Chapter 289: Gift Giving – Daily Melon Eating in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Lady

Chapter 289: Gift-Giving—The Fragile Aunt’s Daily Dose of Compound Drama

Mother Jiang and Lin Shu were going at it hammer and tongs, while many onlookers outside held their rice bowls, peering in with interest.

Nothing pairs better with rice than drama!

Lin Qing, glancing around from the outside, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—they had jumped the gun on dinner!

This farce was eventually resolved with Jiang Yang playing peacemaker.

Talking them down was absolutely necessary—if he hadn’t stepped in, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would likely have come to blows again.

In the end, dinner was prepared by Jiang Da Sao—yes, the very same Jiang Da Sao who always claimed the whiff of grease turned her stomach.

After their quarrel, Mother Jiang wanted Lin Shu to cook dinner, but she shut her down hard.

“I won’t do it. Have you even seen the state of this room after those two little hellions trashed it? I still have to clean up! If you want dinner, make it yourself!”

Mother Jiang was about to start cursing when Jiang Yang quickly interjected, “Mom, Lin Shu’s right. She still has to tidy up the room—she really doesn’t have time to cook. Why don’t you ask Da Sao to do it?”

Jiang Yang certainly wouldn’t let his mother cook. With only two daughters-in-law in the house, if his wife was busy, the other one naturally had to take responsibility for the meal.

Mother Jiang surveyed the chaotic room and grudgingly admitted it did need cleaning.

“Alright, Da Sao, you go cook!”

Jiang Da Sao hadn’t expected the blame to land on her. Furious, she gave Jiang Hai a sharp elbow and said to Mother Jiang, “Mom, you know I can’t stand the smell of cooking oil. How am I supposed to cook? What if I hurl into the stew?”

Jiang Hai, after being elbowed, quickly backed her up. “Mom, she’s right. What if she really throws up in the pot?”

“So what are you suggesting? That I cook instead?” Mother Jiang narrowed her eyes with a look that could curdle milk at Jiang Hai.

Old Man Jiang, after taking in the messy room and the standoff between the others, laid down the law. “Da Sao, you go cook. Wife, keep an eye on her—make sure she doesn’t actually vomit.”

“Puke, my ass! She scarfs down every bite—never seen her throw up before!” Mother Jiang was now firing shots in all directions.

She didn’t believe Jiang Da Sao would actually vomit. If she dared waste food like that, she could skip dinner altogether.

“…” Once the old man ruled, Jiang Da Sao didn’t dare argue further.

She obeyed. No more backtalk.

Afraid Lin Shu might harm her darling grandbabies again, Mother Jiang quickly took the two children with her when she left.

And so, the Jiang family’s drama wrapped up—for now.

Lin Qing returned home with her parents.

As she walked, Lin Qing wondered—was Lin Shu’s torn dress bought at the department store, just like Hui Hui’s?

A cool twenty-five bucks! At that price, it must have been purchased without fabric ration coupons—otherwise, how could a single dress cost so much?

Lin’s mother also sighed. “Lin Shu still throws money around—twenty-five yuan for a dress, just like that!”

“Oh, Mom, don’t overthink it. Didn’t she say it herself? She earned the money—she can spend it however she wants!” Lin Qing didn’t want her mother meddling too much.

“Ah, you’re right. Not our circus, not our monkeys!” With that, Lin’s mother dropped the subject.

“Get this—speaking of twenty-five-yuan dresses, Hui Hui mentioned at noon today that she also dropped a fat stack on one recently,” Lin Qing added. “The coupon-free kind, so it costs an arm and a leg. I bet Lin Shu’s dress is cut from the same cloth as Hui Hui’s!”

"Oh, I see. No wonder that dress is so expensive!"

"Hey Mom, Huihui is getting married next week. What do you think I should give her as a gift?" Lin Qing couldn’t come up with any good ideas and had to ask her mother for advice.

Her mother explained the basics of gift-giving: "When giving gifts, it depends on how close the relationship is. If the relationship isn’t as deep, the gift should be simpler, so it's easier for them to return the favor. But if the relationship is strong, the gift should be more substantial to reflect that closeness.

Since you two seem quite close, you could give something more valuable—like a thermos. That would be a great choice."

Thermoses were pretty hard to come by at the time, making them a fitting gift.

Lin Qing nodded. "Alright, then I’ll give her a thermos. But I’m not sure if the co-op store will have any in stock."

Her mother patted her hand reassuringly. "No worries, I’ll look for you tomorrow. If they don’t have any, I’ll go to the department store."

"Great! I knew you’re the best, Mom!" Lin Qing excitedly hugged her mother.

Lin’s father, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly piped up, feeling left out. "What am I, chopped liver? Am I not good enough?"

Lin Qing froze for a second—she had almost forgotten about her father sitting nearby!

She hurried over to her father’s side. "No, no, no! Dad, you’re the best too! You’re both the best parents ever."

Only then did her father finally look satisfied.

……

Before they knew it, it was the weekend.

Today was the day Fu Huihui and Li Junlin were getting married!

After obtaining their marriage certificate, they would set up a few banquet tables at Li Junlin’s home, while the bride’s side wouldn’t hold a separate banquet.

Fu Huihui had still saved some face for her family—she hadn’t completely burned bridges and was leaving for the wedding from her own home.

After Lin Qing and Wang Jiaojiao gave their wedding gifts to Fu Huihui, they also joined the banquet at the groom’s house.

As it happened, this was the first time Lin Qing had met Fu Huihui’s husband, and her impression of him was fairly good.

When Fu Huihui introduced Li Junlin to Lin Qing, he looked surprised for a second, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

"Hello!"

"Hello! Wishing you both a happy marriage!" Lin Qing didn’t say much, as they weren’t very familiar.

"Alright, alright, you two should mingle with your guests. You're the stars today!" Wang Jiaojiao urged.

Fu Huihui laughed. "Yeah, yeah."

She pulled Li Junlin aside. "So? Isn’t Qing Qing really pretty?"

"She is indeed very beautiful," Li Junlin replied completely innocently.

"Haha! You know, the reason I befriended her in the first place was because she’s so pretty!" Fu Huihui blurted out honestly.

"You like good-looking people?" Li Junlin suddenly asked.

"Of course!" Fu Huihui answered without hesitation.

"So… you married me because you think I’m good-looking?"

"Well… obviously!" she teased. "If I didn’t like you, why would I marry you?" Fu Huihui really did adore his scholarly good looks.

"Well aren't I the lucky one!"