“No!”
Jiang Xingyao stuffed the money into Xu Xiangmei’s hands.
“Mom, I’m not going to talk about how you and Dad raised me, because we’re family. We don’t need to thank each other.
“But while you love and care for me, I love you, too. Now that I have money, if you refuse to spend any of it, I’ll feel awful.
“If you won’t take this money, then I won’t eat at home anymore.”
Besides, she really hadn’t given them much. It was only some spending money.
“You really are a stubborn child! Fine, Mom will take it. Now go wash your hands. The dumplings will be ready soon.”
“Okay.”
That afternoon, Jiang Xingyao took a nap.
When she woke up and pulled open the curtains, she saw that a light rain was falling outside.
By mid-October, Beijing was already quite chilly.
Jiang Xingyao washed her face and was just about to find some warmer clothes when Xu Xiangmei called out to her.
“Yaoyao, come here and try this on. Mom made you a dress.”
Jiang Xingyao only took one look before she couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration.
“Wow! It’s so pretty!”
It had a fitted waist and a Peter Pan collar, with ruffles around the cuffs.
The dress had long sleeves and was made of woolen fabric. The hem fell all the way to her ankles, making it perfect for the current weather.
Jiang Xingyao went back to her room and changed into it.
No matter how many times she looked at herself, she thought it looked beautiful.
The main reason was that the original owner had an exquisite, fair complexion.
Her eyebrows were shaped like distant mountains, and her eyes were almond-shaped.
She had a high, straight nose and full, red lips.
Although she looked about seventy percent like Jiang Xingyao had in her previous life, the original owner was even three parts more beautiful.
With a height of 166 centimeters and a weight of 47 kilograms, she couldn’t quite be called a celestial beauty, but she was certainly no less attractive than a movie star.
And the dress fit her perfectly.
Even Xu Xiangmei couldn’t help saying, “My daughter really is beautiful. From now on, you should buy yourself more clothes and jewelry and dress yourself up properly.”
“I know, Mom. Your sewing skills are so good. Why don’t I open a tailor shop for you?”
Xu Xiangmei smiled and shook her head.
“If I were ten years younger, I wouldn’t hesitate. But I’m almost fifty now, and you’re about to get married. Your three brothers should all be looking for wives soon, too.
“All I want is to stay home and take good care of all of you. In the future, if any of you need help raising your children, I’ll still be able to lend a hand.”
As for money, she had already learned to take it easy.
As long as they had enough to live on, that was enough.
Nothing was more important than having the whole family living together in harmony.
“I’ll listen to you, Mom. Whatever makes you happy, that’s how we’ll live.”
“Go watch some TV, sweetheart. It’s getting cold. I’ll make you a new quilt.”
As Jiang Xingyao fiddled with the channels on the black-and-white television, she said, “Mom, don’t just worry about me. Didn’t I buy several bolts of fabric yesterday? Make new clothes for yourself, Dad, and my brothers, too.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll start making them tomorrow.”
That evening, Xu Xiangmei was afraid Jiang Xingyao would get tired of eating dumplings two meals in a row, so she made her scallion-oil pancakes, stir-fried hot-and-sour shredded potatoes, and scrambled eggs with green peppers.
Xu Xiangmei told her to eat first, but Jiang Xingyao liked the feeling of the whole family eating together, so she insisted on waiting.
Her father worked at the textile factory, her eldest brother at a machinery factory, her second brother at a paper mill, and her third brother at a transportation company.
When they worked the day shift, they normally got off at five and would always be home before six.
But it was already six-thirty, and both her father and third brother still hadn’t returned.
Xu Xiangmei served the dumplings into bowls.
“You three siblings eat while they’re hot. I’ll go to the convenience store and call the factories to see if your father and Third Brother are working overtime.”
Unexpectedly, the moment she finished speaking, a cold voice came from the courtyard.
“Jiang Jiandong, although our two families have lived in the same compound for more than ten years, even brothers keep clear accounts between themselves.
“If Jiang Qingze dares to lay a hand on our Chaolei again, I guarantee I’ll have his workplace fire him.”
The Jiang family hurried outside.
They saw Jiang Jiandong standing with his head lowered, doing his best to suppress his anger.
“I understand, Deputy Factory Director Shen. I’ll give Qingze a stern lecture.”
Jiang Qingze was clearly unconvinced, but he merely clenched his fists without saying a word before turning around and going back to his own home.
It was only under the light that everyone could clearly see the state he was in.
His face was bruised purple and blue in several places, and his clothes were torn.
Xu Xiangmei’s heart tightened.
“Xiao Ze, what happened to you?”
“It’s nothing. I was delivering goods to the textile factory this evening and happened to run into Shen Chaolei. We disagreed about something and got into a little pushing match.”
Jiang Jiandong came inside as well and immediately scolded Jiang Qingze.
“I’ve repeatedly warned all of you to avoid the Shen family whenever you see them and not get into conflicts with them. Why did you have to hit Shen Chaolei first?
“Besides, he’s been studying martial arts for years. You’re not even a match for him.”
“He was the one who insulted Yaoyao—”
Jiang Qingze stopped halfway through.
He was afraid Jiang Xingyao would be hurt, so he swallowed the rest of his words.
But Jiang Xingyao was already furious.
“They’re the ones who did something shameful. Why should we have to avoid them?”
She knew the Jiang family was willing to swallow their grievances because they didn’t want to put her in a difficult position.
But she wasn’t the original Jiang Xingyao.
She felt nothing toward the Shen family but boundless hatred.
She turned around and strode toward the Shen family’s home.
“Yaoyao! Yaoyao, where are you going?”
Jiang Jiandong tried to grab her, but he was too late.
With a loud bang, Jiang Xingyao kicked open the Shen family’s door.
The entire Shen family was sitting around the dinner table.
There were two meat dishes, a vegetable dish, and soup—a rather lavish meal.
Shen Yunfeng slammed his chopsticks onto the table.
“Jiang Xingyao, are you looking to get yourself killed?”
“I think you’re the ones looking to die!”
Jiang Xingyao grabbed the chair beside her and brought it crashing down onto the dining table.
Bang!
The table instantly shattered into pieces, while plates and bowls crashed onto the floor.
Soup and food splashed all over the Shen family.
“Ah!”
Liu Zhilan hurriedly pulled the frightened and screaming Shen Jiaoli to her feet.
“You wretched girl! Have you completely lost your mind?”
At the factory, Shen Yunfeng was second only to the factory director and held authority over countless workers. Wherever he went, people fawned over him.
Now, a wretched girl whom he normally wouldn’t even deign to look at had kicked down his door and smashed his dining table.
His fury soared.
He raised his hand and swung it toward Jiang Xingyao.