Chapter 2229: Not Caring

Qiao Zijin only went on about how Qiao Nan would never do that but refused to promise a single thing. Seeing how Qiao Zijin had spared no effort in trying to convince her, Ding Jiayi, who had remained silent all along, finally reacted.

She silently returned to her room and took every single piece of clothing that Qiao Nan had sent over for the new year.

Qiao Zijin, who had followed behind Ding Jiayi, smiled at that sight. She knew that her mom would definitely listen to her. Qiao Nan had gone overboard this time, and they had to teach her a lesson. In the future, Qiao Nan would know to buy clothes for each and every one of them without leaving a single person out.

Wait a minute!

“Mom, what are you doing with that pair of scissors?” She had only asked her mom to return the clothes to Qiao Nan to scare her. She had never asked her mom to cut up the clothes! It would be such a pity to cut up such expensive clothes!

If she didn’t cut them up, Qiao Nan would only have to purchase an extra set of clothes. However, once her mom did something so extreme, Qiao Nan would have to purchase two extra sets of clothes. Qiao Zijin was afraid that Qiao Nan would decide to ignore her mom in that case. Then, even she wouldn’t have anything to wear.

The snipping of the scissors was heard, but unlike Qiao Zijin’s expectations, Ding Jiayi had not cut up the clothes. Instead, she had simply cut away the packaging and tags on the clothes.

It was only then that Qiao Zijin relaxed. “Mom, you’re so smart! No wonder people say that nothing beats experience. Why didn’t I think of that? If the tag was still there, Qiao Nan would be able to get a refund for them. But now that they’re gone, the sellers would surely not accept them anymore. I’ve seen her mother-in-law before, and she’s much older than you. These clothes are suitable for you but not for her mother-in-law. She wouldn’t be able to give these clothes to her mother-in-law.”

Besides, Qiao Nan’s mother-in-law was a chief’s wife. Qiao Nan could never use clothes that had been rejected by others to try to please her mother-in-law unless she no longer wanted to be part of the Zhai family.

Since there was no way of getting a refund on such expensive clothes, and neither would she be able to get a refund, it would be a waste to keep them at home. In that case, she would have no choice but to send them back to her mom. Then, Qiao Nan would have no choice but to listen to them and to send Qiao Zijin’s set of clothes over as well.

Humph! She wanted to fight it out with her? She stood no chance at all. Why was Qiao Nan still so ignorant about the fact even though she was already forty and was even a mom herself?

Qiao Zijin was still rejoicing inwardly when she saw Ding Jiayi switch on the tap to soak her clothes in water, preparing to wash them. Of course, that excluded the coat.

Qiao Zijin frowned. “Mom, there’s no need to go through so much trouble. Don’t wash them. We aren’t wearing them anyway. Qiao Nan won’t be able to get a refund once you cut off the tags. It doesn’t matter whether you wash them.” It was winter and even with sunlight, the temperatures weren’t very high. If they were to wash and dry these clothes, it would take at least another two to three days.

Qiao Zijin wanted to receive her set of clothes from Qiao Nan as soon as possible so that she could wash and iron them and wear them to her high school gathering. This process of was.h.i.+ng and drying would waste two to three days. With the time Qiao Nan needed to buy a new set of clothes, as well as the time for the parcels to be sent around, she might not even receive the clothes in time for her get-together! Then, she would have to spend her own money to get new clothes!

With that in mind, Qiao Zijin rushed to s.n.a.t.c.h the clothes over from Ding Jiayi. “Thankfully, they’re not entirely drenched yet. It’ll dry faster if we use a hairdryer. Mom, don’t bother was.h.i.+ng them. Let’s just send them to Qiao Nan. Don’t worry. My plan will definitely work. There won’t be any accidents.”

Ding Jiayi had allowed Qiao Zijin to continue with her monologue while she had not spoken a single word. Seeing that Qiao Zijin was about to s.n.a.t.c.h her clothes away, Ding Jiayi tugged at them and submerged them all in the water. She knew her daughter the best. It was winter and the water was icy cold. Qiao Zijin had never dipped her hands in water in winter, except during baths and was.h.i.+ng her hands.

Of course, once the clothes were entirely submerged in the water, Qiao Zijin’s hand stopped in midair. “Mom…” What did that mean?

What could that possibly mean?

Ding Jiayi remained silent while pouring detergent into the tub. “You’re right. These clothes came directly from the factory a.s.sembly line. They’re not clean. I’d better wash them before wearing them.” She wasn’t going to return these clothes. She was going to wear them herself.

Even though Ding Jiayi was not in the habit of buying new clothes, she knew that the prices of clothes were sky-high, especially during the new year. If Qiao Nan refused to care about her and chose to burn these clothes instead of conceding, she wouldn’t have any new clothes to wear for the new year. Then, should she let others laugh at her? Or should she waste money to puff herself up?

Ding Jiayi could not bear to spend any more money since she didn’t have much to begin with. She already had a set of clothes with her. Besides, many of her neighbors had already seen it and even praised her for it. There was no way Ding Jiayi wanted to send this set of clothes back. She would wear them!

Was it too much for her to wear slightly better clothes for the new year after she had done so much to raise two daughters? Of course not! As for that little dispute between her daughters, she had already done what she could. What she couldn’t resolve was beyond her.

Question marks appeared in Qiao Zijin’s eyes and she stared at her mom, who washed the new clothes quickly before transferring them to the was.h.i.+ng machine. Seeing that things were not going according to plan, Qiao Zijin rushed up to Ding Jiayi. “Mom, what does this mean?”

Her mom didn’t seem to be following her plan to return the clothes to Qiao Nan so that Qiao Nan would be forced to get her a set of clothes.

Ding Jiayi replied as she hung her clothes up to dry, “Zijin, I’m already so old. I don’t wish for a good life anymore. But now that it’s right in front of me, I should enjoy it. No matter how much money you have, I’ve never gotten to wear such expensive clothes. You should consider my perspective too. How many more years do I have left to live? It’s not too much for me to enjoy what little I have now. I’ll help you with whatever I can. But there are things I can’t help you with.”