Li Xiuli smiled modestly and said, "I'm no home-wrecker, I'll just teach them slowly, what else can I do?"
The eldest daughter-in-law is indeed good, nothing else to say.
As for the second daughter-in-law...
Well, let's not talk about it.
She wasn't like this when she just got married.
After being married for a while, all sorts of problems started showing up.
Zhao Honghua understood very well that Xiuli was satisfied with her two daughters-in-law and said with a smile, "As long as there are no major issues, just teach them slowly, who hasn't been that age before."
"You may be right," Li Xiuli replied, but she did not forget the previous topic of conversation.
"Take care of yourself, you look so thin now."
"Ziqiang can't rely on his father, he can only rely on you. What will Ziqiang do if something happens to you?"
Thinking of Chen Ziqiang's useless father, Li Xiuli felt a surge of anger.
If that were her own man, lazy and indifferent to everything, she'd take a knife and chop him up.
But Honghua was too gentle from a young age to do anything harsh; she only ever ended up being bullied.
Luckily, young Ziqiang is a good son; otherwise, what would Honghua have to look forward to in life?
Zhao Honghua certainly knew that Xiuli was worried about her, and she felt a warmth spreading through her body, slowly warming her cold limbs.
"I know, I'll eat when I get back," she said.
These past few days, she really hadn't eaten much.
There wasn't much food at home, so she had to conserve!
Yet, as Xiuli rightly said, what would Ziqiang do if she starved to death?
She had to stay alive, stay alive at all costs.
Even if that useless Chen Jiefang died, she couldn't afford to die.
Seeing that her friend took her words to heart, Li Xiuli breathed a sigh of relief and patted her on the arm.
"Life is hard, but if we hang in there, we'll get past it. There's no obstacle that can't be overcome!"
The hardest times have passed.
What should come next, shouldn't it be the dawn that Tangtang talks about?
Zhao Honghua nodded her head.
Her eyes, as if covered in a layer of dust, sparked a faint glimmer of light.
Without any strong in-laws or sisters-in-law to protect her, she could only rely on herself.
Thinking of Wu Chunhua, who got a lecture from Lin Tang's grandmother yesterday, Zhao Honghua whispered:
"Xiuli, did you hear about what happened yesterday afternoon?"
"What happened?" Li Xiuli looked confused.
She went home, ate, and slept yesterday.
She had been busy since she got up this morning and hadn't heard anything.
"Your mother-in-law taught Wu Chunhua a lesson yesterday and threw a bucket of water over her head.
Wu Chunhua didn't dare to say half a word and even slapped herself several times."
Zhao Honghua felt envious.
If only she had such a formidable mother-in-law who'd stand up for her.
Too bad her in-laws were not just unkind; they had long turned into little mounds of earth.
"My mother-in-law disciplined Wu Chunhua, and Chunhua even slapped her own face?" Li Xiuli exclaimed in surprise.
Is that true?
That's incredibly... satisfying!!
That's so like my mother-in-law!
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes, your mother-in-law is really something," Zhao Honghua remarked with admiration.
Having such an assertive mother-in-law who even defends her, what a blessing from past lifetimes!
Li Xiuli also felt her mother-in-law was very good and nodded repeatedly, "Hmm, my mother-in-law is indeed very good."
It's just her temper that's not great, but that's not important.
I'll have to give mother-in-law some extra meat tonight.
With such a move from the mother-in-law, those in the village who dare to speak ill of Tangtang openly will be few.
A tough person who, back in the day, could kill a wild boar with a few punches.
Not everyone dares to provoke them.
After entering the brigade, Li Xiuli and Zhao Honghua went their separate ways.
Zhou Mei turned her head and saw that her mother-in-law was alone, so she quickly handed the farm tools to her sister-in-law and ran to her mother-in-law's side.
"Mom, can I go pick up Hutou and Niuniu?"
Li Xiuli had expected this to happen, and she looked at Zhou Mei sternly.
"You think of picking them up now? What were you thinking, always leaving the kids at your parents' place? Is the Lin Family unable to raise Hutou and Niuniu, or what?"
This daughter-in-law really left her at a loss for words.
Other people's daughters-in-law always rack their brains to move the good stuff from their in-laws' homes to their parents' homes.
Hers does the opposite, constantly running to her parents' house to scrounge.
It would be enough if she just scavenged at her parents' home from time to time.
But she keeps sending the two kids to the Zhou Family for free meals...
She had told her off who knows how many times, and this person is quick to admit her mistakes.
But she never changes, and the next time, it continues.
If it weren't for the fact that she had given the Zhou Family plenty of compensation, she would feel that the Lin Family had lost face.
Zhou Mei didn't see any problem with it and responded nonchalantly,
"Of course, we can afford to raise them. Isn't it just that my mom wants to see Hutou and Niuniu? The old lady insists that I leave the kids with her, what can I say?"
Li Xiuli spat in disgust, knowing all too well that Zhou Mei was trying to deceive her again.
"Enough, spare me your spiel. Do you think I would believe you?"
"If you want to pick them up, go ahead, but don't forget to take the children's food. You can't let your parents suffer a loss."
"...Take food?" Zhou Mei's voice lifted slightly.
"What should I take? Hutou and Niuniu don't eat much, no need to take anything, absolutely nothing. I still want to take from..."
Take some good stuff from her parents' house...
Feeling a murderous aura upon her, she choked on her words immediately.
Yikes, her mother-in-law's eyes were filled with murderous intent!!
Confronted with Li Xiuli's eyes that were gathering a fiery glow, Zhou Mei hastily corrected herself,
"Mom, you're right. I should take something. I'll go back and get it right now." Saying so, she sprinted toward home.
Ah, the mother-in-law is too scary!
She's terrified...
Ning Xinrou trailed a few steps behind. When she caught up, she noticed her mother-in-law's unusual expression. "Mom, what's wrong? Did my sister-in-law anger you again?"
That word 'again' was particularly telling.
Li Xiuli took a deep breath and then let it out.
She felt that her second daughter-in-law would be the death of her sooner or later.
"Let's not talk about that idiot. Come on, let's head home."
Fearing that Zhou Mei would again take some damaged, black-hearted sweet potatoes to the Zhou Family home.
She walked briskly toward her house, kicking up a gust of wind on the way.
It wasn't because she was overthinking; it's just that their family's idiot daughter-in-law really could do such a thing.
And Zhou Mei was indeed in the cellar, selecting carefully.
Usually, when people go back to their parents' home, they try to take good things with them, but the daughter-in-law of the Lin Family was different.
She was usually reluctant to take anything, and if forced, she would certainly choose the inferior items.
Li Xiuli, upon hearing from Goudan that her second sister-in-law went to the cellar, dropped what she was doing, didn't even bother to wash her hands, and headed straight to the cellar.
The cellar was dug into a sunny and sheltered spot in the backyard and was square in shape.
Inside were stored sweet potatoes, cabbages, and other ingredients.
At that moment, Zhou Mei was squatting on the ground, her back to the cellar entrance, picking and choosing.
The focus was — she was selecting the not-so-good ones.
"This one's split open, this one looks damaged, this one seems a bit shabby... I'll take these, it'll be a bargain for the Zhou Family..."
She grumbled under her breath while placing the subpar items into a basket.
Li Xiuli listened to her mutterings from behind and couldn't help but laugh to herself.
"...It will indeed be a bargain for the Zhou Family. It would be better to give them nothing at all..." She uttered this emotionlessly.