They were taken aback when they entered the room. It was packed with people. Normally, everyone who was at work would have left by now, but they had all been called here. The lady was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), and even the eldest uncle and Hanhan's grandfather didn't dare to sit. The younger generation was standing all over the place, almost filling the room.
"Everyone's here. You're all busy, so I'll just give a brief explanation." The lady sat up straight. She glanced at everyone in the room, but no one dared to respond.
"The eldest daughter-in-law has gone back to her parents' home to recuperate." Only after hearing her mother-in-law's words did Qin Xiaoyu understand why her aunt hadn't appeared. She hadn't expected her to go back to her parents' home; her fighting spirit was weak. Could it be that her mother-in-law wanted to seek justice for her? There was no escaping this trouble, so Qin Xiaoyu decided to go all out.
"Over the years, it's always been my eldest daughter-in-law who has taken care of me. She's done a lot, even if she hasn't done anything special. This whole family, from top to bottom, has had a tough time." As the wife said this, Qin Xiaoyu's guess was confirmed.
"This illness is troublesome." The lady glanced at Qin Xiaoyu as she said this. Qin Xiaoyu didn't meet her gaze, but her back remained straight. She was right; she didn't need to worry about others. Her cousin-in-law was extremely worried and secretly nudged her from behind, signaling her to be gentle and not to be too stubborn.
"Wenzhi's wife, what do you think we should do about this?" The lady threw the bundle at Qin Xiaoyu, startling her. She looked around in bewilderment. Her uncle's head was bowed so low it was almost touching the ground; it was impossible to tell if he was resentful or upset. Grandpa Hanhan also looked like a guilty man, bowing his head in unison with his uncle. Grandma Hanhan's small eyes darted around, clearly unaware of the situation. Qin Xiaoyu met the lady's gaze and suddenly gleaned some different information. A flash of inspiration struck her, and a bold idea formed in her mind.
“The old lady has suffered a lot over the years. When she is sick, she should rest well. Let’s find someone else to take care of the lady.”
These words startled her cousin-in-law and eldest sister-in-law, who stared at Qin Xiaoyu as if she were talking nonsense. The madam, however, relaxed and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Xiaoyu knew she had stumbled upon the perfect opportunity; she had hit the nail on the head.
"Then tell me, who is suitable?" the wife continued.
This put Qin Xiaoyu in a difficult position. Logically speaking, it wouldn't be impossible for her to take over taking care of her wife, but she was focused on starting her business and would inevitably have to neglect her family sooner or later. Two children were already difficult to manage, and with an elderly woman on top of that, who was always getting sick, what was the point of starting a business? She might as well just become a full-time housewife.
It wouldn't be appropriate to let my cousin-in-law, my granddaughter-in-law, take over. Tang Long is about to take the college entrance exam, and she needs to take care of her son more. After Tang Long, it will be Tang Feng's turn. She won't have an easy time in the next few years. Besides, she's too straightforward. She speaks her mind and doesn't mince words or try to coax people. I'm afraid she'll make the old lady faint several times a day. No way.
She shifted her gaze to Grandma Hanhan, and hesitated for a moment, when she suddenly saw the lady giving her an encouraging look. She gritted her teeth and stepped forward to say something.
“I think we should leave this to my mother-in-law. She’s been enjoying a leisurely life all these years and I haven’t taken care of her, so she feels bad about it. Let her do it.”
Qin Xiaoyu's words startled everyone in the room again. Hanhan's grandfather stared at Qin Xiaoyu with disbelief, while Hanhan's grandmother was both surprised and delighted, not knowing what to say.
"Mom, tell me your stance, are you willing to take care of Madam?" Qin Xiaoyu had no choice but to remind her.
"Of course! Of course! I'll do the laundry, cook, do housework, I'll do anything!" Grandma Hanhan said happily. In such a big family, being able to take care of the old lady meant that she was filial and capable. That would sound so good. Besides, who didn't know how many people in the old lady's house she had? She had thought it would definitely fall into the hands of her eldest uncle's family, but now it was different. It seemed that their family also had a share. She never dreamed that this would be her turn.
"Then let's settle on that. Is there anything else?" The wife seemed quite satisfied.
"I'll bring the food over to Mom as soon as I cook it. Just tell me what you like to eat," Grandma Hanhan said solicitously.
"It's such a hassle to send it back and forth like this," the wife frowned.
"You two move in with Mom, we'll move to your room." The eldest uncle finally spoke, and his words shocked everyone. Qin Xiaoyu carefully observed her eldest uncle's expression and suddenly realized that this was something that Madam and he had discussed long ago—they were to be evicted from the main house. That's why Aunt had gone back to her parents' home to recuperate. This was a huge loss of face for her. If she was treated like this by Madam in front of her, how could she face anyone in the future?
"That's not a good idea. Let her stay here. We're all in the same courtyard, and she won't get tired from running a few steps." Grandpa Hanhan firmly refused.
"Mom said if we have to move, then we should move." There was a sigh in the uncle's voice.
"Mom, don't move it. There's too much stuff in this house, it'll be too much trouble to move it..." Grandpa Hanhan said earnestly.
"There's not much stuff, it's all mine, they can just move their bedding," the wife said coldly.
So this means the uncle and aunt are being forced to leave with nothing. That's pretty ruthless. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
"Grandma, if there's nothing else, I'm going to work," Tang Wenxuan suddenly stepped forward and said.
“Go ahead,” the old lady said softly. This old lady always spoke harshly, and Qin Xiaoyu had never seen her so gentle before. Seeing the exchange of glances between her and Tang Wenxuan, she suddenly understood that this was not a simple matter of dividing the family property.
You have to understand that Tang Wenxuan was a child raised by his grandmother herself. Taking advantage of his grandfather's illness, he was tricked by his stepmother and couldn't even go to university. How much resentment must his grandmother have felt? But at that time, she was exhausted and powerless to help her beloved grandson. Looking at the Tang family, apart from his stepmother, everyone else was useless. She couldn't bring down his stepmother by herself, and she might even lose her last possessions. So she endured for many years, waiting for someone who could help her to appear.
Now Qin Xiaoyu has arrived, taking each step decisively, which has solidified her resolve to fight back. The old woman's downfall wasn't Qin Xiaoyu's fault; she was merely a scapegoat. Qin Xiaoyu understands this: experience counts. She'd better be careful, lest she fall into the old lady's trap and be unable to climb out. She can't afford to be her enemy.
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