Coming back to her senses, Jiang Yan frowned, “When I left, you hadn’t had much contact with him. How am I supposed to ask? Wouldn’t he find it strange?”
Xie Li squatted down and started crying.
At that moment, Wang Xiuzhen approached, “Big girl, why is this girl crying? Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.”
“She…”
Jiang Yan wasn’t sure how to introduce Xie Li.
Xie Li, with teary eyes, glanced at Wang Xiuzhen and noticed she looked somewhat like Su Ping’an, and she froze on the spot.
Could this person in front of her be Su Ping’an’s mother?
Xie Li quickly wiped her tears, “Auntie, hello, I, I’m Xie Li, a friend Jiang Yan made in the county.”
“Oh, then why were you crying just now?”
Wang Xiuzhen asked casually.
Xie Li fidgeted with her fingers, unsure how to respond, when Jiang Yan came to her rescue, “She hadn’t seen me for a long time, and when she saw me, I didn’t recognize her, so she cried.”
There are people like that.
Wang Xiuzhen was enlightened, “Didn’t recognize her, has she changed a lot?”
“Yeah, quite a bit. Her face was this big, and her arms were this thick…” Jiang Yan gestured as she spoke.
Xie Li: “…”
She was never that fat, not in this lifetime!
Wang Xiuzhen sized up Xie Li and said, “Goodness, what did you eat to lose so much weight? You’re such a beauty, you shouldn’t eat so much in the future, or you’d ruin this pretty face.”
Chapter 111: The Melon Forced Off the Vine Isn’t Sweet
Hearing Wang Xiuzhen praise her beauty, Xie Li was thrilled, “Auntie, I understand.”
Wang Xiuzhen then turned to Jiang Yan, “You child, how could you not recognize your friend just because she’s lost weight? Are you really friends…”
“Exactly!”
Xie Li agreed.
Before Jiang Yan could say anything, Xie Li stepped forward and cheerfully took Wang Xiuzhen’s arm, “Auntie, I heard from Jiang Yan that your cooking is fantastic, and I’ve always wanted to try it. I wonder if I’ll have the chance?”
Her sudden intimacy made Wang Xiuzhen feel a bit uncomfortable, but to avoid making her feel awkward, she didn’t pull away, “My cooking isn’t that great, but if you want to try, I can cook for you at noon.”
“Auntie, you’re so kind.”
Xie Li said with a beaming smile.
Wang Xiuzhen liked cheerful girls, and seeing Xie Li’s beautiful smile, she casually asked, “Girl, has your family arranged a betrothal for you?”
She couldn’t have taken a liking to her, could she?
Xie Li quickly replied, “No!”
Jiang Yan: “…”
She really does like Su Ping’an that much?
Look at her eagerness.
I wonder what Su Ping’an’s expression would be if he knew she came to his home and got so close to his mother.
Thinking about her eldest son who still hadn’t married, Wang Xiuzhen felt a bit moved.
“Girl, I have two sons. The younger one is already married, but the eldest hasn’t. He’s a shopkeeper in the county. Although he doesn’t earn much, he’s very hardworking, and he treats people kindly…”
Xie Li quickly said, “Really? Your eldest son sounds wonderful. What’s his name?”
Jiang Yan: “…”
She really knows how to climb up when given a ladder.
And this aunt, how worried is she about Su Ping’an not finding a wife?
To say such things in front of Xie Li.
She couldn’t have taken a liking to her, could she?
Wang Xiuzhen said slowly, “My eldest son, I’m not boasting, he really is quite good. His name is Su Ping’an, though it’s just an ordinary name, he looks quite decent.”
“So, he must have a lot of girls liking him, right?”
Xie Li said casually. Wang Xiuzhen sighed and said, “There really is, but who knows what he was thinking before? He didn’t fancy any of them.”
“That must mean fate hasn’t arrived yet.”
Xie Li replied.
Wang Xiuzhen laughed, “You really know how to talk, come, come with your aunt to sit inside, and tell me what you like to eat, I’ll make it for you.”
“Okay.”
Xie Li directly followed Wang Xiuzhen.
Jiang Yan watched as things turned out this way, and she was at a loss for what to do.
If she had directly told Wang Xiuzhen earlier that Xie Li came here because of Su Ping’an, what would her reaction have been?
She would probably have been even happier than now.
Jiang Yan rubbed her forehead, quickly walked home to write a letter to Su Ping’an, and then had someone send it to the town’s message station.
…
Meanwhile.
Wang Xiuzhen didn’t take Xie Li around; after chatting with her for a bit and advising her not to wander off, she led her to the kitchen.
Jiang Ling initially didn’t know that Xie Li had come.
Until.
Lunchtime.
Jiang Ling only saw Xie Li when they were eating together, she stood up abruptly: “You, why are you here!”
She couldn’t let her reveal what she had done before.
Xie Li quickly approached Jiang Ling, took her hand, and said, “I just missed you guys, you know.”
“What, missed us?”
Jiang Ling thought she had heard wrong.
Xie Li pulled Jiang Ling to sit down and whispered, “We did have a fight before, but isn’t that how friendships start? I think you’re pretty nice, plus your sister is good too, so I came to find you guys since I had nothing else to do.”
“San Ya, you know Xiao Li?”
Wang Xiuzhen came over and said.
Jiang Ling nodded.
Realizing that her second aunt was addressing Xie Li so affectionately.
She was about to ask Xie Li what was going on.
But Wang Xiuzhen had already taken Xie Li to eat somewhere else; since she had promised to cook for her, she naturally couldn’t let her eat the same as everyone else.
Neither Jiang Yan nor Wang Xiuzhen were called.
Because she wanted to chat with Xie Li alone.
That evening.
Wang Xiuzhen finally invited Jiang Yan and the others to have dinner at their home.
After dinner.
Wang Xiuzhen learned that Xie Li wanted to stay at their house, arranged her accommodation, and started chatting with Jiang Yan alone: “Da Ya, what does Xie Li’s family do?”
Her second aunt finally thought to ask about these details.
Jiang Yan actually wasn’t very clear, she said, “Her family is also in business.”
“I see.”
Wang Xiuzhen told Jiang Yan, “I really like this girl Xie Li, I’m just worried her family might look down on us for being poor, and she might not think much of our Ping’an.”
Is Xie Li really that good?
Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Wang Xiuzhen the truth.
Wang Xiuzhen asked in surprise, “Is what you’re saying true?”
Jiang Yan nodded.
Wang Xiuzhen immediately started scolding Su Ping’an, “This kid, he’s so clueless! She’s already said she likes him, and he still says he doesn’t like her, what kind of son did I raise!”
“Second Aunt, I think you should ask Brother Ping’an first. Although Xie Li is good, forced melons aren’t sweet.”
Jiang Yan advised her.
Wang Xiuzhen waved her hand dismissively, “Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll go back and have your second uncle write a letter to your brother Ping’an to ask what he really thinks.”
If he really doesn’t like her.
Then she would accompany that girl to the county town.
To let them spend more time together.
Jiang Yan didn’t know what Wang Xiuzhen was thinking, she said, “Second Aunt, I’ve already written a letter to Brother Ping’an.”
“We still need to write one, this isn’t a small matter.”
Wang Xiuzhen insisted on writing.
Jiang Yan let her be.
After all, she had told her everything.
What to do, they would decide for themselves.
After learning that Xie Li liked Su Ping’an, Wang Xiuzhen treated her even better, not only providing new bedding but also cooking all sorts of delicious dishes for her.
If Xie Li wasn’t sincere before, she genuinely liked Wang Xiuzhen now.
When Su Ping’an learned that Xie Li had gone to their village.
He was completely unsettled.
After some thought, he arranged the shop matters, and in the afternoon, he took a carriage back home.
