Zhao Jingyu listened with great impatience.
Frowning, she asked Li Yucheng, "Brother-in-law, did your sister really bully my sister?"
“My sister was worried about my mother, so she said a few more words.” Li Yucheng swallowed the bun in his mouth and coughed lightly. “Your sister had a fight with her, and she left crying.”
"You mean I bullied your sister? If she hadn't come to cause trouble, would I have argued with her?" Zhao Lei was furious and kicked Li Yucheng to the ground. "And your older sister, she ransacks her parents' house as soon as she gets home. She even dug up two of the flowers in the yard, and you didn't dare say a word."
Li Yucheng was caught completely off guard and was kicked by Zhao Lei, falling flat on his face.
“…” Xu Qingning was stunned.
How could someone as fierce as Zhao Lei be bullied by her sister-in-law?
Zhao Jingyu calmly glanced at Li Yucheng and continued eating his steamed bun. He found it disgusting that a grown man had been kicked to the ground by a woman.
"Oh dear, Leilei, what are you doing?" Yang Yuelan, who was sitting next to Zhao Lei, quickly got up to help Li Yucheng up and scolded her, "Speak properly, why did you hit her?"
Li Yucheng got up with a flushed face, stopped eating his steamed bun, picked up a small stool, and sat there without saying a word.
He has an older sister and a younger sister, both of whom married into the same village.
They visit their parents' home more often, which leads to more friction, putting him in a difficult position.
"You all see this too, this is the husband's family my aunt found for me, the man she found for me!" Zhao Lei felt more and more aggrieved and burst into tears. "Before the wedding, she said that he was her only son, and there would be no sisters-in-law, so there would be no worries. But now, I've only been married for less than three years, and his sisters have already started to bully me. What did I do to deserve this?"
“Brother-in-law, my sister married you, not your family. If she’s being bullied at home, that’s your fault,” Zhao Jingyu said coldly. “Your mother is strong and healthy. She fell because she was careless. How can you blame my sister?”
"Exactly! It was just me and your mother at home. Did I deserve to die?" Zhao Lei said bitterly. "How was I supposed to know when she would fall? Was I supposed to follow your mother around and protect her just because I was home?"
Li Yucheng kept his head down and remained silent.
"And his sister, she complains about this and that as soon as she comes home. She complains that I gave birth to a girl, and that I am not good to her parents. Who does she think she is?" Zhao Lei became angrier as she spoke, and began to complain about Yang Yuelan again. "My aunt found a partner for Huihui with great care, but you two agreed as soon as my aunt mentioned their family. Are you worried that I will not be able to get married and will bring trouble to you?"
"Sister, that's going too far," Zhao Jingyu began to berate Zhao Lei again. "You were the one who agreed to your relationship with your brother-in-law. Now that you have a child, why are you blaming Mom and Dad?"
“Jingyu, you don’t know what happened back then, so I won’t tell you,” Zhao Lei said, wiping away her tears. “Our parents don’t care about me; it’s all up to my aunt. My aunt is just my aunt. I’m not her biological daughter. How could she possibly plan so thoroughly for me?”
“Leilei, it’s not that we’re abandoning you. We also think Yucheng is a good young man. He has a good temper and a skill. You won’t suffer if you’re with him,” Yang Yuelan explained. “Besides, their village is close to the county town, so it’s convenient for you to go to work. Every family has the conflicts you just mentioned.”
Li Yucheng is a welder.
Although his current salary doesn't seem high, he has a skill and it will be easy for him to find a job.
"Sister, if you don't want to live with your brother-in-law anymore, then divorce him and bring Yan Yan back to live with you." Zhao Jingyu ate two steamed buns before putting down his chopsticks and said seriously, "When do you two decide to go through with the paperwork?"
Xu Qingning gave him a reproachful look, then calmly picked up her cup and drank some water.
He knows how to scare honest people.
"Jingyu, how could you say that?" Yang Yuelan believed Zhao Jingyu's suggestion that Zhao Lei and Li Yucheng divorce was true and quickly said, "This is such a small matter, it's not worth getting a divorce."
“Yes, yes, we won’t leave.” Li Yucheng nodded repeatedly, making a solemn promise to Zhao Jingyu, “Don’t worry, I will treat her well, and I won’t let anyone bully her in the future.”
He knew his brother-in-law was not someone to be trifled with.
He's honest, not stupid. His mother-in-law offered him a way out, so he had to seize it.
If the brother-in-law were to lay a hand on him, it wouldn't be as simple as just a kick.
"You said it yourself, if your family bullies me again, I'll divorce you." Zhao Lei wiped away her tears and punched Li Yucheng. "My brother said I should take Yan Yan back to my parents' house. I do have a family."
"If you're not going to leave, then have dinner." Zhao Jingyu looked at the two of them with a serious face. "After you finish eating, hurry home. If I hear of anyone bullying my sister again, I will definitely not let them off easily."
"Okay." Seeing that Zhao Jingyu had given in, Li Yucheng started eating the steamed buns again. His mother-in-law's steamed buns were so delicious that he could eat five of them.
"Mom, how did you make these steamed buns? They're really delicious. Teach me how." Seeing that Zhao Jingyu had stood up for her, Zhao Lei stopped crying and felt better, so she thought the steamed buns tasted especially good today.
"Blanch the radish, chop it, squeeze out the water, then put in the tofu and vermicelli, fry some ginger slices in oil, and add some soy sauce," Yang Yuelan patiently explained to her. "It's winter, so using hot oil makes it more fragrant."
"Okay, I got it." Zhao Lei smiled. "I'll have my mother-in-law make it when I get home too."
The couple finished off the entire pot of steamed buns.
The remaining two were also packed up and taken away by Zhao Lei, who said they were for her daughter Yan Yan.
Fearing that Xu Qingning would be unhappy, Yang Yuelan specifically asked her about this: "Your sister's daughter Yanyan likes to eat radishes. She wanted to take some, so I let her take it. We still have radishes at home. Tomorrow I'll steam some more radish buns and make some meat filling for you."
"No need, I want to eat cabbage dumplings." Xu Qingning wouldn't risk annoying Yang Yuelan over two steamed buns; there was no need.
Zhao Lei has the nerve to criticize her sister-in-law. When she goes back to her parents' home, it's the same; it's always something else.
She took food and other things with her when she left, but I didn't see her go back to her parents' home to bring anything back. What a double standard!
“Okay, I’ll make it for you tomorrow.” Yang Yuelan immediately agreed. She knew that Xu Qingning wasn’t one to hold grudges, but she couldn’t show too much favoritism towards her daughter in front of her daughter-in-law.
It's just that Xu Qingning doesn't care about this little bit. If it were Wu Xiufang or Zhou Chunyan, they would never have let Zhao Lei bring the steamed buns home.
Yang Yuelan also had her own plans. She knew that she and Wu Xiufang and Zhou Chunyan were not getting along, and she could not count on her daughter, but she could still try to win over Xu Qingning as her daughter-in-law.
She didn't expect Xu Qingning to serve her in the future; she would be content if Xu Qingning could at least be kind to her.
After packing his luggage, Zhao Jingyu went to the department store to meet Liu Caixia, and they took a long-distance bus to the provincial capital.
Liu Caixia was surprised that Zhao Jingyu could do these things, and teased him, "You've only been back for a few days and you've already gone on a business trip for your wife. What a good man!"
“Yes, my wife’s affairs are the most important.” Zhao Jingyu and Liu Caixia had known each other for a long time, and he said with a smile, “But I am even more honored to be able to go to the provincial capital with Director Liu to participate in such an important competition. Director Liu is my idol.”
"Alright, stop flattering me," Liu Caixia said with a laugh. "All you know how to do is talk a good game."
The two of them were on a long-distance bus for four or five hours, enduring a bumpy ride.
By the time we arrived in the provincial capital, it was already dark.
The state-owned garment factory in the provincial capital knew they were coming today and had sent someone to pick them up at the station.
Liu Caixia recognized Lu Qiang, the driver who picked them up. Lu Qiang was about the same age as Zhao Jingyu.
He learned that Zhao Jingyu was the girlfriend of Xu Qingning, a fashion designer from their factory who had never shown her face, and chatted with Zhao Jingyu very enthusiastically.
The journey from the train station to the state-owned garment factory's guesthouse took less than half an hour, and the two quickly became acquainted.
Lu Qiang told Zhao Jingyu and Liu Caixia, "The competition this time is very tough. Two fashion colleges have also sent people to participate. You must be well prepared."
"Thank you for reminding us. We're not afraid of competition," Zhao Jingyu said calmly. "As long as the judging panel is fair and impartial, that's fine."
"By the way, the head of the judging panel is my sister. Would you like to meet her beforehand?" Lu Qiang asked them.
Zhao Jingyu and Liu Caixia exchanged a glance, and Liu Caixia smiled and said, "No need, we believe in our own strength."
Thank you to Yu Chengyi, Luo Hua Wu Ying, Book Friend, Mao Wu Mao Wu, and Yan Wu Shao Hua for the monthly tickets.
Copyright 2026
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com