The Mother-in-Law's Hidden Secret

This year is a bumper harvest year.

The harvest in Lijiatian was good, and the tenants paid 10% more rent than last year.

Li Haikuo was overjoyed and decided to hold a grand celebration at the end of the year to have an auspicious year and hope for favorable weather and abundant harvests in the coming year.

Although the decision was made by Li Haikuo, the women in the family had to handle all the big and small matters.

Chen Zaoting is excellent at housework, but she's not good at welcoming guests or hosting banquets.

At first, to keep An Hongdou and Wu Linglong at bay, she only had them do errands. Later, organizing a banquet required handling many miscellaneous tasks such as borrowing tables and chairs, counting the number of people, deciding on the menu, preparing ingredients, and notifying each household. The Li family also had to prepare the clothing, food, and other necessities for the New Year. Chen Zaoting began to be so busy that she was dizzy and made frequent mistakes.

Reluctantly, Chen Zaoting handed over the account book to An Hongdou and An Hongdou, asking them to share the workload.

Perhaps because she was always overlooked in the past, Chen Zaoting became particularly concerned about her image after remarrying, and she liked to participate in any event that could make her stand out.

She entrusted the preparations for the Li family's New Year celebration entirely to An Hongdou and her sister, while she and Li Pan'er focused on setting up the banquet.

It was the first time An Hongdou and Wu Linglong had taken on the task of preparing for the whole family's Chinese New Year. They found it both novel and interesting, but also a little apprehensive.

The two of them went back to their respective parents' homes to quickly learn some procedures for handling affairs, which gave them some confidence.

That day, An Hongdou was taking stock of the fabric, calculating whether there was enough to make a new outfit for each member of the Li family for the New Year. Wu Linglong, on the other hand, was checking the accounts with an abacus to ensure everything was in order, so that her mother-in-law wouldn't find any mistakes when returning the clothes.

"Linglong, haven't you finished calculating yet?" An Hongdou finished dividing the fabric according to everyone's measurements, and turned to look for Linglong, only to find her frowning. "What's wrong? If you're worried, I'll calculate it again."

"It's not that our accounts are wrong, it's that Chen Zaoting's accounts seem to have a big problem," Wu Linglong said. "Hongdou, come and calculate it quickly. If I'm not wrong, then hasn't she been stealing money from the Li family all along?"

"How could this be?" An Hongdou found it unbelievable. She quickly grabbed the account book and abacus.

After an incense stick had burned for a while, An Hongdou put down the ledger and closed it. The ledger itself was fine, but there were discrepancies in the prices of each item. If the two of them hadn't personally made the purchases and paid for them, they probably wouldn't have noticed the problem just by looking at the ledger.

Needles, thread, cloth, paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones—every item in Chen Zaoting's recorded accounts was priced slightly higher than the actual market price. Little by little, over the course of a year, a large sum of money disappeared without a trace.

The two discussed it in hushed tones and decided to keep the ledger for themselves.

Although Chen Zaoting kept the records, the result alone cannot be used to attribute the cause. Perhaps the Li sisters inflated prices during the purchase to save money for themselves; or perhaps Chen Zaoting used the position of housekeeper to line her own pockets; or perhaps Li Haikuo was already aware of it and tacitly approved of it.

Although An Hongdou and her companion noticed something unusual upon their arrival, they didn't want to make a fuss about it.

Neither overdoing it nor alerting the enemy would be good. The two decided to investigate the matter on their own.

The celebratory banquet was held as scheduled on the day before the Lunar New Year.

Relatives, friends, neighbors, tenants, and servants were all invited. However, the former stayed in the courtyard, while the latter stayed outside.

Li Zeli and Li Zeren took leave specifically to go home for this purpose.

Before the event began, Li Haikuo delivered a loud speech.

This banquet serves three purposes: first, to celebrate this year's bountiful harvest; second, to thank everyone for their hard work throughout the year; and third, to pray for a prosperous and successful year to come.

Chen Zaoting stole the show at the banquet. An Hongdou and Wu Linglong, on the other hand, observed her secretly.

An Hongdou noticed that Chen Zaoting was busy chatting with guests and enjoying the attention, and didn't pay attention to the two of them. She gestured to Wu Linglong, and the two of them sat down on either side of Chen Zaoting's family members.

"What's your name, auntie? It seems like this is the first time I've met you," An Hongdou said first.

"I am Chen Zaoting's sister-in-law from her maternal family. And who are you two?"

“We are cousins ​​in the Li family, but we have to go through Mrs. Li from the front.”

"Oh, no wonder you look unfamiliar. You two are both good-looking and young, are you married?"

"They're married. Isn't this socializing precisely to leave some connections for their children in the future? Auntie, since you're from this Mrs. Li's family, you must know her quite well."

"Then we're not meant to be. Otherwise, I was thinking of playing matchmaker for you two! Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

The two chatted quite warmly, but when An Hongdou suddenly inquired about Chen Zaoting, she became a little wary.

Seeing this, Wu Linglong quickly chimed in, "Our positions are awkward. In terms of relationship, we should call Zeren and Zeli cousins, but we can't really be related to Madam Li. That's why we thought we could learn from you about Madam Li's likes and dislikes so that we can cater to her preferences and get closer to her when we visit again another day."

“Yes, yes! If you were willing to tell us, it would be a great help to us. We are both grateful and wouldn’t let you help us for nothing. We didn’t prepare in advance for this trip, but we brought some needlework to pass the time on the way. How about this, you tell us about Madam Li’s life at her parents’ home or in the past, and we’ll give you these needlework.” An Hongdou and Wu Linglong worked together.

The aunt picked up the thread, twisted it, and tucked it into her bosom. "This is top-quality thread! I'll take it. I'll tell you what I know, and see if it can help. If it can't, I won't return it."

The two quickly agreed.

Chen Zaoting is the fifth daughter in her family, with one older brother and three older sisters, and one younger sister and one younger brother.

The family relied on farming for a living, and boys were an indispensable source of labor. After giving birth to a son, Chen Zaoting's mother had several daughters in succession, which increased her emphasis on having a son. Therefore, Chen Zaoting's three older sisters all had names containing flowers or plants, but for her, a learned man in the village was consulted to name her. Zaoting meant "girls stop growing up early." After this name was chosen, Chen Zaoting's mother indeed gave birth to another son.

“My mother-in-law is biased. She has her eyes on both her eldest son and youngest son, as well as her eldest daughter and youngest daughter. She doesn’t care about the ones in the middle. She only married Chen Zaoting to raise money for her younger brother to get married.”

Chen Zaoting's former mother-in-law mistreated her because she had given birth to two girls in a row. This situation only improved after she gave birth to her youngest son. Therefore, she named her youngest son Li Tianci.

"She dotes on her youngest son! If the old lady hadn't insisted on having him, she probably would have brought him over long ago."

An Hongdou tentatively suggested, "My cousin told me that Madam Li gave birth to my cousin Zexin a couple of years ago. How about we visit her another day, prepare some gifts for him, and shower him with compliments?"

"In my opinion, Chen Zaoting doesn't care about Zexin as much as she does about Tianci. Actually, it's understandable. Life was easy when Zexin was born, so she didn't think much of it. But it was a completely different story when Tianci was born. Before Tianci was born, she not only couldn't get a hot meal during her postpartum period, but she also had to take care of the whole family. After Tianci was born, her mother-in-law's attitude was completely different. Not only did she not have to do any work during her postpartum period, but she was also told to take good care of herself. You can imagine how important Tianci must be to her."

The two were filled with mixed feelings after hearing this, never expecting that their seemingly strong mother-in-law had such a past of compromise and humiliation.

After the banquet ended, the guests left.

Chen Zaoting handed over the cleanup work to An Hongdou, Wu Linglong, and the three Li sisters.

Li Zeren and Li Zeli volunteered to help.

"Husband, have you ever seen the younger brother that Mother gave birth to before?" An Hongdou asked, pulling Li Zeli, who came over to move tables and chairs.

Why did you suddenly think of this?

"Just out of curiosity."

I've never seen it before.

"Never? Not even during holidays?" An Hongdou asked in surprise.

Li Zeli stopped what he was doing, looked at her with a meaningful gaze, and said again, "Indeed, no. Thinking about it carefully, it's not surprising. Your mother's ex-husband was the most favored youngest son in the family. He died unexpectedly, leaving behind only a young son. Naturally, the old lady kept a close eye on him."

Li Zeli's eyes were deep, and An Hongdou knew he had seen through her scheming. "Recently, Linglong and I have been preparing supplies for everyone's New Year, as well as gifts to send to relatives and friends. We're just unsure whether to send them there or not."

An Hongdou told herself to stay calm. She comforted herself, knowing that Li Zeli loved to deceive people, and as long as she didn't say anything, Li Zeli would at most know that the two of them were hiding something, but he would never know the specifics.

“No need to prepare gifts for Mother’s family; Mother will take care of them herself. As long as the family has everything they need, that’s fine. Even if Mother is picky, Father will help you,” Li Zeli said, accepting An Hongdou’s explanation.

After they had finished getting ready, the two went back to their room together.

An Hongdou pushed open the door, exclaimed "Oh dear!" and quickly closed it again, blocking Li Zeli outside.

In the past, the two brothers would return home once every seven days, but this time, with their sudden return, An Hongdou and her brother forgot to move Wu Linglong's daily necessities back with them.

Seeing An Hongdou's reaction, Li Zeli guessed what had happened. He took the initiative to smooth things over, saying, "We won't stay long this time. We'll get up early tomorrow to go back to the academy. The academy will be closed for several days for the New Year, so we won't be coming back before the New Year after we go back tomorrow. You and your second sister-in-law don't need to trouble yourselves. I'll sleep with my second brother tonight. But my wife, I hope you won't turn me away next time I come back!"

An Hongdou blushed without realizing it and hurriedly urged him to go and bring Wu Linglong back.

"The older Li Zeli gets, the less she can handle him!" An Hongdou thought to herself.

“Linglong, Zeli said that Chen Zaoting has never seen Li Tianci since she married into the family. If she really cherishes Li Tianci, it doesn’t make sense.” An Hongdou told Wu Linglong about her suspicions, and the two decided to go and see Li Tianci.

Before the Lunar New Year, An Hongdou took advantage of a shopping trip to inquire about Li Tianci's address.

That day, she took Wu Linglong to see Li Tianci.

Although they share the same surname, Li, and are related by blood, the conditions of Li Tianci's grandmother's family are vastly different from those of the current Li family, judging from their houses.

Li Tianci's house didn't have a wall; it was just a fenced yard. The two walked around the neighborhood a couple of times and saw a boy returning. Judging by his age, he must be Li Tianci.

The child was neatly dressed, and the fabric of his clothes was not cheap. Even more conspicuous was the bright gold lock hanging around his neck, as if he wasn't afraid of losing it or being robbed.

Fearing that they would attract the attention of Li Tianci's grandmother, An Hongdou and her companion did not go forward again.

In the days that followed, An Hongdou and Wu Linglong were constantly busy, rushing to get everything ready before the New Year.

Li Haikuo praised the two in front of the whole family.

Chen Zaoting remained silent, but turned to the two of them and asked for the account book back.

“Oh! Mother, the account book got wet by accident. After I dried it, I found that a lot of the writing was smudged! If you don’t mind, I’ll go get it later. But that book can’t be used anymore. It’s a new year, so why don’t you get a new one and start recording again from next year?” An Hongdou said softly, her eyes darting around.

"It got wet? How come something so important is gone as soon as it got into your hands!" Chen Zaoting said angrily.

“Mother, Hongdou is still young, and it’s inevitable that she’ll make some mistakes since it’s her first time handling things. Fortunately, what we gave her was an internal account book recording household expenses. We’re all family, so she won’t hold it against us,” Li Zeli said. “The total amount was given to us by Mother, so it should be similar to previous years. If that’s the case, the discrepancy in the accounts shouldn’t be too big either. The old account book has already been destroyed, so let’s wipe it clean today and start over next year!”

For reasons unknown, Chen Zaoting did not pursue the matter further after hearing this.