"I'm so sorry, my daughter is a bit out of line," Aunt Zou said apologetically to Fu Wenwen.
Fu Wenwen chuckled, "Not at all, I find a lively personality very cute."
"See, Mom! She says I'm cute, stop glaring at me." Praised by Fu Wenwen, Zou Xiaomei's slumped shoulders immediately straightened, and she looked triumphantly at her mother.
Aunt Zou directly slapped her on the head.
"Aunties, please just call me Xiao Fu. You're welcome, please come in and have a seat," Fu Wenwen said with a smile.
Aunt Ma also helped to usher them in, "Come, come, everyone come in and sit down."
The aunties looked around, their eyes lingering on the newly bought furniture for a moment before they sat down.
"We just moved in, so it's a bit messy. Please don't mind!" Fu Wenwen smiled and went to the kitchen to make them some white sugar water, and brought out some melon seeds to entertain them.
As soon as the old aunties saw the melon seeds, their eyes lit up. The moment Fu Wenwen put them down, their hands were already reaching for them.
"Xiao Fu, there are only three of you, and you're living in such a big house. Isn't that a bit wasteful?" Aunt Qu asked, cracking melon seeds, feigning curiosity.
She went straight for the attack.
Fu Wenwen smiled faintly, "This was allocated by the unit, we didn't know at the time. But yes, for three people, it is a bit large. I'll buy a few more sets of furniture in a few days, and it won't feel so big then."
Fu Wenwen's words caused Aunt Qu's expression to change.
"Xiao Fu, didn't your man tell you? How could you not know?" Aunt Hu asked, glancing at Fu Wenwen.
"Aunt Hu, I really didn't know. He just told us he was going to take up his post, and then we moved directly here." Fu Wenwen replied. Aunt Ma chimed in, "You wouldn't know, Xiao Fu and her man came in a jeep. Oh, that car! It was two heads taller than me."
"A jeep?" The two aunties were momentarily stunned. Fu Wenwen just smiled without speaking, only nodding.
"Heavens, I've never seen what a jeep looks like in my life!" Zou Xiaomei exclaimed excitedly, eagerly asking Fu Wenwen, "What does a jeep look like?"
"When you have the chance, you'll see," Fu Wenwen chuckled.
After learning that Fu Wenwen had arrived in a jeep, the aunties' expressions towards her changed.
"Xiao Fu, what does your man do?" Aunt Ma asked with a smile.
Here it comes!
Fu Wenwen perked up and smiled at Aunt Ma, "He's just an ordinary worker."
"Just an ordinary worker? That's perfectly fine too," Aunt Ma said dismissively, smoothing her hair and taking a sip of her sugar water.
"Where are you from?" Aunt Qu also asked.
"Just from Jiangcheng next door," Fu Wenwen replied with a smile.
"Really? What a coincidence. Aunt Qu's daughter is married in Jiangcheng. Her son-in-law works at the Jiangcheng Foodstuffs Factory," Aunt Ma said, and Fu Wenwen saw Aunt Qu puff out her chest proudly.
"Oh, the Foodstuffs Factory! That's quite good!" Fu Wenwen smiled faintly, seeming unfazed. "Very good."
Aunt Qu looked at Fu Wenwen's indifferent expression and her face stiffened. "From your demeanor, Xiao Fu, your family must be well-off. What do your parents do in Jiangcheng? What factory do they work at?"
Aunt Qu's tone was tinged with a hint of resentment, wanting to know what Fu Wenwen's parents did that she would look down on even the Foodstuffs Factory.
"My parents..." Fu Wenwen said slowly. Everyone was listening intently, pretending to be indifferent. Fu Wenwen paused for two seconds, noticing their reaction, and chuckled, "It's nothing special, just ordinary workers. My dad drives, and my mom works at the post office."
"Both are workers?" Aunt Zou couldn't help but widen her eyes. Having both parents as workers in those days was indeed a good family.
"Yes," Fu Wenwen smiled faintly. Aunt Qu was immediately speechless. Her daughter, though married into a seemingly respectable family, was unemployed and looked down upon by her in-laws, having to face the family's displeasure.
If Fu Wenwen's parents were both workers, then she was truly incomparable to her own daughter.
"Then why did you marry here?" Aunt Hu raised an eyebrow, clearly provoked by Fu Wenwen's family background. She glanced unhappily at her daughter-in-law beside her. They were of the same generation, yet Fu Wenwen was so much better than her own daughter-in-law.
Xiao Ying felt her mother-in-law's disdainful gaze and lowered her head in dejection.
"I was an educated youth sent to the countryside and married my husband," Fu Wenwen said with a smile.
"Your husband is truly blessed," the aunties exchanged glances and said with a hint of sourness in their voices.
"Indeed, it is my fortune to be able to marry her," a man's voice rang out from the doorway. The aunties jumped in surprise and quickly stood up. "Oh dear, the master of the house is back."
"Ahem, well, we should be going then. We don't want to disturb you two lovebirds!" Aunt Ma and the others could no longer sit comfortably and quickly stood up to leave.
"Aunties, please come again when you have time!" Fu Wenwen called out as they hurried away.
The aunties left without looking back.
Fu Wenwen returned to the living room to find Lin Feng already sweeping the melon seed shells on the floor with a broom.
"You've already made friends with the neighbors in just two days?" Lin Feng asked with a smile upon seeing Fu Wenwen return.
"You say 'made friends,' but they were just here to probe and show off, wanting to give me some pointers," Fu Wenwen shrugged, mimicking Aunt Qu's earlier demeanor. "Xiao Fu, there are only three of you, and you're living in such a big house. Isn't that a bit wasteful?"
Lin Feng paused, "That's quite a critical remark, isn't it?"
"Absolutely. As soon as they came in, they were looking around with disdain. When they looked at me, their eyes..." Fu Wenwen imitated their expressions. Lin Feng coughed, "If you don't like them, you don't have to associate with them."
"You don't need to wrong yourself," Lin Feng said to Fu Wenwen. "Only keep in touch with people you genuinely like."
"That Zou Xiaomei is quite cute, though," Fu Wenwen pointed out and looked at Lin Feng, "Why are you back so early?"
"Some things happened," Lin Feng said slowly and told Fu Wenwen what had happened that day. After listening, Fu Wenwen raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that corruption?"
Lin Feng nodded, "And a significant amount."
"They've assigned you such a big matter right after you arrived?" Fu Wenwen had originally thought Lin Feng was here for a relaxed post, but it seemed she was mistaken.
"I thought so too," Lin Feng sighed. "I thought it would just be some minor issues that needed management."
"Now..." Lin Feng was speechless, "We'll have to report it to higher authorities."
"I have reason to suspect Brother Peng did this intentionally," Fu Wenwen chuckled, looking at Lin Feng, who shared the same thought. "He probably planned this all along, and I've already heard him admit it..."