Amidst the commotion, the sun had already reached its zenith.
Cheng Tianyuan continued to chop firewood, while his mother, Liu Ying, was busy preparing lunch in the kitchen.
Xue Ling didn’t sit idle; she helped gather firewood and noticed her mother-in-law, Liu Ying, nervously wringing her hands in the kitchen. Upon seeing Xue Ling enter, Liu Ying quickly shielded what she was doing.
Xue Ling sensed something amiss. During a momentary break from collecting firewood, she caught sight of her elderly mother-in-law cooking two pots of rice porridge. One pot was almost entirely water, while the other was half-cooked rice porridge. She had secretly taken the watery one to their room.
Xue Ling couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.
Her mother-in-law intended to secretly drink the rice water and leave the thin porridge for Xue Ling and Cheng Tianyuan.
As Liu Ying plucked some yellowing vegetables, she smiled affectionately, saying, “Once I’ve stir-fried some vegetables, we can eat soon.”
Xue Ling nodded and went to their room, opened her dowry chest, and took out a bag of preserved pork.
“Mom, this is the preserved pork my dad made himself. He asked me to bring some for you and Dad to taste.”
The Cheng family had always lived on a tight budget, and they could only savor the aroma of meat during festivals and special occasions. Liu Ying swallowed hard and declined, saying that so much preserved pork would be too extravagant.
Xue Ling playfully said, “There’s not much meat in our family, and we’ve dried a lot of it. Occasionally, we can’t finish it all. My dad even told me that he’ll send us some every holiday so we can enjoy it together.”
Liu Ying, upon hearing this, finally accepted the offer.
“Well… I’ll go cook a piece. Ah Yuan is at home today, so let’s have some meat for him.”
A little while later, the kitchen was filled with the enticing aroma of meat.
Cheng Tianyuan had been chopping firewood in the yard all this time. Xue Ling had gone in and out, and although he hadn’t looked up or said a word, he was well aware of what was happening.
What was she doing, being so attentive to her family members one after the other?
He vividly remembered the scene from yesterday, when she had shouted and caused a ruckus. Could it be that after he had suggested divorce last night, she was happy about it? Or did she feel guilty?
Thinking about this, a sense of discomfort welled up deep within him.
Seeing that their bedroom was a bit dirty, Xue Ling grabbed a broom and started cleaning.
While she was halfway through cleaning, a furious female voice came from the kitchen: “Mom! Our family only has one piece of preserved pork, and it was a gift from Sister Mei! How could you cook it all without telling me?!”
Xue Ling raised an eyebrow—Cheng Tianfang?!
Cheng Tianyuan had a younger sister named Cheng Tianfang, who was six years younger than him and currently fourteen years old.
When their families had moved out of the city’s outskirts, their mother, heavily pregnant at the time, had returned to their village and given birth to Cheng Tianfang.
Cheng Tianfang wasn’t fond of studying and spent her days hanging around the village with some older women. She dropped out of school at a young age and dreamt of marrying into a wealthy family in the city.
Cheng Tianyuan had written letters to persuade her and even sent the money they scrimped and saved for her education, but she often played truant, wandering around the village instead.
In the previous life, Cheng Tianfang had disliked Xue Ling, often speaking harshly and reporting everything negative about her to her older brother, causing strife in their relationship. Moreover, she spread numerous rumors about Xue Ling in the village, leading many to secretly criticize her.
Not only that, she fabricated a long list of petty faults attributed to Xue Ling.
Xue Ling had a fiery temper and couldn’t tolerate such treatment, so they argued every day, making their household quite chaotic. Even her kind-hearted and honest in-laws had been reduced to tears several times.
Cheng Tianfang stormed into the kitchen, yelling, “Mom! That preserved pork is mine! Both you and Brother are too much! Why did you cook my preserved pork without telling me? I wouldn’t have agreed!”
Liu Ying tried to explain gently, “Sweetie, this isn’t your preserved pork. All of this was brought by your sister-in-law from the city. It’s her first meal with us, so she should have a good one.”
Cheng Tianfang’s anger flared, and she retorted bitterly, “Is that necessary? It’s not like she’s the only one with preserved pork. Why is she acting so smug? You should be good to her! You’re the mother-in-law, she should treat you well!”
Liu Ying quickly made a hushing gesture. “Sweetie, don’t speak recklessly.”
Cheng Tianfang huffed and turned silent.
As the youngest in the family, she was accustomed to being pampered by her older brother, who was eleven years her senior.
After Cheng Tianyuan went to work in the county, Cheng Tianfang became the only half-grown child at home, and her parents naturally doted on her. This had led to her becoming spoiled, arrogant, and developing a host of bad habits.
Xue Ling vaguely remembered that in her previous life, Cheng Tianfang had roamed aimlessly around the village, and she had eventually been duped by a local ruffian, leading to a life of hardship in the northern wilderness. Her life had been unbearable.
Perhaps she needed to give her father-in-law and mother-in-law a heads-up in the hope of saving her from that fate.
Xue Ling disposed of the trash and washed her hands before entering the kitchen.
“Mom, let me help you,” she offered.
Liu Ying, seeing her, scowled and then hurriedly left, only returning to eat when it was time for lunch.
Xue Ling set the table, and Cheng Tianyuan helped serve the food.
Liu Ying smiled and said, “Your dad’s not feeling well, so he’ll eat in his room. I’ll keep him company inside, and you two can eat together.”
Xue Ling immediately noticed the thin rice porridge and exchanged a meaningful glance with Cheng Tianyuan.
“Let’s go eat with Mom and Dad.”
Cheng Tianyuan, recalling the secretive actions of his mother earlier, quickly caught on.
“Sure, let’s bring all the dishes inside.”
Liu Ying and Cheng’s father couldn’t hide it any longer and quickly hid the rice water.
Cheng Tianfang skipped into the room, picked up her chopsticks, and immediately grabbed the largest piece of preserved pork, stuffing it into her mouth.
Cheng Tianyuan gave her a stern look. “Don’t you need to wash your hands before eating?”
“Oh…” Cheng Tianfang ran out to wash her hands and returned to devour the preserved pork.
Xue Ling helped serve the preserved pork and vegetables to her father-in-law and mother
-in-law, then began eating herself.
Cheng Tianyuan observed her considerate actions and watched as his younger sister ate alone, her behavior growing colder and sterner.
Once they had eaten their fill, Xue Ling helped her mother-in-law clear the table.
Cheng Tianfang picked at her teeth, crossed her legs, and said, “Mom, now that you’re married, you should enjoy yourself! Sister-in-law can do all this!”
“Quiet!” Cheng Tianyuan sternly scolded her. “How can you talk like that?”
Cheng’s father’s face tightened, and he said firmly, “Ah Fang, household chores should be shared by everyone. Your sister-in-law is diligent, and she’s been busy since early morning. Look at you, sleeping until midday, only returning home for lunch!”
Liu Ying gave an apologetic smile to Xue Ling and spoke gently, “Ling Ling, Ah Fang is still young and doesn’t understand. Don’t mind her rude words.”
Xue Ling smiled and shook her head. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry, I won’t argue with her.”
“That’s good! That’s good!”
“Who wants to argue with you? You’re really infuriating! I won’t talk to you anymore!” Cheng Tianfang stamped her foot and dashed out the door.
Cheng Tianyuan frowned deeply, sensing that his little sister was becoming a problem.
“Dad, Mom, after she dropped out of school, Cheng Tianfang roams around aimlessly all day. This can’t continue.”
His parents, naturally doting on their youngest, sighed and said she was still young.
Xue Ling seized the opportunity and added, “She’s thirteen or fourteen years old, almost a grown-up. Nowadays, there are human traffickers everywhere, especially in rural areas. Young girls like her are the easiest targets. We need to keep a close eye on her.”
Cheng Tianyuan, with his somber expression, said, “This afternoon, I’ll find her an easy job. The pay doesn’t matter; the main thing is to keep her occupied.”
In recent years, with Cheng’s father falling ill, Cheng Tianyuan had become the backbone of the family.
His parents reluctantly agreed to his arrangement.
“That’s a good idea! That’s a good idea!”
“Who’s going to compete with you?! You make me so angry! I won’t talk to you anymore!” Cheng Tianfang stormed off, her temper flaring.
Cheng Tianyuan, Mom, Dad, and Xue Ling helped Cheng Tianfang clean up her mess.
Translator thought: Thank you so much for visiting the site and reading the story. If you would like to support my translation you can buy me a cup-ontea. You can also help by shopping in our store or watch the youtube video to get more traction to the website. If you can’t wait to read the next chapter why not subscribe to our monthly plan, you will get 15 chapter every month for $35.
