Su Qinghe came back with a full load this time. She made clothes for mother Gu, and Gu Ma gave her a few pieces of fabric. In addition, some soybeans were given back. These are the welfare supplies of deputy county magistrate Gu.
For her, these are renewable resources, so she is not polite to her husbandâs family.
It was still early when she came back, the brothers and sisters-in-law in the family had all gone to work, Gao Xiulan was packing the firewood picked up by the children at home, and Dabao took Erbao out to play. Daya, Saya, and Erya were helping Gao Xiulan with work.
Sanya looked around, seeing Su Qinghe come back by bicycle, she immediately ran over, âAunt, youâre back.â
âHey.â Su Qinghe pushed the bicycle into the yard, and stuffed soybeans into her pocket, âGo and eat with your elder sister and second sister.â
Sanya immediately ran away with a grin.
Gao Xiulan stretched her face, âYouâve been thinking about your auntâs food all day long. She got it back from her in-laws, and how expensive it is. You donât know how to give your aunt some face.â
Su Qinghe waved his hand to the three children and let them play, then smiled and said to Gao Xiulan, âMom, I have some good news. Itâs rare to let everyone be happy together.â
When she heard that there is good news, Gao Xiulan immediately became energetic, âWhat good news?â
Su Qinghe narrowed her eyes and smiled, âItâs about work. Changâanâs second brother and the others helped me get a job. I came back to tell you that I will go to the county in two days. In the future, I will collect money and tickets in the state-owned hotel, and I donât have to do anything. Itâs very easy. I can still get a salary.â
âOh, thatâs great, I just said that my daughter is destined to live a good life.â
Gao Xiulanâs face beamed with joy. Then she came over to help Su Qinghe untie the things on her back. Looking at the materials and soybeans inside, she frowned and said, âYou are going to live in Old Guâs house, so donât take these good things into the house, so as to save your husbandâs family from gossiping. Our family does not lack these. They are all people who work in the fields, can they still wear new clothes all day long? You take them all back. We are not the kind of people who let our daughter take things from their husbandâs house to their motherâs house.â
What she said was too sensible, Su Qinghe felt that it would be great if her mother was sensible at other times too.
Except for the soybeans, Gao Xiulan kept the things brought back and gave Su Qinghe a few pieces of materials to store by herself. Anyway, she can also make clothes now, and it is convenient to make new clothes whenever she wants to wear them.
After Su Qinghe put away her things, she remembered about her third sister-in-law again, and asked casually, âMom, are my third brother and my sister-in-law reconciled?â
Gao Xiulan was about to take her granddaughters out to dig for wild vegetables when she heard these words. Her face twisted, âWhat reconciled? She is still being raised by Old Tianâs family. She can eat as much as she likes to eat from her motherâs family, and we can save food. Anyway, I wonât let your brother pick her up. If he goes then, I wonât recognize him as a son. A white-eyed wolf who married a wife and forgot his mother!â
After speaking, she twisted her waist and left.
Su Qinghe felt that the incident this time seemed to be quite a big deal. Her sister-in-law really didnât come back. And they didnât go to pick her up at home.
At noon, Su Aidang and his brothers and sisters-in-law came back from outside. Lin Shuhong and Ding Guihua were still preparing to cook. After all, Tian Xiaomei was not at home, so they cooked three meals a day. As a result, Su Qinghe had already prepared the meals.
Lin Shuhong asked in surprise, âSister, why are you cooking again?â
Su Qinghe put the sorghum porridge into a big basin, âI came back early today, and I saw that you havenât come back, so I made it first. Sisters-in-law, you and brothers go wash your face, and when mother comes back, weâll have dinner.â
As soon as the rice bowl was placed on the table, Gao Xiulan came back.
As soon as she looked at the fat slices in the basin, she knew it was cooked by her daughter. The eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law didnât have the courage. Her face turned dark immediately, âThe third daughter-in-law is not at home, and the little sister-in-law has to serve everyone to eat and drink.â
Su Qinghe hurriedly said, âMom, I did it before my sister-in-law came back. Iâm leaving in two days, and I wonât have a chance to cook for the family in the future.â
Gao Xiulan calmed down a bit and took a big spoon to share the food with the family. Several children saw that there were slices of meat and immediately waited at the table with small bowls.
Gao Xiulan said while sharing, âIf the third daughter-in-law is at home, I think she will be snickering. She just counts on her sister-in-law to take care of her.â
Su Aidang said awkwardly, âMom, Xiaomei doesnât think so eitherâŠâ
âShe didnât think so, why doesnât she comes back? I have never seen a daughter-in-law who ran away from her motherâs house after a few days of marriage because she didnât want to work. I havenât seen Gao Xiuju yet. If I did, I would scold her for finding me such a daughter-in-law. So harmful!â
Su Qinghe: ââŠMom, you better stop scolding, her mother is my grandmaâŠâ
Gao Xiulan: ââŠâ Why is she so unlucky? She has the same mother as Gao Xiuju. What bad luck!
After sharing meals with the whole family, she said to Su Aidang, âDo you also want your sister and I could serve the whole family? Let me tell you, if you have this idea, get out of this house. Go be the son-in-law of Old Tianâs family. I have your two elder brothers to be filial, so I wonât expect any from you!â
Su Aiguo and Su Aihua immediately had a sense of accomplishment and honor on their faces.
They are the sons that their mother relies on!
Su Aidang felt that his heart was being poked by his mother again and again, and he wanted to cry, âMom, I really didnât think so. I can serve you well, so why would I let you serve me? If Xiaomei really has this idea, I wonât agree either!â
Su Qinghe: ââŠMom, letâs eat, okay?â She didnât want to see her third brother cry aggrieved.
Gao Xiulan stopped and ate sullenly.
âŠ
When the whole team was eating, the smoke had just started to light up in the kitchen of Old Tianâs house.
Mrs. Tian poured cornmeal into the pot with a worried face and then mixed it with water. âWhat sin have I done? There are two daughters-in-law in the family but I canât even eat a bite of hot rice!â
She deliberately shouted loudly to the outside. As a result, there was no movement at all. It was her daughter who came into the kitchen from the outside, âMom, whatâs wrong with my sisters-in-law?â
âWho knows what kind of illness they have? They just lay down in the house when I came back, saying that they were unwell and couldnât do the work. How did they go to the fields before and fell ill together!â
Mrs. Tian blushed with anger. She thought she was very kind to her daughters-in-law. Daughters-in-law in other peopleâs families eat less than their sons, but even in times of famine, she doesnât treat her daughter-in-law harshly and they eat as much as she would. The daughter-in-law gave birth to a girl, but she didnât say a word. She seldom scolds her daughter-in-law, but as a result, her daughter-in-law had turned against her to be lazy. This is because she is a good person, so they think she is easy to bully!
Seeing her mother getting so angry, Tian Xiaomei turned around and went out to find her two brothers.
Tian Bao and Tian Weiguo were both in the room. When they heard their sister shouting, they hurried out. The eldest brother Tian Baojia said, âWhatâs wrong?
âMom is angry, brother, whatâs wrong with my sisters-in-law? Why donât they cook?â Tian Xiaomei asked. In the past, her sisters-in-law did a pretty good job at home, but not this time.
Tian Bao looked back in the direction of the room, âYour eldest sister-in-law said she was tired after coming back from the field and she wanted to rest. Let your second sister-in-law do it.â
Tian Weiguo immediately said, âYour second sister-in-law is also tired. Let your eldest sister-in-law do some work. She will work again tomorrow when she feels better.â
Tian Xiaomei: ââŠâ
Whatâs going on?
The two brothers were afraid of their wives, so they went into the house after speaking. Tian Bao said to his wife, âSister said our mother is angry. Itâs really not good for you not to go out, isnât it?â
Eldest sister-in-law Tian was drinking sugar water, when she heard this, the corners of her mouth twitched, âWhatâs wrong? Anyway, if I donât cook this meal, someone else will do it. The whole family canât be hungry. Let the second family do it, Iâm the first one before her, and I have done more things for Old Tianâs family than her. â
Tian Baojia thinks this is quite reasonable. His wife should rest.
In the opposite room, Tian Weiguo was also persuading his wife to go out and cook. To save his mother from being angry. The second sister-in-law Tian was eating melon seeds, and when she heard this, she said, âWhat are you afraid of? If there is the eldest sister-in-law, who doesnât have a lot of work. Anyway, if I donât do it, she will do it anyway. You canât skip meals, can you?â
Tian Weiguo was speechless. Anyway, compared with his sister-in-law, he certainly did not hesitate to side with his wife.
In the end, Mrs. Tian cooked the food, brought it to the table, and called the people, and then the sons and daughters-in-law came out to eat.
Mrs. Tian watched the two daughters-in-law coming out to eat in high spirits and slapped the table angrily. Scaring the grandchildren.
Eldest sister-in-law Tian said, âMom, what are you doing? Youâre scaring the children.â
Mrs. Tian said angrily, âYou still know how to think about the children. Why didnât you say that you were worried about the children missing their meal? As soon as you came back, you hid in the house to rest and wait for someone to serve you. Whose daughter-in-law is as comfortable as you?â
Eldest sister-in-law Tian pointed to Second sister-in-law Tian and said, âSecond sister-in-law, canât you cook? Iâm not feeling well so I took a rest for a while.â
Second sister-in-law Tian immediately replied, âI am not feeling well either. You are the eldest, so you should be in charge of the housework.â
Mrs. Tian slapped the table fiercely, âWhat are you doing, when did you learn to be lazy, and push each otherâs affairs? How can I not see you rush to work, have you seen the daughter-in-law of others?â
ââŠIsnât my sister also like this?â Eldest sister-in-law Tian said quietly.
âMom taught sister by herself. If you donât work, someone will always do itâŠâ Second sister-in-law Tian added.
Mrs. Tian and Tian Xiaomei were struck by lightning.
Eldest sister-in-law Tian said, âBesides, canât sister help out at home?â
Mrs. Tianâs lips trembled angrily, âYour sister has gone to the fields!â
Eldest sister-in-law Tian glanced at her sister-in-law, âBut sisterâs food is not taken to her motherâs house. Doesnât she have to help with the work when she comes back?â
The second sister-in-law Tian nodded immediately, âYes, I have seen the little girl of the old Su family take things home from her husbandâs house several times. Sister has never taken anything home.â
Tian Xiaomei pursed her mouth tightly and endured it. When she heard this, she finally couldnât hold it back and burst into tears⊠She wants to go back to her husbandâs house!
âŠ
In the afternoon, Su Qinghe discovered that her third sister-in-law had returned from work with the rest of the old Su family. The third brother, Su Aidang, had a happy face. The couple didnât look like they were in conflict.
Gao Xiulan watched the third daughter-in-law come back and didnât say anything. For her, it was a good thing for her daughter-in-law to go back to her motherâs house. The work points are still recorded on the in-lawâs side, so it would be nice to go to her motherâs house to eat.
Without anyone telling her, Tian Xiaomei hurriedly made dinner. Lin Shuhong and Ding Guihua also helped in the kitchen.
Seeing Tian Xiaomei come back, Lin Shuhong said, âXiaomei, donât think as you did before. When you become a sister-in-law, itâs not the same as a sister-in-law1It simply means that itâs different when you were the sister-in-law that is still in the house of your natal family vs. the sister-in-law that has gotten married.. Who didnât come here from a sister-in-law?â
Tian Xiaomei flattened her mouth and nodded.
Being a daughter-in-law means she has to work, or she will make trouble at home like her two sisters-in-law, making her mother angry.
She was too ignorant before, how could she treat her mother-in-law and sister-in-law like this? She actually did the same excessive thing as her sister-in-law. woo woo wooâŠ
âThe greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. Thatâs the day we truly grow up.â
~ John C. Maxwell
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1It simply means that itâs different when you were the sister-in-law that is still in the house of your natal family vs. the sister-in-law that has gotten married.