When Wei Jin went back to her parents' home and talked about this, she said, "No wonder my sister-in-law is so nice to our little girl all of a sudden. She usually looks at me several times if I eat a little more meat. That day, the little girl went over and saw the chicken stewed in the kitchen. The chicken was stewed soft, so I asked the little girl to try two pieces. She is usually not so generous, and she served the little girl a small bowl of meat. The meat we stew at home is always salty, so we don't dare to let the child eat so much. What if the throat is salty? I said she was suddenly generous, and it turned out that this was her idea! She is really a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"
Old Madam Wei and Old Madam Zhao usually don't get along. Wei Jin can't say anything about her mother-in-law, so she mainly complains about her sisters-in-law. Old Madam Wei doesn't have such scruples, and scolds, "I said your father didn't choose well at the beginning. Although the eldest son-in-law is an honest man, the old woman in your in-laws' family is really not easy to deal with! Not only have you suffered hardships in marrying her family for so many years, but she also gave birth to two grandchildren for her old Zhao family! I have regretted for so many years. I shouldn't have agreed to the Zhao family's marriage proposal at the beginning. Now she is eyeing our little girl. She is really bold!"
"That's what I said!" Wei Jin shook his head. "It's just a dream!"
The Wei family knew about this, but they couldn't do anything. After all, Mrs. Zhao just had a dream, and the Wei family didn't like it. Wei Nian said to her elder sister, "Don't bring the little girl to your mother-in-law's house in the future. Your mother-in-law is getting more and more unreasonable."
"I know, I know. If I knew that she was planning to take advantage of our little girl, I would not take her there." Wei Jin was also very tough because of the help from her mother's family.
After Chen Xuan knew about this, she said to Wei Nian, "If anyone asks about our little girl's marriage in the future, Brother Nian, don't make any rash decisions for her. It's a new society now, and child marriages are no longer popular."
"I know, the boy from Zhao Laoer's family is dreaming." Even Zhao's brother-in-law doesn't appreciate Wei Nian's character. The main reason is that his sister is married, and he has two nephews, the brother-in-law and the brother-in-law, so he can just make do with them. Wei Nian is not Mr. Wei, who only wants an honest son-in-law when he arranges a marriage for his daughter. Wei Nian has high standards. Wei Nian said, "We are still young and can move up in the future. Don't talk about the future, even now, that bald boy from his family is not worthy of our little girl."
Chen Xuan said seriously, "In the future, when our little girl gets married, the man she wants must at least be a PhD candidate." Chen Xuan prefers people who are good at studying.
Wei Nianle, "You have higher standards than I do."
"It's not that I have high standards. My little girl will get a doctorate in the future. Marriage requires matching of family backgrounds. If my little girl has a doctorate, it wouldn't be a good match for her to marry an illiterate man." Chen Xuan also expressed her feelings about her marriage with Wei Nian. "When we just got married, you didn't want to, brother Nian, wasn't it because we weren't a good match?"
This was the biggest shortcoming of Wei Nian's life. He coughed twice and tried to explain himself, "That's not true. I just wanted to develop a relationship with you at that time."
Chen Xuan smiled at him, and the two of them changed into home clothes and went downstairs, and saw the little girl standing on a chair and making a phone call. Chen Xuan said, "You're making a phone call again. Didn't I say that phone calls are expensive?" The little girl has her own hobbies, one of which is making phone calls. Chen Xuan was very troubled by the little girl's expensive hobby, and often asked Mrs. Wei to supervise her and stop the little girl from making random phone calls. Mrs. Wei was not in the living room, and she knew she was taking a shower.
The little girl said loudly, "I asked Uncle Rong to call me. It was Uncle Rong who paid, not our family!"
Chen Xuan wanted to cover her face. Hey, girl, can you speak more quietly? Your uncle Rong should hear it! Chen Xuan said seriously, "Your uncle Rong's money didn't come from the wind."
"Uncle Rong is very rich, he said it's okay." The little girl turned around and said to Rong Yang, "My mom is afraid that you will spend money on the phone, Uncle Rong, I have to hang up, I wish you a happy new year, I mainly want to wish you a happy new year!" Then, she said "um, um, um" three times, without letting her mother take the phone to say a few words to Uncle Rong, she hung up the phone. Turning around and saying to her mother, "It's almost the New Year, I'm calling Uncle Rong to wish him a happy new year."
The call was over, but the little girl still didn't come down and was still dialing the number. Chen Xuan went over and asked, "Why are you still calling?"
"I want to call grandma again." The little girl said to her mother in a planned way, "It's Chinese New Year, I have to greet the elders. Uncle Rong and grandma often send me things, I want to call them to wish them a happy new year. I told them that we don't have much money, and asked them to call me, it won't cost much money, mom."
Chen Xuan was speechless for a moment, then said to the little girl, "You really know how to live."
Feeling deeply praised by her mother, the little girl proudly shook the two thin braids on her head and said jokingly, "I mainly look like you, mother."
"I'm really flattered." Chen Xuan wanted to say a few words to the little girl about thriftiness, but when she saw Yun Jie'er coming in with her schoolbag, she touched the little girl's pigtails, poured a glass of water, and asked Yun Jie'er, "You're done with the exam. How did you do?"
There is no need to worry about Yun Jie'er's grades. This child is smart since she was young. Although she started school later, she skipped a grade in her first year and has already caught up with her peers. The Wei family was originally a business family. Since Chen Xuan was studious, the whole family has started to study. Yun Jie'er has even learned some French and German. Her grades have always been among the best in the class. Yun Jie'er put down her schoolbag and took the water. "Aunt, I have to pick up my report card next week. There is also a parent-teacher meeting. I don't think it's a big problem. I answered all the questions on the test paper."
Chen Xuan said, "That's good. I'll ask your second uncle to attend the parent-teacher meeting for you."
Sister Yun nodded.
The little girl asked her father, "Dad, when can I go to school?"
Wei Nian smiled, "Do you want to go to school?"
Chen Xuan was also very pleased that her daughter was very studious, which was definitely like her.
Children don’t lie. The little girl said honestly, “I mainly want to win a big award like my sister.”
Made the whole family laugh.
Sometimes when talking about her daughter, Chen Xuan would ask Wei Nian if he was like her daughter when she was young, and was simply the diplomat of the family. It was not strange to talk to Mr. Rong on the phone. Rong Yang looked gentle and handsome, and he seemed to be out of touch with the world, but he actually liked children very much. The little girl was lively and friendly to people. In addition, Chen Xuan was particularly willing to take her daughter out for social activities, so Rong Yang would see the little girl whenever he came to Beijing, and sometimes he would give her some small toys for girls. In particular, Rong Yang was particularly good at giving the little girl clothes. Although the little girl was small, she was born with the narcissistic genes of her father Wei Nian, and she loved to dress up. But she had a special aesthetic taste and loved colorful things. Rong Yang had given the little girl a white gauze skirt for little girls before, but the little girl didn't like it very much. Later, Rong Yang gave her silk fabrics with patterns such as red peony, red peony, and purple grape, and the little girl loved it very much.
Therefore, she particularly liked Uncle Rong and thought that he had the same vision as her.
But I have never met Mrs. Wen. Their aesthetics are completely different. Mrs. Wen will not give the little girl whatever she likes like Rong Yang does. Mrs. Wen's favorite children's clothes are not white gauze skirts. Mrs. Wen prefers small cheongsams or small Western-style skirts with ruffles. The little girl doesn't like to wear these two. Later, Mrs. Wen stopped giving these and changed to children's books. This is more to the little girl's liking. The main thing is that even if she doesn't know how to read, it is very interesting to look at the pictures.
Usually, the little girl would often dress up beautifully and ask her parents, grandma, aunt and younger aunt to go to the photo studio to take pictures. Then, she would send her own photos to Uncle Rong and grandma, which was very corny.
The little girl called Madam Wen, her grandmother whom she had never met, more frequently than her mother. For example, she called her mother before she did during the Chinese New Year.
I don’t know what the little girl said to Madam Wen behind her family’s back. Madam Wen specifically called Chen Xuan to ask, “Is there anyone trying to get Sister Xin married? You must be careful about this matter.”
Chen Xuan said, "Even though some relatives asked about it, Brother Anian and I didn't respond."
"No, that's right. Now is a new society. I think Xin Jieer is very smart. We should train her well in the future. As long as Xin Jieer is outstanding, there will be no outstanding men. It would be unfair to the child if we rashly arrange a marriage for her." Madam Wen didn't say more about this matter. Instead, she asked about Chen Xuan and Wei Nian's plan to study abroad. Chen Xuan said, "Brother Nian said that we should take the exam next year."
Madam Wen said, "Don't delay your studies. Let me know after you take the exam and I'll prepare the boat tickets for you."
Chen Xuan talked to Wei Nian about studying abroad next year. Chen Xuan said, "One is about the old lady. We have to tell her in advance. After all, my brother and his wife are in our hometown. If possible, we should take the old lady to live abroad for a few years so that we can take care of her nearby. The other thing is about Sister Yun. If we go abroad next year, what will happen to Sister Yun?"
Wei Nian was not worried. "Sister Yun has been attending a church elementary school since she was a child. She speaks good English and daily conversations should not be a problem. I'll tell my eldest brother and his wife. If they agree, how about we take Sister Yun abroad with us?" In this regard, Wei Nian still had to seek his wife's opinion.
The family's financial problems were not serious, and in this era, uncles, aunts, and cousins were all close relatives. For a family like the Wei family where the first branch was somewhat depressed, it was common for the second branch to raise children on their behalf. Chen Xuan said, "That's good too. Sister Yun has always had good grades, and she can see the world by going abroad."
After discussing this, Chen Xuan asked, "Have you discussed it with Mr. Rong? Once we leave, who will take over the affairs in Beijing?"
Wei Nian said, "Mr. Rong and I are both more optimistic about Miss Bai."
Thinking about Miss Bai's talents, Chen Xuan also had to say, "It won't be a big problem if Miss Bai takes over."
Wei Nian also asked Chen Xuan, "What are you and Ah Yin planning for the store?"
Chen Xuan said, "Ah Yin and I are discussing whether Ah Yan is willing to take over. If Ah Yan is willing to take over the business, we can follow the same way we did with Mr. Rong. She takes 70%, and Ah Yin and I take 30."
Wei Nian smiled, "If you put forward this condition, there will be a lot of people in Beijing who would like it."
"You can't say that. Ah Yan has been working with us for many years. We trust Ah Yan's character and behavior." Chen Xuan said casually, "Ah Yan is in mourning now. Is her marriage with Shopkeeper Xiao Li coming soon?"
"Mrs. Li is so eager to see it. The main reason is that Mrs. Sun is a bannerman, and she is too particular. In the folks, mourning is always one year, but Mrs. Sun insisted on three years." Wei Shang shook his head. "Mrs. Sun is a pitiful person, but not hateful."
"What do you mean?" Chen Xuan didn't understand. In the past, Mr. Sun's opium addiction ruined the family, and Mrs. Sun raised several children with great difficulty. Although in the end it was Sun Yan who supported the family, Mrs. Sun was also very attentive in taking care of the children.
Wei Nian's tone was quite disapproving, and he said to Chen Xuan, "You always think too much about others. You can't see that there are so many bannermen in Beijing. Now is not the Qing Dynasty. Who would have such a particularity? It's just that Mrs. Sun thinks too much. She thinks that Miss Sun has made money in the past few years, but she doesn't give the money to her. She is afraid that Miss Sun will not support her family once she gets married. That's why she insists on observing the three-year mourning period. She just wants Miss Sun to support the family for a few more years."
"No way? I heard that the Bannermen are really particular."
"It's nothing, it must be like this." Wei Nian was sure, "How many years can a girl from an ordinary family stay young? Miss Sun is now in her twenties. Do you think she is the same as Ah Yin? Ah Yin is going to study abroad. Even so, our mother has been nagging about Ah Yin's marriage. If she really loves her daughter, considering Mr. Sun's character, waiting for a year is the most she can do. Look at how many tricks Mrs. Sun has, none of which are used in the right place. Her family has only a few dollars, even with two children studying, it is a piece of cake for Miss Sun now. The more she does this, the more Miss Sun will alienate herself from her. Miss Sun bought a house in Jinyu Hutong, a house with three entrances, and she wants at least five or six thousand dollars, saying it is for her dowry. Mrs. Li, the shopkeeper, is so happy that she doesn't know what to do. Now that Miss Sun's mourning period is over, their marriage will be next year."
Chen Xuan was very happy for Sun Yan and Shopkeeper Xiao Li. Chen Xuan said, "Anyway, Yan is a sensible person. I am really happy for her to be where she is today."
Wei Nian smiled, "Yes, we must give a big gift then."
“That’s it!”
The author has something to say: ps: Good night!!! I feel like I’ve been cursed by the late update!