Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 267: Qin Kaize’s Promotion is a Done Deal
Su Yijia, who was exhausted to the point of almost passing out, immediately forced her eyes open and glared at him angrily.
"Stop talking! I need to sleep!"
She wriggled down and buried herself back into the blanket like a slippery eel.
Qin Kaize, through the thick fabric, gave his little wife another kiss before leaving the room to prepare the afternoon meal.
He peeled the boiled eggs and placed them into the braised pork with caramelized sugar to simmer over low heat, and also slowly cooked a pork rib soup with small abalones.
The rich aroma of meat filled their home throughout the afternoon.
Niu Fanghua from the next door, unable to resist the mouth-watering smell, kept swallowing and cursing under her breath.
The afternoon’s wedding banquet was hosted by Xia Weiguo, who had invited his son, but only his son and daughter-in-law attended. In the team, with so many acquaintances, invitations were numerous, so it was an unwritten rule not to drag the entire family along as guests.
However, just smelling the food without being able to eat it was driving Niu Fanghua crazy.
Seeing her daughter-in-law standing by the dresser with two fruit cans and a pound of egg cake wrapped in oil paper as gifts for the afternoon, Niu Fanghua stormed over and slapped her arm hard twice.
"You foolish girl! Qin Kaize is already transitioning to a new role, and you’re still sending such nice things! Why don’t you just take everything from our house and give it away?"
"My son is the political commissar in the team. Attending his wedding banquet is already a huge honor for them," she added, disgruntled.
"Mom, Qin will probably return to the team soon," Fang Xuewei said, frowning as she tried to address the important matter first. Though her mother-in-law was a bit unreasonable, she wasn’t completely clueless after years in the team.
Upon hearing this, Niu Fanghua stopped her actions. Her dim eyes spun a few times before she asked curiously, "But his position has already been taken by Commander Xue. Is he really going to be promoted further?"
"Perhaps even more. I’ve heard that in these three months since he’s returned, he’s made several achievements, not just one. A promotion is certain; it’s just a matter of how much higher he can go," Fang Xuewei explained.
"Wasn’t he paralyzed? How did he achieve anything?" Niu Fanghua found it very strange. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Fang Xuewei didn’t offer further explanation. In fact, she wasn’t sure either, but her husband had hinted at it during their noon break, so it must be true.
After some thought, she swapped the two fruit cans for malted milk powder in the dresser. Niu Fanghua watched with discontent but didn’t stop her.
"Why don’t you take me along? With so many things from our house, having one more person might make up a bit."
Fang Xuewei knew well how greedy her mother-in-law was. She closed the dresser and said, "Mom, be patient. I’ll buy some meat to braise and steam some large shrimp for you tomorrow."
"Hmph, it’s still my son’s money being spent," Niu Fanghua said disdainfully.
"Mom, I earn twenty-five bucks a month from my job," Fang Xuewei almost lost her temper, feeling like she wanted to argue with her mother-in-law.
But remembering that it was Qin Kaize and Su Yijia’s wedding banquet in the afternoon, she managed to hold back.
"You’ve married into our family, so the money you earn belongs to our family," Niu Fanghua mumbled quietly.
Fang Xuewei’s face darkened with anger. Fearing an actual fight, she quickly gathered her things and left.
She decided to check next door to see if she could help with anything.
Just as she stepped out, she encountered a group of aunties, each carrying items, heading in the same direction.
"Auntie Fang, are you also going to Leader Xia’s house?" Auntie Ju asked with a smile.
"Yes, I’m going to see if there’s anything I can do. Without the team’s chef to help, it must be chaotic with just the couple preparing everything," Fang Xuewei nodded and joined the other aunties as they turned towards Xia Weiguo’s home.
They had all witnessed Su Yijia’s character before, so they didn’t enter the courtyard directly but called from outside the fence.
"We’re here, please wait a moment."
Su Yijia’s soft voice was like a gentle breeze from Jiangnan, providing a refreshing feeling to those who heard it.
Her voice was tender and soft, but her character was quite the opposite; she was not easily bullied.
The aunties, feeling the tension of the situation, were even more anxious.
When the door opened, and they saw Su Yijia in a bright red dress with butterfly sleeves, everyone couldn’t help but stare.
Most of the aunties had known she was beautiful, but today’s red dress made her even more striking, with a memorable, eye-catching beauty.
"Miss Su, that dress is truly beautiful. Did you buy it in Hu City?" Fang Xuewei hurried to Su Yijia’s side, eyeing the dress up and down.
Though the bright red was very eye-catching and not easy to wear daily, other colors like goose yellow or white would also be fine. The most important feature was the fluttering butterfly sleeves and the wide cinched waist, which perfectly accentuated a woman’s figure without revealing anything.
The skirt was longer than the knee, not simply cut straight but with a wavy edge, making it sway elegantly with movement.
Fang Xuewei had two daughters, both of marriageable age, so she naturally wanted to dress well to attract good suitors.
"This dress was made by me," Su Yijia said, twirling around to show it off.
Fang Xuewei furrowed her brows slightly, "The dress is light; won’t it fly up in the wind?"
"It’s fine; I’m wearing a pair of leggings underneath," Su Yijia smiled.
"What are leggings?"
The aunties immediately showed interest upon hearing about pants that prevent a dress from flying up. Women, no matter their age, always cared about their appearance.
The oldest auntie among them was only in her forties, and the younger ones were just a few years older than Su Yijia.
Su Yijia led everyone into the house and then lifted her skirt. Inside, she was wearing a pair of matching color leggings, ending above the knee.
This era was more conservative than later years, so the shorts were a few centimeters longer than modern beach shorts.
Although women didn’t usually wear such shorts in public, the length helped prevent exposure.
"When I make dresses, I use the same fabric to make matching leggings. For store-bought dresses, I use other pre-made pants in a similar color, as long as they’re not transparent," Su Yijia explained in detail.
The aunties nodded, thinking about what colors they could use to make two pairs for changing. Unlike Su Yijia, who could afford to buy extra fabric, they would rather use any fabric they had to make more clothes for their children.
Though they didn’t want to make leggings for profit, having a few pairs was necessary to avoid exposure.
Su Yijia never thought about making leggings for money. In this era, except for a few city girls, most older women or rural aunties knew how to sew. However, the special style of her dress was something only professional tailors could make; ordinary aunties couldn’t manage it.
