Sun Ying was feeling a little regretful now. If she had known earlier that Qiao Mei had grown up to be so good-looking, she would definitely have introduced her to the eligible boys from her maternal family and not let an outsider gain the advantage.
Qiao Mei asked curiously, “Auntie Dong, who are these two people?”
Auntie Dong blinked at Qiao Mei and her voice sounded different from before. “Don’t you recognize them? They’re your grandmother and aunt-in-law! But then again, you were only a few years old when you last met them. It’s normal that you’ve long forgotten about them and can’t recognize them now.”
Sun Ying could tell what Auntie Dong meant. Wasn’t that a veiled way of blaming them for not coming to visit Qiao Mei over the past few years?
“Mei Mei, I’m your aunt-in-law. It’s fine if you’ve forgotten about me. Now that you’ve met me, you won’t be able to forget me in the future.” Sun Ying smiled and pushed the old lady beside her towards Qiao Mei. “This is your biological grandmother.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember anything. You’ll remember us once we come here more often in the future.”
After saying that, she looked around the courtyard. In this large courtyard, there were lush green vegetables and ripe fruits all over the place. It was a delightful sight to see bunches of grapes hanging on the vines.
“Oh, so it’s my grandmother and aunt-in-law. Then what are you two doing here?” Qiao Mei looked at them and asked curiously.
Auntie Dong, who was standing next to her, smiled and said, “They said they were here to visit their relatives.”
“Oh,” Qiao Mei replied coolly.
She had now recalled her memories of these maternal relatives. Her grandmother and grandfather were still alive and she also had three uncles whose names were Li Dong, Li Xiong and Li Tao. She also had an aunt named Li Juan.
Her mother’s name was Li Gui.
There was nothing ordinary about the members of this family, all of them were very calculative people.
“We should get your second aunt-in-law to come over and take a look another day. Only your youngest uncle isn’t married yet.” Sun Ying was still sizing up the spacious courtyard.
Qiao Mei stood where she was and sighed softly.
Her family now consisted of only her, who was a married woman, and a sickly grandfather. It was normal for other people to be eyeing a place with such a big courtyard.
“Well, grandmother and eldest aunt-in-law, you two haven’t visited me for so many years, so why are you here to see me now?” Qiao Mei asked suddenly..
They were caught off guard by her words.
They really did not expect Qiao Mei, who looked mild and gentle, to be so sarcastic.
But neither of them was easy to deal with.
After being stunned for a moment, Old Madam Li spoke up. She smiled at Qiao Mei and said, “The two of us don’t have any other intentions. It’s just that we haven’t seen you for so many years and wanted to come and visit you and Old Master Qiao.”
“Isn’t it a little late to come and see me? It’s been more than 10 years since we last met, and now you want to come and visit me? Is it because you heard from others that our village has set up a factory and become rich now?” Qiao Mei did not bother to mince her words.
Sun Ying’s expression immediately darkened and she said with a scowl, “Listen to what you’re saying. Our Li family isn’t the kind of people who are money grubbers, right? We’re here with good intentions. Being your maternal relatives, of course we have to visit you now that you’re married and pregnant.”
“Alright, you’ve already seen me. Can you go back now? Grandmother and aunt-in-law, then I won’t invite you both in. You can return home already.”
Qiao Mei smiled brightly.
Sun Ying was at her wit’s end. She stood rooted to the ground with a long face and did not speak.
Old Madam Li, who was by her side, quickly came to smooth things over. She smiled and patted Sun Ying. “Look at yourself, so old already and yet still taking a child’s words to heart. I can’t believe you’re not ashamed of yourself.”
Then, she smiled at Qiao Mei and said, “Mei Mei, you don’t know how happy we are to hear that you’re pregnant. Your eldest aunt-in-law is especially happy and has even brought eggs for you to build up your health. Look!”