"What?" Zhou Xiuhua was led astray by her son and reflexively stared blankly, letting out a huff of irritation.
"Mom, after Jiang Xiaoying’s previous husband passed away, she didn’t receive any compensation at all. Third Brother looked into it, you know about this, right?"
Zhou Xiuhua nodded; at the time when Third Brother spoke of this, the whole family had been in the living room. Who wouldn’t know?!
"Back then, she was just twenty-one or twenty-two years old, still young, and it would have been easier for her to remarry, right?! But for her young daughter, she steadfastly observed widowhood for three years. What do you really think about this kind of character?"
Originally, when Yan Jinsu wanted to hire Jiang Xiaoying as a maternity nurse, Xie Jingchen wasn’t at ease and basically turned her life story upside down.
The whole family knew about this.
Zhou Xiuhua clutched at her heart, truly at a loss for words.
She just despised Jiang Xiaoying’s tough fate, and didn’t actually dislike her as a person!
No matter how well Fifth put it, it couldn’t be denied that both mother and daughter were people with tough fates!
"Alright. Mom, if you really don’t like her, then let’s forget about it." Xie Jingyang, seeing his mother’s face turn dark, finally realized that no matter what he said, his mother just didn’t like her. If he pressured her and made her angry, that would make him unfilial.
"Fifth, don’t rush. Mom will definitely find you a good one," Zhou Xiuhua comforted, seeing Fifth change his tone, her heart eased. After all, her son still valued his old mother, complying with her wishes.
"No rush. Mom, we can take our time. I don’t have many requirements, just someone who can truly be good to Xiao Si and Xiaoqi," said Xie Jingyang, nodding. He wanted to marry a wife who appealed to him, but if his mom didn’t approve of the one he liked, he was willing to wait.
As for giving up now, he wasn’t willing. It’s just that he felt Jiang Xiaoying needed to work in the family for at least half a year. There was time, and he couldn’t be hasty.
"Mhm, I know," Zhou Xiaohua said precisely because of this that she hadn’t picked one that suited her mind.
After all, Fifth wasn’t old—now just twenty-five—and yet he had two children. And those children weren’t little either; they were sensible. In the county town, there were plenty of unmarried twenty-something women.
As for those who were divorced, there really weren’t many who liked Xie Jingyang’s conditions.
Even though he had a stable job, the fact that he didn’t have a house was real.
The conversation between mother and son ended there. Upstairs, Jiang Xiaoying was nervously caring for the two treasures, completely unaware that Xie Jingyang downstairs had just shared his thoughts with his mother.
Even if Jiang Xiaoying knew, there was really nothing she could do.
On the other hand, Yan Jinsu followed her husband to Liu Aimin’s secluded spot, and upon seeing a table full of exquisite dishes, she was truly moved.
"Mr. Liu, you’ve really gone out of your way," Yan Jinsu and her husband, helping Liu Aimin take a seat, while Wang Lixing had been sent out by the old commander early on.
Wang Lixing had been with Elder Liu for four years and knew quite a lot. Especially since the last time Liu Dongzhu came to make a scene, he became privy to many of the old commander’s private family matters.
Considering his profession, he couldn’t say or express anything. In his position, his responsibility was to see without feeling.
As for the Xie Family members being schemed against by Liu Dongzhu, uh, Wang Lixing did have his little selfish thoughts.
When he first came to the county town, it was when he saw Xie Jingzi that he was struck as if by a thunderbolt, openly showing his interest in her, and the Xie Family’s parents seemed pretty pleased too, so he was quite confident.
Furthermore, he was also present at the banquet when he heard Xie Jingzi got admitted to university, and Xie Jingchen was promoted to Vice General, holding real power, so he harbored some thoughts.
Who would have known that when he took advantage of Liu Dongzhu’s first visit to avoid the family matters and made his first visit to the Xie Family, he witnessed Xie Jingzi actually stepping out of a sedan!
That sedan, he recognized it!
Because just on the second day after the old commander arrived, that sedan had already come to visit the old commander!
With such quick information, the identity must be extraordinary!
Learning that Xie Jingzi was spoken for, Wang Lixing felt somewhat aggrieved.
And thinking back to the Xie Family parents’ reaction, he boldly speculated: The Xie Family’s parents don’t support the person Xie Jingzi is currently seeing?
With this thought in mind, Wang Lixing really mustered the courage and directly brought fruit to visit the Xie Family.
Who knew that after just three nights, the Xie Family parents’ reaction had changed drastically, and when he visited again, they looked quite embarrassed.
Wang Lixing wasn’t stupid; he instantly understood that the Xie Family no longer favored him!
This made Wang Lixing quite indignant.
The last time Liu Dongzhu came, she directly yelled at Liu Aimin, which allowed Wang Lixing to fully overhear something significant.
Afterwards, Liu Dongzhu had someone make contact with Wang Lixing, asking him to keep his mouth shut.
Wang Lixing had always believed that as long as he took good care of the old commander, he would surely get promoted in the end.
But as he waited, it turned out to be two years, and last year, he thought that after three years, the old commander would let him go, but he didn’t get promoted at all!
This made Wang Lixing truly upset, but with no connections or qualifications, he could only continue to endure.
Now, threatened and enticed by Liu Dongzhu, of course, he followed her demands.
Liu Aimin didn’t know that Wang Lixing was actually bribed by his granddaughter. Hearing little girl Ni’s ingratiating laughter, Elder Liu was pleased, and his old face smiled, "What trouble could it possibly be, these are just ordinary dishes, you and Chen should eat more, that would not waste the food."
"Of course, we can’t waste food, with Brother Chen here, he’ll surely finish it!"
Xie Jingchen wordlessly glared at his little wife; in her eagerness to please, she had sold him out completely.
"Good, good, this is a family banquet, I didn’t have Wang Lixing join us this time, just the three of us gentlemen. Eat as much as you want, no need for formalities now," Liu Aimin chuckled.
As they got older, the elders’ stomachs grew weaker. Liu Aimin knew he couldn’t handle heavy foods, but he made sure to prepare some softer dishes, continuously urging the two youngsters to eat, though he himself ate sparingly.
He just watched with a smile as Xie Jingchen and Yan Jinsu helped themselves freely, tasting every dish.
Knowing that Yan Jinsu was breastfeeding, Liu Aimin didn’t have any spicy or stimulating foods served.
Back in her hometown, Yan Jinsu had accompanied Elder Liu for many meals, knowing well that the old man was too elderly to eat much - just barely half a bowl of rice was his limit.
Xie Jingchen knew even better about the old commander’s habits, after all, he had served under Liu Aimin before, and not for a short time either. He knew all too well that Elder Liu was there just for the company.
As for eating the meal itself, it was up to the couple.
After eating and drinking their fill, they returned to the previous living room, where Liu Aimin didn’t dally with other topics but got straight to the point—