Chapter 340
Zhou Yueshen didn't even know what the movie was about. The whole time, he was either buying snacks for his daughter or taking his sons to the bathroom.
Si Nian and Fu Qianqian sat together with popcorn between them, eating and laughing.
Yu Dong had wanted to sit next to them, but on one side of Fu Qianqian was a couple he couldn't split up, and on the other was his sister-in-law, whom he didn't dare disturb.
So the seating order went: sister-in-law, Xiao Han, Xiao Dong, Yaoyao, the Boss... and finally himself at the very end.
It felt like he and Fu Qianqian were separated by thousands of miles.
Let alone chatting, they wouldn't even be able to hear each other if they shouted across the aisle.
After the movie, Si Nian and Fu Qianqian were still discussing the plot.
But a disagreement quickly turned into an argument.
The reason was surprisingly that Si Nian thought the male lead was too ugly and didn't deserve the female lead.
Fu Qianqian thought he looked fine.
So Si Nian criticized Fu Qianqian for having low standards.
And just like that, they started arguing.
The two men and three children watched helplessly as the two women stood in the middle of the street arguing.
Absolutely no one dared to interrupt.
In the end, Fu Qianqian stormed off in a huff.
Yu Dong hurriedly chased after her.
This left behind one man and three kids.
They were all carefully stealing glances at Si Nian's expression.
Even the usually energetic Second Child was as quiet as a mouse.
Si Nian considered herself to have a pretty gentle personality, but for some reason, talking to Fu Qianqian always easily led to bickering.
Seeing that things had quieted down, she subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Yueshen and the children.
She saw them staring at her, either in silence or with a bit of fear.
Si Nian was speechless. Had she gone too far just now?
Come to think of it, it wasn't strange that she thought the male lead was unattractive; after all, everyone has different aesthetic tastes.
There was really nothing to argue about.
She coughed awkwardly. Darlings, did Mommy scare you?
The kids looked at each other and then shook their heads vigorously.
Si Nian immediately looked at Zhou Yueshen, asking him with her eyes: Was I really that fierce just now?
Zhou Yueshen's eyes held a hint of helplessness. He stepped forward, put an arm around her, and gently changed the subject, It's fine. Are you hungry? Do you want to go get something to eat first?
The more Si Nian thought about it, the more she felt she had crossed a line. She shook her head and said, Was I really out of line just now? I even drove Fu Qianqian away in anger.
After all, every time Fu Qianqian came over, she would bring her so many nice things.
Even if she thought Fu Qianqian's taste was bad, she shouldn't have said it out loud.
Fu Qianqian had a proud personality to begin with; she was someone who couldn't stand being contradicted.
Si Nian pondered whether she should go to the department store to buy a gift and apologize to Fu Qianqian.
It was also a good time to buy some things to take back for the family.
On the other side, the furious Fu Qianqian was being comforted by Yu Dong.
She had been very angry at first, but after Yu Dong reasoned with her, she realized that she might have been a bit unreasonable herself.
Throwing a tantrum in front of Si Nian's entire family didn't give her any face.
A proud person like Si Nian must have felt deeply humiliated.
That must be why she got so angry and insulted her taste.
The more she thought about it, the more she regretted it. What if Si Nian refused to hang out with her anymore because of this?
She was still looking forward to eating her free mung bean cakes.
Thus, the haughty young lady felt a rare pang of guilt and dragged Yu Dong to buy a gift for Si Nian, saying she wanted to apologize.
Then, the two parties unexpectedly ran into each other again at the department store.
Both women were holding gifts, their faces full of awkwardness.
Fu Qianqian said, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have disrespected you in front of your whole family.
Si Nian said, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said your taste is bad.
Si Nian and Fu Qianqian fell silent.
Everyone else also fell silent.
Although the process was a tiny bit awkward, the two quickly made up and went shopping arm in arm.
Since Zhou Yueshen and Yu Dong were following them, they didn't have to worry about the kids.
They dumped all the responsibilities onto the two men.
One moment a kid wanted ice cream, the next moment another needed to poop.
In the end, even the children's hands were full of shopping bags before the two women finally wrapped things up, still wanting more, and made plans for their next outing.
Who said women had poor stamina?
Yu Dong felt that this was even more exhausting than running a five-kilometer race with weights.
At any rate, it was nothing like the date he had imagined.
...
After Si Nian took the gifts home, she soon received a phone call from her parents.
This time, instead of writing a letter, they called her directly.
With them were Aunt Wang and Shitou, who was crying his eyes out.
Second Child fought to speak with Shitou. As the two little guys talked, they started crying again, acting as if they would never see each other again in this lifetime.
Watching them, Si Nian couldn't help but want to laugh.
Telephone bills were expensive. It didn't matter on her end, but if they kept talking, she feared Aunt Zhang would feel the pinch in her wallet.
The two children promised to write letters to each other in the future before finally handing the phone back to Si Nian.
Si Nian exchanged a few pleasantries with Aunt Zhang, assuring her that everything was fine, and then talked to her parents about her plans for the second half of the year.
She had successfully enrolled in school and now only needed to wait for the college entrance examination.
She asked about things at home, and her parents said everything was going well. They had saved quite a bit of money over the past six months, but they wanted to keep it for the children's future education.
Si Nian thought this was a waste and simply suggested that her parents and eldest brother come to the city to buy a house. Houses were cheap now, and in a decade or two, they would make a fortune from demolition and relocation compensations.
Why cling to that little bit of savings?
Keeping money and being reluctant to spend it was conservative, but it was also the most wasteful approach.
It just so happened that in the second half of the year, she could introduce her two younger brothers to study at the foreign language elementary school.
And if she went to college, her parents could also help her take care of the kids.
When her parents heard her telling them to buy a house, they were startled at first, thinking it was impossible.
How could the little bit of money they had saved afford a house?
Besides, living expenses in the city were so high.
Si Nian didn't force them to buy a house, but she urged them to bring their business to the city.
Opening a small storefront here would save time and effort compared to running along mountain roads every day to sell things back home, not to mention there would be much more foot traffic.
In short, she could only make the suggestion; whether they actually did it or not was up to them.
Everything comes with risks.
Si Nian couldn't make any guarantees either.
Although her current home was very large, the house was bought by Zhou Yueshen, so she couldn't possibly invite her whole family to come and live in the Zhou residence.
Even if Zhou Yueshen didn't say anything, the neighbors would surely gossip if they found out.
Her parents wouldn't feel at ease staying there either.
Therefore, Si Nian preferred that they work hard themselves to buy a house here.
Of course, not everyone pursued a life of wealth and glory.
If her parents just wanted to live an ordinary, peaceful life in the countryside, she wouldn't have any objections.
As long as you are comfortable with your life, it doesn't matter where you live.
If you focus too much on profit and success, you are destined to never be satisfied.
The holiday quickly passed.
Si Nian lay in her cozy bed and sighed up at the ceiling.
It was another day of not wanting to go to work.
But thinking about her salary of ninety yuan a month, she dragged herself up anyway.
Human beings die for wealth just as birds die for food.
She comforted herself by comparing it to her past life, where she worked from dawn till dusk, worked overtime, and attended social events, only to exhaust herself for a mere ten thousand yuan a month leaving her with only five thousand in savings after paying for housing.