Chapter 73 Lack of manners
Mr. Xue said in a serious tone, "Of course we came to see you. Pregnancy is a big deal, how could we ignore it?"
Hearing this, Sister-in-law Xue was not moved at all. Instead, she complained, "Didn't I tell you not to come uninvited? You weren't even listening to me properly."
Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Xue took Sister-in-law Xue's complaints seriously, and said emphatically, "Why should we have so many rules about our own daughter? We can come and go as we please."
After hearing these words, Aunt Wei looked at Aunt Zhou with a provocative expression and said, word by word, "I won't disturb your chat with your good in-laws. You must not drive them away. After all, it's not easy for them to come all this way. You don't want your eldest daughter-in-law to become an unfilial person, do you? Don't forget what you just told me. You must learn to set an example."
Aunt Wei closed the door, ignoring the mess outside.
Zhou Ma had no choice but to bite the bullet and bring Xue Ba and Xue Ma back to the living room. If she chased them away, her words would hit her right where it hurt. To avoid becoming a laughingstock, she had no choice but to accept that Xue Ba and Xue Ma had the reunion dinner with them.
She and her neighbor both suffered losses. If she had known, she wouldn't have meddled. Now, her neighbor has become a laughing stock, and so has her own.
The neighboring aunties didn't laugh at the couple's idea, but they secretly made a decision: when choosing a wife in the future, they wouldn't just look at whether she was virtuous and filial, but also at how her parents were treated. If they encountered in-laws like these two, they would be really unlucky.
Aunt Xue entered the living room without any ceremony. She first looked around, placed the wicker basket on the table, and asked with a smile, "Didn't I hear that your sister-in-law's parents were coming? Why don't I see them?"
Sister-in-law Xue frowned and explained, "They arrived a long time ago. The second daughter-in-law took them to explore Beijing. They probably won't be back until it's time to eat."
Aunt Xue nodded thoughtfully, "I didn't expect your sister-in-law to be such a filial child. The first thing she did after her parents came to Beijing was to take them out for fun."
Seeing Xue Ma's behavior, Zhou Ma rolled her eyes and went back to the kitchen to continue her work.
Zhou Dafu preferred to go back to his room to read the newspaper rather than chat with Xue's father. As the saying goes, "If you don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much," and he didn't want to hear Xue's father complain about how difficult things were at home.
When they first became in-laws, Xue's parents were stingy, but not this outrageous. However, in recent years, they've had more and more grandchildren, and they've become increasingly petty.
Being stingy is one thing, but they're always trying to squeeze things out of his house to supplement their own income. Before his eldest daughter-in-law got pregnant, they didn't dare to come over, but now that she's pregnant, they've started coming over shamelessly again, like a leech that you can't shake off.
Aunt Xue didn't mind Zhou Dafu and the others' cold attitude at all. As long as they stayed for a meal, she was fine with anything. She had heard from her daughter that they were having a big meal at noon today, otherwise, why would they have the nerve to come over?
She watched her son-in-law busy in the kitchen, while her daughter sat on the sofa, frowning, and said, "Why don't you go to the kitchen and cook? Let Xiang Jun come and rest for a bit!"
Sister-in-law Xue touched her stomach and said, "My stomach feels a little uncomfortable."
Seeing that her daughter's expression didn't seem like she had a stomachache, Xue Ma guessed that her daughter was faking illness. She glanced at the room where Zhou Dafu was and lowered her voice, saying, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Men are responsible for external affairs, and women are responsible for internal affairs. How can you let your man cook in the kitchen? Be careful, you'll have a hard time later."
“My younger brother is also busy in the kitchen,” Sister-in-law Xue retorted without hesitation.
Aunt Xue frowned and said, "Your younger brother is a chef, and he enjoys cooking. Can't you see that your husband doesn't like it? He can't blame his parents, so he can't blame you either!"
Sister-in-law Xue retorted confidently, "What does it have to do with me? It's not like I asked him to cook. Besides, I'm carrying his child."
Aunt Xue retorted, "You can't carry this child forever. Don't think that everything will be fine after you get pregnant. If Xiang Jun ignores you in the future, you'll be the one who suffers. The most important thing between husband and wife is to help each other. How can you just watch your man busy in the kitchen while you sit comfortably on the sofa and rest! How will he feel when he thinks about this later?"
Sister-in-law Xue was stunned for a moment, because this was how Lin Yuanshu treated Zhou Xiangyang. Not only that, Lin Yuanshu also asked Zhou Xiangyang to pour her foot bath water. Zhou Xiangyang did not complain at all, but she did not know how to refute her mother's words, because her mother did not seem to be wrong.
Xue's father chimed in, "You can't go wrong listening to your mother. She would never hurt you."
At the urging of Xue's parents, Xue's sister-in-law came to the makeshift kitchen and said to her brother, "My parents asked me to come and help. You can go and rest for a bit."
The older brother immediately put down the vegetables he was holding, gave a bright smile, and instructed, "My father-in-law really cares about me. I've already kneaded the dough; you just need to cut it in a bit."
"I understand," Sister-in-law Xue said somewhat reluctantly.
Zhou Ma's expression became very complicated. She felt that Lin Yuanshu's parents might not be willing to educate Lin Yuanshu.
After all, when Lin Yuanshu's parents saw Xiangyang cooking, they didn't take the initiative to call their daughter over to the kitchen to help, unlike their eldest daughter-in-law's parents. They didn't even mention it, as if it was something that should be done that way.
This is really a difficult situation!
At the same time, Aunt Wei was also in a difficult position. She said to Mr. and Mrs. Sun with a blank expression, "You should go back after lunch today! I will not let you stay overnight."
Sun Ma smiled and agreed, "No problem. What shall we have for lunch? Do you have duck or fish? I heard that Comrade Lin Yuanshu's mother-in-law specially prepared duck and fish to entertain Lin Yuanshu's parents. Your two families are about the same size. Yiyi's father and I are not picky. We don't require both fish and duck. Just having one of them will be fine."
Aunt Wei was amused and annoyed by Sun's mother's request. Sun Yiyi's parents were so naive; they still didn't understand their own position and really thought that letting them into the house meant they were being treated as in-laws.
She said coldly, "You wish! For lunch, we only have cornbread and pickled vegetables. Take it or leave it. At least Lin Yuanshu's parents have been helpful to the Zhou family, but you only drag my family down. I really regret having in-laws like you."
Hearing what Aunt Wei said, Aunt Sun was naturally in a bad mood. She retorted, "I didn't want to have in-laws like you either. You're really obsessed with money. You're so stingy with us over such a small amount of money."
“If you don’t care about the money, then give me back that fifty yuan,” Aunt Wei said immediately.
Grandma Sun was taken aback. She was arguing, but her tone was forceful: "I have no money."
When Aunt Wei saw Sun Ma's face, she felt extremely disgusted. She slammed the door and left. She didn't want to stay at home and chat with such a scoundrel. Anyway, she had already put the food in her room. Now there was only sorghum flour in the living room. If they didn't eat it, they would have nothing to eat.
She wasn't planning on eating lunch at home; she'd just grab something to eat outside. Looking at the two of them, she couldn't bring herself to eat.
Seeing that Aunt Wei had left, Aunt Sun plopped down in a chair and said with a look of disgust, "This room is so small, it must be hard for you to squeeze in together. It seems that life in the city isn't that good. You can eat well, but your living space is not as spacious as my chicken coop."
Sun Yiyi took a deep breath and questioned, "Since you look down on my in-laws, why did you come to Beijing? If you're here to ask me for money, then there's no point in talking about it. I don't have a job and I don't have a single penny."
Grandma Sun sighed, took Sun Yiyi's hand and said, "You silly child, before you got married you still treated us like your parents, but after you got married you turned us into your stepfather and stepmother. What purpose could we have in coming here? We just wanted to make peace with your in-laws, worried that you would be bullied without your own family, and thinking that Comrade Lin Yuanshu's parents had come to see her, if we didn't come, you would be laughed at by others."
Hearing what her mother-in-law said, Sun Yiyi's expression softened. She stopped being confrontational and wasn't as angry with her mother-in-law anymore. "I know you mean well, but because of what happened last time, my father-in-law and husband don't like you very much. It's impossible for us to make peace. If you come less often, my life will be a little easier. Take advantage of their absence at noon, have lunch, and then leave quickly!"
Grandma Sun said with exasperation, "You're carrying the Wei family's eldest grandson now, be more assertive and stop being so timid."
Sun Yiyi said irritably, "I might want to be tough, but with a family like this as my mother's, how can I be tough?"
Sun's mother smiled awkwardly, her expression complicated, and said, "What happened before was my fault, your father and I were wrong. We will definitely not treat your father-in-law and husband like that in the future. Your father and I worked hard to bring you a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes, and there are also ten eggs that I saved up. Please don't forget to eat them."
Sun Yiyi's feelings were incredibly mixed. She disliked her parents' inaction, but seeing how carefully they tried to please her made her feel very uncomfortable.
"I see."
Sun's mother handed ten eggs to Sun Yiyi with a satisfied smile. "Your father and I won't bother you any longer, lest your mother-in-law be unhappy. We'll go to the station now to catch the bus back to the production team."
Sun Yiyi finally softened, "You can go back after you finish eating. I'll make you some noodles."
Sun's mother said with a touched expression, "Girl, let's skip the rest. I'm afraid your mother-in-law will be angry. Please forgive us."
“My mother-in-law won’t be angry. This noodle was bought for me by A-Yong, and I have the right to decide how to handle it,” Sun Yiyi said with a straight face.
Grandma Sun patted Sun Yiyi's head and sighed, "Without realizing it, my daughter has grown up so much and is about to become a mother herself."
Sun Yiyi couldn't bring herself to smile when she thought about her mother's usual attitude towards her. Although her attitude had softened a bit, it didn't mean that she and her mother had a deep mother-daughter bond.
Watching Sun Yiyi busy herself for them, Grandma Sun couldn't help but smile smugly. The plump aunt was right after all; as long as she treated her daughter well, her daughter would treat her with all her heart.
Unfortunately, her daughter has no status in the Wei family now and can't be squeezed out of much money. However, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. No matter what, she may not have a lot of money, but she still has some. Having a daughter who has married into the city is better than having none at all.
Just as Sun Yiyi and her mother reconciled, Lin Yuanshu was standing at the Forbidden City ticket booth. The ticket window was empty. Lin Yuanshu said with a regretful look, "It seems we won't be able to visit the Forbidden City today. I'll take you to visit the Forbidden City and climb the Great Wall next time you come to Beijing."
Although Lin's mother was a little disappointed, she didn't want Lin Yuanshu to see her disappointment, so she smiled and said, "It's good to come next time. It's too cold today. It's warmer to stay at home."
Lin Yuanfeng lowered her head dejectedly. It was such a beautiful place, and it was such a pity that she couldn't go in and have some fun. However, she was never a willful child, and even if she couldn't go in, she wouldn't throw a tantrum.
Li Xiaohua smiled and agreed, "That's right, there's plenty of time in the future, no need to rush."
As she said this, she glanced at Ma Long. Ma Long didn't get angry because he couldn't visit the Forbidden City, which made her feel even more favorably toward him.
When her husband was alive, he would throw a tantrum over the smallest things that didn't go his way, and she was terrified of meeting a man like that again.
Lin Yuanshu rubbed his nose and said confidently, "Since we're already out, it would be a waste to go back like this. We can go shopping at a department store or see a movie before going back."
Li Xiaohua hesitated. She wasn't very close to Lin Yuanshu, and she didn't want to go shopping or watch a movie with him.
Lin's mother frowned and said, "It's too late to go back after watching the movie. I don't want to watch a movie. Is there anything you want to buy? If so, then we can go to the department store."
Lin Yuanshu nodded thoughtfully and admitted, "There are a few things I want to buy, so I'll trouble Mom to accompany me to the department store!"
She turned to look at Malone and asked, "Uncle, what are you planning to do?"
Ma Long wasn't stupid; he understood Lin Yuanshu's meaning. There were only two choices: Lin Yuanshu chose to go to the department store, and the other choice was left to him.
"I didn't need to buy anything, so I went to see a movie."
After saying that, Ma Long cautiously asked Li Xiaohua, "Would you like to go to the movies with me? I don't mean anything by it, it's just that I've never been to a movie theater before, and I'm a little scared."
Li Xiaohua took a deep breath. Her reason told her that she should refuse, go home, and stay away from this gay man, without getting involved in anything.
"I'm willing," Li Xiaohua said, blushing.
Unfortunately, her emotions were telling her to get closer, even closer.
Lin Yuanshu gave a bright smile. As expected of her, she could even act as a matchmaker.
Li Xiaohua was unaware of the situation, but Lin's mother immediately realized that Lin Yuanshu was trying to bring the two together.
After parting ways with Ma Long, Lin's mother asked in a low voice, "What are you up to? Why do you have a distant cousin? What are you trying to do?"
Lin Yuanshu thought for a moment and decided not to reveal Zhu Huilan's matter. The more people who knew, the greater the risk of being exposed. She vaguely said, "Anyway, we're not doing anything illegal or criminal! I can't tell you the specific plan. This distant cousin isn't going to treat us as proper relatives. We're just visiting today, and there won't be any more opportunities to visit each other in the future. You don't need to take this distant cousin to heart."
Lin's father frowned as he looked at Lin Yuanshu and asked worriedly, "Are you in any danger in this matter?"
Lin Yuanshu noticed the worry in her father's eyes and explained earnestly, "I won't be in any danger. I'm just doing a small favor for my friend, acquainting him with a distant cousin and helping him find a wife."
Upon hearing this answer, Lin's father felt much more at ease, and his face lit up with relief.
He solemnly instructed, "You're all grown up now and have your own thoughts. Whatever you do, you must prioritize your own safety."
Lin's mother nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "Even if you do something wrong, don't be afraid, you still have your dad and your mom."
Lin Yuanfeng interjected, "And Xiaofeng and brother-in-law too."
Lin Yuanshu couldn't help but smile, even in this era
She encountered some unpleasant people, but also people who unconditionally supported her. It was because of these people that she felt happiness in this era.
Lin Yuanshu went to the department store and bought two boxes of clam oil, one for her mother and one for herself.
Lin's mother originally didn't want to buy anything, but as she wandered around, she ended up buying some things that weren't easy to find in the countryside, such as tooth powder and soap.
Lin Yuanfeng wanted everything, but couldn't afford anything. She had neither tickets nor money.
Lin Yuanshu felt it was almost time for lunch, so she led her mother and the others back to the tenement building.
The neighboring aunties looked at Lin's mother carrying a cloth bag and all showed envious expressions. They wished they had such a capable daughter, so that she could buy them some nice things instead of trying to swindle money from them every day.
As soon as Lin Yuanshu entered the living room, she saw two strangers on the sofa, and she subconsciously frowned.
The moment the older brother saw Lin Yuanshu frown, he couldn't help but explain, "It's not that I want to be lazy, it's just that my mother-in-law saw how hard I was working cooking, so she called me in to rest for a bit and let my wife take over in the kitchen."
Upon hearing her brother's words, Lin Yuanshu understood who the two people on the sofa were. This was the first time she had seen Sister-in-law Xue's relatives since she had been married into the family.
She had heard that Sister-in-law Xue's parents and Aunt Zhou didn't get along, so they must have come uninvited today. No wonder she saw Aunt Zhou looking impatient when she passed by the makeshift kitchen.
Following her elder brother's gaze, Xue Ma looked at Lin Yuanshu and said, puzzled, "Xiang Jun, what are you explaining to your sister-in-law? There's no such thing as a sister-in-law controlling her elder brother, especially since your parents are still alive!"
After she finished speaking, she said to Lin Yuanshu, "You must be Xiangyang's wife! It's really not easy to see you. You had already left when we arrived, otherwise we could have gone out for a walk together."
Lin Yuanshu replied with a polite remark, "If there's a chance next time, I definitely won't forget to call you."
Aunt Xue glanced at the things in Aunt Lin's hands, got up and walked towards Aunt Lin, asking with a smile, "What good things did you buy? Didn't you go to the Forbidden City?"
Lin's mother explained, "The Palace Museum was closed today, so we went to a department store and bought some daily necessities."
Aunt Xue didn't treat herself like an outsider at all, reaching out with both hands towards the cloth bag in Aunt Lin's hands.
Lin's mother subconsciously moved the cloth bag back, but Lin Yuanfeng grabbed Xue's mother's hand to prevent her from touching it.
Aunt Xue said somewhat unhappily, "We're all family, why are you being so formal? I just wanted to see what you bought, I'm not going to take your things. Don't be so stingy, treating me like a thief. It's not like I can't afford it, what's so special about it!"
Lin Yuanshu retorted without hesitation, "We may be stingy, but what have you, so generous, brought to the Zhou family? Is it cabbage or radish? It's really hard to guess."
Aunt Xue's face darkened immediately. She said with great displeasure, "How can you talk to your elders like that? You have no manners at all. What did you bring this time?"
Although she had heard from her daughter that Lin Yuanshu was domineering and short-tempered, she thought that her daughter was exaggerating because of her previous conflict with Lin Yuanshu. She didn't expect that it was really true.
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "It's nothing compared to you. It's just some dried vegetables, dried sweet potatoes, vermicelli, and rabbit meat. But then again, you're right, I'm indeed unruly. Guess if I dare to do something even more unruly? Like, throwing the two of you out of the Zhou family."
"How dare you! I'm Xiang Jun's mother-in-law, you can't treat me like this," Aunt Xue said defiantly.
Lin Yuanshu argued confidently, "I'm still Xiangyang's wife! Why wouldn't I dare?"
"No one throws their relatives out just because they disagree with them. Your mother-in-law hasn't said anything, so who gives you the right to speak?" Xue's mother said angrily.
It was just a little argument; she didn't believe Lin Yuanshu would really dare to kick her out. Even if he was powerful, he wouldn't be this powerful.
Lin Yuanshu smiled slightly and called out, "Xiao Feng..."
The older brother took a deep breath. He hadn't expected that in the short time he was distracted, his mother-in-law and Lin Yuanshu would start arguing. His mother-in-law thought Lin Yuanshu wouldn't dare, but he knew Lin Yuanshu would. If Lin Yuanshu really threw his mother-in-law out, then he and his mother-in-law would become the laughing stock of the apartment building.
He quickly stepped forward and said, "Today is New Year's Eve. It's not good to make a fuss. Why don't we each take a step back? Mom, you shouldn't talk to my second wife's parents like that. You shouldn't say they're stingy. Everyone has their own habits. They just don't like to show their purchases to others."
After saying this, the elder brother turned his gaze to Lin Yuanshu.
Lin Yuanshu stood with her arms crossed, looking at her older brother. She wanted to see what he would say.
Seeing Lin Yuanshu's expression, the eldest brother swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Second sister-in-law, don't hold it against my mother-in-law. She didn't mean any harm; she's just rude."
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