The third son's wife always felt uneasy. These two pieces of cured meat were secretly taken out by them behind Liu's and the eldest son's side's backs. If Liu found out and they had tried in vain, they would definitely be skinned alive.
She took a step forward urgently, her hands subtly targeting the two pieces of cured meat in Yun Ruoxia's hands, ready to snatch them back at any moment.
“Xia’er, these two pieces of cured meat are what my mother-in-law kept hidden for the New Year. We took them out secretly. I think… if Ling’er can’t do anything about it, we should ask the cured meat back first, so as to avoid my mother-in-law and sister-in-law complaining.”
Yun Ruoxia had long known that these people were like leeches who couldn't change their ways. Fortunately, she was prepared, so when she heard the third son's wife's words, she immediately put the two pieces of cured meat behind her back and retorted without hesitation:
“You’ve got it wrong. Regardless of whether Ling’er has a way or not, you should give us these two pieces of cured meat. You know how much your family took from us before. These two pieces of cured meat are a small way of repaying a small part of it.”
"you,"
The third son's wife rushed forward anxiously. She couldn't afford to lose the cured meat and end up looking like a ghost. So she reached out to grab Yun Ruoxia, but was caught by the second son's wife.
"Qinglang, see the guest out."
Yun Ruoxia turned her back and walked away, giving Wen Siqing a wink before muttering:
"Who are these people? Over the years, how many people have come to beg our Sister Ling? They've all been offering real gold and silver, delicacies, antiques, and rare treasures. But these two have brought just two pieces of ordinary cured meat. Fine, fine, but they actually want to take it back. That's something I've never seen before."
These words were clearly a slap in the face to the third son's wife. She couldn't tolerate it and immediately tried to fight Yun Ruoxia, but Wen Siqing stopped her in time.
"Sisters-in-law, please go back."
"And who are you? You're not just another servant from their third branch of the family, are you?"
Wen Siqing remained expressionless, simply extending his hand and saying again:
"Please leave."
The second son's wife felt that Wen Siqing was not a good person. Compared with Gangzi, he was much more refined. Yesterday, she saw him standing next to Yun Ruoxia and then with Yun Ruoxia.
Given Yun Ruoxia's fiery temper, her haughty and disdainful nature, any man who catches her eye must have something special about him; he's probably rich, and very rich at that.
Therefore, she smiled faintly:
"You look quite refined and elegant, young master. I wonder what kind of work you did in the city before?"
"You two are just working for the employer, so please leave."
Wen Siqing's tone became colder and harder, and the second son's wife could no longer stay. After all, this man was a man, and his strength was greater than theirs. Moreover, if a dispute broke out and they got entangled, they would not be able to explain themselves even if they were in the right.
The second son's wife had no choice but to tuck her tail between her legs and pull the third son's wife along. Once they reached the foot of the mountain, the third son's wife couldn't hold back any longer. She gently pushed the second son's wife's hand away, complaining:
"Now look what's happened! Two pieces of cured meat are gone, and we haven't even seen Ling'er. It's all for nothing. You should have told me to snatch the cured meat back earlier. How are we going to explain this when we get back?"
"What's all this talk about explaining? Haven't we suffered enough over the years? All they do is talk the talk. They say they'll help us find mistresses, but in the end, it's all just empty words."
The second son's wife was filled with resentment whenever this was mentioned.
“These are our own flesh and blood, not theirs, nor those two old men’s. Of course they’re not worried, but Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are the ones we carried for ten months and gave birth to. They are our lives, our flesh and blood. As mothers, we can’t abandon them.”
"To be fair, if it weren't for those two old folks in my family going too far, would the relationship between our two families have gotten so bad? It's only natural that Xia Jie'er resents us. As the old saying goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day,' so this knot isn't so easy to untie."
"Besides, what's wrong with us wanting two pieces of cured meat? Doesn't that mean there's a share for us? Third brother's family, think about it, all these years we've worked so hard and sacrificed so much for this family, have they ever taken us seriously? Aren't they all biased towards the eldest son's family?"
The third son's wife was also angry. She had encouraged Yun Sanzhuang to run away because she couldn't stand Yun Da and Liu Shi. But Yun Xiaosi was useless, and Liu Shi found out. Yun Sanzhuang even got into a fight with Yun Da because of this.
"Second sister-in-law, I know about these things even if you don't tell me. Otherwise, our third branch wouldn't have wanted to leave home alone to find Xiao Liu. I'll accept this cured meat. At worst, I'll just have to break ties with them. But can Ling-jie really help us?"
The second son's wife had successfully won over the third son's wife, and she was overjoyed. Her tone became light and cheerful as she replied:
“Ling’er is a smart woman. Her family is new here, and the villagers are treating them like thieves. They must be having a lot of trouble.”
"The reason she's unwilling to reveal everything about Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu all at once is simply to keep us hanging, hoping to extract some benefits or information from us. So she can definitely help us; it just depends on whether we can meet her needs..."
The third son's wife frowned slightly, clearly reluctant to part with him.
"Second sister-in-law, do you mean we still have to give them something?"
But then, remembering what the second son's wife had said earlier, his mindset immediately changed.
"Take it or leave it. I just want Xiao Liu to come back. He's been away for so many years, I don't know how he's doing. He must really want to come back."
The second son's wife empathized deeply. Over the years, whenever she looked at the third daughter-in-law, she would think of the fifth daughter-in-law. It was a good thing that the third daughter-in-law was able to grow up by her side and be loved by her all along, but the fifth daughter-in-law...
Every time she dreams, she recalls the day in Dongtou Village when the debt collectors came to her door and snatched Xiao Wu away. Xiao Wu screamed so pitifully; he struggled desperately, ran to her side, and was then taken away again. His tears and snot were all stuck together. As he spoke...
"Mother, please don't abandon me, please don't abandon me."
The thought of it again caused the second son's wife great distress. If she had been more forceful in holding onto the fifth son back then, he wouldn't be in such a precarious situation now, wandering aimlessly and missing.
The two mothers, recalling that time, embraced each other with emotion, tears streaming down their faces.
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