Chapter 40

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Other than her grandparents, Gu Qingming had three uncles, three aunts, three cousins, two cousins, and four nephews.

Grandpa had two brothers, whom she referred to as Big Grandpa and Little Grandpa. They both had their own sons and grandchildren.

All in all, the three generations of the Shi family were all boys. Gu Qingming’s mother was the only daughter of the Shi family, and Gu Qingming was the only granddaughter of the Shi family.

It was obvious that both Gu Qingming’s mother and Gu Qingming were very favored in the Shi family. Every time Gu Qingming returned home, she would be surrounded by these men. After all, they really cherished this beautiful and cute girl.

Since she was the only girl in their clan, they had to protect her well.

When they heard that the only girl in the Shi family was going to stay with them for a while, they were all overjoyed. The men instructed their wives to prepare some food.

They remembered that this little girl especially liked to eat the cucumbers and tomatoes in their fields and all kinds of snacks made in the countryside. Hence everyone had prepared a large amount of food that Gu Qingming liked to eat.

Big Grandpa and Little Grandpa had three granddaughters-in-law. They muttered as they prepared.

“It’s just a girl. Do you have to dote on her so much?”

When their niece came, they didn’t even give her a smile.

Hmph, how biased.

These granddaughters-in-law had married into the family in the past two years. They had never seen Gu Qingming, but they had heard about her mother.

It was said that Gu Qingming’s mother, Shi Yashu, was a golden phoenix that flew out of Stoneback Village. Not only did she get into a university, but she also married into a very rich family in a big city.

Whenever she went back to her maternal home, it would be a grand affair. But she always came and went in a hurry and never spent the night.

This made the granddaughters-in-law despise her. They criticized her as someone who had climbed up the social ladder after marriage and did not even want her family anymore.

Of course, they could only keep these words to themselves or whisper them in private. If their men heard them, they would be furious. They dared not anger their men.

This time, when Gu Qingming came over, they felt very uncomfortable at having to make lots of preparation, but they didn’t dare to say anything.

As for the thoughts of their wives, the men of the Shi family could still see them clearly. As long as they did not show it and did not do anything out of line, they would keep one eye closed.

However, Big Grandpa and Little Grandpa instructed their grandchildren.

They warned sternly, “It’s fine if your wives are usually like this. If Ming’er comes and they’re still like this, let them go back to their parents’ house for the time being. Our Ming’er doesn’t want to see their expressions.”

She was the only girl in the Shi family. They treasured her so much. How could they let her deal with these unfriendly looks when she came?

The men looked a little guilty. They said seriously, “Master, don’t worry. We’ll definitely warn our wife!”

They actually knew what their wives were thinking. They came from families that favored boys over girls. Influenced by their families, their preference for boys also took root in their hearts.

After being warned by the men in the family, the granddaughters-in-law were embarrassed and angry, but at the same time, they could not show any dissatisfaction.

It definitely wouldn’t do to stay with their parents for a while.

This would only make people think that they had done something wrong and been chased back by their in-laws. Thinking of the embarrassment they had to face, it would be much more comfortable for them to stay in their in-laws’ house than in their maternal homes.

Two black cars eased onto the village road to Stoneback Village.

“It’s coming, it’s coming!”

The group waiting at the intersection saw the vehicle in the distance and shouted excitedly.

A moment later, the car reached the intersection.

In the car, Gu Qingming saw her grandparents, three uncles, three cousins, and two cousins from afar. There were also a few children standing by the roadside. They should be cousins or children from the same village.

Gu Qingming was surprised to see so many people.

Surely these people weren’t all here to pick her up?

Seeing this, Gu Qingming thought of her previous life. A few years after she got married to Lin Haotian, she had never even gone to the maternal family again because she had cut ties with her parents.

Gu Qingming choked back on her tears as she looked at the two old people who were staring at her with glowing eyes.

For her grandparents, they had not seen Gu Qingming for three years.

But to Gu Qingming, it had been six years since they last met.

She had really been out of her mind at the time. She had put all her relatives out of her mind for love. But in the end, it had been a calculated love affair. And she had gone before she had even seen her relatives.

She wondered how sad and miserable her parents, grandparents, and all her relatives must have been

A schemed love trap in her previous life was enough for her to learn her lesson. In the future, she would not abandon all her family for that bullshit.

Gu Qingming sniffed, wiped her eyes, and looked in the small mirror. She couldn’t see anything unusual, so she asked the driver to stop in front of her grandparents and prepared to walk back with them.

Granny and the others were delighted to see the car arrive. They looked excited.

As soon as the door of the car in front opened, Grandma rushed over and called out excitedly and happily, “Ming’er, is that Ming’er?”

Gu Qingming was still in the car and replied with a smile, “Grandma, it’s me!”