Qiao Zijin looked as if she would never return to the Zhou family if they didn’t send someone over to bow down and admit their mistake.
In short, this wasn’t something a person should do!
“It’s fine.” Qiao Nan had guessed that if the Zhai family hadn’t said anything, the people at the door wouldn’t dare to block Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin off after hearing that they were the in-laws of the Zhai family, as if they were not afraid of the consequences.
“Then, what happened?” Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were not the kind of people who were willing to give up. It was more or less related to these two women that Nan Nan was back home late today.
Qiao Nan changed her shoes, washed her hands, brought the dishes to the table, and shouted for Zhai Yaohui to have the meal together. “It’s fine. I booked a room for them. The main reason why my mother came to the capital is the same as my father, which is for me to provide them a living. I’ll provide her a place to live in. The rest would be like back when I was in Ping Cheng. I would give her living expenses of a thousand yuan each month. Qiao Zijin has nothing to do with me. I don’t have to provide for her. I’ve already explained the situation to my mother and she should know what to do, so I’ll let her be.”
It was alright since she had already fulfilled all her obligations.
Coincidentally, Zhai Yaohui heard these words and nodded in acknowledgment. “Based on our family’s situation now, what Nan Nan did was right. Parents always have their good reasons. Based on the fact that she gave birth to Nan Nan alone, Nan Nan is bound to be at a loss.” Nan Nan needed to let Ding Jiayi understand her situation so that her behavior would become restrained and she wouldn’t act as if it was lawless.
It was already considered easy to talk to for parents like Ding Jiayi who wanted to eat, drink, and live well. Zhai Yaohui had seen a number of examples whereby overly demanding requests were made. Based on Zhai Yaohui’s definition, Ding Jiayi was just considered a little evil person.
If she was a real evil person, no matter how good Qiao Nan was, Zhai Yaohui wouldn’t have dared to let Qiao Nan be their daughter-in-law.
Miao Jing was a little dissatisfied but she couldn’t undo Qiao Nan’s decision. Zhai Yaohui was agreeable with what Qiao Nan did as well. “It’s two votes against my vote. What else can I say? How good it is to be a parent like Ding Jiayi. No wonder she insisted on giving birth to a second child back then even when Qiao Dongliang was at risk of losing his position in the army.”
In a certain sense, Ding Jiayi had given birth to a great second child, Nan Nan.
Based on the current situation, with regards to providing for Ding Jiayi, aside from counting on Nan Nan, there wasn’t a second possibility. If Qiao Zijin could cause less trouble to Ding Jiayi so that she could enjoy her later years, it would be considered that she didn’t let Ding Jiayi down.
Like mother, like daughter. Nan Nan had to pay off her debt as Ding Jiayi’s daughter. Ding Jiayi had to pay off her debt as Qiao Zijin’s mother!
Every bite and every sip was preordained. God wasn’t foolish as it had arranged for Qiao Zijin, who was a big trouble, to be Ding Jiayi’s precious eldest daughter.
“Okay, let’s eat.” Zhai Yaohui was quite satisfied as to how Qiao Nan handled this. Although this matter was handled well, Zhai Yaohui knew that regardless of how well she had handled it, Qiao Nan would have been exhausted to face Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, who had unique identities.
His son and grandchildren weren’t at home and they wouldn’t be able to ease out Qiao Nan’s anxiety. As the father-in-law, he wasn’t in a position to say anything. As for Miao Miao… Zhai Yaohui smiled. If Miao Miao could trouble Qiao Nan less, that would be considered not bad as well.
As such, they had to finish this meal quickly so that Qiao Nan could return to her room early and rest. After recuperating, she could cope with Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi better tomorrow.
“Why are you up so early?” Qiao Zijin slept pretty well in the hotel room. When she woke up, she saw that Ding Jiayi was already dressed well and sitting by the bed for a while. “What time is it now? Have you ordered some food? I’m hungry.”
Ding Jiayi rolled her eyes at Qiao Zijin. “If you’re hungry, go and order some food yourself. Also, don’t forget to pay for it afterward.” She took a look just now. Any casual item ordered would be expensive. Breakfast in the hotel could cost the same as a whole day’s meal in Ping Cheng.
Ding Jiayi knew that if she really ordered breakfast, she couldn’t just order her share. Qiao Zijin couldn’t go hungry. It was just that Ding Jiayi couldn’t bear to pay for a person’s breakfast. If she were to pay for two people’s share, wasn’t that digging into Ding Jiayi’s flesh?
“If you’re really hungry, let’s do this. I boiled some water. You can drink more water to fill your stomach. Qiao Nan will pick us up in the afternoon and might even treat us to lunch. You can eat to your fill then. If we don’t have this meal, I’ll go to the market to buy some ingredients and make some food for us.” No matter what, it would be more worth it than ordering something in the hotel.
“Mom, aren’t you a little too stingy?” Qiao Zijin was dissatisfied. “Don’t think I don’t know that every time Qiao Nan gives you 1,000 yuan monthly, you would spend at most 200 or 300 yuan in Ping Cheng. It has been a few years, so you should have saved 40,000 to 50,000 yuan, no? You can’t even bear to spend on breakfast. That’s too stingy. I’m your biological daughter. Do you want me to starve to death?”
Ding Jiayi gritted her teeth. She didn’t expect her eldest daughter to know so clearly how much she had saved when Qiao Nan didn’t even know. “Do you still remember that I’m your mother? You’re already married and over thirty years old now. You’re a mother as well. Qiao Nan knows how to give me living allowance every month. Why don’t you give me a little as well? At this point in time, shouldn’t it be you buying food for me? You still want me to fork out the money?”
Qiao Zijin slept especially well. Ding Jiayi wasn’t used to sleeping in a foreign environment. Since she couldn’t fall asleep despite lying on the bed, she kept thinking about whether Qiao Nan was serious about what she said to herself during the day. What was she going to do to lead a better life?
Thinking of the past few years, aside from giving her living allowance, Qiao Nan didn’t keep in contact with her at all. It was as if they were unrelated. She had no choice but to believe that what Qiao Nan said was true.
Even if she had over 40,000 yuan of savings in her hands, Ding Jiayi didn’t feel at ease. This sum of money was equivalent to her coffin money. Unless it was a last resort, she would definitely not touch the money in this account.
Ding Jiayi couldn’t even bear to spend the money on herself, so how could she be willing to spend it on Qiao Zijin?
“Stingy. I’ve called you mom for over thirty years, yet you can’t even bear to buy me breakfast. Mom, are you still my mother?” Qiao Zijin was unhappy.
“I’ve provided for you for over thirty years. I don’t see you giving back to me either. I’m also thinking if I’m raising a daughter or an ancestor!”
“…” Qiao Zijin took a deep breath.