"Second sister-in-law," Wang said weakly after Xie finished her rambling, "I won't let Mother suffer any injustice. I just bought fifteen catties of fine rice."
Instantly, a shrill voice rang out, "What? You, what did you say?"
Overwhelmed with surprise, Xie's face contorted from her sister-in-law's words. Her originally sallow complexion flushed slightly, and after giving Wang a wary once-over, she kept uttering words of disappointment and frustration.
"Sister-in-law, how do you have money to buy premium rice? You didn't secretly save money behind Mother's back, did you? How can you be so heartless? Mother treats us so well, and you still resort to these petty tricks. Did she starve you or leave you without water? You..."
As Xie's rapid and sharp words rang in her ears, Wang felt her head buzzing, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly, unable to utter a single word.
"Second son's wife, shut up!" Jiang Nuan scolded from inside the room.
Her daughter-in-law is so talkative, it's a bit overwhelming, but she's a really good person.
Jiang Nuan, afraid of disturbing the two sleeping girls, came out of the room.
“I asked them to buy that polished rice, so you can’t blame your sister-in-law.”
“Mother, fine rice costs 4 copper coins a pound, how much money will that cost?” Xie Shi said anxiously. “We need to save up our money for your medical treatment.”
The porridge the Huang family used to buy was made from broken rice scraps, which was cheap and substantial.
“I’m not sick, I don’t need treatment,” Jiang Nuan emphasized again.
Jiang Shi wasn't actually sick; rather, her body was severely depleted, making her appear weak and sickly.
But it's just physical weakness, there's no illness.
She didn't know what Jiang had said to everyone, which led them to believe that she was ill.
Upon hearing Jiang Nuan's words, both sisters-in-law showed expressions that said, "I know Mother is comforting us."
Oh……
I'm so tired!
Jiang Nuan closed her eyes and decided not to explain anymore.
“I asked them to buy that refined rice. Our whole family is eating poorly and our health is severely compromised. We bought that refined rice to help us recover. From now on, we will replace the refined rice with refined rice for our morning porridge. We will eat this for now and buy more when we run out.”
Hearing Jiang Nuan's words, Xie Shi's eyebrows twitched, and she immediately refused, "Mother, you can eat by yourself. We don't need rice."
“Yes, Mother is fine with this,” Wang agreed.
Upon hearing this, for some reason, a surge of anger suddenly rose within Jiang Nuan.
She grabbed one of them by the hand and pulled them to the edge of the basin, pointing at the still water and saying, "Look how thin you've become! You're so young, yet you're not even as good as an old woman like me. Can't you take care of yourselves?"
In the mirror, the two sisters-in-law, with their hair neatly combed, wore patched brown linen clothes and were so thin that it looked as if skin was pasted on their bones, which was particularly frightening.
The two sisters-in-law looked at the basin but found nothing unusual.
Only after hearing Jiang Nuan's words did she understand why she was angry.
Instantly, I felt a surge of joy.
Mother loves them so much, that's wonderful!
With a joyful gleam in her eyes, Xie mustered her courage and took Jiang Nuan's arm.
"Mother~" Her voice was soft and sweet, like drinking honey.
Jiang Nuan couldn't take it anymore, and instantly, a blush spread from the tips of her ears to her neck.
My heart was pounding like a drum, beating faster and faster.
"Fairy!" Jiang Nuan thought to herself.
Without pulling her arm away, Jiang Nuan turned her head to the side and said with a stern face, "How old are you? Stop acting like a child."
"I can't take it," Jiang Nuan added in her mind.
"Mother, no matter how old I am, I will always be your daughter," Xie said shamelessly.
Seeing that Jiang Nuan didn't pull her hand away, she knew that her mother-in-law hadn't refused her, and she felt even happier.
Seeing this, Wang was filled with envy, but she didn't dare to be as unrestrained as Xie, as she was too ashamed to admit it.
On second thought, Jiang Nuan nodded in agreement, "That's true, they're still just kids."
In their family, the eldest son, Huang, is only twenty-one years old, the age when he should be in college. They are all just a bunch of kids.
After figuring it out, Jiang Nuan's eyes held a tenderness that she herself couldn't explain.
“It’s getting late, stop fooling around,” Jiang Nuan patted Xie’s hand and took out a hundred copper coins. “These are for your pocket money.”
Upon catching the copper coin, Xie glanced instinctively at Wang beside her, the meaning of which was self-evident.
"Second sister-in-law, Mother gave it to me too." Madam Wang patted her waist, a hint of smugness hidden in her eyes.
Her mother gave her 115 coins as pocket money.
“Yes, you all have some, and your third brother’s wife gets some too when she comes back,” Jiang Nuan explained. “This is pocket money for you. Your expenses will be covered by the family’s funds. You can use this money to buy some things you like.”
"Mother~" Xie Shi threw herself into Jiang Nuan's arms. "You're so good!"
Jiang Nuan, who was suddenly pounced on, almost strained her back.
She was a little puzzled. Had Xie always been this enthusiastic? Could Jiang tolerate this personality?
What Jiang Nuan didn't know was that Xie Shi would never have dared to be so presumptuous towards Jiang Shi in the past. Her current behavior was entirely due to Jiang Nuan's own indulgence.
Xie was very clever; she managed to hold onto Jiang Nuan's arm without being scolded, which only made her more unscrupulous in the future.
The Xie family was extremely patriarchal, and daughters were only used to work in exchange for dowries. Having lacked maternal love since childhood, Xie would not give up as long as she saw a glimmer of hope.
He straightened his face again to maintain his patriarchal authority, "Stop acting cute, keep the money safe, and don't let anyone touch it."
"Mother, I'll put it away right now." Madam Xie happily put the copper coins into her purse.
Beside her, Wang glanced at the sky and whispered, "Mother, it's time to prepare lunch."
"Then let's do it. Xiao Wu and the others should be back by now."
"But," Wang asked softly, "how will lunch be prepared?"
In the past, she wouldn't have had this doubt; brown rice porridge with a handful of wild vegetables would have been enough.
I bought a lot of good things today.
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Nuan remembered that her two sons wouldn't be back for lunch. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Let's not cook the chicken and fish for now. We'll cook them when my eldest and second eldest sons come back tonight. We'll chop up the meat and wild vegetables and make dumplings."
After saying this, Jiang Nuan pondered to herself that two pounds of meat plus wild vegetables could be chopped into a bowl of filling, which should be enough for the whole family.
Thinking about dinner, she added, "Make more, so you two don't have to drink noodle soup again."
"Mother," Xie asked, somewhat puzzled, "when did we buy meat?"
"I bought it along with the rice, a chicken, and a few bones," Wang explained softly.
Hearing this, Madam Xie felt sorry for him, but she didn't say anything more.
Money can be earned back; mothers do it for their own good, and they can't be ungrateful.
She hugged Jiang Nuan's arm again, her voice so sweet it was almost intoxicating, "I'll do whatever you say, Mother. Make more today. My sister-in-law and I won't drink the noodle soup."
“Not today,” Jiang Nuan corrected, “It has to be like this from now on. You two have to make sure I’m well-fed every day.”
These two daughters-in-law are the thinnest in the family. If she doesn't remind them, they might just drink water to fill their stomachs, just like before.
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