Chapter 70: Great Sister

Su Tang looked sideways in shock and gave a thumbs up: "Your eloquence has improved!"

Mu Jingzhou raised the corners of his lips when he received the praise.

"What do you mean by 'cheating my family'? That's so ugly! I'm your eldest sister! You know I'm having a hard time, but why don't you help me out a little?" Mu Fengzhen's eyes turned red as she spoke. "If my family wasn't poor, would I have been able to marry like this?"

Mu Fengzhen and Mu Jingyuan are one year apart.

Because the old Mu family had many sons and a heavy burden, Mu Fengzhen and Mu Jingyuan, brother and sister, had been unable to get married and became older youth in Chahe Village.

In this case, there is very little room for choosing a partner.

It just so happened that Mu Jingyuan had a girlfriend first. But Li Lan's family wanted a dowry of fifty yuan. Add in the cloth, candy, and wedding banquet... it would cost more than a hundred yuan.

The Mu family really couldn't come up with that much money, so they hurriedly found a divorced man for Mu Fengzhen - Liu Ming from Liujiaying.

Liu Ming was three years older than Mu Fengzhen. His first wife died of illness shortly after they got married. Some people said that he was unlucky with his wife and it would be difficult for him to marry again.

The Mu family and the Liu family each had their own needs, and they hit it off immediately. The marriage was settled with a gift of thirty-six yuan.

Only then did Mu Jingyuan successfully marry Li Lan.

Liu Ming was okay with Mu Fengzhen, but the Liu family married two daughters-in-law in a row, which made the already poor family even worse off, and his parents-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law were very dissatisfied.

Whenever she was unhappy, Mu Fengzhen felt that she had contributed a lot to the Mu family and that her brothers and sisters should be grateful to her and give in to her.

That's the case with Li Lan.

She called "Big Sister" very briefly, but every time Mu Fengzhen came back, she would give her something - eggs and vegetables.

The favors belong to her, and the things belong to the family.

As time went by, Mu Fengzhen became more and more "meritorious" and would often bring up the emotional value of her mother's home.

But now, Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao don't buy her tricks!

It was like being praised to the sky and then falling down. The gap was too big for Mu Fengzhen to accept. She then brought up the story of how she had remarried to ease the financial difficulties of her family.

Mu Jingyuan and Li Lan were sitting in the kitchen and heard it. They looked at each other and continued eating in silence.

Old Mrs. Mu smashed the bowl and stormed out: "What are you arguing about? Your sister has contributed a lot to the family, what's wrong with giving her a piece of soap?"

"Mom, ask her how much it costs." Mu Jingyun snorted coldly.

Old Lady Mu asked seriously: "Feng Zhen, how many do you want?"

"Five dollars." said Mu Fengzhen.

Old Lady Mu gasped: "So many?"

"One for me, one for my parents-in-law, and one for my sister-in-law. My two uncles-in-law will each ask for one when they are looking for a date..."

“Stop, stop, stop!”

Old Mrs. Mu felt heartbroken when she heard this.

Five bars of soap, are you crazy?

She got two bars of soap, but she only smelled them and was reluctant to use them. As soon as Feng Zhen came back, she asked for five bars of soap!

No wonder the second and third sons were unwilling.

But Old Lady Mu was also aware of her daughter's situation at her parents' home. After thinking for a while, she said, "How about this! I'll give you two bars of soap. You and your parents-in-law can use them. If your sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law want them, I'll sell them to them at the village price."

"Okay!" Mu Fengzhen agreed reluctantly.

It's better to get two bars of soap than to go back empty-handed.

"I don't agree!" Yu Miaomiao said coldly after taking the last bite of rice.

Old Lady Mu glanced at them coldly: "I have already reconciled the dispute for you, why are you still making a fuss?"

"Mom only mediated with my eldest sister and didn't discuss it with me," said Yu Miaomiao.

"How dare you defy me?"

"It's not the first time."

Old Lady Mu:!!!

Indeed, this daughter-in-law has been disobedient every day since she got married and has never been obedient!

"Second brother, take care of your wife!" Mu Fengzhen roared.

Mu Jingyun said, "Sister, the betrothal money you received back then was all spent on my elder brother. It has nothing to do with me. My wife and I don't owe you anything."

"My family doesn't owe anything."

Mu Jingzhou knew that he was not as good at speaking as his second brother, so he chose to "quickly second the motion."

Su Tang's eyebrows curved and she was about to laugh out loud.

Her husband, who is a bit introverted and reserved, is kind of cute.

"Sister, if you want to talk about old things or ask for favors, go ask brother!" After Mu Jingyun finished speaking, he put down the bowl and called Yu Miaomiao, "Wife, let's go for a walk."

"Let's pick up some more clam shells from the river." Yu Miaomiao followed Mu Jingyun.

Mu Jingzhou looked at Su Tang and asked: Are we going?

"We're going to make another batch of soap tomorrow, so let's go look around and see if we can find better raw materials," said Su Tang.

So, the third couple also left.

No one paid any attention to Mu Fengzhen anymore.

Mu Fengzhen was so angry that her face turned red and her neck became thick. Finally, she cried out of grievance: "Mom, look at them. They treat me like this after they got married. Last time, I didn't even meet the second son's wife, but he came to my house and extorted ten dollars from me..."

"Alas, they are not good to me either!" Old Mrs. Mu sighed, "I can't rely on these two families at all in the future!"

"Don't worry, Mom. Don't we still have our eldest brother? When the fourth and fifth children finish their studies, they will also make money to support you." Mu Fengzhen comforted.

When Old Five was mentioned, Old Lady Mu felt upset again: "Don't mention that little bastard, he was bought off long ago."

"Huh!" Mu Fengzhen was surprised. "Old Five is the same as them?"

"I was fooled by the sugar-coated bullet!"

"And there's the fourth child! He's a high school student and can tell right from wrong. When he comes back, he'll definitely side with mom."

Old Mrs. Mu thought so too, and felt a little better.

However, how can the eldest daughter explain to her in-laws if she returns home empty-handed?

Look at the second and third sons’ rooms: they are locked.

She had no choice but to grit her teeth and give the two bars of soap she had obtained to Mu Fengzhen: "Take them back quietly and don't tell anyone."

"Thank you, mother."

Mu Fengzhen wiped her eyes and left happily with the soap.

Li Lan was in the kitchen with a gloomy face: "Jingyuan, what did you say when you married me?"

"Um?"

Mu Jingyuan was confused.

First, he didn't remember. Second, he didn't understand what his wife meant by asking this.

"You said that the Mu family has a large labor force and makes money faster than other families. They can keep me well fed and clothed, and I can live in a brand new big house in the future."

"What are you saying now? I spent your eldest sister's betrothal money? Did I spend it? Who doesn't pay a betrothal gift when marrying a daughter-in-law?"

"Although my Li family is poor, we are not at the point of selling our daughter. When I got married, I followed the etiquette of the time and didn't take a penny more."

"As for how your family came up with this money, what does it have to do with me? If you can afford it, marry a wife, if you can't, then stay single! When did I force your family to give me the bride price for my elder sister-in-law? Why do you have to let me bear this blame?"

“…”

Li Lan felt more and more upset as she spoke, and finally she started crying.

Mu Jingyuan looked at his old father guiltily.

Old man Mu, who sold his daughter to help his son find a wife, pretended not to hear, put down his bowl and went out.

What's the point of performing if no one is watching? But Li Lan couldn't swallow this anger!

She got married in a dignified manner, so how come she had to rely on her elder sister-in-law's gift?

Then, she cried out, holding her stomach: "It hurts, it hurts..."