The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 655 - 624: Overseas Chinese Store, Mailing_1

Chapter 655: Chapter 624: Overseas Chinese Store, Mailing_1

Song Chunli was on the verge of tears after being scolded by Old Madam Huo. Ever since she had married into the Huo Family and had disputes with her mother-in-law, not once had she come out on top. Each time she was forced to recognize her own faults and inadequacies.

"Mom, I know I was wrong, and I won’t say it again." Song Chunli said, wiping away her tears before rising to go upstairs.

Seeing that she had left, Old Madam Huo let out a long sigh, "Ah, were my words just now a bit too harsh?"

Jiang Lifang didn’t know how to answer. It wasn’t a good answer either way, yes or no.

Old Madam Huo had always known that her second daughter-in-law was astute, evident from her current behavior. She knew what to say and what not to say, whereas the eldest daughter-in-law sometimes didn’t grasp these things clearly.

And this was still within the family; there would be no outside gossip.

If such things were said outside, what would people make of the Huo Family!

"Perhaps it was a bit severe," Old Madam Huo muttered to herself, "but the Huo Family is at its peak right now, in a very critical period of growth. There are many who envy and are jealous of our family, just waiting for us to slip up. We should be a simple and harmonious family, yet we choose to nitpick and gossip over trivial matters."

"Mom, you’re getting on in years; take care of your health and don’t stress yourself," said Jiang Lifang, not wanting to continue on the topic but reminding her mother-in-law to mind her health instead.

Those matters, she didn’t feel it was her place to interfere.

"Ah, with your eldest sister-in-law like this, I can’t help but worry about what will become of this family," said Old Madam Huo, "For all these years, I’ve never interfered with you and Zhekun, because I know you’re a smart woman and understand how to manage your own family well. Now Tiantian and you are as close as mother and daughter, your son is filial, and your husband respects and loves you. Your family lives in harmony, and your father-in-law and I, we never worry about you."

Jiang Lifang smiled and replied, "Before, it was just the three of us. After marrying a daughter-in-law, we became four. Then, with the birth of a grandson and a granddaughter, we grew to six. We also have work, and when we return home, it’s rare to have any free time, so who has the energy to fret over such things!"

"Exactly! That’s the way to prosper!" responded Old Madam Huo, "Alright, let’s drop the subject. It’s uncomfortable for you to hear all this. In the future, I’ll have to keep a closer watch, though perhaps I’ll be able to let go only after I close my eyes for good."

After hearing her mother-in-law’s words, Jiang Lifang didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad.

Grandma and grandpa had always cared more for Brother Yingjie’s family than theirs.

Alas, human hearts are all biased!

Even though she felt uncomfortable inside, her in-laws had never done anything excessive.

"Mom, let me help you upstairs to rest," Jiang Lifang said. Spending time was better off spent with the grandchildren.

Old Madam Huo felt a bit weary and allowed Jiang Lifang to help her into the room.

Jiang Lifang cast aside her previous gloom and went to Aunt Wang’s to pick up the children.

Song Chunli was wiping away tears in her room, knowing that her mother-in-law had been right, yet she still felt terrible inside.

Seeing everything go smoothly for Jiang Lifang, Song Chunli struggled with feelings of imbalance. She was clearly superior to her sister-in-law in every aspect, so why did it seem like, in the eyes of the elders, she couldn’t compare at all?

In the past, it was about family background, and now it was about sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons, granddaughters.

She couldn’t measure up in any respect!

Fortunately, the second branch of the family didn’t reside in Yanjing; otherwise, what standing would their eldest branch have in this house!

While Song Chunli reflected on her wrongs, she also compared the two families’ merits and deficiencies, her pettiness creeping in again.

Jiang Lifang had always known her sister-in-law was petty, but considering they didn’t live together and it was the New Year, she never quibbled with her.

Even when Song Chunli said something upsetting in the past, she would pretend she hadn’t heard it and simply muddle through to avoid causing a scene during the New Year and becoming the laughingstock of others.

He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie arrived at the Overseas Chinese Store.

Because their attire was very trendy, the sales staff thought they were overseas Chinese and were very enthusiastic.

Tiantian was up front choosing items, while Yingjie followed behind with a shopping basket in hand.

"Brother Yingjie, this flavor of chocolate tastes really good. Xiao Yan and Sister Lili both like it. I’ll buy some to send to them," Tiantian said. "Grandma likes this kind of milk candy, so I need to buy some of those as well."

"If you like it, just buy it," Yingjie nodded, saying that he came along just to spend some alone time with Tiantian and help carry things. As for what to buy, he thought it was fine for Tiantian to decide on her own.

Tiantian kept adding items to the shopping basket, and in no time, the basket was full.

Yingjie went to get two more shopping baskets because with Tiantian’s shopping speed, one basket would likely not be enough.

In the end, just for snacks, Tiantian chose four shopping baskets’ worth.

Coming to another area showcasing Chinese specialty products, one-third of it was filled with silk and embroidery.

The moment Tiantian saw these, her eyes lit up.

Thinking her grandmother and grandma would look great in qipaos made from the silks here, she personally picked out four pieces of silk—one in dark purple, one in sapphire blue, both suitable for elderly people to wear. She also chose six pieces of embroidered fabric, two of which in lovely colors to give to her mother.

Third Grandma Qi liked white magnolia flowers, and the Old Madam liked white lotuses; fortunately, they had them both here.

As for jewelry, Tiantian picked out two jade hairpins for the elderly women and asked the sales assistant to wrap them up.

At checkout, the cashier was dumbfounded by the sheer quantity of items.

"This much?" the female sales assistant exclaimed. These items must cost over a thousand. Did they bring enough money?

Tiantian smiled and said, "Yes, that much. Could you please tally the total? How many Overseas Chinese Coupons will it require?"

Hearing Tiantian speak like this, it seemed she knew the rules, so the sales assistant refrained from further doubting whether they had enough money.

As the cashier had guessed, the total went over a thousand. "The total is one thousand three hundred eighty-three yuan and sixty cents. You’ll need an equivalent amount in Overseas Chinese Coupons."

"Thank you," Tiantian said politely, looking towards Yingjie.

Yingjie took out fourteen stacks of "Big Unity" money from his wallet, each stack containing ten ten-yuan notes, totaling one thousand four hundred yuan, and casually handed over one thousand four hundred yuan in Overseas Chinese Coupons.

Seeing how straightforward they were, the cashier secretly rejoiced that she hadn’t spoken out of turn earlier. Noticing they hadn’t brought any packing materials for the large quantity of items they were purchasing, she suggested, "We have ordinary bags for two cents each and also special mailing bags for five cents each."

Tiantian was concerned about how to mail the items, and upon hearing this, said, "Then give me six mailing bags and two extra-large bags, preferably big enough to fit these silks and satins."

"Don’t worry, we often serve Chinese folks and friends from other countries here, so we have dedicated staff for packing. You just need to sort the items out, and our staff will pack them for you," the cashier mentioned the service they offered.

"That’s great to hear, thank you," Tiantian said, surprised. She had been so focused on shopping that she had forgotten about how to ship the items.

If it weren’t for the cashier’s reminder, she and Yingjie would have probably gone to the post office to mail the items themselves, which would have been time-consuming and troublesome.