The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Just Hoping to Get Married and Have Children Soon

The car soon stopped at Han Xiaorui’s door.

Hearing the commotion, Han Xiaorui hurried out to greet them.

Although it was already autumn, the weather today was beautiful and the temperature was high.

Han Xiaorui was wearing an off-white, ruffled V-neck blouse and a skirt in a soft, elegant orange.

Granny Cai had come over specifically to braid Han Xiaorui’s hair.

Her long, wavy hair was parted in two, braided from the roots all the way to the ends, and draped over her chest.

This softened Han Xiaorui’s sharp aura, revealing a gentle and graceful elegance.

”Ye Feng, Mr. Xu, Old Madam Xu, oh, Auntie, please come in,” Han Xiaorui greeted them warmly.

Xu Yingying supported her mother and said with a smile, ”Xiao Rui, you look so beautiful today.”

Han Xiaorui smiled sweetly. ”Auntie and Old Madam Xu are beautiful too.”

Seeing this, Old Madam Xu feigned a light scolding. ”Don’t call me Old Madam. It’s too formal. Call me Grandma.”

Han Xiaorui readily agreed. After all, they had come to her home and had asked her to change how she addressed them. She wasn’t one to be pretentious. ”Grandma, Grandpa, don’t just stand outside. Please, come in.”

Grandma Xu took a box out of her bag and placed it in Han Xiaorui’s hands. ”Good child, see if you like it.”

Han Xiaorui opened the velvet box. Inside was a pair of lustrous, watery-green jade bracelets.

Even without owning any jade bracelets herself, Han Xiaorui recognized the quality of these—a green so deep it could capture one’s heart.

”Grandma, this is too valuable.” Han Xiaorui didn’t dare to accept. ’The Xu family is so extravagant. To give such top-tier jewelry as a first gift.’

Xu Yingying explained, ”Xiao Rui, you can’t refuse a gift from an elder. This is a gift for changing how you address them. You deserve it.”

Han Xiaorui was stunned. ’Isn’t it just a form of address? And they’re giving such a lavish gift for it?’

’Wealthy families are really something,’ she mused. ’When they dislike you, they show nothing but disdain and constantly make things difficult.’

’But when they like you, they’re incredibly generous, willing to spare no expense.’

Han Xiaorui had successively received many valuable gifts from Old Madam Xu and Mr. Xu.

”Thank you.” Han Xiaorui accepted. This was a sign of their approval.

The lighting inside was poor, so Han Xiaorui chose to entertain her guests in the courtyard.

The autumn sky was high and the air was crisp.

Under the osmanthus tree, waves of fragrance drifted by.

As the gentle breeze blew, tiny petals would occasionally land on them.

Han Xiaoqing came over with Pingping and An’an.

Han Xiaorui made the introductions. ”This is my sister, Han Xiaoqing. She’s reporting to the normal university tomorrow to major in psychology.”

”These are my two daughters. The older one is Pingping, and the younger one is An’an. They’re twins. Pingping, An’an, call them Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa.”

”Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa.”

Today, Pingping and An’an were wearing white shirts with pink suspender skirts that reached their knees.

They had on white socks and little pink shoes.

Like their mother, they each had two cute little pigtails, with sparkly hair clips in their hair.

The two little girls loved them.

Old Madam Xu took out two more boxes from her bag, and from inside them, she produced two Peace Pendants.

They were made of Nephrite Jade, strung on red braided cords with small gold beads, and were utterly beautiful.

”This one is for Pingping, and this one is for An’an. I hope these Peace Pendants will protect our Pingping and An’an, and let them grow up healthy and happy.”

Pingping and An’an were very well-behaved. ”Thank you, Great-Grandma.”

”Good children.” Old Madam Xu hugged Pingping and An’an.

’Oh, my,’ she thought. ’The children in our family... Ye Feng is the youngest, and he’s almost thirty.’

Old Madam Xu had hoped for children in the family, longed for it for so many years, but her wish had never come true.

’Although Pingping and An’an aren’t my grandson’s biological children, they’re still young. If we raise them well from now on, they’ll be part of the family when they grow up.’

’And then there’s my daughter who can’t have children, my son who won’t marry, and my eldest daughter who passed away early... all that’s left is my grandson.’

’If he gets married sooner, he can have children sooner.’

’Otherwise, who will inherit the Xu family’s huge fortune?’

After her affectionate moment with the children, Old Madam Xu gave a box to Han Xiaoqing. ”Xiao Jing, Ye Feng has told me all about you. He praised you for being smart and kind, and seeing you today, you’re truly remarkable.”

”This is a meeting gift. You can’t refuse it, or I’ll get upset.”

Han Xiaoqing looked at her sister. ’It’s one thing to give gifts to my sister and Pingping and An’an, but why am I getting one too?’

From Old Madam Xu’s bearing, she knew the gift must be very expensive.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Xiao Jing, accept it.”

Han Xiaoqing accepted it and said, ”Thank you, Grandma Xu.”

”No need to thank me. It’s only right,” Old Madam Xu said with a smile, thinking Han Xiaoqing was a fine girl.

She was already mentally sifting through a list of talented young men, wanting to play matchmaker for Han Xiaoqing.

Liang Xiaoyu brought over the tea.

”Thank you, Sister-in-law Xiao Yu.” Han Xiaorui was grateful; it was all thanks to Liang Xiaoyu and Granny Cai coming over to help.

Everyone took their seats one by one. Han Xiaoqing took Pingping and An’an to play with Cai Wenjun.

Mr. Xu expressed his thanks, his tone sincere. ”Xiao Rui, I want to formally thank you for saving Yingying. Otherwise, we would have had to endure the tragedy of white-haired parents burying their dark-haired child once again.”

Han Xiaorui said modestly, ”Auntie and I hit it off right away and have a wonderful relationship. When I felt she was in danger, of course I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”

”Just as Auntie would do her best to help me if I were in danger. We’re all family now, so let’s not keep thanking each other. It feels too distant.”

At this moment, Ye Feng chuckled and said, ”That’s right, Grandpa. Don’t be so formal.”

With Ye Feng there to liven up the atmosphere, the conversation flowed enjoyably.

Because she had saved Xu Yingying, the two elders of the Xu family had accepted Han Xiaorui from the bottom of their hearts, and the atmosphere became even more harmonious.

Sister Cai knew the Xu family were prominent residents of Old Shencheng City, so she put ninety percent of her skill into making Shencheng cuisine. The missing ten percent was out of modesty.

A few of the dishes were from pre-Liberation recipes, the kind favored by wealthy families.

Han Xiaorui had Wu Jiao and Wu Yao help tidy up the kitchen, and asked Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu to come and eat with them.

Granny Cai refused. ”Xiao Rui, these are distinguished guests. I can come and help you cook, but I can’t entertain them. I’m not up to it.”

Liang Xiaoyu also chimed in quickly, ”That’s right, Xiao Rui, don’t worry about us. We’ll eat over here in a bit with the kids, Wu Jiao, and Wu Yao. We’ve set aside some food.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui disagreed. ”Sister Cai, in my heart you’re not just a helper cook, I see you as an elder. And Sister-in-law Xiao Yu is my best friend, not my boat-hand.”

”Ye Feng’s grandma and grandpa are elders, so I need an elder on my side to be present too. Here in Jinshan Bay, the only ones I consider elders are you and Uncle Yang, right? But Uncle Yang is my ex-husband’s father. I can’t very well have my former father-in-law here to entertain my current boyfriend’s family, can I?”

At these words, Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu both laughed.

It was true, they couldn’t have Yang Zhigang come over.

Even though Yang Zhigang, Yang Jianguo, and Wu Cuicui would all come if Han Xiaorui asked, it wouldn’t be appropriate.

A good relationship is one thing, but some things simply can’t be done.

Seeing Han Xiaorui’s sincere tone, Granny Cai nodded. ”Alright then. I’ll take off my apron and help you host Ye Feng’s family.”

Granny Cai’s communication skills were exceptional, and she had an open and cheerful personality.

In the bathroom, she wiped the sweat from her body, changed into a spare set of clothes, and combed her hair neatly, securing the hair bun at the back of her head with a silver hairpin.

After freshening up, Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu came to the dining room. The moment Granny Cai’s and Old Madam Xu’s eyes met, they both froze.

They seemed to have met before!