Zhang's mother chatted with her in-laws for a few minutes, then quickly stood up to say goodbye, declining her son-in-law's offer of a farewell. It was only a short walk, and she wasn't old or 70, so why would she want to see him off?

When I reached the intersection, I saw my second child smiling at me foolishly from a distance.

"Why don't you go home?"

"I just left home and wanted to go to my eldest sister's house to pick you up. Mom, Xiaowu wrote again and asked us to send you and Dad to the car. Otherwise, you can go over and stay for a while."

Mother Zhang quickly shook her head. "No, it's uncomfortable. You have to go through two gates to get in and out, and you need ID and other things. It's very troublesome. Don't listen to him."

Zhang Laoer had known this would happen. He wanted to go and see the world but didn't have the time. His parents, on the other hand, were unwilling to leave after going once, even refusing Uncle Zhao's invitation to go to the provincial capital.

"Xiao Wu said that the yard outside has been cleaned up. You and Dad can stay for a while while the weather is good in the spring."

Zhang's mother looked around and whispered, "I've checked out his yard. That place is definitely not suitable for living. They're both in school now, so why would your father and I go there? If I don't go, they'll be back this summer. Hehe..."

Zhang Laoer saw that his mother was like a child and laughed happily.

"Oh, I have to hurry. Your dad hasn't made dinner yet."

Zhang Laoer pulled her along and walked slowly, "The child's mother and sister-in-law are already busy in the kitchen. You can walk slowly, there's no rush."

Zhang's mother calmed down after hearing this. Instead, she asked worriedly, "Why is your sister-in-law here today? Didn't she just get some food? Hasn't she borrowed food from your wife in the past two months?"

Zhang Laoer looked at her speechlessly and whispered, "Mother, don't be wary of her. Mai Miao is very good at managing the household these days, and that girl listens to her eldest brother and doesn't give a penny. The children are grown up, so don't worry. My eldest sister-in-law is a soft-hearted person, but she listens to the children the most."

"I'm not on guard against her. I have no objection to her being filial to her parents, but she can't subsidize her eldest brother's family. I don't like Boss Huang; he even bullied my oldest son. Besides, Boss Huang has several mouths to feed; she can certainly make up for it. Don't think I'm stingy. I can turn a blind eye if she subsidizes her own food, but I can't let my sons and their family starve."

Zhang Laoer listened patiently to his mother's ramblings. He chuckled to himself. His mother had been bitten once, and now she's afraid of ropes for ten years. No wonder she was wary of Huang Cuilan.

She would occasionally sneak a few pounds of sweet potatoes to her mother's house, and she really thought her mother didn't live with them and didn't know about it. Who was her mother? She had been in charge of the family for decades, so she would know exactly if two sweet potatoes were missing. Not to mention that there were several grandchildren who would tell on her.

From this point of view, his sister-in-law is not as smart as his own wife.

His wife was so smart, she knew his mother was kind. Every time his sister-in-law's children came over, she would let them meet the elders. Seeing this, she knew it was the right thing to do. His mother was happy with the gift, and his wife also achieved her goal.

Zhang Laoer saw it all, but didn't try to stop it. As long as his wife didn't overdo it, he'd tolerate her. Otherwise, he would have taken action long ago. Fortunately, although Lin Juhua's sisters' husbands were poor, they were polite.

Just look at this: before the New Year, when the team distributed fish, the children would immediately send them to their parents. Especially when they were allocated private plots, the first crop of vegetables they could get would be sent to the county town as soon as they grew.

Since ancient times, relatives have always had a way of interacting. Compared to his sisters-in-law, Zhang Laoer was not at all willing to deal with his father-in-law's family. He didn't care about being poor. Anyone who wasn't poor couldn't just take in money without giving it out, and be shameless.

Zhang's mother stopped talking when she saw the door. "Well, now that I've told my son about this, I feel relieved. After all, my son has a good temper!"

Huang Cuilan saw her mother-in-law come in the kitchen and said quickly, "Mom, my aunt sent someone to bring a letter, saying that you and Dad should go visit her relatives."

Zhang's mother knew that her eldest sister-in-law's family was close to her eldest daughter-in-law's family. She had no doubt about this, but her eldest sister-in-law asked her and her husband to visit relatives for no special occasion.

"Did the messenger tell you how your aunt is doing?"

Huang Cuilan swiftly picked up the plate and handed it to her sister-in-law. She picked up the bowl and chopsticks in one hand and replied, "I've asked, and my mother said my aunt is very happy. There must be good news. I guess my two cousins ​​have found a partner. I'll let you go and see who they are."

"That's not the case. The two girls are young and aren't in a rush to find a partner. Many people came to propose marriage during the first month of the year, and they said they wanted to help their family for a few years before getting married."

Lin Juhua praised: "The two sisters are good, and the two uncles are blessed. They are beautiful, educated, and have jobs. They don't have to worry about not finding a good family."

Of course! Zhang's mother's expression remained unchanged, but she was secretly pleased with herself.

Huang Cuilan stole a glance at her mother-in-law's face and lowered her voice to laugh, "Mom, I heard that Xiaowu arranged jobs for my two cousins. Is that true?"

Mother Zhang glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law. Look, look... she's got another idea.

She laughed and said, "How is that possible? Our Xiaowu hasn't been home for such a long time, how could we have time to arrange it?"

"No, that was when Xiaowu came back, and then my cousin went to work. My mother said that what my aunt said was a lie. How could it be such a coincidence that two cousins ​​went to work at the same time?"

"It really has nothing to do with Xiaowu. I just heard from your two aunts recently that one of their female classmates came over overnight to inform them. The next day, along with her classmate, all three girls got in. She's a hard-working girl, good-looking and well-educated. I heard she was chosen right away."

Zhang's mother's implication was that if you were to try so hard to recruit someone, you had to be good-looking first. Your nieces from your mother's side had no chance because they were too ugly.

Huang Cuilan stood in the middle of the kitchen, holding the dishes and chopsticks, and smiled at her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, saying, "You said that my three brothers and sisters are all good-looking, so why don't my nephews and nieces look like their parents?"

Lin Juhua shook her head. "The child is good-looking, just a little dark."

"It's still a little short, especially since my sister-in-law is not tall and the child is not tall either. This time the child failed the military examination again."

Zhang's mother pretended not to notice the look her eldest daughter-in-law was giving her. She thought to herself: If this doesn't work out, can I still ask my family to ask Dashan's brothers for mercy?

"A good man doesn't serve in the military, and good iron doesn't serve in nails." In her opinion, it's good not to serve in the military. When the country was just liberated, every family had a conscript but no one would go. Now the world has really changed. She actually wants to serve in the military.

Huang Cuilan set the table and glanced at her mother-in-law with disappointment. It seemed her nephew and niece were hopeless. If her mother-in-law ignored her, no one else would be able to help her. Thinking of having to go back and answer her mother, she frowned in pain. It seemed she would have to ask her second brother to persuade her mother again.

After dinner, Huang Cuilan and her sister-in-law washed the dishes and left early to go to Huang Laoer and Huang Yaoguo's home.

Huang Yaoguo's wife was overjoyed to see her coming. She happily pulled her sister-in-law into the house and left, leaving space for the brother and sister to talk.

This sister-in-law has helped me a lot, much better than those relatives who are greedy for cheap things.