It has to be said that Chen Xiaoyun and Qin Shi were somewhat destined to become mother-in-law and daughter-in-law; at the very least, their thought processes were extremely compatible.
"Oh? Then tell me what we should do?" Qin asked in a low voice, her eyes half-closed.
That's always been her way. If she has any ideas, she always makes sure others voice them. She would never offer any suggestions herself, only agree with others' opinions. If someone holds her accountable later, she can absolve herself of any blame.
Chen Xiaoyun cursed inwardly, "Old hag!" but outwardly smiled and moved closer to her. After all, this matter required her in-laws' involvement; otherwise, what authority would they have?
“Mother, I was thinking that my sister-in-law is doing so well now, while we are still struggling to get enough to eat! If she knew that you and father-in-law are having such a hard time, I'm sure she wouldn't just ignore it, would she?”
Besides, she's living a comfortable life now and knows how to please that man, so she probably doesn't want him to know us, right? Of course, we're not heartless. If she can help us establish ourselves in He County, what can't we discuss?
As Chen Xiaoyun spoke, she moved behind Qin Shi and gently massaged her shoulders, creating a scene of maternal love and filial piety.
If you didn't know the inside story, you'd think the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a harmonious relationship!
Seeing this scene, Wang Erlang was puzzled and flustered, but he was starving, so he urged his son to go and beg for food and drink.
"Alright, go ask your father to go to the kitchen and cook you some porridge! Your mother and I still have things to talk about!" Qin Shi now had a new focus, and her whole demeanor became more lively!
She thought to herself, if she could get some money from Dalang's wife, she wouldn't have to spend her own savings to buy a house! If she worked even harder, she might even have enough money for Dabao's wedding!
The father and son ignored the two women's little schemes. In short, whatever they did, it certainly wouldn't harm them! Besides, the Wang family was now run by women, and the men only needed to worry about feeding themselves.
With Qin's permission, Wang Erlang happily led his son to the kitchen. His mother had bought plenty of brown rice yesterday; it would surely be enough to make a thick porridge. And his stepfather, Old Man Wang, hadn't had a proper meal in many days. Even the able-bodied men hadn't had enough to eat along the way, let alone the sick man. Fortunately, Old Man Wang had always been healthy, and with Wang Erlang often secretly feeding him, he had miraculously made it this far! Even Qin had to admit, the old man was incredibly lucky!
Old Wang is now emaciated, and it's unclear what belief sustains him. The knife wound on his back miraculously healed on its own without a doctor's prescription! However, it still damaged his health, and he often coughs when the temperature changes. It's estimated that he won't live for many more years.
Old Man Wang lived alone in the west wing room. This was arranged by Qin Shi, who said it was to prevent people from disturbing his recuperation, but in reality, she just wanted to prevent the illness from being passed on to her!
Old Wang still had several dozen taels of silver in his hand. The old man hid it well, and even though she searched his entire body, she couldn't find any money. After a while, she even began to doubt whether he actually had any silver on him or if it was just a lie he made up because he was afraid she would abandon him!
But on the way, Old Man Wang suddenly produced one or two taels of silver and begged her to go to the city to exchange it for food, otherwise he would starve to death. Qin then completely believed that he had money!
Wang Erlang did have some affection for his stepfather. He was about ten years old when he came to the Wang family. Although he was initially resistant, over time, Wang Erlang discovered that his stepfather was different from his biological father. He didn't gamble or drink, and he was always kind and gentle to him. Therefore, Wang Erlang thought his stepfather wasn't so bad after all. He even felt that Old Man Wang loved him so much that he treated him no worse than his own son!
Seeing that no one was watching them, Wang Erlang scooped up half a ladle of brown rice and poured it into the pot without even washing it, all while Da Bao was looking on in shock.
You think it's dirty? Hey, don't think it's dirty. Even if it's dirty, it still smells good. He won't mind!
"Father, you're so brave! Aren't you afraid Grandma will beat you? This is so much food, it's enough for our whole day's meals!" Da Bao asked, his eyes, which were quite similar to Qin Shi's, with a mixture of worry and surprise.
"It's alright, your father is tough and resilient, I'll just have a good bowl of porridge today!"
Ah, I really want to eat meat, I really want to gnaw on steamed buns. Wang Erlang misses the days when Wang Dalang was around, when they could go up the mountain to hunt a rabbit or a pheasant to improve their meals...
Madam Qin looked at her daughter-in-law with a half-smile, her eyes clearly indicating that she had agreed with her statement. Indeed, like attracts like.
"Tell me, where did you see your sister-in-law? And which other man has she run off with this time?"
Recalling Guo Er's considerate manner earlier, Chen Xiaoyun said with certainty, "Mother, didn't you tell me to go check out the charity hall this morning? I met my sister-in-law at the entrance of the charity hall. The head of that charity hall is probably my sister-in-law's lover. I saw that he was quite young and good-looking, and he was very considerate to my sister-in-law. They've already hired a lot of people to work at that charity hall. The large house there must cost at least a hundred taels!"
Chen Xiaoyun embellished the story, and although most of it was her imagination, at this moment she felt that her analysis was absolutely correct.
If Guo Er knew, he would definitely say, "Thank you, but was that thoughtfulness? It was clearly fear, respect, and groveling..."
Hearing this, Qin was also surprised. This eldest son's wife was just a used woman. Although she was not bad-looking, even if she was middle-aged, how could she have hooked up with such a rich man?! No, absolutely not! All that money should be used to support her. Although the eldest son was gone, according to the laws of Dasheng, a stepmother is like a biological mother. How could she neglect her filial duty?!
Qin's eyes lit up, and an idea came to her. "Xiaoyun, my daughter and I need to visit your sister-in-law! Do you know where they live?"
"Mother, I haven't inquired about that yet, but it shouldn't be too hard to find out. I'll keep an eye out at the charity hall these next few days, and I'm sure I'll run into my sister-in-law!" Chen Xiaoyun replied enthusiastically, but in her heart she thought disdainfully, "Hmph, old hag, now that she needs me, she claims to be my daughter. How disgusting!"
"Well, then I'll have to trouble you!" Madam Qin said with a smile. "Isn't the charity hall hiring? You can go in disguise as a refugee. You can work and get food, and you won't miss out on your sister-in-law. Oh dear, you'll have to make a sacrifice for Da Bao!"
“What are you saying, Mother? For Da Bao’s sake, I’d even beg for food. Don’t worry, I’ll go this afternoon.”
Showing off acting skills? Who's afraid of who!
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