Chapter 24

She looked so pitiful with tears in her eyes. Xu Ning attacked her from both sides, rubbed her little face, and said with a smile: “Okay, don’t cry! People of every age will encounter different scams. Maybe mom has been fooled too. It’s all a small matter.”

Wasn’t Comrade Hu Xianglan also cheated out of 200 yuan?

Being deceived is something you get used to over and over again.

“Okay, come back for dinner!”

Hu Xianglan, who was in the kitchen, shouted to the two people sitting in the yard.

Maybe because she is young and has never experienced any hardship, her daughter is too naive. Hu Xianglan is sometimes eager to reason with her and want to help her avoid many bad things.

When He Wanjiao made a mistake after she had clearly said something, she would always lose control of her temper and think that the child had a short memory.

“Okay, I’m coming.” Xu Ning turned around and said to the kitchen, then stood up and took He Wanjiao’s hand and pulled her up, “Let’s eat. After dinner, we still have to do our homework, right?”

“Yeah.” He Wanjiao responded softly. It’s so good to have a sister-in-law!

Normally, when she was scolded, she could only hide in the house and sulk. Such a small matter was not worth telling her brother, but now her sister-in-law would comfort her and coax her.

Watching the aunt and sister-in-law walk into the kitchen hand in hand, Hu Xianglan secretly glanced at He Wanjiao, what a heartless girl! She just said something casually, and she was feeling wronged!

No one of the three people at the dinner table spoke. The mother and son were having a quarrel, and Xu Ning was too lazy to be a peacemaker, so she just kept silent and ate her meal. After all, her mother-in-law was a really good cook.

After dinner, Xu Ning and Hu Xianglan washed the dishes together, while He Wanjiao went back to her room to do her homework.

The dishes were easy to clean up, and Xu Ning could do it by herself. Hu Xianglan was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find something, so she insisted on staying in the kitchen to help her wash the dishes.

When she was almost done washing, she remembered something and told Xu Ning, “Now that the weather is warmer, I want to buy some rapeseed to spread under the fruit trees. I’ll ask Bei’an to take you to buy some in a couple of days. Buy whatever vegetables you like.”

If Xu Ning didn’t know what she was planning, she would have thought that the old lady had changed her personality and become a considerate mother-in-law.

Putting the dishes in her hands into the cupboard, she smiled and said, “Mom, I eat all kinds of vegetables. Just buy whatever you like. I’ll grow them with you when the time comes. Bei’an is so busy, let’s not trouble him with such a small matter.”

Her mother-in-law was determined to stop her from going to see Qian Sanhong three days later. She probably wanted to use the opportunity of buying vegetable seeds to distract her so that she could go quietly.

It was unknown whether she was truly considerate or was just being scheming. But thinking about her previous behavior, Hu Xianglan thought Xu Ning was just understanding that He Beian was busy with work, and she advised her earnestly, “Silly girl, you have been married for a short time, and your feelings are not strong enough yet. It is time for you to get along well. I am creating opportunities for you to go out more and grow your feelings.”

Xu Ning thought she was quite good at fooling people, but Hu Xianglan was not bad either.

She could choose not to go, but she couldn’t agree so easily. “That’s fine. I’ll ask Bei’an when he comes back in the evening to see when he’s free. Don’t worry, it won’t delay us. We’ll go find Qian Sanhong together in three days.”

Hu Xianglan hadn’t been so worried since she retired. She didn’t expect that she wouldn’t have to fight with those people in the unit, and she would have to worry about her daughter-in-law again. “It’s okay to delay. I’ll go alone and see if it’s her. If it’s her, you can go together.”

Turning her head to look at her mother-in-law, as if wondering why she didn’t let her go, Xu Ning’s eyes were a little suspicious.

Hu Xianglan felt guilty for a moment, but she didn’t show it on her face. She was afraid that the girl might notice something, so she continued to look at her kindly.

At that time, when she heard people say that it would be a good idea to find an obedient daughter-in-law from the countryside, she even thought about living a life of luxury with a daughter-in-law. I didn’t expect that she still has to be humble and dare not say anything harsh.

Isn’t this completely different from what those people said?

Xu Ning’s eyes never moved away. Hu Xianglan was always afraid that she would notice something and wondered if she was being too obvious.

Just as I was about to say something else to make amends, Xu Ning spoke.

“Thank you, Mom. I won’t go then.” As she spoke, her face showed a hint of anticipation, as if she was looking forward to going out with He Beian. “If it’s really Qian Sanhong, don’t forget to help me get the 200 yuan betrothal money back. If not, let’s go to that area and look for it again. Maybe we found the wrong one.”

The old lady was definitely planning to come back and tell her that it wasn’t Qian Sanhong. Regardless of whether it was or not, Xu Ning had to make her understand that she had to get the 200 yuan back.

She was not afraid of the hard work. Two hundred yuan was a lot of money in that era, and it was definitely more than what she could earn by pretending to be lame and setting up a stall.

“······”Hu Xianglan’s kind mask almost broke. She forced herself to nod, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

What does it mean to help her get the two hundred yuan back? Is that her money? Those two hundred are obviously hers!

It belongs to her, Hu Xianglan!

Her parents only asked for a hundred yuan as a betrothal gift, and it’s not like she refused to give it. After receiving a hundred dollars in betrothal gifts, she still wants to take another two hundred dollars. This damn girl is so greedy.

Her son has a lot of money, and she is holding on to her son’s salary while also thinking about her money.

Bah, shameless.

Looking at Hu Xianglan’s resentful figure, Xu Ning quietly raised the corners of her lips. Her mother-in-law was not that bad, but many of her little flaws were quite annoying.

She is now the type who is barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes. Anyway, she is not the one with the guilty conscience, so let’s try to control each other~

After cleaning the kitchen, Xu Ning put the plate of candied haws on the stove, waiting for He Beian to come back and dip them in syrup again.

After putting the plates away, she went back to the room to tidy up the bedding and took her things away before He Beian came back to avoid any inconvenience later.

When she had almost finished packing her things, the gate of the courtyard creaked open and He Beian came back.

He Beian’s job is really good. He doesn’t have to eat at home for three meals a day, and the salary is not low.

Just on three meals a day, you can save a lot of money in a month.

He Beian leaves early every morning. He doesn’t come back at noon or afternoon because there is nothing to do at home. He goes home only after the canteen closes in the evening.

He leaves early and comes back late. He won’t disturb his mother and younger sister unless there is something important. He usually goes straight back to his room after get off work.

It became a habit for him to go back home after get off work every day. After entering the house and seeing Xu Ning sticking out of the room, he suddenly remembered that he was married and he was not the only one in the room.

Xu Ning only had his upper body sticking out of the door. The other party was obviously looking at him. He Beian asked sparingly, “What’s the matter?”

She waited for him to come in because of something. Xu Ning nodded. She wanted to set up a stall but she didn’t have any special skills…

“Jiaojiao bought some candied haws today. There was only a little bit of sugar coating on them. She asked you to come back and process it again.”

Obviously Hu Xianglan could do it if she dipped it in syrup again, but they were all waiting for He Beian to come back and do it. What was this proving?

He Beian is a real talent.

It’s not a big deal, He Beian replied, “I’ll change my clothes and go.”

He works in the cafeteria, so his body is inevitably covered in the smell of oil and smoke, so he is used to changing his clothes when he comes back.

“Yeah. Okay.” Xu Ning pulled back a little, but still leaned against the door of her room, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

He was about to go back to the house to change clothes, but Xu Ning’s expression was so obvious that He Beian couldn’t pretend not to see it. He walked a few steps and stopped and asked, “Anything else?”

“Hehe~” Xu Ning didn’t want to smile so flatteringly, but Hu Xianglan said that their family’s ancestral cooking skills were not passed on to outsiders…

He Beian had never seen Xu Ning smile like this. In fact, he had rarely seen her smile. In front of him, she was always pale and had red eyes, as if she was about to burst into tears in the next second.

He didn’t say anything, but looked at her with deep and sharp eyes, waiting for what to say next.

The distance between them was within a safe range, so Xu Ning didn’t feel that uncomfortable, but she still felt a little embarrassed.

After all, the request is quite excessive.

“Um…can I watch you make candied haws?”

I haven’t decided yet to set up a stall, but it’s definitely a good idea to have multiple skills, you never know when they might come in handy.