Zhao Xiaomei smiled and said, "My daughter-in-law is like my own daughter. I'll buy her a pig's trotter later to help her produce milk!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Sun was slightly surprised. Could it be that her mother-in-law had changed her ways because she had pleased her?
Perhaps her mother-in-law wasn't so bad after all.
Zhao indeed bought a pig's trotter and a few eggs. When she met villagers on the way, Zhao Xiaomei showed off her good mother-in-law skills, telling everyone that it was for Lao Shi to help with lactation.
She stewed the pig's trotters. Sun had always been the one to cook. Niu Jing'an ate early and then planned to go out.
"Yao'er, stop busy and come eat! I'll take care of the child! Don't go hungry!"
Zhao Xiaomei said loudly.
Niu Jing'an went out.
After washing her hands, Mrs. Sun was about to sit down to eat when Zhao Xiaomei asked with a very unpleasant expression, "Have you planted the land at home yet?"
Mrs. Sun said, "Mom, I've planted everything, pulled the weeds, fed the chickens, and swept the floor!"
"Did I ask you that many questions? I really don't know how you take care of your child! You don't even care about the child, you come to eat first!" Zhao Xiaomei said, "I'm so unlucky, I'm destined to be a servant!"
After hearing what she said, even though she was hungry, Sun couldn't sit down to eat! She sat at the door with her child in her arms.
After the meal, the table was a mess. There was no trace of the eggs or the broth from the pig's trotters. Not even a single grain of rice was left.
Zhao Xiaomei chatted with her neighbor, "I treat my Yao'er like my own daughter. She likes eggs, so I made her eggs and pig's trotters today. But a daughter-in-law is still a daughter-in-law; she doesn't treat us mothers-in-law like her own mothers! I told her to eat first, even though I had my little grandson with me, and she didn't leave me a single egg or pig's trotter." "What a short-lived, wicked woman! I'm so unlucky!"
As she spoke, she even started to cry, feeling wronged.
…
…
There are times when the shop is not busy, such as on snowy days. Niu Da and Shen Shi will rent a carriage to come back and leave only two employees to watch the shop.
Chen Yu was teaching Niu Xiaomei and Niu Cuihua how to make pickled vegetables. Two basins of charcoal were lit in the house when suddenly there was a rapid knocking at the door.
"Little sister, little sister! Is your oxcart at home?"
The person knocking on the door was Ms. Guo, Zhao Xiaomei's neighbor.
Guo was Chen's eldest daughter-in-law.
Niu Xiaomei rushed up to open the door, "Sister-in-law Guo, what's wrong?"
"Oh my god, someone's about to die! They're fighting! They're fighting!" Sister-in-law Guo exclaimed. "Zhao Xiaomei and her daughter-in-law are fighting. They called Zhao Xiaomei's son back, but the two of them pinned Sun Shi to the ground and started kicking her! There was blood everywhere! It was horrifying!"
Niu Da and Shen Yu's family heard the gist of it.
Zhao Xiaomei was a notorious wicked mother-in-law in the surrounding villages, a fact known to everyone. In order to appear as a good mother-in-law, Zhao Xiaomei loudly proclaimed that she had bought eggs and pig's trotters for Sun Shi to nourish her body.
Sun couldn't help but retort a couple of times.
Feeling humiliated, Zhao Xiaomei's expression immediately changed, and she cursed, "You sow-like woman, I've been having an affair with your father and mother! You short-lived, worthless thing, why don't you just die? You're having a better time at my house than at your own parents' house!..."
After a while, they started arguing.
Finally, it escalated to the point where Zhao Xiaomei hit Sun with a stool. When Niu Jing'an returned, he resented Sun for talking back to his mother and then pinned Sun to the ground and kicked her.
"Let me tell you, the way you talk back to my mom is the same way I treat your dad and mom! My mom is so good to you, and you still treat her like this!"
Sun's temper flared up as well. "How good has your mother been to me? She forced me to eat bad food, and she's all sweet talk to your face, but you know how she treats me behind your back! Have my parents ever treated you like your mother has?"
"You'll have to put up with whatever my mom does to you. Whatever you argue with my mom, I'll treat your parents the same way! You're too afraid to get a divorce anyway. If you do, you'll never see your son again! You have no right to see my son!"
Sun was slowly overwhelmed by despair and started fighting with Zhao Xiaomei and her son like a madwoman. But she was a woman after all, and she couldn't beat two people on her own. She was soon beaten until her head was bleeding.
Guo, a neighbor, couldn't bear to see this, so she found Niu Da's oxcart and took her to the doctor. When Niu Da and Shen arrived, Sun was lying on the ground, barely alive.
Just as Chen Yu and Niu Cuihua were about to lift Sun Shi into the car, Zhao Xiaomei stopped them, saying, "Let me tell you, Chen Yu, don't meddle in our family's affairs! She just has a broken head, it's not going to kill her! Even if she dies, it's because she couldn't take the beating. What mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don't fight? Her life in our family is much better than her life in her own family!"
“My son and I provide her with food and shelter. We’ve never hit her, never scolded her, and never even said a harsh word to her. How could we have wronged her in terms of food and clothing? If she hadn’t gone too far, my son wouldn’t have hit her!” Zhao Xiaomei even believed her own words, and she started crying again, feeling wronged. Finally, she simply sat on the ground and threw a tantrum.
"This is trying to kill me, an old woman! My daughter-in-law is going to kick me out! I don't want to live anymore!"
Everyone watched Zhao Xiaomei throwing a tantrum on the ground as if it were a joke.
Sun was an only child and was deeply loved by her parents from a young age. Her parents lived four villages away from Niushan Village, but it wasn't actually that far; it was only a half-hour journey to and from there.
Guo went to find Sun's father, but Sun's father had a fiery temper, and Guo was afraid that if he lost his temper, people from both families would be killed.
Shen Yu pushed Zhao Xiaomei away and said, "Our Niushan Village can't afford to lose its reputation for taking a life!" Shen Yu had been doing farm work for many years and was young and strong. Although she looked gentle and refined, she actually had a lot of strength.
Niu Xiaomei, Shen Yu, and Niu Er worked together to lift Sun Shi onto the oxcart. Xiao Fubao, carrying a big red lantern, sat in Shen Shi's lap. Shen Yu scolded, "You child, it's not like it's anything fun. Why do you have to go out with us in the middle of the night?"
"Go ahead, Ping An, you'll be alright!" Xiao Fubao said succinctly.
After all, it had snowed for several days, and the cold air was intense. The roads were icy, and the cars were slippery.
The group took Sun to Doctor Xue, who was on duty. Doctor Xue silently stopped the bleeding and bandaged Sun's head. "Her head is badly injured. Who could be so vicious? They specifically targeted the back of her head. They were trying to kill her! Whether she wakes up or not depends on her fate!"
Shen Yu was indignant. "It's one thing that this old woman Zhao doesn't get along with the villagers, but her daughter-in-law is someone else's daughter, yet she's so cruel! What a terrible thing to do!"
Doctor Xue worked for a while to stop the bleeding from Madam Sun. "She'll have to stay here for a month. If she doesn't wake up within seven days, you should inform her parents and make arrangements for her funeral!"
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