In her eyes, Liang Hongmei was always inferior to her. After all, she married a capable husband, with three sons and two daughters. Everything about her is better than Liang Hongmei.
"Aunt, even if the furniture is good, itâs not ours." Lin Wan suddenly spoke from behind Liang Weixiang, startling Liang Weixiang, who quickly turned around, glanced at her, and upon seeing Lin Wan, her face immediately filled with a smile. "Oh, itâs Xiao Wan, gosh, youâve become so pretty over the years."
As she was about to laugh heartily, she suddenly saw Han Yi holding a child behind Lin Wan. The astonishment in her eyes spread all over her face.
"And who is this...?"
"My husband, Han Yi."
"The young man is really impressive." Last time, I heard from Mom that Lin Wanâs husband had returned, but I didnât see him at the time. I heard from the villagers that he was very capable, but meeting him in person is indeed different.
Han Yi smiled politely and addressed her as Aunt.
"The child in your arms is Xiao Wanâs, right? Wow, I canât believe how big the child has gotten in just a few years we havenât seen each other." As Liang Weixiang spoke, she moved to Han Yiâs side, looked at the child in his arms, and took the child into her own arms.
"Over the past six months, my Dan Dan has troubled you a lot. I was worried about her, so I came over this year to look after her. I was hoping your mom could arrange a job for me at the shop. But who would have thought your mom would disagree? Xiao Yi, you have to help me plead with your mom!"
"Aunt, youâre asking the wrong person. My mother-in-law is the one whoâs in charge at home," Han Yi flashed a smile and, after saying this, went to the mother-in-lawâs room with Little Star to soothe the child.
Judging by the situation, my mother-in-law and Xiao Wan can handle it completely.
Lin Wan chuckled from the side, glancing at Zhang Dandan, who had been sneaking looks at Han Yi since they entered, and then gave a glance at Liang Weixiang, who was complaining to Han Yi. "Aunt, my partner usually doesnât handle family affairs. Itâs useless to ask him as heâs not in charge."
Liang Weixiang didnât expect it; she saw this tall and mighty man was actually like a soft dough, turns out heâs afraid of his wife.
"Xiao Wan, you help your aunt persuade your mom to let me work at the shop. Serving tables, welcoming guests, Iâm very skilled at that. When Dan Dan was home, she didnât do anything but did well working there, so surely I can do better, doing housework all day. Besides, itâs better to have someone from the family in the shop rather than outsiders who arenât of the same mind."
Lin Wan pretended to be troubled for a moment, then said, "Aunt, mom says the shop is full, so itâs full. If you want to go to the shop, thatâs fine; maybe let Dan Dan rest at home for a few days, and you go work at the shop. Or should I find you another job? Oh, right, yesterday Uncle called and told you to go back quickly."
"Your uncle called?" Liang Weixiang said anxiously, "Since Iâm here, I wonât go back. Tomorrow, no, this afternoon, Iâll go with your mom to work at the shop."
Zhang Dandan protested, "Mom, what are you doing? Youâve never done this kind of work. You should just stay at Auntieâs place properly."
"At our house?" Lin Wan questioned, "Didnât Aunt say she came because she was worried about you? Why is she not staying with you but with us instead? Besides, our landlord is very picky and doesnât want us bringing too many people over. If she knows we turned the lights off late at night, sheâll come over to scold us, let alone having one more person staying."
"Landlord? Isnât this house yours?"
"Aunt, this courtyard is rented by us, including all the furniture inside. It all belongs to the landlordâs family, and we take good care of it. We usually are very cautious, afraid of breaking anything."
Before Lin Wan could finish, they heard Aunt Qin Xiuâs voice from outside.
"Liang Hongmei, why are there so many people at your house today? Iâm telling you, they canât spend the night here. If my furniture gets damaged, I will deduct it from your rent."
When Liang Hongmei heard the voice, she quickly came out of the kitchen, wore a smile toward Qin Xiu, and said humbly, "Sister Qin, rest assured, they wonât be staying here overnight. Nothing will get broken in the house."
"Hmm, this monthâs rent is due."
"I know, I know. Iâll bring the money to you tomorrow, is that okay?"
"Okay." Qin Xiu said, glancing at the few people inside, "Iâll come to check tonight. If thereâs one more person staying, Iâll raise your rent starting tomorrow."
"Yes, yes, I understand."
"Good." Qin Xiu glanced at Liang Hongmei, barely holding back a stern expression.
After seeing Qin Xiu out the door, away from the sight of those inside, Qin Xiu burst into laughter, "Hongmei, are those two the relatives you mentioned from your family?"
"Yes, indeed! Stop laughing; Iâm really worried here."
"Whatâs there to worry about? If theyâre not gone today, Iâll come and help you get rid of them tomorrow."
"Thanks for today; you donât know my cousin is just obsessed with my little things. Taking advantage of small gains is one thing, but sheâs insatiable, always wanting more."
"For people like this, thereâs no need to be courteous. Just kick them out."
Liang Hongmei rolled her eyes, "Iâm in the process! I wonât keep you for dinner today though; weâll have a meal together at the shop another day."
"Alright, go deal with it, Iâm leaving."
"Hmm."
... "Cousin, this courtyard is rented by you?" Zhang Dandan had always thought they bought this house, having lived there so long without seeing the landlord.
"Yeah, weâve only been in S City for a short time. We canât afford such a big courtyard, mostly because we donât have money. Youâve seen it; the landlord here is so stingy. Every few days, sheâs over to check, way more hassle than your small courtyard," Lin Wan said, then looked at Liang Weixiang, "Aunt, as you just heard, the landlord doesnât allow more people to stay. Luckily, Dan Dan has a small courtyard; after dinner, let Dan Dan take you over there. Dan Dan lives in a standalone courtyard on her own, which is more than enough for you two."
"Thereâs another courtyard? Didnât Dan Dan say sheâs always been living with you?" Liang Weixiang could already see that her daughter was deceiving her.
"Yes, when Dan Dan first came, she stayed here for a while. My mom was afraid the landlord would disapprove, so she found her another courtyard, standalone and very comfortable. To make commuting to work easier, my mom even gave Dan Dan her bike to ride and paid half a yearâs rent... Dan Dan, didnât you tell your aunt?" "I... I havenât gotten the chance to say it," Zhang Dandan regretted; she shouldnât have flaunted when she got back, attracting Mom.
With Mom around, life is never going to be easy.
"Oh dear, Dan Dan, you shouldâve made it clear to your aunt! Getting off the bus in this cold weather, you should warm up at home first. No need to rush coming over to visit. Itâs such a long distance, itâs the same anytime. Technically, because Aunt is older than my mom, we should be visiting you first."
"Xiao Wan, weâre all relatives, no need for formalities. Ah Xiang Sister, Dan Dan, letâs eat first, we can catch the bus after," Liang Hongmei said, having served the food from the kitchen after sending Qin Xiu off.
Liang Weixiang glared at Zhang Dandan, thinking her daughter didnât handle matters well, really foolish. Such a big courtyard left unoccupied, choosing to live elsewhere.
Doesnât she know sheâs missing a great opportunity? These years of education were for nothing, sheâs not even as smart as her.
The past six months were wasted.
"Ah Mei, wouldnât it be costly for Dan Dan to live alone in a courtyard? Itâd be more convenient if we both moved over to live with you instead," during the meal, Liang Weixiang persisted.
"You see, weâre unfamiliar with everything here. Weâd be at a loss going out. "
"Dan Dan has roamed around S City plenty these past six months. She knows more places than I do, so you can rest assured, Aunt. When my mom and I first arrived, we couldnât tell north from south, yet now we get by just fine."
"Ah Xiang Sister, you saw just now, our landlord doesnât like too many people staying. If she finds out youâre living here, sheâll take back our house for sure. Then weâll really have no place to stay. Oh... the courtyard where Dan Dan is living now is one we rented. Weâll have to move there as a family if it comes to it."
"Aunt, Sister Xiao Wan, my mom and I will go back after eating. Itâs been half a month away from home, and there must be a lot of dust. Weâd better go back and clean up quickly," she couldnât let go of that little courtyard.
Staying in S City for half a year wasnât for nothing; she naturally knows the housing prices here and how hard it is to find a place.
Over the past six months, she realized that going against Lin Wan always ends up with her losing.
Hence, itâs better to stay honest in front of them.