I’m not interested in buying vegetables.
Let’s buy seafood instead.
Evelyn was great at directing. “Mom, buy crabs, buy crabs! That one’s too small. There’s no meat in it. This one looks lively. It must be fresh!”
“You should pick a man the same way. They’re lively too!” Amelia said.
The vendor smiled. “Mrs. Vance, are these two your daughters? They’re so beautiful! You’re lucky!”
“Thanks for the compliment. For the sake of my two beautiful daughters, how about a discount on today’s seafood?” Amelia replied with a grin.
“Easy to say. When have I ever charged you full price?” the vendor answered with a laugh.
Evelyn and Victoria exchanged a look.
They both felt like their mother was a pimp, and they were the girls working for her.
After picking two kinds of seafood, Amelia bought a yellow croaker and a bighead carp.
Finally, they went to buy fruit.
Evelyn was very interested in fruit.
She could live without food, but not without fruit.
When she saw the fresh mangosteens, she almost drooled.
“Sis, let’s buy a durian to take home!” Victoria said excitedly when she saw the durians.
“No. It stinks!” Evelyn objected immediately.
“Stink? It’s fragrant! Boss, pick the best one for me!” Amelia walked over and took charge.
“Ah, looks like you’re the only one who was born. I’m the one paying!” Evelyn sighed.
Victoria smiled. “Sis, durian is really delicious!”
“Does Alexander eat it too?” Evelyn turned to Victoria and asked.
“He won’t eat it,” Victoria shook her head.
But she could still buy it and take it home.
“Right. Normal people can’t stand the smell of durian!”
“Do you know why your skin isn’t as good as your sister’s? It’s because you’re too picky and won’t eat durian!” Amelia said directly.
Evelyn rolled her eyes.
In the end, they bought one durian and several other fruits.
Evelyn grabbed a box of mangosteens.
In her mind, only a box of mangosteens could balance out the disgust she felt for the durian.
Victoria watched her sister carry the box of mangosteens and wanted to laugh.
But she didn’t dare. She was afraid of getting hit.
After they got home, Amelia took Evelyn into the kitchen.
Victoria chatted with her father in the living room.
“Alexander didn’t come back with you?” William asked.
“He went to the company early this morning to work overtime,” Victoria replied.
“He’s busy too. Managing such a big company alone, and traveling all over the world,” William sighed.
“Yes, he’s really busy. Otherwise, he would have come back with me,” Victoria nodded.
“You didn’t cause him any trouble, did you?”
“How could I? I can’t help him, but I won’t cause trouble either!” Victoria answered with a smile.
“That’s good,” William nodded. “The company’s been doing well this year. At this rate, we should have no problem paying back our family by the end of the year. That ten million should be fine.”
“Really? Dad, you’re amazing!” Victoria said excitedly. But the next second, she asked, “What ten million?”
“Oh, how can you be so forgetful? Didn’t our family borrow ten million from Alexander’s family at the beginning? It was because of this ten million that you married into their family, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, that ten million! Isn’t that the dowry Alexander’s family gave us?” Victoria asked, confused.
“It’s right to say it was a dowry. But I also told Mrs. Sterling that you didn’t have a dowry when you got married. I’d make it up later. At that time, that ten million will be your dowry. It’s the same as the ten million Alexander’s family gave us at the beginning,” William explained.
“Oh,” Victoria replied after a long pause.
“Alexander’s family didn’t treat you badly, did they?”
“No, they were all very kind to me,” Victoria shook her head.
“Good. Dad just wants you to understand that we may be poor, but we have pride. At the beginning, we had no choice but to marry you off to save the family. But we never wanted to trade you for that ten million. We’ll still pay it back,” William nodded.
“Dad, I understand. I’m actually grateful for your decision back then. It gave me the chance to be with Alexander. He’s been really good to me. I’m happy with him too,” Victoria replied with a smile.
“Fortunately, we had no other way to help your husband. Your mother and I have always worried about your sister not getting married and you marrying too early. Now we don’t have to worry anymore,” William exclaimed.
“Dad, you don’t have to worry about me and Mom. I’m smart enough to know what I want. If you push her too hard, she’ll rebel. That will affect her judgment,” Victoria said, defending her sister.
William looked at his youngest daughter and finally nodded.
Evelyn came out with two plates of fruit. One was durian, which she hated the most. The other was mangosteen, which she loved the most.
“Eat fruit!” Evelyn said. With a look of disgust, she placed the durian on Victoria’s side and the mangosteen on her own.
“Dad, eat some fruit!” Victoria said to her father.
“You eat it. I’ve been a bit angry lately. I can’t eat durian.”
“Dad, you’d better eat mangosteen to cool down. Durian isn’t food for humans,” Evelyn added.
Victoria smiled and didn’t argue.
She knew her sister was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Even though Evelyn hated durian, she knew Victoria liked it, so she peeled it and gave it to her.
In fact, Victoria had always been very happy. From a young age, everything had gone smoothly for her. Her family was harmonious.
The biggest setback was when the family almost went bankrupt. But they got through it safely.
So she felt truly lucky.
“Don’t smile so weirdly while eating durian. People might think you’re eating something else,” Evelyn said as she peeled a mangosteen and handed it to her father, glancing at Victoria.
Victoria almost choked on the durian in her mouth. She couldn’t help but say, “Sis—”
“Okay, okay. It’s similar to eating something else.”
“Evelyn, don’t bully your sister!”
“Now she’s bullying me. I know I hate the smell of durian the most, and it’s too much for her to enjoy it so much right in front of me!” Evelyn accused indignantly.
“Sis, you’ll know durian is really delicious if you just taste it!” Victoria smiled and held out the durian to Evelyn.
“No way! Take it away!” Evelyn said in disgust.
“Sis, you hate durian so much. What if you marry a husband who loves to eat durian? What will you do then?” Victoria said with a smile while eating durian.
“Do you think I’d marry that kind of person?” Evelyn asked, staring at Victoria.
“You never know. The power of love might be strong enough to overcome all obstacles!” Victoria said with a grin.
“You think too much!” Evelyn replied with a roll of her eyes.
After eating the fruit, the family of four sat around the table playing mahjong.
Yes, they all played with Amelia. Because Amelia hadn’t played mahjong in a long time, trying to kick her gambling habit.