Cheng Su turned around, and behind her stood a young girl in a plaid dress with her hair down, looking at her with a face full of sarcasm.
This was her sister-in-law, Qi Fengping, who was a twin to her brother-in-law, Qi Jianguo. She had always been quite dissatisfied with Cheng Su, and now she had the chance, naturally, she wanted to have a go at her.
Cheng Su laughed in annoyance, "Oh, my dear sister-in-law, are you somehow a worm inside my stomach? To think you know what I'm thinking. Unfortunately, you've misunderstood this time."
She was certainly not a weak person.
Qi Fengping's delicately plucked eyebrows shot up. Did she just insult her by calling her a worm?
Just as she was about to retort, Mother Qi had already preempted her, "Fengping is right, you did this on purpose. Well, well, playing tricks as soon as you enter the door. I'm telling you, no way! This isn't the Cheng family, you're already married into our Qi family. Thinking of using tricks to be lazy, impossible."
With no words, Cheng Su rolled her eyes. So, in this day and age, mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law convicted people without allowing them to explain themselves?
"Enough, it was an accident. The day is hot, and it's windy and dry, it's not impossible for a fire to start by accident. Is it worth all this fuss? Quickly clean up, it's getting late." Father Qi chimed in, "Besides, what's done is done. Fortunately, nobody got hurt. Taiguo's daughter-in-law, you didn't get burned, did you?"
His words carried concern, and Cheng Su felt a slight warmth in her heart. She smiled faintly, "Dad, I'm fine, I was just a little panicked when the fire started, that's why I ran out."
"That's good, next time you'll have to be more careful. This weather is hot, and the wood is all dried out, it's easy to catch fire," laughed Father Qi.
"Yes!" Cheng Su sighed softly, grateful there was someone reasonable.
She glanced at Qi Taiguo, his gaze deep and also looking her way, the corner of his mouth curling up with a tinge of sarcasm.
Cheng Su found it pointless and turned away, her gaze settling on the kitchen. It wasn't that she was being pretentious; she truly did not excel at starting fires.
Mother Qi and Qi Fengping watched Father Qi protect Cheng Su, and they couldn't help feeling jealous, especially Mother Qi. Her irritation with her daughter-in-law grew even more, looking at her as if she could barely see her straight.
"I'll just eat some of the leftover cakes from yesterday's feast and then head out to the fields," Father Qi was not one to waste time. Seeing the sun high in the sky, he added another sentence.
"Dad, I'll go with you!" said Qi Taiguo.
"Great, then old lady, Taiguo and I will head out to the fields first!" Father Qi was happy to spend time with his son, who rarely came back.
Mother Qi glared at Cheng Su, "Hurry up and clean up the kitchen, go to the woodshed to gather more wood for a new fire, and take all the wet wood out to dry."
Cheng Su responded and entered the kitchen again.
But seeing those walls blackened with soot and the water on the ground, and the pile of wood still dripping with water, her mouth twitched slightly in dismay. This mess was like nothing she had ever seen; she missed the gas stove, and she longed to return to the twenty-first century.
But the reality was harsh; she couldn't go back!
Cheng Su sighed deeply, and her face fell. It seems she would have to slowly learn to navigate life in this era!
"What are you standing there for? Do I need to tell you everything before you move? What use are you? Are you a block of wood that only moves when kicked?"
Lost in thought, Cheng Su was jolted by a push from her mother-in-law from behind.
When Mother Qi came in and saw the chaos, she hissed through her teeth as if in pain, "In all my years, I've never seen someone able to set the kitchen on fire just by cooking. Fengping, Fengping, come over and help quickly..."