Li Mai listened attentively the whole time.

"How do your family treat your eldest sister? Is her mother-in-law as easy to get along with as our mother?" Li Mai asked.

"Yes, she's similar to her mother in temperament, easygoing and carefree, but she's very hardworking. Her family used to be very poor, especially when she married my eldest sister. My brother-in-law was the third son in his family. After marrying my eldest sister, their family's life got better and better. Her mother-in-law firmly believed that my eldest sister was blessed and brought good fortune to their family, so she treated my eldest sister better than her other two daughters-in-law."

"That's right. The other two wives are a bit sharp-tongued and like to take advantage of others, but they're not bad people. After dealing with them for three years, my eldest sister has figured out their temperaments. She goes along with them when she should and argues with them when she should. They don't dare to bully her."

"The important thing is that once my brother-in-law finds out that they've been bullying my older sister, he'll go drinking with his two older brothers, and when they're drunk, they like to beat their wives." Zhou Tao laughed uncontrollably as she said this.

Li Mai chuckled softly; she had a general idea of ​​her sister-in-law's situation.

Zhao then said, "You don't need to go there. Your eldest sister and the two sisters-in-law's families are still living together. If you go, they might think you're coming to borrow money."

"If you're in town and have time, buy some snacks that Nannan and Dongdong like and take them to your brother-in-law's stall," Zhao instructed. "Try not to go home."

Li Mai understood Zhao's thoughts. Although they didn't borrow money when they went, after they left, the two wives could easily say that the Zhou family went to borrow money. After all, in other people's eyes, there was a sick person in the family who urgently needed money!

Since the family runs a small business, the three wives must have their own money.

"Don't worry, Mother, we won't go. We'll listen to you. If it's not too far, we'll buy some things for the two children and send them to my brother-in-law's place," Li Mai replied to Zhao Shi.

Zhao nodded, and Li Mai agreed, which put her at ease.

While twisting hemp rope, Old Man Zhou said, "Don't worry, I'm here. There won't be any problems."

"Mother, I plan to buy some flour and rice when I come back tomorrow. Is that alright? With the coarse grains we have at home, I think we should have enough food by the time the autumn harvest comes." Li Mai was still thinking about stockpiling food, as her biggest fear was running out of food.

"Alright, you can decide what to do. I'll give you the money tomorrow morning." Zhao Shi still needed to plan what else to buy that evening.

"Mother, should we buy some fabric and cotton? Does everyone in the family have cotton-padded clothes for winter?" Li Mai asked.

“We have cotton-padded coats, but Xiaoquan’s and Xiaolei’s are a bit old. Now that we have some money, let’s buy some more. After the autumn harvest, we’ll make new cotton-padded coats for them and for you.” Li Mai brought it up, and Zhao Shi also felt that it was time to start preparing.

Li Mai nodded in agreement. As for Zhou Tao, the young girl will be fifteen by the New Year, and it's time to start looking for a husband. When she goes out in the village, she should dress smartly so that she can have a good reputation for being clean and well-mannered, which will be helpful in finding a husband.

Thinking about it this way, Li Mai realized that there were quite a few things she needed to buy for her home.

However, we can take it one step at a time and eventually have everything. The important thing now is to make money. Once we have money, everything else will follow.

As they were talking, Zhou Lin and Zhou Lei returned. "Sister-in-law, we've prepared water for you again. Go back and wash up. We'll come over and pour you some water in a bit!"

"Thank you, but you don't need to pour it for me. You all should shower and get some rest. I can pour it myself." Li Mai quickly waved her hand and went back to shower.

Zhao smiled. The two rascals were quite sensible. "Not bad, they have good eyes. Be diligent in front of your sister-in-law in the future. She is a woman who knows how to get along with people."

"Okay, Mom!" Zhou Lin smiled.

"How's your learning going these past few days? Is your new master really teaching you anything?" Zhao asked Zhou Lin in a low voice.

"It was taught by him, Mother. Don't worry, my master knows more than my senior brother. He taught me, and I learned it after doing it a few times. He said I was more gifted than my senior brother was back then." Zhou Lin was also very happy to be praised by his master.

"By the way, Xiao Lin, yesterday Zhou Chun's wife was acting strangely. Even in the rain, she went from house to house telling people that the rumors in the village about you being no good were just something she said to ruin your reputation because she was upset with us the other day."

"I ran into your Aunt Wangcai this afternoon, and she told me with a smile that everyone in the village is talking about Pan Shi today, wondering if Zhou Chun gave her a beating and that's why she came out of the village to clear your name," Zhao Shi said with a smile.

Zhou Lin gave a cold snort, "If you ask me, those two are like turtles eyeing green beans, they're both the same color."

"Pfft, second brother, isn't it true that other people's eyes met like a turtle and a green bean? How come you're the same color?" Zhou Tao couldn't help but laugh.

"Young lady, you shouldn't know too much. Anyway, remember, those two are no pushovers. When have you ever seen your older brother smile at them? When I worked with Zhou Chun before, I was always distant from him, but look at how good I am with Zhou Qu and the others." Zhou Lin lectured his sister a few times before pulling Zhou Lei back to bed.

Zhou Tao's smile faded, and she looked at her mother with a puzzled expression. "Mother, what does Second Brother mean?"

Zhao glanced at her, smiled, and said in a low voice, "What your second brother means is that neither of them are good people. You should be careful when you see them in the future. Pan and we have already broken off relations. We don't plan to have anything to do with their family anymore."

"I know, Mom. Why can't Second Brother just say it directly? Why does he have to use such a vague term? I don't understand!" Zhou Tao shook her head and went to wash up with Zhuzhu.

When Li Mai returned to the room, Zhou Quan was already asleep, huddled under the covers. When he saw her come back, he said, "You don't need to blow out the lamp this time. I'll turn over and sleep."

After saying that, he actually faced the window, closed his eyes, and started to sleep.

Seeing his obedient appearance, Li Mai chuckled, agreed, and began to undress and enter the bathtub to wash.

Taking a shower before bed is quite comfortable.

Unexpectedly, Li Mai sat in the bathtub with her eyes closed, resting, and fell asleep because it was so comfortable.

Finally, she was awakened by Zhou Quan.

"Xiaomai, are you asleep or have you passed out?" Zhou Quan's voice trembled.

Li Mai opened her sleepy eyes and glanced at him. "Sorry, I was taking such a comfortable bath that I fell asleep."

"Oh, that's good. Then hurry up and come out. I guess the water got cold. I suddenly woke up and didn't see you on the kang (heated brick bed), so I realized you were still in the bathtub. I've been calling you for a while now." Zhou Quan turned around and explained softly.

"Hmm, I guess I'm a little tired from using my brain too much these past two days!" Li Mai smiled, got up, put on her undergarments, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), took a cloth and started drying her hair. After taking a short nap, she was no longer sleepy.

"Zhou Quan, are you having trouble sleeping?" Li Mai wiped him for a while and realized that he didn't seem to be asleep yet.

"Hmm!" Zhou Quan responded softly.

"Then help me dry my hair, I'm still a little sleepy." She moved to the side of his mattress, turned her back to him, and sat down, waiting for him to turn around and dry her hair.