Renting a young, attractive woman to take home for the Chinese New Year infuriates the entire villag

"No! You don't have to make yourself suffer like that."

Jiang Chen laughed: "If you're really being blunt, you should talk back. Don't tell me you're not my girlfriend, there's no need for you to wrong yourself for my sake."

"Even if you really are my girlfriend, you can't let her wrong you. If you really are my girlfriend, it won't just be you cursing, it will be the two of us cursing together."

"I just want you to stay out of trouble, to not be like a firecracker that ignites at the slightest spark."

Sun Mengjia's eyes lit up.

"If I were really your girlfriend, would you really protect me?"

Jiang Chen laughed: "Why wouldn't I protect my girlfriend, whom I'm going to spend my life with, and an aunt I've disliked since childhood, whom I barely see twice a year?"

"Do you really think I'm someone who can't distinguish between close and distant relatives?"

Sun Mengjia chuckled and confidently raised three fingers to swear, "Don't worry, am I the kind of person who fusssses over every little thing? I promise you, if I talk back, I'm a dog!"

Seeing her serious expression, Jiang Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I drove her to a steamed bun shop and bought thirty yuan worth of freshly steamed white steamed buns.

I also bought some cooked and cold dishes like braised pork head and braised beef from a roadside stall before turning back.

……

Jiang Chen returned home and was about to call his aunt for dinner when the curtain was lifted and his aunt came out of the inner room by herself.

She was wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket, and her hair was messy and uncombed.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen, his face instantly lit up with a warm smile.

"Oh, Chenchen's back!"

My aunt slapped her thigh, her voice booming:

"Look at my brain, it's already the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, you should all be here by now."

"Yesterday I said I'd get up a little earlier today to brew some tea and wait for you. I brewed the tea first thing this morning, but you didn't come. I thought I'd go lie down for a bit, but I ended up falling asleep."

"When did you guys arrive? Why didn't you call me?"

"Has your grandma cooked? I'll go make you some food right now."

Jiang Chen knew exactly what she was thinking.

Every year before the Lunar New Year, my parents would come to my maternal grandparents' house to deliver New Year's gifts.

I also fried some of the snacks that Grandma would use for Chinese New Year.

Not only will my maternal grandparents' house be bombed, but my maternal uncle's family also lives in the same courtyard as my maternal grandparents. Moreover, my aunt is very lazy and does no chores. I will also bomb their family's house as well.

It takes a whole day to clean each time.

One year, in particular, his father didn't have a holiday, and Jiang Chen also hadn't had a holiday because of the college entrance examination.

It took my mom, grandma, and grandpa two whole days to finally get the stuff out of the fryer.

I don't even have time to fry things for my own family anymore.

We can only bring some home from Grandma's house.

When they got home, they opened and closed the door and chatted.

In a courtyard, you must be sleeping so soundly that you wouldn't even know you're there.

The key point is that he even said he fell asleep so he could make tea for his family. He made it sound so nice, but in reality, he was just being lazy.

Of course, they also found an excuse for this.

I used to be too lazy to make excuses, and I would even complain about the smoke and fire from frying things, so I would go to my neighbor's house to relax.

Of course, although Jiang Chen knew exactly what was going on, he wouldn't say it out loud.

Even if I say it out loud, it won't change anything. It will only make things more awkward and make me look like I'm being immature.

After all, shamelessness knows no bounds.

If you value your reputation while she doesn't, you can't possibly defeat her.

So Jiang Chen didn't say anything, and just silently went back to his grandparents' room.

As soon as she entered the door, my aunt went straight to the dining table, picked up her chopsticks, and took a bite of beef.

Just then, Sun Mengjia finished washing her hands and came out of the bathroom.

When she saw Sun Mengjia, her aunt was taken aback.

Then she looked at her grandparents and asked, "What is this?"

Mom quickly explained, "This is Chenchen's girlfriend."

Auntie's eyes lit up instantly, really lit up, scanning Sun Mengjia like a radar.

"Wow~ I was wondering where this celebrity came from, what a beautiful young lady!"

"That face is as white as a peeled egg. And that figure is so good, so thin, how do you maintain it?"

"She looks young too. I was thinking your parents had another little girl."

Sun Mengjia was initially on high alert, ready to deal with her aunt, that wicked woman, at any moment.

As a result of being bombarded with these sweet words, I was momentarily disoriented.

She's always been someone who's easily pleased; she thinks whoever smiles at her is good.

Moreover, this aunt looks kind and speaks pleasantly; she doesn't seem like a bad person at all.

Is this what you call bad character?

Is this what you call being difficult to get along with?

Jiang Chen, that old man, is too petty!

The only downside is that you have to eat standing up before all the dishes are served.

But Sun Mengjia was originally a spirited young woman, and being from the South, she didn't have many rules.

Not only did they not see it as a problem, they even thought their aunt was straightforward.

As for saying you slept and slacked off all morning?

She didn't do any work herself.

So I didn't feel there was any problem at all.

They even felt that Jiang Chen's family's various cooking and preparations for fried food for the New Year were somewhat unnecessary.

It's not like we don't have the money, we can just buy it.

And you've prepared so much of everything! It's been a whole morning, and we haven't even prepared the ingredients yet. Is it really necessary?

Won't they all go bad by now?

But she remembered Jiang Chen's words: don't express your opinion on things you don't understand or can't stand.

So, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face, and she sweetly greeted, "Hello, Auntie! You look so young and beautiful."

"Oh my, this child has such a sweet tongue!" Auntie was beaming with joy.

"Alright, alright, stop standing there and eat. I'm starving."

Without waiting for anyone else, he plopped down in the best spot at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and stuffed a piece of freshly bought pig's head meat into his mouth.

"Hmm, this meat is good, it smells quite nice."

"Did you leave me some chicken broth in the pot? I need to use it to cook noodles."

Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly as he watched this scene and then called everyone to eat.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was fairly harmonious.

Although my aunt kept eating, her mouth was never idle.

"Chenchen, I heard you work for a big company in Hangzhou? Hangzhou is a great place, you must earn a lot."

Jiang Chen laughed and said, "I'm just trying to make a living."

While munching on a chicken leg, my aunt sighed, "I heard that prices are high over there, and rent is expensive too. No matter how much you earn, how much can you save?"

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "It's alright, just enough to get by."

"Enough to get by is fine, enough to get by is fine." Auntie seemed to be comforting him, but then she changed the subject, her tone carrying a hint of boasting: "Actually, there's no need to go so far. Look at your cousin Qiangzi, even though he didn't get into university, he's quick-witted."

"Now I'm selling houses in the provincial capital, and I'm a top salesperson, earning quite a bit."

"Besides, real estate agents have plenty of good houses, and rent and food are cheap."

"I just picked up a Toyota Camry a couple of days ago."

You know Camry, right?

Jiang Chen nodded: "I know, that's good."

My aunt said with a proud look, "I told him not to buy such an expensive car, it costs over 200,000 yuan. Ordinary people like us can just drive a car that costs tens of thousands of yuan. But he wouldn't listen. He insisted on buying a good one so that it would make him look good and make it easier to meet clients."

"He still has to pay off the loan. Oh dear, he hasn't even gotten married yet, and he's already burdened with five years of debt. Just thinking about it makes me worry for him."

Although he said he was worried, his expression showed no sign of worry at all.

Jiang Chen's parents, listening nearby, couldn't argue, so they could only chime in, "The Camry is a good car. Qiangzi is a promising kid; he can afford a car without his family having to."

Even though Sun Mengjia is straightforward, she understood the meaning behind her aunt's words.

Isn't this just a disguised way of showing off that his son bought a car?

A car worth 200,000 yuan, bought with a loan, and you're paying it off for five years? You still have the nerve to brag about it?

Jiang Chen bought two cars outright, totaling a million yuan, and he didn't even brag about it.

Of course, she kept Jiang Chen's instructions firmly in mind.

He had already promised that even if his aunt scolded her to her face, she wouldn't talk back, let alone the fact that she was just showing off her son's car purchase.

A car costing 200,000 is already very good.

Not everyone is as outstanding as Jiang Chen.

She understands very well.

Therefore, she quickly praised, "My cousin is really amazing. To be able to afford a car worth 200,000 yuan at such a young age, that's truly impressive."

When her aunt heard Sun Mengjia praising her son, she was even happier and found Sun Mengjia more and more pleasing to the eye.

This girl is beautiful and young, speaks pleasantly, and most importantly, has excellent taste.

How could Jiang Chen have ended up with such a wonderful girl?

But she didn't say anything else, just smiled and said, "These young people nowadays have to take advantage of their youth and work hard. But Chenchen is not bad either. Although he hasn't bought a house or a car, at least he has a job and it's good for him to see the world in a big city."

"When you get older and can't make a living there anymore, come back. I'll ask your cousin to arrange a job for you there, like looking after apartments or running errands. You won't earn as much as he does, but at least it'll be a respectable job and not too tiring."

Jiang Chen's mother's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

But Jiang Chen laughed and said, "Okay, Auntie, if I ever can't make it in the future, I'll definitely go and seek refuge with my cousin."

Since we don't plan to have any further contact anyway, we might as well exchange a few words.

Letting her have some verbal pleasure isn't a bad idea.

"That's right!" Auntie said with satisfaction.

Throughout the meal, although my aunt kept talking, she didn't say anything too offensive except for bragging about her son and making a few disparaging remarks about the hardships of living in a big city.

He would even occasionally put a couple of bites of food on Sun Mengjia's plate, telling her to eat more, because being too thin would make it harder for her to have children.

This made Sun Mengjia a little embarrassed.

……

After the meal, my aunt didn't help clean up the dishes. She said she was going to ask someone next door for couplets, and then she just left.

Once my aunt left...

Sun Mengjia immediately moved closer to Jiang Chen, who was helping to wipe the table, and whispered, "Hey, old man."

"What's wrong?"

Sun Mengjia glanced back at the door to make sure no one was there, then rolled her eyes and muttered, "I think you're just too petty sometimes, always thinking the worst of people."

"I think your aunt is pretty good. Although she's a little lazy and loves to brag, it's not a big deal, is it?"

"They were so friendly to me just now, they even put food on my plate. And they're just being genuine, they say what they mean."

"It's not as bad as you say."

"From what you've said, I've come to think she's a really bad person."

"I think it's because you scholars have too many hidden agendas in your minds that you see everyone as a bad person."

"I think this aunt-in-law is someone I can get along with!"

Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh when he saw Sun Mengjia's "I'm the only one who's sober in a world of drunks" expression.

"Alright, alright, as long as you don't cause trouble, you can go and rest for a while. We're frying something this afternoon, and the smoke and fumes will be too strong."

Sun Mengjia scoffed, "That's right, I've always had a good eye for people. My aunt might have some minor flaws, but she's definitely not a bad person."

"I'll fight anyone who says she's a bad person!"