Yu Chunmiao felt that her new mother-in-law, Chen Ruolan, wasn’t bad. Getting along with her didn’t seem too difficult, which made her feel a little relieved. Still, she just smiled politely at Chen Ruolan.
Chen Ruolan noticed the smile and felt a flicker of surprise. Didn’t she say this girl never laughed? Why was she smiling now? Her lips twitched involuntarily.
Qi Rong walked to his brother Qi Chong’s room. His eldest brother sat on the bed, carefully wiping a knife with a handkerchief.
“Big brother, your new daughter-in-law is here,” Qi Rong said with a grin. “She might really be a fool. Watch this—look at her expressions!” He pointed at Yu Chunmiao, making faces: one sticking out a tongue, one winking, and one grimacing.
Everyone in Laosong Village said Yu Chunmiao was a fool. What they didn’t understand was that she wasn’t stupid—she was just withdrawn. She rarely spoke, rarely laughed, rarely cried. The person she had loved most in the world had died, leaving her heart numb.
For four years, she hadn’t smiled or wept. Even when her cruel sister-in-law struck her with a fire poker, she accepted it expressionlessly.
Qi Chong sneered. “Wife? I don’t want one. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Qi Rong sat beside him, whispering, “Should I tell Mother? Don’t make her angry—she coughed again today. Better not upset her.”
Qi Chong put down the knife, grabbed his crutch, and maneuvered himself off the bed with practiced movements. He placed his injured left leg carefully on the edge of the bed for support, then rolled over to a small round table and sat down.
“So free today, huh? Aren’t you supposed to be digging wild vegetables?” he snapped at Qi Rong.
Qi Rong, obedient as ever, slumped down beside him. “Mother said the new sister-in-law arrived today. I was told to stay home, not run around. I’ll kill a chicken at noon, and you’ll get a big leg later.”
As he spoke, Qi Rong swallowed hard. The last time he had eaten chicken had been six months ago, a rare treat his second brother, Qi Yuan, had brought from work as a carpenter’s apprentice.
Qi Rong thought of the second brother returning in a month. By then, he would have earned some money from carpentry, which could help improve the family’s life, though it still wouldn’t be easy. After earning, they would need to spend 30 taels of silver on treatment for the eldest brother’s injured leg.
In the past, when their father was alive, a wild boar weighing over 200 jin could earn only three taels of silver. How many days of work would it take Qi Yuan to cover this medical cost?
“Yun’er, call your brother for lunch,” Chen Ruolan’s voice came from outside.
Qi Chong reluctantly had Qi Rong get up and go out. As Qi Rong left the room, he muttered under his breath, “Your wife is actually quite beautiful. Do you really not want her?”
He had meant to comment on the appearance of his “foolish” sister-in-law, but the cold glance from his eldest brother shut him up immediately. Better not provoke him.
Qi Rong went to the stove, arranging dishes and chopsticks with practiced skill. On the dining table, a large pot of chicken soup steamed, filling the air with a rich aroma that made his mouth water.
Chen Ruolan opened the steamer and brought out some wild vegetables. Yu Chunmiao took them carefully, and Chen Ruolan smiled again, slightly surprised.
“You’re the new wife now,” Chen Ruolan said gently. “You don’t have to work. Just sit and eat.” She placed the bowl in front of Yu Chunmiao.
Lunch consisted of simple wild vegetables, fragrant chicken soup, and a plate of pickles—a humble but warm welcome.
Chen Ruolan glanced toward Qi Chong’s room and asked Qi Rong, “Your brother still isn’t coming out for dinner?”
Qi Rong had already taken his seat at the dining table, his eyes fixed on the steaming bowl of chicken soup. “He said his leg hurts. I’ll help him to the table later.”
Chen Ruolan frowned slightly but said no more.
Yu Chunmiao lingered by the stove, hesitant to sit.
“Chunmiao, come on, have your meal,” Chen Ruolan encouraged warmly.
Yu Chunmiao’s fingers nervously pinched the edge of her clothes. In the original owner’s memories, she had rarely been allowed to sit at the table. If she did, it could be considered a minor offense—and Yu Daman would beat her for it.
She didn’t know whether women in this era were forbidden from sitting at the table, or if it was only allowed for the mother-in-law. Once, her cruel sister-in-law had even invited her enthusiastically, only for her to be slapped twice by Yu Daman and locked in the woodshed during a bitter winter, almost freezing to death. That day, her own portion of food had gone straight to her sister-in-law’s stomach, leaving her empty-handed.
Now, facing this kind-hearted new mother-in-law, she hesitated. Would this woman follow the same cruel rules, or would she actually allow her to sit?
Qi Rong watched Yu Chunmiao silently. To him, she seemed just as foolish as everyone said. Chicken soup was ready, yet she still hadn’t moved. He tapped his small foot anxiously on the floor tiles beneath the table: *dudududu…*
“There are no such rules here,” Chen Ruolan said firmly, pressing her gently into a chair. She placed a large bowl of chicken soup and a chicken leg before her. “Eat. Our family is poor and can’t afford a proper wedding feast, but this is your welcome meal. Don’t be picky.”
She then turned to the pot, coughed lightly, and set aside a few pieces of chicken. “This is for your brother. I’ll bring it to him later.”
Qi Rong immediately dug in, drinking a whole bowl of soup in one go, serving himself more, and gnawing at the meat with care. He savored even the tough pieces, holding onto every bit that could be eaten.
Chen Ruolan reached for another chicken leg to add to his portion, then paused and placed it in the eldest brother’s bowl. “Leave the meat for your big brother. You’re still sick—eat well.”
Yu Chunmiao’s heart warmed at the sight of this considerate little brother-in-law. She realized she had come to a good family—one where the children had been taught filial piety and thoughtfulness, despite hardships. Her own eyes sharpened, honed from ten years of surviving in a male-dominated workplace; she could quickly tell who was kind and who was cruel.
She took a big mouthful of wild vegetables, sipped some chicken soup, and carefully moved a chicken leg into Qi Rong’s bowl. Qi Rong paused mid-bite and looked at her, surprised. Yu Chunmiao smiled softly at him.
“The new sister-in-law is strange… but lovely,” he thought.
“What are you doing for him? You should eat it yourself,” Chen Ruolan said, reaching to take the chicken leg back.
Yu Chunmiao gently grabbed it from her mother-in-law’s hand. “I like to eat this.”
It was the first time Yu Chunmiao had spoken since arriving in this house. The gentle sound surprised not only her mother-in-law and Qi Rong, but herself as well.
“Oh my… my voice,” she thought. It was soft, calm, and completely unlike the slightly rough tone she had carried in her previous life.