Seeing their hesitation, Li Na crossed her arms in front of her chest, adopting a gentle and virtuous demeanor. She softly reassured them, "I am Chen Li Shu's older sister. Don't worry, my commands are just as effective. You should sit down obediently and chat with me for a while. Chen Li Shu won't blame you."
Upon hearing Li Na's words, the young maids hesitated for a moment before finally sitting down in front of Li Na. They sat up straight and politely said, "Then, Miss, what is it that you wish to ask us? As long as we know, we will tell you everything without reservation!"
Li Na smiled with satisfaction as she watched the young maids obediently sit down. Then, she got straight to the point and asked, "I want to know who Mrs. He, who lives in the master bedroom on the second floor, is?"
The young maids were taken aback for a moment, then they very seriously explained, "Mrs. He is the mother of the President of He Group! You should know what He Group does, right? They are in the real estate business."
Upon hearing this identity, Li Na's face showed surprise. How could Chen Li Shu, who came from a small town, possibly have any connections with the He family?
She thought, if she had known that a small town had so many resources, she wouldn't have spent all her time in the capital. She should have visited home more often, and perhaps she might have made some unexpected discoveries.
Thinking of this, Li Na felt a pang of regret. She bit her lower lip, hesitated for a moment, and then looked up again, asking, "Chen Li Shu's surname is Chen, and Old Mrs. He's surname is He. How could two people who are not related at all be together? Are you mistaken?"
Hearing Li Na's question, the young maids frowned and exchanged glances with each other. Then, one of the maids bravely stepped forward and asked, "Aren't you Mrs. Chen's sister? By rights, you should understand the relationship between them the best!"
Li Na calmly explained, "You may not know this, but I have always lived in the capital, and my brother works in the military. The two places are very far apart, so we don't have many opportunities to see each other and don't understand the events happening in their family.
It is only now that their family has moved to the capital that our relationship has slowly grown closer. I took a stroll through the rooms just now and found some things that do not belong to our family, so I came down specifically to inquire about the situation."
So that's how it was. The young maids nodded one after another, indicating that they understood.
Then, one of the young maids stepped forward and said, "According to the little gossip I've heard, the reason Miss Chen became friendly with Mrs. He is because Miss Chen took care of her grandson for a period of time. Mrs. He felt that Miss Chen was a good girl, and since they hit it off, she recognized her as a goddaughter."
Recognizing her as a goddaughter was that simple? Li Na was somewhat disbelieving. Immediately, a plan began to form in her mind: what Chen Li Shu possessed, she must also possess!
After spending a day cleaning up the courtyard, Chen Li Shu and Li Xiu Lan prepared to go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients to personally cook a meal to welcome Mrs. He and the others tomorrow.
Just as they were leaving, a voice called out to stop them, "Wait a moment, where are you two going? Why don't you take us with you? We've been stuck in the rooms all day, and it's a bit boring!"
Chen Li Shu and Li Xiu Lan turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice. They saw Li Na and Li Xiu Li, dressed neatly and carrying baskets, following behind them.
"You're going grocery shopping, aren't you? Why don't we come along? With more people to help carry things, it will be easier for you," Li Na said, her face showing a fawning smile.
Chen Li Shu suppressed her displeasure and softly opened her lips, saying, "It's just buying groceries; there's no need for four people. You should stay in the courtyard and just give instructions to the maids if you need anything."
Faced with Chen Li Shu's refusal, Li Na's expression immediately soured. She earnestly persuaded, "Since we are family, we should naturally act together. We can't just come here to eat and drink for free, can we?"
Seeing the mother and daughter clinging to them like stubborn leeches, no matter how much she tried to shake them off, Chen Li Shu took a deep breath, said, "Whatever," and walked away.
On the way to the supermarket, Li Na's mouth didn't stop talking. She feigned surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to know people from the He family! Li Shu, can you tell me how you two met?"
The moment Chen Li Shu heard Li Na mention the He family, she had already guessed what their purpose in coming out this time was!
However, she was in no mood to pay attention to Li Na, or rather, she didn't want to deal with her.
Seeing Chen Li Shu's silence, Li Na pouted and finally stopped asking. Anyway, she had already learned what she wanted to know from the maids.
Soon, the four of them arrived at a nearby supermarket.
The area around the courtyard was quite prosperous. One supermarket here was equivalent to two supermarkets in the eastern district.
Having lived together for so long, Chen Li Shu knew what Mrs. He and the others liked to eat, so she bought groceries very quickly.
Li Na and Li Xiu Li watched Chen Li Shu toss meat into the shopping cart without even looking at the prices, as if the meat were free. Their eyes turned red.
Thinking about how they ate only vegetable leaves at home every day, while Li Xiu Lan's family ate so well, Li Xiu Li felt unbalanced. They were sisters, yet one lived in heaven, and the other lived in hell!
Consumed by jealousy, Li Xiu Li lost her reason. She subtly walked up to Li Xiu Lan and tugged at her sleeve, then whispered in her ear, "Xiu Lan, you can't keep this daughter-in-law.
She treats her adopted parents better than you for money. Look at what they bring every time – chicken, duck, fish, and ribs. You probably don't get this kind of treatment at home. I'm afraid that in the future, because of money, she will neglect and be unfilial towards you, her mother-in-law!"
In reality, such meals were quite common at home. Chen Li Shu treated the He family well, and she never thought there was anything wrong with it, as the He family had also helped them solve quite a few troubles.
Hearing Li Xiu Li's words, which were clearly intended to sow discord, Li Xiu Lan said somewhat unhappily, "Sister, don't talk nonsense. I see how good Chen Li Shu is to me."
Seeing her words being refuted, Li Xiu Li's expression became somewhat unpleasant. "I am your older sister, would I do something that would wrong you? I'm just kindly reminding you."
Do you not know what you're doing?
Li Xiu Lan no longer paid attention to Li Xiu Li, but turned and went to buy groceries with Chen Li Shu.