Qiao Hui was already in a bad mood because of a little conflict with Huo Qinming. But as soon as she stormed home and stepped through the door, her own mother laid into her fiercely.
This made her mood even worse!
“You foolish girl, what got into your head back then? You were the one who was supposed to marry into the Feng Family, but you changed your mind at the last minute and refused! You said marrying into the Feng Family wasn’t good. Well, I want to see what better marriage you can find than marrying Feng Xiao!”
Xu Cui saw her daughter return from outside and immediately started berating Qiao Hui without holding back.
She had no choice; she had been greatly provoked that day.
The last time Qiao Shu sent things back home, she had already felt uneasy.
Today, after receiving another package from the Capital Feng Family—one personally selected by Feng Xiao, filled with such expensive gifts—Xu Cui felt even more unsettled. A thick wave of regret filled her entire body.
As soon as she thought about how Old Master Qiao had originally chosen her daughter to marry Feng Xiao, and how the letter agreeing to the marriage had been sent out—though it didn’t specify which granddaughter, Old Master Qiao had decided on her daughter Qiao Hui, not Qiao Shu.
But at the crucial moment, her daughter backed out, and such a great marriage opportunity fell into Qiao Shu’s lap…
The more Xu Cui thought about it, the angrier she got, and she scolded Qiao Hui mercilessly.
“Mom, what are you saying? What about Feng Xiao?”
Qiao Hui was dumbfounded by Xu Cui’s scolding. She had no idea what she had done to provoke her mother the moment she got home.
But upon hearing Feng Xiao’s name, she keenly sensed that something had happened at home.
So she looked at Xu Cui in confusion.
Soon, she got her answer from Xu Cui.
When Xu Cui explained that Feng Xiao had sent a package to the Qiao Family, describing the incredibly expensive gifts inside, Qiao Hui initially thought her mother was exaggerating.
But when she saw the gifts her mother pulled out for their family—including gold bracelets and a gold ring—she realized her mother hadn’t been exaggerating at all…
“…”
Faced with such thoughtful and valuable gifts, Qiao Hui stood there stunned.
Because… in her previous life, she had never received such treatment.
In her previous life, she hadn’t been brought to the Capital Feng Family. Instead, she was taken to the small island where Feng Xiao’s unit was stationed. She never even saw Feng Xiao before becoming stepmother to his two children.
Later, Feng Xiao wrote her a letter explaining the situation, saying she didn’t have to care about the marriage, that she could pursue her own happiness, and that he would compensate her and help her choose her own path in life…
But in the end, she chose to wait for Feng Xiao wholeheartedly.
Yet her devoted waiting never earned her any affection from him. Besides the formulaic monthly letters and his full salary and allowances, he never treated her specially.
Much less prepare such thoughtful gifts for the Qiao Family…
Thinking about the vast differences between her life and Qiao Shu’s after marrying into the Feng Family, her hands clenched into tight fists.
She was unwilling. She was furious. She didn’t understand why Qiao Shu had such good fortune.
Even without a doting husband like Huo Qinming who obeyed her every whim, but instead marrying that ‘cold’ and ‘inhuman’ Feng Xiao in her eyes, Qiao Shu still lived the life she most desired—being pampered and cherished like a treasure.
“You foolish girl, now you regret it, don’t you! Honestly, what were you playing at? If you had just married him obediently back then, the ones living that good life now, envied by everyone—letting your dad and me bask in the glory—would be our family…”
Seeing her daughter stand there silently with an ugly expression on her face, Xu Cui frustration poked her forehead, hating iron for not becoming steel.
Feeling the force on her forehead, Qiao Hui finally snapped back to reality.
“Mom, there’s nothing to envy about their family! I’ll definitely live better than Qiao Shu in the future! The one I marry will be even better than Qiao Shu’s current husband!”
Thinking that Feng Xiao was fated to die young and wouldn’t survive returning from the front lines, her heart balanced a bit.
No matter. Qiao Shu would just have sweetness first, then bitterness. But she was different—she would have bitterness first, then sweetness!
Qiao Shu’s bitter days were still ahead, while her good days weren’t far off!
However, just as Qiao Hui was comforting herself like this, the postman knocked on the Qiao Family’s door again and delivered two more letters…
To be precise, it was the second letter that completely knocked Qiao Hui down!
“Oh my! Third Sister-in-Law, are you sure you didn’t read it wrong? The Feng Family really bought our Shushu a house worth sixty thousand right next to the palace where the old emperor lived???”
“Mom, no mistake. The Feng Family bought Shushu a courtyard house for a full sixty thousand yuan. The letter says the seller originally asked for eighty thousand!”
“Oh my goodness! Eighty thousand! Heavens! How much money is that! Our little Shushu must have fallen into such a nest of blessings!”
“I always said this girl has been blessed since she was little! Look, now she has her own house in the Capital! And it’s so expensive!”
“Right next to where the old emperor lived—that’s where all those princes and nobles stay! Oh, our Shushu is truly amazing!”
…
Hearing the Qiao Family members’ exclamations, all marveling at Qiao Shu’s good fortune—and with Qiao Hui right there on the scene—she was so angry she nearly broke her own nails.
A courtyard house right next to the Forbidden City!
In her previous life, the Feng Family never bought one for her!
What kind of bewitching potion had Qiao Shu fed the Feng Family to make them treat her so well!
Whatever. In the future, she would be the wife of the richest man. It was just a ‘mere courtyard house’!
Qiao Hui thought viciously, continuing to brainwash herself with the ‘sweet first, then bitter’ mindset.
But how could she know that even without these things from the Feng Family, even without their affection, Qiao Shu could obtain them on her own.
It was only a matter of sooner or later~!
…
—Happy Children Magazine—
“Oh my god! You all have no idea how good our latest issue’s sales are! I got the data today, and I was stunned!”
When the editors at Happy Children Magazine learned about their latest issue’s sales, every face broke into joyful smiles.
After all, it had been a long time since their magazine had such great sales!
Good sales meant no layoffs for their magazine, and their salaries and benefits could rise.
“Sales more than double the previous ones! That’s way too big a jump!”
“The sales surged so much—it must be because Teacher Tiger King submitted to our magazine!”
“Definitely. This is all thanks to our Editor Zhu!”
“Our Editor Zhu has a keen eye for talent. He brought in Tiger King, the living signboard, to our magazine!”
“I read Teacher Tiger King’s serialization ‘Jungle Tribe’ in this issue—it’s so good! Good thing we invited Teacher Tiger King. From now on, our magazine’s sales will only go up!”
…
Listening to her colleagues’ joyful cheers and their flattery toward Editor Zhu, Weng Kanya—who was at odds with Editor Zhu—felt they weren’t entirely right.
She had also read Tiger King’s new story in their children’s magazine. In her view, Teacher Tiger King’s work was indeed good, but it was too similar to his previous stories—like it was churned out from the same outline template. The quality was decent, but it lacked novelty and appeal. Anyone who had read his prior works would probably skip this one.
So she thought that while Tiger King contributed to the sales surge, she believed her Teacher Little Qiao had also driven some sales!
Unfortunately, she was the only one who thought so.
And that damn Editor Zhu refused to give Teacher Little Qiao a raise in her manuscript fees!
Thinking of this, Weng Kanya’s brows furrowed tightly.
She thought she should do something to make the magazine realize that Teacher Little Qiao had also boosted sales!
As she pondered, Weng Kanya came up with an idea—one her brother had mentioned before:
A questionnaire survey!
Her eyes lit up at the thought. She decided to create a magazine feedback survey and ask subscribers why they chose to subscribe.
No sooner said than done. The young Weng Kanya first listed out questions for the magazine feedback survey, then selected some local buyers…
After preparing everything, Weng Kanya felt a bit heartbroken over the money she spent.
But as soon as she thought about how the final result would get Teacher Little Qiao the thousand-word fee she deserved, it was all worth it!!!
“Teacher Little Qiao! Wait for me. I will definitely fight for a thousand-word fee of 20 or even 30 for you!!!”
…
At this time, Qiao Shu had no idea that her little fangirl, whom she had never even met, had quietly done so much for her.
Right now, she was happily eating hairy crabs!
Qiao Shu hadn’t expected that she had just casually mentioned wanting to eat crabs, and the Feng Family somehow procured a whole basket of fresh, plump hairy crabs.
Her mouth watering, she didn’t bother making complicated crab dishes. Instead, she impatiently steamed them the simplest way—clear-steamed hairy crabs. Of course, simple didn’t mean ordinary; regular people used plain water.
But Qiao Shu used the spirit spring water from her Spirit Spring Space!
When a pot of crabs was steamed, perhaps because she had added too much spirit spring water, the irresistibly fresh aroma domineeringly wafted out of the kitchen, out of the Feng Family Residence, and reached the other families in the Military District Compound!
It whetted the appetites of everyone in the entire Military District Compound!