Chapter 639 – A Quarrel
After New Year’s Eve came New Year’s Day, and the visitors for the New Year came to the house.
The younger ones continued their duty of greeting visitors.
Originally, they wanted their new little sister to participate as well, but they were declined by Lu Fangyi.
So it was just the three of them.
However, as they watched the sweet-talking little kids greet the visitors and receive praises and red envelopes from everyone, Lu Xia couldn’t shake the feeling that her cousin-in-law’s gaze towards them wasn’t quite right.
But perhaps she was overthinking it. After all, everyone who gave red envelopes to An’an and the others also gave one to Ning Ning. It wouldn’t be right for her cousin-in-law to be upset just because they received more due to their numbers.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, a few older sisters came back with their families and children.
It was their first time meeting their cousin-in-law. After warmly greeting her and giving a red envelope to Ning Ning, they all sat down and started chatting.
Because the cousin-in-law was not talkative, and the older sisters were more familiar with Lu Xia, they ended up chatting more with her.
Of course, the topic that dominated the conversation was the annual company party at Lu Xia’s workplace.
Lu Xia didn’t expect this news to have spread even to her family.
It turns out that shortly after the company party ended, news of it spread in the capital, and many people heard about it.
After all, it was rare for a company to be so generous and give so many gifts to its employees.
The older sisters praised and complimented Lu Xia a lot.
Lu Xia felt a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I didn’t do much. The company is mostly managed by the other partners.”
The second sister interjected, “Come on, little sister, we know you well. Your brain works in mysterious ways, and the ideas you come up with are amazing. Look at your third sister and her husband; they’re both bosses now. I envy them.”
Lu Xia smiled at this but didn’t take credit. “It’s all the result of their hard work; it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
The sisters knew she was being modest, but they didn’t press the matter. After all, Lu Fangyi was present, and they didn’t want to be too distant from her. So, they changed the topic and started talking to Lu Fangyi, asking about her experiences in the military.
However, after that, Lu Xia couldn’t shake the feeling that her cousin-in-law was looking at her with an odd expression.
In the evening, after the sisters left following dinner, Lu Xia helped tidy up the house. She heard her cousin-in-law ask her, “Aren’t you a university professor? Why are you also doing business?”
Lu Xia didn’t hide anything when asked and smiled as she explained, “Teaching is my main profession. The business is an investment, and the day-to-day operations are managed by other partners in the company.”
Her cousin-in-law nodded, “So, your company must be making a lot of money. I heard it was even on TV today!”
Lu Xia modestly responded, “It’s okay, just making a little money. It’s not comparable to others.”
Her cousin-in-law seemed to ponder this and didn’t say anything further.
Later, when Lu Xia lay down in her room preparing to rest, she suddenly heard what sounded like an argument from the next room, and it was getting louder.
So she nudged Jiang Junmo and asked, “Are cousin and cousin-in-law arguing?”
Jiang Junmo shook his head, “I don’t know. Let’s not meddle in their affairs and pretend we didn’t hear anything.”
Lu Xia nodded. It was the couple’s matter, and she had no intention of getting involved.
Fortunately, the voices stopped soon, probably indicating that everything was fine.
The next morning, when Lu Xia woke up, she observed their expressions closely and found that things seemed quite normal. She breathed a sigh of relief, guessing they had reconciled.
At that moment, Grandpa Jiang asked, “When are you both going back?”
“I don’t have much vacation time. I bought a ticket for the sixth day of the Lunar New Year,” Jiang Chengcun explained.
“Alright,” Grandpa Jiang nodded. “Since you’ve come back after so long, rest well at home. If you need anything or want something to eat, just let me know.”
Jiang Chengcun nodded, “I know, thank you, Grandpa.”
Grandpa Jiang nodded and didn’t say anything further.
*
Chapter 640 – Cousin-in-law’s Thoughts
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At this moment, the cousin-in-law who had been silent suddenly said, “Grandpa, this time when we leave, we want to leave Ning Ning here.”
“What?” Grandpa Jiang instinctively asked.
Uncle and Aunt Jiang on the side also looked over.
Lu Xia and the others stopped eating, not understanding why the cousin-in-law had made this decision.
“I want to leave Ning Ning here to attend school,” the cousin-in-law repeated.
Before anyone else could respond, the elder cousin beside her immediately said, “No, I don’t agree!”
He took a deep breath and emphasized again, “I said it last night, I don’t agree!”
The cousin-in-law furrowed her brow upon hearing this. “Why don’t you agree? It’s much better here than in the military. Ning Ning can receive a better education here. Why can’t we leave her here?”
“But Ning Ning is not even two years old… how could she possibly be away from her parents?” the elder cousin argued.
Seeing that they were about to argue, Aunt Jiang spoke up to mediate, “He’s right, Fangyi. Ning Ning is still very young, probably unable to be apart from her parents. How about this? After she starts primary school, you can send her back here for schooling!
“Besides, your dad and I are busy with work, and your grandpa is getting older. He can’t take care of so many children, and I’m sure you’re also concerned,” Aunt Jiang continued.
But the cousin-in-law responded directly to this suggestion, “So why can those few stay here?”
Lu Xia furrowed her brow upon hearing this. What did she mean? Was she referring to An’an and the others?
Aunt Jiang frowned upon hearing this, “An’an and the others only stay here during the New Year. They usually go back to their own home.”
But the cousin-in-law seemed to find this hard to believe and was about to say something more. However, at this point, the elder cousin put down his chopsticks with a loud “clap” and left with the child.
Seeing this, the cousin-in-law’s expression turned cold, and she left as well.
Afterward, nobody at the table spoke. Aunt Jiang sighed apologetically and glanced at Lu Xia, who shook her head to reassure her that everything was okay.
The atmosphere in the house remained oppressive for the rest of the day. The cousin-in-law stayed in her room and didn’t come out, not even for dinner.
Before going to bed, Lu Xia sighed in her room. When she heard the door opening, she quickly asked Jiang Junmo, “Did you find out the reason?”
Jiang Junmo nodded, “Yes, we found out. Cousin said that after being together with his wife, he never mentioned his family background. Initially, she thought our family was just an ordinary military family. It wasn’t until she saw Grandpa and the people who came to pay New Year’s greetings that she realized she had underestimated us.
When she heard about the success of the company you run, she instinctively thought that as a university professor, you must have used the Jiang family’s influence to make the company prosper. She felt like they were at a disadvantage being so far away, so she wanted to leave the child here to bask in the glory of the family.”
“Really?” Lu Xia furrowed her brow upon hearing this. “Isn’t that an overreaction from the cousin-in-law?”
Jiang Junmo continued, “Also, when the cousin-in-law was pregnant with Ning Ning, it was a very difficult time. The childbirth was complicated, and given her age, she had already decided not to have any more children. However, recently, after suggesting leaving Ning Ning here, she suddenly wants to have another child!”
Lu Xia: Is she comparing herself to the number of children she has given birth to?
Lu Xia opened her mouth, “…Did your cousin tell you all of this?”
Jiang Junmo shook his head and smiled, “Of course not. He was struggling to say it, so I guessed it.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xia sighed, “What does your cousin think?”
“I don’t know. He’s probably quite disappointed. But he definitely won’t agree to leave the child behind. After this, he might try to visit less often.”
“Huh? Why?”
“No particular reason. If he doesn’t want a divorce, this is probably how he’ll decide.”
Lu Xia sighed upon hearing this, not knowing what to say.
Wow, a mixture of jealousy and inferiority really did a number on that woman. Without knowing anything or talking to people properly to understand their history, she just assumed a whole bunch of things. This is a good family, if she tried she could have easily Integrated. She turned a joyous occasion into an uncomfortable mess. 😞
Yes and no… She wants the best for her child, and she believes it is here she can get it. It’s all partly the husband fault for never telling her the family circumstances even after 2/3 years of marriage, so she only has little time to make a decision.
Plus, those feelings are only Jingo’s guesses, not necessarily the truth.
IMO, both husband and wife are at fault.
I suspected that she might have had a difficult pregnancy/birth given the way she overprotected her daughter and I understand that her wish to leave her here stems from wanting the best resources for her but that switch between hovering over her baby all day to leaving a not yet 2 y/o kid with strangers is insane. Yes these strangers are her husband’s family but one day she doesn’t want the triplets play with her daughter and the next she’ll just dump her there no longer afraid that she’ll get cold in Beijing?