Back inside, the three of them sat down.

Yu Xiu, feeling that she was in the right, spoke first, "Brother Mo, you said that your sister-in-law would treat me like her own sister, but have you ever seen a sister-in-law who steals her sister's clothes fabric?"

Yuxiu pulled out a handkerchief and pretended to wipe away her tears, saying, "I told her that you bought this for me specially, but not only did she not return it to me, she also asked me if I had a written agreement." Yuxiu sobbed, "What kind of brother in this world buys something for his sister and then asks for a written agreement?"

Mo Yun blinked, feeling that Shi Lan seemed to have gone a bit too far. However, he believed that although his wife was illiterate, she was still good-natured, so he wanted to hear her explanation.

Shi Lan gently touched her temple, looking at him with a calm expression, her dark eyes filled with wisdom and understanding.

For some reason, Mo Yun's face flushed, and she quickly lowered her head.

Shi Lan curled the corners of her lips.

See, he's feeling guilty.

It's good that he feels guilty; that way, when she deals with it, he won't have the standing or the courage to protect her.

“Sister Yuxiu, you saw the situation here when you came to my house. We don’t have a single grain of rice, nor a single coin of silver. Those who cook and those who eat have to count every grain of rice,” Shi Lan said, pointing to a piece of cloth lying to the side. “This cloth is worth two taels of silver per bolt. Two taels of silver! Do you know how much rice that can buy? If you truly considered yourself his sister, if you considered yourself part of this family, would you let him spend so much money on this stuff?”

Yu Xiu paused in her sobbing, and her crying subsided considerably.

Mo Yun's cheeks burned as guilt, regret, and remorse surged through her.

I don't know why he bought it for her on a whim back then; it really seems inexplicable now.

Shi Lan sighed softly and said, "You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. There are five of us in the family now. The land we had was leased to my uncle the year my husband left. Although they send most of the harvested grain over at the end of the year, it's not enough for all of us. I was thinking that since we don't need it anyway, we could sell it in town. Even if we lose a bit, we can still get some money back. After deducting the cost of buying you some fine cloth to make a quilt, we'll still have some left. With that, if we're careful with our spending, we can make it last for a few more months. My husband's money didn't grow on trees; he earned it with his life. We have to be careful with it."

Shi Lan, looking slightly tired, propped her head up and said, "I've been busy since noon, and I haven't even had a sip of water yet. Who am I doing all this for?"

Shi Lan sighed softly, gazing lazily into the void, seemingly somewhat disheartened.

Even before lunch, Mo Yun had heard Shi Lan say that she was going to change Yu Xiu's quilt. So when he heard this, he didn't suspect anything. On the contrary, he felt that Yu Xiu was too vain. She stood in the yard and made a fuss over a few pieces of impractical cloth, which not only made her wife angry, but also made the neighbors laugh at her.

“I saw that the fabric was nice when I passed by, so I thought I'd buy it to make you a couple of outfits. If you like it, you can keep it; if you don't, you can sell it,” Mo Yun said with a fawning smile when he saw Shi Lan’s displeased expression.

Shi Lan glanced at him indifferently, still very unhappy, "What does it matter whether I like it or not? These fabrics are so brightly colored, do you think I can wear them?"

"It was my oversight; it won't happen again."

Mo Yun was also annoyed, and the dark look that had just faded from her face reappeared.

Seeing that the two were talking face to face again, without even glancing at her, Yu Xiu was afraid that Shi Lan would really sell the fabric, so she quickly increased her crying.

Shi Lan went along with her thoughts, glancing sideways and glaring at Mo Yun with sharp eyes, "Look, you've barely finished speaking and someone's already unhappy. Honestly, after managing the household for three years, now that the man's back, I'm no longer in charge."

Mo Yun twitched his lips, thinking to himself that his wife had become more and more formidable after a few years of experience. He had always known that she was as docile as a rabbit, only biting when cornered, but now it seemed that she was a tiger with its eyes half-closed, and that she had been dozing off before.

“This family, including me, is under your control. Anyone who doesn’t want to leave can leave immediately, and I will never force them to stay,” Mo Yun said with a stern face.

Shi Lan tilted her head, giving him a teasing look, "Really?"

Mo Yun nodded seriously, "Of course it's true."

Two steps away, Yuxiu was still sobbing on the bench.

Shi Lan finally turned her gaze to her, and asked with a beaming smile, "Yu Xiu, did you hear that? Now tell me, are you going to sell this fabric or not?"

Yu Xiu's face turned red with anger. She had been crying for most of the day, but the two of them ignored her completely. They had already made a decision before asking her. Did they think she hadn't embarrassed herself enough?

Yu Xiu was furious. She kicked over the stool, turned around, and stormed out.

The curtain was slammed shut by Yuxiu with a loud thud. Shi Lan pouted and said, "If you keep slamming it like that, we'll have to replace the curtain."

Mo Yun chuckled and reached out his large hand to rub the strands of hair on her head.

Shi Lan was still annoyed with him, and kept turning her head back and forth, refusing to let him "touch" her.

Mo Yun sighed softly, pushed the kang table aside, and reached out to pull Shi Lan into his arms.

Shi Lan was unwilling to give up and struggled with both hands and feet, but in the end she could not overcome Mo Yun's strength and could only be held tightly in his arms.

Mo Yun gently stroked Shi Lan's hair and whispered, "I will write to my superior in the next couple of days to ask about Brother Zhou's pension. Once it's settled, I will arrange a place for her to stay and send her away. What do you think?"

Shi Lan paused for a moment and said, "Isn't this a bad idea? Since you promised your brother, no matter how bad Yu Xiu is, we should at least send her to a stable family so that she can have someone to rely on for the rest of her life."

Mo Yun lowered his head, his nose brushing against her dark, flowing hair. A faint fragrance wafted by, causing a surge of heat in his lower abdomen.

"Okay, whatever you say."

Shi Lan pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then said, "But the matter of the compensation also needs to be settled as soon as possible, otherwise her husband's family may complain that her dowry is too small."

Mo Yun gave a low, hoarse "hmm," and his large hand gently slid down to her slender waist, softly and gently measuring it.

Shi Lan trembled and couldn't help but lower her head.

The sensitivity of this body far exceeded Shi Lan's imagination. Just a simple hug around the waist made her feel weak in the waist and legs. If she hadn't been leaning on Mo Yun's arm, she probably would have collapsed into a limp puddles.

Mo Yun noticed the weight on his shoulder and chuckled softly, applying slightly more pressure with his hand.

Almost as soon as he tightened his fingers, Shi Lan couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

Mo Yun's breathing suddenly became rapid.

Shi Lan was alarmed and quickly reached out to push him.

Mo Yun closed his eyes tightly, his face flushed, and endured it for a while before gently pushing her away, saying, "I'm going to visit my uncle's family. He'll probably be staying for dinner tonight. Don't wait for me, eat first."

Shi Lan nodded, her face flushed.

Mo Yun couldn't help but touch her face before leaving the house.

The door closed gently, and Shi Lan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), shyly covering her face.

Just now, she had a feeling she had never had before; she didn't resist his actions, and even felt a sense of anticipation.

Shi Lan clutched her rapidly pounding heart, momentarily at a loss for what to do.