Wang Erying laughed heartily, "Fingers crossed for you, that boy has indeed come to his senses. When there's news of him getting married, I'll definitely be the first to let you know."
"Alright, I'll wait for the wedding banquet," Li Xiangqin called out, taking her daughter home.
The advantage of living on the first floor was the easy access; they could push the Bicycle right into the living room, saving them the worry of it being stolen.
As soon as the two entered the house, Xiao Wu rushed out, "My goodness, Mom, did you go out all morning to buy a Bicycle?"
As she exclaimed, the Third Brother and his wife also pushed the door open, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the Bicycle placed in the living room.
"Mom, why did you suddenly buy a Bicycle? When did you save up an Industrial Coupon, and you didn't let slip a single Rumor?"
If he had known Mom had an Industrial Coupon, he would have used it to buy his Wife a Watch. The Watch from the Betrothal gifts was kept by the Mother-in-law, and she became extremely envious whenever she saw a watch on someone else's wrist.
He doted on his own Wife and had been secretly saving money to give her a surprise.
"This bike is so beautiful!" Zhao Meijuan held the handlebars, her eyes sparkling brightly.
Li Xiangqin glanced at them, not hiding anything; it was better to state things clearly to dispel their wild speculations.
"This is for the Fourth Child to ride to and from work; it's convenient."
The two were stunned. Zhao Meijuan withdrew her hand, her gaze falling directly on the Cloth Bag in the Fourth Child's arms, and the jealousy in her heart almost broke through.
"Mom~, you are truly good to Fourth Sister."
"Of course, my Zhang Family children, regardless of gender, are the apples of my eye, and they all receive the same treatment. It's already noon, and none of you are thinking of getting up to cook; are you waiting for Old Mother to serve you?"
Having run around all morning, Li Xiangqin couldn't be bothered to argue with these two fools. She took the Cloth Bag from the Fourth Child's hands and returned to her room.
"Fourth Sister, tell me about it—what did you and Mom do today?" Xiao Wu pulled on Zhang Jianhong's arm, dragging her into the room.
The Third Brother felt uneasy and was about to Speak when Zhao Meijuan pulled him back, shaking her head at him.
"Mom has a big opinion of us right now, so don't Bring bad luck upon yourself. The most influential people in our family are still Eldest Brother and the others."
That old hag, spending so much money for a mere girl—a Job and a Bicycle—how dare she!
Before, she hadn't noticed that the old woman was also this good to her Daughter.
"Before, I thought Mom only cared about Eldest Brother's family, but I never expected Mom to favor Fourth Sister so much. I guess I was too young and couldn't see through people's hearts."
The Third Brother snorted in dissatisfaction.
"I'll go tell Eldest Brother and Second Brother right now. Mom doing this shows she doesn't take us Sons seriously at all."
Watching the Third Brother hurry out the door, Zhao Meijuan smiled, turned, and went to the Kitchen, tying on an apron to start cooking.
Washing some Green Vegetable and boiling some soup Noodles took less than half an hour; simple and effortless.
"Mom, time to eat."
After Zhao Meijuan placed the last bowl on the table and untied her apron, she walked to the door and knocked.
Li Xiangqin stopped what she was doing, walked out of the room, Looking at the soup Noodles on the table. She didn't say anything, sat down, took a sip of the soup, and then, as if thinking of something, directly instructed Zhao Meijuan.
"Bring me two heads of garlic."
"Okay."
Zhao Meijuan responded gently. Just as she took two heads of garlic out of the Kitchen, Zhao Jianshe pushed the door open and came in.
"Hurry up and eat, or it will get mushy."
One bowl of Noodles, one head of garlic. Li Xiangqin finished eating, smacked her lips—flavorful!
Just as she sat down at the Sewing Machine, the door was pushed open, revealing Xiao Wu's fawning face.
"Hehe~, Mom, Fourth Sister said you cut several feet of Dacron; can you make me a top too?"
"I remember making you new clothes just last year. You haven't grown much, but you have plenty of ideas. The Fourth Child is an adult now; once she starts her Job, she should be dating, so she needs to look presentable.
You're a student; why do you need to wear something so flashy? You'd better put your energy into studying, strive to get into a university, and earn a way out for yourself."
"Mom, I haven't even worn Dacron yet, just make me one top, please, Mom?"
Xiao Wu put her hands together in supplication and leaned over eagerly.
"Just make one for me while you're at it, and I promise to study hard."
Li Xiangqin looked at Xiao Wu's mischievous appearance, thought of her future outcome, and couldn't help but offer a reminder.
If she listened, it might save her some heartache later.
"Hmph, don't try that trick on me. You and the Fourth Child are both Daughters. I will plan for you as much as possible, but if you give up halfway and your resolve isn't firm, don't blame me for not warning you when you suffer hardship later."
"Rest assured, Mom, I swear to the Party, my resolve is very firm." Xiao Wu immediately raised her hand and swore, standing ramrod straight.
"Zhang Jianli, remember what you said today, and don't be fooled by the sugar-coated bullets outside. I know you students have started liking those literary youths.
Coincidentally, some Pretty Boys deliberately cater to their tastes, specifically tricking young girls like you. They'll take you to the mountains and sell you off to be someone's Wife, bear a bunch of kids, and work until you drop dead."
"Oh, Mom, don't tell me those stories you tell children. I just want you to make me one Dacron shirt."
Xiao Wu pouted, wrapped her arms around Li Xiangqin's neck.
"I'm already a first-year high school student, and I'm a girl; I need to pay attention to my image."
"Pah! Don't try that on Old Mother. The Great Leader repeatedly emphasized that progressive youths like you should uphold the spirit of hard work and plain living to contribute to the Four Modernizations.
Don't think I'm old and can be fooled. Old Mother isn't illiterate; I read the Newspaper sometimes too."
Li Xiangqin pushed her away and pointed to the light cyan Luo fabric shirt she was wearing.
"This garment isn't worn out yet. What are you making a fuss about? When you start your Job, without you even asking, Old Mother will prepare everything for you."
Xiao Wu pouted, looking very unwilling, and stomped out of the room angrily.
Li Xiangqin ignored her and continued pedaling the Sewing Machine; she needed to finish the Fourth Child's clothes quickly so she could go to work looking brand new tomorrow.
Just as she was working enthusiastically, the main door was suddenly pushed open with a bang, startling her so much that she almost skewed the line.
Composing herself, Li Xiangqin pinched the bridge of her nose. Before she could stand up, the room door was pushed open.
Zhang Yanli and Wang Yulan stood at the doorway, Looking at their Mother-in-law sitting at the Sewing Machine with several semi-finished pieces of clothing laid out on the board.
"You ill-mannered things, is this the Vegetable market? To come barging in like that?"
Li Xiangqin struck first, placing the piece of cloth in her hand into the Basket, standing up, dusting off the lint on her body.
"Being an Elder in this house is worth less than nothing; I let my Daughters-in-law bully me, smashing things left and right, with looks so vicious they could swallow a person whole. I really want to ask, is this how you treat your parents at your Maternal home?
When I get a chance, I'll go ask your In-laws if their Daughters-in-law treat their Parents-in-law this way too. If this is the family custom, then it proves the beam above is crooked, so the beam below will be crooked too, and Old Mother won't bother arguing anymore."