Reborn as a Rich Woman in the Eighties
Chapter 240 - 239 I’m Not Leaving

Chapter 240: Chapter 239 I’m Not Leaving

When Jiang Mingqing arrived with a small bag on her back, it was already past ten in the morning.

"Second Brother! I’ve come to help you!"

"Help?" Jiang Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, deliberately asked her, "Xiaoqing, do Mom and the others know you’re here?"

He knew what kind of person his sister was. It was not easy for her to get winter vacation from school, and instead of staying warmly at home, she came here to endure the cold and hardship, which was clearly not something she would do.

"They know. They all know you’re busy selling goods right now, and I have nothing to do at home, so I came to help you out."

Jiang Mingqing didn’t dare say directly that she came here because she got angry with Auntie Zhao. She had a belly full of grievances that she wanted to vent to her second brother, but this place wasn’t suitable. Moreover, with Lin Xia and Lin Dong around, she didn’t want Lin Xia to witness her spectacle.

"Come in first!" Jiang Mingyuan was busy with the customers, and didn’t have time to talk much with her right now.

What help could Jiang Mingqing possibly offer?

She didn’t even know the prices of the goods; she could only sit there.

After Lin Xia and Lin Dong greeted her, they were too busy to even talk.

Since Ma Hao’s visit yesterday, Lin Xia knew that Jiang Mingyuan was going to Ji City with him, and she wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Jiang Mingyuan about the Clivia.

But Ma Hao stayed over at Jiang Mingyuan’s place last night, and Lin Dong was with them at the stall since morning, so she hadn’t found the right moment.

Now that Jiang Mingqing had come, Lin Xia was even less able to speak.

However, there was no immediate rush with this matter; they wouldn’t be leaving until after the New Year at the earliest.

Lin Xia guessed that there might be some reason for Jiang Mingqing’s sudden arrival.

It wasn’t until the flow of people slowed down at noon that they finally had a moment to sit down, eat, and chat.

Jiang Mingyuan saw that something was off with Jiang Mingqing, but there hadn’t been a chance to ask her in detail when it was crowded.

"Xiaoqing! Speak up, what’s going on?"

Lin Xia happened to go to the restroom at this moment, leaving Lin Dong alone to watch the stall.

Jiang Mingqing moved closer and whispered to him, "Second Brother! You have no idea how nagging Mom is these days!

Ever since I came back for vacation, she has been pushing me to go on blind dates, constantly nagging that I’m a girl and if I don’t hurry up, I’ll miss the chance and it’ll be hard to find someone!

You tell me, what good matches can come from her acquaintances? I’ve just graduated and started working not that long ago...

The one she really should be worrying about is you..." By the end of her speech, her voice trailed off under Jiang Mingyuan’s intense gaze.

Jiang Mingyuan pressed his lips together tightly, "Isn’t mom doing this for your own good! Can you compare yourself with me?"

Auntie, when she came over last time to make sausages, had also talked to him; he said he would help persuade Jiang Mingqing, but he never found the time.

Jiang Mingqing toyed with her fingers and looked down. She really wanted to say how that was any different, as she wasn’t fond of Lin Xia becoming her sister-in-law, but these words were certainly ones she kept to herself.

"For my own good that I can’t take it! Second Brother! I’ll stay here for a few more days to help out, and when you’re done with the stall, I’ll go back with you!"

She was determined not to endure her mother’s nagging alone.

"No way! You’re going back this afternoon! Even if Mom agrees with you staying here, I can’t. Where would you stay?"

The house he rented had the same layout as Lin Xia’s, but he only heated one room. The other room had always been left cold and wasn’t fit for anyone to live in.

After all, it wasn’t right for him and his sister, who were both adults, to share a bed.

Jiang Mingqing pursed her lips, and upon seeing Lin Xia return, she whispered, "Find a way! Anyway, I’m just not leaving!" She didn’t care; all she knew was that she wasn’t going back.

She would rather freeze and suffer here than go back and be nagged by her mother.

Jiang Mingyuan frowned, resolute, "There’s no way to think about! You have to leave even if you don’t want to! I’ll take you to the station to catch a bus once it gets less busy later."

He couldn’t possibly ask Xiaoqing to stay with Lin Xia; who knew what she might say off the cuff that could cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

"I’m just not leaving!"

And so, the siblings were at an impasse.

Jiang Mingqing sat there, upset and silent.

Jiang Mingyuan was busy selling his goods and paid her no mind.

Lin Dong watched from the side not knowing how to intervene, while Lin Xia didn’t want to get involved.

She was well aware that Jiang Mingqing didn’t like her, so naturally, she had the sense not to act as the meddler, lest she end up being disliked by everyone.

Sometimes, things are just that unpredictable.

Mrs. Zhao arrived at the greenhouse a little after three in the afternoon, her usually cheerful face unusually angry.

Lin Xia and Lin Dong promptly greeted her, "Mrs. Zhao!"

Mrs. Zhao’s face softened a bit when facing Lin Xia and her brother, "Xiaolin, go on with your work!" There was a crowd around her stall, and she didn’t want to hold up Lin Xia from making money.

Jiang Mingqing stood up from her stool as soon as she saw her mother, asking timidly and with a bit of guilt, "Mom! Why are you here too?"

Mrs. Zhao glared at her angrily, "What am I supposed to do, not come? If I don’t come over now while there’s still a bus and see if you’re really here, what am I supposed to do when it’s late and you’re nowhere to be found? Aren’t I going to be frantic with worry?

Why did you come to your brother’s place without telling me? Could I have stopped you?"

She was truly infuriated by her daughter. After a sharp exchange of words that morning, she went to the restroom, and by the time she came back, her daughter had vanished.

Later, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was off. She had no idea where her grown daughter had gone in her anger—to a friend’s place or somewhere else.

In the end, she decided to first check on her second son here. She couldn’t wait until it got dark to look for her, because by that time with no transportation, where could she even start looking?

If something really happened to her daughter, she would be full of regret and it would be too late.

"Mom! Coming to see my brother was a spur-of-the-moment decision!" Jiang Mingqing regretted her impulsiveness.

Jiang Mingyuan, not caring about anything else, quickly persuaded his mother to sit inside the stall and calm down, "Mom! Sit down and take a break, don’t be angry! I was just about to take Xiaoqing to the station to catch a bus back home!"

Jiang Mingyuan was really angry now. He turned to scold Jiang Mingqing, "Jiang Mingqing! What did you tell me earlier? You said mom knew you were coming! How old are you, still a teacher, and you behave like this?"

As for Jiang Mingqing’s previous offer to stay and help, he definitely couldn’t mention it now; he didn’t want to make his mother angrier.

Jiang Mingqing stood to the side, biting her lip and listening, feeling extremely embarrassed to be scolded in such a manner, especially with Lin Xia, whom she disliked, watching the spectacle.

Mrs. Zhao took deep breaths, clutching her chest with a mixture of anger and sadness. "I’ve been so anxious on the way here, afraid that I wouldn’t find you. Xiaoqing, tell me, what’s gotten into you lately? I only argued with you a few words, but was that reason enough to run away from home...

All those things I said, why do you think I said them? It wasn’t for anything but your own good..."

Jiang Mingqing quickly went up to hug Mrs. Zhao’s shoulders, coaxing her, "Mom! I was wrong! Please don’t be mad at me!"

Seeing her mother’s mood soften, she continued in a low voice, "I know you want the best for me, but I’m grown up now. I have my own ideas! Please don’t force me anymore, okay? I really did come to help my brother out! Look how busy he is..."