Zhi Xia quickly placed the things in her hands on the table and went forward to take the items from her. She helped to stick the character for "Happiness" on the wall.
"This person becomes useless as they get older, unable to do any work properly." When Zhi Xia first returned a few years ago, she could even sew clothes with a needle, but now she couldn't even stick a simple character properly and seemed lost.
"Grandma is not old, she's still young!" Zhi Xia assisted the elderly lady to sit at the table and said, "Grandma, don't worry about it. Just tell me where you want it to be placed. I will take care of it later. Look, do you like this?"
Zhi Xia took out a long string of pearl necklaces from the box. It could be worn around the neck in two loops, with one loop longer than the other, giving a particularly luxurious appearance.
The pearls of this set of jewelry owned by the old lady were relatively large, unlike others with alternating sizes, and they were not overly flashy.
"Oh, I haven't seen pearls of such good quality in many years. Where did you get them? It must have taken a lot of effort," the old lady said affectionately as she touched them.
"It was just a stroke of luck. It didn't take much effort. I also prepared a set for Fourth Sister-in-law," Zhi Xia said as she opened the box. "By the way, where is Fourth Brother? I can ask him to deliver it to Fourth Sister-in-law."
"That boy, he's clueless most of the time, but once he gets it, it's amazing. Now he practically sticks to the Su family," the old lady complained with a smile. "He's like a freeloader."
"Grandma, you're exaggerating," Zhi Xia quickly intervened. "Fourth Brother won't stay at home for long. Of course, he wants to spend time with Fourth Sister-in-law while he can. Isn't that what you've been hoping for?"
"You always take his side," the old lady said. "This set of pearls is really good. The craftsmanship suits young people like you. By the way, do you have any for yourself?"
"Yes, I have one too. I also prepared a bracelet for Wanqing."
"That's good," the old lady finally felt relieved.
After helping to arrange things at home, Zhi Xia returned to her own house.
Pei Jingming would leave the next day after attending the wedding. During this time, Zhi Xia still had to arrange the food for him.
He had already found a place to store the food, a large warehouse outside the city. The warehouse was already quite full despite its size, with 100,000 catties of corn flour and 100,000 catties of sweet potato powder.
"The weather isn't too cold yet, and there's no rush for the cotton. You said you were selling the food, right? You can temporarily switch to selling cotton. Since the disaster in Jincheng, many things have been circulating in the black market. As long as you don't attract too much attention, no one will bother you," Pei Jingming suggested.
"Okay, I'll follow your advice," Zhi Xia thought that she wasn't profiting from a national disaster. After all, apart from her, no one could keep the prices so low.
The corn flour and sweet potato powder were already processed to meet the standards of this era. The corn flour wasn't ground too finely and still contained some husks.
The corn flour was priced at 18 cents per catty, while the sweet potato powder was priced at 55 cents. The total value was 73,000 yuan, which was more than what Zhi Xia and Hu Zhou had earned together during this period. Moreover, the quantity she provided was definitely more than expected.
Although the goods were delivered, it would take some time before the payment could be settled.
In reality, they hadn't even set off for the purchase yet. Instead, they needed to symbolically bring back some items as a cover-up before the funds could be allocated.
Originally, this matter wasn't something that An ZhiAng needed to handle. However, everyone knew that the situation was difficult and urgent. There was hardly anyone willing to take on the thankless task. At this moment, he was willing to step forward, and many people sought his help.
By the time Zhi Xia returned, An ZhiAng had already come back as well.
Tomorrow was the wedding day, and the elderly lady wanted him to return at night. He couldn't possibly continue staying at the Su family's residence.
An ZhiAng was a little displeased, but he still had to obey.
At the doorway, he called out loudly, "Zhi Xia, come out first."
Zhi Xia thought he had something important to discuss, but when she came out, she heard him rambling while holding the wooden box she had given him. "You little rascal, are you deliberately trying to create distance between us? I'm just giving you some pocket money, yet you insist on returning it to me. Are you still treating me as your brother? The things Granny gave you, you can keep them for yourself. Your sister-in-law doesn't lack these things, and she's not a petty person. I've already talked to her about the money, and she has no objections. If she were that petty, I wouldn't want her. Don't worry about it anymore, understand?"
"Brother, what you're saying is not right." Since he cared for her so much, Zhi Xia naturally considered his feelings as well. "You and your sister-in-law are family. From now on, no matter what happens in life, you should discuss and decide together. You can't just act on your own like before. I hope my brother will be responsible, taking care of your family and loving your wife. You should cherish your sister-in-law more. In the future, your money won't be yours alone, but both of yours. So, you can't make decisions independently."
Emotions between people should be mutual. They were going to be lifelong companions, and they needed to understand and take care of each other. That was the way to make their relationship last.
Zhi Xia didn't want her beloved brother to have an unhappy marriage in the future, especially if the reason was that he loved her too much and neglected his own family. She didn't want to become a disliked sister-in-law.
Because she loved her brother too, she would try her best to get along well with her sister-in-law for the sake of both of them.
"My little sister has truly grown up. You're stronger than your brother." An ZhiAng felt gratified yet pained at the same time.
He wished she could be a bit more willful like Pei Shuangshuang, instead of always being so sensible. It made him ache inside.
At the Su family's residence, Su Lao just took his medicine and went to sleep.
Since he lived on the ground floor, An ZhiAng was afraid of making too much noise and waking him up. He had to crouch and make his way upstairs.
He finally relaxed when he reached the upper floor.
Su Ying was very punctual with her time. It was still early, and she was in the study, holding pen and paper, designing clothes.
Some people were born with talent. Whenever she had inspiration, she could quickly sketch it on paper, then make modifications until it turned into several different designs.
"Tomorrow is the wedding day. Why did you come again?" Su Ying's chilly voice softened when she realized it was An ZhiAng. "You should go back to your family, or else my parents will blame me for lacking proper etiquette."
According to tradition, they were not supposed to live together before the wedding, but he insisted on sticking to her. Su Ying couldn't do anything about it.
However, he couldn't stay today under any circumstances.
An ZhiAng placed a box in front of her. "I came specifically to give you something. Take a look and see if you like it."
"What is it?" Su Ying eagerly opened the box, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Such beautiful pearls! Did you specially give them to me?"
"They weren't given by me, they were given by my younger sister as a wedding gift for us." Although he didn't prepare them himself, An ZhiAng still felt proud and whispered in Su Ying's ear, "Let me tell you a secret, neither the eldest sister-in-law nor the second sister-in-law received them. Our sister, ZhiXia, likes me the most among all her brothers, and no other sister-in-law can compare to you, the fourth sister-in-law."
Su Ying understood ZhiXia's intentions. She probably did it because An ZhiAng refused the money that was supposed to be given, fearing it would make her feel uncomfortable. So she found a way to make it up elsewhere.
It had to be said that women understood women the best.
"It's good that our younger sister has this intention. As brother and sister-in-law, we can't let her suffer losses. This set of pearls looks like a precious item. I can't just take advantage of it for nothing. I also have some nice things in my possession. I'll find some time to see if there's something suitable for her."
Su Ying was never a shallow person. She inherited the entire Su family, which was not as wealthy as the An family, but the An family was currently divided into four shares, whereas the Su family only had her.
Therefore, Su Ying was quite confident.
"You don't have to make too much effort. We'll accept our younger sister's kind gesture." An ZhiAng pulled her into his arms, feeling uneasy about having to go back to an empty room later. "Darling, I'm really lucky. I have such a good wife like you, and such a good younger sister. ZhiXia just told me that I must cherish and love you, be a good husband, and a good father..."
Su Ying blushed. "If she can say such things, it means she genuinely cares about you, An ZhiAng. Do you know that I'm jealous of you now?"
"You don't need to be jealous of me. Look, you married me, so my younger sister is your younger sister too. Now that you've married such a good man like me and have such a good younger sister, don't you feel like you've hit the jackpot?"
"Yes, yes, yes. I must have accumulated great virtue in my previous life to be able to meet a wonderful man like you in this lifetime, and to have such a good younger sister." Su Ying sighed helplessly. "I've never seen anyone praise themselves like you do without feeling embarrassed."
If we talk about whether Su Ying was jealous of ZhiXia, she definitely was to some extent.
After all, ZhiXia's name came up more often in An ZhiAng's conversations than anyone else's during the past few days.
But after today, when she could say words that made An ZhiAng promise to truly love her, Su Ying no longer felt jealous.
She was actually quite grateful.
Fortunately, her man had such a wonderful sister, who would also become her sister in the future.
In the long years to come, having someone who sincerely cares for you is the greatest blessing in life.
