Cao Qiulan is a simple woman. Although she knows that no one else at this kind of banquet is rich, she still understands the common sense etiquette of giving gifts on birthdays, and since it is her daughter's intention, she should not be timid in any way.
With this in mind, she mustered up the courage to hand over the things.
It was elegantly tied with a beautiful knot, clean and simple. If it were placed in an ordinary person's home in the capital, it might be considered a decent gift, but at this time, at a banquet with a banquet worth tens of thousands, the small gift box , seems shabby and ridiculous.
After receiving Han Yan's instructions, Leng Yuexin stood up from her seat and walked towards her, "Haha, aunt, let me see what delicious food your daughter made?"
"Hey, thank you, thank you little girl." Because of her low self-esteem, Cao Qiulan never dared to raise her head to face the many eyes present. She was also embarrassed to stand alone. At this time, a girl with a nice voice stepped forward to help, and she felt Full of gratitude.
The gift box was taken over and placed beside Mrs. Cao, on the edge of the table. Leng Yuexin opened the box and praised her, "Oh, it's packaged so carefully. I can see that this scarf is not cheap." Bar."
"Yes, yes." Cao Qiulan answered all questions. When she saw someone praising the packaging, a simple and honest smile appeared on her face. "A kind-hearted young man took me to buy this. It was said to be a famous brand and cost fifty for one piece. .”
As soon as she felt relaxed, she spoke quickly. As soon as she finished talking about the price, she heard a few bursts of laughter not far away from the venue, and her heart tightened, knowing that she had done something bad.
"Fifty a piece? Haha, it's really expensive. Where did the aunt come from?" Leng Yuexin didn't seem to mind at all, slowly unpacking the things and asking as if to relieve the embarrassment.
Cao Qiulan shrank her neck and did not dare to speak any faster now. She timidly replied: "Luo Province, Lincheng, is relatively remote. You may not have heard of it."
Hearing this, the laughter in the scene suddenly stopped, and the atmosphere became a little subtle again.
They had heard of Lincheng in Luo Province, and not long ago.
Cao Qiulan didn't know what she said wrong. At this time, she saw that the gift box had been opened. Lying in the box were piles of round and soft pastries without any decorations, placed on the table with dark glaze patterns. , looks extremely bleak.
Leng Yuexin chuckled softly, her voice a little surprised, "Haha, it turns out it is really a pastry. Auntie is really thoughtful, but she just didn't know if this thing has a shelf life after all the hard work?" She said doubtfully, but Cao Qiulan didn't have time to answer, Leng Yuexin's words on the other side had already pointed sharply at the other side, "I heard that Yuncheng and Lincheng are not far apart. You should eat a lot of these pastries, right? Song Ye, aunt brought some snacks, no?" Do you know what gift you brought to the old lady?"
Hearing this, Cao Qiulan could no longer restrain her eyes from drooping. She looked up suddenly and saw Song Ye, whom she had been with for three days on the train, standing two meters away. She opened her mouth. She wanted to ask her why she was here, but the crisp sound of ceramics hitting the ground shocked her. When she turned around, she saw that her box of carefully prepared pastries had fallen to the ground in pieces.
Mrs. Cao sat upright in her seat and retracted her hand. Her old face was still calm and calm, "Yue Xin, it's not safe to leave things there. But forget it, it's not something that can be put on the table. If it breaks, it will break." , people will clean it up later.”
The old lady's careless move made her so perfect that Leng Yuexin was extremely impressed. After a sweet response, she didn't even say a word of comfort to Cao Qiulan.
The honest lady stood there in a daze, with a biting coldness in her heart. The cakes that her daughter had stayed up late to make, and the gifts that she had been hungry for three days on the train and could not bear to touch, were all thrown away as rubbish that could not be put on the table. on the ground.
"Auntie..." Cao Qiulan shouted.
Mrs. Cao interrupted her words immediately, "Okay, despite my appearance, I am not your aunt. Go down and get the money and go. Not just anyone in the Qin family can reach high places." Got up."
Indeed, the relationship between Mrs. Cao and Cao Qiulan has gone full circle, and the seniority is unclear. The term "aunt" is just a term of endearment. Before, she thought that the other party was sincerely inviting her and that she had to come over even if it was a long way. However, she never expected that she would face such a confrontation.
With all her conscience, she had no intention of clinging to the Qin family, nor was she here to be a beggar.
She was always quick-tongued and loquacious, but at this moment she was so aggrieved that she could not speak. This was the first time she wanted to cry since she took over the family.
Outsiders watch the excitement, but insiders watch the door.
Many of the guests present were all cunning and cunning people who wandered around the shopping mall. How could they not see the insinuations Mrs. Cao was putting on today
She was not targeting Cao Qiulan, but Song Ye, who also came from the countryside and had no status background. He clung to powerful people and could not get on the stage. All these words were meant for Song Ye.
Cao Qiulan never expected that her trip to Beijing would be just a pawn used by Mrs. Cao, a scheming woman, to trample Song Ye's self-esteem. She gritted her teeth, blushed, and finally said the only sentence tonight If you have the confidence, "I don't want to covet a penny from your Qin family. I will take my things away myself." After saying that, the woman squatted down her fat body, endured the sadness and humiliation, and picked up the things scattered on the ground. pastry.
At this point in the play, it was almost time to change the protagonist. Mrs. Cao looked coldly at Song Ye from the corner of her eyes. She opened her mouth and was about to continue singing, but suddenly she saw her move. When she raised her foot, her leather shoes stepped on the smooth surface. On the floor, there was a crunching sound until it stopped next to Cao Qiulan.
Cao Qiulan only saw a pair of white leather shoes stopped in front of her. Then, the owner of the leather shoes knelt down and reached out to take her cake. When she looked up again, she saw that familiar face, "Song Ye..." She didn't expect that in this situation, someone would be willing to lend a helping hand to her.
The next second, in front of so many guests, Song Ye put the cloud cotton cake that fell on the ground into his mouth. Just as Cao Qiulan was about to stop her and told her that it was dirty and not to eat, she heard that the food had already After being swallowed, the young man's cold and calm voice resounded throughout the hall, "Aunt Qiulan, things like face are never given by others."
No matter whether others think highly of you or not, the key is to think highly of yourself.
This sentence was resounding and echoed in the banquet hall for a long time, and it was like a heavy slap on everyone's face.