Ke Meiyu's expression changed. She glanced at her usual half-open window, took the bowl, and went to the kitchen as if nothing had happened. She asked, "Grandma, it's so strange. When I went to my uncle's house, there was half a bowl of cold water. Why is it empty now?"
The women in the kitchen exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Grandma Ke frowned deeply. "All the men in the family went to help build the house, and you took all the children out. Your sisters-in-law went around doing needlework, while the rest of us were in the kitchen, except..."
Apart from Aunt Ke Er, who spends all her time brewing medicine after the second wife's family splits up, claiming it's for health reasons and never does any chores!
"That can't be," Aunt Ke peeked across the street, "She's even eyeing a bowl of plain water from Seventh Girl's room?"
"What you're saying gives me the creeps," Aunt Ke San couldn't help but shiver and whispered, "We all live in the same courtyard, and we're all so busy every day, but she's the only one in the house."
"Just thinking about how we're being secretly watched by others makes me feel uneasy!"
Mother Ke also hissed, "Third sister-in-law, please stop talking. How come second sister-in-law's temper has become so bad?"
Grandma Ke pursed her lips. "What do you mean she's become temperamental? This is clearly her true nature. It's just that she hasn't had a son and hasn't separated from the family, so she's been trying her best to suppress it."
"Just you wait, she doesn't even have a son yet, and she's already ordering Xiao Jiu around all day. Once she actually has a son, her four daughters will become her son's maids for making money!"
Ke Meiyu looked displeased.
She doesn't usually have a particularly good temper, but when she gets angry, she does it on the spot, and it's rare for anything to cross her bottom line. That includes things people covet from her!
We'll soon find out who took that half-bowl of water from the window.
Sure enough, before they could finish speaking, the door to the second room was suddenly flung open, and Aunt Ke, hunched over and with her legs tucked between her legs, hurried toward the backyard.
"You scared me!" Aunt Ke exclaimed softly, looking over curiously. "What's wrong with her now?"
Seeing the familiar scene, Grandma Ke and Mother Ke exchanged a glance, then slowly turned to Ke Meiyu, who was pouting.
“Bao’er,” Grandma Ke asked tentatively, “was it just a bowl of ordinary water?”
Everyone in the family knows that Ke Meiyu doesn't like to drink plain water; she has to have something added to it, such as brown sugar, white sugar, honey, milk powder, or even some dried flowers or mint leaves.
This is probably why Aunt Ke, who has been taking medicine, is so concerned.
Ke Meiyu nodded, "I only added a little bit of white sugar."
She had never drunk the spiritual spring water, and even the brown sugar ginger tea she had brewed last time was forgotten because of the system's appearance.
However, she thought that the spring water should be sweeter. Besides, even if it was just plain water, people would taste sweetness because of their psychological effect!
While the Ke family was drinking brown sugar ginger tea, the entire family lined up to go to the toilet and spent the whole night there.
Aunt Ke Er drank half a bowl by herself. Tsk tsk, she's in for a beating. Consider it a small punishment!
I just don't know if it has any other noticeable effects besides diarrhea.
Before long, a foul stench began to spread.
Just as the food was ready, the sisters-in-law quickly carried the food to the back hill and instructed the maids to wash the dishes and cover the pots and pans tightly.
Only then did Old Mrs. Ke have a moment to spare, and she put her hands on her hips and started yelling:
"Serves you right! You even covet the younger generation's things and steal them!"
"You're taking medicine, don't you know any precautions? Pregnancy medicine is warming, while sugar water is cooling. Even adding a little cold water when boiling medicine can cause problems, how dare you mix in sugar water?"
"As a person, you can't have any bad intentions. You even dared to take my baby's things. Do you think you're lucky enough to enjoy that?"
The Ke family lived in the village, surrounded by many neighbors. After overhearing a few words and hearing the overpowering stench in the autumn wind, they knew exactly what had happened.
"Aunt Ke, your second wife is quite something. She's already so old, yet she still won't give up. She already has a grandson, and she's still thinking about having a son. Tsk tsk, after half a month of bitter medicine, has it had any effect?"
"I guess Second Sister-in-law is obsessed with her son and has become delirious. I don't know if she can get pregnant, but without Third Aunt's guidance, it's hard to say whether the Second Branch will prosper!"
"This smell is unbearable, can't a person eat in peace..."
At that moment, Ke Enshu came in with a heavy basket on her back and a blank expression, and everyone suddenly stopped talking.
In their eyes, Ke Enshu was about to marry a worker and would become a city dweller, different from them. Moreover, the villagers thought that having connections in the city would be helpful, and regardless of whether they would actually use them, they couldn't afford to make enemies and leave no way out for the future.
Ke Enshu's lips curled into a mocking smile as she walked up to Ke Meiyu and said coldly, "Seventh cousin, my mother only had a bitter taste in her mouth from her medicine and took half a bowl of your sugar water. Is it necessary to make such a fuss and let the whole village know?"
"Are we determined to drive her to her death with our words?"
"Before we separated the family, all the good stuff went to you, and we sisters never even got to taste anything sweet. Let's just say that our share was given to our mother, okay?"
"My mother has already learned her lesson. Please, have mercy on us and give our family a way out!"
The neighbors felt a little embarrassed after she said that.
They thought about it and realized it was true. It was only half a bowl of sugar water, and Ke Jiafu had plenty of it. Why bother with such a small amount?
"Forget it, Aunt Ke, your family isn't short of money. Didn't you already keep all of Eighth Sister's dowry?"
"One should be forgiving when possible. Judging from Second Sister-in-law's condition, she's probably exhausted from diarrhea. She's certainly learned her lesson. Although the smell is a bit strong, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. A few words of reprimand behind closed doors will suffice..."
The old lady was displeased and pulled Ke Meiyu behind her, gritting her teeth as she said to Ke Enshu:
"How can you talk like that, girl?"
"Is this about half a bowl of sugar water? Bao'er gave up her marriage to the Yu family, so you think she's a pushover that you can bully at will?"
"Today it's sweet soup, tomorrow it might be money. Do we owe you anything?"
"Since you've already done it, why be afraid to talk about it?"
The second son of the Ke family was also called back. It is said that his wife and daughter were about to be driven to death because of half a bowl of sugar water!
He rushed in and saw his daughter standing in the yard, her thin frame framed by tears.
He glared at his mother with hatred, then fell to the ground with a thud. "Mother, please, please stop making a scene!"
"My son has been a slave to the family for decades. His mother hasn't been able to give birth to a son because she didn't take good care of herself during her postpartum period and suffered from malnutrition."
"The doctor said that we can't get tired or upset while taking this medicine. Don't you want us to get better at all?"
The neighbors nodded in agreement in hushed tones, “That’s right. The other three families all have sons, but the second son’s family is honest and not well-liked. They only have four daughters so far.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
