Suizi purposely provoked Yu Jingting upon noticing that his mother was behind them.
While she knew that he didn't favor boys over girls, the village environment leaned towards favoring sons. As he often mingled with his friends in the village square, he was inevitably subject to their influence.
She needed to instill in him the idea that both sons and daughters were treasured.
She was pleasantly surprised by his mother's reaction which was unexpected.
Aside from this, she had another goal.
Yu Jingting didn't want to hand over the two hundred yuan. He intended to keep it secret from his mother, but Suizi felt that wasn't appropriate.
Everyone had seen their argument when they went back to her mother's house.
The news of the requested return of the bride price would spread throughout the village tonight, and everyone would know by tomorrow. Given how well-informed his mother was, there was no way she wouldn't hear about it.
Since her wedding a month ago, there had been very little interaction between Suizi and her mother-in-law. She would run away whenever she saw her, and she would never dare to look at her mother-in-law's eyes even when she happened to say a few words.
Although this was due to the trauma from her childhood, she realized it was quite hurtful after all.
Suizi estimated that her mother-in-law didn't have a good impression of her. If the hidden money issue surfaced, it could lead to discord between them, which would make living together even more troublesome.
Yu Jingting sided with Suizi, which made her want to keep the money, but if she directly gave the money to the mother-in-law, it could discourage him and damage their relationship together, which wouldn't be good either.
So, she planned this situation for her mother-in-law to naturally find out about the bride price. She didn't want to offend either party.
"What's going on with the money?" Wang Cuihua asked.
Yu Jingting held the money and attempted to run away but was caught in the collar by Wang Cuihua who was in charge.
"You little scoundrel! I brought you up, and I know exactly how much of a mess you can make! Speak up!"
"We requested the bride price back."
Suizi relayed everything that had happened today.
Upon hearing this, Wang Cuihua was stunned. Wait, someone wanted to kill Xiaosun?! (Note 1)
"You two go on ahead, let Suizi keep the money, I'm going to deal with them!" She rolled up her sleeves and started to head out.
When Wang Cuihua mentioned "dealing with them", that meant she was ready to verbally attack them with a full and complete scolding, even fanning their ancestral tomb with her words.
"Gengen, fetch me a scoop of water. Don't wait up for me for dinner tonight!"
Suizi realized she had even arranged for battle supplies. Was she going to curse them from daylight till dark, drinking a little water when she was thirsty?
"Mother, let's not go yet. The Village Chief is still here."
"What the hell does the Village Chief matter? Even if the County Chief were here, it wouldn't make any difference! Someone planned against our family, do they think we don't have any adults in our family? Nobody can help, and whoever tries to block me will get cursed as well!"
The old lady's fighting spirit was indeed strong, which deterred Yu Jingting from daring to provoke her.
"By the way, what did you just tell the Village Chief?" Wang Cuihua spotted her daughter-in-law pulling the Village Chief aside to say something, but it was too far for her to hear.
Yu Jingting pricked up his ears.
"I told the Village Chief that Lun Lamei has been flirting with many men in the village, including his son, and he was very angry."
Wang Cuihua quickly figured it out.
There was no one in the village more connected than Wang Cuihua.
The crafty Village Chief had long chosen a good wife for his son, a primary school teacher from a neighboring village with a good family and a good job, only needing a matchmaker to visit.
With such a scandalous event happening at this critical time, how could this marriage go smoothly?
The Village Chief must be feeling as uncomfortable as if he'd eaten two kilos of cow dung at this moment, unable to eat or sleep properly, just wanting to get rid of Lun Lamei as soon as possible.
If Wang Cuihua went to block the door and verbally attacked them right now, Lun Lamei would be forced into a corner and would have to reveal that she's the village chief's son, thus burning bridges between Wang Cuihua and the village chief.
"Let's go home and eat. Suizi must be scared today. I'll make something good for you to eat." After Wang Cuihua figured this out, she immediately calmed down, her gaze towards her daughter-in-law deepening.
"Huh? Aren't you going to yell at them, mother?" Yu Jingting asked, sounding surprised, his hand naturally stowing the money into Suizi's pocket.
Suizi attempted to take it out, but Yu Jingting held her hand down. He fondled it slyly, making her blush, and she dared not move.
"You, you should learn from your wife, use your brain more and fight less!" Wang Cuihua thought to herself. Suizi hadn't wasted her time studying; educated people do think faster.
"Mother, I was just worried about you and Jingting, we still have to live in this village..." Suizi knew her mother-in-law had seen through her maneuvers.
A person suited to playing the godmother's role needed to be able to manipulate those around her, but must also think quickly. Otherwise, how would she interact with different people appropriately?
Her mother-in-law had certainly spotted many of her tricks. Even if she hadn't now, she would notice them in time as they lived together. Suizi was shy and her mouth couldn't keep up with her thoughts, but she wasn't stupid.
"You're becoming more and more like your mother... Ah, if you had her skills, our lives would be so much easier." Wang Cuihua sighed.
Suizi bit her lip and remained silent.
"Mother, were you and my mother-in-law close?" Yu Jingting asked.
"How could we not be? If it wasn't for your mother-in-law's clever ideas, could you still be alive now, running about without a care, and even have married Suizi? Without her, I might not have made it!"
Huh? There was inside information? Suizi looked up at her mother-in-law, puzzled.
She never knew that her mother-in-law and her mother were close, she didn't remember them ever interacting.
"In any case, you need to always treat Suizi well. And Suizi, don't blame your mother, she has her troubles—Hey, let's put that aside, let's go home and eat."
When Wang Cuihua thought of Suizi's mother, her face was filled with vicissitudes of life.
Suizi lowered her head, she had an unresolved issue.
When her mother returned to the city, she promised she would come back to see her. But since she left, three years had passed without a word, not even a letter.
If a female student had a love affair while in the countryside during her "down to the countryside" period, she normally wouldn't want to recall those matters after returning to the city.
Her grandfather's reputation had been restored, making him a prestigious man. Suizi was the child born to Chen Lijun in the countryside, a peasant's child. Suizi felt that, from her mother's perspective, she might be deeply ashamed of her. It was normal that she would not want to see Suizi for the rest of her life.
Suizi suppressed the sadness welling up in her heart. She was past the age of crying for her mother, and if she doesn't want Suizi, Suizi wouldn't bother her either.
It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter...
Her hand was held. Suizi lifted her head, her eyes blurry as she looked at Yu Jingting.
He chuckled, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
"Whatever my mother gives to you, I won't grab it. This old lady is a busybody. If she leaves everything to you, that would be a load off my back. If you wish, she can be your birth mother and I'll even address her as my mother-in-law."
"Are you stupid? Stop spouting nonsense and skedaddle before I smack you onto the roof!" Wang Cuihua hit her son. She was so adept at it after twenty years of practice.
Suizi smiled through her tears.
He saw her unhappiness and wanted to comfort her.
Looking at the backs of the mother and son, Suizi clenched her fists. Life started anew, she just had to try not to fear the Yu family. By taking one step at a time, life would gradually improve.
They had just finished making dinner and hadn't gotten the chance to eat when the village doctor's wife came to the door.
"Suizi, something happened to your family. You should go back and check."
"What happened?"
"Your dad fought with the village chief and got him hospitalized. Your stepmom is talking about hanging herself!"
"What?"