Chapter 385: Chapter 386: The Mocking Examination

Xu Ying looked at her and deliberately said, “It’s not much, just a few hundred yuan a day.”

As soon as these words came out, Third Aunt Zhou’s expression instantly changed.

“How can it be so much.”

My goodness, she doesn’t even make one hundred yuan in a month, and here a store makes a few hundred yuan a day.

The eldest sister-in-law is really generous to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a store, Third Aunt Zhou felt sour inside.

Originally, when the family members were demoted, only she could stay in Shanghai and had a job, which had made her life the best among them.

Now that the eldest sister-in-law had returned, with a mere gesture, she deployed hundreds of thousands, making Third Aunt Zhou feel imbalanced.

She and her husband had worked their entire lives but barely had any money.

Not to mention hundreds of thousands, they didn’t even have fifty thousand.

Looking at Aunt Zhou, Third Aunt Zhou sarcastically said, “Eldest sister-in-law, our parents really treat you well, they give hundreds of thousands of dollars just like that.”

She intentionally raised her voice, for fear that Old Lady Zhou and the others wouldn’t hear.

“Third sister-in-law, what you said is not right, this money has nothing to do with mom and dad, it was hard-earned by me and your elder brother, and Third Brother joined the army back then.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have avoided this disaster, and where there is gain, there must be sacrifice,” Aunt Zhou said irritably.

Over the years, they had suffered so much in the countryside, which Third Sister-in-law just couldn’t see.

How come as soon as she saw them living a bit better, she started envying them.

Old Lady Zhou looked at Third Aunt Zhou with displeasure on her face. If it weren’t for the family crisis back then, the third son wouldn’t have ended up marrying such a wife.

With a petty and calculating demeanor, truly unsightly.

This grandson’s wife also came from the countryside, but she didn’t have so many schemes; truly, family upbringing matters most.

“Third son’s wife, you win some, you lose some. Back then Third Son and you escaped that misfortune, and now you both have good days.

Eldest Son’s money was indeed earned by their own abilities; I did not contribute a single cent.

Your father and I are old now, these years in the countryside have taken a toll on our health, and our possessions have long been taken away.

From now on, we can’t help you, and you will have to walk your path on your own,” Old Lady Zhou said as she stood up, a hint of sadness crossing her aged face as she staggered toward the room.

Third Aunt Zhou was just about to mention the matter of the keys when Third Uncle Zhou, with anger in his eyes, stopped her, “Put away your petty thoughts.

We’re all grown-ups; don’t be so greedy for our parents’ little possessions, have you no shame?”

With these words from Zhou San, it was like he had opened a can of worms; sitting on the sofa, Third Aunt Zhou wiped her tears in a pitiful manner, “If you were capable, would I be like this?

Eldest brother and sister-in-law are going to open a store with Yingying, making a few hundred yuan a day, and Second sister-in-law has medical skills, she can open a small clinic soon, only our family is pitiful.

Relying on your and my meager salaries, what kind of life are we living?”

Thinking about this just made Third Aunt Zhou more upset, she always wanted to be the best and couldn’t stand being outdone.

Zhou Ru glanced at Xu Ying and said irritably, “It’s all your fault, troublemaker.”

If she hadn’t come to their house, her mother wouldn’t be this upset.

It wasn’t Xu Ying’s fault for just sitting there; after dinner, she went back to her room to rest.

There was a competition tomorrow, and she didn’t know what to expect.

She did have confidence in winning, but she didn’t know if her teammates would mess things up.

This time, she had to attend the foreign diplomatic meeting.

The next morning, Xu Ying was woken up by Huo Chen, “Get up quickly and have your breakfast, don’t be late for the exam.”

Xu Ying yawned, checked the time, slowly put on her clothes, and got out of bed. The weather had turned cold, and wearing thick clothes, especially with her big belly, was particularly inconvenient.

Aunt Zhou had prepared breakfast early since Xu Ying had an exam, even buying her fried dough sticks and eggs specially.

“Wishing Yingying success in her exams.”

Third Aunt Zhou saw this and curled her lip, “Bootlicker.”

“What did you say, Third Sister-in-law? Say that again if you dare,” Aunt Zhou roared with anger. She had always tolerated the Third Son’s wife and didn’t want to argue with her, but it only seemed to make things worse.

Aunt Zhou, who was naturally a spirited and unconstrained woman, now looked formidable as she got angry.

Third Aunt Zhou jumped with a start, seeing her sister-in-law angry for the first time, and felt somewhat guilty, “It’s just an exam, was there a need to make such a big deal about it?”

Aunt Zhou scoffed coldly, “What big deal? Yingying is not an outsider, and besides, I like her, I want to treat her well.”

Third Aunt Zhou’s face turned from green to white as Aunt Zhou’s words suggested that she was the unkind one.

“Fine, fine, you are good, I can’t argue with that. You make it sound like Second Aunt Zhou and I treat Yingying poorly,” Third Aunt Zhou intentionally brought up Second Aunt Zhou, trying to get her to side with her.

Second Aunt Zhou immediately became anxious; she didn’t want to create issues out of nothing and looked at Third Aunt Zhou with a smile, “Third Sister-in-law, I think what the eldest sister-in-law is doing is quite good. As for treating Yingying well, she can definitely feel it, right, Yingying?”

Xu Ying hurriedly nodded, though against her will, “All the aunts have been very good to me, I am very content.”

After eating, Xu Ying quickly ran out.

She couldn’t stand it anymore; her husband had no mother, so she thought she wouldn’t have to deal with mother-in-law issues, but seeing the three aunts made her feel like she had three mothers-in-law.

“Xu Ying, over here!” Zhang Meiling waved at Xu Ying, extremely nervous.

She looked at Xu Ying with admiration, embarrassedly sticking out her tongue, “I’m afraid I’m going to hold you back in this exam, sorry.”

Xu Ying also felt embarrassed; her English was only so good because she had lived an extra lifetime and had the system’s support.

Additionally, considering that foreign language knowledge was not widely popularized at the time, the girl’s proficiency in English was already impressive, so she genuinely admired her, “You are quite impressive.”

Zhang Meiling smiled awkwardly, feeling like Xu Ying was mocking her. She was nowhere near Xu Ying’s level, yet Xu Ying was calling her impressive–how was she impressive?

“Let’s hurry inside and get ready, the exam is starting. This time it’s mainly a written exam, but there will also be listening and practical elements,” the foreign language teacher came over, urging them into the school.

As Xu Ying and others entered the examination venue, whispers immediately began, “Isn’t that the previous Minister Xu? Why is she participating in this competition as well?

Her foreign language skills are so good, she doesn’t really need to compete. They are sure to win!”

Some contestants who were previously confident and well-prepared suddenly lost their spirit.

The look in their eyes when they saw Xu Ying was filled with malice.

“Yeah, why is she even participating in this competition? She’s not leaving any room for us to survive. If we had known she would come, we might as well have forfeited.

Isn’t this just playing with us? With her level of foreign language, is she even a student? Even saying she’s a teacher wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”

“Really frustrating, this is just toying with us.”

Director Yang, seeing Xu Ying at this moment, was also surprised, “You girl, weren’t you uninterested in our Foreign Affairs? Why are you joining in the noise now? Had you told me earlier that you were interested in Foreign Affairs, I would have directly assigned you a position.”