Since they had made a special trip, it was only right by reason and social grace to invite them in for a meal. However, regarding the birthday gift, Li Sangyue refused to accept it.
“I appreciate the sentiment, and I am very grateful that you both traveled all this way to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. We are just about to begin the banquet, so please come in and join the festivities. Try our rural village feast; though the dishes are simple, we made them all ourselves.”
She extended the invitation politely. Zhou Rui initially intended to decline, but Fan Rou was lured by the aroma wafting from inside. Fan Rou stuffed the gift into Li Sangyue’s arms and stepped inside without the slightest bit of hesitation. Zhou Rui wiped her brow, her expression uncharacteristically awkward. Li Sangyue, holding the gift, felt troubled, but she knew she could not leave a guest standing outside, so she invited Zhou Rui in as well.
When the other guests saw more people arriving, everyone turned to look. Li Sangyue explained that they were friends. Since the other tables were full and it would be inappropriate to squeeze them in with distant relatives, she had no choice but to seat them at the head table. Fortunately, her eldest and youngest great-aunts had not shown up, leaving two empty seats at the main table. A guest is a guest; it was simply a matter of adding two more sets of bowls and chopsticks.
As soon as Fan Rou saw the elderly lady at the head of the table wearing new clothes, she knew she was the guest of honor. She took the gift that Li Sangyue had refused and presented it directly to the grandmother. The grandmother, unaware of the specific situation, truly believed they were her granddaughter’s friends. After a few polite exchanges, she accepted the gift to avoid an awkward scene at the table, thinking she would simply have Sangyue return it after the banquet ended.
When Li Ningjun caught sight of Fan Rou, a cold light flashed in her eyes for a fleeting second, but she kept her composure to avoid making a scene. Paternal Grandmother Yang Hehua beckoned everyone. “Everyone is here. What are we waiting for? Pick up your chopsticks, pick up your chopsticks!”
Though it was a rural banquet, the standard was not lacking at all. There were six cold dishes, eight hot dishes, as well as longevity noodles and longevity peaches as the two main staples. This spread did not pale even in comparison to city hotels. The sweet and sour carp was Li Sangyue’s specialty; even a professional chef from a hotel might not match her skill. These eight tables of food earned her maternal grandmother a great deal of “face” today.
Fan Rou and Zhou Rui were there to offer birthday wishes on behalf of Qin Nian. Regardless of their status in the outside world, they acted as respectful juniors before the elders. They raised their glasses of juice, as there was no alcohol served today, and offered many elegant, traditional auspicious blessings to the grandmother. One was from the business world and the other from politics; such words came naturally to them. Their refined and dignified speech delighted the grandmother, and the atmosphere quickly became warm and friendly.
Seeing her grandmother happy made Li Sangyue happy as well, and she felt moved by Qin Nian’s thoughtfulness. Li Ningjun sat beside her mother-in-law, serving her food like an invisible person. She remained silent and still. Had her appearance not been so exceptionally striking and unforgettable, Fan Rou might not have even noticed her.
Halfway through the meal, the younger great-aunt, Li Yuan, finally arrived. She entered with a long face, scolding Li Sangyue for being undisciplined by not coming over to personally invite her. Her arrival dampened the festive atmosphere. The grandmother did not want to lower herself to Li Yuan’s level on such an occasion, and Li Sangyue did not want anyone ruining her grandmother’s birthday, so she stood up with a practiced smile and added a seat for her. She had intended to place her next to the grandmother, but her mother suddenly spoke up, directing the great-aunt to sit on her side instead.
“Aunt has a distinguished status; she should sit in the position of the right-hand companion,” Li Ningjun said, her voice dripping with mock reverence as she subtly jabbed at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan, a petty old woman who had never seen the world, sat down with a smirk. She was completely oblivious to the subtext. Mrs. Li and several others lowered their heads to hide their smiles, choosing not to enlighten her. Fan Rou and Zhou Rui were unaware of the family grievances and felt it inappropriate to speak. However, they were surprised by the reaction of Li Sangyue’s mother. They had assumed this quiet Omega was the soft-spoken, submissive type; they had not expected her to be so sharp. In contrast, Li Sangyue was more tactful, hiding her dislike behind a polite mask.
“Xiaoyue, you must be making good money selling goods to spend so much on your grandmother’s birthday. This table of food could not have been cheap, right?” The younger great-aunt asked loudly while stuffing her face, her bulging eyes darting around. She showed no regard for the other relatives and friends present.
Li Sangyue initially intended to ignore her, but she knew that with people like her great-aunt, the more you ignored them, the more rowdy they became. “This is just a small business, barely enough to make ends meet. I might make a profit today and lose it all tomorrow. It is not like Aunt Zhang Mei, who has a stable government job. That is a golden rice bowl with summer and winter breaks and a pension to look forward to. Everyone in the village is envious; you are the one enjoying the good life through her, Great-Aunt.”
She said this intentionally. This great-aunt was the stepmother of Aunt Zhang Mei. By the time she had married into the family, Zhang Mei was already in middle school and was never close to her. Over the years, Zhang Mei rarely visited, and when she did, it was to see her biological mother, Zhang Chuntao.
She cared nothing for this stepmother. Because of this, the great-aunt often grumbled behind her back about how hard it was to be a stepmother. However, she also loved to brag to others that Zhang Mei was now a high school department head with a prestigious job.
By stroking her vanity, Sangyue ensured she would continue to brag about her stepdaughter rather than nitpicking the birthday banquet, allowing everyone else to eat in peace.
After the meal concluded without further incident, the relatives stayed behind to chat and eat sunflower seeds. Fan Rou and Zhou Rui had other matters to attend to and could not stay long. Li Sangyue gave each of them a return gift and tried to return the birthday gift they had brought. She walked them personally to the front gate.
Fan Rou accepted the return gift but refused the birthday gift, stuffing it back into Li Sangyue’s hands. The car had already pulled away, and Sangyue could not catch them. She had no choice but to keep the gift for the time being, planning to thank Qin Nian properly later.
The birthday gifts from various relatives were gathered in the living room. Li Shuang had intended to look through them in the evening, but she could not stop Li Yuan’s quick hands. Li Yuan tore through the packages in seconds, insisting on seeing what everyone had given, her voice laced with bitterness. Li Sangyue’s gift to her grandmother was a plain gold ring. She had removed the price tag and did not tell her grandmother the exact cost. However, the elderly woman had seen enough of the world to estimate the value of gold. She knew it was a gesture of her granddaughter’s filial piety.
Upon seeing the gold ring, the great-aunt’s eyes widened further. She shrieked in a shrill voice, “Oh my, oh my! This is incredible! Second Sister, you have such good fortune to be wearing a gold ring. You had better be careful not to lose it when you go out.”
Li Shuang took the ring back and put it away, giving Li Yuan no further chance to touch it. Li Yuan curled her lip and turned to the other gifts. She found the jade Buddha that Li Ningjun had given the grandmother. It was in a red velvet bag, also without a price tag. Earlier, when the grandmother had asked, Li Ningjun had casually claimed she bought it at the town market for a few hundred yuan, and the old lady believed her.
The great-aunt, unable to recognize the quality of the jade, tossed it back dismissively upon hearing the price. Then, she opened the gift Qin Nian had sent via Fan Rou. Inside a red bag was a small box containing a simple string of beads. When held close, they emitted a unique, delicate fragrance.
“What is this? Neither gold nor silver. Sending a string of wood? It must be for a nun to chant her prayers,” the great-aunt sneered.
Paternal Grandmother Yang Hehua grew annoyed. Using the excuse of tidying up, she bumped the great-aunt aside with her hip. “We are not as well-off as you. When it is your birthday, I am sure Zhang Mei will send you a massive gold bracelet.”
She jabbed at Li Yuan’s sore spot on purpose. Everyone knew the relationship between the stepmother and stepdaughter was cold. Li Yuan’s face turned various shades of pale and blue. Fuming and speechless, she threw down the items and stormed out.
Aside from Li Ningjun, no one present recognized the agarwood. They simply thought it was an ordinary wooden bracelet. Li Ningjun picked up the agarwood beads that the great-aunt had tossed aside and examined them in her palm. She did not believe that sending people over for a birthday celebration could erase what happened seven years ago.
If Fan Rou were still there, she would have recognized that the jade Buddha was just as valuable as the agarwood beads Qin Nian had sent from Shanghai. Unfortunately, she had already left. Li Ningjun had no desire to show off. She placed the other gifts together but set the agarwood bracelet aside, instructing Li Sangyue to return it later.
“This string of beads does not look cheap. We cannot accept such an expensive gift.”
Li Sangyue had not wanted to keep it anyway. “I will let Qin Nian know.”
Mother and daughter spoke in low voices in the corner. Meanwhile, the younger great-aunt was still grumbling outside, complaining that the relatives had a lot of nerve coming to eat. Everyone knew her temperament, so no one bothered to respond. Li Sangyue, not wanting her to offend the relatives, stepped in to smooth things over by distributing the longevity peaches and cakes for the guests to take home.
The great-aunt, who had arrived empty-handed, took her return gift and continued to mutter, “Throwing a birthday party just to show off, as if they are afraid people will not notice.”
“Why can you not keep your mouth shut? It is your own sister’s birthday, and you showed up empty-handed. How can you even show your face?” Mrs. Li could no longer stand it and scolded her.
Li Yuan immediately flared up, her neck stiffening as she shouted, “Is she acting like a sister? She pushed me, her own sister, into a pit of fire! She is living the good life now, with juniors who are filial. Has she ever thought about the miserable life I lead? I got nothing for being a stepmother, and now that I am old, I am despised. It is all her fault!”
Fortunately, they were outside the courtyard. Had the grandmother heard this, her happy day would have been ruined. Mrs. Li pulled the great-aunt away from the gate. “You cannot blame anyone else for this. You brought this all on yourself.”
Realizing further words were a waste of breath, Mrs. Li stopped talking and turned to go back to her own home. Li Yuan stood at the gate and spat on the ground before leaving. Once she got home, she threw another tantrum.
Li Sangyue’s family was unaware of this. After seeing off the guests, they spent the rest of the evening cleaning up the tables, chairs, and dishes, working well into the night.