At fifty, she remarried into a wealthy family; her ex-husband knelt down and begged for reconciliati

The college entrance exams passed quickly, and all the bouquets we made were sold out, as were all the loose lychees.

When we first started wrapping flowers, we didn't wrap too many small bouquets. As it turned out, people didn't like small bouquets, and most of them bought medium-sized bouquets.

On the night the college entrance exam ended, Xiao Ye did a rough calculation and was overjoyed: "Sister, we sold twelve small bouquets, five or eight medium bouquets, and thirty-five large bouquets! That adds up to more than four thousand yuan!"

Then she added, "No, there's also loose fruit. We've made a killing!"

He Qiaoyun also smiled and transferred her commission and Dragon Boat Festival bonus to Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye received the full 1,000 yuan transfer, her smile widening as she said happily, "Thank you, sis. I wish the college entrance exam could be a few days later."

He Qiaoyun said, "If this continues for a few more days, the students will go crazy."

Xiao Ye chuckled, "The students are going crazy, we're having a blast."

He Qiaoyun chuckled and shook her head. "Tomorrow and the day after are still the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. You've worked hard these past two days, so let's close the shop for two days and take a rest."

Money can never be earned enough. For the entire month, she has been busy without a moment's rest. People are not machines; even machines need to rest.

Xiao Ye smiled sweetly, "Thank you, sister."

After closing the shop early, He Qiaoyun went to the market.

At this time last year, no matter how busy she was, she would always wrap zongzi herself and then send them to her mother-in-law and children.

This year, however, I haven't had a single spare moment.

Just as she was about to buy zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), her WeChat group for square dancing buzzed twice; her friends sent her videos of making zongzi.

Several of her friends messaged her privately, knowing she was busy and definitely didn't have time to wrap zongzi, so they all said they would wrap some for her.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, none of her children sent her any greetings, but it was her group of sisters who were thinking of her.

She was inexplicably moved and immediately replied to her friends: "Thank you."

The sisters replied: 【No need to thank us, we even ate your lychees! In young people's terms, this is called a two-way friendship.】

He Qiaoyun didn't buy any groceries. She planned to have zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for dinner, since they contain both rice and meat. So she only cooked a small dish of vegetables.

No matter what you eat for dinner, green vegetables are essential.

After dinner, she took out various receipts and contracts and calculated that, after deducting all costs, the lychee orchard had earned 500,000 yuan so far.

She immediately beamed with joy.

All the hard work over the past year has paid off.

I can finally get a good night's sleep.

Perhaps because she hadn't been sleeping well lately, she slept very soundly and woke up at 8:30 in the morning.

Normally, by this time, she would have already driven back to the orchard from the city.

She got up lazily, hadn't made breakfast, so she heated up the leftover rice dumplings from yesterday.

After being busy for several months, she suddenly had some free time. She tidied up the house briefly and then went out to buy groceries.

Even when you're alone, you should still have a sense of ritual during holidays.

Today is the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and the streets are bustling with activity as people row dragon boats.

I was originally going out to buy groceries, but I was captivated by the dragon boat races and ended up watching from the bridge as the crowds came and went.

She used to love watching dragon boat races and would come every year.

But since getting married and having children, I've been busy with all sorts of things—taking care of my husband and in-laws, taking care of the children, so busy that I don't have a moment to myself.

Watching dragon boat racing now gives a different feeling.

Although I felt free and unrestrained when I was young, I was also filled with endless confusion.

I still feel free and at ease, and I feel grounded and at ease after going through so much.

Every stage of life, every hardship, contributes to shaping the best version of yourself in this moment; every step counts.

She watched until noon, and when it was past the time to cook, she went to a nearby small restaurant for lunch.

After lunch, she realized she hadn't seen her daughter in a long time, so she texted her to ask her to go shopping.

When Xu Hemei received the message, she had just finished arguing with her mother-in-law, Wu Man, and was thinking of going out to find some peace and quiet when her mother called. She immediately agreed.

He Qiaoyun waited for Xu Hemei at the coffee shop in the mall. She texted her daughter to ask what flavor she wanted, and her daughter replied: "Caramel Macchiato, less ice, oat milk instead, one pump of sugar."

He Qiaoyun ordered according to her daughter's tastes, and didn't even blink when she saw the price that could buy ten kilograms of rice.

If making money isn't for enjoyment, then hard work is meaningless.

A short while later, her daughter came running towards her, smiling and saying, "Mom, you actually dared to drink Starbucks."

He Qiaoyun laughed, "It's not like we drink every day. We're just having fun out shopping, here you go."

Xu Hemei took the coffee, inserted the straw, took a sip, and said, "I haven't had it for almost two months. It's delicious."

He Qiaoyun felt uncomfortable hearing this. "It's just a cup of coffee, why would they care about that? If you don't have money, ask me for it."

Let alone an occasional cup of coffee, even if you drink it every day, how much money would it cost? If you're not happy, how can you feel comfortable?

Mentioning the mess at home, Xu Hemei immediately lost her good mood. "It's not about money. I'm really fed up with Duan Fei's mother. She's always interfering in everything. You wouldn't believe it, the day before yesterday I went out to meet a friend, and she actually followed me. Luckily, I was meeting a female friend. If I had met a male friend, she would have definitely urged her son to divorce me."

He Qiaoyun frowned. "What did Duan Fei say? Isn't he going to do anything about it?"

Xu Hemei pursed her lips, "He was called back to work that day."

He Qiaoyun's furrowed brows remained unchanged for a long time. She angrily cursed, "Is he going to be promoted to director or dean this year? This little thing hasn't been resolved since you got married."

Xu Hemei sighed, "I understand the道理 (principles/reasoning), but he hasn't had it easy either. His parents are from the countryside, and they worked so hard to support him through college, saving and borrowing to buy him a house..."

He Qiaoyun interrupted, "Are you out of your mind? What does his mother's hardship have to do with you? If his mother has a hard life, and he truly cares about her, then he should live with her. He shouldn't get married. Why is he outsourcing his filial piety to you? Honestly."

Seeing that He Qiaoyun was angry, Xu Hemei patted her back to calm her down, "Oh, Mom, don't be angry. Women shouldn't get angry."

He Qiaoyun poked her head in exasperation, "Don't always put yourself in such a lowly position. What do you mean by 'their house'? I didn't agree to you marrying them in the first place, but you wouldn't listen. They didn't even put your name on the deed to the house, yet you gave them your dowry to renovate! It's infuriating just thinking about it!"

Xu Hemei hugged her arm in a flattering manner, "But they also gave a bride price, didn't they?"

He Qiaoyun got even angrier when the topic of betrothal gifts came up.

She gave a dowry of 200,000 yuan and a new energy vehicle, and the other party returned a bride price of 88,000 yuan.

They were from the countryside, and the 88,000 yuan was the proper gift. She and Xu Hui didn't accept a penny, thinking they would save it for the young couple to use when they had children.

Unexpectedly, a month after the wedding, the daughter said: "The 88,000 yuan was borrowed from relatives by my mother-in-law. She had expected that her family would not accept the bride price, so she returned it as soon as the wedding was over."

Who wouldn't be angry? She spent 200,000 yuan and a car to marry off her daughter, while the other person didn't spend a penny and got a daughter-in-law for free.

I should have accepted the 88,000!

Seeing that her mother was angry again, Xu Hemei quickly changed the subject, pointing to a pair of high heels in a shoe store window, "Mom, these shoes are so pretty."