On the way home, Meng Yu remained silent, striding ahead with long, determined steps.
Zhou Sinian followed behind her, calm and unhurried.
But his eyes were full of curiosity.
While he was still pondering, he was suddenly met with a pair of cold, calm eyes, making him jump in surprise.
“What are you looking at? If you really suspect me, then just arrest me. That way you don’t have to scan me like an X-ray every single day!”
The young lady was in a foul mood, and Zhou Sinian was still scrutinizing her, so naturally, her temper exploded like a powder keg.
Zhou Sinian was completely caught off guard. Especially after hearing Meng Yu’s words, he had no idea what she meant.
So when Meng Yu shot him an angry glare, Zhou Sinian furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and finally asked, “What’s an X-ray?”
He had never heard of such a thing.
Meng Yu: …
Her anger deflated instantly, like a balloon that hadn’t exploded but just went limp.
She gave Zhou Sinian a look of speechless disbelief.
Meng Yu realized that this man was completely different from what she had imagined. His mind was entirely analyzing her identity; her little burst of anger didn’t register at all.
Alright.
Impressive.
Meng Yu couldn’t help but nod in silent admiration, then turned and walked away.
Talking any more to someone like him would just make her furious!
Watching Meng Yu walk away without hesitation, Zhou Sinian frowned even deeper.
Why wouldn’t she answer his question?
She still had questions!
And so the two of them—one guessing, one annoyed—headed back to Shiniuzi Village.
When they got home, it was still before noon. Fan Cuixiang had taken the little one to cut pig fodder, and Zhou Fengnian and Xin Hongmei had gone to work.
Bang!
The door was slammed shut with force.
Zhou Sinian rubbed his nose.
He was completely innocent—hadn’t done anything, yet got a slap in the face.
Thinking it over, he returned to the east storage room, changed his clothes, and went to work.
Fan Cuixiang came back with a basket on her back, holding the little one, and saw Meng Yu sitting in the courtyard.
Seeing her return, Fan Cuixiang immediately looked for her son.
“He went to work.”
Meng Yu answered.
Fan Cuixiang nodded.
With this eldest daughter-in-law, she truly didn’t know what to say—especially after Meng Yu’s previous exploits, which had left her utterly stunned.
So Fan Cuixiang pulled her little grandson toward the kitchen.
“Mom.”
Fan Cuixiang turned to look at Meng Yu.
“W-what’s wrong?”
She still wasn’t used to being called “Mom.”
Meng Yu took out the 38 yuan and handed it to Fan Cuixiang.
“This is the dowry I took back from the Meng family. It’s for you.”
Seeing the bundle of money, Fan Cuixiang was shocked.
“You two robbed the Meng family???”
The scream made her stumble back two steps.
Meng Yu paused, then asked a question that left Fan Cuixiang speechless.
“Mom, do you think your son would do something like robbery?”
It was as if Fan Cuixiang had just realized, and she quickly nodded.
“Yes, yes. Sinian is a good child. He would never do something like that.”
She cast a discreet glance at Meng Yu.
Her son wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean this daughter-in-law wouldn’t.
“Here.”
Meng Yu pushed the money forward again, which scared Fan Cuixiang into stepping back another two steps with the little one.
“No, no.” Fan Cuixiang waved her hands frantically. “This is the Meng family’s dowry. Whoever married in, it belongs to them naturally. I don’t want it.”
With that, she grabbed the little grandson and rushed into the kitchen like a bolt.
It was as if she feared that if she was even a second slower, this hot potato would be shoved into her hands.
Meng Yu glanced at her rapidly fleeing mother-in-law, then at the bundle of money in her hand.
She even held it up close, examining it carefully.
“Yes, it’s money, not a landmine.”
Why was her mother-in-law acting like this?
By the time everyone returned for lunch, Fan Cuixiang had pulled Zhou Sinian aside to explain everything clearly. She also told her eldest son what had happened—how Meng Yu had tried to give her the dowry money, but she ran off.
Hearing this, Zhou Sinian looked at his mother, noticing the faintly proud expression on her face, and pressed his lips together.
He recalled what Meng Doyu had said before: if Meng Jixiang married in, his mother wouldn’t be sharp enough to notice. And now, it was fully demonstrated.
Sigh.
“Mom, why didn’t you take it?”
Fan Cuixiang waved her hand.
“I know a bit about the Meng family. Your father-in-law is stingy to the bone. Who knows how hard it would have been to get that money back?” She looked at her eldest son again. “Besides, if it’s agreed as dowry money, it’s your small family’s money. As long as you live well, what do I need it for?”
Getting a little emotional, Fan Cuixiang wiped her eyes.
“If you can come back and live in the house, I’d be even happier—”
“Enough, Mom. Let’s eat. We still have work this afternoon.”
Zhou Sinian cut her off and went into the kitchen.
“Sinian! You’ve made me so angry!”
Meng Yu glanced at Zhou Sinian, then at her mother-in-law, whose face showed displeasure, and said nothing.
Lunch was coarse rice porridge with big flatbreads made of cornmeal. You had to stretch your neck to bite a piece of the bread, then drink a sip of porridge to wash it down.
Meng Yu ate just a little and set her chopsticks down, half alive, half dead.
Seeing her put down the chopsticks, Zhou Sinian glanced at her.
“Can’t eat?”
Meng Yu shook her head.
“Full.”
No matter how brave she was, she wouldn’t say she wasn’t used to the food.
Zhou Sinian looked at her deeply but didn’t comment further.
After lunch, when Meng Yu tried to help clear the dishes, Fan Cuixiang chased her away like a thief.
“Don’t make a mess. If you really want to work, you can—”
Fan Cuixiang paused mid-sentence.
Seeing Meng Yu’s big, shining eyes, Fan Cuixiang sighed.
“Just sit on a stool for a while.”
After all, after thinking it over, there was nothing at home that she could do better than Meng Yu.
Meng Yu awkwardly scratched her head, a bit disappointed, and stepped out of the kitchen.
Then she obediently grabbed a small stool and sat at the courtyard gate, resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly into the distance.
Zhou Sinian glanced at her but didn’t disturb her.
Xin Hongmei, carrying a child into the east room, noticed the thin figure at the gate and was curious.
“Mom, did you scold her?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Fan Cuixiang gave her second daughter-in-law a look, took the little grandson, and glanced at Meng Yu.
“Who knows what’s going on in her head? None of my business.”
She hadn’t even taken the money, letting the eldest daughter-in-law keep it. Could there be a better mother-in-law in the whole village?
Xin Hongmei noticed her mother-in-law was a little angry, so she didn’t dare speak. But soon, she pulled her mother.
“Mom! Mom, look! The second daughter-in-law is talking to the eldest daughter-in-law!”
Fan Cuixiang immediately shot to the window, her eyes glued to the courtyard gate.
The second household wasn’t easy to deal with, full of scheming. Her eldest daughter-in-law shouldn’t be naive enough to be tricked by Dong Xiufang.