Chapter 63: The Annoying Sister-in-Law

“We do have one, but our family bike is borrowed out today,” Xie Guoqiang said with a hint of annoyance. He knew he shouldn’t have lent it out.

“How about I go tomorrow then?” Xie Guoqiang asked tentatively, afraid that Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi wouldn’t let him go.

Lin Xiangyi caught the annoyance in his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, “If you want to go today, you can take my bike. I won’t go today. I want to rest for a day.” Working like this day after day was tiring.

Xie Qingxiao, hearing that she wanted to rest, said, “Okay, you stay home and rest today.”

Xie Guoqiang, thinking that Lin Xiangyi was staying home because of him, was very touched. “Thank you, brother and sister-in-law. You’re so kind to me.”

Aunt Xie and Su Xiaomei were stunned. They couldn’t believe that their son/husband suddenly said he wanted to go into business. This was completely out of character for him.

However,

Firstly, with Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi going into business first, Aunt Xie and Su Xiaomei had gained confidence in the idea of business. They wouldn’t react as violently as Xie’s father and mother did when they learned that Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi were going out to do business.

Secondly, they had been working for the Xie family for a while now, doing work that was easier than farming and earning more money than farming. They had tasted a bit of the sweetness.

So, seeing Xie Guoqiang’s determined look, they didn’t object.

“Ah Xiao, Xiangyi, thank you so much. And thank you for the trouble. Guoqiang is going with you to take a look today. If you think he’s not suitable, just tell him directly,” Aunt Xie said, “This kid is naturally clumsy. I, his mother, know how much he’s capable of. Don’t be polite, okay?”

“We won’t,” Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi spoke at the same time. They looked at each other, then Lin Xiangyi said,

“Don’t worry, Aunt, if Guoqiang really isn’t suitable for this, even if it’s out of courtesy, I’ll say it. Otherwise, it would be hurting Guoqiang.”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone laughed.

Everyone could tell that Lin Xiangyi’s words were a euphemism. But she was right. If Xie Guoqiang really wasn’t suitable for business, forcing him to do it would be bad for him.

But these two were truly not the kind of people who would compromise themselves!

Aunt Xie laughed. She wasn’t unreasonable, and she even admired Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi’s personalities.

Xie’s mother also felt relieved. After all, Xie Qingxiao was her son and daughter-in-law. Although she hoped that her son and daughter-in-law would help their close nephew, she was also afraid that they would be taken advantage of.

Fortunately, neither of them were the type to be taken advantage of.

In the afternoon, Xie Qingxiao took Xie Guoqiang and Zhang Pengfei to the county town, while Lin Xiangyi stayed at home.

Xie’s father and mother usually went to the fields to work after Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi went to the county town. Today was no exception.

So soon, Lin Xiangyi was left alone at home.

Having nothing to do, she moved the bamboo recliner that Xie’s father had woven to the shade of a tree in the yard. She lay down and read a book for a while, but soon fell asleep. She went back to the house to sleep.

She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when she heard a noise outside. She looked at her watch, it wasn’t even five o’clock yet. Had Xie’s father and mother come back from work so early?

Lin Xiangyi got up and went out, saying, “Dad, Mom, you’re back so early today—” huh?

She didn’t finish her sentence because she saw a strange woman and a girl who looked about three years old. The woman was dressed neatly and had a delicate face, looking dignified and elegant.

The little girl was wearing a little dress and had two pigtails, looking very cute.

They were standing at the door of the east room. The woman was taking out her keys, as if she was going to open the door to go inside.

This was…

“Sister-in-law and Xiao Ni?” Lin Xiangyi asked tentatively. The people living in that room were Xie’s elder brother and his wife.

While Lin Xiangyi was looking at Sun Lanjun and Xiao Ni, Sun Lanjun was also looking at Lin Xiangyi.

Without thinking, she guessed that the young woman who seemed to have just woken up was her unseen sister-in-law.

Sleeping in the middle of the day, didn’t Xie’s mother make her go to work?

But she was quite pretty. She heard that her family was well-off and that she was from the city. But how did she marry her useless little brother-in-law who couldn’t even support himself and relied on his parents to farm for a living?

Was she like her, deceived by his face?

Sun Lanjun was also from the city. Her parents were both working professionals. She married Xie’s elder brother because she was attracted to his face.

But after marriage, she deeply regretted marrying Xie’s elder brother. The reason was that Xie’s father and mother, who came from a poor background, had many different concepts from her, who had grown up in a well-off family.

That was fine. Xie’s father and mother, as in-laws, not only couldn’t provide them with financial support, but they also had to give money to Xie’s father and mother. When Xie’s father and mother got old, they would have to take them in and care for them.

More importantly, there was Xie Qingxiao, the useless little brother-in-law.

He didn’t do anything all day and relied on his parents for a living. If Xie’s father and mother got old and couldn’t work, who would this good-for-nothing little brother-in-law rely on for support?

Wouldn’t he come to them for support?

Sun Lanjun didn’t want to support her little brother-in-law.

So, whenever Sun Lanjun thought about this mess of the Xie family, she felt a headache.

But there was nothing she could do. She was already married, and they had a child. How could she get a divorce?

She could only try to stay away from this family as much as possible.

When Xie Qingxiao got married, although she was about to take her final exams, she wasn’t so busy that she couldn’t even take a day off. She just didn’t want to come back, so she just made up an excuse.

She came back today because it was summer vacation and she had been away for several days. Xie’s elder brother kept saying that she didn’t come back when Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi got married, and now that it was summer vacation, she should come back to see them.

He also said that Xie’s father and mother must miss their granddaughter, so he insisted that she bring Xiao Ni back to see Xie’s father and mother, and hopefully stay for a while.

Sun Lanjun had no choice. Xie Qingrong was a filial son, he could do anything for her, but he wouldn’t give in on the matter of Xie’s father and mother. In recent years, her relationship with Xie Qingrong had become worse and worse because of Xie’s father and mother.

She didn’t want to have a big fight with Xie Qingrong, otherwise how would they live? So, after dragging it out for a few days, she finally came back with her daughter.

But she wouldn’t stay for a long time as Xie Qingrong hoped. She would stay for at most three days. After three days, she would get up and return to the county town, not wanting to stay for a minute longer!

Looking at Lin Xiangyi, she seemed to see herself a few years ago, and she felt a little sympathy.

But she wouldn’t get closer to Lin Xiangyi out of sympathy. What if they became too close, and then she and Xie Qingxiao would rely on them in the future?

So, she nodded indifferently and asked calmly, “You’re my sister-in-law, right? When you and Ah Xiao got married, I was about to take my final exams, so I didn’t come back. I’m sorry.”

She said sorry, but her tone was not apologetic at all.