When Mother Lin returned home, she didn’t have to do anything except wait for a meal. The house was tidied up everywhere, completely different from before when she would work in the fields all day and come back to cook and clean the house. Comparing that to the chaotic state of the neighboring first and second families, she felt extremely satisfied.
If this had been in the past, she might have been satisfied, but not to the extent she was now. After all, among the newlywed daughters-in-law in the village, unless they were extremely peculiar, they were all like Li Lanlan.
However, after experiencing two ungrateful daughters-in-law and having her husband bedridden and her son busy studying with no one to clean the house, now that she returned home and saw the steaming hot food and the neatly organized courtyard, Mother Lin's affection for her third daughter-in-law skyrocketed to a 150%.
This is how a daughter-in-law should be. Just look at those two next door, they can't even cook a proper meal.
When the daughter-in-law was good, the mother-in-law wouldn’t mind returning the favor. Mother Lin stood up with a smile and said, “No need, your Father and I always eat together in the room. I’ll feed him. You and Shiheng can eat here.”
“Okay.”
Li Lanlan crisply agreed. Without Mother Lin saying anything, she placed more dishes into the bowl.
The more Mother Lin looked at her, the more satisfied she became. Afraid that they would eat too much and her son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t have enough, she stopped her and was about to bring the dishes into the room. But Li Lanlan had already picked them up and was heading towards the house.
She was used to this. Before, Father Li was often not at home, and she had to take care of everything herself. It didn’t resemble the actions of a daughter-in-law from other families, who would immediately follow any command from their elders.
In Mother Lin’s eyes, her third daughter-in-law was filial.She became even more satisfied and cast another cold glance at the eldest and second daughters-in-law who were peering at her secretly, before turning and entering the house.
Lin Shiheng had been sitting in his own place, eating his meal slowly and savoring each bite.
As the only scholar in the family, he had never done any work from childhood to adulthood. If he were to do any work, that would be strange.
When Li Lanlan came out, he naturally scooped some vegetables into her bowl and softly said, “Have some more."
Being cared for by her husband, Li Lanlan slightly blushed and shyly replied with a low voice, burying her head and continuing to eat.
Having just married into the family, she still felt somewhat constrained. Even if her mother-in-law wasn’t at the table, she didn't dare to serve herself vegetables. Lin Shiheng leisurely ate his own food while occasionally helping her with the dishes.
The young couple took turns serving each other, both of them with attractive appearances, making for a delightful sight.
However, the attention of the eldest and second daughters-in-law weren’t on them. The two wives who had nothing to eat were drawn to the dishes on the table.
Li Lanlan’s cooking skills weren’t excellent but not bad either. With Lin Shiheng’s instructions, she made dishes that the family needed to replenish their bodies. Therefore, she didn’t skimp on oil and salt. When the dishes were still in the kitchen, it was fine, but as soon as they were brought to the courtyard, the aroma of the food wafted over to the first and second daughters-in-law.
When the family divided their properties, since the third family didn’t have money to build a new house, they continued to live together. However, there was tension at that time, and to show that the three brothers weren’t united, they each gathered their own mud and built a short wall.
It was very short, and anyone could easily step over it. Therefore, even though Lin Shiheng and his young wife were sitting and eating, the hungry eldest and second daughters-in-law could still clearly see what was on their table.
Thick rice porridge, golden-brown eggs...
—Gulp!
Anyone from the first and second families who glanced over couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
The 4-year-old son of the eldest daughter-in-law stood on the steps, eagerly looking in that direction and calling out to his mother, “Mother, I also want to eat eggs.”
“What do you want?!”
The eldest daughter-in-law was busy and frantic, and when she heard her son’s embarrassing words, she shouted back, “You ignorant child, do you think you can eat that? Do you think everyone is as wealthy as other families?!”
Her intention was to imply that Mother Lin had hidden money for her beloved third son and hadn’t divided it. But as soon as those words came out, Eldest Brother Lin, who was tired and hungry, got angry first.
“Why are you yelling?! Are you saying I’m useless? After working all day outside and not even making a meal, who would have such a lazy wife like you? Starting tomorrow, don’t stay at home. Let your daughter cook, and you come to the fields with me!"
Trying to criticize someone but getting burned in the process, the eldest daughter-in-law remained silent.
The second daughter-in-law, who pretended to sympathize, had a gloating expression on her face, but she heard her husband next to her say with a sour face, “What are you looking at?! You too! Tomorrow, you’ll go to the fields with us!”
The second daughter-in-law: “...”
Lin Shiheng paid no attention to the commotion next door. The third family didn’t have as many mouths to feed as the other two houses, and with Li Lanlan, there were only four people. They had enough food to feed their whole family, so there was no extra for the neighboring families.
That’s why Mother Lin could confidently bring out eggs to nourish her family. If the eldest and second daughters-in-law did the same, they would end up being consumed by their greed.
After finishing the meal, Li Lanlan diligently went to wash the dishes and then proceeded to do the laundry.
The eldest and second daughters-in-law in the neighboring houses, who had finally managed to eat, couldn’t help but continue to look in their direction.
When they saw Li Lanlan heating water to wash clothes, they immediately revealed a look of curiosity.
Heating water required firewood, even though they could use cold water to wash. This third daughter-in-law was just wasteful. Let's see how their mother-in-law scolds her.
When Mother Lin came out and saw her third daughter-in-law using hot water to wash clothes, she was indeed stunned, “Why use hot water?”
Lin Shiheng, sitting under a tree and reading a book, casually answered, “I told her to. Cold water doesn’t clean properly. I will be going to town more often in the future and can’t wear dirty clothes. We’ll use hot water from now on.”
Speaking, he turned his head and smiled at Mother Lin, “Mother, now that Lan Lan has also entered the household, you can enjoy a comfortable life. Let her wash the clothes from now on. When your son becomes successful, we can hire someone specifically to do our laundry.”
The eldest and second daughters-in-law, who were eavesdropping, thought, Look at him boasting, he's not successful yet
Moreover, when a daughter-in-law entered the household, she should wash clothes. Not washing them would be disrespectful and lazy. Even during the confinement period, she could only wash them herself. If the mother-in-law washed them, the entire village would surely ridicule her. But why did Third Brother say such things? It feels completely different from before.
(TNote: confinement period = a period where a woman has to stay in her room after giving birth, usually a month.)
They felt something was wrong, but Mother Lin was happy, thinking that her son was indeed filial. As soon as the new daughter-in-law entered, she eagerly asked her to share the burden and gladly accepted the hot water for washing clothes, “Hey, Lan Lan, is the hot water enough? Let me boil some more for you?”
From using cold water to wash clothes since she was a teenager until now, and even using hot water during the confinement period, the eldest and second daughters-in-law, who were criticized by their husbands for wasting firewood, remained silent.
They had initially wanted to see some excitement, but instead of that, they ended up feeling frustrated, losing even the privilege of ‘not going to the fields and cooking at home.’
Fortunately, they thought that when the mother-in-law found out about Li Lanlan’s father coming to borrow money, she would definitely be angry.
They held onto this hope and paid attention to everything happening in the third family. However, as they waited until evening, there was no sign of any disturbance in the third house.
That shouldn’t be the case.
Throughout the night, the two of them were restless, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what they did.
They kept thinking that the next day would be Li Lanlan’s first visit to the maiden family after marriage.
(TNote: first visit after getting married= it's a tradition. After marriage, the couple should go visit the family of the bride on the third day, and return before dark It shows the groom’s respect for the maiden family)
When she got married, she was already nervous. Now that she was returning, if her mother-in-law caused a scene, she would become the laughingstock of the entire village.
The more they thought about it, the more excited they became, and as a result, they couldn’t sleep when they wanted to sleep.
When the two of them got up with dark circles under their eyes and a dazed expression on the second day, they saw Mother Lin handing a basket to Li Lanlan with a gentle smile, “Lan Lan, today is your first visit home. Take these things back to your father and tell him that our family is doing fine. Don’t let him worry. It’s unreasonable for him to come to the son-in-law’s house to give money after his daughter got married.”
Mother Lin said that, but she was still extremely delighted.
Look, what a great daughter-in-law I have. Not only was she hardworking herself, but her supposedly unreliable father-in-law also came through.
Although she wasn’t the type to take advantage of others, having an in-law who voluntarily came to give money because he heard that their family was struggling was much better than those in-laws who were solely focused on taking advantage of their daughter’s new family.
Compared to those two next door, this daughter-in-law was truly exceptional!
The two people next door, who barely brought anything and didn’t even bring eggs when returning home, remained silent.
Why is it like that!?