After all, her husband had spoken. Lu Xiumin obediently lowered her head and apologized awkwardly to Lin Xiyun.
“Fourth Aunt, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m sorry.”
Lin Xiyun had something much bigger planned, so she couldn’t be bothered over such a trivial matter.
“It’s fine.”
As she spoke, she glanced at the dishes on the table. The Lu family’s meals were usually decent—stewed cabbage, pickled radish, and a plate of braised green beans with a few precious pieces of pork mixed in.
A mischievous grin spread across her face as she pinched Lu Xiumin’s little nose.
“Xiuxiu, as punishment, your piece of meat is mine tonight.”
“What?!” Lu Xiumin nearly jumped out of her seat.
One sentence, and her only piece of meat for the day was gone?
Lin Xiyun pressed a hand dramatically to her forehead. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zhao Jinlan and Lu Aiguo watching. Instantly, she transformed into a frail beauty worthy of an ancient drama.
“It’s alright. Even though Second Sister-in-law and Xiuxiu upset me so much that my head is hurting again… I’m generous. I’ll just endure it.”
She looked like the picture of patient suffering.
…If you ignored her rosy complexion.
Zhao Jinlan, holding the family’s serving ladle, nearly dropped it after hearing those three parts pitiful, four parts delicate words.
Fortunately, it was only watery porridge.
After twitching at the corners of her mouth, she placed the thinnest bowl of porridge—barely containing a few grains of rice—in front of Li Zhaodi before serving everyone else.
Li Zhaodi: “…”
She looked down at her bowl of rice water, then at the bowls in front of her sisters-in-law, where actual grains of rice were visible.
Her fists clenched beneath the table.
This is unfair!
When it came time to divide the meat, everyone’s eyes locked onto Zhao Jinlan’s hands.
Even though the Lu family lived relatively well, meat certainly wasn’t an everyday luxury.
After savoring the feeling of controlling the household’s food distribution, Zhao Jinlan finally began serving.
“Same rules as always. Those who earn wages get two pieces each. Everyone else gets one.”
Then she glanced at Lin Xiyun, who was still holding her head.
After a brief pause, she added,
“Fourth Daughter-in-law is still recovering, so she’ll get two extra pieces to nourish herself.”
Even so, Zhao Jinlan couldn’t hide her favoritism. She still secretly gave her youngest son and eldest grandson two extra pieces each, claiming,
“There happened to be two leftovers.”
Who was she fooling?
She counted the meat before cooking it. There was no such thing as “extra.”
Li Zhaodi looked around.
Among all the adults…
She was the only one receiving the same amount of meat as the children.
Grinding her teeth, she protested,
“Mom, I’m the one who takes care of everything around the house every day! Why don’t I get the same as Sister-in-law?”
Zhao Jinlan had just picked up a cornbread bun when she heard that.
She shot Li Zhaodi a vicious glare and slammed her hand on the table.
“You take care of everything?”
“Then tell me—who’s been hiding in her room every evening these past few days while Da Ya and Er Ya cleaned up the kitchen?”
“I…”
Li Zhaodi instantly lowered her head.
“’I’ what?”
“You’re an expert at slacking off! You eat like a pig. Do you think you’ll sell by the pound during New Year’s? You’ve got the nerve to demand more meat?”
The scolding left Li Zhaodi completely speechless.
She tugged helplessly at Lu Gongxi’s sleeve.
He didn’t even move.
She fumed.
Just as she lowered her head to eat her only precious piece of meat—
Whoosh!
A pair of chopsticks darted in like lightning.
Her meat…
Was…
Gone.
Li Zhaodi’s mind went blank.
She looked up in disbelief.
“Lin Xiyun!”
Lin Xiyun calmly chewed every piece of stolen meat before smiling brightly at her furious sister-in-law.
“Second Sister-in-law, didn’t I just say my head was hurting because you upset me?”
“I need to nourish myself.”
Sitting beside her, Lu Xiumin heard those words and immediately abandoned the idea of watching the drama.
She shoved her own piece of meat into her mouth in one bite and covered her bowl protectively.
Relief spread across her face.
Good thing my reflexes are fast.
The adults naturally noticed her tiny movements.
Lin Xiyun smiled faintly but said nothing.
Li Zhaodi’s face alternated between green and white with rage.
She turned desperately toward Zhao Jinlan.
Normally, her mother-in-law never favored the Fourth Household. Surely she’d stand up for her this time.
“Mom! Aren’t you going to do something?”
“Lin Xiyun doesn’t do any work around the house, yet she gets as much meat as you and Dad! Fine, whatever!”
“But I’m her elder sister-in-law! How can she openly bully me like this?”
Zhang Lijuan quietly fed one of her own pieces of meat to her daughter.
Watching Li Zhaodi’s behavior, mockery flashed across her eyes.
Idiot.
The old lady had been treating Lin Xiyun like royalty these past few days.
It was obvious she wanted something from her.
Lin Xiyun knew it.
And Zhao Jinlan certainly knew it.
Picking a fight with her now?
Li Zhaodi was asking to lose.
Sure enough…
Zhao Jinlan remained completely calm, acting as if she hadn’t seen anything.
She merely glanced sideways at Li Zhaodi.
“You’re a grown woman. So what if you missed one piece of meat?”
“It’s not like you’ll never eat meat again.”
“Finish your meal and get back to work.”
“And if I catch you making my granddaughters do your work again, I’ll slap you so hard your head spins.”
Lin Xiyun paid no attention to the argument.
She had already figured out what Zhao Jinlan was thinking.
She ate quickly.
Mainly because…
Food from this era simply wasn’t very good.
The coarse cornbread scraped her throat, and the porridge was thin.
As long as it filled her stomach, that was enough.
Thank goodness I didn’t transmigrate into a farming village.
Otherwise I’d have to earn work points in the fields and eat even worse food. People there might not taste meat more than a few times a year.
She finished the last mouthful of porridge gracefully, cleared her throat, and looked toward the head of the table.
“Dad. Mom.”
“Now that everyone’s here, there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”
“I think it’s time I told the whole family.”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the petite, fair-skinned young woman.
Waiting.
Lin Xiyun spoke clearly.
Dropping a bombshell.
“I want to divide the family.”
The announcement exploded like thunder.
Everyone at the table was stunned.
“What did you say?!”
Ironically, the first person to scream wasn’t Zhao Jinlan.
It was Li Zhaodi.
She stared at Lin Xiyun as though she’d gone completely insane.
Did that fall knock her brain loose?
She was lazy.
She loved good food.
She refused to work.
If the family split…
How was she supposed to survive by herself?
Lin Xiyun rubbed her ear, nearly deafened by Li Zhaodi’s shriek.
She frowned.
“Are you my father-in-law?”
“Or my mother-in-law?”
“Since when is this your decision?”
“Mind your own business.”
“No.”
Zhao Jinlan finally recovered from the shock.
She silenced Li Zhaodi with a glance before firmly refusing.
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
Her cloudy eyes fixed on Lin Xiyun.
Suppressing the harsh words she wanted to say, she forced herself to speak patiently.
“Xiyun…”
“Our family’s been getting along just fine lately.”
“Nobody’s making you work.”
“Why would you suddenly think about splitting the family?”
The implication was obvious.
You’re the one making trouble.
She pointed toward Li Zhaodi.
Playing the role of the reasonable elder, she continued,
“You know what your second sister-in-law is like.”
“Her mouth can be sharp, but her heart isn’t bad.”
“If it really bothers you, I’ll keep a closer eye on her.”
“Your husband isn’t home. Living alone isn’t easy.”
“With the whole family together, everyone can help each other.”
“Brothers and sisters supporting one another—that’s how families live.”
“After all, what family doesn’t have a little bickering now and then?”