Chapter 20 The Sucker

Lin Yuanshu could only smile. Every family has its own problems. He could guess why Sun Yiyi didn't want to go home from what Sun Yiyi's mother said. It's best not to meddle in other people's business, after all, he was just an outsider.

Mr. Sun frowned and whispered a reprimand to Mrs. Sun, "Just say less!"

Then, Sun's father took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lin Yuanshu, saying politely, "Please help me give this letter to Yiyi. You two girls have both married into the city and your husbands' families are neighbors. Since you live so close, it's the perfect time for you to help each other out. If you help her and she helps you, you can live a harmonious and smooth life together."

Lin Yuanshu thought for a moment, took the letter, and readily agreed, "I guarantee I can deliver it to Comrade Sun Yiyi."

Thankfully it was just a letter. If it had been fruits, vegetables, or something similar, she definitely wouldn't have agreed. The items were too heavy, and she wouldn't have been able to help even if she wanted to. She could help with things that were easy to do, but she wouldn't do anything that was troublesome.

Of course, let's forget about the mutual support that Sun Yiyi's father mentioned. The relationship between her mother-in-law and Sun Yiyi's mother-in-law is not that good. Their mutual support will only make their mother-in-law angrier and then they will join forces to deal with them.

Just then, Tang Rong ran over, looking at Lin Yuanshu with reluctance, and said solemnly, "Have a safe journey, and remember to tell my mom that I have arrived safely."

The person she knew best in the production team was Lin Yuanshu. Lin Yuanshu's departure meant that she would really have to live alone in this unfamiliar place. However, she was not afraid. This was a new challenge, and Lin Yuanshu had already paved the way for her. She would face everything on her own.

Lin Yuanshu waved goodbye to everyone with reluctance. The family atmosphere at her parents' home was so much better than at her husband's home. Only in this kind of environment could one feel at peace. As the old man started driving the mule cart, the scenery of the production team became farther and farther away from Lin Yuanshu.

Looking into the distance, Grandma Sun sighed, "You're the one who taught your daughter to be so filial. I haven't taught my daughter well."

Lin's mother smiled awkwardly. Given Sun's mother's usual attitude of beating and scolding her daughter, she felt that it was already difficult enough for Sun's mother's daughter to live to get married, so how could she possibly want to go back to her parents' home to be scolded!

After returning to Beijing, the first thing Lin Yuanshu did was to see Director Tang and tell him about Tang Rong's performance in the production team and the brigade leader's attitude.

After hearing Lin Yuanshu's words, Director Tang felt much more at ease. As long as the brigade leader was willing to protect her daughter, then her daughter's life in the countryside would not be a problem. After all, the brigade leader was the most powerful person in the production team, and all major matters had to be approved by the brigade leader. No villager would be foolish enough to offend the brigade leader.

Before leaving, Lin Yuanshu left a little of each type of vegetable for Director Tang.

Although Director Tang refused, Lin Yuanshu chose to drop the vegetables and run away.

Director Tang watched Lin Yuanshu's retreating figure, thought for a moment, and muttered to himself, "Not bad, a magnanimous person who knows how to repay kindness..."

This kind of person is easier to use.

Lin Yuanshu carried a burlap sack home, and the neighbors on the way asked curiously, "Little Second's wife, what are you carrying?"

Lin Yuanshu explained with a smile, "I went back to my parents' home today. These are vegetables that my parents gave me. My parents' 'private plot' had a bumper harvest this year, and we don't lack vegetables at home. They thought that my in-laws had a hard time living in the city, so they specially asked me to bring them back for my parents-in-law to try."

The neighbors said enviously, "Sister Zhou is so lucky! We also want such a wonderful in-law."

Lin Yuanshu pretended to be embarrassed, then carried the burlap sack and continued walking. She first went back to her room, put the eggs into the wooden box, and then handed the burlap sack of vegetables to Zhou Ma.

When Zhou's mother saw the burlap sack full of vegetables, she was quite excited. After all, it was free stuff, so how could she not be happy? She suggested that they eat the tomatoes quickly, and the pumpkin and cucumber could be eaten later. The eggplant and cowpea could be dried and stored, enough for their family to eat for quite a while.

If Lin Yuanshu went back every few days, wouldn't the family not need to buy groceries anymore? It's a pity that Lin Yuanshu's family home is a bit far from Beijing, otherwise she would really like to let Lin Yuanshu go back every few days to get free vegetables.

Because of this incident, she started to find Lin Yuanshu a little more agreeable and stopped picking fights with him. She also turned a blind eye to his failure to help with dinner.

Aunt Zhou turned to Sister Xue, who was washing vegetables, and said, "Look at the second daughter-in-law's family, and then look at your family. Your family is like a greedy creature that only gives out and never takes in."

Sister-in-law Xue said with a wronged expression, "My family isn't from the countryside, and we don't have any 'private plots.' If we did, my family would be happy to send you some vegetables."

After all, vegetables aren't worth much, so being able to marry your daughter off to someone in the city is practically a stroke of good luck.

Zhou Ma sneered. Thinking of the shabby return gifts from Sister-in-law Xue's family, she could only laugh. It was almost New Year's, and they couldn't even afford to buy a pastry. Every year, they would give back radishes and cabbages. In the tenement building, only her in-laws were so stingy that she couldn't even hold her head up high. Fortunately, although the second daughter-in-law's family was from the countryside, they were generous.

Lin Yuanshu returned to his room, intending to read the "Chemical Engineering Dictionary," but unexpectedly found "Basic Chemical Engineering" placed next to it. It was obvious that Zhou Xiangyang had specially borrowed it from the library.

She smiled gently, then flipped through "Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering." Since the chemical plant where Director Tang worked specialized in producing dye intermediates, she focused on the chemical knowledge related to dye intermediates.

On the other side, after learning that Lin Yuanshu had brought back a burlap sack of vegetables from the countryside, Aunt Wei couldn't help but say to Sun Yiyi, "I should have let you go back to your parents' home too, so that the neighbors wouldn't have gotten the better of you."

Sun Yiyi smiled helplessly and said earnestly, "Mom, if I go home, there will be no one to take care of you. I can't bear to leave you. In my heart, you are my second mom."

Although Aunt Wei was happy to hear this, it didn't stop her from wanting the free vegetables, since Aunt Zhou had been showing off the vegetables she got for free.

“It’s alright. I’ve taken care of myself all these years. It’s not a big problem for you to go back to your parents’ home for just one day,” Aunt Wei said excitedly.

Sun Yiyi gave a wry smile. Given her parents' personalities, they would never give her anything from home for free, unless it was something they didn't want.

She thought for a moment, then lowered her voice and told her what she had seen that morning. There was no other way but to change the subject and stop her mother-in-law from pressuring her to go back to her parents' home.

"What? You mean Chow Tai Fook gave Lin Yuanshu money and tickets? Are you sure you didn't misread it?" Aunt Wei exclaimed in surprise.

Sun Yiyi nodded with absolute certainty, "I'm sure I didn't see it wrong."

Aunt Wei excitedly exclaimed, "I'm dying of laughter! The neighbor next door had the nerve to brag to me about the free vegetables, but it turns out her husband was secretly paying for them! I knew there couldn't be such a kind in-law; it turns out the real sucker was someone else!"

Sun Yiyi looked helpless. She really couldn't understand why her mother-in-law had to compare herself to Zhou Xiangyang's mother in everything. She whispered a reminder: "Mom, don't go around talking about this. If Aunt Zhou finds out, things will get complicated."

Aunt Wei waved her hand dismissively and said confidently, "Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I know what I can say and what I can't say."

The thought of her neighbor being deceived by her daughter-in-law and husband made her want to laugh. She was so lucky; her daughter-in-law was obedient, her son was filial, and her husband was considerate.

After finishing their meal, Lin Yuanshu and Sister-in-law Xue went to the tap to wash the dishes. Sister-in-law Xue was in charge of washing, and Lin Yuanshu was in charge of cleaning.

Just as Lin Yuanshu finished washing the dishes and was about to go home, he saw Sun Yiyi carrying a wooden bucket to fetch water. She patted Sister-in-law Xue on the shoulder and whispered, "Sister-in-law, take the dishwashing bucket home first. I have something to tell Sun Yiyi. Don't forget to boil some water for me."

Sister-in-law Xue nodded subconsciously. She carried the dishwashing bucket home and put the clean dishes in the cupboard.

When Aunt Zhou saw Sister-in-law Xue return alone, she asked curiously, "Where is Second Sister-in-law?"

Sister-in-law Xue was stunned for a moment, then realized in an instant that she had done chores for Lin Yuanshu again. Perhaps because she had always done these chores herself, she had just done them without thinking and had completely forgotten that she could ask Lin Yuanshu to do them.

"She was chatting with Sun Yiyi and even asked me to boil water for her. She's so disrespectful and doesn't respect me at all as her sister-in-law," Sister-in-law Xue couldn't help but complain to Aunt Zhou.

Zhou Ma frowned. If Lin Yuanshu didn't respect her, his mother-in-law, but instead respected Sister-in-law Xue, it would drive her even crazier. Lin Yuanshu's attitude of treating everyone equally made her feel a little better.

"Then what are you still standing here for? Go help boil water!" Aunt Zhou ordered without any politeness.

Sister-in-law Xue looked at her elder brother pitifully, hoping that her husband would stand up for her.

The eldest brother glanced at Zhou Ma, who was looking impatient, and gave her a helpless smile. He whispered, "Harmony in the family brings prosperity. Don't worry about it so much. As the eldest sister-in-law, you'll definitely have to make some sacrifices."

Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Xue angrily went to boil water. It seemed that she was the only one who was wronged in the family. While boiling water, she also tried to sow discord between the neighbors and Lin Yuanshu.

In front of Sister-in-law Xue, the neighbors still symbolically echoed what she said.

However, they did not agree with Sister-in-law Xue's words. They had a good impression of Lin Yuanshu. He was polite, cheerful, and not troublesome. When he saw their clothes being blown down by the wind, he would help them pick them up and hang them up.

Moreover, she never spoke ill of the Zhou family. In comparison, Zhou's mother and Sister-in-law Xue were rather harsh on Lin Yuanshu. They were just making trouble out of nothing. Helping to boil water was a small matter, so why were they so petty?