Bang bang bang!

"Zhou Chunhua! Get up and make breakfast! I'm hungry! I want pancakes!"

Bang bang bang!

"Are you trying to starve me to death, Zhou Chunhua?!"

She knocked for a long time, but there was no response from inside. Xu Xiuzhen was grinding her molars with frustration.

He took out his phone and dialed the number.

However, the message on the other end of the phone was: "The number you dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later!"

She finally understood: Zhou Chunhua was doing it on purpose!

She deliberately squandered her son's money, deliberately came home late at night, and deliberately turned off her phone and didn't answer the phone...

Great! Excellent!

Her son may have a good temper, but Xu Xiuzhen is no pushover!

Enraged, she scratched the door repeatedly with her fingernails, making a screeching, creaking sound.

In her sleep, Zhou Chunhua rubbed her arm, which was covered in goosebumps. The sound, like fingernails scratching glass, made her skin crawl and her cheeks ache.

I got up and opened the door, only to be met with my mother-in-law's triumphant smile.

"Sleeping like a log! Hurry up and make some pancakes! Also, heat up some milk for Mumu and fry two eggs. They can have breakfast when they wake up in a little while."

Zhou Chunhua laughed when she heard this.

"You want me to serve her?"

"Otherwise what?" Xu Xiuzhen raised her chin: "You can't even hatch an egg, you can't just freeload! I swear to God! As long as you don't get a divorce, you have to be my daughter-in-law! You have to serve me, your mother-in-law, properly! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and do it!"

Zhou Chunhua nodded, pushed aside Xu Xiuzhen who was blocking her way, and walked towards the kitchen.

Behind her, Xu Xiuzhen raised the corners of her mouth in victory and pulled her pajamas tighter: "You should take a good look in the mirror. Do you really think that just because you put on a face paint you'll be prettier than Mumu and get my son to look at you more? Bah! What makes you think you can compare to Mumu?"

Not hearing Zhou Chunhua's voice, Xu Xiuzhen proudly raised her chin.

This is just the beginning! She wants to see how long Zhou Chunhua can endure this!

A gust of wind blew by, and I shivered.

Even in summer, it's still a bit chilly at this time.

Listening to the clanging sounds coming from the kitchen, Xu Xiuzhen yawned contentedly and walked towards her bedroom.

It's still early, I might as well go back and take a nap.

However, just as she crawled into the still-warm silk quilt, a strange "duang" sound instantly dispelled the sleepiness she had finally managed to regain.

What happened? Did Zhou Chunhua knock over the basin?

Amidst her confusion, a series of strange noises—duang~duang~duang—startled Xu Xiuzhen so much that she jumped up.

The commotion was so loud that she didn't even have time to put on her slippers, and ran out barefoot.

When she followed the sound to the door of the study, she saw Zhou Chunhua banging on the door with a basin in one hand and a stick in the other.

"Sumu! Your mother-in-law is calling you to get up and make her some pancakes!"

"Zhou Chunhua! What's wrong with you? I clearly told you to do it! When did I call on Mumu?"

Zhou Chunhua glanced at Xu Xiuzhen, who was yelling and shouting, and then pounded harder with her hands.

With that, her voice rose even higher: "Su Mu! Get up! Your mother-in-law is starving! Hurry up! Get up and make pancakes!"

Zhou Chunhua stopped what she was doing when the door in front of her opened.

She gestured with her chin at Xu Xiuzhen: "Trouble people? Who do you think you are!"

"You, you, you... You're driving me crazy! You're driving me crazy!" The mother-in-law was so angry that her face turned red, and she clenched her fists and stomped her feet.

He was furious, so he pointed at her and said all sorts of extremely vicious words without using any profanity.

"Don't stop, or the neighbors won't be able to hear."

The mother-in-law, her mouth agape, fell silent.

His eyes, like those of a vicious wolf, stared intently at her, and his lips, which opened and closed silently, were pouted like an egg butt.

Zhou Chunhua then shoved the rolling pin and vegetable bowl into Su Mu's hands.

“As long as I’m not divorced, you’ll be the mistress. There are rules for being a mistress: when I sit at the table, you have to stand. When I speak, you have to listen. When I drink tea, you have to serve it. So naturally, you’ll be in charge of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for this family from now on.”

Su Mu seemed not to have come to his senses, staring blankly at the thing in his hand.

Zhou Chunhua tossed her hair and walked towards her room.

As she passed by Xu Xiuzhen, she reminded her, "From today onwards, you don't need to go to great lengths to tell me what you want to eat or what you need. Just tell Su Mu directly."

Back in her bedroom, Zhou Chunhua plugged in her earplugs, lay down in the still-warm bed, and smiled broadly.

It turns out that what Julianna often told her—that if something happens, just go crazy and make things difficult for others rather than suffer yourself—actually felt so good!

She stretched and rolled over, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.

More than twenty years have passed! She finally understands how wonderful it is to sleep as long as she wants!

...

Outside the door, Xu Xiuzhen was furiously attacking the door panel.

She played back almost every vicious word she had ever heard in her life on repeat.

But there was not a sound from the other side of the tightly closed door!

If she weren't afraid of making a scene, she really wanted to chop the door open, go in, and slap Zhou Chunhua across the face.

Once the anger subsided, the drowsiness disappeared.

Turning around, she met Su Mu's sleepy gaze.

Su Mu's heart skipped a beat; he almost threw the rolling pin and the bowl away.

"Mom, I'm from the south, and I'm not very good at making noodles. I'll order you some takeout when it gets light. I happen to know a place that makes pretty good stuff."

She put her things down and helped the old lady walk towards her room.

She didn't fall asleep until after 2 a.m. last night, and was woken up before dawn, which made her feel terrible!

She had just seen the person to the door and turned to leave when she was called back.

"Mumu," Xu Xiuzhen said earnestly, "For the sake of my grandson, you must eat less of that! Besides, Nanxing has never been used to eating that kind of weird stuff outside!"

Su Mu was shocked. What did Xu Xiuzhen mean by this? Was she implying something to her? Or... did she want her to do it?

"Mom, I've been feeling unwell lately, and my stomach keeps tightening up. I'm afraid to even cough, let alone knead dough."

She is not the second Zhou Chunhua!

Xu Xiuzhen looked at Su Mu's belly, her two brows furrowing into a knot.

"It's perfectly normal for your belly to feel tight this month! Mumu, even though you're a girl from the South, you'll still be marrying into my family! For Nanxing's sake, for my grandson's sake, you still need to learn some things. Since you're already up, I'll teach you how to make pancakes today!"

She pulled the person along and headed towards the kitchen.

Su Mu never expected that even after bringing up his stomach, he still couldn't escape this predicament.

The awkward thing is that Liao Nanxing is a filial son, and she can't afford to offend Xu Xiuzhen!

She had no choice but to go into the kitchen and, following Xu Xiuzhen's instructions, forced a smile and did it reluctantly.