Chapter 193: Fooled Again and Again, Each Time in a New Way

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Fooled Again and Again, Each Time in a New Way

Breakfast today was scallion pancakes.

Jiang Moli took a bite and couldn’t stop praising her. "Auntie Hongmei, your scallion pancakes are getting better and better! They’re crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with scallion flavor. Hey, you should just open up a pancake stall. Business would be booming." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Ma Hongmei was so delighted by the flattery that she couldn’t stop smiling. "If you like them, I’ll just make them for you more often."

"Well, you don’t have to make them every day. You can get tired of anything, no matter how delicious. Hey, Auntie Hongmei, do you know how to make thousand-layer pancakes?"

Ma Hongmei shook her head. "No, I don’t."

"That’s okay! It just means you still have room to grow. If you already knew how to do everything, life would be no challenge at all."

Ma Hongmei was fired up by her words. "I’ll ask around when I have time and see if I can learn."

Jiang Moli gave her a thumbs-up. "Auntie Hongmei, you’re a true role model for us all. A woman of action."

Ma Hongmei grinned happily. "Xiao Jiang, do you like sesame cakes? I know how to make those."

"Of course! I love everything you make, Auntie Hongmei."

Lu Deyao found it rather strange.

Coming from anyone else, these words would have sounded slick and sycophantic.

But coming from his third son’s wife, they always made people feel comfortable and happy.

"Xiao Jiang, you don’t have any plans today, do you? After breakfast, go to the department store with your mother and get a couple of new outfits."

Jiang Moli beamed. "Dad, are you going to reimburse me for the clothes?"

"I will. It’s fine if you want to buy a few more outfits."

"Okay!"

Seeing her grin so wide it showed her gums, An Hui couldn’t help but laugh. "In a bit, go over to your first and second sisters-in-law’s places and ask if they want to come. Tingting’s luggage was left behind at the army base, so she probably doesn’t have much to wear at home. It’s a good chance to buy some for her today, too."

Jiang Moli agreed.

After breakfast, she changed her clothes and headed out.

When she got to the courtyard, she saw that the weather was lovely—clear skies and a crisp autumn air.

She turned right back around. "Hey, Mom, the weather is great today! Let’s ride our bikes."

Her features were beautiful and lively, her watery almond eyes filled with a longing to ride a bike.

An Hui’s heart softened, and she made a point to say, "Alright. Tell your first and second sisters-in-law, too."

"You got it."

After she left, Lu Deyao asked about An Hui’s leg with concern. "Your knee isn’t good. The doctor told you to avoid climbing hills and riding bikes too much."

An Hui said with a slight pout, "I haven’t ridden in ages. It’ll be fine to ride once in a while."

"Then take it easy. If your leg starts to hurt, stop riding. I’ll have Xiao Guang come pick you up."

"Alright, stop nagging. Hurry up and get to your unit, or you’ll be late."

Lu Deyao could only leave, feeling a bit dejected.

’It’s been a long time since he’d gone to the department store with his wife, too.’

...

Jiang Moli went to Xu Xiuzhen’s house first. Unfortunately, Xu Xiuzhen and Lu An were going to her parents’ house today.

Fan Wenfang, however, was home.

When she heard her in-laws were going to buy her daughter clothes, she grabbed a feather duster and went into the room to perform a "wake-up service" on Lu Tingting.

...

When Jiang Moli returned to the Lu Family’s house, Ma Hongmei had already pushed her bicycle into the courtyard and wiped the dust off the handlebars and seat with a cloth.

A short while later, Fan Wenfang arrived with the sisters, Lu Tingting and Lu Nana.

Fan Wenfang only had one bike and needed to give Lu Nana a ride, so Lu Tingting had to ride one by herself.

But the Lu Family only had one 28-inch roadster left.

This type of bike was quite unfriendly to shorter girls, and Lu Tingting was not happy about riding it.

An Hui was getting on in years. She could probably ride a bike, but giving someone a ride was definitely out of the question.

Fan Wenfang didn’t expect Jiang Moli to give her daughter a ride either, so she said to Lu Tingting, "Just take the bus."

"Here, you can ride mine."

Staring at Jiang Moli, who was offering her bike, Lu Tingting looked at her with a "You’re being this nice?" expression of suspicion. "What about you?"

"I’ll take a vehicle."

An Hui and Fan Wenfang both thought Jiang Moli meant she would take the bus.

Lu Tingting thought so too.

Just as she started pedaling the bike away, Jiang Moli darted forward, straddled the back, and sat on the rear rack.

Lu Tingting quickly stopped the bike and glared back at her. "Get off. Either you ride it yourself, or I’m not giving you a ride."

Jiang Moli grinned. "If you give me a ride to the department store, I’ll give you 10 yuan."

"Then give me the money first!"

"If I give you the money and you run off, who am I supposed to ask for it back?"

That was exactly what Lu Tingting had been planning.

’Take the money and run. That’ll piss Jiang Moli off.’

"What if you back out and don’t pay me later?"

Jiang Moli turned her head and shouted to An Hui, "Mom, be my witness! As long as Tingting gets me to the department store, I’ll give her 10 yuan."

"I heard you," An Hui replied.

With an elder as a witness, Lu Tingting finally started pedaling forward again.

She cursed at Jiang Moli as she pedaled, "What have you been eating? You’re as heavy as a pig. When we get to the department store, if you dare go back on your word and not pay, I’ll go get the money from Third Uncle!"

Jiang Moli said leisurely, "Talk less. If you save your energy for pedaling, it won’t be so tiring."

Watching the aunt and niece bickering as they rode away, Ma Hongmei couldn’t help but remark to An Hui and Fan Wenfang:

"Xiao Jiang and Tingting seem a lot closer than before."

An Hui said with relief, "They’re about the same age and were classmates. It’s normal for them to get along."

Fan Wenfang, however, felt that her daughter was being led astray by Jiang Moli.

Her daughter had signed up at school for a six-month volunteer teaching position, but now she was back early. She hadn’t even gone to the school to cancel her leave. Instead, she just slept in all day, fooled around everywhere, and acted like a little street punk.

Even the way she talked and acted was becoming more and more like Jiang Moli.

...

It was about two kilometers from the Military District Courtyard to the department store.

Lu Tingting was sweating buckets and panting like an ox.

Seeing that the department store was only 200 meters away, she couldn’t help but feel a secret delight.

’10 yuan is enough for a few feet of fabric. It’d be nice to have a new pair of pants made.’

Just as she was thinking this, the weight on the back of the bike suddenly vanished.

She looked back and saw that Jiang Moli had already jumped off.

"So, since I didn’t ride all the way *to* the department store, I don’t have to pay you, ’kay?"

"Jiang Moli, you tricked me again!"

"It’s called ’all’s fair in war.’ Don’t be mad. You may not have earned any money, but at least you got a good workout."

"AHH!!!"

Lu Tingting was about to die from anger.

When An Hui and Fan Wenfang arrived, she furiously tattled to An Hui.

An Hui was helpless. Her third daughter-in-law was cunning as a fox, and her granddaughter was so gullible.

’She falls for it every single time, and every single time it’s a different trick.’

After parking the bicycles, the women headed into the department store.

Jiang Moli instinctively linked her arm with An Hui’s as they walked.

This was a personal habit of hers. In her original world, she always liked to link arms like this when she went out with her mother or female friends.

Lu Tingting copied her, petulantly linking her arm through An Hui’s other arm.

An Hui looked at Jiang Moli, then at Lu Tingting, and said with a light scolding, "What are you two doing? Are you afraid I’m going to run away?"

Jiang Moli: "I just like walking arm-in-arm with you, Mom."

Lu Tingting huffed. "I like walking arm-in-arm with you too, Grandma!"

"Copycat."

"Mind your own business."

An Hui cut in, "Alright, both of you, stop arguing. You’re making my ears hurt."

Jiang Moli changed the subject. "Mom, let’s buy a couple of shirts for Dad later, too. I noticed his are getting a little tight around the waist."

That was just what An Hui was thinking. "Okay."

Behind them, Lu Nana also reached out and linked her arm with Fan Wenfang’s.

Fan Wenfang shot her a look. "How old are you? You still need to hold someone’s arm just to walk."

Lu Nana pointed at Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting. "Third Aunt and Big Sister are both holding onto Grandma."

Fan Wenfang watched the two of them flanking her mother-in-law like a pair of bodyguards, and her eyelid twitched.

’Her older daughter’s mannerisms were really becoming more and more like her third sister-in-law’s.’