"And think about it, buying health-boosting pills every month is a considerable expense. Dekai and I will definitely not let you stop taking them, otherwise people will say that Dekai is unfilial. But after the child is born, our family will have even more expenses. I said I can't quit my job, because if I quit, wouldn't we have even less money?"
"So, I dismissed Aunt Liao for no other reason than to save her wages. Wouldn't it be better to spend that money on your grandson? It would also lighten the burden on Dekai's shoulders."
"Mom, you'll surely understand Dekai, right? After all, it's not easy for him to earn money!" Mo Youyou's words effectively shut Zhang Cuihua down.
When Liu Dekai first heard that Aunt Liao was to be dismissed, he wanted to say something, but after listening to Mo Youyou's analysis, he felt that it made a lot of sense.
That seems to be true; every penny saved counts.
Since things had come to this point, and her son hadn't spoken up for her, Zhang Cuihua understood that Liu Dekai also agreed to dismiss Aunt Liao.
Since things had come to this point, Zhang Cuihua's objections were useless, and she could only grit her teeth and agree to the dismissal.
"Alright, you two can make the decisions about things at home."
After all, she wasn't the one paying for the nanny, so there was nothing she could do about her objections, since she couldn't afford the 35 yuan monthly fee.
"Mom, I knew you still care about Dekai!" Mo Youyou said. She had achieved her goal and was in a great mood. What's wrong with saying a few nice words to coax him now?
Only Zhang Cuihua couldn't manage a smile; she could only manage a perfunctory, fake one.
But Mo Youyou didn't care. As long as her goal was achieved, who cared what Zhang Cuihua thought?
As for Liu Dekai, he is a beneficiary no matter what, and he will not have any objections. Besides, Mo Youyou is not wrong. Her mother's health is indeed getting better day by day. She just needs to do some housework, which is not so hard.
And so, the matter was settled.
"I'll tell Aunt Liao about this when she gets back," Mo Youyou said.
Aunt Liao went out to buy groceries and when she came back, she was told that the work would be done by the end of the month, and she was immediately taken aback.
"What do you mean? You're not letting me do this anymore?" Aunt Liao shouted in a loud voice.
"Aunt Liao, don't rush," Mo Youyou said calmly, sipping her hot water. "I'm about to give birth too—"
"Yes, it's because you're about to give birth, so I can help take care of your baby!" Aunt Liao said anxiously. She didn't even have a place to live at home. If she lost this job, her son and daughter-in-law would blame her and give her dirty looks every day.
After all, once Aunt Liao returned home, she would have to occupy the family's land and lose an income, resulting in a heavy loss.
“Aunt Liao, Mom said she’ll take care of the child. Besides… the house isn’t that big, and the child will have to live with Mom from now on. And the room doesn’t look very big to me…”
"Initially, we thought of asking you to come and help out at home because Mom wasn't feeling well, but now Mom is much better and can handle all the housework."
Mo Youyou spoke softly, but her attitude was very firm.
No matter what Aunt Liao says, there's no room for negotiation; dismissal is inevitable.
Aunt Liao was originally resentful. After all, she had been invited by Mo's mother to help out, and now she was being told to leave without any prior notice or to find another job. She was not happy about this.
But then she thought again, Mo Youyou's father was a brigade commander in the army, someone she absolutely couldn't afford to offend.
In the end, the matter was dropped.
At the end of the month, after settling her wages, Aunt Liao left the Liu family.
From that day on, Zhang Cuihua became the one serving Mo Youyou.
"Mom, I want to make ginseng and old hen soup tomorrow. The old ginseng I got from my house last time was pretty good. Why don't you go buy an old hen and make it tomorrow?" Mo Youyou started ordering the night before.
This old hen and ginseng soup is delicious and nourishing for pregnant women, but you have to go to the market early in the morning to buy a free-range chicken; if you go too late, you won't be able to buy any.
After buying a free-range chicken, you still have to kill it, process it, and stew it for a long time; it's a troublesome job.
"Okay!" Zhang Cuihua reluctantly agreed. "I'll go to the market first thing tomorrow morning to buy it!"
Zhang Cuihua hadn't gotten up early in ages. The thought of having to go to the market before dawn the next day made her so upset that she almost couldn't sleep that night!
Fortunately, the ginseng came from her in-laws' side, so she didn't have to spend money to buy it.
Otherwise, if Zhang Cuihua were to buy ginseng, she would be heartbroken.
Mo Youyou loves to eat sunflower seeds. She is currently not feeling well and spends all her time at home sitting or lying down watching TV. When she gets bored, she eats some sunflower seeds and fruit.
Eating sunflower seeds is the easiest way to create litter. Even if you're careful, eating them for half an hour will still leave some shells on the ground.
With her pregnant belly, Mo Youyou struggled to bend over, let alone sweep the floor.
"Mom, could you sweep the floor? If I accidentally step on these sunflower seed shells, I might slip and fall!" Mo Youyou called out.
Zhang Cuihua: "..."
Sunflower seed shells aren't banana peels; you can't just step on them and forget about it. I've never heard of anyone tripping over a sunflower seed shell.
She felt that Mo Youyou was deliberately giving her work to do.
Unfortunately, Mo Youyou is pregnant now, so Zhang Cuihua really can't argue with her. What if she really drops the sunflower seed shells and it affects her grandson?
“Okay, I’ll come sweep right away,” Zhang Cuihua said, feeling frustrated.
Pregnant women should avoid cold water, so they can't wash their own fruit; Zhang Cuihua has to wash it.
After washing it, it still needs to be cut into small pieces and placed on the coffee table, since it's inconvenient for Mo Youyou to be pregnant.
Such incidents are countless.
Zhang Cuihua has now realized that ever since Aunt Liao left, she has become Aunt Zhang of this family, not the mother-in-law at all!
On the surface, everything seemed calm and peaceful, but behind the scenes, Zhang Cuihua had long harbored resentment towards Mo Youyou.
When Liu Dekai and Mo Youyou were not home, she would clean, do laundry, and cook while cursing.
"She's just a spoiled brat who can't do anything, but she's quick to boss people around! She doesn't respect me, her mother-in-law, at all!"
"Drink chicken soup, I'll make you drink chicken soup!"
"If it weren't for my eldest grandson, you'd make me do all this? Dream on! What kind of daughter-in-law are you!"
After complaining all day, Zhang Cuihua still served her son and daughter-in-law without changing her expression when they returned home in the evening.
There was no other way; as long as Mo Youyou held the child in her belly, she held Zhang Cuihua's life in her hands, and Zhang Cuihua had no choice but to compromise, no matter how unwilling she was.
Fortunately, Mo Youyou is about to give birth, and these "hard times" are almost over.
Zhang Cuihua still fantasized that after Mo Youyou gave birth, she would find a way to get her to share some of the housework and teach her how to be a qualified wife and daughter-in-law!
In the evening, after the family finished dinner, Liu Dekai watched TV with Mo Youyou, while Zhang Cuihua was busy cleaning up in the kitchen.
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