The villagers who came to watch the commotion were somewhat surprised. How did Lin Ersao become so eloquent? Wasn't she just someone who pulled hair and scratched people?
Sister-in-law Lin, who had just arrived, was also a little surprised. She was wondering whether she should try to break up the fight if it broke out. The main problem was that what Liu said was so awful that she really deserved to be beaten.
But the second son's wife started it, so she's in the wrong. Now look what's happened; Liu is probably going to be furious.
Ignoring Liu Shi, Song Anxin turned to the villagers, her expression softening, and slowly said, "Uncles and aunts... sisters, everyone knows about Zhang Mei's situation. My Lin family doesn't care about anything else; we only value Zhang Mei herself."
Everyone knows that Zhang Mei has lived in our village for a long time. She is respectful and filial to her elders, loving and caring for young children, and always gets along well with her neighbors. She has never argued with anyone.
Needless to say, she's incredibly hardworking; she does everything herself, both at home and in the fields. She's a wife you couldn't find even with a lantern.
Seeing that the villagers had taken it to heart, Song Anxin continued, "It is a blessing for our Lin family that she can become our daughter-in-law. I hope that all of you uncles and aunts... will not bring up such a distressing matter again, and let Fengnian and Meizi live their lives in peace. This will also help us accumulate some good karma for ourselves and for the younger generation, so that our lives will get better and better in the future."
Song Anxin spoke to them with reason and emotion, even resorting to feudal superstitions, and she was determined to shut them up.
Everyone who had been listening was still thinking that Zhang Mei was indeed like that, and those who had been her neighbors had never heard her say a bad word about anyone else.
Gradually, the people behind him realized they no longer wanted to say anything behind his back; nobody wanted to be immoral and suffer bad luck.
"Well said! Although I don't usually think much of you, my second son's wife, Zhang Mei is a good match for our Lin family."
Last time I sprained my ankle, Zhang Mei carried me home. I thought it would be so nice if she were my daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, my son Dongzi is too young. Now that she's my nephew's wife, it's a real connection with our Lin family.
"Anyone who gossips about my niece-in-law in the future, I'll tear their mouth apart!" Sister-in-law Lin stepped out from the crowd and said.
With Sister-in-law Lin starting this, everyone began to chime in:
"Yes, Meizi is truly a wonderful person. Even though Sister Liu has been tormenting her like that, I've never seen her utter a single word," said Aunt Zhao.
"That's right, he helped this old woman a lot when he was digging for wild vegetables on the mountain," said Granny Han.
"......."
"Haha, we like Sister Mei. Sister Mei will share the wild fruits she picks with us..." Some children, unaware of what was going on, immediately ran over to join in the fun when they heard everyone praising Sister Mei.
Song Anxin gave her sister-in-law an approving look. Not bad, very helpful. But don't try to belittle me. Fine, I'll just pretend I'm the original owner.
Sister-in-law Lin wondered how her second son's wife could not only avoid fighting with everyone but also persuade them. Was she praising her with those eyes? So she praised Zhang Mei even more enthusiastically in the crowd.
Zhang Mei stared at Song Anxin in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip to hold back her sobs. She had long anticipated the gossip and judgment that would ensue if she returned to Linjia Village. She was prepared; she only wanted to repay Aunt Lin and live a good life with Fengnian…
Unexpectedly... Aunt Lin actually spoke up for her in front of everyone, saying that she had taken a liking to her as a person and spoke at length about her good qualities. There was also Aunt Lin Da, who actually remembered something from so long ago, and Aunt Zhao and Granny Han... So many people in Linjia Village actually remembered her good qualities. Her shoulders began to tremble slightly.
Seeing this, Song Anxin gently patted Zhang Mei's shoulder and said, "This is what you deserve."
She was absolutely right. If Zhang Mei hadn't been so kind and virtuous in the village, no amount of eloquence would have mattered today.
Lin Fengnian was deeply moved. His mother had done so much for him... He also felt sorry for Meizi, who was such a good person... However, he couldn't always hide behind his mother. He was about to start his own family, and next time he would bravely stand up to protect his mother and wife.
Lin Fenghe and Lin Fengyao had already gathered with Lin Fengshou. The three of them saw their mother speaking up for their sister-in-law on the oxcart and they all thought their mother was really amazing. She spoke so well in front of so many people, and they wished they could be as amazing as their mother.
Song Anxin never expected that she had set a bad example for these three children.
Seeing that she had successfully turned around Zhang Mei's reputation, Song Anxin breathed a sigh of relief. Being a mother-in-law is really not easy!
"Thank you all, uncles and aunts... Please come to my house for wedding cakes tomorrow!" Song Anxin said as she got off the oxcart.
It was almost harvest time, and most households didn't have much surplus grain. So, if they had already prepared wedding cakes, the banquet could be skipped—that was the custom in Linjia Village.
Everyone's faces lit up when they heard there would be wedding cakes, and they all started offering their congratulations.
Aunt Tietou recovered and spat as she watched the family walk away: "Don't be fooled. You'll see what kind of good person that Sister-in-law Lin is. Zhang Mei's family is not as good as mine."
Most of the villagers didn't want to pay him any attention. Although Aunt Tietou and Sister-in-law Lin were both equally bad people in the village, they felt that Sister-in-law Lin seemed to have changed a lot today. They couldn't quite put their finger on what had changed, but maybe she really wanted to live a good life.
A small group of people, just watching the spectacle, felt that what Aunt Tie Tou said made sense, and they wanted to see which family Zhang Mei would be tormented even more severely in.
The group returned home as the sun was setting. Despite having been on the move all day, the family did not feel tired.
Lin Fengyao excitedly called Zhang Mei "sister-in-law" all the way, saying things like "I finally have a sister-in-law," which made Zhang Mei very embarrassed. Lin Fenghe, though more reserved, was clearly very happy.
Lin Fengnian unloaded the items from the oxcart. Lin Fenghe and Feng Yao had already seen them on the oxcart, but they didn't expect them to all belong to their family. As they took the items out one by one...
Lin Fengyao shouted excitedly, "Wow, grain! So much grain!" He was even more surprised to find meat and pork fat underneath, and he screamed, "Meat! Meat! It's meat!"
Even Lin Fenghe, an introverted person, asked with some excitement, "Mother, are all these ours?"
Song Anxin was amused by the two children: "Yes, we're going to cook white rice today! And with meat too."
Song Anxin was practically craving white rice. She ate a big meat bun for lunch, and although she was full at the time, she got hungry again quickly. Plus, she had burned so much energy that day.
The children's mouths watered instantly when they heard there would be white rice and meat to eat.
Just then, a voice rang out from the doorway: "Is this Lin Fengshou's house, Sister-in-law Lin?"
Everyone looked outside and saw an old man who looked like a farmer anxiously peering into the yard.
Upon seeing the old man, Lin Fengshou immediately went up to him and said, "Uncle Li, we are really sorry. We just got home and were thinking of going to Dawu Village later to return the oxcart to you."
It turned out that the owner of the oxcart was the family of Song Anxin from Dawu Village. Song Anxin realized that she had indeed returned late and had not yet had time to deliver the oxcart.
The old man was probably getting anxious because it was almost evening and he hadn't seen his oxcart yet, since they weren't from the same village. Fortunately, Lin Fenghe had told him his address, so he hurriedly came looking for him.
Song Anxin quickly went up to express her apologies and gave him the original six-wen car rental fee, plus an extra one-wen, since he had come to pick up the car in person, and this was a small token of her apology for his trouble.
Old Li was surprised that not only did the other party not cheat him, but they also gave him an extra coin. He happily took the seven coins and drove the cart back home. However, he never dared to lend the oxcart to people from other villages again. He lived in fear all day, afraid that someone would run away with his ox.
Song Anxin is so poor she only has one penny left, she's so sad, sob sob ┭┮﹏┭┮
However, she still needed to fill her stomach, so Song Anxin took the ingredients and headed straight to the kitchen. She was so hungry she could practically eat a whole cow.
The four Lin brothers were somewhat taken aback as they watched their mother take the ingredients to the kitchen. Was their mother going to cook for them herself? They had never eaten a meal cooked by their mother in all their lives.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com