“I’ll go live in the thatched hut. You and your mother can sleep on the kang (heated brick bed).”

Seeing that Shen Cheng was about to get up from the kang, Shen Danru stopped him: "Father, it's not suitable for your wound to stay outside, it's easy to get infected. You and Mother can sleep on the kang, I'll just make a makeshift bed on the floor here."

Upon hearing this, Shen Cheng and Zhou Shi thought it wouldn't work. In the end, at Shen Cheng's insistence, Shen Danru and Zhou Shi slept on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Shen Cheng made a makeshift bed on the floor.

Shen Danru lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a long time, unable to fall asleep. This was the first time she had ever slept on a kang since birth, and also the first time she had ever slept with someone else.

Moreover, it was an unfamiliar environment, and she couldn't adapt to it for a while.

The next morning, she sat up with dark circles under her eyes.

Shen Cheng and Zhou Shi were both gone, leaving only Shen Danru in the room.

"Now that you're back, you should get back to work. The Shen family doesn't support idlers."

“Mother, you’re wrong to say that. Ru’er is tired from the journey, so what’s wrong with letting the child sleep a little longer? Haven’t I been the one doing all the housework? Neither my sister-in-law nor my third sister-in-law have come out to help. You said you don’t support idlers in the family, but I haven’t seen them doing any work either.”

Seeing that her words were somewhat unreasonable, Chen shut up.

Who could blame them when the eldest son's womb was so vigorous, bearing a son who was the hope of the entire Shen family?

The third brother works in town and is considered a respectable person. What's wrong with taking care of his family?

If you want to blame someone, blame it on the fact that none of you from the second wife's family are any good enough. If you don't do the work, who will?

Chen muttered something to herself and went back to her room to wait for dinner.

Shen Danru pursed her lips upon hearing the arguing; this old woman was truly being unreasonable.

The Shen family had not yet divided their property, and the whole family was crammed into the main room for dinner. Because there were so many people, they were divided into two tables, one for the men and one for the women. Even though the four branches of the family lived in town, it still felt very crowded.

If all the family members are present and there isn't enough room at the table, the second wife's family member is always forced to eat in the kitchen.