Ling Dahu and Wang Hongyu were somewhat confused. Looking at Tao Wanniang's displeased expression, they hesitated to ask.
"Where are Rui'er and Xiao Feng?" Tao Wan's mother asked when she didn't see the children.
"I'm taking a nap, Mother. Did something happen?" Ling Dahu asked cautiously. His mother's expression was rather frightening.
"Let's talk when the others arrive," Tao Wanniang said calmly. This young woman's sarcastic remarks had been going on for a while, and she had turned a blind eye to it. But now that she was pregnant, she should make things clear so as not to keep everything to herself.
A short while later, Ling Dapeng arrived with his son and Zhou Xiaoyun. Zhou Xiaoyun was taken aback by the sight of them.
"Since you're all here, sit down and let's talk." Tao Wanniang glanced at Zhou Xiaoyun and said calmly, "Let's not beat around the bush. Xiaoyun, first of all, congratulations on your pregnancy again."
"Mother, I'm still in the early stages of pregnancy, so I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but at least it'll add to our family line," Zhou Xiaoyun said with a smile. It seemed her mother-in-law still cared about the baby in her belly.
"Xiaoyun, congratulations! If she gives birth, Zhi'er will have a companion." Wang Hongyu naturally offered her congratulations upon hearing this.
"What I'm about to say might not be pleasant to hear, but you should still listen to me," Tao Wanniang continued, causing Wang Hongyu and Zhou Xiaoyun to freeze in shock.
"Dapeng said Xiaoyun, you're pregnant, and he wants me to treat you better. What, do you feel like I haven't been good enough to you?"
“Mother, I already said it was my slip of the tongue, it has nothing to do with Xiaoyun,” Ling Dapeng immediately said.
Tao Wanniang glared at Ling Dapeng and continued, "Our family is different from others. We live in a big house, but we don't have any servants or maids, so we do everything ourselves."
“I rarely take care of you on ordinary days, and I don’t expect you to pay your respects to me, your mother, morning and evening. What, do you expect me to be subservient to you?”
“Mother, what are you saying? It’s only right that your son and daughter-in-law should be filial to you,” Ling Dahu said, trying to smooth things over. “My second brother speaks frankly and certainly doesn’t mean anything by it.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and maybe some people aren’t used to living together as a family. What, do you want to separate?” Tao Wan’s mother ignored her eldest son and looked at Zhou Xiaoyun.
"Mother, there are some things I've always wanted to say. Now that you've asked, I'll say them." Zhou Xiaoyun wouldn't normally dare to be so direct, but now that she's pregnant, she feels more confident.
“Mother, in other families, the sons are in charge. My elder brother and Dapeng are both fathers now, and they only receive a few taels of silver each month. If something really happens, they will have to ask you for money. That’s not good.” Zhou Xiaoyun had wanted to separate the family for a long time. There was a big house in the capital and another big house in Shanhai Prefecture. Her mother-in-law also had a lot of money. If they separated the family, they could live on their own.
Tao Wanniang looked at Zhou Xiaoyun quietly and said calmly, "Continue."
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted Dapeng to earn more money, since he'll be the father of two children in the future." Zhou Xiaoyun didn't mention the matter of dividing the family property.
"Ha!" Tao Wan's mother laughed. "Do you want to divide the family property? Do you want a share of my assets?"
“Mother, no, we don’t have any.” Ling Dapeng shook his head immediately when he saw Tao Wan’s mother’s appearance.
"You want to divide the family property? Fine, but what right do you have to take a share?" Tao Wanniang said sarcastically. "Look at yourselves in the mirror. Would you be living like this without me?"
"Or, you can get out of here right now and see if you can earn enough money to buy a house yourselves," Tao Wanniang said bluntly. "Don't assume that you can have everything I have. Don't you know your own capabilities?"
Zhou Xiaoyun was stunned. Did this mean that even after the family split up, she wouldn't get any money? She looked at Tao Wanniang in shock, unable to process what she was seeing.
"I was just thinking, have you been living a good life for too long and forgotten the days in Lingjia Village?" Tao Wanniang sneered. "You've been a good person for too long, so you think I'm easy to bully? I'm not even dead yet, and you're already thinking about inheriting my wealth?"
“Mother, that’s not true. We’re too busy being filial to you. You’re our own mother. Without you, even if we left Lingjia Village, we would at most settle down in another village and farm.” Wang Hongyu immediately said, “Mother gave us enough freedom and even let us work in the restaurant. The wages she pays are much more than what we would earn working elsewhere.”
“But Mother earns much more!” Zhou Xiaoyun couldn’t help but say. “You have a thousand or two hundred taels of silver, but you only give us three or five taels. Isn’t this family supposed to be supported by everyone together?”
"Xiaoyun, don't say that." Ling Dapeng tugged at Zhou Xiaoyun's sleeve. How could he say these things in front of his mother, things he used to complain about at home?
"So you really are after my money!" Tao Wanniang sneered. "You're really overthinking it. My surname is Tao, and yours is Ling. Who says a mother's money has to go to her son?"
“Others rely on their children for support in old age, but I, Tao Wan Niang, have arms and legs, earn my own money, and I don’t expect you to support me in my old age,” Tao Wan Niang said sarcastically. “I’ll have a slave trader buy a few servants, give them a monthly allowance, and any one of them can serve me comfortably.”
Tao Wanniang's words made the Ling brothers somewhat nervous. They silently considered the scenario she described and realized that they didn't seem to have a place there.
Zhou Xiaoyun was dumbfounded. Did her mother-in-law not intend to rely on her son in the future?
"You need to know your own capabilities and earning capacity. Also, you need to figure out who is indispensable in this family!" Tao Wan's mother concluded. "Do you understand?"
"Understood!" Ling Dahu immediately replied. This family can't function without a mother!
Wang Hongyu immediately chimed in, "Mother, we all know that. Only by following you can we make money."
“Yes, Mother, without you, my brother and I would be working as porters at some dock.” Ling Dapeng didn’t want to offend Tao Wan’s mother, so he quickly chimed in.
Zhou Xiaoyun gritted her teeth and could only weakly say, "Mother, I..."
"Are you just too idle, or do you think you're destined to be the young mistress?" Tao Wanniang retorted. "During the hard times, you had to work in the fields and labor all day long. What, now you're so idle that you think this kind of life is your due?"
“No, Mother, it’s you. You’ve worked so hard.” Ling Dapeng quickly said, “If it weren’t for you, Mother, we would still be destined to be farmers.”
Zhou Xiaoyun bit her lip and nodded, saying, "It's all thanks to Mother."
Seeing Zhou Xiaoyun's reluctant expression, Tao Wanniang sneered inwardly. What a pipe dream! She's not dead yet, and people are already waiting to inherit her things?
"The days of sitting around doing nothing won't last long. After returning to the capital, I will open a restaurant. What I'm going to do will be a resounding success. As for who will take over in the future, that depends on your own abilities." Tao Wanniang continued, "Nothing is a given. Even in the future, whether it's Yumei or Qiao'er, whoever can stand on their own, I will give the restaurant to them. Do you understand?"
Tao Wanniang's words undoubtedly made the Ling family feel a sense of crisis. Faced with Tao Wanniang's oppressive aura, they could only grit their teeth and reply, "Understood."
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