CHAPTER 660: CHAPTER 635: BE OURSELVES

On the way, Guoqing’s face was flushed red.

He felt ashamed for always seeing them in a certain light.

They had provided for Yiyi freely for three years, sending her to the best school in town, treating her to meals and clothes equivalent to their family members. How could he have thought of them in such a way?

Thinking they came to their family to wreak havoc.

Expecting repayment, demanding everything from their family.

How could such generous people have such vile thoughts?

Look how generous they are, buying things without costing him a cent.

And they’ve bought so much stuff, clearly meant for their family.

Otherwise, why would they need so much?

He wished he could find a crack in the ground to hide himself.

Back home, Jiefang was already there, having bought some meat, now helping his wife chop the filling in the kitchen.

Through the window, he saw Jiang Lei and others bringing in a lot of big and small parcels, quickly put down the knife, wiped his hands on the apron, and came out to greet Jiang Lei.

"I was wondering why the courtyard was empty. You went to the corner store. What good stuff did you buy?"

At a glance, he saw the cigarettes and alcohol in Jiang Lei’s hands, and his heart skipped a beat.

He wasn’t worried about spending money; he was worried Jiang Lei bought it solely for their family.

These cigarettes and alcohol were rare goods in the corner store; he would never normally buy them.

At most, he’d ask about the price with envy, wondering when he could finally save enough for a bottle of this kind of alcohol.

"Second Uncle, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to come to your house empty-handed. It was all very last minute, you know. We came to find the three children. If we hadn’t come like this to your house, my mom would have broken my legs.

I could only casually buy you something at the corner store to express my feelings. To be honest with you, I’m craving the alcohol."

Jiang Lei put the cigarettes and alcohol on the table, as he would when visiting relatives during New Year or festivals.

Normally, it would be two bottles of alcohol and a carton of cigarettes. Now he had bought two bottles of alcohol and two cartons of cigarettes, which should suffice, not missing any etiquette.

Guoqing, slightly embarrassed, placed his arms full of large parcels on the table.

This time, the family table couldn’t hold them all. Finally, they could only be placed on the kang bed, piled high.

Jiefang grew anxious.

"This won’t do, this won’t do, we’re relatives, why go through all these formalities? How can we bear you spending recklessly like this? I can’t accept these things; just take them back to the corner store and tell Uncle Wang, maybe you can still return them."

Jiefang is a man of integrity; their niece lived in their house for three years, and they never sent money, nor did they ever ask for a single dime. Just from this alone, one can tell they are kind-hearted people.

They can’t take advantage, eagerly benefiting from others.

Besides, look at the cigarettes and alcohol they bought; they are the most expensive!

In the corner store, he could only dream of buying such things; bringing them to their house, he had no blessings to enjoy such expensive alcohol.

He’s afraid he might suffer an untimely death from drinking it.

Jiang Lei grasped Jiefang’s hand, having rarely met such honest and genuine people.

Even though his parents were honest people, they were a notch below Jiefang.

Look at how anxious they’ve made him, his face turning red instantly.

"Second Uncle, if you keep doing this, I’ll be upset! No matter what, I call you Second Uncle, are you planning not to acknowledge me as a relative? I am Bai Yiyi’s brother; how can I come empty-handed to my uncle’s house?

Also, you can’t send this back. I’m finally here at your place where I can freely smoke and drink. At home, if I want to drink, my mom is sure to have a stick ready on the side.

I usually drive and can’t drink at all. Finally, I’m at your house to relax and ease up; you can’t spoil my fun. I’m pretending to buy alcohol for you when actually it’s to satisfy my craving."

Jiang Lei knew Jiefang would behave this way, having already prepared a plan.

Jiefang wasn’t a match for someone like Jiang Lei, agreeing after a few words.

Jiefang silently returned to the kitchen, sighed.

Cui Fen had already taken over his chopping, noticing her husband sighing and feeling curious. She hadn’t seen what happened earlier, so she didn’t know they brought a pile of stuff back.

She only knew their eldest took money out to buy things for the three children.

And didn’t know what was bought.

She wasn’t bothered by spending a couple of dollars.

That niece is pitiful, with her parents not around; they hadn’t supported her for three years.

If she had been raised in their family, in those three years, forget about a couple of dollars, even twenty would need to be spent.

The child, for coming home, even encountered traffickers. Just for the fright, as her uncle and aunt, they should spend some money to buy things to calm her.

After all, the child grew up in the city.

How can their quality of life compare? Here they eat coarse grains and vegetables, while in the city, they eat well.

Just looking at the niece’s dress and those black leather shoes, one knows she lived well in the city.

The pair of shoes probably costs tens, right?

"Alas, the Jiang family is so kind; you don’t know. They just went out and spent dozens, bringing back a pile of things. With cigarettes, alcohol, glutinous rice sticks, pastries, fruit candy, a heap.

I asked the eldest, and he said they spent 60. Say, coming to our house for a visit, helping us raise a niece for years, yet spending money when visiting us? What’s that all about?"

Jiefang is an honest man, feeling upset inside, feeling indebted to others.

Cui Fen felt sad too, it is fate, isn’t it? Their niece’s lot is so good, having met such generous people.

"Alright, they probably think they see our difficult circumstances and don’t want to burden us. We should welcome them graciously; that’s the right way, avoiding fake gestures. We don’t have money; no matter how much we spend, it’s nothing in their eyes.

Might as well just be ourselves."

Cui Fen thought openly.

Jiefang nodded, "Okay, we’ll be ourselves. After all, being poor isn’t disgraceful."

Jiang Lei watched from inside as Tang Yuan and little Baozi were sharing things with the elder siblings, putting a few candies in each one’s pocket, mouths stuffed with glutinous rice sticks.

The children were beyond themselves, having fun; this was better than Chinese New Year.

During New Year, their family couldn’t let them eat and drink like this.

Especially glutinous rice sticks, pastries—those were things adults bought to give away.

Even if relatives brought a pack, parents wouldn’t dare eat it, saving it to return the favor.

It’s the same way every family keeps the gift to present to the next; next family sends the gift back to the first one.

How can they eat freely?