The three of them returned fully loaded.
Li Min was the first to go through the bags. Upon seeing the formal dresses, she nodded in approval, but when she saw the ordinary dresses, she would sometimes say they were fine and sometimes that they were too plain.
Lin Hua'er told her mother-in-law that the ordinary ones were bought by Chen Fu by force.
"Hmph!" Li Min put down the clothes. "Blind."
Then she went back to the kitchen to cook.
Chen Fu scratched his head. Hua'er was indifferent to him, his family members treated him coolly, and even his grandmother rarely spoke to him.
The only one who still talked to him was his father. His own mother always choked him with a look of disdain.
This feeling of being surrounded by enemies was very difficult.
...
The next day was Saturday.
After breakfast, the Li family packed their belongings and set off for the Northern Province.
Li Weibo had cleaned the large villa opposite two days in advance with Aunt Cai.
Twelve adults and three children, they only drove a seven-seater car and Han Lushi's five-seater car.
As soon as the two cars stopped in the parking spaces in front of the villa, Li Weibo came out to greet them.
The Li family entered the large villa, and Yu Ziyu was waiting in the living room with Si Ji.
Tian Jing took her grandson in her arms, but sighed in her heart. Alas! She always felt a sense of distance towards Si Ji, not as close as she was to Xuanxuan.
Li Min took her eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law to a room on the first floor. "There aren't many rooms upstairs, so you two can stay on the first floor."
Chen Fu followed his mother and asked, "Is this Xiao Bo's villa?"
"No," Li Min replied without looking back. "This is a place your aunt bought. Xiao Bo's villa is opposite. We'll go see it this afternoon."
A place to stay, and it was a large villa. Chen Fu was already numb.
During their few days of sightseeing in the capital, his mother first took them to see his aunt's properties, namely the various communities managed by Lili's Jingyuan Real Estate Company.
Block after block, building after building, it made his head spin. These communities combined were larger than five or six Kucheng mountains. How much money was that?
The little bit of money in his own pocket couldn't even be compared to his aunt's.
As they went along, his mother kept ridiculing him. He didn't feel like a frog in a well, but an ant beneath a giant tower.
After his mother left, Chen Fu sat on the bed in a daze. "Hua'er, with so much money, why could my aunt tolerate life in Kucheng mountain?"
Lin Hua'er, who had been unwilling to pay attention to her husband, hesitated when she heard him ask this question and replied:
"Aunt wants a life, a real life, not those hypocritical social interactions."
"This is a state of mind, a state that you and I can never reach, and that even those richer and more powerful than Aunt may not be able to reach."
Chen Fu was stunned. His wife's change was as hard for him to accept as his aunt's wealth.
...
After settling in, the Li family went into the dining room. Aunt Cai had already prepared all the dishes.
Li Mu thanked Aunt Cai.
Aunt Cai smiled and said it was her duty, then took Si Ji from Yu Ziyu's arms so that Yu Ziyu could eat with peace of mind.
After lunch, Lin Hua'er helped clear the table, and Li Min pushed her eldest son to the kitchen to help wash the dishes.
Ever since he married Hua'er, her eldest son only managed the stove and cooked, doing none of the other chores.
Chen Fu helped wash the dishes, and Lin Hua'er let him do it, then went to wipe the stove.
With such obvious avoidance, and with Aunt Cai present in the kitchen, Chen Fu no longer pestered her.
...
After a short rest, the Li family went to the villa opposite together.
Li Min took her eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law to tour the villa.
This place, being lived in long-term, was decorated warmly, unlike the opposite villa which was just a temporary stop.
After touring the upstairs and downstairs, Li Min sent her eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law to stroll in the backyard. She was too tired to walk around with them.
Even though Lin Hua'er did not want to be with her husband, she did not want to disobey her mother-in-law, who had always protected her.
Her aunt had told her to experience the new feeling of being pursued again.
In fact, she knew that no matter how fiercely her mother-in-law scolded her, or how grand her aunt's words were, they both hoped she and her husband could reconcile.
But the thought of her husband kissing that woman made her feel sick. She wished she could beat her husband arbitrarily like her mother-in-law and ask him why.
When the scenic area first opened, there was nothing between her and Chen Fu. She was also self-conscious because of her family background. It was Chen Fu who came to provoke her...
If Chen Fu had other women before marrying her, she wouldn't have cared.
During their marriage, Chen Fu not only made a mistake, but also protected that woman and hit her. This resentment was something she could never let go of.
Chen Fu apologized and repented to her, but the more he did, the colder her heart became...
Looking at Lin Hua'er, who was calm beside him, Chen Fu was flustered. The more he apologized and repented, the colder Hua'er became.
It seemed that the more he spoke, the more wrong he was, and the further Hua'er moved away from him:
"Hua'er, I..."
Lin Hua'er looked up and gazed at him quietly.
Faced with eyes that looked at him like a stranger, Chen Fu deflated and turned to continue walking.
...
When Li Min returned to the living room, Tian Jing looked behind her. "Where are Hua'er and Xiao Fu?"
Li Min sat down beside her and picked up a piece of watermelon from the coffee table. "I told them to go stroll in the backyard. My old bones can't walk anymore."
Tian Jing sighed. "Hua'er was very hurt this time and needs time to recover. You pushing them together, Hua'er is doing it reluctantly for you, but she has to face Xiao Fu, whom she now hates. It's difficult for her."
Li Min swallowed the watermelon in her mouth. "You mean my actions had the opposite effect?"
"More or less," Tian Jing nodded. "Before returning to Kucheng mountain, don't try to force Hua'er and Xiao Fu together anymore. Let them both reflect on their inner feelings separately."
"Then will we go out to play in two groups?"
"No, just one group. Don't deliberately create opportunities for Xiao Fu anymore. Hua'er will feel like we are taking his side."
"Alright."
...
After Chen Fu and Lin Hua'er returned, the Li family all returned to the large villa.
Not long after, Shen Jianrong arrived. She apologized as soon as she came, saying she was too busy to get away. If it weren't for Aunt Cai helping out here, she would have been even busier.
Tian Jing laughed. "Why be so polite? Preparing a banquet isn't like in our village where you just announce it with a loudspeaker."
"Hahaha," Shen Jianrong laughed heartily. "If possible, I would like to use a loudspeaker to announce it. It's not only down-to-earth, but it also saves me time."
After a few words, Shen Jianrong's phone rang again.
It was Yuan Jiyong calling to say that Mr. Shen had arrived and asked her to hurry back to add more tables, as the reserved number of tables was not enough.
Tian Jing told her to go back and take charge, and not to entertain them, as they would go over themselves tomorrow.
Shen Jianrong left in a hurry.
Li Mu shook her head. "Adding guests at the last minute is the most troublesome."
Han Lushi, sitting opposite on the sofa, was cradling his daughter with an extremely gentle expression. "Grandma, what about Xuanxuan tomorrow?"
"Bring her along," Li Mu couldn't bear to leave her great-granddaughter, nor could she miss the hundred-day celebration.
Han Lushi nodded. "I'll carry her tomorrow."
Li Mu agreed. Her own stamina was not enough, and she still had to deal with the Shen and Li families. She couldn't be distracted to take care of Xuanxuan.