RPAGF Chapter 395 The Beloved Little Sister 30
Chapter 395 The Beloved Little Sister 30
After having her own home, Zhou Xiaomei can now walk with her back straight.
Remembering that Ji Xiaosong had mentioned that her younger sister was severely malnourished, Zhou Xiaomei decided to take Zhou Xiaofang to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things to help her recover.
She now has several hundred million in savings, no one in her husband's family is after her money, and she doesn't have endless housework or a younger brother to appease.
On a day off, Zhou Xiaomei took her younger sister Zhou Xiaofang to the supply and marketing cooperative. It was lunchtime and there were few people there.
Sunlight streamed through the glass windows onto the counter, giving the merchandise on the shelves a golden sheen.
"Sister, do we really have to buy so much?" Zhou Xiaofang timidly tugged at her sister's sleeve, but her eyes couldn't help glancing at the candy counter.
“Of course.” Zhou Xiaomei straightened her back and took out a brand new fifty yuan from her pocket. “You’re not feeling well, you need to eat more.”
She pointed to the counter: "Half a pound of fruit candy, two packs of biscuits, a jar of malted milk powder, and a box of face cream."
The sales clerk looked up at the two sisters in surprise.
In this day and age, it's rare to see someone spend so much money on things.
"Comrade, that's six yuan and two jiao in total." The sales clerk quickly wrapped up the goods and even gave you two extra candies, "They're free."
Zhou Xiaofang happily accepted the candy, eagerly peeled one open, and popped it into her mouth: "Thank you, sister!"
Just as the two sisters turned to leave, they suddenly heard a cold snort from behind: "Oh, isn't this the fourth daughter of the Zhou family? Getting married really changes things, she's so generous."
Zhou Xiaomei turned around and saw a young woman with curly hair and fashionable clothes standing behind the fabric counter, glancing at her sideways.
His gaze was like a knife, as if he wanted to tear holes in her new clothes.
"You are..." Zhou Xiaomei asked politely.
"I am Lin Xiulan." The woman raised her chin. "A full-time employee of the supply and marketing cooperative."
Zhou Xiaomei suddenly realized that this was the woman the matchmaker had been trying to introduce to her second brother, Ji Jianjun. She had heard her family mention her before.
I heard that they looked down on the Ji family because they were farmers, and their attitude towards them wasn't very good when they met.
"Hello, Comrade Lin." Zhou Xiaomei nodded neither humbly nor arrogantly, and pulled her sister to leave.
"Wait!" Lin Xiulan suddenly emerged from behind the counter and blocked their way. "I heard you married the third son of the Ji family?"
Zhou Xiaomei felt her sister's hand tighten in her palm.
She gently squeezed her sister's hand, signaling her not to be afraid: "Yes, my husband's name is Ji Jianshe."
"Tsk tsk tsk," Lin Xiulan shook her head exaggeratedly, "A perfectly good city girl, insisting on marrying into the countryside. I heard his family is dirt poor, they even borrowed their bicycle?"
Before Zhou Xiaomei could speak, the saleswoman next to her couldn't help but say, "Xiulan, what are you saying? Comrade Zhou is a full-time employee at the textile factory, and she didn't even blink when she bought things. I think her in-laws treat her very well!"
Lin Xiulan's expression changed as she looked Zhou Xiaomei up and down: the brand-new Dacron shirt, the gleaming silver bracelet on her wrist, and that confident and composed demeanor...
This doesn't look like someone who married into a poor family at all.
"Hmph, what are you pretending to be so generous for?" Lin Xiulan lowered her voice. "Everyone knows the Ji family is so poor they can't even afford the bride price..."
“Comrade Lin,” Zhou Xiaomei interrupted her calmly, “My husband’s family is indeed not wealthy, but they treat me better than their own daughter. My sister-in-law gave me a pen and a bracelet, my mother-in-law made me new clothes, and my father-in-law even bought me a bicycle to make it easier for me to commute to and from get off work.”
She paused, looking directly into Lin Xiulan's eyes: "Most importantly, my husband is hardworking, reliable, and knows how to care for people. Such a good family is hard to find even with a lantern."
Several customers in the supply and marketing cooperative stopped and listened with great interest.
Lin Xiulan's face flushed red and then turned pale. Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly saw Zhou Xiaomei take out a Hero brand fountain pen from her pocket and pin it to her chest.
The pen gleamed in the sunlight; it was clearly a high-end product.
"Oh, right," Zhou Xiaomei said as if suddenly remembering something, "I heard that Comrade Lin's blind date with my second brother had some unpleasantness? What a pity..."
She deliberately left her sentence unfinished, pulled her sister away, and left Lin Xiulan standing there with an extremely unpleasant expression.
As they walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhou Xiaofang looked at her sister with admiration: "Sister, you're amazing! Lin Xiulan was so angry she was practically distorted!"
Zhou Xiaomei shook her head: "There's no need to argue with her. Come on, I'll take you to eat meat buns at the state-run restaurant."
Unbeknownst to the two sisters, their departure had caused an uproar at the supply and marketing cooperative.
"See that? That pen costs five yuan!"
"Zhou Xiaomei is now a team leader, and her salary has increased to thirty-five!"
"I heard her in-laws spoil her rotten; they even bought her a bicycle..."
Every word of these discussions reached Lin Xiulan's ears.
She gripped the fabric tightly in her hands, her nails almost digging into her palms.
That very evening, Lin Xiulan went to find Aunt Wang, the matchmaker from back then.
"Aunt Wang, that second son of the Ji family you mentioned last time..."
She blushed, a rare occurrence for her. "Could you introduce it further?"
Aunt Wang was eating sunflower seeds when she heard this and almost choked: "Oh my, has the sun risen in the west? Didn't you look down on them because they're farmers? Besides, your last meeting wasn't pleasant, so if you go back now, they might not even welcome you."
"I...I didn't know the situation..." Lin Xiulan twisted her fingers. "I heard his family is actually quite well-off?"
Aunt Wang gave her a meaningful look: "Xiulan, marriage is a big decision, you can't just look at the conditions. The second son of the Ji family is an honest man. If you're only after his money, I think you should forget about it."
"Who's after the money!" Lin Xiulan exclaimed anxiously. "I just... I just think... farmers are pretty good too..."
Aunt Wang shook her head and didn't say anything more, only promising to go to the Ji family to ask again.
The next morning, Aunt Wang arrived at the Ji family's house.
Wang Xiuhua was feeding the chickens in the yard when she saw her arrive. She warmly invited her inside for tea.
Although the family wasn't very satisfied with the Lin Xiulan they introduced last time, what if the next one is better?
You can't afford to offend a matchmaker.
"Xiuhua, I'm here again about Jianjun," Aunt Wang said bluntly. "That Lin Xiulan, she's not bad. After our last meeting, she reflected on whether her attitude was bad, you see..."
Wang Xiuhua paused as she poured tea: "Aunt Wang, I'm afraid this won't work."
"Why? Didn't they come to us on their own initiative last time?"
“Last time is last time,” Wang Xiuhua sighed. “Jianjun is a stubborn boy. I heard that Lin Xiulan looks down on him because he is a farmer and not very polite. She absolutely refuses to bring it up again.”
Just then, Ji Jianjun returned from the field carrying a hoe. Upon hearing this, his face immediately darkened: "Mother, didn't I tell you? I wouldn't even take that kind of snobbish girl for free!"
Aunt Wang smiled awkwardly: "Jianjun, the girl knows she was wrong now..."
"You know you're wrong?" Ji Jianjun sneered. "You know my family bought a bicycle for my third son, you know my sister works as a doctor at the clinic, and you know my sister-in-law works at the supply and marketing cooperative, right?"
These words hit the nail on the head, and Aunt Wang could no longer persuade her, so she could only awkwardly take her leave.
No one noticed that a figure quietly left outside the courtyard wall; it was Lin Xiulan, who had secretly followed them.
Hearing Ji Jianjun's words, she stomped her feet in anger and turned to run back to the village.
I ran to the big locust tree at the village entrance and bumped into a few women chatting.
Lin Xiulan rolled her eyes and deliberately said loudly, "Oh dear, some people think they're something special just because they bought a beat-up bicycle. They don't even know their own background!"
The women looked at each other, wondering who she was talking about.
Just then, a clear voice came from behind: "Who do we have here speaking so sarcastically? It's Lin Da, the sales clerk from the supply and marketing cooperative."
Everyone turned around and saw a girl with a ponytail and wearing blue overalls standing there. It was Li Hongmei, the daughter of the village chief next door. She worked at a paper mill in the county town and had just come to visit relatives this weekend.
"Hongmei's here?" the women greeted her warmly.
Li Hongmei nodded, but her eyes were fixed on Lin Xiulan: "Comrade Lin, who were you talking about just now?"
Lin Xiulan felt a little guilty, but refused to back down: "What's it to you? I'm talking about those ignorant country bumpkins!"
"Oh?" Li Hongmei raised an eyebrow. "I heard that someone was inquiring about the Ji family yesterday, wanting to go on a blind date with their second son."
The women immediately erupted in uproar and began whispering among themselves.
Lin Xiulan's face flushed red: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"I'm talking nonsense?" Li Hongmei sneered. "Aunt Zhang from the supply and marketing cooperative is my aunt. She told me everything. I heard you're jealous because Zhou Xiaomei married well?"
"Who's jealous!" Lin Xiulan retorted angrily. "Who does Zhou Xiaomei think she is! A textile factory worker who married a peasant..."
"Snapped!"
A loud slap interrupted Lin Xiulan's words.
Everyone was stunned. It wasn't Li Hongmei who had assaulted them, but Zhou Xiaofang, who had appeared at the scene at some unknown time.
"You're not allowed to insult my sister and brother-in-law!" The little girl trembled with anger. "My brother-in-law is a model worker in the production team, a hundred times better than you!"
Lin Xiulan covered her face, unable to believe that she had been hit by a little girl: "You...you dare to hit me?"
"So what if I hit you?" Li Hongmei shielded Zhou Xiaofang behind her. "You snob, you deserve to be beaten!"
The scene became chaotic for a moment.
Just then, a loud voice rang out: "What are you all doing!"
Everyone turned around and saw the village chief walking over with his hands behind his back, his face serious.
"Uncle!" Li Hongmei ran over and quickly explained the situation.
After listening, the village chief frowned and looked at Lin Xiulan: "Comrade Lin, you are a public servant, how can you talk like that? The Ji family is a model family in our village. The eldest son is studying at the best university in the country, the third son is a skilled worker, the daughter is a doctor at the clinic and can also attend a nursing school, and even the daughter-in-law is a key member of the textile factory. What right do you have to look down on such a good family?"
Lin Xiulan was so ashamed that she covered her face and ran away.
The story quickly spread throughout the village and became a topic of conversation among the villagers.
Upon hearing this, Ji Jianjun inexplicably felt a greater liking for Li Hongmei, the daughter of the village chief from the next village who had spoken up for him.