“Don’t call me Mom! You’re not my mom!”
……
The most terrifying moment is when the air suddenly goes quiet.
Xin Hongmei, the second daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, also instinctively slowed her movements in the kitchen and pricked up her ears.
Who’s whose mom?
Fan Cuixiang’s expression grew even uglier.
Her gaze at Meng Yu seemed to want to kill her with her eyes!
Meng Yu didn’t care. After putting the dishes back in the kitchen, she smiled and walked over to Fan Cuixiang, snatching the broom from her hands.
“Mom, you rest, I’ll sweep!”
With that, she nimbly started sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard.
Go, Meng Yu! It’s just housework; she’d seen it on TV!
“Cough… cough cough cough!”
“Wah… wah wah wah… Grandma! Choking!”
The adults coughed, the child cried, and leaves and dust flew everywhere!
But the culprit just stared and kept working!
She had to prove her worth in the Zhou family! Otherwise, if she really got sent away, she’d be the one crying!
“Stop! Stop it!”
Fan Cuixiang held the little grandson tightly, screaming!
Meng Yu didn’t listen at all!
Zhou Sinian and Zhou Fengnian, the two brothers, each carried a bucket of water home and from afar saw the dust storm erupting in the yard.
“Brother, did a sandstorm hit our house?”
Zhou Fengnian looked bewildered.
Zhou Sinian quickened his pace, yet not a drop spilled from his buckets.
At a distance unaffected by the dust storm, the brothers set down the water and rushed inside.
“Cough cough!”
As soon as Zhou Fengnian entered, he couldn’t help coughing, covering his mouth with his hand while squinting to look for his wife, child, and mother.
Zhou Sinian, however, immediately spotted the culprit in the dust.
He took big strides forward and snatched away the tool responsible!
“Huh?”
Meng Yu, busy working, froze in surprise, and as she looked up dumbly, a lot of dust entered her lungs.
“Cough cough cough! Oh heavens…”
Five minutes later, the dust outside gradually settled after the chaos stopped. Meanwhile, on the kang in the east room, Fan Cuixiang sat holding her grandson Xiao Bao with a scowl, her gaze at Meng Yu filled with disgust.
Meng Yu awkwardly rubbed her fingers.
The atmosphere was tense. She quickly glanced around and spoke timidly:
“Mom, I’m sorry, I just wanted to help a little…”
But she had overestimated herself; not only was her work questionable, she almost caused the whole family to choke from the dust!
Fan Cuixiang trembled with anger just hearing Meng Yu speak!
“Shut your mouth!” She then turned to glare at Zhou Sinian. “Send her away! She must go!”
True or not, they at least got the eldest son married.
But what exactly had they brought home? Sweeping the yard was a simple task, yet this person nearly choked the whole family!
The scene of dust flying everywhere still gave Fan Cuixiang goosebumps thinking about it. She thought for sure the whole family might get buried alive!
Impossible. This daughter-in-law was absolutely unacceptable.
Meng Yu quickly looked at Zhou Sinian with big, pitiful eyes.
They had agreed on this…
Zhou Sinian glanced at Meng Yu, then at his mother’s dust-covered face.
“Mom, about this…”
“Is the eldest daughter-in-law home? Oh, what happened to the yard? Did you start cleaning?”
The last sentence was filled with endless excitement!
Then came hurried, excited footsteps heading toward the east room.
Fan Cuixiang’s expression stiffened, giving Meng Yu a warning glare.
“Don’t speak too much later!”
Just as she finished speaking, the door opened.
Zhou family’s second aunt, Dong Xiufang, with sharp eyes, scanned everyone and walked in with a smile.
“Oh, you’re all here? What’s going on? Everyone’s so dirty…”
Her gaze landed on Meng Yu, carrying a deeper meaning.
“Eldest sister-in-law, you too. Even if the eldest daughter-in-law displeases you, you can’t just hit her on the first day, right?”
Fan Cuixiang was so angry she could hardly breathe!
Meng Yu looked at Dong Xiufang.
The book had mentioned her—an utterly bad person. Her mother-in-law had suffered plenty under this co-sister-in-law, and the original owner of the body had been coaxed into doing many foolish things by Dong Xiufang.
Even when Zhou Sinian broke his leg rescuing someone, it was Dong Xiufang who instigated the original owner to take money and spread rumors before running away.
Thinking of this, Meng Yu tilted her head.
“Aunt, so did you hit Wanxia on the second day?”
“Huh?”
Dong Xiufang was stunned, looking at Meng Yu in surprise.
Though Meng Yu looked plain and small, she stood straight with a tuft of hair sticking up.
“Didn’t you just say, the first day we can’t hit a daughter-in-law? So it was on the second day?”
“I…”
“Ah.” Meng Yu didn’t give her a chance to explain. She sighed and continued, “Why should women make life hard for other women, right, Aunt? You should learn this from my mom. My mom never hits her daughters-in-law. She understands how hard it is to be one and treats me and my second brother’s wife so well, right, Mom?”
She praised one and defended the other.
Not only did she subtly put down Dong Xiufang, but Fan Cuixiang also straightened her back!
Who said this daughter-in-law was bad? She was wonderful!
Because she lost her husband, she had suffered under the second family for years.
Finally seeing Dong Xiufang get embarrassed, Fan Cuixiang felt some of the long-held frustration in her heart dissipate!
She cleared her throat.
“That’s right. If you marry into our family, you’re part of the Zhou family. You should be treated like a real daughter.”
Dong Xiufang was fuming! She came to watch the drama, so when did they get to lecture her?
She scanned Meng Yu with a fake smile.
“The eldest sister-in-law is right, but young ones don’t know their limits. As elders, we must guide them, or else they’ll embarrass the Zhou family in public!”
Having said that, she still glared at Meng Yu.
Meng Yu nodded with understanding.
“You’re right, Aunt. I will always listen to my mom, honor her, and never bring shame to the Zhou family.”
Dong Xiufang was speechless.
She had just subtly mocked the new daughter-in-law for being naive, but Meng Yu immediately obediently gave a promise. It felt like a fist hitting cotton—utterly powerless.
Dong Xiufang was so angry her wrinkled face darkened.
Fan Cuixiang, however, nodded in satisfaction.
“Aunt told you this for your own good. Aren’t you going to thank her?”
Meng Yu raised her eyebrows at her mother-in-law.
She hadn’t let her off the hook either.
But she still smiled warmly at Dong Xiufang, expressing her sincerest gratitude:
“Thank you, Aunt.”
Dong Xiufang, humiliated, felt as if her lungs might explode. She tugged at her mouth corner, unable to enjoy the fun and left with a belly full of anger.
“Good, you remember. I still have things to do at home, so I’ll go first.”
Meng Yu naturally escorted her to the gate and cheerfully waved goodbye.
“If you have time to come by, Aunt, I love listening to you talk. You treat the young ones like family. You can point out things my mom doesn’t get to mention. That’s wonderful!”