"It's okay, Grandma is hungry, let Grandma eat!"
The old lady took out food from the basket and ate it quite quickly, as if she hadn't eaten for several days. When she was almost finished, she suddenly greeted Liang Shuyan, who was standing to the side, with a smile.
"Sit down, come sit here with your mother, what are you standing there for?"
Liu's eyes widened, and she pointed at her mother-in-law, saying, "Grandma, are you asking my mother to sit down in front of you, or am I?"
"Yes, of course it's your mother. Didn't you see her standing there the whole time?"
In Liu's memory, Li did not like this daughter-in-law. They would quarrel every time they met. The original owner felt that her mother-in-law was biased, and Li felt that this daughter-in-law was unfilial and talked back to her.
Liu pulled her mother-in-law, Liang Shuyan, over to sit on the wooden stool next to her, and whispered to Liang Shuyan, "Mother, what's wrong with Grandma today? Not only did she not scold you, but she's also being so warm to you?"
Liang Shuyan already had some suspicions about the old lady drinking porridge in front of her. Now, hearing her daughter-in-law say that the old lady's attitude was unusual today, she decided to try to find out if the old lady was actually her mother.
Suddenly, a string of curses came from outside the door: "Shameless old whore, what are you doing in our house?"
Upon hearing these rude words, Liang Shuyan frowned immediately. This was probably the original owner's sister-in-law, Zhao, Jin Wang's wife, who had always been at odds with the original owner.
When Liang Shuyan turned her head, she saw a rural woman who looked to be in her forties with a dark complexion. She hadn't even put down her hoe when she entered the door and started cursing.
Liang Shuyan had encountered all sorts of people in her previous life as a salesperson, and this kind of person just needed to be taught a lesson. She was furious and quickly walked out.
"What's wrong with me coming to see our mother? This old lady fainted, and you haven't given her any food for days. Look how hungry she is! If Liu and I hadn't come, she would have starved to death. You and the second son are still the ones I love the most. You two wretched things, may you be struck by lightning and become unfilial sons!" Liang Shuyan launched into a tirade.
Zhao was probably shocked. She never expected her usually slow-witted and timid sister-in-law to be so quick-witted today. Her face darkened with anger, and her eyes widened.
But the man quickly calmed down, and Zhao immediately adopted a rogue-like demeanor, putting her hands on her hips and throwing the hoe aside with a clatter: "Hey Liang, what's wrong? When have I ever seen you so filial? Fine, if you're so filial, then I'll take your family to be filial to you slowly. I don't want to be bothered serving this old geezer."
This year's harvest is clearly not going well. Every day the old lady stays at home, she takes up a day's food ration. Zhao has wanted to get rid of her for a long time, but her husband is still somewhat filial and is worried about being gossiped about by the villagers, so he has been stammering and dared not say a word.
Her husband, Jin Wang, grinned and kept trying to appease her: "Alright, stop shouting. If the neighbors hear us, we'll be laughed at."
Zhao's plump body turned towards the man, Jin Wang, and she shoved him into a pile of cow dung: "You're still telling me this? Don't you know what the situation is like at home? This old geezer is just eating and drinking all day long, how can we live like this?"
Jin Wang was so frightened that he didn't dare to say a word. His wife, Zhao, was a strong and capable laborer, and she usually made the decisions.
Liang Shuyan was furious. This kind of daughter-in-law was truly the worst. In her memory, this mother-in-law, Li, often secretly took things from the original owner's house to subsidize the second son's family.
Normally, Li would often help take care of the second son's brood of children. When Zhao came back from the fields, the old lady would quickly help cook and take care of the whole family. Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, when the harvest was bad, Zhao showed no gratitude at all and wanted to get rid of the old lady's care. She was simply inhuman.
“Jinwang, listen to this! How can your wife talk like that? Don’t think I don’t know. My mother always gives you our things. She’s so old and still helps you with chores. Don’t you have any conscience? If you really don’t want to support your mother in her old age, then fine, give her back everything you’ve ever owned.” Liang Shuyan said coldly, without any politeness.
The old lady inside finally came out. Liang Shuyan had a feeling that the old lady had changed so much, and she didn't know if she had understood. She was sure that the old lady was her mother from the modern era.
Li walked out of the house leaning on her cane. She nodded to Liang Shuyan first, then turned her head and stared at the second son and his wife with her small, dark eyes, her tone cold and gloomy.
"What's wrong, second brother? Are you two planning to abandon me?"
Feeling ashamed under his mother's gaze, Jin Wang was about to say something when Zhao Shi tugged at his arm and said, "That's right, why should we support you? Since the eldest son's father is so filial, then you should go with him!"
In the past, when Zhao scolded her mother-in-law, Li would never say a word. She would wait until Zhao finished scolding before turning around and going back to her room to grieve alone. But in the blink of an eye, she would still go back to her eldest son's house to steal things to help her family. So Zhao was fearless and shameless.
Today, Madam Li appeared calm, and seemed to be feeling much better. She stomped her cane and said, "Second son's wife, this is what you said. Since you two are unwilling to support your useless old mother, then give me the share of the family property that your father left me before he died. Today, in front of the village head, let's make it clear to everyone: whichever family I live in, that's where the family property belongs!"
Liu was quick-witted. Upon hearing this, she immediately sensed an opportunity. She knew that she had to be filial to her grandmother, or she would be scolded by her mother-in-law. However, the old lady had finally seen through her second uncle's family today. If she could win the old lady's heart over to her eldest son's family, it would be a good thing. It would save the old lady from taking things from her family while she was at her second son's house. So she whispered a few words in Liang Shuyan's ear and then ran away in a flash.
Upon hearing this, Liang Shuyan was somewhat surprised that Liu Shi planned to strike while the iron was hot and invite the village head to address the old lady's care issue. Although the second daughter-in-law was a gossip, she was also quite clever.
Upon hearing that her mother-in-law wanted the family property, Zhao's face turned ashen: "You old hag, you're dreaming! You've been eating and drinking in our house, and now you want to take the family property and let the eldest son's family benefit from it? Even if the village head were here, I still wouldn't give it to you!"
Li stood to one side, leaning on her cane, her expression calm, and spoke in a firm tone.
"Fine, you two ungrateful wretches! I raised you from childhood to adulthood, and now you're disobedient and unfilial, even trying to steal the retirement money your father left me. You're worse than pigs and dogs. Well then, we'll wait for the village head to come today and give you a proper account of how much of my and my eldest son's hard-earned money you've sucked away over the years."
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