Sister-in-law Zhang and Sister-in-law Liu are doing quite well with the restaurant now, and Pidan has grown up and is now in high school, although he finds studying a bit difficult. Because of this, Sister-in-law Zhang worries a lot. After all, he’s her only child, so she has no choice but to be concerned. Brother Huang Guozhong is more relaxed; if his son really can’t get into college, he’ll just go straight into the army, where he can later attend a military academy.

Not to mention Sister-in-law Zhang, even Shi Lan is worn out from worrying about her two children. Bao Bao and Beibei are mischievous, now in elementary school, and the teacher frequently calls Shi Lan to school to talk, causing Shi Lan to chase the children around to scold them.

However, while the children are unruly in front of their mom, they become well-behaved immediately when they see Ning Jiang. Unfortunately, Ning Jiang isn’t home all the time, so the two brothers are quite a handful.

"The kids are all grown up, they should be easier to manage, yet here you are, busier than ever," Lin Wan said as she came over with Little Star and Dingding, seeing Shi Lan running around the yard chasing her two kids.

"I wish I could relax, but look at them, neither of them lets me rest. Managing the two of them is more exhausting than running the factory."

"If it’s not possible, have your mother-in-law come over to help with cooking and watch the kids. With how busy you are now, don’t wear yourself out." Shi Lan’s sauce business is doing well, with a lot of orders in recent years. She’s constantly making sauce, delivering orders, managing clients, and taking care of the kids, turning herself into a spinning top every day.

"Even if I work myself to death, I won’t let her come over. You know my sister-in-law, if my mother-in-law comes, they’ll find every excuse to come over here. They stole so much money from me a few years ago, I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t let them come and steal again.

In these years, my mother-in-law has called Ah Jiang numerous times, hoping his brother could come over to help us, saying life is difficult at home and people in the village look down on them because of this matter. Also, my sister-in-law has a falling out with her family and hardly communicates with them. They don’t see much of a future back home. They want to come to S City to live.

Over the phone, they vehemently promised they wouldn’t do such things again and would listen to everything we say.

I absolutely don’t agree, but this matter puts Ning Jiang in a difficult position in the middle. To be honest, he doesn’t want his sister-in-law to come here either.

In the end, we had no other choice but to give the old folks some money and let them move to the city.

Ning Jiang’s brother got a job at the train station, and my sister-in-law seems to be buying groceries at the market. The old couple is over there helping them look after their kids now."

"You guys are really kind. Didn’t you already give them the money once for retirement?" Lin Wan shook her head and said.

"That’s what we said, but they are his real parents, and when it comes down to it, you can’t just ignore them. Sigh... You know, we’re not heartless people.... Let’s not talk about this anymore, it’s just infuriating. Little Star, let godmother take a look at you, you’ve grown into a big girl now."

"Godmother, I’m about to start middle school soon. Don’t worry, these few days I’ll help you discipline Bao Bao and Beibei. If they dare to disobey you, I’ll give them a talking to."

"Mm-hmm, my daughter is still the best." Shi Lan hugged Little Star, showering her with affection. She also wanted a daughter, but, unfortunately, she can’t have more children.

Sensing how rare it was for her goddaughter to visit, Shi Lan took the kids shopping in the afternoon, buying several outfits for Little Star and Dingding. Each got a new backpack.

Little Star has been here for a few days and already has several new clothes. Both her grandmother and Lijuan bought quite a lot for her and her brother. When Hu Dong was here, he wanted to get the kids a mobile phone, but Lin Wan didn’t let him buy it; they’re still young and don’t need it yet. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Besides clothes, there are plenty of newly released toys, and study supplies Pei Bai brought from her sister-in-law, enough to last two kids for a year.

These past few days, her mom called, expressing that she didn’t want to directly manage the two stores in S City anymore and was planning to find someone to take over. Her mother’s intention was to first ask Su Daimei and Xiao Gu if they are willing to take over without needing to pay a franchise fee.

Lin Wan also thought this was appropriate; Xiao Gu has been with them for ten years. Although his current salary isn’t low and he receives a year-end bonus, he doesn’t earn as much compared to owning his own store.

The government’s house over there is rented, so there’s no issue with transferring ownership. When the time comes, they can directly hand it over to Xiao Gu, and he can pay the rent himself in the future.