She only knew that her husband had taken on a job which paid well and was quite urgent.
She had thought they were expanding the family ho by building an additional wing, but she had not expected a separate small house to be constructed, one that was not connected to the existing building and seed to have its own entrance.
Ye Shuying was quite curious, but realized it was pointless to ask her husband or the workers, since the breadwinner in the family was her mother, so it made sense to ask her.
When she approached her maternal family’s courtyard, she saw her mother sitting in a Master Chair, and thought she was just basking in the sun at the entrance.
But as she ca closer to her mother, she could only hear her swearing under her breath; though the swearing wasn’t loud, she could make out a few words, and they were all curses against her father.
Her mother looked unwell with dark circles under her eyes and a haggard expression, clearly soone troubled with worries and sleepless nights.
Ye Shuying found it even stranger because her mother normally wouldn’t dare to curse her father, always following his lead.
The handling of money had been her domain, and only after the family had prospered did her elder brother and sister-in-law start to have their own investnts and private funds.
"Mother, I’ve brought my son to wish you a Happy New Year!"
"Grandma, Happy New Year!" The four or five-year-old boy, still not adept at reading facial expressions, ran over and hugged Mrs. Lai.
Mrs. Lai, who was in the middle of scolding, saw her usually stingy daughter arrive with quite a few things in hand; she should have felt happy at such filial piety, but she was too angry at the mont to smile at her granddaughter and daughter.
"Since you’re here, just go inside; I don’t have the ti to deal with you all right now!"
Her usually kind grandmother was in a bad mood today, not even giving out the red envelope when first greeted for the new year.
The little boy pouted, unhappy with the situation.
However, he quickly got over it, realizing his grandmother’s red envelopes contained so little money; he should hurry to find his Aunt, Uncle, and maternal grandfather who would likely be more generous with their red envelopes.
Maybe he’d even et more relatives inside. There was no way he was going to stick around and get scolded by his grandmother!
The little boy dashed into the house.
Ye Shuying, unsure whether to ask about her mother’s peculiar behavior, felt the items she was carrying were quite heavy. Thinking it best to go inside first, she hoped her sister-in-law might see all the gifts and reciprocate with more in return; what she truly wanted was cash.
As her daughter entered the house, Mrs. Lai didn’t bother to pay her any mind, continuing to mutter the sa few curses.
When Ye Shuying entered with her offerings, the family mbers, who noticed her presence, began to think that the stingy relative had finally had a change of heart. Was it an east wind blowing today, or had the sun risen from the west? Could it be that the stingy one had beco enlightened?
Mrs. Li, in charge of hosting the relatives, had not only close relatives visit today but those from her maternal side as well.
Ye Shuzhen’s husband had co, but she hadn’t; her husband was there to represent their entire family in offering new year’s greetings.
Although Tang Weixing was rely a worker in the Tang Family, he was generous, handing out red envelopes to children and elders alike.
He had co alone this ti; young Master Tang Shunyan did not accompany him, as he had reportedly accompanied his grandmother and mother to the Capital City and would only return after a couple of days.
The grandmother and mother of young Master Tang Shunyan were from the Capital City. Considering the long journey, they would likely stay there for several days to enjoy the Lantern Festival on the 15th. Unfortunately, after the festival, Tang Shunyan needed to return to the academy, and the timing wouldn’t allow for it.
Mrs. Li had to attend to the guests while also ensuring that preparations were underway for the construction of the adjacent building, necessitating a al for the workers.
All these tasks required the chef and household staff to be busy.
Preparations for gifts took only a few days and required lists to be made and purchases to be completed.
She couldn’t spend all her ti holding her son, as she had to leave him with other children and the little maids.
Mrs. Lai, as a mother-in-law, was of no help; not creating problems for her was already a good thing, and even from her room, she could sense her mother-in-law scolding soone at the entrance.
With the new year celebrations upon her and such an incident occurring, she couldn’t do much about it, only hoping it wasn’t an issue of her husband taking a concubine.
The thought of her forr crush on her husband becoming his concubine, and thereby a senior relative to her, was sothing Mrs. Li didn’t dare to dwell on; there were many things in this household that she had no say in.
Seeing Ye Shuying arrive with so many gifts, Mrs. Li arranged for soone to help bring them to the kitchen, where they would be acknowledged with a reciprocal gift and the remainder taken to be prepared for the al.
Ye Shuying really wanted to stealthily ask Mrs. Li what exactly was happening and why such a construction was necessary.
But with Mrs. Li so busy, she could find no opportunity.
Watching her son receiving one red envelope after another filled Ye Shuying with joy.
Having only thought about bringing things back to her maternal ho, she hadn’t brought many red envelopes herself, just a few small ones for her nieces and nephews.
With so many people from her maternal family present, and seeing her son receive red envelopes from others, she felt no need to give out any herself, especially when it ca to her nieces and nephews who were closer family; in her opinion, if it could be avoided, it was best not to hand any out.
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