August 5, 2026, 15:43:13
Author: Pang Woniu Hen Lan
“The third son is getting married to Educated Youth Feng!”
Everyone in the An family knew that their third son had been looking for a suitable marriage partner, but no one had expected him to end up marrying Educated Youth Feng.
After everyone else in the An family returned, An’s mother announced the major news.
Although the third son’s marriage was ultimately his own business, she still felt she needed to tell everyone clearly. After all, they would all be living together under the same roof in the future.
“Third Brother, not bad! You kept this pretty quiet. When did you manage to win over Educated Youth Feng?”
An’s eldest brother patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
An’s second brother was happy for him as well. He had heard that Educated Youth Feng came from a well-off family and that she and his younger brother made a pretty good match.
“Congratulations, Third Brother!”
The youngest son of the An family also congratulated his third brother.
By right, the third brother should have been the first to get married, since there was an order of seniority among the brothers.
But Third Brother had been serving in the military and had never met a suitable woman. Meanwhile, his younger brother had been eager to bring Tingting into the family, so he ended up getting married before his older brother. Now, he even had a child.
But with Third Brother getting married soon, he would have to hurry and bring his wife and daughter back from his mother-in-law’s home.
Men were generally straightforward and didn’t tend to overthink things. Their brother was getting married, so naturally, they were happy for him.
The two daughters-in-law, however, were another matter.
They immediately felt as if they were facing a powerful enemy.
“Ma, wait… weren’t you always fond of Wang Xiaofang? How did she suddenly get replaced? And by an educated youth at that!”
The eldest daughter-in-law of the An family was completely stunned.
“Don’t mention Wang Xiaofang to me! I haven’t even had the chance to settle accounts with her yet!”
An’s mother was still furious whenever Wang Xiaofang was mentioned.
She simply didn’t have time to deal with her right now. Her son only had a few days of leave, so she needed to get the marriage arrangements settled first. She could deal with Wang Xiaofang afterward.
The second daughter-in-law knew that she had little standing in the family. She had given birth to four daughters and had no son to support her, so she didn’t dare say much, afraid that she might get scolded.
She had clearly seen Educated Youth Feng coming out of the third son’s room earlier. The eldest sister-in-law must have missed it and hadn’t seen her.
An’s father smoked his dry tobacco, his face full of worry.
This Educated Youth Feng really was…
He was an old farmer and didn’t even know how to put it into words. A delicate, pampered girl like her simply didn’t seem suited to a family like theirs.
A girl like Educated Youth Feng obviously had to come from a very well-off family. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been raised with such a temperament.
The two families simply didn’t seem compatible.
“Third Son, are you really sure about this?”
An’s father looked at his third son.
If his son truly liked her, it wasn’t impossible.
After all, what man didn’t like a pretty woman? There was nothing wrong with liking someone beautiful. Besides, his son earned a good military allowance and could afford to support her.
“Dad, I’ve made up my mind.”
An Jianjun nodded.
“All right, then. Old woman, hurry up and start making the preparations. As for the bride price… just prepare the same as we did for Fourth Son’s wife.”
An’s father felt they shouldn’t go overboard with the third daughter-in-law. Fourth Son’s wife was also from the city, and there was only a little over a year between their marriages. It would be best to prepare the same things they had prepared for Fourth Son’s wife. That way, the other daughters-in-law wouldn’t have anything to complain about.
“Mm, that’s what I was thinking too.”
An’s mother nodded.
As for how much of his own money her son wanted to spend on his wife, that was his business. As far as the family was concerned, they would only provide this much.
“Ahem… But you all know what the third daughter-in-law is like. She didn’t make any other demands or give us any trouble. She only asked for one thing: after marriage, she doesn’t want to work in the fields for work points. You all know she isn’t suited for this kind of work anyway.”
To be honest, An’s mother wouldn’t even feel comfortable letting her work in the fields.
She didn’t want the girl to work all year only for the family to have to make up the shortfall with grain to the production team at the end of the year.
“Ma, why should she get special treatment?! We’re all your daughters-in-law, so why are you treating us differently? Second Sister-in-law and I are treated like servants who have to do all the work, while Third Brother’s wife gets to live like a young lady. She won’t even have to work after she marries into the family. You’re being way too biased!”
The eldest daughter-in-law immediately became unhappy.
She had already been dissatisfied when Fourth Son got married because the bride price his wife received had been much more than what she and the second daughter-in-law had received.
And now this third daughter-in-law didn’t even have to work.
Were they really bringing her into the family just to sit around and look pretty?
“You don’t get to speak like that in this family!”
An’s mother glared at her.
“Why does she get special treatment? Because my third son earns more! How much have all of you benefited from him? So what if his wife does a little less work?”
“Did your son not spend the five yuan Third Son sent home? Have you not used all kinds of ration coupons and other tickets he sent? And now you’re asking why she gets special treatment? Why should Third Son have to support all of you?”
If the eldest daughter-in-law hadn’t said anything, An’s mother might have still felt a little guilty. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted the ten yuan her son had given her.
But the moment the eldest daughter-in-law started arguing with her, An’s mother’s temper immediately flared.
Of everyone in the family, she was the least qualified to say such things.
Did she really think An’s mother was old and blind and didn’t know what was going on?
Most of the household chores were done by the second daughter-in-law, while the eldest daughter-in-law spent most of her time slacking off and avoiding work.
Whenever there was work to be done, she was nowhere to be found.
But when it was time to eat, she could eat enough for two people.
If An’s mother hadn’t turned a blind eye for the sake of the grandson she had given her, she would have dealt with her long ago.
“Th-then… she still can’t just do nothing, right? Second Sister-in-law, you say something!”
The eldest daughter-in-law tried to get the second daughter-in-law to join her protest.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, whether one person does a little more or a little less work, it’s all the same.”
She didn’t dare say anything more.
She had no son to rely on, so she lacked confidence even when speaking. All she could do was work a little harder and hope that her parents-in-law wouldn’t be angry with her.
“You’re such a goody-goody!”
The eldest daughter-in-law rolled her eyes in frustration.
What a fool. Wouldn’t it be better to have another person sharing the household chores?
Seeing this, An’s eldest brother quickly pulled his wife aside.
“What nonsense are you talking about? My younger sister-in-law is from the city. Isn’t it normal that she isn’t used to this kind of work? Besides, Third Brother is supporting her. She doesn’t depend on work points from the fields to survive. Why are you comparing yourself to her? Why don’t you compare your family backgrounds instead?”
“Oh, so that’s how it is, An Jianguo! You look down on me now, don’t you?!”
The eldest sister-in-law immediately started shouting at her husband.
“My family wasn’t well-off, but you insisted on marrying me anyway! And now that I’ve given you both sons and daughters, you’re saying this to me?!”
An Jianguo was not good at arguing with his wife. He scratched his head anxiously.
“I… I didn’t mean it that way!”
“What are you shouting about?! Is your voice the loudest or something?!”
An’s mother shouted once.
The entire room immediately fell silent.
An Jianjun had been worried that his two sisters-in-law would resent his wife, which was why he had suggested to his mother that he contribute an additional ten yuan every month.
He immediately said, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother, please tell Fourth Sister-in-law as well. From now on, I’ll give the family an additional ten yuan every month. That means I’ll be giving the family fifteen yuan a month in total, along with some ration coupons and other tickets. I hope you won’t make too many demands of her.”
“She doesn’t need to work in the fields for work points. I can support her. As for the household chores, I’ll have to trouble Big Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, and Fourth Sister-in-law to take care of a little more.”
Although he hadn’t really interacted with Feng Jiaojiao, based on her reaction yesterday, he could already tell a few things.
Feng Jiaojiao was clearly a girl who had been spoiled by her family.
Her skin was so fair and delicate that it seemed almost translucent, and her little hands were unbelievably soft. There was no way she looked like someone who had ever done farm work.
So he had to make the arrangements in advance.
An’s mother knew that too much could easily become counterproductive.
“How about this? From that fifteen yuan, we’ll set aside two yuan each month for the eldest and second daughters-in-law. They can each have two yuan as spending money. As for the household chores, we simply won’t count on the third daughter-in-law.”
When the eldest daughter-in-law heard that Third Brother would be giving the family fifteen yuan every month, and that she would also receive two yuan in spending money, her attitude immediately changed.
“Oh, we’re all family here! Why be so formal about it? Third Brother, don’t worry. From now on, Big Sister-in-law will take care of all the household chores. I promise I won’t let your wife tire herself out.”
As for why Fourth Son’s wife hadn’t been mentioned, that was because Fourth Son’s wife was currently nursing her baby and didn’t have to work in the fields either.
The second daughter-in-law was even happier.
An extra two yuan a month meant more than twenty yuan saved over the course of a year. Naturally, she was delighted.
“All right. Since we’ve reached an agreement, hurry up and start making the preparations.”
Seeing the eldest daughter-in-law’s eyes light up at the mention of money, An’s mother knew that the matter had been settled for the time being.