Li Ruhua came back from work with her daughter-in-law and grandson.
When she saw the main gate wide open, she immediately thought a thief had entered the house and quickly told her eldest daughter-in-law to go inside and check.
Li Chunyan hesitated and didn’t dare go in. She was also afraid.
That damned old woman always picked on the weak—before it was Sun Xiumei, and now it was her.
Just as Li Chunyan was wondering whether she should go in, she seemed to spot her second brother-in-law, Yaozu’s uncle.
“Second brother-in-law, you’re back?”
Zhang Xin turned his head.
“Mom, it really is Second Uncle! Second Uncle, Yaozu misses you. He keeps talking about you every day, saying the fruits you bring back are the best.”
Li Chunyan pulled her son Yaozu forward, signaling him to go greet him.
Every time Zhang Xin came back, he would bring a few candies or half a bag of snacks.
He handed twenty yuan of his salary to the family, and the rest was only enough for his own living expenses. In order to bring something nice back for Xiaofang, he often walked home to save money.
Little did he know that most of what he saved ended up in his nephew Yaozu’s stomach.
Zhang Xin looked at his sister-in-law, already knowing that his wife being driven out of the house must have involved her instigation.
Seeing her now only made him feel suffocated, so he simply ignored her and went inside to continue packing with his brother-in-law.
Li Chunyan saw that Zhang Xin didn’t even acknowledge her and just walked away, and she immediately got angry.
“Mom, look at him! I kindly spoke to him as his sister-in-law, and he gives me that attitude. He clearly doesn’t respect you at all! It must be that bitch Sun Xiumei who taught him this. He used to be so obedient!”
Li Ruhua’s face turned dark as well. Although her eldest daughter-in-law was foolish, she agreed with that statement.
This was clearly him giving her attitude because she drove his wife away—was he trying to rebel?!
“You’re deaf? Your sister-in-law is talking to you! You’re already acting like this over a woman? Showing attitude to your own mother? Thinking you’ve got wings now and want to rebel?”
“I knew that woman was no good! She hasn’t even been married long and her true colors are already showing! She’s stirring trouble between husband and mother-in-law… I usually—uh?”
Li Ruhua suddenly saw a figure walking out from inside the house.
She opened her mouth, ready to continue scolding, but no words came out.
The surroundings fell into a deathly silence. It felt like she could hear her own heartbeat.
Who would tell her why her second daughter-in-law’s elder brother was in her house?
Had he heard what she just said?
She wasn’t sure anymore.
She knew Sun Xiumei’s maternal family was not easy to deal with. Although they usually seemed polite, once it involved their children, they became like firecrackers—ready to explode. They were the kind who would pick up a knife if necessary.
She silently prayed that Sun Xiumei would still be sensible and not say anything she shouldn’t. Otherwise, things would be troublesome.
Li Ruhua quickly pretended nothing had happened and smiled as she walked forward.
“Oh, so Xiumei’s elder brother is here! Xiaoxin, you should’ve told me earlier. I would’ve cooked a couple of dishes and waited for your father to come back so you could have a proper drink with your brother-in-law.”
“Let’s skip the polite talk. I just heard someone inside insulting my younger sister. May I ask what that means?”
“If you have something to say, you can say it directly to my face. My father is gone, so as the eldest brother I stand in his place. If my sister has done something wrong, I am also responsible.”
“But if you are slandering her without reason and trying to frame her, our Sun family does not follow the idea that a married daughter is like spilled water.”
“Although Xiumei is a Zhang family daughter-in-law, first and foremost she is still a Sun family daughter. We are not the kind of family that sells off daughters to be mistreated at will.”
Sun Jianjun deliberately glanced toward Li Chunyan.
Li Chunyan clenched her teeth in secret, growing even more jealous of Sun Xiumei.
They were both girls, yet when Zhang family was poor and couldn’t afford a bride, Li Ruhua had once returned to her hometown and suggested a “matched exchange marriage.”
Her mother agreed, and on an arranged date, with no bride price and no dowry, the two families exchanged daughters.
She came to the Zhang family empty-handed, while Zhang Mei, the youngest daughter of the Zhang family, was sent to the Li family on the same day.
Li Ruhua had three sons and one daughter, but Zhang Mei, the youngest girl, received no favor at all. She was almost invisible in the family, to the point that even young brides in the village didn’t know the Zhang family had a daughter.
After going to the Li family, Zhang Mei essentially disappeared from Zhang village and never returned home.
Because of this, Li Chunyan had always thought exchange marriage was normal.
But on Zhang Xin’s wedding day, she saw Sun Xiumei’s dowry filling half a room.
That was when she realized that some girls were loved by their families and protected by their brothers.
But instead of seeing it as light in her life, she only felt jealousy and hatred toward Sun Xiumei.
Li Ruhua, hearing Sun Jianjun’s implied accusation, was so angry her nose almost crooked.
“Xiumei’s elder brother, what are you talking about? Everyone in the village knows I am famous for treating my daughters-in-law well! If she married into another family, she’d probably be giving birth in the fields! I even let her rest at home and sent her early to town for delivery—that’s a blessing most people can’t even dream of!”
She kept twisting the truth until she became more and more confident in her own words.
Zhang Xin, seeing more villagers gathering at the door, pulled his brother-in-law aside.
“Mom, I heard Third Brother is bringing his fiancée home. Since they aren’t married yet, even if we give up the room, we can’t let the girl stay overnight. If people find out, we’ll be criticized.”
“My mother-in-law said there’s no shortage of rooms at home. She asked me to come back and pack up and settle down properly. I’ll take some clothes and leave with my brother.”
He said it casually, but it revealed a lot of information.
Not only did Li Ruhua understand, but the villagers also understood.
After speaking, Zhang Xin didn’t wait for reaction. Remembering his mother-in-law’s advice not to argue, he placed the packed belongings on a handcart and pushed it toward the village entrance with his brother.
On the cart was soft bedding—that was Sun Xiumei’s dowry.
Li Ruhua almost wanted to stop them, but then remembered her youngest son’s warning not to cause trouble because of his future bride, the daughter of a factory leader.
She needed to leave a good impression.
If Sun Xiumei stayed home and caused trouble while pregnant, it could ruin everything.
People like that were hard to deal with.
Although she didn’t fully understand what “good impression” meant, she knew she couldn’t ruin her son’s future.
So she clenched her teeth and let them take it.
As for Sun Xiumei—let her go. She was pregnant anyway; staying home would just be troublesome.
She would deal with them later, after her son successfully married the leader’s daughter.
A rebellious son is still a rebellious son—childhood tied to grandmother, adulthood tied to wife.
She should never have given birth to him in the first place.
Meanwhile, Wu XiuXiu had no idea that the secret she tried so hard to hide had already been spread throughout the village by neighbor Aunt Wu.