Chapter 17 Returning to the Production Team
After dinner, Zhou's mother and Sister-in-law Xue were in charge of washing the dishes. Zhou Xiangyang came to Sister-in-law Xue with a smile and said earnestly, "Sister-in-law, you were right back then. Getting married is indeed not a bad thing."
Sister-in-law Xue laughed weakly twice. For Zhou Xiangyang, this was certainly not a bad thing. Lin Yuanshu hadn't confronted him. It was her and her mother-in-law who were really unlucky to have such a sister-in-law and daughter-in-law, and their father-in-law was biased towards Lin Yuanshu, which prevented them from using their methods.
After Zhou Xiangyang left, Zhou's mother washed the dishes while gritting her teeth and saying, "Lin Yuanshu, cherish these good days! Once she's no longer of any use, I have plenty of ways to deal with her."
Hearing this, Sister-in-law Xue pursed her lips, secretly pleased, thinking that Lin Yuanshu's arrogance wouldn't last long.
Why did she want to see Lin Yuanshu bow her head? Because if Lin Yuanshu could live happily without bowing her head, wouldn't that mean her bowing her head was foolish? It completely negated her hard work over the past five years, and she couldn't accept that fact.
After discussing the next steps with Zhou Dafu, Lin Yuanshu went to wash up. After washing up, she went back to her room to read the "Chemical Engineering Dictionary." She had put the "Chemical Engineering Dictionary" back in her room before taking the pork belly to the living room.
After today's events, she finally understood that whenever she appeared outside, Zhou Ma would come over to nitpick, just like an NPC. It was as if Zhou Ma had nothing better to do than torment her. The saying that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are enemies was indeed true.
Zhou Xiangyang looked curiously at the book in Lin Yuanshu's hand. He didn't expect Lin Yuanshu to be reading such a highly specialized book.
Lin Yuanshu noticed Zhou Xiangyang's gaze and explained with a smile, "Director Tang has already agreed to let me take the recruitment exam in ten days, so I need to study hard now and prepare for the exam. Don't tell my parents about this yet, I don't want to cause any controversy."
She was truly afraid of Zhou's mother. There was no reasoning with such an unreasonable person. She was afraid that Zhou's mother would give her laxatives on the day of her exam, and then she would be really doomed. It was better to keep it from them for now and wait until things were out of the question.
Zhou Xiangyang nodded thoughtfully and promised earnestly, "I won't tell anyone. Even if someone puts a knife to my throat, I won't tell."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanshu smiled and said, "I believe you, but if this really happens, you should still tell me! Secrets are not as important as life."
Zhou Xiangyang gave a faint smile and said in a low voice, "Thank you for speaking up for me at the dinner table."
"You're welcome, it's what I should do." Lin Yuanshu waved his hand dismissively.
Zhou Xiangyang took a deep breath and said firmly, "I will speak up for you in front of Mom next time too."
Lin Yuanshu paused for a moment, then refused without hesitation: "No need. Your support will only add fuel to the fire and make Mom think that the two of us are against her. You should just continue to remain silent as you are now."
Zhou Xiangyang lowered his head in disappointment. He had finally mustered the courage to help, but was rejected. He was just disappointed that he couldn't help. If only he could speak, he would definitely be able to help.
Lin Yuanshu looked at Zhou Xiangyang, who looked like a lost puppy, and said softly, "However, if your mother wants to hit me, you'll need to stand up for me."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiangyang nodded excitedly and said with a smile, "I will protect you."
Meanwhile, the eldest brother was teaching Sister-in-law Xue to write. Sister-in-law Xue asked in a low voice, "Do you think I should learn from my sister-in-law so that I can be more assertive when facing our mother?"
The older brother looked at Sister-in-law Xue with a bewildered expression, "Are you out of your mind?"
Sister-in-law Xue smiled awkwardly, "I was just saying."
Sure enough, she could never become someone like Lin Yuanshu; she cared about too many people and things.
The next morning, Lin Yuanshu didn't sleep in for the first time. She had breakfast with Zhou Dafu and the others and then went out together. Since it was a last-minute decision to go back to her parents' home, Zhou Xiangyang didn't have time to ask for leave. So this time, only Lin Yuanshu took Tang Rong back to her parents' home, while Zhou Xiangyang had to go to work.
Looking at the table full of leftovers, Zhou Ma grumbled, "They're all a bunch of patriarchs. What's the use of marrying daughters-in-law? I still have to deal with it all by myself."
Hearing Zhou Ma's rambling from the doorway of Zhou Ma's living room, Aunt Wei revealed a smug expression and comforted her, "Although your daughter-in-law doesn't help you with housework, she went out to find a job, and who knows, she might even get a government-supplied job! My daughter-in-law is so filial; she wouldn't go out to work even when I asked her to, and she wants to stay home to take care of me."
Zhou Ma was so frustrated that she didn't want to talk. Ever since Lin Yuanshu came into the family, she had been angry every day. She had become immune to Wei Dama's words. After all, Lin Yuanshu's words were more infuriating. Compared to that, Wei Dama's words were just a drop in the ocean and not worth mentioning.
After leaving the apartment building, Lin Yuanshu went to find Tang Rong, who had already packed her luggage and was waiting for Lin Yuanshu's arrival.
Out of consideration for the pork belly, Lin Yuanshu offered to carry Tang Rong's backpack, lightening her burden a bit. Director Tang watched Tang Rong leave with reluctance.
The two first went to a department store and bought some brown sugar, malted milk powder and pastries as gifts. Lin Yuanshu wanted to take them back to her parents' home, since her father-in-law had secretly given her the money and coupons, so she figured she might as well buy them. Lin Yuanshu wasn't quite sure what Tang Rong's purpose was in buying the gifts.
She originally wanted to take the piece of pork belly that Director Tang had given her back, but unfortunately she didn't know where Aunt Zhou had hidden it. If she asked Aunt Zhou for it, Aunt Zhou would definitely argue with her, so she had no choice but to give up.
After buying the gifts, the two went to the bus station in Sijiu City and took a bus back to the county town.
After arriving in the county town, the two went to a state-run restaurant and ate two bowls of braised noodles. Thanks to the food coupons Zhou Xiangyang gave them, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to eat noodles at all, since getting coupons everywhere was really troublesome.
It has to be said that the portions were huge back then. To avoid waste, Lin Yuanshu and Tang Rong barely managed to finish their food, and their bellies were much bigger afterward.
Seeing each other's disheveled appearance, the two couldn't help but laugh, and their relationship became even closer amidst the laughter.
It just so happens that today is market day, and there are mule carts going back to the production team. The two of them didn't want to walk back to the production team, so Lin Yuanshu led Tang Rong to a big tree.
Under the big tree, an elderly man with white hair was stroking a mule. When he saw Lin Yuanshu, he said excitedly, "Little Shu, why are you back? I heard from your parents that you weren't coming home today!"
Lin Yuanshu explained with a smile, "I have a little thing to take care of and want to go home for a visit. This is Tang Rong, an educated youth assigned to the production team. She came here in advance to familiarize herself with the environment."
A note from the author:
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