James Rhodes’s explanation was flawless, leaving no room for anyone to pick apart.
In the workplace, visiting the boss was indeed extremely important. A good boss could save an employee from countless detours.
Uncle Hugh’s neighborhood was indeed a thirty-year-old residential complex. When it was designed back then, no one anticipated that every household would own a car today, so parking spaces were definitely insufficient.
Hugh Miller hadn’t just met his younger sister and her husband yesterday. Remembering that today was their mother’s birthday, he took a deep breath and suppressed the rising anger in his chest.
"Since you’re here, let’s eat. Otherwise, the food will get cold," Hugh said.
James replied with a cheerful chuckle, "Right, right, right! Let’s eat first!"
Everyone took their seats. However, upon seeing the dishes on the table, Joan Miller immediately frowned. She looked at Hugh.
"Hugh, I don’t mean to criticize you.
"But today is Mom’s birthday, and you’ve made such a bland spread?
"Out of ten dishes, seven are vegetarian, and the best one here is just braised prawns?
"You’re a mid-level manager at a private company, for crying out loud. How are you doing worse and worse?
"If you had told me earlier that there was no good food at home, I would have just ordered some takeout from the Grand Radiance Restaurant!"
Hugh slammed his hand on the table. The porcelain bowls jumped, letting out a sharp CLINK.
"Joan, are you listening to yourself?" he snapped, pointing at the table full of food. His voice brimmed with irrepressible fury. "Mom just got discharged from the hospital today, and the doctor specifically instructed her to eat light! Which of these dishes wasn’t tailored to her taste?
"Braised prawns are her favorite. I went to the seafood market first thing in the morning to handpick live kuruma prawns! And what do you do? You walk in and start nitpicking everything!"
Joan’s face turned pale and then flushed red from the reprimand. She immediately raised her voice and retorted, "I was just making a casual comment!
"Do you have to blow up like this? What do doctors know anyway?
"Doctors also tell people not to smoke or drink, but they smoke more than anyone else!
"What’s wrong with having some good food on Mom’s birthday?
"It’s a rare occasion! What’s the problem with indulging just this once?"
"Stop being so unreasonable!" Hugh’s chest heaved with anger. "The doctor said yesterday that if Mom hadn’t gotten that medical checkup in time, she could have suffered a stroke at any moment within the next month or two!
"In your eyes, is a good meal more important than Mom’s health?"
Seeing that the two were about to get into a full-blown argument, Wendy’s mother, Lana Miller, quickly grabbed Joan’s arm to smooth things over. "Joan, don’t be mad at Hugh. He’s just worried about Mom’s health.
"Come on, sit down. The food is getting cold."
Gordon Lynch also chimed in to mediate. "Yeah, it’s rare for the family to get together. Let’s just talk nicely.
"Leon, come sit down. Your uncle saved a seat for you."
Only then did Leon take off his headphones. He gave a nonchalant "Oh," walked over to the table, and sat down, his eyes still glued to his phone screen.
James cleared his throat and patted Hugh’s shoulder. "Hugh, don’t stoop to a woman’s level. Let’s just eat with Mom for now."
Hugh took a deep breath. He glanced at his mother sitting nearby and ultimately swallowed the harsher words he had ready. However, his expression remained grim.
The grandmother held Hugh’s hand and said softly, "Hugh, don’t be angry anymore. Mom knows you mean well. Let’s eat."
The meal began in a rather awkward atmosphere.
Auntie constantly put food into the grandmother’s bowl, and Lana chatted with her about daily matters from time to time, trying to ease the tension. Having been given an out by Lana, Joan sat down reluctantly. But her face still bore a look of dissatisfaction as she picked up her chopsticks and poked at the rice in her bowl, barely touching any of the dishes.
Just like that, the meal concluded in the same awkward atmosphere.
After dinner, Auntie walked out carrying an exquisite cake. The candlelight illuminated the grandmother’s wrinkled, smiling face. Once everyone finished singing the birthday song, the grandmother blew out the candles and began opening her presents.
Auntie was the first to hand over her gift. "Mom, these are the reading glasses I bought for you at the eye hospital.
"You watch a lot of TV, and you always complain about your vision getting blurry. These lenses block blue light, so your eyes should feel a bit more comfortable when wearing them."
The grandmother took the glasses, tried them on, and smiled. "Just in time. My old pair doesn’t have a strong enough prescription anymore. This gift is so thoughtful."
Next, Lana brought out a bright red woolen sweater. "Mom, I knitted this sweater myself. It’ll keep you warm in the winter."
The grandmother rubbed the fine stitches, her eyes turning slightly red. "Lana has such deft hands. The sweater you knit will surely be comfortable. I’ll wear it tomorrow."
Seeing their gifts, Joan curled her lips disdainfully. She fished a red box out of her designer handbag and handed it to her mother. "Mom, this is the gift I specially picked out for you."
The box opened to reveal an emerald jade Buddha pendant. Its vibrant green color was extremely eye-catching.
"I asked someone to buy this jade Buddha from Yunaris. It cost over four thousand! Wearing it will keep you safe."
She deliberately said "over four thousand" loudly, her eyes brimming with ostentation.
The grandmother took it carefully. "Why spend so much money? Over four thousand? That’s too expensive!"
Joan waved her hand dismissively. "Mom, there’s no need to be polite with me. This amount of money is nothing to me."
As she spoke, she shot a glance at Wendy Lynch and spoke in a snide tone, "Wendy has started working now. You must have prepared a gift for your grandmother too, right?"
Wendy smiled. She took the red jewelry box out of her bag and handed it to the grandmother. "Grandma, this is the gift I bought for you."
Joan leaned in to look, thinking it was definitely some cheap trinket worth a few hundred at most. But when she got a clear look at the exterior of the jewelry box, the smile on her face noticeably froze.
Eldorado Gold?!
Joan was very familiar with current gold prices. Over the past six months, the price of gold had been skyrocketing like crazy, having long reached the exorbitant price of seven hundred and fifty per gram. This meant that as long as the box contained a relatively large gold ornament, its price would immediately surpass her jade Buddha that was worth over four thousand.
Joan had always been highly competitive; how could she be willing to let someone else upstage her? Especially when the person upstaging her was the daughter of the younger sister she had always looked down upon?
At that thought, a deep shadow flitted across Joan’s eyes. However, when she remembered Wendy’s current situation, her mind was immediately put at ease, and the proud smile reappeared on her face.
Wendy had just graduated this year and had been working for less than two months. A fresh graduate on an internship salary naturally didn’t make much money. With the high cost of living in a big city, the money she could save up was definitely meager.
Presumably, the gift she brought this time was a small item like a pair of earrings. In terms of price, it definitely couldn’t compare to the jade Buddha she had given.
Thinking of this, Joan hurriedly urged, "Mom, quickly see what good stuff Wendy got you!"
The grandmother chuckled as she opened the box. The next moment, a gleaming, solid gold bangle appeared before everyone’s eyes.
She picked up the bracelet. It felt heavy in her hand, and its frosted surface emanated a soft luster under the lights.
"This... is a gold bracelet?!" she exclaimed in astonishment.
Wendy nodded. "Yes, Grandma. I picked it out especially for you. Do you like it?"
[PS: The new book has launched! Please vote with your monthly and recommendation tickets!]
[PS2: The new book is in the ranking period, and daily reading metrics are crucial. I’m begging you all to read daily, please!]