Chapter 18

She shot looks of aggrievedness at Fu Erxing, one after another.

Fu Erxing was dense and replied, “What happened to your eyes?”

She was almost cross-eyed.

Liu Guimei was so frustrated that she almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Other people’s husbands would usually be on the same side as their wives, but not hers. Not only did he miss all her cues and hints, he even shot attacks at her heart.

Ouch.

Old Mrs Fu almost burst out laughing.

Seeing that Erxing doted on his little sister so much, Mdm Fu felt very relieved.

As the old saying goes, a man would forget about his mother after getting married. She had been worried that Liu Guimei might lead him astray after their marriage.

Now, it seemed that her worry was unnecessary.

Liu Guimei was selfish by nature and always afraid of losing out. She was afraid that the family would use up all the fabric to make Fubao clothes.

Though she doted on her daughter, she would not neglect her grandsons too.

Did she have to be so impatient?

Compared to Jiang Xinghua, who just went with the flow, she was excessively clever and scheming.

It was really hard to take a liking to her.

“Xinghua, bring those pieces of fabric over for me to take a look,” Mdm Fu said. Jiang Xinghua responded and went to bring them over.

If she didn’t divide them properly today, Liu Guimei’s face would definitely swell up to the size of a pig’s head from all that anger.

Liu Guimei’s eyes lit up.

Is that what she thinks it means?

Do they get a share too?

“Mother, there are a total of six pieces of fabric.” Liu Guimei leaned over with a longing look. “The color of this fabric is really beautiful, and it feels so smooth to the touch. Minister Wang is truly generous.

Luckily I mentioned to him back then that we were planning to get some fabric to make clothes. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten them.”

Liu Guimei was constantly emphasizing her contributions.

Old Mrs Fu and Mdm Fu turned a blind eye to what she was doing.

Old Mrs Fu felt the fabrics too. They were indeed of good quality that would cost at least a few silver taels.

As expected of a rich family, they were so generous.

Mdm Fu had never seen such good-quality fabric in her life.

She had been getting more and more rashes nowadays from her clothes, especially since the weather was getting warmer.

After these fabrics were turned into sets of clothes, Fubao would be able to wear them comfortably.

“Mother, look, I think this orange-red color looks pretty good.”

Liu Guimei was the first to speak. The first thing she eyed was that beautiful orange-red piece of fabric.

First come first served.

She didn’t want to lose her chance.

She would definitely look good in this color. She would make herself two sets of clothes with that fabric. She could use the remaining to make some undergarments and shoes.

By then, she would look the most beautiful in the village wearing them and she would surely turn heads.

“As for this dark blue color, I can make two sets for Xiaoma and one set for Erxing. The two of them have been wearing tattered clothes that made them look like beggars.”

Liu Guimei had it all planned out.

She was worried that the others would think that she only thought about herself. Hence, she quickly brought in the names of her son and her husband too.

Fu Erxing didn’t care much about having new clothes and said, “Don’t count me in. I’m not used to wearing clothes of overly-good quality. Just use it for my sister.”

Besides, he was already married with children. There was no need to care so much about his image.

He was a rough man doing tough jobs. He didn’t need to have nice clothes anyway.

Liu Guimei was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

Even if he didn’t want it, he should let their son have it.

How did she end up with such a man who didn’t fight for anything?

“Erxing, you need to have a proper set of clothes that you can wear out. If Minister Wang really comes and offers you an accounting job, you need to be wearing something decent to leave a good impression on him.” Mdm Fu said. She was already content that he cared so much about his sister.

Old Mrs Fu and Second Fu nodded in agreement.

Regardless of whether he would really go and work for Minister Wang in the future, it’s always good to be prepared.

“Yes, yes, yes. Mother is right.” Liu Guimei wasn’t as interested in the explanation as compared to the piece of fabric. She had to secure the fabric for themselves first.

No matter what, she could not let others gain an advantage over them.

“Take these two pieces of fabric. Do whatever you want with them.”

She did not want to interfere in the matters of the couple, as long as she did not go overboard.

Seeing that Mdm Fu agreed so readily, Liu Guimei’s heart and body stopped hurting instantly.

“Thank you, Mother.”

Liu Guimei held the cloth tightly in her arms like cherished treasure.

Worried that Mdm Fu might change her mind, she quickly called for Xiaoma to bring the fabrics back to their room first.

“Xinghua, what color do you like? Pick two.” Mdm Fu looked at Jiang Xinghua and asked for her opinion.

Jiang Xinghua let out an “ah”, looking surprised.

Obviously, she had not expected to get a share in this too.

The remaining consisted of one pink, one rose-red, one green, and one brown.

“Xinghua, I think you should choose the rose-red and the green one.” Liu Guimei couldn’t help but speak.

Rose-red suited her age better. Green was suitable for her two sons.

As for the pink color, it was more suitable for little girls. Whereas the brown color was more suited for older people.

Needless to say, Liu Guimei had good taste.

“Daxing’s wife, pick whatever you like.” Mdm Fu let her make her own decision.

One of these daughter-in-laws was extremely cunning and clever, while the other was content to simply follow along with whatever was happening.

It would be great if they could balance each other out.

There were only four pieces of fabric left.

Jiang Xinghua thought for a moment and said, “Mother, I would take just one. I could make one set each for Daxing, Xiaolong and Xiaohu. You could use the rest for Grandma, Father and yourself. As for Fubao, I can make a few more sets for her so she could alternate between them.”

Her grandmother-in-law, father-in-law, and mother-in-law had all worked hard their entire lives, but they had never been able to afford clothes of good quality. As for Fubao, she was the only girl in the family, so she must be pampered.

As for herself, she’s still young. She would get more opportunities in the future.

Like what Erxing had said, she’s also busy with doing house chores everyday at home and it was easy to get stains on herself. It would be a waste if she dirtied the new clothes because of this.

She shouldn’t waste it like this.

“Xinghua, if you don’t want the remaining one, give it to us.” Liu Guimei spoke quickly the moment she heard Jiang Xinghua refused the fabric.

Was she stupid?

If she missed this opportunity, she wouldn’t get another one.

She would have it instead. The more, the better.

“Erm! Guimei…”

Jiang Xinghua scratched her head, not knowing what to say.

“Xinghua, give me the rose-red one.” As she spoke, Liu Guimei reached out her hand to take it, but Old Mrs Fu reached out too and slapped her hand hard.

It was so painful that she retracted her hand.

Mdm Fu wore a stern look.

Second Fu also looked displeased. Liu Guimei was simply going too far.

Two pieces of good fabric were still insufficient to satisfy her?!

How greedy!

“Liu Guimei, stop right there. Didn’t you hear that Xinghua offered to give the fabric to her in-laws to make us clothes? It’s one thing if you didn’t consider us, but it’s another if you were greedy enough to want it for yourself.”

Fu Erxing couldn’t stand it anymore and reprimanded her angrily.

They were both daughters-in-law. Yet look at how thoughtful Jiang Xinghua was as compared to her.

Liu Guimei did not dare to raise her head from being scolded.

It was all Jiang Xinghua’s fault.

Why would she act like she’s so kind!

She caused her to be scolded.

Quit pretending!

She didn’t believe that Jiang Xinghua truly didn’t want that piece of fabric from the bottom of her heart.

“Jiang Xinhua, we appreciate your kindness. You’ve worked hard for our Fu family for so many years. We can’t forget about you. Take two of these. Don’t say no.”

They were all precious daughters of another family before marrying over. They must be treated well here too.

Mdm Fu handed her the green and rose red fabric. She planned to use the pink fabric to make three sets of clothes for Fubao. As for the final brown one, she would make one set of clothes each for Second Fu and Old Mrs Fu.

“Mother.” Jiang Xinghua was touched.

“Make yourself some nice clothes.”

Jiang Xinghua nodded hard. “Mother, you can pass me those two as well. I’ll make two sets for Fubao to change into first.”

Liu Guimei was especially angry as she watched from the side.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Jiang Xinghua was good at pretending.

In the end, didn’t those fabrics still end up in her hands?