The next morning, Xu Minghan grabbed a few clothes and left.

When Zhang Xuemei woke up, she touched the blankets next to her and found they were empty.

It's already June, and when I woke up early this morning, the sun was already shining through the window.

Zhang Xuemei dragged her heavy body out of bed, then put on a loose short-sleeved shirt before slowly coming out of the room.

Because I didn't want anyone to know I was home, I didn't dare to use the stove to cook.

Fortunately, there is a back door in the wall of my house that connects to my mother-in-law's stove, so I can walk to my mother-in-law's house as soon as I open it.

Zhang Xuemei poured some water from the kettle into her cup, added some cold water to adjust it to a suitable temperature, and then went to the back door to start brushing her teeth.

The back door of my house is next to a high field, so most people can't see the back door unless they stand on the edge of the field and look down.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Zhang Xuemei thought for a moment, then opened the side door, passed by the stove, and arrived at her mother-in-law's house.

When I lifted the lid, I saw a bowl of plain white porridge and some pickled cabbage.

It seems her husband had already spoken to his mother in the morning, which is why he left her breakfast.

Zhang Xuemei touched her belly, and people said that her belly didn't look like she was seven months pregnant.

Later, she realized that she had been lacking food and nutrition, and she couldn't let herself and her child suffer if she had a second chance.

So I took two eggs directly from the drawer where my mother-in-law kept eggs, washed them with water, and then put them in a pot with water to boil.

The eggs laid by the chickens raised at home were small. Zhang Xuemei ate two eggs and a bowl of porridge before she felt a little full. She could have eaten more if there were any left.

After finishing the meal, I checked the time on the wall. My mother-in-law should be taking Panpan to the vegetable garden by now. I need to finish off the eggshells quickly and then start making lunch. After all, you can't be too polite when someone feeds you!

As soon as Granny Liu looked up, she noticed smoke coming from her chimney. Frowning, she quickly led her eldest granddaughter home.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw my third daughter-in-law, Zhang Xuemei, sitting by the stove, tending the fire!

"Are you trying to die? Do you want everyone to know you're home?"

"I..." Zhang Xuemei was about to explain when she felt a heat on her leg. Looking down, she saw her eldest daughter, Panpan, looking up at her with her little head raised!

"Mom, you're home! I missed you so much!" Xu Panpan felt like she hadn't seen her mother for a very, very long time.

Zhang Xuemei touched her daughter's head, and seeing her little daughter again filled her with complicated feelings.

She felt guilty towards her eldest daughter.

In order to have a son, she had to live in hiding, missing out on too much of her childhood.

"Mommy's back! Mommy missed Panpan so much!"

Granny Liu frowned. "Panpan, you can't tell anyone that Mom is back, okay? If anyone asks, just say you don't know where Mom is."

"Yes, Panpan, Mommy is telling you, you can't let outsiders know that Mommy is at home, or Mommy will be arrested."

Zhang Xuemei was afraid that the children would let slip the secret.

Xu Panpan nodded as if she understood, but didn't say anything about her mother being home.

Zhang Xuemei smiled apologetically at her mother-in-law, "I was just thinking that you should be back soon, so I wanted to help make lunch. I didn't think about the chimney for a moment."

Zhang Xuemei felt that her brain was really not working properly. She could still think of the chimney when she first got up, but she forgot about it as soon as she arrived at her mother-in-law's house.

"Alright, be careful yourself. Sigh, I hope this baby is a son."

As she spoke, Granny Liu took an egg from the drawer, preparing to steam an egg custard for her eldest granddaughter.

I had already turned around, but after thinking about it, I went back and got two more.

"I'll steam some egg custard for you two at noon, and also cook a salted fish and some freshly chopped cabbage. Eat that first, and then I'll cook meat for dinner."

Zhang Xuemei had already seen her mother-in-law's actions and knew that she would get her share of eggs at noon. She grinned and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, Mom."

"Mom, isn't Dad coming home for lunch?"

It was almost time for dinner and her father-in-law still hadn't returned, so Zhang Xuemei asked curiously.

“He’ll go back later to finish his work this morning. He’s going to move to another place this afternoon. Let’s eat first.”

If Zhang Xuemei misses anything from the past, it's her mother-in-law's cooking skills.

You know what, my mother-in-law's cooking is really good. She can even make cabbage taste delicious. But when she got old, she started to cook shoddy food, and it was really not fit for human consumption.

But her specialty is still wheat pancakes, which are big, thin, and crispy. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

"Mom, when are you going to make wheat pancakes?" Zhang Xuemei has finally figured it out. She should just tell people what she wants to eat. How can anyone know if she keeps it to herself?

In my past life, I was too reserved. I thought a daughter-in-law should be sensible and not greedy.

She felt upset for a long time after hearing just one sentence from her in-laws, and in the end, she didn't get any benefits and was left feeling incredibly resentful.

Just like my daughter said when she grew up, you can't lose anything but yourself.

Granny Liu looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Feeling hungry?"

Zhang Xuemei chuckled, "That's right! I've been missing your wheat cakes so much, I dream about them all the time."

"Why didn't you ask your mother to make it for you at your parents' house?"

"That's not as good as yours, your cooking is the best!" he said, giving a thumbs up.

Granny Liu forcefully suppressed the urge to curl her lips upward. "You're such a smooth talker. Fine, let's have wheat cakes for dinner! I just bought a piece of meat this morning and it's been chilling in the well!"

Thinking to himself, he realized that his third daughter-in-law had become a completely different person since she came back. She could talk now, unlike before when she would keep everything bottled up inside and wouldn't utter a word even if he beat her ten times.

Zhang Xuemei got the answer she wanted, and that evening she could finally eat the wheat pancakes she had been craving. She was overjoyed.

After resting for a while, I took my daughter for a nap.

I slept straight through until 5 p.m., and when I touched my daughter, she was gone.

I walked through the side door to my mother-in-law's house, familiar with the way, and saw her making wheat pancakes.

"Mom, is it ready to eat? Oh, and where's Panpan?"

Granny Liu rolled out the pancakes without looking up. "Everyone sleeps like you. Dingwen took them to play. They'll be ready soon. Go wash your hands."

"Okay, coming right away." Zhang Xuemei pretended not to hear what her mother-in-law said and washed her hands to prepare to eat the pancake.

Granny Liu glanced at Zhang Xuemei and realized she had really changed. In the past, she would have gone back to her room without a word, instead of waiting to eat pancakes as if nothing had happened.

“You eat first, I’ll make two more and send them to the eldest and second sons’ families. There are so many kids, it’s hard to keep them all from eating together, so I didn’t let them come to the old house to eat with us.”

Grandma Liu makes big wheat pancakes, the kind made in a big iron pot like those in the countryside, one pancake is enough to feed the whole family.

"There's porridge in the pot inside. Help yourself to cool off. I'll take some pancakes to them."

"Okay, Mom, go ahead!" Zhang Xuemei had already finished one pancake and quickly grabbed the second one.