But Cheng was unwilling. "Sister-in-law, this is Mother's order. You can't disobey it." With that, Cheng pulled Tao aside with great strength.
Tao was so angry that her face turned red, and her eyes were red and she looked like she was about to cry.
“Mother, this flour was a gift from Sister Yulan’s family when Da Niu got married, and the wild vegetables were dug up by myself from the fields. It’s not something from the Zhao family; it’s just a small token of my appreciation,” Tao said hurriedly.
"What's wrong? Didn't I, this old woman, pay for Da Niu's wedding?" Old Mrs. Zhao glared at Tao Shi.
“But…but my family is from the north, and the money that Da Niu and Tie Zhu earn from carrying goods is all in your hands, Mother,” Tao said hurriedly.
She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth; would her mother resent her even more?
Sure enough, when Old Lady Zhao heard this, her face darkened even more.
Cheng was also very perceptive, saying, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? The money my husband and children earn is also in my hands."
Old Mrs. Zhao: "..."
Wan Cunhua stood silently to the side, her head bowed. Her family had been paid, and she didn't have the confidence to speak.
He Tiantian looked at the family with amusement. "If you want to put on a show, you can go home. My stage is too small to accommodate your Zhao family's grand show."
She gets a headache whenever she sees Old Lady Zhao and Cheng Shi, and that Da Niu's wife, Wan Cunhua, right?
He looked like he was standing quietly to the side, but his shrewd eyes were actually darting around, so he probably wasn't someone who would suffer a loss.
But this is for the best; after all, her sister-in-law is her mother-in-law. With such a strong-willed daughter-in-law to counterbalance Cheng Shi, her family won't suffer too much.
"Cheng, what are you standing there for? Take the grain and let's go," Old Lady Zhao said coldly.
Cheng grabbed the basket and stood behind Old Lady Zhao.
Seeing that there was no other way, Tao looked at He Tiantian apologetically, "Second sister-in-law, I'm really sorry."
"Sister-in-law, I know this isn't your fault. I appreciate your kindness," He Tiantian said with a smile.
She stood up, handed the child to Sister-in-law Yulan, and then said, "Sister-in-law, let me see you out."
After receiving the grain, Granny Zhao, Madam Cheng, and Wan Cunhua all stormed off in a huff. Madam Tao stayed behind at the very back.
He Tiantian escorted Tao Shi a long way, and Tao Shi kept apologizing.
"Sister-in-law, you're an honest person. Now that Da Niu is married, you still have Tie Zhu and Feng Nian's affairs to take care of. You need to be careful, there's a long road ahead," He Tiantian advised worriedly.
Tao seemed to understand something, nodded, and went back.
In the evening, after the Zhao family finished dinner, they all stayed in the house doing their own things.
Wan Cunhua and Tao Shi finished cleaning the stove in the kitchen, while Zhao Xiangbei chopped firewood in the yard with his three children. Zhao Pang and Zhao Shou were washing their clothes, and Zhao Xiaocao had disappeared somewhere.
Cheng and her husband Zhao Xiangnan were huddled together in the room, talking about nothing, with the door tightly closed.
“Xiang Nan, I still think we can’t give all of this hundred coins to our mother. Think about it, we can’t leave not a single penny for our whole family, can we?” Cheng muttered in a low voice.
"What? Weren't we saving all this for Mom?" Zhao Xiangnan asked in surprise.
Cheng nudged Zhao Xiangnan's arm with a hint of reproach, "It's because we gave them everything before that we can't give them everything now. Our child is all grown up, how can he not be able to manage the household himself?"
Previously, Cheng himself did not earn money, so he had never experienced the feeling of handing over the money he had worked so hard to earn.
But things are different now. These hundred coins were earned by her working day and night, washing each dish one by one. Every single coin represents her hard work and sweat, and she can't bear to give them all away.
Zhao Xiangnan thought about it and agreed, "Then how do we explain this to our mother?"
“Come on, let’s go talk together.” Cheng pulled Zhao Xiangnan to Old Lady Zhao’s house.
Zhao Xiangbei glanced at his younger brother and sister-in-law, then continued chopping wood without saying a word.
Seeing Cheng's smiling face, Old Lady Zhao knew that she was up to no good.
"Speak your mind directly, don't beat around the bush."
In one sentence, he blocked all the things Cheng was trying to say.
"Mother, Xiang Nan and I came here to discuss something with you. Do you think we can save the money we earn in the future?" Cheng asked cautiously, glancing at Old Lady Zhao's expression.
Zhao Xiangnan remained silent, waiting for his wife's reply.
"What are you saving money for? Are you afraid that this old woman will embezzle your money?" Old Mrs. Zhao said irritably.
"No, no, no, Mother, you misunderstand. It's just that our children are all grown up, and we, as their parents, don't have a single penny. Not only would our children laugh at us, but even outsiders would laugh at us," Zhao Xiangnan quickly said.
He always gave all the money he earned to his mother. When he was carrying cargo at the dock, he saw that the people working with him all had two coins in their pockets.
His pockets were practically empty, even more so than his face.
The others were discussing going out for drinks together, but Zhao Xiangnan had no money, so he had to lie and make an excuse to go home.
Old Mrs. Zhao thought for a long time with a stern face before continuing, "How about this, you only need to give me 70% of the money you earn, and you can keep the remaining 30% for yourselves."
Madam Cheng was clearly not satisfied with the result. "Mother, how about 50%?"
Old Mrs. Zhao immediately glared at her, "Are you asking for a beating?"
Cheng was so frightened that she shrank back, thinking that 30% was better than nothing...
Reluctantly, she took out the hundred copper coins from her pocket, carefully counted out thirty to keep, and handed the rest to Old Lady Zhao.
Old Mrs. Zhao pulled hard twice before finally managing to get the money out of Cheng's hand.
After more than a month of trying to sell them, the village's mulberries were completely unsellable. Many people returned home disappointed every day, and eventually, they stopped going altogether.
After all, the county is so far away, and it costs money to take a bus.
However, thanks to selling mulberries, every household made some money, more or less. Life was much better than at this time of year in previous years.
Now we should take good care of the crops in the fields and look forward to a bumper harvest.
But every day when I open my eyes, the sun is blazing, and the water in the rice paddies is almost dried up. If this continues, the crops will surely die of drought.
The beans grown by He Tiantian's family are the ones that absolutely cannot be without water.
Everyone in the village was hoping for rain, but she didn't want to wait any longer. It seemed she had no choice but to hire someone to do the work.
Her family's ten acres of farmland are all connected to that river, so digging channels to irrigate the soybean fields wouldn't be a difficult task.
With that thought in mind, He Tiantian called over Sister-in-law Yulan.
Now that Xiaomingzhu has finished eating and is asleep, the two of them can have a chat.
"Sister-in-law Yulan, why don't you tell Brother Liu about the plans to irrigate the fields?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
