Zhu Wenjuan's idea was not without reason. Liu Wangtao was twenty years old this year, but Ma Efen was already forty-five.
She gave birth to her only son at the age of twenty-five.
Not long after, her husband fell ill and died. She doted on her son, making sure he was well-fed even when she herself was hungry.
Therefore, Ma Efen's health was not good; she was always in pain and aches, and she probably wouldn't live long.
The average life expectancy here is only 58 years.
Zhu Wenjuan felt that she could finally make it big after a few years of hard work.
Feeling sleepy and resentful, she went to the kitchen, took the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and pots to the yard, and then went to the kitchen water bucket to fetch a basin of water. To her surprise, when she lifted the lid of the bucket, there wasn't a single drop of water inside.
Left with no other choice, she had to split the task into two groups and take away the dirty dishes and pots.
Take it to the river and wash it clean.
I had just finished all the housework and was looking forward to taking a break.
My mother-in-law pulled me into the kitchen to start cooking.
"What a lazy woman! Hurry up and cook some brown rice porridge, and fry some eggs for my son to nourish him. He'll be up soon, so hurry up!"
Ma Efen looked displeased.
His already prominent cheekbones made him look particularly harsh and frightening.
The miserable Zhu Wenjuan had no choice but to start a fire and cook porridge.
She thought there were three people in the family, so her mother-in-law gave her two more eggs.
She stir-fried mushrooms with eggs, added some salt and a little lard. This dish was much better than what the Chen family ate. Plus, she had only eaten two steamed buns yesterday and was already starving. She kept swallowing her saliva as she cooked.
"Mom~ I'm awake~"
Liu Wangtao's voice came from the courtyard.
Zhu Wenjuan put down the spatula in her hand and was about to go out to greet her husband.
Then I saw Liu Wangtao hugging his mother, burying his head in her shoulder and acting spoiled.
"You must be exhausted, my son. It breaks my heart. You'll stay in my room tonight and get some rest, okay? I'll sleep with your wife."
Ma Efen touched the back of her son's head.
Her eyes were full of heartache.
"Yes, I'll listen to Mother."
Liu Wangtao was not tall, only a few centimeters taller than Ma Efen.
The mother and son are 1.57 meters tall and 1.63 meters tall, respectively.
They were all cuddled together, yet it felt incredibly awkward.
Zhu Wenjuan got goosebumps just looking at it.
What are you doing?!
A scream startled Liu Wangtao so much that he forgot he was already married. He looked at his wife standing at the kitchen door and awkwardly left his mother's embrace.
"Ahem, I just woke up and I'm still a little groggy. Is dinner ready, honey? I'm hungry."
Zhu Wenjuan felt something was strange, but didn't think about it too much.
She held her breath and carried the food to the wooden table in the yard.
I filled three bowls with brown rice porridge, each more than half full.
Just as she picked up her chopsticks to start eating.
The mother-in-law poured half of the brown rice porridge from her bowl into Liu Wangtao's bowl.
“You don’t do farm work, so why are you eating so much? It’s a waste of food. I spent a lot of money to marry you, and I didn’t bring a single copper coin as a dowry. What right do you have to eat your fill? Here, this is enough for you to live on. Eat.”
Ma Efen returned the half-bowl of brown rice porridge to Zhu Wenjuan.
Zhu Wenjuan was furious. She looked at the little brown rice porridge left in her bowl and the brown rice porridge in her husband's bowl that was about to overflow.
The difference is huge.
Seeing that his wife was about to get angry, Liu Wangtao quickly poured half of the porridge back into the bowl.
"Mom, what are you doing? Wenjuan is exhausted too. If you don't let her eat her fill, how will she give you a grandson? Stop making a fuss, Mom, let's eat."
My precious son has spoken.
Ma Efen could only glare at her daughter-in-law.
They didn't cause any more trouble.
However, she brought the scrambled eggs with mushrooms to herself, making it impossible for Zhu Wenjuan to pick them up.
Zhu Wenjuan was also sulking, refusing to eat.
He quickly scooped the porridge out of the bowl and went back inside.
"Your mother raised you with great difficulty, and you're already taking your wife's side on the second day of your marriage? Sigh, it seems your mother is getting old and useless. I'd better die sooner rather than later, so your father won't be lonely on his way to the underworld."
As Ma Efen watched her daughter-in-law leave, she poured all the scrambled eggs and mushrooms from the plate into her son's bowl while shedding tears.
"Eat more, my son. Live well. Your mother is old and doesn't deserve to eat such good food. I'd better die quickly so as not to be a burden to you."
"mother--"
"Don't say such things. You're hurting your son's feelings. What will I do if you die? You're my only family. I'm not speaking up for her, but I took her virginity a while ago. What if she's pregnant with my child and starves? Mother, please, for my sake, don't mistreat her before the baby is born. Once I'm pregnant, you can do whatever you want with her. I won't say a word against it, okay?"
Hearing this, Ma Efang felt a little better.
She just has to act out of habit.
“My son has said so, what can I do? Fine, I will take care of her in every way from now on and make sure she doesn’t suffer. I will do all the housework from now on. I will wash clothes, chop wood and cook, and I won’t let her lift a finger.”
“Mother, look at you. I didn’t tell you to support her. How could your son bear to see you suffer? You should just enjoy your life from now on. She’s a member of the Liu family now that she’s married into the family. She has to do the work. I just want you not to mistreat her too much, so that my son doesn’t go hungry.”
Liu Wangtao felt somewhat helpless.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. You're my only precious son, and you're my life. Even if you want to drink my blood and eat my flesh, I'm willing. But this little vixen is a different surname after all. I'm just afraid that she'll influence you and make you feel distant from me. We're family."
"I know, Mom, don't worry. Come on, eat more eggs. You've worked so hard, Mom..."
Liu Wangtao coaxed her for a long time and put several more eggs in her mother's bowl before Ma Efen smiled again.
The mother and son happily finished their meal, while Zhu Wenjuan inside the house was wiping away tears.
"Juanzi, go out and wash the dishes. Don't let your mother do it. She's old and not in good health. You should work harder."
As soon as Liu Wangtao entered the house, he saw his wife with tears streaming down her face.
"What happened? Who bullied you?"
This is a completely obvious question.
Zhu Wenjuan turned away angrily and ignored him.
"Oh dear, don't cry, it breaks my heart. Here, let me wipe your tears."
"It's all because of your mother. She makes me get up before dawn to do chores, washing dishes and pots, doing laundry and cooking. I'm exhausted, and she won't even let me eat my fill. What did you promise me and my aunt? Were they all lies? You said you liked me, but you're not as good to me as Jinlu was. When he was pursuing me, he gave me eggs every day."
Zhu Wenjuan was so angry that she accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.
For men, face is the most important thing, and they can't stand their wives comparing them to other men.
Liu Wangtao was so angry that his eyes were practically spitting fire, after being thoroughly humiliated by his wife's words.
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