Chapter 245: Chapter 242: Neighborhood Gifts, Great Fortune and Prosperity

“Looks like we’re late, Third Sister-in-law, congratulations!” Aunt Jiao greeted Liang Yan Yan, then busied herself with presenting the gift, with Granny Jiao joining in.

Granny Jiao’s gift was a rare item— a thick cotton quilt. This was not easy to come by; an ordinary person would have to save cotton tickets for years, buy enough cotton when the time came, and still have connections. You might think you could buy it at the department store? Don’t even think about it; it’s not your turn. Even after buying the cotton, you need fabric, so this quilt was both costly and labor-intensive. Nowadays, if any household manages a new quilt like this, it would cause the whole village to come over and admire it.

Sure enough, word must have spread, and people started to enter the courtyard of the third family.

Mrs. Jiang, seeing such a generous gift, accepted it with some polite words rather than false humility. Aunt Jiao’s red double happiness washbasin meant the couple wouldn’t have to share with them anymore, which was convenient.

She knew the renewed interaction with Jiao Yun’s family was all thanks to Yueyue. Otherwise, given their previous relationship, Jiao Yun wouldn’t have come over. After all, Jiao Yun used to always disapprove of her, either saying a few unpleasant words or pretending not to see her. Clearly, Jiao Yun was praised as warm-hearted in the village, which Mrs. Jiang never understood. Luckily, she didn’t need to understand now.

Besides these two families, Granny Shi from across also sent a gift— two pairs of shoes, one pair of leather shoes and one pair of cloth shoes.

If she hadn’t gotten used to Jiang Ming’an buying things for Yueyue these past few months, she would have been shocked by these extraordinary gifts.

Here came Wang Guihua from the far west of the village, sourly chiming in.

“Oh my! Aunt is so generous. I hope the quilt at home isn’t the one from decades ago, as heavy and cold as iron during winter. If there’s any extra, Aunt, why not spare me one? I’ll pay it back when the next month’s payments come up, how about it?”

Granny Jiao disliked this gossiping woman, always poking her nose into everything in the village.

“Of course, we don’t have another, but we’ll certainly have more in the future, and soon. Jian Guo’s ability to lead everyone to a better life is evident, and today is his grand day. My family is grateful to him; under his leadership, we don’t go hungry anymore. To express this, naturally, we offer our best, and wish them a long, happy marriage.

But as for you, Wang Guihua, since you’re here, what are you planning to offer our village’s great benefactor?”

Granny Jiao’s words suggested: We’re grateful, aren’t you going to set an example?

Wang Guihua didn’t expect her comments to backfire, awkwardly touching her nose, “Aunt, aren’t you putting me in a tough spot? You know my family’s situation. We can barely put food on the table, where’s the money for new things?

But I see Fanghua received quite a bounty this time, all good stuff. Fanghua, don’t blame me for speaking the truth. I think you shouldn’t invest everything in Jian Guo alone. Shouldn’t Jian Jun also look for a wife? You might want to save some for your second son. When the girl sees your generous arrangements, Jian Jun’s proposals might become easier.”

Shen Fanghua had tolerated Wang Guihua for a long time. If it weren’t for her children’s achievements and their positions in the village, fearing a damaged reputation, she would have already dealt with Wang Guihua’s sharp tongue. Since Wang Guihua acted disrespectfully today, she was not going to be polite.

“Wang Guihua, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. I was wondering why you kindly advised me; it’s because you want to marry your daughter, who has a few screws loose, into my family. I’ve long said, no way!

My son Jian Jun is handsome and capable; he will choose someone to his liking. As for your daughter? I’ve already made it clear: Jian Jun would rather not marry in this life than marry her. You might as well give up soon.”

Being exposed in front of everyone, Wang Guihua’s face turned all colors, especially when someone laughed out loud. Embarrassed, Wang Guihua could hardly manage and quickly left.

“I still have things to do at home, I should go. I’ll come and visit some other time.”

Wang Daya was also in the crowd, and seeing her grandmother, who would either hit or scold her at home, run away made her feel quite disdainful.

Always showing off power to her.

She wanted to leave too but couldn’t tear her eyes away from those good things, hoping her grandmother’s ostentatious words could really get her something. Humph!

To ensure good luck, Mrs. Jiang generously took out two packets of candies to share with everyone.

“Come, come, everyone here is a guest, everyone gets one, for a sweet taste. Wang Daya, you’ve already taken one once.”

She thought with so many people, Grandma Jiang wouldn’t remember her, but unexpectedly, she got caught on the spot, leaving Wang Daya flustered.

“I, I… woo woo woo…”

Shen Fanghua’s expression changed. Disliking Wang Guihua was expected; naturally, the granddaughter she raised was unlikable too.

Please forgive me, Buddha, fortune and prosperity!

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, anyone who doesn’t know might think I’m bullying you! You can’t take the candy twice or those in the back won’t get any. Please don’t cry.”

Seeing her age, if another adult dared to cry here, Mrs. Jiang would lose it today.

Xiao Ran asked curiously, “Third Aunt, isn’t Wang Daya ashamed? She’s so big and still cries for candy. I don’t even cry.”

Granny Shi chuckled, “Isn’t she? Wang Daya must be about eight now, right? Three years older than Xiao Ran. You should learn from your younger siblings; none of them fight or push others. After getting candy, they even say thank you.”

In other words: Your behavior is disgraceful! And you still have the nerve to cry?

Those young ones, being praised, all stood tall, chattering away.

Xiao Cheng: “That’s right. I’m not big either. I was afraid Xiao Meng might get squeezed out, so I let her come in front of me. Teacher Yueyue taught us to be loving, respect the elderly, cherish the young, and help those weaker than us.”

Granny Shi: “…”

Xiao Meng: “Teacher Yueyue also said that politeness must be learned from a young age. You should say thank you when you receive something, apologize if you’ve done something wrong. Wang Daya didn’t say thank you and she pushed Zhu Zhu, who almost fell. That’s not right. You need to quickly learn knowledge so you’ll understand reason and become a useful person in the future.”

Granny Shi looked at Xiao Meng with great affection. Seeing this, Granny Jiao and her daughter-in-law felt honored and satisfied. Look how close the children are to the third family, and see how much better they’ve become. How will they grow up to be?

Granny Jiao and her daughter-in-law even imagined Xiao Meng growing up looking just like Yueyue.

With such prospects, they grinned massively with contentment.

The onlookers: Though your kids being sensible makes others jealous, you don’t have to look like you just ate honey in front of everyone!

The gifts had been given, and since there was nothing else for them, they bid farewell.

Mrs. Jiang tried to keep them, “Stay a little longer! Also, come over tomorrow night for a meal.” This was a subtle invitation. Although Xia Xiaosi insisted on not needing to entertain, following the trend of thriftiness, she insisted on setting up a table to properly let the people of Qingshan Village know this was her officially married daughter-in-law, ensuring no one would dare gossip.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep