"Erniu, I wonder if Mother will be angry?"
Liu's hands were twisting her clothes, her head bowed low, like a child who had made a mistake.
Erniu glanced at Liu Shi: "Otherwise, you'll leave the old lady here? Then you'll have to come and collect her body in a few days!"
Liu thought about it and realized that if she didn't take her mother with her this time, would she ever see her again?
Ruyan lowered her head and sobbed, "Mother, we're finally out! Ruyan won't be sold into a brothel anymore!"
"Don't cry. It's good that you're out here, but what about your second sister's mother-in-law? Let's tell your sister that we're going to find another place to live. We can't be a burden to your sister!"
The old lady and Ruyan's conversation was immediately overheard by Jin Erniu, who was walking behind them.
It's understandable that she would have such thoughts. Jin Erniu let out a sigh of relief and looked at the thin old lady, saying, "What are you saying? If you can't rely on your son and daughter-in-law, don't you still have your daughter and son-in-law? Besides, if you leave with Ruyan, how will you live outside? If something bad happens to you, people will say that our Jin family is not good. Sit down."
Liu, who was following behind, heard everything clearly. Her eyes welled up with tears: "Our Erniu is a real man. He's definitely better than that beast Liu Santong. I... I will definitely be a good son to my mother-in-law and take good care of you and the children!"
"What are you still standing there for? Don't you want to go home?"
Erniu looked at Liu Shi, who was standing to the side rubbing her eyes, and suddenly felt that Liu Shi was like a pitiful child.
"If my mother-in-law doesn't want to come to our house, I'll go out and find a job to earn money to support them!" Erniu thought to himself, suddenly feeling an even greater responsibility on his shoulders.
The family sat on a donkey cart, and Erniu smoked a pipe. The strong smell of the pipe seemed to lighten the burden on his shoulders.
Ruyan's eyes were red and swollen. She pointed at Erniu and whispered, "Sister, brother-in-law doesn't hold what my mother and I did to him before? He's willing to take my mother and me to your house?"
"What are you saying? That's all in the past. Your brother-in-law wouldn't be so petty. Back then, he was just trying to protect my mother-in-law, just like you would risk your life to protect your mother when she was being bullied."
A silence fell over the donkey cart. How could Liu forget that once, her mother-in-law accompanied her back to her parents' home and saw a bed sheet on the kang (a heated brick bed). She insisted that Liu had stolen her own bed sheet and given it to her parents. Liu cried in grievance, and her mother-in-law pointed at her and scolded her. Only then did the old lady of the Liu family lose her temper. She immediately scolded the original owner of the body and kicked her out. Erniu, as the original owner's son, was also caught in the crossfire. Therefore, Erniu rarely went to Balipo after that.
The old lady turned around and glanced at Erniu, who was driving the cart: "Erniu, do you still hate me for how I treated your mother back then? But that bed sheet really wasn't brought to me by your wife."
Erniu gave an awkward smile: "How could that be? It's all in the past. My mother misunderstood. Don't worry, my mother isn't like that anymore."
Erniu knew what the old lady of the Liu family was worried about, so he offered her a few words of comfort. But in reality, his mother had really changed.
Inside the Jin family compound.
The aroma of steamed buns wafted through the courtyard. Zhang handed two pretty steamed buns to the old lady who was doing needlework on the kang (heated brick bed) in the main room: "Grandma, look, Dashan invented something new. Aren't these steamed buns pretty?"
The old lady rubbed her eyes, glanced at him, and said, "Oh my, my grandson, you have such skillful hands! You even came up with such a solution. Okay, Grandma will try it."
After taking a bite, the old lady's lips moved twice: "Mmm, delicious, really delicious."
Holding the embroidery that the old lady had finished, Zhang said happily, "Grandma, you always said Dashan was skillful. Look, the birds on this are so lifelike. Grandma is very talented too."
"Mom, try the jelly I made!" Liang Shuyan came in, carrying a plate with translucent white and green jelly strips on it, topped with a layer of bright red chili sauce and sprinkled with a little cilantro. It looked so delicious that it made your mouth water.
"Cold mung bean jelly." The old lady seemed to want to say something, but after glancing at Liang Shuyan, she didn't say anything. She quickly took the plate and slurped a couple of mouthfuls.
"Wow, this is really good! It's tangy and chewy, great stuff! In this kind of weather, a bowl of cold noodles with a few steamed buns is so satisfying. This stuff will definitely sell, and it'll fetch a good price!"
Outside the gate, Erniu's voice could be heard: "Be careful!"
"Mother, we're back!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Shuyan said to the old lady, "Mother, please sit down first. I'll go out and see if Erniu and his wife are back."
The old lady put on her shoes and prepared to go out and see what was going on.
On the donkey cart, a girl of about fifteen years old helped an old woman down. Liang Shuyan saw her from afar, and a thought immediately flashed through her mind: "Could it be that the second son's wife brought her mother back as well?"
When Erniu saw Liang Shuyan, his face turned completely red, and his lips trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to say something but didn't know how.
Where is your wife?
Jin Erniu then noticed that Liu Shi had disappeared without a trace. He turned around and said, "Mother, please take care of things first. I'm going to go check on my wife!"
Liang Shuyan understood. The two children must be afraid that she would scold them, so one was too scared to come back, while the other stammered and didn't know what to say.
When Ruyan saw Liang Shuyan, she immediately knelt down on the ground, her body trembling as she said, "Auntie, my mother and I really had no other choice but to bother you. We're so sorry, please don't blame my sister!"
Liang Shuyan quickly stepped forward and helped Ruyan, who was kneeling on the ground, to her feet: "What are you saying, little girl? Get up quickly. I actually already knew about this. I had your brother-in-law accompany your sister this time because I hoped they could bring you back. Now that you're here, that's good. Come on, come inside!"
The old lady of the Liu family, her hands trembling, suddenly grabbed Liang Shuyan's arm and said, "Thank you, it's all because of this useless old woman that I've caused you so much trouble!"
"Eldest daughter-in-law, quickly vacate the west room so your aunt and your younger sister can stay there. Go now!"
Zhang nodded immediately: "Yes, Mother, I understand. I'll go prepare right away!"
Seeing the old woman's frail appearance, Liang Shuyan felt even more hatred for Ning Shi. She quickly said, "Perfect timing, in-law, you've come to our house. My mother won't be alone anymore. You two will keep each other company. Come in and sit on the kang."
"Mom, please look after her for a moment, I'm going to check on my second son's wife!"
Li Lanfang hesitated for a moment, probably knowing what had happened, and nodded: "Alright, go ahead, Mother will look after things here."
Niu Niu was quite diligent; she ran in, and Li Lanfang grabbed her and whispered, "Niu Niu, quickly go to the kitchen and bring over two hot steamed buns, then serve tea to the guests. Don't you remember what Grandma taught you?"
"No, Niu Niu is going right now!" Niu Niu took off running towards the kitchen with her short legs!
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