Tao Ying didn't argue with Zhou Daya, but chatted happily with Li Guiying. The next day, Tao Ying still got up early.
"Guiying, why didn't you prepare anything?" Tao Ying asked, somewhat surprised. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, when Wang Mei came, Guiying prepared both meat and vegetables.
“Sister-in-law, my eldest sister doesn’t eat at our house. She only comes home to visit every year,” Li Guiying sighed.
The atmosphere at breakfast wasn't very pleasant. Around 10 a.m., a noise came from outside. Tao Ying looked up and saw a middle-aged woman in her late forties and a man in his fifties riding in on bicycles.
Li Guiying went up to greet them, and the two of them walked in very politely.
Wang Lan's husband carried a bag of sweet potatoes and put it on the ground outside.
Wang Lan walked in with a cold face.
“It’s the New Year, why are you being so formal…” Zhou Daya was furious when she saw Wang Lan’s face, which looked eight-tenths like her mother-in-law. Before she could finish her sentence, Tao Ying grabbed her arm.
"Please sit down, elder sister." Tao Ying went to the side and brought over a basket containing peanuts, melon seeds, and candy.
Li Guiying quietly handed the bowl to Tao Ying from outside.
“When Dazhu passed away, my daughter-in-law was giving birth, so I couldn’t go to class.” Wang Lan looked at Tao Ying, feeling very guilty.
"The person is gone, what's the point of talking about this?" Tao Ying said indifferently.
It's not that I'm soft-hearted, but if the old lady is in as much pain as she was yesterday, she'll probably get sick.
Wang Lan didn't know what to say for a moment; the procedure was wrong.
Every year when I come back, I don't even need to say a word as soon as I enter the house, the old lady starts scolding me. I have a big fight with her, and then I bring my man home.
"We have things to do at home, so we won't stay any longer," Wang Lan said as she stood up after about a minute.
Unable to sit still any longer, Tao Ying sat down next to the old lady. Just as the old lady was about to speak with her triangular eyes wide open, Tao Ying pinched her. Wang Lan saw the old lady's face twitch, but she didn't get angry.
She got along so well with her grandmother back then, so why is she as obedient as a kitten when she becomes her daughter-in-law?
“You don’t need to come next year either. My husband and I don’t need these two sweet potatoes.” Zhou Daya’s voice rang out from behind Wang Lan when she was halfway there.
"What do you mean?" Wang Lan's voice rang out sharply, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She glared at Zhou Daya, looking like she was about to start a fight at any moment.
“Literally, Ying’er, I don’t want to argue with her.” Zhou Daya turned her back.
"Big sister, let me see you out." Tao Ying blocked Wang Lan's view.
"Do you think I care about coming here?" Wang Lan said angrily, turning around and leaving.
"Big sister, you should take the sweet potatoes back." Li Guiying chased after him, carrying a bag.
Tao Ying gave Li Guiying a thumbs up.
Li Guiying blushed slightly. The two returned to their room, where Zhou Daya was wiping away tears.
"Alright, come back with me after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year." Tao Ying put her arm around Zhou Daya's shoulder and coaxed her softly.
“That won’t do. Mom has only been back for a few days. I don’t agree to it.” Li Guiying received Tao Ying’s signal and immediately spoke up.
"Alright, you two don't need to coax me anymore. I'm not a child anymore." Zhou Daya knew perfectly well that the two children were just trying to make her happy.
Even though it's my own flesh and blood, I don't receive any care or concern from outsiders.
"Mom, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you," Tao Ying asked, pulling Zhou Daya aside.
"Come on, you'd be better off taking me out to eat a couple more times." Zhou Daya immediately stopped being angry.
"After the Lunar New Year, I might have to go to Shanghai for a wedding. I'll take you there," Tao Ying said, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Zhou Daya.
"If you want to sell this old man, just say so." Zhou Daya was so angry she wanted to jump up and down.
“Mom, we wouldn’t get much money selling you, it’s not worth it,” Tao Ying said with a smile.
"Guiying, you hold her down, I'm going to beat this brat up." Zhou Daya was so angry she gritted her teeth.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you let Mom take care of your grandson?" Li Guiying advised from the side.
"Well, you two are planning to extract some oil from this old body of mine," Zhou Daya said with a laugh.
After Tao Ying and Li Guiying made such a fuss, Zhou Daya stopped being angry.
After dinner on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Tao Ying called Li Guiying out.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Li Guiying looked at Tao Ying with some surprise.
"Guiying, as you know, I've opened a shop. After the New Year, I plan to open another clothing shop," Tao Ying stated her purpose directly.
“Sister-in-law, are you short-handed? I’ll go with Dashuan to help you keep an eye on things,” Li Guiying said without hesitation.
And considering the feasibility, he and Da Shuan would leave early and return late.
"Guiying, have you ever thought about going directly to the city?" Tao Ying was moved by Li Guiying's idea.
“What are you going to do in the city? Baohe is only in fifth grade. We still have to take care of the land at home. Dashuan and I can’t help you during the day when we’re planting and harvesting,” Li Guiying said.
"I want you to look after the shop across from the hospital, and I'll give you double the profit," Tao Ying said.
That general store was hard to find people to work at; it had too many things, too many different kinds, and she didn't trust anyone she didn't know well. But Tao Ying couldn't bear to give it up.
“Sister-in-law, it’s not easy for you to earn money, how could I take advantage of you?” Li Guiying quickly refused.
“Guiying, listen to me. I’m going to expand the clothing store business after the New Year. I can hire people for the clothing store, but the general store has too many different kinds of things and I can’t hire anyone. Our parents aren’t good at accounting. You and Dashuan are family, and your sister-in-law trusts you. If you trust me too, come with me to the city, and we’ll transfer Baohe there as well.” Tao Ying said sincerely to Li Guiying.
“You don’t need to feel too burdened. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. We’ll always be family,” Tao Ying said with a smile.
Li Guiying stared at Tao Ying's retreating figure, unable to calm down for a long time. She couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried. Finally, she called Wang Dashuan over and told him what Tao Ying had said.
"Da Shuan, what are you thinking?" Li Guiying looked at Wang Da Shuan expectantly.
“Guiying, the bold get rich, the timid starve. How about we try working with your sister-in-law for a year? She wouldn’t cheat us. Look, she’s already given money to our mother.” Wang Dashuan said to Li Guiying.
“I’m afraid my sister-in-law will take money out of her own pocket to help us out,” Li Guiying sighed.
Although the land was allocated, our family owned very little. Even with the help of my parents-in-law, and with Da Shuan and me working ourselves to the bone all year round, and Da Shuan doing odd jobs, we still couldn't save any money. It was barely enough for the family to live on. When Chunli goes to university and Baohe goes to high school, we'll be in dire straits.
What will happen when Baohe gets married in the future?
“Since our sister-in-law is willing to help us, she must have her reasons. We should take good care of her in the future. If Chunli and Baohe become successful, we should tell them not to forget their sister-in-law.” Wang Dashuan was also feeling uneasy.
Some readers mentioned they didn't want to see too many awful characters, so Wang Lan's story has been simplified. Feel free to share your thoughts!
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