Seeing that his son admitted his mistake, Chen Qiuyu stopped talking nonsense.
In reality, Chen Qiuyu knew that the suffering Ren Zhongyuan endured at the hands of Ren Lao Niang was unlikely to earn him any respect for her. Between people, there was truly a "fate" involved. Even among family members, if you were only nice to them but they treated you like dirt, the relationship wouldn't warm up.
As soon as Chen Qiuyu and Ren Zhongyuan walked out of the room, they saw Ren Lao Niang's smiling face that was as beautiful as a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, are you up? Breakfast is warming in the pot. Everyone is waiting for you and your son to eat together!" Ren Lao Niang greeted them warmly.
"That... old lady, good morning!" Ren Lao Niang's enthusiasm made Chen Qiuyu shiver.
Chen Qiuyu has been the daughter-in-law of the Ren family for more than 20 years, but she has only seen Mrs. Ren’s smiling face a few times.
"Grandma, good morning!" Ren Zhongyuan saw Chen Qiuyu winking at him and had no choice but to greet her, but a sense of vigilance welled up in his heart. If someone showed kindness without any reason, they were either a traitor or a thief. Mother Ren was watching them beaming today, but who knew what evil things were brewing in her mind?
"Good morning..." Seeing that Chen Qiuyu didn't call her "Mom", Ren Lao Niang subconsciously opened her mouth to curse. But then she remembered what Ren Lao Di warned her early in the morning. The word "fart" got stuck in her throat. After turning it around for a few times, she still didn't dare to spit it out.
"Eat, eat, second daughter-in-law, third daughter-in-law, hurry up! Do you need someone to treat you to a meal?" Mother Ren didn't dare to say anything to Chen Qiuyu and his mother, so she took out her anger on the other two daughters-in-law.
Seeing the old lady get angry for no apparent reason, Tian Yinfeng and Xu Yulian didn't dare to talk back and hurried over with their children to have breakfast together.
After breakfast, Chen Qiuyu rushed to clear the table, but was stopped by Ren Laonian.
Ren Lao Niang said something considerate, "The eldest son's wife has been working outside like a man for years, earning a salary. She's worked hard. Let the second and third sons do the housework."
Chen Qiuyu's eyes moistened at this moment. It was a happy event for her that her efforts were recognized by her mother-in-law.
Chen Qiuyu and Ren Laoniang have not lived in peace for more than ten years. Even after Ren Laoniang exempted Chen Qiuyu from washing dishes, Chen Qiuyu didn't know what to talk about with her. He had to go back to his room to get the gifts he brought back from Kyoto City and distribute them to everyone in the family.
This time, the slight resentment that Tian Yinfeng and Xu Yulian had about being assigned tasks by Old Lady Ren immediately vanished. What could be more important than their uncle and sister-in-law in Kyoto caring about them? As long as Ren Dahai and Chen Qiuyu were willing to lend a hand, good things were still to come!
After distributing the gifts, Chen Qiuyu had nothing more to talk about with Ren Laonian and the others, so he went back to his room.
Chen Qiuyu pondered over Ren Lao Niang's smiling face, but the more he thought about it, the more awkward and uneasy he felt.
A few months ago, Old Lady Ren had looked as if she wished Chen Qiuyu dead. The scissors that flew towards Chen Qiuyu, and the fierce look on Old Lady Ren's face, were something Chen Qiuyu felt he would never forget.
Chen Qiuyu couldn't just get a few smiles from Ren Lao Niang and pretend that the incident never happened.
Old Lady Ren felt a little embarrassed when she saw that Chen Qiuyu didn't surround her with questions like she had in previous years. However, she didn't dare to act like a spoiled child anymore and went out to show off the new clothes her daughter-in-law had bought her from Kyoto to the other old women in the village.
Ren Zhongyuan was pestered by several cousins to go to the town.
Xiangyang Town was an hour's journey from Hongqi Village, and the roads were in poor condition, so the journey had to be made on foot. Ren Zhongyuan hadn't really wanted to go, but then he realized he and his mother wouldn't be in Hongqi Village for many days anyway, so there was no point in spoiling the little ones' fun.
Ren Zhongyuan took Ren Mingfeng and a few others for a walk in the town, bought some soda, melon seeds and other snacks for the children, and successfully gained a few little fans.
On this day, the atmosphere in the Ren family was more harmonious than ever before.
However, Chen Qiuyu did not let her guard down. She decided to stay for three days at most and then return to Kyoto with her son. A distant fragrance, a nearby stench. Who knows when Old Lady Ren will go crazy again?
The next day, at six o'clock in the morning, when Chen Qiuyu got up, he saw that his son's bed was empty.
Chen Qiuyu thought Ren Zhongyuan went for a morning run and didn't pay much attention to it at first.
Since he was already up, Chen Qiuyu didn't want to be lazy and took the initiative to run to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Somehow, Chen Qiuyu felt uneasy today. Chen Qiuyu, who had never cut his hand with a kitchen knife before, was actually cut by a kitchen knife today, and blood was pouring out.
After finally finding some bandages in the luggage, stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wound, more than half an hour had passed.
Ren Lao Niang took over the task of making breakfast, but she complained, "My eldest daughter-in-law, you've been standing on tiptoe looking out this morning. Are you really going to be able to see the sea back home or something? You can't even cut your hand while cooking. You're so stupid."
Chen Qiuyu sat aside, saying nothing. Anyway, Old Lady Ren always spoke harshly. If Chen Qiuyu got angry with her, he would have died of anger long ago.
After the family finished breakfast, it was already around eight o'clock. Chen Qiuyu hadn't seen Ren Zhongyuan come home yet, and she couldn't help but panic.
Ren Zhongyuan was a man with a strong sense of time. For several years, he'd been leaving for his morning run at 6:30 and returning home by 7:30. Even if there was something urgent, he'd always tell Chen Qiuyu. Leaving home half an hour early and not coming home this late, as he had done today, had never happened before.
"My eldest son's wife, there should be a limit to spoiling a child. The sun is already shining on his butt, why don't you wake Xiaoyuan up?" Mother Ren hated people who slept in the most. In the Ren family, even the eight-year-old Ren Mingmei would not get up later than 7:30 in the morning.
"Didn't Xiaoyuan go out for a morning run? Mom, didn't you see him?" Chen Qiuyu was shocked.
"When did Xiaoyuan go out? I didn't see him." Mrs. Ren shook her head.
Chen Qiuyu was now anxious. Ren Lao Niang was the first one to get up in the entire Ren family. She would get up before six o'clock to release the chickens and ducks from the cages in the backyard, letting them out to forage for food. If Ren Zhongyuan went out for a morning run, it shouldn't have been hidden from Ren Lao Niang's eyes.
Hongqi Village only had a few dozen households, and it took Chen Qiuyu less than half an hour to walk around the village. As he walked, Chen Qiuyu looked around and asked questions, but there was no sign of Ren Zhongyuan in the village, and no villagers had ever seen him out for a run.
Two hours later, Chen Qiuyu stood in the Ren family's courtyard, distraught. She wanted to cry and curse. How could a living person vanish into thin air? Who had taken her Xiaoyuan away? Was it Ren Lao Niang and Ren Xiaohua? Or had everyone in the Ren family conspired to harm her Xiaoyuan?
Suddenly, Chen Qiuyu squatted on the ground and cried loudly, crying heart-wrenchingly.
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