After half a month of "meticulous" care by Zhenzhen, Ling Xiulan's peonies have all blossomed into gorgeous flowers. There are not only purple-spotted peonies, but also red, yellow, purple, blue and other multi-colored peonies. At first glance, they are elegant and gorgeous.
Because the Ling family's old house was going to entertain relatives and friends who came to celebrate the birthday today, Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan brought peonies early in the morning. As soon as the pots of auspicious peonies were moved into the house, Mrs. Xi came out wearing a reading goggles, her face full of surprise, unable to hide: "You really grew them?" As she spoke, she quickly made room: "Move them into the house quickly, don't let my flowers freeze."
Ling Xiu Lan was also afraid that something might happen to the peony if it was frozen any longer, so she quickly asked everyone to move everything in at once. Old Mrs. Xi didn't even have time to eat breakfast, and she directed Xi Changbo to put the pots of food in one by one, and she moved them three or four times before she was satisfied.
Seeing the old lady standing beside the peony flowers and not wanting to move, Xi Changbo quickly advised: "Mom, go eat and change your clothes quickly, the guests will be here soon."
"Yeah." Old Mrs. Xi nodded perfunctorily, not wanting to blink, until Old Man Xi came down to urge her. Then Old Mrs. Xi reluctantly went back to her room. After hurriedly eating breakfast, changing clothes and combing her hair, the old lady hurried back to the living room and sat down. It was not easy to see the gorgeous peonies in the cold twelfth month, so she had to guard them well and not let anyone destroy them.
After 8:30, Xi Changbo's brothers and sisters came with their children. When Xi Changbo's sister Xi Sumei saw the room full of peonies, her face suddenly became very ugly. Ling Xiulan, who had been suspicious, was staring at her. When she saw her expression change, she was sure that she was the one who did it.
Ling Xiulan has always been upright and honest, and hates those scheming things. She really doesn't understand why her sister-in-law should just say no if she has any opinions about her. Why would she ruin the flowers she gave to the old lady? Her mother-in-law loves peonies all her life, and it would make her happy if she could grow peonies that bloom on her birthday. She even wants to mess up her own mother's birthday. Ling Xiulan really wants to pry open her brain to see if it's filled with paste.
Today is a good day for mother-in-law, and Ling Xiulan is unwilling to talk about these annoying things. She just glanced at her lightly and turned away without paying attention to her. Feeling her sister-in-law's gaze, Ling Sumei shrank back and subconsciously looked away, but after a moment she remembered something and glared back with confidence.
Ling Xiu Lan has only one thing to say to this kind of person: You’re sick in the brain!
Noticing that his wife's breathing was a little heavy, Xi Changbo turned his head to look at her, then whispered something in her ear. Ling Xiu Lan shook her head, and the couple smiled at each other, then turned around and went to talk to Old Lady Xi.
Seeing that the third brother didn't even give her a glance, Xi Sumei felt wronged and angry, thinking that Ling Xiulan must have said bad things about her behind her back. Xi Changbo has two brothers, one sister and one sister. Among the brothers and sisters, Xi Changbo is the best looking, and his behavior is very well-behaved and well-educated. Xi Sumei has liked to pester him since she was a child. After all, with such an eye-catching brother, many girls of the same age want to curry favor with him, which makes Xi Sumei feel very proud.
As for Xi Changbo, he prefers to get along with his older brothers and sisters. They always discuss and consult with each other no matter what they say or do. They are close to each other but maintain a polite degree. They can also help each other when they are in trouble. Xi Sumei is probably the outlier in this family. As the youngest child, her older brothers and sisters were more willing to give in to her when she was young, but when it was time to be sensible and humble, she was unwilling to do so. She only wanted others to be nice to her, but she didn't consider others in anything. After her family found out about her problem, they didn't blindly protect her. They preached and guided her, but she didn't listen to anything. The young Xi Changbo was still puzzled at the time. All the brothers grew up like this, so why was her sister so ignorant
When Xi Sumei was 18 or 19, Xi Changbo was just in his early twenties, handsome and elegant. Xi Sumei liked to get close to Xi Changbo whenever she had nothing to do, and often brought her sisters home to show off her brother's handsomeness, in order to improve her status among the sisters. Xi Changbo was in his twenties and could see through her tricks at a glance. He gave her face once or twice, but after so many times, he basically avoided her whenever he saw her.
At this time, Ling Xiulan appeared in Xi Changbo's sight. Xi Changbo fell in love with her at first sight and began to pursue her madly. Xi Sumei's classmates were not very happy after not meeting Xi Changbo several times at his home. Xi Sumei, who was very embarrassed, cried and made a fuss with Xi Changbo when he came home at night, and insisted that he go shopping with his classmates on the weekend.
Xi Changbo was furious and scolded Xi Sumei. Even her parents heard the noise and came out to reprimand her. A few days later, Xi Sumei's classmates saw Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan in the park and went back to tell the story. Xi Sumei hated Ling Xiulan and thought that it was her fault that her brother ignored her and her classmates alienated her.
This reason is obviously the idea of a brain-dead girl. When Ling Xiulan first went to Xi's house and saw this little girl crying and making a fuss in front of her, she classified her as someone with a mental disorder. Xi Changbo was annoyed by Xi Sumei and was about to get married with Ling Xiulan, so he simply bought a house and moved out.
When the wedding was held, Xi Sumei disrupted the event again and was carried out by her brothers and sisters with her mouth covered. After the wedding, Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan lived alone. A few months later, Xi Changbo was sent to work in France, and he was completely away from Xi Sumei.
A few years ago, when Xi Changbo was forced to resign and return to China, Xi Sumei had already married and followed her husband to the countryside. When the movement ended, Xi Sumei finally followed her husband back to the capital from the frontier. Years of hardship not only did not make her mature, but made her even more sarcastic and picky. When she saw that Ling Xiulan's house was actually a courtyard house, she was so jealous that her eyes almost bled. She always felt that her brother's money was all taken advantage of by Ling Xiulan. The implication of that was that he had to give her the house to live in to be worthy of her. Her sour look made Ling Xiulan ignore her.
Half a month ago, Xi Sumei, who was out of character, came with her daughter, saying that she was going shopping and resting. Thinking that the old lady's birthday was coming, Ling Xiulan didn't feel embarrassed to chase her out. Unexpectedly, she sat for a while without any trouble and left without any trouble. However, her daughter Shang Qingran acted like a spoiled child and insisted on staying. She looked exactly like Xi Sumei when she was a child.
Ling Xiulan was not too defensive towards a girl of sixteen or seventeen, and after dinner she sent her to the embroidery building in the garden and returned. Thinking of the eight pots of flowers wilting from the cold, and looking at the innocent girl next to Xi Sumei, Ling Xiulan felt a little scared. A little girl could go out in the dark in the middle of the night to do this, and when she got up in the morning, she didn't look any different, she was much more scheming than her mother.
Shang Qingran noticed her mother's eyes, followed Xi Sumei's gaze and looked at Ling Xiulan. She saw Ling Xiulan looking at her with a slightly frown, and she just smiled faintly and turned her head away. That expression seemed to say: Oh, so you guessed it. But there was no apology or guilt on her face, not even a little fear.
Ling Xiu Lan felt a chill in her heart and her hand around Ling Changbo slowly tightened. Realizing that his wife was in a bad mood, Xi Changbo turned his head and looked at Shang Qingran in the direction Ling Xiu Lan was looking. Although Xi Changbo looked gentle and elegant, he had so many years of experience after all. Just a calm look from him made Shang Qingran feel guilty, and he turned and ran towards Old Lady Xi.
Xi Changbo also knew that the problem with his wife's peony flowers was related to his sister and niece, but he couldn't bring such a thing without evidence to the surface, otherwise his family would be at a disadvantage. Holding Ling Xiulan's hand, Xi Changbo whispered in her ear: "It's okay, I'm here, I'll tell her not to come to our house in the future."
Having a husband to rely on, Ling Xiulan breathed a sigh of relief. She stopped thinking about her sister-in-law and planned to talk to the old lady about Zhenzhen quietly when there were not many people around.
He stood up and walked to the side of Mrs. Xi who was admiring the flowers: "Mom, are you tired? Can I pour you a glass of honey water?"
"I'm not tired." Old Mrs. Xi said with a smile, "I tell you, seeing such beautiful flowers makes me so happy that I don't even eat or drink. Xiulan, how come you are so lucky to be able to grow such beautiful flowers in the middle of winter? You really put a lot of effort into it."
Ling Xiulan immediately revealed a bitter smile: "Please don't mention this matter. I almost don't have the face to see you."
"What's going on?" The old lady's eyes moved down from the flowers and glanced at Ling Xiu Lan.
Ling Xiulan handed the old lady a glass of honey water and said, "This peony had grown a lot of buds half a month ago, but who knew that it would suffer from some disaster overnight. The buds wilted and turned black, and it looked like it could not survive. Junjie's girlfriend is knowledgeable about flowers. She brought these eight pots of flowers home and carefully cared for them for ten days, and only then did such a beautiful peony grow. To be honest, I just brought these flowers back last night, for fear that something strange would happen to my house again."
When everyone heard about Xi Junjie's girlfriend, their attention shifted from the peony flower. Ling Xiulan and several of her sisters-in-law asked in surprise, "Junjie has a girlfriend? Whose child is she?" "This kid has always been picky. What kind of girl can he like?" "What does the girl look like? Is she coming today?"
Thinking of Zhenzhen, Ling Xiulan immediately smiled and said, "She is Junjie's classmate. Junjie chose her himself. I also like that girl very much. They will be here soon."
"You are Junjie's classmate? Is he a local?" Xi Sumei felt the same as when she found out that Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan were dating when she heard that her most handsome nephew actually had a girlfriend. She was particularly upset. Especially when she heard Ling Xiulan say that the dying flower was actually saved by that girl, Xi Sumei's face flashed with disgust.
Ling Xiulan didn't want to talk to her at first, but seeing that Old Lady Xi was also curious, she could only say, "My hometown is in a small town called Lincheng in Heilongjiang Province, but this child's uncle is in the imperial capital, and her whole family came over after she was admitted to university..."
Before she finished speaking, Xi Sumei covered her mouth and laughed exaggeratedly, "I thought she was a fairy, but she turned out to be a bumpkin from the mountains. Oh, sister-in-law, it's okay that my brother was confused when he was looking for a partner, but Junjie is the most promising child in our Xi family. He can't be as blind as my brother."
The whole family changed their faces with just one sentence. Xi Sumei originally wanted to ridicule Ling Xiulan, but she didn't have much brains, and offended the whole family with just one sentence. Especially Ling Xiulan's two sisters-in-law, because Xi Sumei's words just belittled their children, they looked at her with eyes that were almost flaming with anger. Xi Junjie's cousins missed the golden period of studying. Although they didn't get into college, they were also very good in various industries. Xi Sumei's words offended all the sisters-in-law.
But Xi Sumei didn't realize it, and looked at Ling Xiulan with a smug look, and no one knew why she was so happy. Before Ling Xiulan could say anything, Mrs. Xi got angry, and her face suddenly sank. Xi Sumei thought her biological mother was angry because Xi Junjie was dating a girl from the countryside, so she quickly went over and rolled her eyes at Ling Xiulan: "Mom, look at her..."
"Shut up." Old Mrs. Xi glared at Xi Sumei with a dark face.
“Mom…” Xi Sumei took a step back in panic, somewhat confused about what Old Lady Xi was angry about.
Old Lady Xi felt heartbroken and sad when she saw her little daughter. Although she was a little bit spoiled when she was young, she still had some spirit. As she grew up, she became more and more selfish and unreasonable, which directly wore away the little spirit she had. Later, she got married and was sent down to the countryside for so many years. When she came back, she became a shrew.
Remembering that today was her 80th birthday and she must not get angry, Old Lady Xi closed her eyes and tried to suppress her anger: "If you want to make me happy today, just shut your mouth and talk less to me." Xi Sumei pursed her lips in grievance, rolled her eyes at Ling Xiulan and said nothing more.
After a few minutes of silence, friends and relatives came to visit. The family quickly suppressed their discomfort and greeted the visitors with smiles on their faces. As soon as the visitors sat down, they saw the magnificent peonies in the hall. Some thought they were fake, but when they touched them, they found out that they were fresh flowers: "Oh, where did the peonies come from in this cold weather?"
Old Madam Xi pointed at Ling Xiulan with a smile: "My daughter-in-law raised her specially for me."
All the friends who came praised Ling Xiu Lan for being filial and considerate. Ling Xiu Lan smiled and glanced at the clock on the wall. Why haven't Jun Jie and Zhen Zhen arrived yet
Just as I was thinking about whether to go out and take a look, I heard a relative's child shout, "Brother Junjie is here."
Ling Xiu Lan quickly turned around and saw through the shiny glass window that Xi Junjie was holding a red bundle. No one knew what was inside, but it was bulging and looked like a basin. Next to him, Zhen Zhen was holding a scroll and a wooden box.
Seeing that both of them had their hands full, someone quickly opened the door for them.
After coming in with the things in his arms, Xi Junjie bowed to Grandma Xi with a big smile on his face and said, "I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea and longevity as great as the Southern Mountains." Zhenzhen immediately replied, "May the sun and the moon be bright and the pine and crane live forever."
Old Mrs. Xi was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She took her reading glasses, put them on and looked at Zhenzhen: "Junjie, is this your girlfriend? What's her name?"
Xi Junjie glanced at Zhenzhen with a smile and quickly introduced her: "Grandma, her name is Li Mingzhen, and her nickname is Zhenzhen."
"Zhenzhen, that's a good name." Old Lady Xi nodded, and Zhenzhen quickly handed over the things and smiled sweetly: "It's the first time I meet you, grandma. I brought you some local specialties from my hometown and some paintings I drew myself."
Before Mrs. Xi could say anything, Xi Sumei couldn't help but burst out laughing: "As expected of someone who comes from a mountain village, the gifts she gave all have a rustic feel." She looked at Zhenzhen with disdain, and said with a bit of pride and arrogance: "Ranran from our family gave her grandmother a wool blanket. It's of great quality, made of pure wool!"
Zhen Zhen was stunned and glanced at Xi Junjie, who quickly whispered in her ear, "My aunt."
Zhenzhen understood that this person was the culprit who almost caused Mudan to freeze to death. Thinking of what she had done, Zhenzhen knew that she was stupid, so she simply ignored her and put the things in her hand aside.
Those who came to the Xi family to attend the birthday party were all close relatives and friends of the family. They all knew Xi Sumei to some extent, but Mrs. Xi still felt a little embarrassed. She didn't even look at Xi Sumei, and asked Zhenzhen with a smile: "I heard from Junjie's mother that your hometown is in a forest city in Heilongjiang Province. The forest area is a good place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. The daughter raised there is also beautiful."
"That's right." Xi Junjie's aunt laughed and said, "I said Junjie has high standards. The girl he likes must be good." As she said that, she glanced at Xi Sumei and laughed with great relief.
Everyone looked at Zhenzhen's fair and tender skin, long black and shiny hair, a pair of curved smiling eyes and sweet smile, and couldn't help but look at Xi Sumei. Just now she said that Junjie's girlfriend was a country bumpkin, but a fairy-like girl came. I wonder if she felt the pain on her face.
Old Mrs. Xi remembered that her troublesome little daughter said that the gift given by the other girl was tacky. She had to praise the other girl in front of so many people. If she got angry and broke up with the girl, she would not be able to give such a beautiful girl to her grandson.
Old Lady Xi knew Xi Junjie very well. This boy had very high standards and ordinary people would not look down on him. Seeing how tenderly he smiled at the girl, the old lady knew that her little grandson had fallen in love.
"What did you draw for me?" Old Lady Xi smiled kindly and asked, "Can you show it to me?"
Xi Junjie had admired Zhenzhen's paintings before, and he couldn't wait to open the scroll and show it to Grandma Xi. Hearing the gasps beside him, Xi Junjie finally understood why Grandma Li and Li Muwu loved to show off Zhenzhen. Looking at the shocked expressions on the other people's faces, he felt such a sense of accomplishment!
Looking at Zhenzhen's painting of "Turtle, Crane and Peony", Old Lady Xi said "good" three times in a row, turned her head to look at the wall, pointed to the scroll that was originally hanging on the wall and said, "Junjie, help grandma take this down and hang up Zhenzhen's painting of "Turtle, Crane and Peony". I like this painting. I know the meaning at a glance, and it also has the style of a master."
Originally, Zhenzhen's painting was very good, and Mrs. Xi clearly said that she liked Zhenzhen's paintings. For a while, the room was filled with praises. Even after Xi Junjie hung up the paintings, people were still praising them from time to time. Ling Xiulan was so happy to see so many people praising her future daughter-in-law that she couldn't stop smiling.
The most boring thing about Xi Sumei is that she can't stand seeing people doing well, especially Ling Xiulan's future daughter-in-law. In her eyes, she is as hateful as a class enemy.
"I didn't buy it with money, what's so good about it?" Xi Sumei muttered unwillingly. She saw the red cloth bundle that Xi Junjie brought. Because it was placed upside down and round, she couldn't tell what was inside. Xi Sumei sneered and pointed at the red cloth bundle and asked, "What is this? Don't tell me it's a pot."
Zhenzhen was helpless. She looked at Xi Sumei and had no idea what she was thinking. This is your biological mother's birthday party. Are you crazy if you keep trying to sabotage her
Old Lady Xi looked at the red envelope and couldn't guess what it was, so she quickly said, "No matter what it is, it's a token of the child's love, and I like it."
Seeing Xi Sumei's lively personality, Zhen Zhen was very willing to help Ling Xiulan slap her in the face. She smiled and said, "I picked some local products from the mountains when I was back home..."
Sure enough, before he finished speaking, Xi Sumei's mocking laughter rang out: "You came all the way here just to bring back a lump of dirt? Don't dirty our land."
"My aunt seems to have forgotten that this is the Xi family. When Zhenzhen and I get married, she will also be a member of this family." Xi Junjie smiled faintly, which made Xi Sumei's face turn pale.
When Xi Sumei insisted on marrying Shang Zhicheng despite her family's objections, she boasted that she would no longer be a member of the Xi family. But she didn't expect that the Shang family was not as powerful as she imagined, but rather a family that fawned on and liked to flatter. Therefore, Mr. Xi looked down on Shang Zhicheng's father. When the movement came, no one was willing to protect the Shang family, which seemed to be speculative, and Shang Zhicheng was directly sent to the border with his wife and children. Now he is just a worker in a factory. Compared with Xi Sumei's brothers and sisters, there is a world of difference.
Xi Junjie's words directly revealed the scar that Xi Sumei had been covering tightly. Her face turned pale and she took a step back. Shang Qingran gently pushed her from behind. Xi Sumei suddenly became motivated again. For the sake of her daughter's future, she had to suppress all of them. When Ranran became the old lady's favorite child, she would have an excuse to move back to the Xi family.
Zhenzhen didn't care what Xi Sumei was thinking at all. She directly untied the knot, and the bag skin slid away, and a Ganoderma lucidum bigger than a washbasin appeared in front of everyone.
In an instant, everyone heard the sound of themselves swallowing.
Zhenzhen smiled a little embarrassedly: "I picked them from the mountain myself, please don't despise me."
"Oh, this kid is so good at talking." A group of people looked at Xi Sumei with mockery in their eyes: "This thing is much more valuable than a wool blanket. I wonder if that wool blanket has something like Bicycle Factory No. 2 printed on it." Bicycle Factory No. 2 was the factory where Xi Sumei's husband worked.
Zhenzhen turned the Ganoderma lucidum over and held it in front of Old Lady Xi: "I often see century-old Ganoderma lucidum in the mountains, but what's rare is that this Ganoderma lucidum has a pattern on it that looks like the word for longevity."
When Mrs. Xi heard this, she immediately put on her reading glasses and took a closer look. As expected, she saw the words on it at a glance. She exclaimed in surprise, "There are really words. Come and see."
Everyone gathered around curiously, talking about it: "There are actually words on it!" "How did it grow?" "This is too magical!" "Junjie, where is your partner from? I want to go over and take a look, and pick some Ganoderma lucidum or something. Haven't you heard that it is very common?"
Old Lady Xi was so annoyed by their nagging that she covered the Ganoderma with her hands to stop them from touching it: "Alright, alright, just take a look at it, and don't damage it by touching it again."
Immediately, Mrs. Xi’s sister laughed out loud: “It’s such a big thing that won’t break even if it falls to the ground, and you don’t even allow us to touch it, how stingy.”
Old Lady Xi looked at her with great pride and said, "So what if I'm stingy? This is a gift from my future granddaughter-in-law."
"Oh my, it's amazing to have a granddaughter-in-law." A group of people dispersed and returned to their respective seats with laughter. Old Mrs. Xi looked at Zhenzhen a little embarrassedly: "You said it was your first time to come to my house, and I didn't give you anything, but you gave me such an expensive gift. You should take it back and let your elderly family keep it."
"We still have some at home." Zhen Zhen waved her hand quickly. "We saw this a lot when we were in Heilongjiang Province, so it's not surprising. My grandma boiled the water she drank every day with it. If you want to boil water to drink, just use a hammer to knock off a piece."
Old Mrs. Xi's lips twitched: "I can't bear to boil water, I want to keep it as a treasure for the whole family."
"Then you should keep it well." Zhenzhen smiled and handed over another wooden box: "Put it together with this one."
"What is this?" Xi Junjie's aunt couldn't help asking, "Isn't it another local specialty?"
"It's true. We dug it up in the mountains." Zhenzhen smiled and opened the lid of the box. "There are three treasures in the Northeast: ginseng, deer antlers and Ula grass."
Looking at the box filled with 20 to 30 taels of ginseng, everyone had only one thought in their mind: What mountain is this? Please tell me, I want to go dig there too!
The author has something to say: Thank you to everyone who voted for Overlord these days, bow!
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