After leaving Qingsong Furniture Factory, Liu Sanmei felt a stifling discomfort in her heart and urgently needed a breather. She made a special trip to the county town. Seeing her plump, fair-skinned great-grandson, Liu Sanmei’s anxious heart smoothed out again.
"Mom, look how well Xiaoxu has grown; so plump and fair, just like a doll in a painting."
After the postpartum confinement, Zhao Juxiang did want to stay in the county. Sadly, her mother-in-law, Liu Sanmei, kept urging her to come back. Moreover, her relationship with her mother-in-law, Shen, wasn’t good. Fearing she might mess things up, she returned to the village.
The newborn child was growing rapidly. In just a short time since she had last seen him, he had become even more beautiful - she had never seen such a beautiful child in the village.
Liu Sanmei looked at her great-grandson with deep affection, lavishing praise upon him.
"Grandma, Mom, please sit down and have some fruit." Shen Qiuyun courteously entertained them. Initially, because of the disputes over the child’s name, relations between the two families had been strained, but eventually, the Shen family prevailed and the child took the Shen surname.
Shen’s parents had split a house in the county for Shen Qiuyun and her husband, Xu Zhihao, and had agreed to get Zhihao a job at the canning factory.
"Qiuyun, you’ve done a great job raising Xiaoxu." Liu Sanmei beamed at her daughter-in-law. Despite showing immense assertiveness over the child’s surname issue, she was generous in other aspects.
Shen Qiuyun gave a smile. She wasn’t particularly warm or fond of Xu Zhihao’s family. If it weren’t for Xu Zhihao himself, she wouldn’t have married into the family.
Liu Sanmei glanced at Zhao Juxiang, who cleared her throat and asked, "Zhihao, how’s your job situation?"
"Next week, I can start at the canning factory. The handover at the supply and marketing agency is almost complete," said Xu Zhihao, recalling the envious looks from his colleagues.
Though a job at the supply and marketing agency was respectable, the canning factory offered a higher salary, almost double, and he would be in a managing position. It was no wonder he had been beaming with joy recently, not to mention having had a son.
Indeed, he hadn’t even started working at the canning factory yet and had already received a house—all thanks to the Yue family.
"That’s great." Zhao Juxiang heard this and immediately beamed with joy.
Liu Sanmei felt elated, forgetting the discomfort she had felt about Qingsong Furniture Factory’s opening. She was filled with pride for her grandson. As for Xu Qinghe, so what if he had opened a furniture factory? What was so great about that?
Who knows, maybe no one would buy anything, and then they would face losses.
Liu Sanmei focused on playing with her great-grandson. Zhao Juxiang, eating an apple, asked Xu Zhihao to buy some meat to nourish Shen Qiuyun.
"Zhihao, let Aunt Zhou go buy it, to save Mom the trouble," said Shen Qiuyun quickly, smiling as she explained, "Mom should rest at home when she comes here. How could she go buy groceries?"
"Good, my daughter-in-law knows how to care for me," Zhao Juxiang thought of not having to go herself and immediately felt relieved.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiuyun breathed a sigh of relief, immediately called Aunt Zhou over, and instructed her to buy several items.
If she let her mother-in-law do the grocery shopping, she couldn’t stand to eat the dishes prepared.
"Qiuyun, you’re so thoughtful," Xu Zhihao said while Shen Qiuyun was in the room fetching a diaper for the child. He embraced her firmly and gave her a deep kiss, feeling more than ever that he had married the right woman.
"She’s your mom and Xiaoxu’s grandmother; of course, I should host her well," Shen Qiuyun grinned.