If it weren’t for the fact that she could earn money now, and the Qinghe factory was bustling with activity, the money made by her eldest son Xu Nianji from selling bean sprouts, most of which he handed over, gave Ji Ying a sense of confidence. Otherwise, she might have lost her nerve and walked away.
"Mom, did you bring enough money today?" Xu Nianhua whispered in her ear, her pair of bright black eyes playfully looking at her.
Ji Ying’s hand subconsciously reached into her pocket, feeling the money there, and instantly felt empowered. She had brought three hundred yuan today, which should be enough. Her daughter’s smile, combined with the money in her pocket, gradually alleviated Ji Ying’s sense of discomfort.
As the saying goes, "When you have money in hand, your heart isn’t panicked."
"Mom, which do you think is better, a bracelet or a pendant?"
"Or maybe this kind of jade pendant?"
Xu Nianhua’s soft voice tugged at Ji Ying now and then, first showing her one thing, then another. Ji Ying was so busy looking and talking with Xu Nianhua that she also had to think about what kind of gift Pei Yining would like.
After a long time of picking and choosing, they finally settled on a gold bracelet. The bracelet had a simple design and was very likable, and the price was right, too—two hundred and ten yuan.
"Nianhua, what do you think of these earrings?"
Just when she was about to pay, Ji Ying took a liking to a pair of hoop earrings.
"Mom, these would look even better on you," Xu Nianhua said, pointing to another pair of hoop earrings.
"Your mom is too old for such things now," Ji Ying said, looking at the hoop earrings. They looked very nice, and Sister Xihua seemed to have gotten a pair for her daughter-in-law, too.
Xu Nianhua raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are they for your elder sister-in-law?"
Since they weren’t for her, and there were only three women in the Xu Family, with her still being in school, gold earrings naturally would be of no use to her. It didn’t take a question to know they were for her elder sister-in-law, Zhou He.
"Right, your elder sister-in-law came into our family one year late, and for that, the Xu Family is in Zhou He’s debt. Throughout this past year, she must have faced a lot of gossip, and now she’s even pregnant."
There were more unspoken words, but as Ji Ying’s daughter, Xu Nianhua was well aware that the money Nianji made from selling bean sprouts—after buying beans and covering some daily expenses—was handed over to his mother without any shortage.
"It’s the right thing to buy." Xu Nianhua even helped Ji Ying decide which to buy, and finally, they chose the hoop earrings that Ji Ying had first taken a liking to.
"Mom, I can’t accept this," Zhou He said, looking at the gleaming hoop earrings, feeling they were too valuable.
"What, you think what I bought isn’t enough?"
Ji Ying deliberately said so.
Zhou He shook her head repeatedly, saying, "Mom, how could I think it’s too little? It’s just..."
Zhou He wasn’t very articulate, and despite moving her lips for quite some time, she didn’t know what to say.
"If I tell you to keep it, then keep it. Xiaohe’s wife just got a pair too, I thought they looked nice, so I got them for you."
Ji Ying didn’t give Zhou He the chance to refuse. After giving away the earrings, she asked Zhou He about her recent health.
"Mom, I’m in good health," Zhou He replied, holding the gold earrings.
Feeling a bit anxious, Zhou He brought up the matter to Xu Nianji at night. Nianji, however, didn’t mind and laughingly said, "Xiaohe, keep what mom gave you, our family is not short on money. In the future, we just need to be more filial to our parents."
"Even without this, being filial to our parents is what I should do as a daughter-in-law, right?" Zhou He looked at the gleaming earrings and felt especially happy inside.