"Sister-in-law, where are Father and Mother?"
Yu grabbed Zhou's hand tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, the person in front of her would be gone.
Looking at Yu Shi in front of her, Zhou Shi noticed how much she had changed over the years. Her sallow face and rough hands, which used to be rough, were now fair and smooth, and she looked much younger. She was also wearing clothes made of the finest materials and was even wealthier than some families in the town. This was not something a peasant family should have.
After looking Zhou up and down, Zhou put on a sad expression and replied, "Our parents died on the way. Later, things got dangerous along the way, and I got separated from your eldest brother and the others. Bandits were rampant, and your eldest brother and the others were injured. Now, I'm afraid they are also in grave danger..."
As she spoke, she wiped away her tears and continued, "If I had known, I would have left with your family back then. We could have taken care of each other, and my parents wouldn't have had to suffer so much."
He Jiuniang couldn't help but twitch her lips when she heard this. What did she mean by "I should have gone with them"?
I remember Ms. Yu saying that her family members didn't tell her when they left, and she only found out from others later.
The Yu family was clearly worried that Lu Jiacheng and his family would be a burden.
Yes, the Yu family had a better life than the Lu family before. Therefore, every time Lu the eldest son went back to his wife's family with Yu, he would be openly or secretly mocked by Yu's family.
To be honest, He Jiuniang was not very welcoming of her sister-in-law, Yu Shi, and even felt some resistance.
Coincidentally, the Sun family thought the same thing.
She had never had a good impression of Zhou Shi. As soon as she came in, she kept staring intently at everything in the courtyard. She didn't like that look in her eyes.
But these are the eldest daughter-in-law's family members, so we can't just ignore them.
Ms. Yu was crying her eyes out. She had guessed that things were probably bad, but she still held onto a sliver of hope. Now, however, all her hopes were dashed.
Even if her family wasn't very good to her, they were still her closest relatives. Although she had prepared herself mentally, hearing it with her own ears was still unbearable.
Lu Laoda helped her up and comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright, you still have me. It's the New Year, don't cry."
He Jiuniang looked at Zhou Shi and asked, "Logically speaking, sister-in-law should have arrived in Jingzhou long ago. Why are you only coming now?"
Then everyone remembered that their family had been settled in Jingzhou for half a year, and the other refugees who were supposed to arrive had also arrived. Zhou Shi was only arriving now, so it was impossible that she had only just arrived. So, where was she before this?
Speaking of this, Zhou lowered her head with some guilt: "Actually, I saw your portrait on the wall when I arrived in Jingzhou City, but I thought that I was all alone and it would be impolite to bother you, so I found some work to do in the city. Who knew that the family would take advantage of me because I was a refugee from Changzhou and treat me badly. I really had no choice but to come to my sister's house for help."
Although Zhou tried her best to make her words sound pitiful, He Jiuniang still understood.
They were just being delusional, thinking they could go to a rich family and live a good life, so they didn't want to associate with poor people like them. Now that they've been bullied by their host family, they've remembered the kindness of their poor relatives and that's why they've come to seek refuge with them.
It wasn't that He Jiuniang harbored such great hostility towards Zhou Shi, but rather that this woman was full of flaws and genuinely had some issues.
“Even if you don’t want to come in person, you should at least have someone write a letter and send it over. Your sister-in-law has been thinking about you a lot.”
He Jiuniang spoke calmly, and Zhou Shi seemed startled, lowering her head even further: "Writing a letter costs money, I...I don't have any money..."
Okay, that's certainly a reason.
This did sound quite difficult, and Yu looked at Sun with a pleading expression, wondering if she could be taken in.
Although the family has separated now, they still live together. In particular, since the house hasn't been divided, the Yu family doesn't have the power to make decisions.
Madam Sun was not the kind of mother-in-law who would make things difficult for others. She simply said, "It is fate that your sister-in-law was able to travel all this way to find us. However, now that the family has separated, you will have to pay for her own food and clothing from now on. We cannot take care of her."
This is very clear: the eldest son's family is to pay for Zhou's meals.
This would normally be nothing, but Zhou heard it as Sun being unwilling to take her in, and she instantly harbored resentment towards Sun.
That old hag, she's practically half-buried, yet she still bosses people around. She insists on persuading her sister's family to move out as soon as possible.
Now that the Lu family has made money, she has moved out with the eldest son's family. Madam Yu was willing to listen to her before, and she should listen to her now. In the future, the family's money will easily fall into her hands.
In this way, she would soon have better days too.
Yu had no idea that her sister-in-law had been eyeing her money since she arrived. She was still thinking of her best interests. Anyway, the workshop would be hiring after the New Year, so she could let her sister-in-law work there and earn money to support herself. Then she could go out and buy land and build her own house.
"Yes, thank you, Mother!"
As she spoke, she cast grateful glances at the other family members, but Zhou herself didn't seem to react much.
Seeing this, Madam Yu felt somewhat displeased and gave her a gesturing look, telling her to thank her family.
To put it bluntly, this is just her sister-in-law, not her brother, and they have no blood relation. She feels that she has already done a good job in taking care of him to this extent.
Zhou thought Yu was still as easy to manipulate as before, unaware that Yu had grown considerably during this time and was no longer someone she could easily control.
Receiving a look from Madam Yu, Madam Zhou finally realized what was happening. She looked at Madam Sun and the others with great gratitude and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I won't bother you for too long. I'll go out and find work after the New Year!"
These words were quite pleasant to everyone; they were telling the Lu family that she wouldn't bother them for long and would leave after the New Year.
Sun was not really capable of kicking someone out, and said, "If you want to find work, there are some at home. Alright, we'll talk about these things after the New Year. Eldest daughter-in-law, your sister-in-law is about the same size as you, go find her some warm clothes to change into, so she doesn't get cold."
"Hey!"
Yu agreed and led Zhou to her room.
Once they reached a secluded spot, Zhou Shi was no longer as reserved as before. She wandered around the room, exclaiming, "Sister, how come you're doing so well even after fleeing famine? Your house is so big! If I had known you were doing so well, I would have come to seek refuge with you! The material you're wearing is so nice to the touch. Can you get me one just like it?"
Madam Yu had long known that her sister-in-law was dishonest, but she hadn't expected her to be so thoughtful. She immediately frowned and said, "Sister-in-law, we are both down on our luck. You have come to me for help, and I will do my best to help you. But you must be careful not to say anything you shouldn't say or have any improper thoughts, otherwise it will be difficult for me to live in my husband's family."
After a while, she had recovered from the grief of losing her loved ones and was very rational when facing Zhou.
P.S.: This Zhou woman isn't a good person; she's only out for a short time and will be gone soon, fulfilling the eldest sister-in-law's wish. The male lead has returned to Beiyan Kingdom and will soon begin his search for his wife. It won't be too complicated, don't worry, my darlings~
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