Qiao Mei smiled and did not take it to heart.
She had already done everything she could and given the woman two chances. There would not be a third chance and she would no longer tolerate it if the woman came again.
Qiao Mei brought a basket of fruits to Auntie Dong’s house.
Thereafter, Zhao Hong came around again but this time, Qiao Mei was not at home. Instead, she had gone up the mountain with Qiao Qiang.
Zhao Hong stood at the entrance of the courtyard and looked inside.
She did not see anyone when she looked through the crack in the door and she prepared to walk in.
Auntie Dong immediately walked out from one side and stopped her with a loud exclamation. “Who are you? Why are you barging in without a word? Aren’t you behaving like a thief?”
“Auntie, I’m Qiao Mei’s relative. I’m here for a visit,” Zhao Hong explained with a smile.
“Relative, you come here for a visit empty-handedly?” Auntie Dong sized her up and asked.
Nowadays, who would visit someone without bringing something?
It was unheard for someone to barge into a house empty-handedly, like what Zhao Hong was doing. This was also against social rules.
Zhao Hong stammered, “My family doesn’t have money. Qiao Mei’s family is rich now and doesn’t lack anything…”
She said it as if it was an entirely natural thing to do.
Auntie Dong was left speechless by it. What does your family’s wealth have to do with whether you bring anything with you when you visit someone? The gift that you bring is a token of your appreciation for the host. How can you have the cheek to sit for a long time in someone else’s house without bearing any gifts?
Isn’t this just trying to sponge off others?
Auntie Dong did not want to take the effort to educate her given that the two of them did not know each other at all. “Look, you’ve been coming over for the past few days. Is your Li family pestering Qiao Mei’s family now? You’re coming to visit now that you all know Qiao Mei’s family is earning money now? How shameless of you.”
“Besides, you bring your child here every day as well. Do you also want the Qiao family to raise your child for you?”
Auntie Dong had no intention of being polite at all. Zhao Hong’s face turned red all the way to the tips of her ears. She was so dumbstruck that she could only stand on the spot and fiddle with her fingers.
“Qiao Mei is not free today so you can go back quickly. You won’t be able to see her even if you wait here,” Auntie Dong said.
At the same time, Zhao Hong was cursing Auntie Dong in her heart for being a busybody. If not for this busybody, she would already be in the house and might even be eating grapes now.
Zhao Hong was insistent and said in a low voice, “I’ll just wait here. No matter what, I need some rest since I’ve walked for one and a half hours.”
Although Auntie Dong had already blatantly pointed out what Zhao Hong was thinking, Zhao Hong still wanted to have a meal at Qiao Mei’s house. The food here was really delicious.
Zhao Hong was unwilling to leave just like that.
“Then come with me to my house.” Auntie Dong glanced at Zhao Hong’s stomach and sighed.
Qiao Mei was really too kind.
She knew that Zhao Hong would definitely be unwilling to leave, so she asked me to let her stay for a while and to also serve her a meal at home so that the child in her stomach would not starve.
However, there was really no need to tolerate the behavior of this kind of relative. She should be made to starve so that she would know it was not right to go to other people’s houses to be a freeloader
Zhao Hong squeezed out a smile and agreed.
I am really hungry and also wanted to sit for a while. Although I do not like Auntie Dong, I am fine to take a rest at her place.
After having a meal at Auntie Dong’s house, Zhao Hong still did not want to go back even though it was getting dark.
It will be even better if I can take the opportunity to stay over at Qiao Mei’s house.
Unfortunately, Auntie Dong did not give her any chance. She said unhappily, “Look at you, you still can’t bear to leave even when it’s dark now. What are you trying to do?”
“You want to eat at someone else’s house and now you want to sleep at someone else’s house? Do you want Qiao Mei’s family to raise the child for you? Tomorrow I’ll go over to your place to ask whether this is because your Li family can’t even afford to raise a child?”
“This is not right. Back then, your Li family refused to adopt Qiao Mei and now you want Qiao Mei to raise your children for you. Isn’t this a joke?”
She did not mince her words and stated all the facts in a blunt manner.
Auntie Dong also got especially angry and her voice became louder and louder until it could be heard beyond the courtyard.