The Jiang Family’s Old Mansion!
In the living room of the west wing, Jiang Shiying and Ye Lingyun watched as their nephew burst through the door, shouting for Zhang Xinyao. He was clutching several cloth bags, his expression beaming with excitement as if he were presenting a treasure.
With their seasoned eyes, they could clearly see that the boy had finally come to his senses.
“She’s in the study. Go on in!” Ye Lingyun said with a smile.
Just as Jiang Longcheng turned to enter the study, Li Yi walked in carrying a huge pile of things.
He’d fallen a few steps behind earlier while retrieving the gifts from the car, so he hadn’t seen Jiang Longcheng’s impatient demeanor.
As soon as he entered, Li Yi spotted Jiang Shiying and hurriedly asked, “Dad, when did you get back?”
“Just a moment ago!”
Just as Jiang Shiying was about to chat with Li Yi, he heard him say, “Dad, Mom, there are still a few things in the car outside. I’ll go get them first!”
“Do you need a hand?” Jiang Shiying asked.
“No, thanks!”
Li Yi then set the items he was holding on the nearby sofa and turned to walk out.
Soon, Li Yi returned, this time carrying two burlap sacks.
Each was over a meter tall and bulged with contents; it was hard to tell what was inside.
It was a good thing he was so strong; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have been able to carry those two huge bags.
“What’s inside them?” Jiang Shiying asked curiously.
“The cloth bags are new clothes I bought for you, your mother, and Xue’er. The burlap sacks are filled with beef and mutton—we’ll eat them during the New Year celebrations!” Li Yi explained.
Ye Lingyun smiled and said, “You silly boy, it’s just the New Year. Why buy so much? It’s a waste of money!”
“It’s not a waste. The clothes are all made in-house, and the beef and mutton are leftovers from the shop. If we don’t eat them, they’ll start to smell bad if we leave them sitting around too long!”
Li Yi was telling the truth. In those days, there was no plastic wrap, no plastic bags, and certainly no vacuum-sealing technology.
Even with a refrigerator, meat would easily absorb odors over time, affecting its quality.
Jiang Shiying glanced at the items on the floor, then called out toward the door, “Xiao Xu, come in here for a moment!”
Soon, a young soldier with a tall, upright posture strode in.
He first saluted Jiang Shiying, then said, “Sir, you called for me!”
“We have some beef and mutton here. Take it to the kitchen and tell Sister Wang to add a few extra dishes for dinner!” Jiang Shiying said.
“Yes, sir!”
Xiao Xu then stepped forward and carried the two packages of beef and mutton off the coffee table.
At that moment, Jiang Shiying glanced at the cloth bags beside him and said, “Come here. Let me see how the quality of the clothes you’ve produced is!”
Lately, his son-in-law Li Yi and his nephew Jiang Longcheng had been making quite a stir. Even though he was far away in Guangdong Province, he often saw reports about them in various newspapers and even on TV.
On top of that, his nephew Jiang Longyin often called him, and inevitably mentioned those two rascals. Every time he brought them up, Jiang Longyin was full of praise, which surprised Jiang Shiying a bit.
He knew just how high Jiang Longyin’s standards were—ordinary people simply wouldn’t catch his eye. The fact that Li Yi had earned his praise and approval clearly meant he was no ordinary man.
Li Yi understood what Jiang Shiying meant, so he didn’t beat around the bush and immediately took the clothes out of the cloth bag.
First, he brought over the cloth bag containing the suit and handed it to Jiang Shiying.
“Father, I prepared this for you. Please try it on!”
Jiang Shiying said nothing further; he immediately took the clothes out and examined them carefully.
Li Yi had prepared a dark blue suit for him. Jiang Shiying first examined the style, then scrutinized the craftsmanship.
He noticed that this suit differed significantly from the ones he had seen before. First, the overall silhouette was very sharp and clean-cut, and the pinstripes on the suit were exceptionally fine, giving it a more sophisticated and elegant appearance.
At the same time, the craftsmanship was exceptionally meticulous. He inspected it from top to bottom and found not a single loose thread—a rarity in China.
While Jiang Shiying was closely examining the suit, Li Yi brought over two more cloth bags containing clothes he had prepared for his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun.
“Mom, these are for you!”
Ye Lingyun smiled as she took the cloth bag containing the clothes, then carried it toward the bedroom.
Just then, Jiang Xue emerged from the study. Seeing her father and Li Yi on the sofa, she immediately asked, “Dad, where did you get these clothes? They’re so beautiful!”
“Xiao Yi gave them to me!”
Jiang Shiying then turned to Li Yi and said, “Not bad. Thirty yuan a set is a bit pricey, but it’s not unreasonable!”
Tang Xue looked at Li Yi with some surprise, then said, “You’re selling this outfit for 30 yuan?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?” Li Yi said with a smile.
“No, you didn’t. Will anyone actually buy it at that price?”
“Yes. In the past twenty days or so, we’ve sold over 11,000 of these suits!” Li Yi said.
“Over 11,000 suits… That’s 330,000 yuan!” Tang Xue exclaimed in astonishment.
“That’s right!”
“So does that mean we can pay back what we owe the factory?”
Although Jiang Xue hadn’t said anything about Li Yi owing the cotton mill hundreds of thousands of yuan, she was still quite worried about it deep down.
After all, it was hundreds of thousands of yuan. If they lost that money, they might never recover!
“Hehe, it’s already been paid off!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, if you don’t believe me, ask Third Brother—he’s already distributed the money to the factory workers!” Li Yi said.
“I believe you…”
Just as they were speaking, a light set of footsteps suddenly echoed through the room, and moments later, Ye Lingyun emerged from the inner room.
However, when Jiang Xue and Jiang Shiying saw Ye Lingyun, they were both stunned.
Before them stood Ye Lingyun, dressed in a light gray wool coat over a high-necked blouse, with slightly loose, straight-leg pants and a pair of black women’s leather shoes.
This stylish and elegant ensemble, paired with her slightly pale complexion, evoked the delicate fragility of Lin Daiyu—”a sorrow etched upon her cheeks, a frailty that seems to envelop her whole being”—exuding an indescribable gentleness and charm.
“Wow… Mom, you’re so beautiful, absolutely stunning!” Jiang Xue exclaimed, her face beaming with excitement.
Flattered by her daughter’s praise, Ye Lingyun replied with a touch of embarrassment, “You’re such a sweet-talker, my girl. I’m nowhere near as pretty as you say!”
“No, really…”
Jiang Xue immediately turned to her father and said, “Dad, you have to agree—Mom really is so beautiful!”
Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “I agree with Xue’er. She really is beautiful—graceful and extraordinary, with a natural, ethereal charm. Wonderful!”
“Hehe, it’s actually Xiao Yi’s outfit that’s so nice!” Ye Lingyun said.
No sooner had she spoken than Jiang Longcheng emerged from the study with Zhang Xinyao and chimed in, “Of course! The wool sweater and wide-leg pants Auntie San is wearing are a new design my brother-in-law created especially for her. The factory produced only one piece tailored to her exact measurements—you couldn’t buy this even with all the money in the world!”
Jiang Shiying gave Li Yi a satisfied look and said, “Not bad, you’ve really put some thought into this!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s the least I could do. Besides, the store doesn’t have many styles, so I just wanted Mom to try them on to see how they look!”
“I think it looks great, and it’s really comfortable—though the pants feel a bit loose!” Ye Lingyun said with a smile.
Li Yi immediately replied, “It’s actually better for the pants to be a bit loose, especially for someone as slender as Mom. If they’re too tight, it makes you look tired and lackluster.”
“Besides, it’s still winter. You can totally wear some thick clothes underneath—it’ll keep you warm and look great!”
“I never would’ve guessed you’re not only good at running a business but also know a thing or two about fashion design. You’re quite the jack-of-all-trades!”
Hearing Jiang Shiying’s words, everyone present couldn’t help but laugh.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xue, standing nearby, looked at Li Yi and said, “I’m so jealous that Mom has new clothes. It’s a shame that in my current condition, even if I had clothes, I wouldn’t be able to wear them…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi reached into a cloth bag nearby and pulled out a loose-fitting garment. “I designed this maternity dress just for you. Why don’t you try it on?”
“Really?”
“Yes, and this coat was also made specifically to fit your current figure. It’ll look great on you!” Li Yi said.
“You’re so kind!”
With that, Jiang Xue immediately took the clothes and headed toward the bedroom.
However, just as everyone was waiting for Jiang Xue to make a stunning entrance, a sudden cry of pain echoed from the bedroom.
Immediately afterward, Jiang Xue’s pained moans could be heard…
……..
PS: On New Year’s Eve, I wish all my readers a Happy New Year, good health, success in all your endeavors, and joy every day.