"Slow down there!" Sheng An hurriedly assisted.
"This girlās not bad!" Mr. Su had a very good impression of Sheng An; she seemed very likable at first glance, and pure of heart. Despite all the instigation and provocation earlier, she just infuriated others to death.
"Grandpa, please have a seat, Iām going inside." Sheng An followed Sheng Ningyi in calling him grandpa, which brought a beaming smile to the old manās face. He took out a red envelope from his pocket and tried to give it to Sheng An, who adamantly refused to accept it, scaring her to bolt into the house.
"Why are you running so fast?" Sheng Ning stood up from the bed to pour herself some water and nearly bumped into Anāan.
"Good lord! You scared me to death!" Sheng An clutched her chest, looking absolutely petrified, "Sis, your grandpa is really scary, he just keeps trying to give me red envelopes, and Iām too scared to take them!"
"Why?"
"Itās too much!" Since last night, Mr. Su had been passing out red envelopes non-stop. Call him āgrandpaā, get a red envelope; pour a glass of water, get a red envelope; fill a bowl of rice, get a red envelope... anyway, all kinds of red envelopes. Anāan got one last night and staunchly refused to take any more.
"A red envelope with 100 dollars, itās enough to scare me to death! I never even dreamed of getting a red envelope with 100 dollars. Sis, your grandpa is too rich."
Sheng Ning ruffled her hair and smiled, "You work so hard to earn money, why wouldnāt you accept it when someone offers it willingly? Next time, just keep it."
"But... sis, you didnāt take any, how could I?" Sheng An shook her head, "Anyways, I just canāt."
"Youāre really silly!" Sheng Ning gave her a pat, "If you accept it, the old man will be happy. If you donāt, heāll actually be upset."
"Really? There are people that strange?"
"Of course! Would I lie to you?" Sheng Ning could understand old manās mindset; he was eager to make amends. If she refused, he would genuinely feel heartbroken. Besides, if Anāan accepted it, she would owe him a favor sheād eventually have to repay.
"Oh! Then... next time I will take it more subtly! But Iāve got to buy something nice to thank grandpa."
"Mhm!"
As they were talking, someone else came in. Sheng Ning looked up and, to her surprise, it was Mrs. Zhang.
"What are you doing here?" Sheng Anās face turned cold at the sight, "Didnāt you go to the city? Why are you back?"
Zhang Fang looked considerably more haggard than before. Although her clothes didnāt resemble those of a rural person, her complexion was waxy yellow. Her gaze when looking at people had become increasingly frivolous.
"I... I heard Sheng Ning was getting married, so I came to congratulate her." Zhang Fang couldnāt take her eyes off the clothes Sheng Ning was wearing, seemingly unable to look away for a long time. "That dress looks really nice, must have been expensive, right?"
"Mhm!" Sheng Ning nodded, noticing that Mrs. Zhang, who used to speak in a rural dialect, had switched to Mandarin, and became extra cautious. "What are you doing in the city? Howās the income?"
Seeing that Sheng Ning was willing to engage, Zhang Fang eagerly squeezed Anāan to the side and said sycophantically, "Sheng Ning, can you teach me how to grow bean sprouts?"
"You wish!" Sheng An was immediately angered enough to kick her out.
"Anāan, calm down!" Sheng Ning quickly intervened, subtly signaling to Anāan with her eyes, then she turned back to Zhang Fang, "Werenāt you going to the city with Qin Cuifen to make big money? Why now do you want to learn how to grow bean sprouts?"
"The city... Earning money in the city is not easy." It was only after she arrived in the city that she realized how naive she had been. City folks looked down on country people, she was looked down on everywhere, even when she tried to stand on the streets, they disliked her for being older. She wasnāt as young as Cuifen, didnāt have good skin or a good figure.
Even though in the countryside, she had been the most popular.