NOVPUB
Chapter 703: Chapter 693 Firmly Disagree (Extra for Water-like Life)
The second day of the Lunar New Year at the old Li Family home was surprisingly lively and harmonious, beyond everyone’s expectations.
The only one prone to causing trouble when there were many people around, Li Xianghe, was firmly kept in check by Sun Chengbin, which kept the dinner table filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
Especially during the giving of red envelopes to the children, Shen Yunfang generously gave each child a large red envelope containing ten yuan, delighting Li Xianghe who was sneakily watching.
Sun Chengbin behaved impressively throughout the entire banquet, if only he hadn’t occasionally tested Li Hongjun, it would have been perfect.
As for Wang Dan’s family, they had returned to her maternal home, so they didn’t join in on this bustling gathering.
Of course, the New Year’s money for her three children had already been given on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
After the meal, the sisters Li Xianglian helped Shen Yunfang clean up the dishes and chopsticks.
"Sister-in-law, there’s so much chicken left over, can you pack some for me when I leave? I can just heat it up for dinner, so I don’t have to cook when I get home," Li Xianglian said, holding a plate as she entered the hall and started asking for things without hesitation.
"Sure, if you don’t mind taking it, then go ahead," Shen Yunfang was very generous with guests who weren’t looking for trouble.
"Oh, what’s there to mind, aren’t we all family?" Li Xianghe sweetened her tone with the benefit gained. "And take this candied sweet potato and tofu as well, my Niuniu loves the dishes made by her second aunt, she always eats an extra half bowl of rice with them."
And just like that, Li Xianghe practically claimed all the remaining dishes on the table for herself.
Shen Yunfang agreed without hesitation, as she was particular about not reheating and eating leftovers from a meal shared with others, finding it unappealing. With the abundance of supplies nowadays, she’s become even more particular. It was a relief for someone to clear it away, saving her the trouble.
Keep in mind this wasn’t her own home, where she could do as she pleased. If others saw her throwing away perfectly good dishes, she would be subject to gossip.
No sooner had they finished tidying up than Wang Dan’s family arrived.
"Wow, big sister, you’ve come back quite early," Shen Yunfang said, surprised. Hadn’t she gone to her maternal home? How could she have come back so soon? They had dinner quite early at her maternal home.
"Yeah, I knew Xianglian and the others were coming back, so I hurried through dinner and headed home. My maternal home isn’t far anyway, if I want to go back, it’s just a step away," Wang Dan said, standing by and watching them work.
As soon as Wang Dan’s family entered the courtyard, they split into three groups: Wang Dan headed towards Shen Yunfang, Li Hongxing went straight to talk to the men inside, and the kids ran off to play with Pangpang and Manman.
"Having your maternal home so close must be nice," Shen Yunfang remarked enviously.
"Heh, it’s not all that great; the closer it is, the more trouble there is," Wang Dan said, shaking her hand in an exasperated manner.
"Tsch..." Li Xianghe was about to cause trouble again.
Shen Yunfang quickly tried to change the subject, not wanting the harmonious atmosphere to be ruined by Li Xianghe. With all the sisters-in-law gathered, she brought up the matter of the elderly Mr. Li’s intention to continue living in the old home and the plan to hire a caretaker.
"Who’ll pay for the caretaker?" Wang Dan immediately asked the most crucial question.
"Why get a stranger? No outsider will take care of our dad wholeheartedly. I should do it." Li Xianghe’s eyes lit up upon hearing this; she’d gone after the one hundred yuan in their dad’s hands just a while ago.
Li Xianglian, on the other hand, didn’t speak up. After all, with the second brother and his wife overseeing the household affairs, nothing could go wrong.
Shen Yunfang ignored Li Xianghe and spoke to Wang Dan first, "Dad said he just needs someone to cook for him and tidy up the house, not someone to be in the house all day long, so five yuan a month will do. Dad said that the money for hiring someone should come from the retirement funds we provide. In the future, we will give the retirement funds directly to dad for safekeeping, and he will pay the wages each month."
Upon hearing she didn’t have to pay, Wang Dan stopped caring about the matter. Although having the old man live alone meant a slight financial loss for her, she didn’t like taking care of old people, and after doing it for a year, she was tired enough to forgo the money.
But Li Xianghe was far from calm and collected, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Didn’t I say it’s not worth it to hire someone? We’d still have to give our money to an outsider when we have capable people in our own family. Why waste it like this?"
Only then did Shen Yunfang look up at the younger sister-in-law with a face full of schemes; it was quite unsightly, "Dad proposed this idea himself. He said he wanted a stranger, and he even suggested the person himself."
Li Xianghe didn’t expect this and was surprised, "Who? Who did Dad say he wanted to hire?"
"He mentioned Auntie Xue from our village. I haven’t heard of her, but yesterday Li Hongjun had already made inquiries with our elder brother, and it seems she’s quite efficient," Shen Yunfang involved Wang Dan and her husband in the conversation.
"What, that despicable woman? No way, absolutely not." Li Xianghe had been hanging around Taoshu Village recently and knew quite a lot about Auntie Xue’s reputation.
In comparison, Li Xianglian was quite clueless, "Auntie Xue? I’ve never heard of her." She had been living here since she was young and searched her memory but couldn’t match a face to the name.
"Of course you wouldn’t know. Big sister, let me tell you, she’s not a good person. She’s remarrying into our village from another," Li Xianghe explained.
And on she went, exaggerating the dark history of the woman. In her words, Auntie Xue was a seductive wretch; for the sake of her children, she found an older man to marry. Once her children were grown, she helped the old man pass away and then all his property ended up in the hands of this stepmother.
Now, if they hired her to take care of Old Li, it would be like handing over their family’s inheritance to someone else.
She spoke passionately, but the other three women present were indifferent.
After all, the Li Family had already divided their inheritance, and no matter how much was left in the old house, it had nothing to do with them. Frankly, it made no difference to them who would receive the final inheritance.
"I mentioned this just to discuss it with everyone. Although dad spoke to us about it, the family has already been divided. In principle, Li Hongqi should be in charge, but now that Hongqi is incarcerated, we all need to decide on the old man’s affairs," Shen Yunfang stated clearly.
"I disagree, I absolutely disagree," Li Xianghe said firmly.
"I don’t care; like you said, the family is already divided. Good or bad, when the old lady gets out, it will be another issue, and I want no part of it," Wang Dan declared her position.
"I have no objections. Since that’s what dad wants, let’s go by his wishes," Li Xianglian expressed her support. She just wanted to live her life peacefully.
"Heh, I’m just letting you all know as a heads up. This isn’t a decision we women can make; let the men decide," Shen Yunfang reassured with a smile, then added, "Let’s go, the kitchen is all cleaned up. We should go inside; everyone’s here today, so we might as well discuss this matter. Red Army and I have a short vacation, so if this is settled, we should find someone quickly, otherwise, it will be elder brother’s responsibility once we leave." 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
"Oh my, let’s hurry then. You know your elder brother, he’s not adept at these things. If you let him handle it, will he get it right?" Upon hearing that it might require her effort, Wang Dan quickly made her way into the house, as she wanted no involvement in the matter.
