70s Delicate Girl: A Guide to Being a Rich Woman-Chapter 81: My Mom’s Petty Quirks

During dinner, Grandpa asked about Xu Mumu’s studies and even praised her a little.

From Xu Mumu’s observations, Grandpa doesn’t talk much. Not just Grandpa, but her two uncles too are the honest, unassuming types. It’s unclear how her own mother and aunt turned out so different.

Xu Mumu answered all of Grandpa’s questions seriously, which made Su Xiu, who was watching from the side, envious.

She envied that Xu Mumu could read so many books, do nothing, and clearly, Grandpa seemed to like Xu Mumu more.

"Don’t get cocky." After dinner, when they were about to leave, Su Xiu walked over to Xu Mumu, giving her a glare.

Xu Mumu was speechless. Why would she be cocky? If she was really being cocky, she wouldn’t have spent all that time listening to Su Xiu’s bragging.

However, Su Xiu didn’t plan to listen to Xu Mumu, instead, she followed her mom and left. There were plenty of things to do at home, and they couldn’t stay at Grandpa’s house all the time.

After her aunt and cousin left, Li Caixia seemed to have no one left to show off to, so after playing at Old Li’s family for a while, she took Xu Mumu and her brother back home.

"Mom, don’t provoke Auntie next time," Xu Mumu said helplessly while they were on their way back.

"I wasn’t provoking her, I was just telling the truth. Clearly, my daughter is the luckier one. Look at that Xiuxiu girl, she’s so skinny. How does she compare to you? And she found a partner from the city, I don’t know how she got so lucky." Li Caixia pouted.

If it were before, she might have felt a bit sour inside, but now, having seen the county’s shoe factory and her son, Li Caixia felt her perspective had broadened. A worker is nothing; her daughter deserves someone like Du Yu, she was quite satisfied with him.

Li Caixia thought that once they returned, she must remind her daughter. Du Yu is a potential catch, especially since he seems to listen to her daughter. With a good family background and such respect for her daughter, these two points made her very pleased.

At this moment, Xu Mumu had no idea what her mom was thinking. If she knew, she’d be speechless. She’s just over sixteen and hasn’t even thought about marriage; if she doesn’t meet the right person, she might never consider getting married in her life.

As for marriage, Xu Mumu felt quite laid-back about it. If she were to find someone to spend her life with, it ought to be someone she genuinely liked.

"Xiuxiu is quite nice too; she has no ill intentions, and she’s quite pretty. It’s normal for people to be interested in her," Xu Mumu said with some amusement.

"I guess so, better than the two from the second family, at least." Li Caixia suddenly laughed. Her daughter would definitely marry better than Xiuxiu, and by then, her older sister would surely look gracious.

It was just because Su Xiu had no ill intentions that she allowed the two girls to bicker playfully since childhood. Otherwise, she would have torn apart anyone who dared bully her daughter.

"Hey, Mumu, there are some tangerines over there. Girl, you two wait here, I’ll go snatch a few." Suddenly, Li Caixia’s eyes landed on a household not far away. Outside their yard were three tangerine trees, probably leftovers from winter; there were still many on the trees.

"Mom, don’t steal things. If you want to eat them, I’m going to the county tomorrow. I’ll check the black market to see if there are any and buy some," Xu Mumu said, feeling quite exasperated. Her mom’s old habit was resurfacing. They’ve been better off lately, and her habit of reaching into others’ gardens had greatly reduced, almost making Xu Mumu forget her mom’s minor vice.

"Silly girl, buying costs money. These are free; you can’t miss them if you run into them. I’ll just grab a few for the family to try," Li Caixia said, looking at her daughter in bewilderment. Wasn’t she always quicker than anyone else when it came to food before? What happened to her daughter?

"Mom, don’t go. If their tangerines have remained until now and are still that plentiful, you’re probably not the only one eyeing them. Maybe they’re deliberately leaving them there to catch us. What if we’re extorted? They may even have a fierce watchdog, not afraid of thieves," said Xu Mumu, earnestly trying to convince her mom.

"Really?" Li Caixia paused, taking in Xu Mumu’s words. It made sense. People could really be that cunning. Whose family was that? She should find out, and if anything bad ever happened to them, she’d be the first to spread the word.

"Mom, let’s go back. I’m really tired," Xu Minglei also tried persuading his mom. Although he really wanted to eat tangerines, after Xu Mumu’s brainwashing—no, education—he understood that stealing was wrong.

With the siblings persuading her, even though she was reluctant, Li Caixia turned back.

But the whole way back, she kept reminding Xu Mumu not to go to the black market. Things there were expensive, and people got caught often. Even though her daughter was strong, she couldn’t fight off so many at once, so it was better not to risk it.

Since her mom had given up the thought, Xu Mumu felt relieved too. Content for now, she wasn’t planning to go to the black market. Her current goal was to own a watch. Not having one made it inconvenient to tell time.

Currently, she was working towards this small goal, and apart from keeping an eye on her parents to prevent them from causing trouble, there wasn’t much else worrying her.

Upon returning home, everyone was out at work, even Xu Xue and her sister from the second family. It was quite peaceful.

"Walking for so long, I’m exhausted," as soon as Xu Minglei got back, he sat down at the edge of the yard, not wanting to move.

"What do you have to be tired about, little brat? If anyone should be tired, it’s me. Can’t you see I brought back so much?" Li Caixia rolled her eyes at her son.

"Mom, there’s still hot water in the kettle. Do you want some?" Xu Mumu found the neatly cleaned kettle in the living room.

"Sis, I want some," Xu Minglei’s eyes lit up.

"Brat, go bring it over. You think your sister is here to serve you?" Li Caixia kicked her son’s butt, ordering him to bring the water.

"Mom, you’re just lazy," Xu Minglei pouted, but still went to fetch water for his mom. Both his parents were the same; it seemed apples didn’t fall far from the tree.

"Talking about me behind my back, are we, brat? Itchy for a beating, huh?" Li Caixia glared at her son.