Zhulan fanned herself and muttered, “Time heals all wounds. Thankfully, Jiang Wang Shi has a good memory and didn’t dare to provoke Xuemei. Looking at her frustrated daughter, ‘Do you want me to come up with a solution for you? Or do you want me to intervene?”

Xue Mei, knowing that involving her mother isn’t ideal, tried both subtle and direct hints, but her mother-in-law avoided the topic. Despite wanting to leave, her mother-in-law’s cunning tactics made it difficult. She managed to return home today, taking advantage of her mother-in-law’s inattention, and bringing the child with her. Xuemei realized her mother-in-law’s scheming nature, feeling suffocated, “Mom, I’m helpless. You don’t know how well-regarded my mother-in-law is in the Zhou family village. Whenever I go out, people say I’m living a comfortable life.”

Enjoying such blessings sucked, and every time she had to put on a smile, she became extremely angry inside.

Zhulan really didn’t know that when the weather got hot, she was even less willing to go out. Except for the two invitations to the county due to Dong Lin Shi’s invitation, she had never been out. In ancient times, she was the one who was said to be staying in the house like a dead fish. She said to her daughter, “Whenever I look for in-laws in the future, I will definitely not look for someone like your mother-in-law.”

Xuemei said, “Mother.”

Didn’t this hurt her heart?

Zhulan didn’t feel guilty. The in-laws they were talking about weren’t selected by her, but they gave her a lot of experience. She laughed dryly and said, “I couldn’t recognize people well before. Who gave your mother-in-law a good reputation? Well, all their faults were hidden deep by your mother-in-law.”

Xuemei felt that what her mother said was too perfunctory, “Mom, please help me, I really have no choice.”

Zhulan had many ideas, but she just couldn’t interfere, “My daughter, your father and I intervened once. That’s because you and Jiang Sheng are really having trouble getting along with your in-laws. It’s different now. You have moved to Zhoujia Village. Jiang Sheng earns one tael of silver a month. If I step in and drive your parents-in-law away, we will be unreasonable. Moreover, Jiang Sheng never said anything about letting them go. You go home and talk to him!”

Xuemei was stunned for a moment. Despite Jiang Sheng’s musings, he hadn’t actually asked for help from her parents. She pursed her lips, “No, he hasn’t.”

Zhulan, “Look, Jiang Sheng doesn’t want to, so we also don’t care. It’s your family’s business after all, and his parents haven’t made any big mistakes. If I interfere, what will Jiang Sheng think? Silly girl, this is not a good relationship between you and your husband. Your mother-in-law can pretend to be someone with such a mouth. I muttered a few words from time to time, sooner or later, it will affect the relationship between you two. After all, it is his biological father and mother.”

Moreover, the daughter’s words might not be entirely truthful. Jiang Sheng, growing increasingly impatient, noticed that his daughter was distressed even when he wasn’t home during the day.

Xuemei was discouraged because her mother was right. After all, they were his parents. The years of goodwill between her parents-in-law and her husband cannot be completely wiped out in one or two times. “Then I will just live like this?”

Zhulan couldn’t directly intervene but offered some advice, “Just enjoy the good food and drink. With the harvest season approaching, your in-laws will likely return home. Securing a year’s worth of food is crucial. Since your in-laws encourage you to study, go along with it. Follow their lead. You’re still young. As long as you have control over your finances, let your in-laws manage willingly. It will make your life easier!”

Xuemei was dumbfounded. My mother was my mother. She ate much more salt than she did. After hearing what her mother said, she suddenly became enlightened and had a smile on her face. “Mom, you can see clearly.”

Zhulan put down the fan in her hand and said, “It’s getting late. You should go back quickly. When you leave, take the pickles your dasao has made. They are very good for eating.”

Xuemei said, “Dasao made pickles again?”

Last time, her dasao gave them to her. Once, her sister-in-law said that she didn’t pickle it much, and she was too embarrassed to go back to her parents’ house to pick it up. She couldn’t get the same taste after learning from her dasao, so she didn’t bother anymore.

Zhulan said: “The vegetables in the yard have grown so fast recently that we can’t eat them at home. Your dasao has pickled a lot. Please take more when you leave.”

“Then I will not be shy.”

Zhulan did not go to the ground to see her daughter off. She really didn’t want to move. Xuemei went home, but the child didn’t follow her. The little guy didn’t go home until after lunch.

In the afternoon, Zhulan couldn’t sleep either. The weather was too hot. She didn’t come out of the house until after school. She found a cool place to sit and watch Li Shi and Zhao Shi picking vegetables. The vegetables at home were coming out too much. There was so much that even though they had pickled a lot of it, they still couldn’t finish it all. So Zhulan let all that could be dried be dried and kept for winter.

Zhulan was enjoying the cool breeze when Chang Lian came over and said, “What’s the matter?”

It was rare to see Chang Lian being shy and not knowing what to say.

(End of chapter)

---