Her mother-in-law had sent her to check whether her sister-in-law was awake. Even though she was afraid, she couldn’t refuse. At worst, she would just get scolded by her sister-in-law.
“I’m awake, Second Sister-in-law. Come in.”
The scolding she had expected never came.
Zhang Yue pushed open the door and saw Xu Tang sitting up with a bandage wrapped around her head.
Zhang Yue hadn’t expected her sister-in-law’s injuries to be this serious. She hurried over.
“Tangtang, lie down quickly. What if your wound starts bleeding again?”
Otherwise, her mother-in-law would surely chew her out. Everyone in the village knew that Zhao Guifang loved her daughter the most.
Whenever someone said anything bad about Xu Tang, her mother-in-law could stand in front of that person and scold them for an entire day and night.
That was why Zhang Yue feared her mother-in-law the most, with Xu Tang coming second—because Xu Tang’s temper was almost exactly like her mother-in-law’s.
“It’s fine, Second Sister-in-law. I feel much better after taking the medicine.”
Xu Tang wasn’t worried about anyone becoming suspicious. There was no doubt that she was Xu Tang. Everyone would simply assume that hitting her head had caused her personality to change.
Zhang Yue was also puzzled that Xu Tang wasn’t speaking with her usual sharp, sarcastic tone today. But she attributed it to her sister-in-law’s serious injury and didn’t think much of it.
“Tangtang, the chicken soup is ready. I’ll bring some over for you. You should drink it while it’s still hot. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold.”
“Okay. Thank you, Second Sister-in-law.”
Xu Tang was getting a little hungry too.
“I’ll bring it right over.”
After saying that, Zhang Yue quickly left the room.
As she walked away, she patted her chest.
Her little sister-in-law actually said thank you! How terrifying! How terrifying!
In the kitchen, her mother-in-law was stewing chicken soup for her daughter.
Her eldest sister-in-law, Liu Ermei, had originally offered to make it and told her mother-in-law to go rest, but Zhao Guifang was afraid they might sneak some chicken to eat, so she insisted on making it herself.
Zhang Yue looked at the several little heads peeking around the kitchen doorway. Their mouths were practically watering onto the floor.
Her heart ached slightly.
In this era, even eating one’s fill was difficult, let alone eating meat. Meat was something people usually only had during festivals and special occasions. Families who were struggling might not even get to eat meat once throughout the entire year.
When Zhang Yue had first married into the family, her little sister-in-law could eat eggs and meat every few days. Her mother-in-law would even occasionally go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy her daughter snacks.
There was never any share for the grandchildren.
Both Zhang Yue and her eldest sister-in-law had been somewhat dissatisfied about that.
Until one time, her mother-in-law had said, “I can afford to give my daughter good food. That’s because your father-in-law and I have the ability to do so. You two don’t have the ability to give your own children good food, so do you expect us to provide it for them too? If you can’t stand it, then we’ll divide the household.”
That had frightened the two older brothers terribly.
After all, it was an unspoken rule in the village that parents and sons did not separate households while the parents were still alive. Otherwise, they would be considered unfilial.
Besides, Zhang Yue and her eldest sister-in-law could only earn six or seven work points a day. Even though the two brothers, Xu Changxing and his younger brother, could earn ten work points a day, supporting two children was still difficult.
What was more, their parents-in-law paid the children’s school expenses. During festivals, the children could also eat some meat.
If they separated from the family, they would probably have to live on bran and vegetables.
The two Xu brothers had loved their little sister since they were children, so they didn’t think there was anything wrong with their mother treating her this way.
Gradually, Zhang Yue and her eldest sister-in-law also came to feel that the little sister-in-law deserved to live this kind of life.
Zhang Yue walked into the kitchen and told her mother-in-law, “Mom, Tangtang is awake. I’m going to take the chicken soup to her.”
“My daughter is awake? Then hurry and take it to her.”
After saying that, Zhao Guifang shouted loudly toward the room, “Eldest daughter-in-law, hurry up and come cook dinner! I need to go to Auntie Wang’s house and trade for some eggs. My daughter suffered so much this time. We need to give her plenty of nourishment.”
Hearing her mother-in-law, Liu Ermei immediately chimed in, “Tangtang really does need to be well nourished this time. We can’t let the injury weaken her body. Mom, I’ll have dinner ready before you come back.”
Only then was Zhao Guifang satisfied.
She walked to the kitchen doorway and glared fiercely at several of her grandchildren.
“You’d better not sneak any food, you hear me? If I catch you, just see whether I’ll beat you!”
“This chicken soup is for your little aunt to help her recover. Got it?”
The children quickly nodded and answered in unison, “Don’t worry, Grandma. We won’t sneak any. We’re just smelling it.”
The children knew that Grandma loved their little aunt the most. Even if Grandma hadn’t warned them, they wouldn’t have dared sneak a bite.
Zhao Guifang picked up her basket and left.
Zhang Yue carried a large bowl of chicken soup into the room.
“Tangtang, just lie down. Second Sister-in-law will feed you.”
She sat down beside the bed, picked up a spoon, and prepared to feed her.
Xu Tang still wasn’t used to having someone feed her. Besides, her injuries had already healed completely.
But she needed to pretend to be injured for a few more days.
She reached out and took the bowl of chicken soup from Zhang Yue.
“I can eat it myself, Second Sister-in-law. You go ahead and take care of your work.”
Zhang Yue felt that her little sister-in-law seemed different today.
And somehow, Xu Tang also seemed even more beautiful.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on what had changed. She just felt that Xu Tang looked even prettier than usual.