Their mother-son interaction might have been heard by others in the room, or perhaps not.
But the couple tidying up the shop definitely did hear everything clearly.
The couple talked in low voices, both sighing. Having such relatives annoyed them a bit, but fortunately, their daughter-in-law was not ; her family was normal.
This was a small comfort for them, as Mrs. Li and her family were the most normal relatives of their daughter-in-law, and their daughter was also clever and quick-witted.
They also felt fortunate about this, and though they suffered a loss today, they had to endure it out of respect for Mrs. Li’s sake.
Just then, another guest arrived at their door, driving in a horse carriage.
The driver stopped the carriage right outside their shop, and they assumed it was a customer coming to shop, so they prepared to greet him.
However, at that moment, they saw a man dressed in fine silks alighting from the carriage, a familiar face.
On the day their daughter-in-law’s younger sister got married, they had closed the shop for half a day just to meet the relatives, feeling the emotional weight of the occasion.
The man who appeared was, in fact, the husband of their daughter-in-law’s younger sister, a member of the Tang family.
The couple politely stepped forward and said to the silk-clad man, "Relative, brother-in-law, you’ve arrived, we’ll call your brother-in-law right away."
Tang Weixing nodded and directed the driver to unload gifts from the carriage—including chickens, eggs, and other nutritional supplements and snacks.
The shop owner told his wife to mind the store and meet the customers while he went to fetch their son.
The other shop was not far from theirs, so the shop owner walked to his son’s shop, saw that there were customers buying things, and told his son that a guest had arrived and asked him to return to entertain the guest.
Today, it was the relatives from his wife’s side visiting. They should have closed the door and stopped business to receive the guests, but the daily rent was still due, taxes needed to be paid, and now with additional family members, future expenses would be heavier. He had to think ahead and continue running the shop.
As a man, and a man who had just become a father, unable to help much, he had no choice but to try to earn more money to provide for his family.
Upon hearing that a guest had arrived from his father, Zhong Xianggui knew it must be his wife’s maternal relatives. When he had sent a message to his own mother’s maternal side, they had merely sent a red envelope saying they were too busy to come.
This was the difference between generations; his mother’s maternal side wasn’t wealthy but had sent a red envelope to show their intentions, which he had gratefully accepted without much thought.
Human relationships are exactly that: give and take, all depending on how you treat these familial bonds.
Aside from seeing the shop, Zhong Xianggui also noticed a cart stopped not far outside; guessing his wife’s maternal relatives had all come.
He hurried a few steps and reached the entrance just in time to see Tang Weixing, who had already moved the gifts inside the shop.
He smiled and said, "You’ve come, brother-in-law. Is your wife here too?"
Seeing Zhong Xianggui, who was almost a head shorter, Tang Weixing smiled broadly and congratulated him, "Ha, congratulations, Second Sister’s husband, on having a precious daughter. My wife couldn’t make it, but next time, we’ll invite you to have red eggs."
Zhong Xianggui, upon hearing this statement without understanding, would be considered a fool, but he barely managed a forced smile amidst Tang Weixing’s light-hearted words.
"Sure, sure, please come in, our humble home is small, don’t laugh at us."
"Not at all, your family living above the shop seems quite good."
Zhong Xianggui politely ushered Tang Weixing into the small living room. His mother, thinking of the mother-son pair in the living room, quickly moved the better gifts into the kitchen.
Those intended for his daughter-in-law’s room were also placed there, leaving only the snacks in the living room and serving tea to the guests.
Ye Shuying saw her brother-in-law but didn’t see her younger sister arrive, her gaze fixed on what he had brought, also curiously asked why her sister had not come.
Being faced with his sister-in-law, Tang Weixing couldn’t very well hide the truth. If it were an outsider, he wouldn’t mention that children under three months shouldn’t travel.
After sitting down, he smiled at Ye Shuying, "I just saw my sister-in-law’s cart; did she come with you? My wife isn’t well but once she can, she will definitely visit your home."
"Yes, my sister-in-law and I came together; she’s in the room over there. What’s wrong with my little sister, anyway? If you ask me, that’s just being overindulgent! Other women, even when they’re about to give birth, still do housework."
Ye Shuying’s tone was tinged with acidity, questioning why her little sister, also married into a family, received such affection from her husband that she didn’t even need to come, while she herself had to work hard even when close to childbirth.