Gu Yongnian heard that Ding Hehua's tone was a little strange, so he asked, "Wife, what's wrong with you? Are you unhappy because of what I said? Aren't I happy for Weicheng to marry such a good wife? If you don't like to hear it, I won't say it next time."

Ding Hehua sighed and said, "Not really... Yongnian, I just saw that mom was really nice to Weicheng's wife, making pancakes and beating egg water for her.

You told me again how great Weicheng's wife is, and I felt a little uncomfortable. I felt like I couldn't compare to Weicheng's wife in any way. Could it be that Mom likes Weicheng's wife instead of me?"

"Why do you think so? No matter how good Weicheng's wife is, she is not her biological daughter-in-law. No matter what, you are still her biological daughter-in-law. Just because she likes Weicheng's wife doesn't mean she doesn't like you anymore.

Besides, Weicheng and his family are here as guests. How many years has Weicheng not been back? Isn't it natural that my parents treat Weicheng and his wife better? Also, don't forget that they brought us so many things, including cotton clothes and cloth. Isn't that worth the money for a few eggs?"

Gu Yongnian didn't expect Ding Hehua to think this way. He quickly sat up and started arguing with Ding Hehua with a serious expression.

Ding Hehua pulled him and said, "It's so cold, take off your cotton-padded jacket. You'll catch a cold if you don't cover yourself with a blanket. Come in quickly. I know they brought a lot of things for us, and I don't think they are bad. I just..."

"Forget it. I shouldn't have told you if I had known." Ding Hehua sighed.

It’s not that she doesn’t like Li Xia, she just feels a little uncomfortable, and even she herself can’t explain why.

"It's okay as long as you don't think they are bad, Hehua. Weicheng's biological mother is gone, and my cousin is a bad guy. His only relatives now are us and his great-grandfather. My mother and his mother have had a good relationship since childhood, and I treat Weicheng as my own brother." Gu Yongnian said.

Ding Hehua stopped talking, closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Gu Yongnian couldn't sleep, so he simply got up and read the newspaper by the kerosene lamp. As he read, he was really fascinated. No wonder those educated youth loved to read it so much.

Ding Hehua saw him reading the newspaper intently, and felt a little upset.

Is it really that good? Why did she get up so late at night to read it? How come she didn't know that Gu Yongnian liked reading newspapers so much?

…

When Li Xia woke up the next morning, Gu Weicheng and An An were no longer in the room.

It's easy to understand that Gu Weicheng follows the same military schedule every day, but I didn't expect An An to wake up so early. Li Xia glanced at the time on the watch and hurried up as well.

Although the quilt in winter is really warm and hard to give up, it is not your own home after all, and it is not good to get up too late.

When walking out of the room, Li Xia bumped into Ding Hehua and took the initiative to call out with a smile: "Good morning, sister-in-law."

When Ding Hehua saw Li Xia greet her with a smile, she thought of what she had said to Gu Yongnian last night and wondered if she was too stingy.

She said a little embarrassedly, "Good morning to you too. Um...are you looking for Weicheng and An'an? It snowed heavily last night, and I just saw them making a snowman at the doorstep. The hot water is ready, go and wash up. I steamed some buns, we'll have them for breakfast."

"That's right. When I woke up, both father and son were gone. I was just about to look for them. Luckily my sister-in-law told me." Li Xia pursed her lips and smiled.

He then said, "Eat buns. I'd like to try my sister-in-law's cooking!"

Ding Hehua found that Li Xia looked really beautiful when she smiled. Her eyes were curved like the crescent moon in the sky, and her eyelashes were long and curled. Why didn’t she notice it yesterday?

"It doesn't matter if it's my cooking skill or not, just eat it. Just don't complain that my cooking is not tasty." Ding Hehua felt even more embarrassed.

Li Xia said without hesitation: "How can it be just so-so? Yesterday, my aunt praised my sister-in-law's cooking skills in front of me."

Ding Hehua's eyes lit up and she blushed as she said, "Really? Did my mother-in-law really say that to me?"

"Yes, how could it be false? Auntie is very satisfied with you as her daughter-in-law." Li Xia continued to speak exaggerated words without blushing or beating her heart.

In fact, Chen Dongju and Li Xia talked about other topics yesterday, but Li Xia could see that Chen Dongju was not dissatisfied with Ding Hehua as her daughter-in-law.

It’s just that people are being reserved nowadays, and even if they are satisfied they won’t specifically tell you.

Li Xia saw that Ding Hehua was not a bad person, but she was sensitive and not very confident. Yesterday, she found that Ding Hehua didn't seem to like her very much. Later, she thought about it and realized that it was her appearance that made Ding Hehua feel a sense of crisis, so she became hostile to her.

People who develop this kind of character usually come from families where they are neglected at home all year round. It is estimated that Ding Hehua was not valued enough in her mother's family.

By saying this, she was telling Ding Hehua that Chen Dongju liked her as a daughter-in-law and she didn't have to worry about stealing Chen Dongju's favor.

Sure enough, when Li Xia saw the smile on Ding Hehua's face, he knew that he was right.

They are all family, and Ding Hehua has no bad intentions. Li Xia doesn't mind taking the initiative to spend some time to resolve this misunderstanding. What's more, Ding Hehua looks very innocent. Before she said anything, Ding Hehua was turned from an "enemy" into a friend.

"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll go wash up first, you go do your thing." After saying this, Li Xia went to get some water to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Ding Hehua entered the house and excitedly said to Gu Yongnian, who had just woken up and was still a little dazed, "Yongnian, guess what Weicheng's wife talked to me about just now?"

"What did you talk about?" Gu Yongnian yawned.

Ding Hehua chirped, "My wife from Weicheng told me that my mother praised my skill in making dumplings in front of her. You said a lot last night. My mother still likes me very much.

When I first came to think of it, my mother made me some egg water when I first entered your family. She never let me go back empty-handed every time I went back to my parents' home. My first child was a girl, Xiaoman, and my mother-in-law never said anything bad about me, unlike my neighbor from my mother's side who gave birth to a daughter and was scolded by her mother-in-law every day for giving birth to a money-loser. Everyone in the village envied me for marrying into such a good family, and that my husband could drive a tractor.

The more Ding Hehua talked about it, the more she felt that she was lucky to have married into a good family.

Be it men or parents-in-law.

Gu Yongnian read novels too late last night, and was still a little sleepy now, but he still nodded and agreed: "That's right, Mom has always liked you, you just thought too much yesterday."

Ding Hehua nodded: "Yes, I didn't think it through yesterday, but now I have figured it all out. I should be like mom and be nicer to Weicheng's wife. No, I should be nicer to their whole family."

After saying that, she remembered that Gu Yongnian seemed to have told her last night that some article in the newspaper was written by Li Xia. She was quite angry when she saw Gu Yongnian staying up all night reading the newspaper. But now she took the initiative to say, "Let me see your newspaper, too. The one that published the article written by Weicheng's wife."

"You've started reading newspapers too?" Gu Yongnian was surprised. Is his wife also pursuing progress?

Gu Yongnian and Ding Hehua were classmates in elementary school. It is no exaggeration to say that Ding Hehua was like banging her head against a wall when studying and she really didn't like studying.

Seeing Gu Yongnian asking this, Ding Hehua rolled her eyes at him and said, "What's the matter? You are allowed to watch it, but I am not allowed to?"