition that a family marries only one daughter-in-law a year. Although she was a granddaughter-in-law, she was still joining the Xu Family. So, Grandpa and Grandma asked my big brother to postpone for a year."
Jiang Wanru furrowed her brows and said, "There’s always precedence in these matters. What happened afterward?"
She had met Zhou He and thought she was a good girl to live with.
"In ’79, sister-in-law’s family looked down on our family for being poor and wanted to marry her to a widower."
Xu Nianhua said at this point, and Jiang Wanru looked at her incredulously, Xu Nianhua continued, "Later, because of some things, the family split up. My parents borrowed money from four to marry her early."
"Was it because of your education?" Su Lie asked, feeling sorry for his own sister, the Su Family donated tens of thousands, but his sister still couldn’t afford to go to school.