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nAfter Xu Lan finished speaking, she was no longer interested in the conversation and went back to her room to rest. Xia He and Xia Fang also went home, leaving Liu Fen and Auntie Chen to clean up the house and wash the dishes.

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nSeeing that no one wanted to pay any attention to her, Zhou Hua complained to Liu Fen, “Why do you think the old lady was so biased back then? She gave such a big house to only Xia Zhe. Aren’t all these children and grandchildren her own? Now, Xia Zhe is living in a house with 28 rooms at such a young age and also has a house allocated by the military. Our two families have nothing!”

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n“My two sons don’t have girlfriends yet, and they’re still too young to get married. Besides, my children are all soldiers. When the time comes for them to get married, they’ll be allocated their own house too,” Liu Fen said contentedly.

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n“Your two sons are afraid that you’ll bully their wives, so they won’t bring anyone to come and see you! How can you still feel happy!” Zhou Hua said harshly.

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n“My own daughters don’t even like me, what more my daughters-in-law. I can’t stop nagging so it’s normal for them not to want to live with me.” Liu Fen took the last of the dishes into the kitchen and did not come back out.

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nAlthough Liu Fen was a person without any ulterior motives, she was not stupid. Initially, Liu Fen had thought that Zhou Hua was quite a nice person, but then she realized that Zhou Hua had gotten more and more overboard over the years and even took to blaming her for causing Tan Jing’s bad mood. It was Zhou Hua who always bullied Tan Jing and passed comments about her not having children, but Zhou Hua would put the blame on Liu Fen, causing everyone to misunderstand Liu Fen.

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nZhou Hua always wished that the Xia family brothers would quarrel among themselves, so that she could watch the drama. However, she felt that the matter about the house was really biased. Putting her personal concerns aside, she felt that everyone in the family should have a share in the house. In the end, only Xia Zhe got everything and the others did not benefit. She believed that the rest of the granddaughters-in-law would not get the bangles that Tan Jing and Qiao Mei received.

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n“All of them are so unkind to me!” Zhou Hua sat at the dining table alone and wept silently. It was all the fault of her disappointing husband and sons. Otherwise, she would not have been bullied by the eldest brother’s family like this.

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nQiao Mei was extremely happy to return home and see the huge courtyard. She sat comfortably on the rocking chair under the cherry tree. She did not need any relatives to come warm up the house or stay temporarily! Such quiet days were the best!

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nFortunately, Xia Zhe did not even allow his parents to come over to live with them. If she had to live with Xu Lan and face her every day, she would go crazy very quickly. Xu Lan did not like her to begin with, and if they lived together, they would definitely end up hating each other.

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nXia Zhe went into the kitchen to make some food for Qiao Mei as he had observed that she did not eat much just now at the dining table. He did not expect Qiao Mei to share his thoughts. She had also intended to cook for Xia Zhe.

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n“What do you want to eat?” Xia Zhe asked.

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n“Let me do it. How about you go and rest?” Qiao Mei said to Xia Zhe with a grin.

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n“I’ll do it. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to show off in the future. Give me a chance to show off now.” Xia Zhe looked at the young girl in front of him as his heart ached.

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nIn the past, he did not think that there was anything bad about his family. However, when he saw how Second Aunt-in-law asked the juniors in the family to do the housework and the way Third Aunt-in-law sowed discord and dripped sarcasm, he realized that it had not been easy for his elder sister-in-law all these years. Not only did she have to do all the housework, but she also had to endure Third Aunt-in-law’s ridicule and Second Aunt-in-law’s teachings.

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nWhen he returned to the army after the holidays, he was worried that Qiao Mei would suffer in the capital on her own. He wanted to do as much for her as he could while he was still by her side.

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n“Then you go ahead. I’ll go make clothes for Elder Sister,” Qiao Mei said.

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n“Alright, don’t tire yourself out.” Xia Zhe watched Qiao Mei enter the house before returning to the kitchen.

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nQiao Mei went through all the fabric she had at home and felt that the color orange suited Xia He’s personality. The vibrant color felt warm and energetic. Although Qiao Mei did not know Xia He’s size, she was quite familiar with her figure. She just had to make it a little loose so that it would be easier to alter it if required. It would be difficult to alter if it was too small.

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nIt did not take long for Qiao Mei to finish drawing the pattern. She even drew a sunflower on the orange dress, as she felt that the wearer was as beautiful as this flower.

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nXia Zhe’s actions in the kitchen were already much smoother than the last time. His movements were swift and his thoughts were clear. This time, he definitely would not make a mess in the kitchen.

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