Widow Remarries in Sixties - Chapter 33.2

When Liu Aihua saw that the bag contained hats, her smile faded slightly. She didn’t lack hats, but after feeling the thickness of the red envelope, she felt a little better, especially seeing that her sister’s red envelope wasn’t as thick as hers, which made her quite satisfied.

She directly took a few hair ties from Jin Xiuzhu’s hand and said cheerfully, “Sister doesn’t tie her hair. Thank you, Aunt.”

Then she turned and went outside to find her mother.

Liu Jingzhi, feeling happy as she touched the hat, heard her sister’s words, a flash of disappointment crossing her face. However, she still looked up and said to Jin Xiuzhu, “Thank you, Aunt. I really like it.”

Jin Xiuzhu stuffed the red envelope into her hand, and Liu Jingzhi instinctively shook her head, “No, no, I’m already in college.”

Jin Xiuzhu skillfully held her wrist, preventing Liu Jingzhi from pulling away, and directly put the red envelope into her pocket. Liu Jingzhi looked towards the door at her father, and Jin Xiuzhu followed her gaze, seeing the face of the middle-aged man. She smiled and said, “Cousin, Jingzhi is in college now, and expenses have increased a lot. This red envelope is just a token of our appreciation. What do you think?”

Liu Qin, chuckling awkwardly, felt even more out of place being called “cousin”. This “cousin’s wife” was beautiful, well-dressed, and clearly from a well-off family. He hurriedly told his eldest daughter, “Then accept it.”

Liu Jingzhi, blushing, accepted it after hearing her father’s words.

Jin Xiuzhu continued to Liu Qin, “Your niece is really good-looking. On the way here, Mingchuan told me that his cousin’s daughter is not only beautiful but also smart. I was skeptical about how beautiful she could be. Well, it turns out I was too narrow-minded. When I saw her just now, I was truly impressed.”

“Such a lovely and well-behaved child, I like her the most. Ah, it’s a pity that our statuses don’t match, otherwise I would definitely take her as my own sister and spoil her.”

Liu Jingzhi, though feeling a bit embarrassed by Jin Xiuzhu’s praise, also felt her affection, which made her very happy.

Last night, when she learned that her uncle would come today, she was very happy. From childhood to adulthood, she loved the New Year the most because every year, her uncle would visit, bringing many gifts. Although her sister always liked to take them, she was still very happy.

She always felt that compared to her sister, her uncle seemed to favor her more, which was the only preferential treatment she ever received from others.

Liu Qin, who had been smiling, suddenly felt something was off after hearing this. He looked at Jin Xiuzhu, who had already turned back to warmly chat with his eldest daughter, as if they were a family.

Before he could figure out the meaning behind Jin Xiuzhu’s words, he heard Jiang Mingchuan speaking in a voice only he could hear, “It seems my sister isn’t living very well in your family.”

Liu Qin’s heart skipped a beat. Anxious to explain something, he met Jiang Mingchuan’s somewhat indifferent face.

For some reason, he felt guilty. Indeed, he and his wife had been more partial to their younger daughter.

Jiang Mingchuan pursed his lips, glanced at his wife and sister not far away, and suddenly said, “Let’s go outside.”

He walked out first.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Qin followed him.

In the corridor outside, Liu Aihua, after counting the money in the red envelope twice, found there were still only two yuan, and angrily muttered, “How stingy, only two yuan. It used to be ten yuan!”

Song Xiaoru heard this and tried to comfort her, “Keep your voice down. Two yuan is a lot.”

Who else gives two yuan in red envelopes these days? Most give at most fifty cents.

Liu Aihua, angry, swished her braid, “They’re stingy. This year, only hats and hair ties, no clothes at all.”

Song Xiaoru felt helpless. Who were these so-called relatives anyway? This foolish child actually took them as real relatives? They came to visit the eldest daughter. They were the real family.

“They’re married now, and don’t you see they have two kids? Your uncle and aunt have to live too.”

Liu Aihua didn’t care and was still angry, especially since the tube building had no soundproofing. Inside conversations could be heard outside. She heard Jin Xiuzhu’s praise and affection for her sister, which made her both angry and jealous. She had even made her sister cut her hair short, so why was her sister still being praised as pretty?

“Why did they have to get married? I don’t like this aunt at all, she disgusts me.”

Song Xiaoru, hearing this, slapped her younger daughter’s arm in frustration, “What nonsense are you talking?”

Liu Aihua wanted to say more, but then saw the door suddenly open. Jiang Mingchuan walked out with a somewhat cold expression, followed by Liu Qin.

Liu Aihua was scared and didn’t dare to speak, unsure if her uncle had heard her earlier words.

Song Xiaoru was also startled, forcing a smile, “Why did you come out?”

Jiang Mingchuan glanced at her, then at Liu Aihua, and walked to the other side of the corridor.

Liu Qin glared at his younger daughter and then stood opposite Jiang Mingchuan.

Song Xiaoru picked up the kettle with the boiled water and sighed to her younger daughter, “Let’s go inside.”

In the past, Liu Aihua would eagerly take the kettle into the living room, but this time she didn’t. She swished her braid and walked away.

Song Xiaoru, feeling helpless, followed her.

Inside, she poured a cup of hot water for Jin Xiuzhu, who was chatting with Liu Jingzhi about college life, books they had read, and her work. The more they talked, the more they liked each other. They even exchanged addresses and promised to write often.

Seeing Song Xiaoru come over, Jin Xiuzhu said deliberately, “Your daughter is very outstanding. I like her very much. I work at a newspaper office. If there’s a chance, I hope we can stay in touch more often. What do you think, sister-in-law?”

Song Xiaoru forced a smile, “Of course, that would be great.”

Liu Jingzhi was very happy. She also liked this aunt very much.

Song Xiaoru wanted to say more but then heard her younger daughter say, “How much does working at a newspaper pay?”

Song Xiaoru, feeling embarrassed, quickly pulled her younger daughter away.

Even from a distance, her complaints could be heard, something about only two yuan.

Jin Xiuzhu took a sip of water from the cup beside her, while Liu Jingzhi felt a bit flustered and explained, “She’s just childish.”

Jin Xiuzhu gently looked at her. “But you are only three years older than her.”

Liu Jingzhi opened her mouth, but found herself unable to speak.

This was the first time anyone had ever said such words to her. Her parents always told her to let her younger sister have her way, simply because she was the elder sister.

Jin Xiuzhu took her hand, feeling the rough texture of her palm. With a look of heartache, she said ambiguously, “Before, he didn’t know how to treat you well. From now on, we will treat you well”

Liu Jingzhi heard this, stunned for a moment, not fully understanding what she meant.

Fu Yanyan, who was playing with He Yan, also heard this. She looked up at Jin Xiuzhu, suspecting that she had said it intentionally.

After lunch at the Liu family’s home, Jin Xiuzhu and her family left. Before leaving, Jin Xiuzhu warmly took Song Xiaoru’s hand and said, “Sister-in-law, we’ll be in S City for a few more days, so we might have to visit and bother you a few more times.”

Song Xiaoru smiled politely, “It’s no bother at all.”

Jin Xiuzhu was pleased. “That’s good then.”

As they reached downstairs, Jiang Mingchuan suddenly said to Jin Xiuzhu, “I told Liu Qin that if they can’t treat both children fairly, he should tell my sister about her true parentage.”

Both Jin Xiuzhu and their daughter looked up at him.

Only He Yan was happy. “Great! I like sister.”

Jiang Mingchuan recounted to Jin Xiuzhu what he had overheard from his sister’s adoptive parents and their daughter, then said, “I want to reclaim my sister.”

He had always thought that Liu Qin and his wife were honest and hardworking. He had checked on his sister’s situation, and apart from their younger daughter causing some trouble, the couple treated his sister fairly well.

He had thought that as long as his sister didn’t know the truth, it would avoid creating a rift with her adoptive parents.

Jin Xiuzhu couldn’t help but ask, “What did Liu Qin say?”

“Liu Qin didn’t say anything.”

Jin Xiuzhu sneered, “He’s probably scared, right?”

Jiang Mingchuan looked at her.

Jin Xiuzhu said, “He must be thinking that he has raised this daughter with great effort, even if he received your mother’s favor at first. After so many years of raising her, there must be some emotional attachment. Now that she’s about to graduate and start earning money, he might be worried that you’re trying to take her away.”

“I don’t want to take her away. I just want her to know she has a brother, someone she can rely on.”

Jin Xiuzhu sighed. “Of course I understand. But once your sister knows you are her biological brother, even if she still has deep feelings for her adoptive family, her adoptive parents will start withdrawing their emotional investment in her. Even if she remains as filial as before, they will feel they raised her for nothing and will favor their own biological child more. In the end, your sister will be the one who gets hurt. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have immediately called you ‘cousin’ to remind you of your identity as soon as you arrived.”

Human hearts are complex. Everyone wants to be the only one in someone else’s heart.

Jiang Mingchuan pressed his lips together. He had thought of these things too, which is why he had held back until now.

Every time he visited before, Liu Aihua had always been very enthusiastic and active. He had heard from neighbors that Liu Aihua was a bit unruly and domineering, but he thought as long as the couple treated his sister well, she wouldn’t suffer too much.

It was better than being with him, as he had been drifting from place to place for years, having nothing to offer his sister.

Jin Xiuzhu was protective of her own. Since Jiang Mingchuan was her husband, Liu Jingzhi was her sister-in-law. She planned to let Liu Jingzhi discover her true identity herself and gradually feel the difference in treatment from her parents. When that time came, they would point out how Liu Qin and his wife had wronged her, making it easier to reclaim his sister.

This method was a bit ruthless and would require some compensation later.

However, she couldn’t tell Jiang Mingchuan about this plan, as he would never agree to it. He was too upright.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Mingchuan said, “I’ll think about it some more.”