Father Zhang smiled, patted his eldest son on the shoulder, and praised him, "You are worthy of being my eldest son! If it were any other person, they would have been tempted by him long ago. I am very happy that my son can resist the temptation outside."

Zhang Guofu rubbed his head and laughed happily, "Dad, I'm not that kind. To be honest, I was tempted, but when I thought about marrying a little girl, I would be so embarrassed that I lost all interest."

Zhang's father wasn't angry anymore. The fact that the child could say this showed he knew his limits. If this little girl was gone, there would be all kinds of women in the future. It was good that the child knew his limits.

Now that the external issues were resolved, the next thing to do was to deal with the couple's problems. Father Zhang planned to take advantage of the quiet tonight to chat with his eldest son without anyone interrupting him.

Zhang's father understood his three sons very well. Other people's sons could be beaten and scolded, but his three sons were sensible and filial since they were young. As long as he appealed to their emotions, they would listen.

"That's the right way to think. We men shouldn't have affairs with wives. If a family doesn't have unity, it's not a family. What is home? When you're tired outside, you come home to someone who serves you a hot meal. When you're bullied outside, there's someone right behind you who will help you without any hesitation."

As Zhang Dad spoke, he looked at his son. He understood why he kept his head down and said nothing. While the eldest daughter-in-law was wrong, good women are always raised by men.

He was worried that his son would get bored listening to all this, so he changed the subject and recalled the past: "When your mother was young, she had a really bad temper and would get angry at the slightest thing, but Dad and her have never had a quarrel in most of our lives. Why? Dad couldn't bear to say a harsh word to her. Dad always remembers that when she first got married, she would save any food she had and give it to Dad, and she would even laugh and say that she had a small appetite.

After we split up, she worked with me in the fields day and night. Often, by the time I left for something, she'd already been working for most of the day. She truly treated herself like an ox to be used. Nine times out of ten, any wild animal we had at home ended up in my mouth. If I refused, she'd wipe her tears. At that time, even the soup I drank tasted like her tears.

It wasn't until you were born that she started to eat some soup. Less than six months after marrying, she was so thin she was just a bag of bones. Your grandfather came to see her and burst into tears. He told me he'd married his only daughter to me hoping she'd have a good life, but she'd never expected it to be harder than at home. I blushed, feeling completely irritated.

I looked at the Daqing Mountains and decided to hide it from your mother and go up the mountain when there was no farm work during the winter. I couldn't continue living like this, so I decided to take a gamble.

When the snow closed the mountains, I tricked your mother into going to the county town to find work. Your uncle and his three brothers spent a full week in the mountains, where we hunted two wild boars. I was injured at the time, and upon returning home, your mother fainted from shock. For the next few days, whenever she opened her eyes, she'd look for me first. I can't forget her terrified expression.

At that time, apart from your grandparents, no one could be so kind to me. With you guys around, your mother's life became even more difficult. For several years, she basically didn't close her eyes and lie down for a while.

As Zhang Dad was talking, he realized that he had strayed from the topic. He smiled and shook his head. He was really old!

"Later, your wife came into the family. She was diligent and considerate, always letting your mother rest. She'd follow you with a hoe on her back, smiling broadly. Your mother was overjoyed to see you. She said you were lucky and had found the right wife.

This child is truly wonderful. She's beautiful, good-tempered, and a real workhorse. She's easily surpassed by all of Qingshan's daughters-in-law. Especially since she's given us three big, fat boys all at once. Your grandparents often praise her, saying that having such a daughter-in-law is a sign of prosperity for our family.

Very few daughters-in-law can achieve this. In our family, before Xiaowu was ten, she, the eldest daughter-in-law, made great contributions. She was responsible for the pigs and chickens and ducks we raised each year.

I still remember how she prepared breakfast every morning before dawn, then ran off to feed the pigs and chickens. After the family finished eating, she'd grab her hoe and follow you to the fields. After the busy farming season, she'd be so thin she was just a bag of bones. Your father-in-law and his family would come over and shed tears several times. Do you remember that?

Zhang Guofu fell into reminiscence as his father spoke. Those days were truly hard. He felt his wife's life was not easy, but he could not bear to blame her.

Zhang Guofu nodded. He understood why his father had been so cruel as to go hunting in the mountains. He had experienced the feeling of being silently rebuked by his father-in-law and despised by his mother-in-law.

"The Huang family..." Father Zhang paused. "Your father-in-law is a good man. You can't deny that. He loves his grandchildren so much that he took Xizi and the others home whenever he had time. Later, even Shitou followed him. What does your father-in-law want? He just wants you to be nice to his daughters."

Zhang Guofu frowned, wanting to argue that his younger brother hadn't let his father-in-law's family suffer any loss. How much game had Xiaowu sent over those years? How much dried goods had his mother sent?

Then he glanced at his father. He had a better idea of ​​what his father was going to say next. It would be best not to argue about this matter, as his father might resort to violence.

How could Father Zhang not understand his own son?

He shook his head. "Son, you can't live in this world and always expect others to treat you well without giving anything in return. You can't erase all the kindness you've received in the past just for a few things. Besides your father-in-law, didn't your two brothers-in-law try every possible way to get you into the city those few years?"

Zhang Guofu nodded hesitantly.

"When our family wasn't well off, your wife never moved things back to her parents' home, did she?"

Zhang Guofu was very clear about this and nodded affirmatively.

"This man is selfish. Let's not talk about your wife first, let's talk about your uncle. He is always your brother, right? He told me some time ago that he wanted to buy Xiaowu's courtyard. That's not all. He also implied that he needed your help with your aunt's affairs in the future. You see, they are brothers, and Xiaowu is his nephew, but he is selfish and calculating.

But can Dad be angry with him? No! Because our family is indeed doing well, he feels that it is his duty as a relative to help. Dad knows very well that if our family were still in the village, similar to them, he would never say these words. So how can he be said to be bad?

Zhang Guofu looked at his father thoughtfully.

Father Zhang went on earnestly, "And your wife has the same mindset as your uncle. In the past, when we were poor, she couldn't help her parents. But now that life is better at home, she's even very filial to us, her parents-in-law. How could she not care about her own parents?"

Your second brother spent a fortune on his wedding. Would any daughter-in-law not make a scene? The family hadn't even been divided at the time. But what about her? She didn't say a word. Your mother didn't like your second brother's wife when she married into the family, and she was the one who smoothed things over.

What does this mean? It means this child is kind and generous. She even takes good care of her husband's younger brother, so how could she not miss her two brothers from her mother's family who dote on her? So, don't blame your wife. Even if she was wrong, it was because she went too far. But you allowed her to do that. If you had quarreled with her a few times, she wouldn't have dared to do that.

Zhang Guofu's face turned red when he heard what his father said.