Chapter 103 Discordant People

  Those who were present may have all seen that their family's attitude was wrong, but no one said anything.

  Mr. Jiang was furious, but he suppressed his anger, the old lady had just whispered to him that if he lost his temper now, Hai Bo and Xiao Yan would be even more embarrassed, and the two children would be even more hurt, so he couldn't speak now, he could only wait until no one was around, then he would scold his son behind closed doors.

  Jiang Yutao, on the other hand, has no way with his younger brother's family. Due to his brother's business and sister-in-law's job, their living conditions are relatively good, so they look down on others, thinking that no one is as good as them. Their two children are also spoiled, which can't be blamed entirely on the kids themselves, as their parents haven't done a great job either, and it's only natural for kids to learn from what they see.

  Fang Haibo and his wife seemed to be oblivious, always smiling, but if you observe carefully, they basically only talk to Jiang Yutao's family and hardly speak to Jiang Haitao's family. Although they have some manners, they haven't reached the level of being able to stick their own hot face on someone else's cold butt. Since others look down on them, it's better for them to keep a distance, no need to try to get close.

  As for Qiu Ye and Qiu Feng, they have no psychological burden at all. The two siblings are just here to visit their godmother and godfather. They don't plan to stay long, so whatever happens to them has nothing to do with the siblings. Besides, Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Xu are very good to them, it's as if these few people didn't exist. These siblings have experience, when they were at home, during that time when grandma was living at home, they were like this too.

  Under everyone's closed eyes, they started eating and chatting with laughter.

  "Hai Bo, Xiao Yan, you two haven't been back for a long time, this time you must stay at home for a few more days." Wang Juan said.

  "Haha, sister-in-law. You didn't say it, but I would have stayed for a couple of more days anyway. It's been many years since I came back, and I've almost forgotten what it's like. Luckily, I brought Xiaofeng and Xiaoye with me, so we can take another look at Beijing after all these years. What changes there are." Fang Haibo said with emotion, he left when he was over 20 years old, who knew that once he left, it would be more than 20 years, his heart still had a lingering affection for his hometown.

  "Tomorrow I'll be free, and I'll take you guys out for a stroll. Beijing has changed a lot over the years, I reckon you'll get lost when you arrive." Wang Juan said enthusiastically.

  "Tomorrow is not possible. Tomorrow I have to take Hai Bo and Xiao Yan, plus two kids to visit Old Fang, he has been waiting for this day for many years." Mr. Jiang refused bluntly, thinking that nothing was more important than this matter, as Old Fang had waited for over twenty years.

  As soon as he finished speaking, the dinner table fell silent. Everyone knew that every year, the old man would go to the cemetery several times. They were all going to see his old partners.

  Wang Juan was rejected by her father-in-law face-to-face, but she didn't get angry. She understood her father-in-law's temper. It wasn't targeting herself, he just had that kind of temperament.

  "Fang Ge, you and your wife have arrived in Beijing at just the right time. Why don't you go to the hospital for a check-up? I can arrange for someone to take care of you and give you a thorough examination. It's always better to have children of your own." Li Lianping said with what she thought was good intentions.

  At this moment, all the adults sitting there stared at her. She saw everyone looking at her and felt dissatisfied, "What did I say wrong?"

  "Old Man Jiang angrily said: 'If you can't speak properly then shut your mouth.'"

  Mrs. Xu first comforted Old Man Jiang, then said to Little Yan: "Little Yan, don't take it to heart, your brother's wife doesn't know how to speak properly, just pretend you didn't hear."

  Li Lianping didn't expect that one sentence of hers would cause so much dissatisfaction, especially from her mother-in-law. Wasn't she just like she was talking about her?!

  Not waiting for her to get angry, Grandma Xu said to her again: "Liping, you're working outside every day and it's too tiring. At home, just take care of eating and don't worry about other things, aren't there your dad and me?"

  Grandma Xu said these words in a tone that was neither soft nor hard, and everyone present understood the meaning behind them. Qiu Ye, who had no conscience, buried his face in his rice bowl, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. Grandma Xu was not an ordinary person, this sentence showed her own intentions while also making it impossible for others to refute her, truly impressive.

  Li Lianping felt very embarrassed, but couldn't refute it, so she angrily kicked Jiang Haitao under the table. Jiang Haitao was not mentally prepared and was suddenly kicked by his wife, hurting him to cry out "Ah!"

  "Old Ginger's eyes are like fire, how could he not see their little movements? So he shouted: 'You're all grown up, don't you know the basic etiquette of dining? It's as if you've lived to the age of a dog's belly. If you're going to be startled and conspicuous, just get out.'"

  Mr. Jiang's status at home is still high, so after he spoke out this ambiguous sentence, Jiang Haitao and his wife both became honest and didn't dare to refute the elder.

  "Alright, you old man loves to get angry for no reason, take care of your body. I'm telling you, it's time to carve those stones, you can't stay up all night and forget to eat and sleep. Otherwise, I'll have to throw away those stones again." Xu Nainai didn't want the happy atmosphere of this meal to be ruined by her unreasonable second daughter-in-law, so she changed the subject.

  "You old hag, this time the jade stones are not mine, they belong to Haibo and Xiaoye. Throw them away and see how you'll explain it to them." Old Master Jiang was no longer intimidated by her this time, he was confident that the old lady wouldn't throw away Haibo and Xiaoye's stones, so he retorted fearlessly.

  "Hmph, I may not be able to move the stone, but I can throw that toolbox of yours. Don't believe me? Just try it and see." Old Lady Xu said calmly, having spent her whole life dealing with this old man, did she not have a few tricks up her sleeve?!

  Mr. Jiang was defeated again this time and refused to speak to his wife, anyway he couldn't escape her grasp in this lifetime.

  Everyone laughed at the old couple's dialogue and forgot their previous unpleasantness.

  Qiu Ye heard the conversation between Jiang Grandpa and Xu Grandma, and she was truly envious. From their quarrel, she could sense the mutual care and deep affection between them. If only she could meet someone like that in this lifetime, it would be great. Maybe then she would forget her past life, muster up the courage to try again at love and marriage.

  "What's so funny? Are you happy because Grandpa and Grandma are arguing?"

  At this time, a little girl named Jiang Binghan who had been holding her chin suddenly spoke up.

  Qiu Ye hadn't reacted yet, and she was talking about herself. She was still puzzled, wondering who the blind person was that had offended this young lady. Unexpectedly, when she looked up to see who it was, everyone was looking at her, and only then did she realize that the blind person was actually herself.

  "Eldest Sister Jiang, you're overthinking this. I'm smiling because I admire Eldest Brother Jiang and Grandma Xu." Qiu Ye explained, not wanting to let that young lady get too full of herself.

  "Don't call me sister, I'm not your sister." Jiang Binghan said disdainfully.

  "Bing Han, what about your family education?" Xu Nainai scolded her own granddaughter.

  "Grandma, she was obviously laughing at you, why didn't you say anything to her, but instead blamed me." Jiang Binghan said with a hint of grievance.

  "Miss Jiang, I'm not laughing at Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Xu. I was just thinking that when my parents get old, can they also be like Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Xu? They would bicker with each other but still show so much warmth and happiness in their later years." Qiu Ye directly called her Miss Jiang, anyway she didn't want to call her "Big Sister" or "Little Sister". But she didn't express her true thoughts. Who can accept a nine-year-old thinking about finding a man and having a happy later life? She shouldn't be too unconventional.

  "Oh, you little kid still knows what warmth is?" Li Lianping said in support of her own daughter, intentionally picking a quarrel.

  "Haha, don't underestimate my little daughter. She's only nine years old, but she's already a fifth-grader in elementary school. She's a little adult." Fang Haibo interjected, not wanting his child to be looked down upon. His child was no worse than anyone else's.

  "Really? I didn't expect that, such a young girl is actually a genius! My old man should seize the opportunity. Little Ye, are you interested in learning carving from Grandpa Jiang?" Grandpa Jiang didn't think this child was so clever, seeing her concentrate on watching him carve this afternoon, she must be interested in it too, so he said something like that. It's also a kind of compensation for her.

  "Really? Grandfather Jiang, can I really learn it? Are you really going to teach me?" Qiuye was excited now, she had been planning for a long time, but she didn't expect that this opportunity would fall from the sky.

  "Yes, I haven't taken on an apprentice in over a decade. If you're interested, you can learn from me, but your time is limited and you won't be able to stay in Beijing for long. In just these few days, it's only possible to learn the basics." Old Man Jiang knew they wouldn't be staying long, and even if they were geniuses, there was no way they could master anything in such a short period of time.

  "It's okay, just the basics will do. I'll learn from Old Man Jiang and then practice on my own when I get home. Next time I come to Beijing, I'll continue learning from him." Qiu Ye hastily replied, she had already thought it through, she didn't want to be a master carver, just carve her own jade stones, so her requirements weren't too high.

  Jiang Binghan didn't expect that her one sentence of doubt would end up developing into this situation. Although she wasn't very fond of carving, when she was younger, her dad had also wanted her to learn from her grandfather, but he refused to teach her, saying that her personality wasn't suitable. Humph, she wasn't suitable? Was this country bumpkin suitable then? Jiang Binghan immediately felt wronged, but her mom grabbed her hand and wouldn't let her blow up. She also understood what her mom meant - in this place, that little girl had her grandfather to protect her, so there was no way to get the better of her. However, she secretly thought to herself, this country bumpkin won't be able to hide in this courtyard forever. Once that girl leaves here, I'll thoroughly scold her and make her understand her own status, until she's ashamed enough to roll back to the countryside.

  Everyone was unaware of Jiang Binghan's thoughts, and this meal was finished in harmony because his family didn't speak up.