Chapter 4: The Mother-in-Law is at the Top of the Pyramid
The sky gradually darkened.
Wu Huiniang was tidying up in the kitchen, while Cheng Wanwan and her four sons sat at the table.
Just as she was about to say a few words, she heard someone cursing in the courtyard outside the door.
“什么败家玩意儿，老赵家倒了八辈子血霉，咋娶了你这么个败家娘们进门！大山爹的恤银有二十两啊，整整二十两被你拿去补贴娘家，活该你被娘家人揍一顿，怎么不揍死算了，还能少个祸害！”
"Don't dig up wild vegetables in front of the whole village. Stop playing the victim in front of everyone, making it seem like the Zhao family mistreated you... You little whore, you have money to give to your family, but no money to buy grain, so you have to borrow grain from others. Have you no shame..."
Cheng Wanwan looked towards the courtyard gate.
She recognized her; this was the original owner's mother-in-law. The original owner had never gotten along with her. A year ago, after the original owner threw a tantrum and separated from the family, she and her mother-in-law never spoke to each other again, and they wouldn't even greet each other if they met in the village.
She was somewhat relieved that the original owner of this body had separated from the family, so she wouldn't have to deal with such a large family as the Zhao family.
This old lady is really energetic; she actually came to the door to yell at her late at night!
Is she the kind of person who just stands there and gets yelled at?
Cheng Wanwan got up and walked out.
When Grandma Zhao saw her come out, she changed the subject: "Dashan's wife, come here!"
Wu Huiniang quickly went over.
"This is the food I've prepared for my four grandsons. You better take good care of it!" The old lady threw a bag at me. "You're going to be a mother soon, so be a little more assertive. Think about the baby in your belly, if not for others!"
Grandma Zhao glared at Cheng Wanwan, then turned and left, her back view giving the impression of fleeing in panic.
Cheng Wanwan remembered.
The original owner and the old lady would get into fights from time to time. Relying on his youth, the original owner always managed to verbally abuse the old lady until she was completely powerless to fight back.
The old lady came over late at night, vented her anger by yelling at her, but then quickly left, afraid of being scolded back by her daughter-in-law and losing face.
"mother……"
Wu Huiniang called out hesitantly and handed the bag in her hand to Cheng Wanwan.
Even her grandmother was afraid of her mother-in-law, so how could she dare to go against her? If she angered her mother-in-law, she would have to kneel all night again.
Cheng Wanwan didn't want it at first; it was a subsidy from the old lady to her grandsons, and it wouldn't be right for her to accept it.
But she still had some food on hand, and she needed a legitimate reason to take it out.
She took the cloth bag from him: "It's getting late, boil some water, take a bath, and go to bed."
Wu Huiniang quickly brought over a basin of boiled water: "Mother, this is all the water we have left. Please wash first."
First?
Does this mean that after she finished washing, the rest of them continued washing in the same water?
Cheng Wanwan's lips twitched.
Well, she couldn't ask for too much. It was a drought, and she was lucky to have water to wash her face.
At this moment, she was incredibly grateful that she had transmigrated into a mother-in-law. In ancient times, mothers-in-law were people at the top of the pyramid, and they were even the first in line to take a bath!
The family took turns washing their faces and hands, and a basin of clear water turned into black water.
Finally, Zhao Dashan walked to the edge of the field and poured a basin of black water onto the parched land.
When it was time to sleep, Cheng Wanwan froze again.
There are only two rooms in the house. Her eldest son and daughter-in-law, who are already married, share one room, while she sleeps in the other room with her three other sons.
There was only one bed, and the mother and her three children had to lie together.
God knows, she has never slept with anyone else, let alone shared a bed with three men!
The three boys are this body's biological sons, but they have absolutely no relation to her. She simply cannot accept this psychologically in the short term!
While she was struggling with this internal conflict, she could already hear the sounds of snoring all around her.
The snoring came in bursts; how could I possibly fall asleep?
Cheng Wanwan wanted to cry but had no tears.
Once she has money, the first thing she'll do is build a house; she absolutely must have her own room!
That night, she tossed and turned until she finally fell asleep.
A rooster's crow awakened the sleeping Dahe Village. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the thin morning light enveloped the village.
The villagers all get up very early to weed and remove pests from the fields before the sun rises, thus beginning a busy day.
Cheng Wanwan didn't sleep well all night. It was a hard bed with reeds and straw under the sheets, and she felt uncomfortable all over while sleeping. Luckily it was summer now; if it were winter, it would be a real nightmare.
The poorest farmers couldn't afford cotton at all; their quilts were stuffed with straw and reeds... In Dahe Village, which is neither in the south nor the north, there is no custom of heating kang (heated brick beds); one really has to rely on sheer willpower to withstand the bitter cold...
Cheng Wanwan felt a heavy burden on her shoulders. Not only did she have to fill her stomach, but she also had to get at least two large cotton quilts before winter arrived.
She sat up and got out of bed.
Everyone in the family got busy. The eldest daughter-in-law was washing clothes and tidying up the yard, the eldest son was getting ready to go to the fields, the second son was going to fetch water, the third son was going to chop firewood, and the fourth son was carrying a bamboo basket to dig for wild vegetables... These children were really sensible. I don't know why the original owner of this body was so fond of her nephew from her maternal family.
"Wait a minute!"
Cheng Wanwan frowned and said something.
She turned and went into the inner room, opened the rice bag that Old Mrs. Zhao had brought yesterday. Inside were three or four pounds of millet that had turned black. This rice was obviously leftover from last year and had already gone moldy. Eating moldy food would probably upset her stomach. When they were poor, it was fine to eat this, but now that she had the means, why should she make her children suffer?
She poured the rice out of the bag and opened the online store to buy millet. Millet is actually just small millet. In the modern online store, millet is more expensive than rice, costing five coins per pound.
Although the rice is cheap and delicious, its origin is not easy to explain.
She glanced at the balance in her hand; she had 30 coins left. Gritting her teeth, she bought five catties and ended up with five copper coins.
Cheng Wanwan carried the corn bag out: "I'll eat breakfast first before I go to work."
Wu Huiniang recognized the bag; it had been delivered by her grandmother the previous night. She opened the bag and was immediately startled.
The old lady had secretly provided food before, either hard cornbread or blackened buckwheat or cornmeal. They had never eaten such beautiful-looking millet before!
"The old lady really dotes on you grandsons," Cheng Wanwan said calmly. "Let's cook porridge for two meals on two separate days."
She really couldn't swallow the rice, mainly because millet porridge is very nutritious and good for the stomach.
This large group of children hasn't had enough to eat in a long time, and their stomachs are all experiencing some problems, so they need to be nursed back to health gradually.
Wu Huiniang was stunned. She lifted the rice bag and saw that it weighed about five jin. If five jin of millet was used to cook porridge over two days, then each person could have at least two bowls!
After having a full meal last night, she thought she would go hungry for a month, but her mother-in-law was surprisingly generous!
She didn't ask any more questions, and went to the kitchen to cook porridge with the rice bag in her hand.
Zhao Dashan put down his hoe to help his wife.
Zhao Sanniu and Zhao Sidan licked their lips as they circled the stove.
Only Zhao Ergou frowned slightly, wondering to himself, "Is Mother not planning to live anymore? All the food in the house is gone, are we going to starve?"
Forget it, let's eat, otherwise the Cheng family will benefit!
Let's eat it all and then starve to death together!
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