novelbin Chapter 330 - 122: Little Sis, I Was Looked Down Upon
Chapter 330 - 122: Little Sis, I Was Looked Down Upon
"Is that so?" Jie Jingchen gave a sarcastic smile, clearly unconvinced.
"Jing Si, your good friend introduced his sister to you, so you should introduce your cousin to him. Wouldn’t it be great for our families to become even closer? Even Xiao Xiangzi knows to keep good things in the family," Granny chided.
Qin Xiang wanted to say, ’It wasn’t me who set Jing Si up with my little sister. She’s the one who made it happen through her own hard work.’
"When you married Qin Mei, how much of a bride price did you give the Qin family?" Granny asked Jie Jingchen.
Jie Jingchen flushed, embarrassed. He hadn’t paid a single cent.
Qin Xiang was also mortified. His parents hadn’t prepared a dowry for his sister, either.
"Granny, our family is from the countryside near Yangcheng City," Qin Xiang said.
"The countryside?" Granny’s voice was filled with disdain.
Seeing her reaction, Qin Xiang seized the opportunity. "Our family, we... uh... shove our daughters into the city—AHEM, I mean, we marry them into the city. Are you sure you want to marry your granddaughter into the countryside? And so far away, all the way to the countryside near Yangcheng City? Granny, are you really sure about that?"
Granny hesitated. Second Daughter-in-law Jing had mentioned that Qin Mei’s family was from the countryside, but she had dismissed it. Qin Xiang’s greeting gift had been so generous; ’Do people from the countryside really have that much money?’ she’d thought, assuming his family was from within Yangcheng City itself.
"Your grandpa is calling me. I’ll go see what he wants." Granny got up and headed for the kitchen. She needed to discuss this with her old man.
Qin Xiang stifled a laugh and looked at Jie Jingchen, asking in a low voice, "So that’s it?"
"What else? You think my granny would really marry her granddaughter off to the countryside?" Jie Jingchen stood and went to the kitchen to heat water for a bath.
"What’s wrong with the countryside?" Qin Xiang murmured, stroking his chin. He actually thought the countryside was great.
Qin Mei was helping Jing Qi study. Seeing that only Qin Xiang was left in the courtyard and that Jing Qi was concentrating, she didn’t disturb her, instead rising silently and stepping out of the room.
"Brother," Qin Mei called out.
"Little sis, they look down on me," Qin Xiang said with a smile, his face showing no sign of dejection.
"It’s not you she looks down on, it’s your rural household registration," Qin Mei said, sitting down beside him.
"What’s wrong with a rural household registration? Go back three generations, and who wasn’t from the countryside?" Qin Xiang scoffed.
Qin Mei smiled but said nothing. ’The countryside of this era is a world away from the countryside of the future.’
"Little sis, do they look down on you, too?" Qin Xiang suddenly realized. If they looked down on him for his rural background, didn’t that mean they looked down on his sister as well?
"It’s different for me," Qin Mei said. ’Of course she was looked down on—Xu Chunyan was always making an issue of her rural background. But there’s a difference between a son marrying a girl from the country and a daughter marrying a boy from the country.’
Qin Xiang fell silent, lost in thought.
Seeing that Granny’s chat with them had ended unhappily, Xu Chunyan knew she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to fan the flames. She said to Jie You, "Xiao You, be good and do your homework. I’m going to the restroom."
"Okay," Jie You nodded obediently.
Xu Chunyan gave Xiao You’s head a satisfied pat, set down the sweater she was knitting, and walked out of the room.
The moment she was out of the room, Jie You stopped doing her homework and started playing with a toy.
"Old man, Xiao Xiangzi’s family is from the countryside," Granny said, her face a mask of regret.
"The countryside is perfectly fine," Grandpa said.
"What’s so fine about it?" Granny glared at Grandpa. "Our fourth son is still suffering in the countryside."
At the mention of their fourth son, a wave of sorrow washed over Grandpa.
"Grandpa, Granny," Xu Chunyan called out as she entered the kitchen carrying a bucket. "Grandpa, is the bathwater ready? Xiao You is fussing about wanting to take a bath."
"It’s ready." Grandpa pushed his somber thoughts aside and smiled at Xu Chunyan.
"Thank you for your hard work, Grandpa." Xu Chunyan had learned a thing or two. She would never have said that before, but she’d once overheard Qin Mei say the same to Qiao Yanqiu, and it had made Qiao Yanqiu absolutely ecstatic.
Hearing this, Grandpa paused, taken aback, and gave Xu Chunyan a few extra glances.
As Xu Chunyan ladled water, she asked casually, "Granny, what’s wrong? Why the long face?"
"SIGH!" Granny heaved a heavy sigh. "You were right. This wife Jing Si married really is from the countryside."
Xu Chunyan’s eyes lit up. ’So Granny *is* looking down on Qin Mei for being from the countryside? But if she dislikes her, why the long face?’ she wondered. "Granny, there’s nothing we can do about that. Jing Si insisted on marrying her, even going so far as to throw over Teacher Lin, who adored him."
Granny wasn’t interested in hearing about that. ’Jing Si already married her,’ she thought. ’It’s pointless to talk about it now.’
When they didn’t take the bait, Xu Chunyan tactfully changed the subject. "So, An Qi has taken a liking to Qin Xiang?"
Xu Chunyan had a big problem with Qin Xiang. She’d heard from Granny that he had given both her and Grandpa greeting gifts. She had no issue with that—they were elders, and it was normal for a junior to give them presents. But then Granny had said that An Lin got one, too.
’An Lin was their cousin, from the same generation. If *he* got a gift, then she should have gotten one, too. And not just her—Xiao You should have definitely gotten one! She had been waiting for Qin Xiang to give a greeting gift to her and her child, but what happened? Nothing.’