Yu's anger, which she had suppressed all night, finally erupted at this moment.
"Smack!"
She threw the dishcloth into the basin, splashing dirty water all over Zhou.
"What are you doing? It's not that I don't want to wash, I'm washing right now, why are you getting so angry with me..."
Zhou pouted, looking extremely aggrieved.
She was filled with hatred and vowed to repay Yu Shi tenfold for the humiliation she had suffered today once she had turned the tables. She had really given her face!
"I remember reminding you to behave yourself here, don't cause me any trouble, and don't put me in a difficult position."
Yu lowered her voice, but her tone was very unfriendly, and she was on the verge of exploding.
"I know, I didn't do anything!"
Zhou looked completely innocent and didn't think there was anything wrong with what she had said at the dinner table.
"You didn't do anything? You made my mother so angry, how dare you say you didn't do anything? She's right, when did it become your place to talk about the children of the Lu family? If you can't understand your own identity and position, then you don't need to stay in this family!"
While washing the dishes, Ms. Yu spoke without even looking at Ms. Zhou's expression.
She wasn't discussing it with the Zhou family; she was issuing a warning.
Zhou was stunned for a moment: "You want to kick me out too? Don't forget, I'm the only one left in your family!"
Her voice rose uncontrollably, clearly indicating that she had lost control of her emotions.
Upon hearing this, Qin glanced at He Jiuniang, who shook her head and whispered, "Let my sister-in-law handle it."
Madam Yu sneered and replied, "To put it nicely, you're the only one left in my maternal family, but we both know perfectly well that we have no blood relation. My biological parents and brothers are all gone, and you're just a burden to me here! I took you in because I'm kind-hearted and considerate of our past relationship, so you wouldn't be left all alone and destitute. If I didn't take you in, you couldn't do anything to me, after all, I'm a married woman, and we don't have much to do with each other!"
Yu poured out everything she had been holding back all night. Zhou had made her lose face in front of her family, so she wouldn't get away with it either!
Zhou opened her mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time.
Because what Ms. Yu said is all true, the two of them are not related by blood, and there's really nothing to say about that.
But that doesn’t mean Zhou has to put up with this. She was about to retort, but then she remembered that if she wanted to stay here, she should keep a low profile, so she forced herself to swallow her anger.
Just bear with it, and once things are settled, it'll be Yu's turn to have to put up with her attitude!
So, she pretended to be startled and said in a very aggrieved tone, "I was just chiming in a few words while you were chatting, I didn't mean anything by it. If you're unhappy, I won't say anything again. To be honest, I was only thinking of Lei Zi, he's your only son..."
"You still have something to say!"
Yu said angrily, "Zhou was really frightened this time. Why did she suddenly start cursing and yelling like that?"
"Alright, alright, I'm not going to say anymore!"
Zhou snorted defiantly, then shut her mouth and obediently washed the dishes.
We'll stay up all night to welcome the New Year, and won't be able to sleep until midnight.
It was rather cold in the courtyard, so everyone huddled together in the main room to warm themselves by the fire and chat.
But casual chatting is never fun, so He Jiuniang simply found some cardboard, drew simple patterns and numbers on it, and started teaching everyone how to play Dou Dizhu (a card game).
There's only one deck of cards, but with so many people, a rotating system is naturally used; if someone loses, their turn comes.
This not only motivates everyone but also strengthens family bonds, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
At first, everyone had some difficulty learning. The first to learn were Lianhua and Leizi. He Jiuniang played a game with them first, and everyone watched from the side. If they didn't understand something, they could ask questions. She taught them on the spot, and everyone was guaranteed to learn!
Once they started playing, time flew by, and everyone felt like they hadn't even played two rounds before it was time to go to sleep.
Zhou did not participate in this part of the ceremony. Yu did not allow her to come and told her to go back to her own room to keep vigil, so as not to upset everyone again.
Zhou was lying in her warm bed, feeling very sleepy and wanting to sleep, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did. The laughter of the other people in the main room was deafening. It was impossible to sleep; you could easily be startled if you weren't careful.
"Tch, let's see how long you can be happy!"
She was obsessed with getting revenge on the Lu family. She gave her a hard time on her very first day here, which was clearly targeting her!
Early the next morning, Sun began giving out New Year's money to the children in the family, including He Jiuniang and the others.
Of all the women in the family, only Zhou was absent.
Yes, it's blatant favoritism and targeting.
The amount given was not much, only sixty-six coins per person, because He Jiuniang had told me before that six was a good number.
This amount of money was not much to the Lu family, but to Zhou, it seemed that Sun had gone completely mad. A strong man could only earn ten or so coins a day of hard labor, and the Lu family was wasting it like this.
Next, He Jiuniang and the others gave each of the children and elderly in the family sixty-six coins, but gave Sun Shi and Old Man Lu six taels of silver each.
Of course, all of this is put in red envelopes, and outsiders have no idea how much money it actually contains.
The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lu, refused to accept the money no matter what, saying, "It's the elders who give New Year's money to the younger generation, how can the younger generation give it to the elders? You should keep your money and spend it on the children!"
The elderly couple has money now and doesn't usually need to spend it, so there's no need for their children to spend money on them.
Most importantly, the girl's family doesn't have much money.
Although some things are not said, everyone knows them, especially Lu Guilan's family. They felt a pang of sadness. She has been married for many years, and her parents still have to worry about her. They are truly unfilial.
After the New Year, I will work hard so that next year I can generously spend money to support my parents.
After breakfast, children came to visit and wished them a Happy New Year. Mrs. Sun gave each child a lucky money gift.
Not much, just one penny.
Those who come to pay New Year's visits are all children from familiar families, such as Cui'er's family, Lu Fugui's family, and the village chief's family.
Then the Lu family children also went to visit other people's homes to offer New Year's greetings, creating a joyous atmosphere.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, outsiders are generally not allowed to come to one's home. Children are an exception, but adults are not. So the Lu family did not go anywhere.
They all huddled together in the main room by the fire, eating and playing cards, completely relaxing – these were the most carefree days of the year.
Lu Baichuan spent the New Year in Jinzhou, the capital of Beiyan Kingdom. Because of his injuries, he was able to slow down on the road and returned just in time for the New Year.
For years in Nantai, they have lived behind masks. Now that they are back, they can show their true faces.
However, in his current state, even if he took off the mask, his parents wouldn't recognize him.
Although the doctor had been treating him for some time, the effect was not very significant. His skin was still wrinkled, and so was his face. Judging by the degree of wrinkles on his face, he looked older than Old Man Lu...
P.S.: Didn't his wife have to step in? Hehehe...
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