In the past, Ji Ying was silent and spoke little, but over the past six months, she felt that there were some things she could not give in to.
Who says that you must buy clothes to show filial piety?
The hot pepper sauce they brought, and all those other things, were worth a lot more than clothes!
"Mom, Nianhua and the others hardly ever wore any new clothes growing up, and now that I can make some money, of course I want to make it up to the kids. Qinghe and I haven’t bought a single piece of clothing," Ji Ying explained gently, apart from buying Xu Qinghe a pair of pants, she had not purchased any clothes.
"Auntie must have bought quite a few things for Grandpa and Grandma for the New Year, right? Why don’t we take a look too?" Xu Nianhua spoke with a smile.
Zhao Juxiang was startled. She lived with her in-laws, what was there for her to buy?
"Auntie didn’t buy anything at all?" Xu Nianhua asked with a look of shock.
Liu Sanmei glanced at her second daughter-in-law. Apart from the clothes Xu Zhihao bought, Zhao Juxiang and her husband hadn’t bought anything.
Zhao Juxiang was extremely uncomfortable. She retorted, "I didn’t buy anything, but I do all the housework, don’t I? Today I’ve been busy from morning till night."
Xu Nianhua just smiled and didn’t say anything more. She was clear about how much work Zhao Juxiang had done.
That afternoon, when Mom went into the kitchen, there were all sorts of things she had to do.
"Let’s eat, shall we? Can’t you let people enjoy the New Year properly?" Liu Sanmei said sternly with a serious face.
Zhao Juxiang did the work, but definitely not as she claimed, from morning till night.
"Jiaojiao, have some more chicken soup." Zhao Juxiang, unreservedly ladled a big spoonful of chicken meat for Xu Jiaojiao.
"Thank you, Mom." Xu Jiaojiao, smelling the fragrance of the chicken, couldn’t have liked it more.
After Zhao Juxiang served Xu Jiaojiao, she helped herself to a full bowl.
Liu Sanmei frowned, very dissatisfied with Zhao Juxiang’s behavior; such eating manners were unseemly.
After dinner, Liu Sanmei directly asked Zhao Juxiang and Ji Ying to clear away the dishes and chopsticks.
"Nianhua, where did you buy your white leather shoes?" Xu Jiaojiao was very fond of the leather shoes Xu Nianhua was wearing.
"Someone brought them from another province."
Xu Nianhua didn’t want to talk more about it.
"Another province?" There was clear disbelief in Xu Jiaojiao’s eyes.
"Yes." Xu Nianhua nodded, whether Xu Jiaojiao believed it or not, she wouldn’t explain further.
"If you don’t want to tell, that’s fine, but don’t make up stories about buying them from another province," Xu Jiaojiao huffed and walked away.
"Mom, I also want to buy a pair of white leather shoes," Xu Jiaojiao nagged Zhao Juxiang.
"What white leather shoes?" Zhao Juxiang didn’t understand what Xu Jiaojiao was talking about.
Xu Jiaojiao explained, "Just like the white leather shoes Nianhua was wearing on her feet, Mom, I think they’re really pretty, and I want to buy a pair too."
"Aren’t the shoes you’re wearing brand new?" Zhao Juxiang glanced at Xu Jiaojiao’s shoes, which had been worn for less than a month.
Puffing her cheeks, Xu Jiaojiao complained, "But those shoes look good, Mom, please buy me a pair as well."
Zhao Juxiang’s refusal was very definitive. The family was tight on money, where would they have extra for shoes? Seeing her daughter unhappy, she explained, "Your sister-in-law is about to have a baby, and there will be a lot of expenses then."
Unable to get what she wanted from Zhao Juxiang, Xu Jiaojiao turned and went to Xu Zhihao. Xu Zhihao looked hesitant and said, "Jiaojiao, it’s not that Big Brother won’t buy them for you, but Big Brother really doesn’t have any money