"Second brother, what are you doing? And all of you, you are all grown men of the family, how can you do these women's chores?"

Zhang Li Shi didn't care about the purpose of her visit. She rushed forward and snatched the broom from Li's father's hand, looking at him with a disappointed expression.

When he saw Li's mother come out, his eyes were filled with hostility.

It was one thing to beat her daughter yesterday, but today she made her second brother and several nephews do these chores. If word got out, people would laugh at her to death.

The three Li brothers didn't think there was anything wrong with it, since everyone in the village was doing it now, and they were young and more receptive.

Li's father felt somewhat embarrassed to have his sister witness him doing these things. He had initially disagreed with it, but since the Lu family had set an example and other men in the village were doing the same, he did it anyway despite his dissatisfaction.

Especially considering that all the men in the village are like this now, no one should laugh at anyone else, so they feel more at ease.

But now that her older sister has seen it, she can no longer maintain her composure.

"Big sister, what brings you here?"

Mr. Li straightened up, but didn't know where to put his hands, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Zhang Li stared at her younger brother, wanting him to give her an explanation, completely ignoring their mother.

Although Li's mother didn't know what her sister-in-law was up to, she still gave her eldest son a look. Li Daniu reacted quickly and said, "Aunt, you've really misunderstood. Our family has been busy until today and we're only resting now. If we don't prepare now, we won't have time to celebrate the New Year, so the whole family is working together. Everyone in the village does this, it's nothing."

Originally, Li Daniu meant well in trying to comfort his father, but Zhang Lishi saw his words as boasting about her family's relationship with the Lu family, and most importantly, protecting her ruthless sister-in-law.

According to Zhang Cuiya last night, her good sister-in-law wanted to sever ties with her family last night. If her brother hadn't stopped her, who knows how many jokes would have been made.

She found it ridiculous when she thought about it. He was her own brother, with the same blood flowing in his veins. How could their relationship be ruined because of a woman's instigation?

"What do you mean everyone in the village is like this? These are clearly women's jobs, how can you let men do them? Don't you have any shame if people say that? I have to say, Da Niu, you really are something, how come you've lost all your manliness after not seeing you for a while? I don't know where you learned it from!"

These words were a veiled insult, actually directed at Li's mother. Li's mother stood to the side without saying a word, as if she hadn't heard a word she said.

Mr. Li glanced at his wife and felt increasingly embarrassed. Although he had accepted doing these things, he was still uncomfortable being scolded by his sister. Just as he was about to say something, his eldest grandson, who was sweeping snow nearby, spoke up: "Grandmother, you're not right to say that."

He was a small man, but his tone was very firm.

“These chores around the house are quite tiring, so they should be done by men. My grandma, mother, and aunts are women, and they are not as strong as my dad and his family. If they do all the work, it will be slow and harmful to their health. But it’s different if we all do it. Not only can we get things done quickly, but it can also make our relationships more harmonious.”

He had heard Lu's grandmother say this before. Before she went to the prefectural city, Lu's grandmother liked to go out and chat, and he happened to be there when he heard it.

Grandma Lu said that a man should be able to stand tall and be strong outside the home, and at home he should be able to care for his wife. Couples should help each other, and only then can a family be happy and complete.

The Lu family lived a good life in this atmosphere. At the time, everyone around thought it made sense, and he also thought it made sense. So when he came back, he told his grandmother about it. His grandmother also thought it made sense, and she used the same method to educate his father and two uncles. For so long, he never thought he was wrong, but he never expected that his great-aunt would make a scene at his house because of this.

"Hey, what do you know, you little brat? Who gives a child the right to interrupt adults? You're getting more and more ill-mannered! They say you should marry a virtuous wife. You insisted on marrying her back then, and you got your wish. But look at the family, even the children dare to disrespect their great-aunt. No wonder you almost beat my Cuiya to death last night. Your heartless wife is trying to drive a wedge between us siblings!"

She didn't care at all that Li's mother was still there, and immediately started making false accusations, completely unlike the smiling face that Li's father had when he took Zhang Cuiya home the night before.

Li Daniu and Li Erniu stared wide-eyed, never expecting their aunt's expression to change so quickly, completely transforming her into a different person.

The two daughters-in-law originally wanted to say a few words on behalf of their mother-in-law, since it would be tantamount to speaking up for themselves, but Li's mother suppressed them.

She stepped forward and said, "Speaking of upbringing, I really don't dare to compare with you, sister. After all, my three sons are not like toads dreaming of eating swan meat, and my two daughters are not the restless type either. They don't even know their own worth, yet they dare to covet positions that don't belong to them!"

When Li's mother finally spoke, she silenced Zhang Li's wife with a direct rebuke, implying that Zhang Li's wife had failed to raise Zhang Cuiya properly and that she was like a toad trying to eat swan meat.

Zhang Li wanted to say something, but remembering that she had come here to ask Li's mother for something, she could only suppress her anger and think about taking care of her daughter's matter first.

"Never mind, I didn't come here today to talk about these things. Let's go inside and talk about it."

Having been freezing outside the Lu family's house for so long, there was no reason for them to continue freezing at their younger brother's house. Without the Li family having to greet them, the mother and daughter went inside on their own.

The Li family members exchanged glances, knowing that the newcomers were up to no good, but they still followed them inside to see what trouble the mother and daughter were up to this time.

"If you've come because of what I did to Cuiya yesterday, then I'm afraid I won't apologize to you. You should know what's going on with my family now, but Cuiya is being unruly. If she doesn't behave herself, our Li family will lose the right to be employed by the Lu family. Then, if you want to come and take rice and flour every few days, you won't be able to anymore."

Li's mother was never one to back down; on the contrary, she was quite shrewish. However, she often refrained from arguing with her sister-in-law out of consideration for her husband. But if they really did argue, her sister-in-law might not be a match for her.

"Also, last night I only slapped her once from beginning to end, but she screamed like her parents had died. Today the village started spreading rumors that our Li family crippled her. My sister knows how important reputation is these days. One minute she wants to marry my San Niu, and the next she's set her sights on that Lu San Ye. It's not just that her own reputation is ruined, but she's also ruining my son's reputation. For that reason alone, I didn't hit her many times; she got off easy!"

The two daughters-in-law never expected that their mother-in-law would choose to stand up to her sister-in-law. They thought that, as before, she would greet her with a smile for the sake of her father-in-law, and then offer some benefits to settle the matter.

In retrospect, the Lu family was indeed the mother-in-law's bottom line.

The mother and daughter in this family were clearly testing the limits of their mother-in-law's boundaries.