Grandma Shen works in town, and when Chen Xiaomi has free time, she takes Shen Chi and Chen Xiaocai to the countryside.
Vegetables and radishes in town all cost money, so Chen Xiaomi would occasionally go to the countryside to carry things, adhering to the principle of saving as much as possible.
When Chen Xiaomi returned home, it happened to be Lu Tong's homecoming.
In this era, the return visit to the bride's parents' home is usually held a month after the daughter's marriage. Typically, the daughter and son-in-law bring gifts to the bride's parents' home. The more gifts the son-in-law brings, the better the daughter is doing in her husband's home, which puts the bride's parents at ease.
Lu Lin married into the family and should have been expected to return to his parents' home, but he and Chen Xiaomi found it too troublesome and didn't go back.
When Lu Lin married Chen Xiaomi, she was sickly and no one spoke up for her at the time. However, later, as Chen Xiaomi's family prospered, some people brought up the matter, accusing Lu Lin of being ungrateful and not even returning home after getting married. But neither Lu Lin nor Chen Xiaomi took it seriously.
Judging from Lu Lin's marriage, even if they brought a lot of gifts on their return visit, they would still be ridiculed. Neither of them cared about their reputation, so naturally they wouldn't do such a thankless task.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi were not at home. In fact, Uncle Chen had already secretly come to their house, but the house was basically empty. Uncle Chen came and returned empty-handed.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi lived in a relatively remote area, and no one noticed them at first. However, as time went on, they were eventually discovered.
Lu Lin told the public that he had found a job in the town and was temporarily living there.
Lu Lin's words immediately aroused envy among the villagers. A stable job in town was like a golden rice bowl. Lu An's job, which only paid two taels of silver, had been the envy of many. Now that Lu Lin had also found a job in the city, the villagers sighed that Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin's luck had turned around.
"Brother." Chen Xiaocai walked up to Chen Xiaomi and whispered, "Big brother, Lu Tong came back alone."
Chen Xiaomi couldn't help but be surprised. He and Lu Lin had such bad reputations that they had simply given up. However, Lu Tong had always been very strong-willed. On such an important day as her homecoming, Lu Tong actually came back alone. If those gossipy women in the village saw her, who knew what they would say?
However, the fact that Lu Tong's new husband made her come back alone on such an important day suggests that his care for Lu Tong is limited.
When Lu Lin thought of Lu Tong's disgusted expression after the original owner fell into the water, he immediately felt that Lu Tong deserved to end up like this.
Lu Family
Looking at her daughter, Mrs. Tang couldn't help but feel nauseous.
Tang felt that everything had been going wrong lately. Her eldest son's wife was a money-loser, the registrar didn't take them seriously at all, and her daughter was the same. She had been married for so long without a word, and when she finally got to return home for her wedding, only her daughter came back.
In contrast, everyone thought that Lu Lin's marriage to Chen Xiaomi would be a disaster, but Chen Xiaomi actually made a good life for him.
Recently, when villagers talked about Chen Xiaomi, although most of the comments were negative, quite a few also thought that Chen Xiaomi was capable and very good at making money. Reputation is superficial; money is what really matters.
"Where is your husband?" Tang asked.
Lu Tong said with a frustrated expression, "The boy at home is sick, and my husband went to fetch a doctor to see him."
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "That brat, why did he have to get sick now of all times? Could he have done it on purpose?"
Lu Tong pursed her lips and said, "Who knows him!"
Lu Tong's life after marrying into her husband's family was not good. Li Ji treated her quite well, but the old lady was always finding fault with her.
After Lu Tong married into the family, the old lady ordered her to cook, do laundry, help sew clothes, and even made her carry manure.
Lu Tong felt that the Li family wasn't really looking for a daughter-in-law.
When Lu Tong was in the Lu family, she always dreamed of becoming a rich lady. She was afraid of roughening her hands, so she never did cooking or laundry. Madam Tang also thought that her daughter was beautiful and destined to be an official's wife. When the second wife was alive, she left all the work to the second wife and spoiled Lu Tong so much that she couldn't do anything.
Lu Tong cooked for the Li family, but every time she cooked the rice, it was either too mushy or overcooked. The old lady was very dissatisfied with Lu Tong and always scolded her for being lazy and good-for-nothing.
The child in the family, probably having heard from the villagers that having a stepmother meant having a stepfather, regarded Lu Tong as an enemy and was wary of her at every turn.
Lu Tong's temperament wasn't very good either. Seeing that the child regarded him as an enemy, he ignored the child. The two of them disliked each other. Tang looked at her daughter and felt extremely depressed. The daughter-in-law she had married was a money-loser. Her daughter had returned home after marriage without bringing anything with her. Tang felt that she had lost all face.
Tang looked at Lu Tong with a hint of reproach and said, "Why didn't you bring anything with you today when you went back to your parents' home?"
Lu Tong noticed her mother's disdain for her and felt a pang of sadness.
Lu Tong recalled that when she entered the house earlier, the old lady, Wang, was waiting by the door. Lu Tong thought that her grandmother was very kind, waiting for her so early. However, when the old lady saw that she had come empty-handed and alone, she scolded her a couple of times and left. Lu Tong felt as if she had been doused with cold water and was extremely embarrassed.
There was no preparation at home.
Mrs. Tang said with a dark face, "Your husband's family is really bullying us."
"Where is my sister-in-law?" Lu Tong asked.
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "I went back to my parents' home."
When Li Fangyue and Lu Chengyu returned to their parents' home for the last time, they still hadn't seen the registrar. Lu Chengyu and Li Hong got into an argument, and the two started arguing. When they returned, Madam Tang was very disappointed to hear that they hadn't made contact with the registrar.
The old lady has become increasingly dissatisfied with Li Fangyue lately, feeling that Li Fangyue is completely unworthy of Lu Chengyu. She scolds her from time to time. Li Fangyue has brought up the registrar several times. At first, the old lady tolerated it, but later she felt that the registrar did not care about this sister-in-law at all. He did not show up at the wedding or the homecoming.
Perhaps feeling exploited by the old lady, Li Fangyue angrily returned to her parents' home.
Mrs. Tang was somewhat worried. This marriage alliance hadn't established a proper relationship, and it might end up causing enmity.
“Your brother went to see her. After all, she’s married into the family. What’s the point of her always staying at her parents’ house?” Madam Tang said with a worried expression.
Lu Tong smiled sarcastically and said, "Mother! If your sister-in-law wants to go back, just let her go back. It's no big deal. You've been fooled this time."
Tang glanced at Lu Tong and said, "What are you saying?"
Lu Tong smiled and said, "I only found out by chance. My sister-in-law's older sister is not the registrar's wife, but just a concubine."
Madam Tang immediately erupted in anger, saying, "Daughter, you can't just say things like that! The difference in status between a wife and a concubine is huge. A concubine's children have no right to inheritance, and even common people often look down on concubines."
“Mother, do you think I’m such a tactless person? I only found out about this by chance, but it shouldn’t be wrong. Don’t you think about how old Li Fangyue is? If she were that well-off, would she have waited until that age? Everyone in town knows about this except for us country folk. We’re not well-informed and were deceived by those matchmakers, getting ripped off for nothing.” Lu Tong sighed, a hint of schadenfreude in her heart.
Lu Dan was actually very angry with her parents. Her unhappiness in the Li family was largely due to her meager dowry. The Li family gave her twenty taels of silver, but she didn't receive even a single tael of her own savings. Lu Tong felt that she had been sold out by her family.
Lu Tong thus harbored resentment towards her elder brother and sister-in-law. When she learned that Li Fangyue's sister, Li Ru, was merely a concubine, Lu Tong felt a strange sense of pleasure.
Tang was furious, her face turning ashen. She had always found it strange that the Registrar hadn't come to the wedding banquet. If Li Ru were the Registrar's concubine, it wouldn't be hard to understand.
Since concubines have a low status, the registrar naturally doesn't need to worry about their family's marriages.
Mrs. Tang gritted her teeth, feeling so angry she felt like vomiting blood, but she still had to help cover it up, saying, "Don't go around talking about this."
There have been many rumors circulating in the village about their family lately. If people found out that the daughter of a wealthy family they had gone to great lengths to marry was just the younger sister of a lowly concubine, their family would be laughed at to death.
Lu Tong nodded and said, "I understand. But Mother, you should also be careful. Li Fangyue thinks too highly of herself. Mother, you can't let her ride on your head all the time!"
Tang said angrily, "The Li family is too shameless. They cheated your elder brother like this, and your sister-in-law still has the nerve to use her family home to control him." Tang was stunned by the news Lu Tong brought back and forgot to investigate the fact that Lu Tong had come back alone.
"Mother, is there any news about Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi?"
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "Who knows? I heard that these two restless fellows are running to town all the time now. It seems they found a job there. I wonder who hired them. Chen Xiaomi is no pushover!" Many people in the village envy Lu An's job, and many are eyeing it. To keep that job, the old man gives gifts to Lu An's superiors every year.
"Why are you asking this?" Mrs. Tang asked.
Lu Tong shook her head and said, "It's nothing. Recently, a Huaxia Trading Company has popped up. They sell schoolbags. The more exquisite ones cost one or two taels of silver each. They must be making a lot of money." The old lady of the Li family also bought a small schoolbag for her grandson. It was a small schoolbag, but it cost seven hundred coins, which was quite extravagant.
"What does this have to do with Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi?"
Lu Tong was silent for a while, then said, "Someone saw Chen Xiaomi talking to the manager of that shop. Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin probably work in that shop."
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "I've never even heard of this Huaxia Trading Company. It's probably a shady business. If the boss knew Chen Mi's background, he definitely wouldn't have hired him."
Lu Tong vaguely felt that Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi had been acting mysteriously lately, but she never dreamed that Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin had already bought a two-courtyard house in town.
Lin Xiuer looked at Tang Shi with a stern face and said, "Xiao Tong came back without bringing anything? Is she having a hard time at her husband's house?"
Mrs. Tang kept a straight face and said, "No, it's just that there's a special situation on the Li family's side."
No matter how special the circumstances, it's unacceptable to not even show one's face when returning home! What will the villagers think if they see this?
Lin Xiuer felt that her life was getting worse and worse lately. There were more and more chores to do at home, but the food was getting worse and worse.
The old lady has been increasingly careful with money lately. Lin Xiuer had been hoping that Lu Tong would bring back some meat to improve their meals after her return visit, but Lu Tong came back empty-handed.
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