Qian Daniu stormed back to the kitchen, her fierce eyes fixed on Ma Aning like knives.
She cursed under her breath, "Hmph, you shameless vixen! You flaunt your charms all day long, bewitching my son. Now that he's married, he's forgotten his own mother. He even complains to me when he asks you to do a little chores for me."
Faced with Qian Daniu's unreasonable accusations and insults, Ma Aning simply stood there silently, head bowed, biting her lip, enduring it all without uttering a sound.
She knew in her heart that arguing with such an unreasonable mother-in-law would only make things worse, so she felt even more energized when she started cursing.
Finally, after everyone finished work, the family members gradually came into the house and sat around the old but warm wooden table to eat.
Ma Aning quickly and efficiently served the food, picked up a large bowl of steaming hot vegetable porridge, added some vegetables, and carefully walked into the room, gently placing it on a cabinet in front of Shen Zishan.
"Dinner's ready. Are you hungry?" Ma Aning handed the chopsticks to Shen Zishan.
"Wife, why don't you go out to eat too? I can manage on my own," Shen Zishan urged.
“Okay, I’ll go now,” Ma Aning agreed and walked out.
When Ma Aning turned to go to the room to deliver the food, everyone at the table was already wolfing it down.
When she returned to the table, she was surprised to find that the large pot of vegetable porridge that had been full was almost completely gone.
There wasn't even enough left for a bowl, and the vegetables were completely gone, leaving only a little bit of thin soup.
Seeing this scene, Ma Aning felt a pang of sorrow, but she forced back her tears, sat down as if nothing had happened, picked up her chopsticks, and shoveled down a few mouthfuls of the pitiful soup, barely managing to fill half her stomach.
Having just finished eating, Ma Aning stood up, intending to clear the dishes and wash them.
Just then, a deep, resonant voice suddenly came from the inner room…
Ma Aning walked over and asked, "Brother Shan, what's wrong?"
"This is for you, eat it quickly!" Shen Zishan left most of the vegetable porridge for Ma Aning.
"Brother Shan, I'm full, you eat!" Ma Aning refused to eat.
"Honey, you know my injury... I haven't done much while I've been lying in bed. You need to recover, and the baby in your belly can't go hungry. Eat up!"
Ma Aning took the bowl, quickly finished the half-bowl of vegetable porridge, and turned to walk out with the bowl in her hand.
Shen Zishan stopped the person, "I feel sticky and uncomfortable all over, bring in a basin of warm water."
“Okay, I’ll make it for you now,” Ma Aning immediately went to the kitchen, put down the bowl and chopsticks she was holding, filled a basin with warm water, and slowly entered the room with a towel.
Put the basin on the cabinet, turn around and walk to the door, then close the door.
"Wife, hurry up and wipe yourself down!" Shen Zishan said softly with a warm smile on his face.
Ma Aning looked at Shen Zishan with a blank expression and asked with some doubt, "Brother Shan, didn't you just say that you felt sticky and uncomfortable? Why don't you wipe yourself first, and I'll do it later?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
Hearing this, Shen Zishan quickly and gently took Ma Aning's hand, looking at her with concern and saying, "I'm not feeling unwell. I just wanted you to come in and wash up so you can get some rest. Look at you, you're covered in sweat."
Ma Aning sighed helplessly, her eyes revealing a hint of exhaustion and grievance. "But the dishes outside haven't been washed yet. If I don't hurry up and wash them, Mom will definitely yell again. I really don't want to cause another argument at home over such a small matter."
Shen Zishan's heart clenched; he knew all too well the grievances his wife had endured these past few days.
He held Ma Aning's hand tightly and said firmly, "It's alright, don't worry. Your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law are at home, they'll take care of the housework."
"Moreover, after all the things that have happened during this period, I have now completely come to terms with it. In our family, none of the brothers are working together. Living together will only exacerbate the conflicts."
"So I think it's better to separate the family, so that we can live a more relaxed and comfortable life."
"Hurry up and wash yourself, or the water will get cold," Shen Zishan urged.
After turning around, Ma Aning smiled and thought to herself, "Nurse Chen is right. Don't cry to a man about how tired you are or how bad your family is to you. Let him see it for himself."
“The effect is not bad,” Ma Aning said as she began to clean.
Sure enough, a short while later, the sounds of things being smashed and broken came from outside.
"Lazy women, none of them even wash their hands properly. My life is so hard, I still have to take care of the whole family's food and drink," Qian Danu cursed in the kitchen.
“Ah Ning, don’t worry about it. You’re not the only one eating at home, and you’re so pregnant. You’re the one who does all the washing, so what’s wrong with them doing it now?” Shen Zishan said indignantly.
Lying in bed that night, Ma Aning fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, unlike yesterday in the hospital, when she tossed and turned until very late before finally falling asleep.
On the other side, Shen Chen and Qian Daniu were lying in bed, not asleep either.
"Old man, look at the situation now! Third son's leg is injured like that, and you saw with your own eyes the indifferent attitude of the eldest and second sons' families. What are we supposed to do?"
Qian Daniu, who was usually loud and boisterous during the day, was completely different from her usual shrewish self. She frowned and looked at her husband with a worried expression.
He sighed deeply and said slowly, "Alas, now San'er has not only lost his job, but he's only received a paltry 200 yuan in compensation. Who knows if his leg will ever fully recover?"
At this point, Shen Chen paused for a moment, as if thinking about something, before continuing, "After thinking it over, how about... we just separate the family property from his?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
After a long silence, Qian Daniu broke the silence and said hesitantly, "Old man, is this appropriate? San'er is so badly injured. If we separate him from his family now, won't people gossip about us?"
Besides, all the money he worked so hard to earn before was handed over to us.
As Qian Daniu spoke, she gently shook her head, clearly disagreeing with the suggestion.
However, his heavy gaze was no longer as honest and simple as it had been during the day; instead, it revealed a hint of determination and helplessness.
“My dear wife, it’s not that I’m heartless. But with San’er like this, are we going to let the whole family be dragged down by him? We have other children who also need to support their families. We can’t let the livelihood of the whole family be neglected because of one person.”
"And you also mentioned the attitude of the eldest and second eldest brothers today. This is even before you told them that they lost their jobs and only received 200 yuan. Otherwise, they would have started a fight to split up the family today."
After saying this, he lowered his head heavily, as if his heart was filled with contradictions and struggles.
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