Chapter 6

The mother in the dream was getting farther and farther away, but clearly, Youyou could almost reach her when she stretched out her hand.

This was the first time in her life that she cried so sadly.

Youyou misses her mother so much.

Just when Youyou was deeply immersed in sorrow, a gentle shake woke her up.

She opened her eyes.

Jiang Shan snuggled beside her.

His little hands tightly grasped her arms, and he anxiously freed one hand to wipe her tears.

My younger brother couldn’t speak. He opened his mouth for a long time and was so anxious that he was about to cry. His black eyes were full of worry.

Youyou sat up in a daze. After a long while, she hugged her brother tightly with the corners of her mouth turning down.

"Wow", Youyou burst into tears.

The brother and sister hugged each other and cried, looking so pitiful.

While crying, Youyou gently placed her little hands on her brother's thin back to comfort him.

Her older brothers and sisters are older friends, so compared to them, she and her younger brother need more protection.

So Youyou wiped her tears and said while hiccuping, "Sister will protect you!"

Jiang Shan opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but after he kept saying "ah" for a long time, he couldn't utter a word.

He was exhausted and very sad. His eyes dimmed and he lowered his head in disappointment.

Youyou patted his shoulder and said, "It doesn't matter. Shanshan will definitely learn to speak."

Jiang Shan looked at Youyou in disbelief as if he had heard some big news.

Youyou nodded seriously.

The little guy seemed flattered. He was happy but not too happy. A shy smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

…

Meng Jinyu came out from the inner room.

"Mom, I made a dress for you. See if it fits." She walked up to Old Mrs. Jiang and put the dress in her hand in front of her to compare.

This was a piece of cloth she had found at the bottom of a closet. The cloth was rough and the color was not pretty, but Meng Jinyu treated it like a treasure. She folded it neatly and was reluctant to take it out to make clothes.

Nowadays, Meng Jinyu doesn't like such old-fashioned material. She would rather use it as an excuse to please her mother-in-law.

After all, the fact that Jiang Huanming had to sleep on the floor had become a thorn in Old Lady Jiang's heart, and she was very unhappy about it.

"Made it for me?" Old Mrs. Jiang asked in surprise.

Meng Jinyu smiled and said, "This yellow fabric makes you look better."

Old Mrs. Jiang knew that her third daughter-in-law was trying to please her on purpose, but how many daughters-in-law in the village would be willing to spend some cloth to make new clothes for their mother-in-law?

The old lady softened her attitude: "Why make clothes for me? I have enough clothes to wear."

"Mom, you've worked hard these years." Meng Jinyu said softly, "Huanming and my elder and second brothers have all started families. During the New Year, the children wanted to buy cloth to make new clothes, and they ignored you many times. This dress is beautiful and makes you look younger. Please accept it."

Who wouldn’t want to hear a few more nice words?

The old lady looked at her deeply.

Meng Jinyu sat down next to her and pointed at the old lady's collar with her hand: "Mom has lost weight from taking care of the family. I need to tighten my collar a little more..."

"Your hand..." Old Mrs. Jiang suddenly noticed the wound on Meng Jinyu's hand.

Meng Jinyu quickly retracted her hands behind her back and said embarrassedly, "I went to the village secretary's house to borrow a sewing machine the other day, but I didn't know how to use it, so I hurt myself. Look how clumsy I am."

Even though Old Mrs. Jiang had a heart of steel, it would melt by now.

Meng Jinyu stopped when she saw that things were going well, and said in a gentle tone: "Mom, please try on the new clothes. I'll go cook first."

Looking at her third daughter-in-law hurriedly walking towards the kitchen, Old Mrs. Jiang's brows relaxed.

After being a poor daughter-in-law and finally becoming a mother-in-law, she can now enjoy her life.

…

After the whole family finished dinner, the three daughters-in-law rushed to clean up.

Mrs. Jiang Da is quick-witted but honest. Compared to her, Mrs. Jiang Er is much more shrewd and always likes to be lazy.

Meng Jinyu saw through the two of them and had her own way of dealing with everyone, so the three sisters-in-law got along quite well.

We all came here from the days when people were so hungry that they had to eat tree bark. We have been used to hard times. Only now there are more laborers and Jiang Huanming is eating public food in the town, so our lives are gradually getting better. But no one would waste food, and the food in the bowl would be cleaner than if it had been licked.

Meng Jinyu helped Sister Jiang put the bowls into the basin and said, "Sister Jiang, thank you for taking care of these bowls. I'll do it tomorrow."

Everyone in the main room had left. Meng Jinyu walked to Jiang Shan's side and saw Youyou holding her brother's hand vigilantly, looking ready for battle.

She glanced at Youyou meaningfully, then turned and walked out of the house.

From the small courtyard outside the house came a regular "clang clang" sound.

Jiang Cheng is a responsible child. He has been working every day since he came back from school. He helps out in the fields during the day and collects some firewood from the back mountain. He then chops it into small pieces at night and saves it for making fire and cooking the next day.

"Jiang Cheng, take a rest, let mom do the chopping." Meng Jinyu wiped the sweat off Jiang Cheng's face with her wrist and pretended to take the hatchet from his hand.

"No, I can do it." Jiang Cheng disagreed and chopped even harder.

Meng Jinyu smiled: "You kid..." She dragged a small wooden stool and sat down, "Then mom will stay here and talk to you."

Jiang Cheng grinned and responded cheerfully.

What Meng Jinyu and Jiang Cheng talked about were nothing more than things that the children were interested in and willing to listen to.

Naturally, Meng Jinyu would never mention topics like the child's study problems that his mother always talked about, or asking him to stop being so playful.

"Mom, I feel like you seem to have changed recently," Jiang Cheng said.

Meng Jinyu tilted her head and smiled: "Is it getting better?"

The young boy's handsome face was full of confusion. He thought for a long time and said, "I can't say whether it's good or bad, it's a bit strange."

Meng Jinyu twitched the corners of her mouth and was about to continue speaking when she caught a glimpse of Jiang Guo's slender figure out of the corner of her eye.

She said softly, "Guoguo is the same age as you, but her personality is not as mature as yours. You should be more considerate of her and protect her. Jiang Cheng, you and Guoguo, you two siblings must be well."

When Jiang Guo heard this, she raised the corner of her mouth high, ran over skipping and jumping, and snuggled up to Meng Jinyu.

Meng Jinyu rubbed her hair.

Jiang Cheng nodded, and used his slender fingers to measure the position of the axe. "I am the elder brother, and I will protect my younger brothers and sisters. The four of us must be fine."

"Then which one? You two were born from the same womb, and you two siblings are connected by heart. Your relationship should be better than yours." Meng Jinyu smiled, then turned to look at Jiang Guo, her tone gentle, "Guoguo, do you always think that mom loves Youyou the most? In fact, you and Jiang Cheng are mom's first children. At that time, I didn't know anything, and I was very cautious and expectant... You and your brother mean a lot to me. Not only are you two siblings connected by heart, but mom and you are also connected by heart."

Jiang Guo opened his eyes wide with curiosity.

In fact, she has always felt that her mother cares more about Youyou and is a little biased, but her mother always emphasizes that she treats everyone equally and never favors anyone.

This was the first time that my mother said that she was the most beloved daughter.

Jiang Guo knew that it was wrong to think this way, but she still felt a little happy in her heart.

Girls just like to be pampered. Even if you just coax her, it will make her happy for a long time.

"Mom, I heard that having twins, a boy and a girl, is a hereditary trait. Does our family have that too?" Jiang Cheng suddenly asked curiously.

The breeze blew, and Meng Jinyu tucked her hair behind her ears. It should have been a cozy and warm scene, but at this moment, she was stunned for a moment.

She moved closer to Jiang Cheng and said in a low voice, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Who told you anything?"

Jiang Cheng was shocked. "Our teacher said that this is genetic. If parents have twins or boy-girl twins, then -"

"There are exceptions to everything. We don't have this gene in our family. No, don't talk nonsense." Meng Jinyu said with a cold face, and went into the house after saying this.

"Why is Mom suddenly angry?" Jiang Cheng asked curiously.

Jiang Guo shrugged: "I don't know, maybe he thinks you're too stupid?"

"Jiang Guo!" Jiang Cheng glared at her.

Jiang Guo laughed and went back to the house with a smile on his face.

Meng Jinyu's face still looked unhappy. She stood at the threshold outside the house, took a deep breath, and was about to step inside when she suddenly heard the conversation between Jiang Ersao and Old Lady Jiang.

"Mom, Jin Yu didn't mean it. She let my uncle sleep on the floor that day because she was worried that the baby would kick him and make him sleep poorly. You've seen these days that Jin Yu has no bad intentions. She's busy all the time, all for this family and the children!"

"Don't think I don't know. Last time she scooped a big spoonful of clam oil for you. Did she buy you off to speak for her?"

"Mom... I'm telling you the truth. Look at the new clothes she made for you. They're so beautiful. She herself wouldn't even wear the fabric!"

"Alright, alright, do you really think I'm old and confused? Who doesn't have a heart? As long as your heart is on your side, towards your man and this family, that's all."

The sound faded away.

Meng Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she had passed the hurdle of her mother-in-law.

Now, she has won over Jiang Cheng and Jiang Guo and pleased her mother-in-law. Next, it's Jiang Shan's turn.

I don’t know why, Youyou kept staring at Shanshan.

The little girl has been causing trouble these days.

It seems that she will have to chew this hard bone first.

Meng Jinyu narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, she thought of a solution.

After she decided what she was going to do next, her pace became much easier.

But she didn't expect that just after she turned around and went into the inner room, the little dumpling popped out from the corner with a "whoosh".

Youyou followed her stepmother.

From her loss of composure when talking to her brothers and sisters in the yard to the relieved look on her face when her eyes rolled just now, Youyou saw it all.

What did stepmother say just now?

What else did you think of?

Youyou’s little head was working hard, and she was thinking about it, trying to remember the abnormal situation carefully in her heart.

After all, the stepmother is acting sneaky, so she must have done something wrong!