Chapter 831: Going Out to Jump Around Again

Qian Hongyan, with resentment toward Old Mrs. Xiao, followed the Xiao family into the dining room.

Old Mrs. Xiao sat directly in the main seat of the dining table, looked at the home-cooked dishes Qian Hongyan had prepared, and frowned with dissatisfaction: "Why are they all home-cooked dishes? There isn't a single hard dish. Don't you know that I'm old and need to nourish my body?"

Qian Hongyan said with some grievance: "Mom, you can't blame me for this. The money in the family is held by you. I only have a few hundred yuan in total. Where can I afford any big fish or meat."

Old Mrs. Xiao snorted coldly: "Just looking for excuses. With a few hundred yuan, you can at least buy a chicken to stew, right? A local chicken only costs a hundred or so yuan. Can't you afford it?"

Qian Hongyan was angry and said: "Mom, five people in the family are eating. You don't give me living expenses, and I am also a clever woman who can't cook without rice. Today, there is at least pork in the meal. Next meal, there might not even be meat to eat."

Old Mrs. Xiao glared at her: "Living expenses are no problem, but you have to report it truthfully. In the future, you will go to regular supermarkets to buy groceries and come to me for reimbursement with receipts."

Qian Hongyan knew that the old lady was really afraid that she would fill her own pockets.

Thinking that she might have to reconcile with the old lady for a few hundred yuan of grocery money every day, Qian Hongyan felt a bit disgusted.

However, she didn't show it, just said casually: "Fine, since Mom, you are not afraid of trouble, then we will reconcile once a day in the future."

Old Mrs. Xiao smiled sarcastically: "I'm not afraid of trouble, I, the old lady, have plenty of energy."

Qian Hongyan wisely didn't take her words, picked up the bowl, and took two bites.

Xiao Weiwei on the side was flipping through her WeChat Moments, eating small bites of food, and then said to Old Mrs. Xiao: "Grandma, can I apply for an image fee from you?"

Old Mrs. Xiao frowned and asked: "What image fee?"

Xiao Weiwei sold her cuteness and said: "Grandma, look, I am now the business director of our Xiao Group. This business director is specifically for the outside world. Going out represents our company's image, so my dressing, and even cosmetics and skincare products must meet our company's positioning."

Old Mrs. Xiao rolled her eyes at her and said: "Stop talking nonsense with me here, just say what you want."

Xiao Weiwei said: "Grandma, I want to apply for 100,000 yuan to buy a bag, buy some new clothes, and buy some cosmetics and skincare products."

"100,000?!" Old Mrs. Xiao snorted coldly: "Do you really think our family's money was blown by the wind?"

Xiao Weiwei said somewhat aggrievedly: "Grandma, look, Mr. Wu gave us tens of millions, and the funds on

Old Mrs. Xiao said angrily, "It doesn't count for anything? Let me tell you, it's precisely because money was always treated as if 100,000 yuan didn't count for anything, 200,000 yuan didn't count for anything, and even 1 million didn't count for anything, that the Xiao Group was hollowed out bit by bit! So from now on, we must seize this opportunity for rebirth from the ashes; we absolutely cannot repeat any of the mistakes we made before!"

Xiao Weiwei was also somewhat unhappy, muttering with a bit of petulance, "We've lived through such hard times for so long, and now I don't even have a decent set of cosmetics. If I go out looking this disheveled to discuss business and partnerships in the future, it won't do justice to the reputation of our Xiao Group. Besides, I had to sell my previous bags at a loss to survive, and now I don't even have one good bag. Wouldn't I be laughed at as soon as I stepped out the door?"

Old Mrs. Xiao waved her hand impatiently, "Enough, don't pull that act with me. The bag issue is easy to solve; just buy a fake one. If you buy a fake Hermes and carry it out, won't you still have plenty of face?"

"What kind of face is that..." Xiao Weiwei said anxiously, choking up, "I am, after all, the Business Director of the Xiao Group. If I go out carrying a fake Hermes and someone happens to recognize it, how embarrassing would that be!"

Old Mrs. Xiao sneered, "You don't know a damn thing! In this day and age, if your status is noble, even if you carry a fake bag, in others' eyes it will be real; but if your status is lowly, even if you carry a real bag, in others' eyes it will be fake! The Xiao Group has now risen like a phoenix from the ashes; as its Business Director, your value in the eyes of outsiders is naturally very high. Even if you carry a fake bag, no one will think it's fake!"

Xiao Weiwei was extremely depressed, "Grandma, even if you don't look at it that way, considering I am the Business Director of the Xiao Group, and even considering that I am your granddaughter, 100,000 yuan isn't too much to ask for, is it?"

Old Mrs. Xiao snorted, "Don't try that with me. It's 10,000 yuan. Take it if you want, or leave it if you don't!"

Xiao Weiwei felt extremely depressed, but as soon as she thought that if she didn't take the 10,000 yuan, she wouldn't have a single cent, she relented.

So she had no choice but to nod, saying aggrievedly, "Fine, 10,000 it is..."

Old Mrs. Xiao cleared her throat and said sternly, "I'm telling you all, this time, we must make the Xiao Group shine with glory once again! We must even take the Xiao Group to the next level. So, everyone, give me your undivided attention. Any hedonistic mindset is absolutely forbidden. Otherwise, even if you are my own son or grandson, you will have to get out! Do you understand?"

Xiao Changgan, Xiao Hailong, and Xiao Weiwei all knew very well that the old lady's words were meant for them.

Although they were depressed, no one dared to show any sign of opposition, so they could only nod sullenly and say in unison, "We understand..."

Only then was Old Mrs. Xiao satisfied. She waved her hand, "Alright, hurry up and eat. We still have to go to the company this afternoon to continue working!"

Everyone felt helpless for a moment and could only lower their heads and eat honestly.

Just then, Xiao Weiwei was scrolling through her WeChat Moments and suddenly saw the post Ma Lan had made, and her face turned livid with anger.

A sense of injustice welled up in her heart: "That shrew Ma Lan has a whole pile of Hermes bags, and when I want to buy one, Grandma actually refuses and even tells me to buy a fake. If I really go and buy a fake Hermes and happen to run into Ma Lan, wouldn't she mock me to death?!"

Thinking of this, she grew angrier the more she thought about it. Ma Lan is old and faded, so why does she get to use such expensive things?

She herself is in the prime of her youth and naturally beautiful, so why is she doing worse than even Ma Lan?

Thinking of this, she said aggrievedly, "Grandma! Look! Even that shrew Ma Lan is using a real Hermes, why can't I use a real one?!"

Old Mrs. Xiao snatched the phone from her hand, took a look, and said angrily, "Damn Ma Lan, all she knows how to do is show off all day long!"

Xiao Changgan also took the phone to look and discovered a photo among them, a selfie Ma Lan had taken while carrying the bag. He said coldly, "It seems that bitch's leg cast has been removed! She probably won't be able to stay still for long before she's out jumping around again!"

Xiao Hailong's teeth itched with hatred whenever he thought of Ma Lan. He hurriedly asked him, "Dad, didn't you say before that you wanted to fix her? When are we going to act? I've been wanting to teach this bitch a lesson for a long time!"

"Don't be impatient," Xiao Changgan snorted coldly. "Before, when her leg was broken, she stayed at home all day long. We couldn't just charge into her house to fix her, could we? Wouldn't that just get us into trouble ourselves? Since her leg cast is off, she'll definitely be out jumping around soon. When that time comes, we'll seize the opportunity and definitely give her a good lesson!"