They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 11 The Awkward Second Daughter-in-Law of the Village Head

Zeng Xiaoyan agreed, saying that whether it was drinking brown sugar water or eating snacks, it was all done in secret.

But we're family after all, and it's a long-standing relationship, so people will eventually find out.

The elder brother and sister-in-law didn't have any objections. After all, it was all bought with her own money. Occasionally, she would share a handful of melon seeds or a couple of candied fruits with her nephews and nieces. Which adult would dare to stare at her food?
The second sister-in-law, Zhao, was very indignant. She said sarcastically that the third sister-in-law was eating alone, arguing with her husband, and that her parents-in-law were unfair. Why should the third sister-in-law be lazy and good-for-nothing every day?

At first, the village head's wife ignored it, but when Zhao made a scene in front of her, she got angry and said, "She bought those with her own money. If you want to buy them with your own money, you can too. No matter what, your two children have eaten and received a lot of things from her from time to time. What more do you want?"

Zhao was skilled with her hands and would occasionally embroider handkerchiefs to sell for money. She then made a fuss, saying that since that was the case, she would keep all the money she earned from selling handkerchiefs and not hand over a single penny to the public.

The village head's wife was even angrier, and sneered, "Don't you know that your third sister-in-law has handed over six mu of fertile land to the public treasury? I only took 70% of the money from selling your handkerchiefs; didn't I leave you 30%? I didn't take it all. If you dare to hide anything, then we'll split the family property. You and your second son can go over there yourselves!"

Zhao was furious and dared not cause any more trouble.

She must be crazy to separate from the family.

After the family split up, what can she do with the little money she earns from embroidering handkerchiefs? Both children are still young, and raising children is expensive.

Although Zhao didn't dare to make a scene openly, she still harbored strong opinions behind the scenes, and she especially didn't get along with Zeng Xiaoyan.

Zeng Xiaoyan can't stand people she doesn't like, but she's extremely fond of people she likes.

She considered Xu Zhichun a close friend, and knowing that Xu had lost a lot of blood, she thought that brown sugar was good for replenishing blood. Seeing that there was still about half a pound of brown sugar left, she simply took it all and left it for Xu to replenish her blood.

Half a pound of brown sugar, not too much, not too little, wrapped in yellow paper, it can't be hidden anyway.

Zeng Xiaoyan went out with brown sugar in her hand, and by sheer bad luck, she bumped into Zhao Shi.

When the two meet in private, they always dislike each other. It's normal for them to snort or glare at each other, and it's not uncommon for them to exchange sharp words.

But today Zeng Xiaoyan was busy eating chicken and delicious food made from lantern fruit, and she was too lazy to waste time with Zhao Shi, so she ignored her.

Zhao didn't want to pay attention to her, but her gaze involuntarily fell on the half-packet of brown sugar.

"Where are you going?"

Zhao couldn't help but ask.

She didn't care where the new Zeng Xiaoyan went; what she wanted to know was where Zeng Xiaoyan was going with such a big bag of brown sugar.
"You can't control it!"

Zeng Xiaoyan didn't even turn her head.

Zhao was stunned with anger, muttered a curse under her breath, and quietly followed behind Zeng Xiaoyan.

She wanted to see what she was going to do with all that brown sugar.

Seeing Zeng Xiaoyan enter Xu Zhichun's courtyard from afar, Zhao sneered and turned back.

The more Zhao thought about it, the angrier she became.

My third sister-in-law always hoards food and refuses to share it with her own family, but here she is, eagerly giving it away to outsiders.

Such a big bag of brown sugar! She's so generous! What a fool who's siding with outsiders.

So, is it really that amazing that Xu Zhichun survived her suicide attempt by jumping off a cliff? Why go to such lengths to send her brown sugar?
The more Zhao thought about it, the angrier she became, and she also grew to dislike Xu Zhichun.

Zhao wanted to tell her mother-in-law about this, but thinking about how her mother-in-law always favored her younger son and daughter-in-law, Zhao felt disheartened. Even if she told her, her mother-in-law would only pretend to be generous and say something like, "That's her own thing, she can do whatever she wants with it, ptooey!" Zhao was even angrier.

Disheartened, Zhao kept quiet in front of Aunt Liang, but instead stirred up trouble in front of her own sister-in-law, Liu.

Liu was somewhat helpless, knowing that her second sister-in-law had fallen back into her old habit.

Liu believed her mother-in-law's words more. Her mother-in-law said that a person should only take on what they are capable of. Why keep eyeing what others have? Whatever they have or don't have, it's all theirs. It's the most important thing to live your own life well.

Besides, no matter what, my third sister-in-law would never cause trouble. Just take the six acres of fertile land she brought with her. Now the whole family can eat white rice almost every meal, and only occasionally cook some coarse grains. The grain saved is sold and the money goes into the public fund. Isn't that enough?
The money in her hand is her own, why should she keep an eye on it?
The second sister-in-law's personality is becoming increasingly left-leaning. She always tries to control and dominate the third sister-in-law, but how could the third sister-in-law possibly be happy about that?

The third sister-in-law refused, and since she had no power to control people, she became angry. What can one say about this?

Although Liu looked down on Zhao, she couldn't say anything to her.

After all, the mother-in-law had already been quite controlling of Zhao Shi; otherwise, who knows how much trouble Zhao Shi would have caused by making a scene. Since the mother-in-law was playing the "good cop," she had to play the "bad cop," otherwise the family would be in chaos.

Liu then offered kind words of comfort to Zhao.

Little did they know that what Zhao wanted now was allies and teammates, someone to share her hatred of Zeng Xiaoyan, to condemn Zeng Xiaoyan together, and to have opinions about Zeng Xiaoyan together, rather than someone to comfort her.

After Liu said a few words, Zhao became impatient, her face darkened, and she retorted with a few words to Liu before storming off.

Liu was taken aback by her anger, then chuckled coldly and whispered, "That ungrateful wretch! Parents are too lenient. One day she'll learn her lesson."

Zeng Xiaoyan brought such a big bag of brown sugar, which startled Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu'er.

Xu Zhichun hurriedly said, "Why did you bring so much? Just a little bit to dissolve the sugar in the syrup is enough. You can take it back later."

"Why take it back? I brought it specifically for Sister-in-law Zhichun to help her recover. This brown sugar water is good for replenishing blood. Sister-in-law Zhichun drinks two bowls of it every day to help her recover."

"this--"

"Sister-in-law Zhichun, don't be so polite with me. I don't need this. If you refuse, you'll be being too formal."

Xu Zhichun could only smile and thank him, and immediately made three bowls, one for each of the three people.

After drinking the brown sugar water, Zeng Xiaoyan joined in peeling the lantern fruits. They only needed the seeds inside, and quickly peeled about a pound, which was enough.

Xu Zhichun took two pieces of cotton gauze, wrapped the seed in them, washed his hands, took a clean basin, poured in spring water, and rubbed it gently. After a while, a gelatinous substance seeped out.

"See? Just keep rubbing it like this until this gelatinous substance seeps out. Once the gelatinous substance is gone, you can move on to the next step."

Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er both tried it once and were pleasantly surprised.

"Something is really seeping out, it's slippery."

"Indeed! I never imagined that the seeds of this tiny lantern fruit could be made into something like this. It's truly amazing. Zhichun, how did you know?"

Zeng Xiaoyan also looked at her curiously.

Xu Zhichun was prepared and smiled calmly: "This is a local snack from my hometown."

Zeng Xiaoyan suddenly realized and blurted out, "Have you done this before?"

(End of this chapter)