Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 224: 222: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law’s Battle, Mother and Son’s Heart-to-Heart, Xuan’er’s Heart Blooms with Rage

She looked around with a gaze that clearly showed her insincerity.

“Oh! Thank you, mother-in-law, for genuinely caring for Ye Lei. On his behalf, Sisi is grateful for your concern.”

Liu Sisi chuckled lightly, turning to one side and offering a bow.

With a beaming smile, she narrowed her watery eyes, “With you so worried about Ye Lei’s health, he would surely be happy! But after all, he is Ah-Bao’s third brother. Ye Lei said it himself—even if he has to crawl, he will come to attend his little brother’s big wedding! You don’t have to worry!”

Even if he is injured and has to crawl to spoil your meal, it’s enough!

Ms. Zhao’s lips twitched uncontrollably!

Exactly! That’s why she can’t be at ease!

“Sisi, you know very well about Ah-Bao and Ye Lei’s feelings! Once you deliver the gifts, you’ll be more than enough!”

Ms. Zhao forcibly grabbed Liu Sisi’s hand, her face kind, “Sisi, look! The big wedding is approaching, and we don’t even have the silver to buy red cloth. Ah-Bao is useless. He can’t do anything. We don’t even have enough manpower for the wedding… As the third sister-in-law, could you come help us for a few days?”

“How can my little brother be so incompetent at this age? He needs to learn during the wedding, so he won’t be useless in the future. Besides, what would happen if mother-in-law gets old and my little brother still doesn’t know anything?”

So Ms. Zhao is resorting to soft tactics now?

Ms. Zhao’s smile became strained!

“All I want is for you to help for a few days. Is it necessary to be so reluctant? Are these words from you, as a wife, appropriate?”

Liu Sisi’s eyes curved in a smile!

“Mother-in-law, you’re right. However, Ye Lei has broken two ribs and can’t be left unattended. Why don’t you advance the medical bills on my behalf? Sisi will immediately use this money to hire two old women to take care of Ye Lei and come to help right away. Mother-in-law, what do you think…”

Ms. Zhao’s face changed again, turning from blue to white!

When it comes to giving her money, she betrays her true colors and curses, no longer able to keep up her pretense!

“You, from the Third Son’s family! Either you’re crazy or what! The Third Son hasn’t even said anything yet, and you have the nerve to ask for money! I don’t even have any money to spend myself, let alone money to throw into a bottomless pit! I guess you’re just crazy for money!”

Since the opponent has uncovered their true colors, Liu Sisi was no longer in the mood for playing games.

“Humph! I think the one who is crazy about money is you! If my little sister has money to hire assassins to kill her third brother, wouldn’t she have money to treat his injuries? You can take this issue anywhere you want, and I’ll accompany you!”

After she finished speaking, she no longer cared about the cursing from Ms. Zhao, but led Di Xuan out of the old house.

From far away, they could still hear the cursing from Ms. Zhao.

At the foot of the hill, the autumn night wind was especially cold.

Liu Sisi couldn’t help but tighten her clothing, turning to Xuan’er and asking, “How are you? Are you cold?”

Di Xuan shook his head vigorously: “Not cold! Mom, even though Little Aunt is so bad, framing you and harming Dad, and Young Uncle does nothing all day but cause trouble, why does grandmother favor them so much?”

As he spoke, his pace slowed.

“It’s because not everyone can see the true colors of the world. Your grandmother actually loves her children, but the only ones she loves are her own biological children—your little aunt and young uncle. However, just because of this unbalanced love, they are both ruined. There’s a term for this kind of love, it’s called ‘drowning’!”

“Mom, what does ‘spoiling to death’ mean?”

“Spoiling to death means indulging people under the guise of love, condoning their mistakes, regardless of right or wrong, leading them to become arrogant, complacent, and stagnate, even causing their downfall, and ultimately, failure. That’s what spoiling to death is!”

As Liu Sisi spoke, she stopped and looked straight at Di Xuan: “Xuan’er, I’m not your birth mother, nor do I want to take her place. I’ve also thought about your future. You love to study, and I plan to send you to a village school after the Lunar New Year, and whether you choose to go on to take the examination or follow a different path is up to you. What do you think about this arrangement? Do you want to go to the village school?”

Di Xuan gasped, raising his head sharply and grabbing Liu Sisi’s lapel: “Mom, are you serious? You’ll send me to the village school next year?”

“Look how excited you are… Of course, it’s true!”

Liu Sisi gently patted Di Xuan’s back: “Village school have classes five days a week with one day off, and I expect you to focus on your studies during class time. On your day off, you must help with the household chores. I don’t want our Xuan’er to become a soft-footed shrimp who knows nothing about farming. What do you think?”

Di Xuan’s hands clenched and unclenched in excitement!

“Yes! Mom, I will study hard and help with the family chores when I have time!”

His excitement was unmatched!

During these days, he learned a lot by studying with Liu Sisi, but he could not help but be envious of the students in school.

But now, his mom is telling him that he can go to school after the New Year!

Is there anything that could make him happier than this?

“Silly boy! … This is something to be happy about. Why are you crying?”

“But Mom, sob… Xuan’er is just too happy.”

Di Xuan couldn’t hold back any longer and buried himself in Liu Sisi’s embrace, sobbing softly.

Years later, whenever Di Xuan remembered his childhood stories, this conversation and the emotional hug between mother and son always stood out vividly in his memory.

When his birth mother passed away, he was too young to remember her face.

On the contrary, it was the shadow of this stepmother that he remembered more and more clearly.

Her soft, sweet voice, her warm and thin chest, and her radiant, loving smile were forever etched in his memory at this moment!

Liu Sisi found the time to go into the small town.

Even though her mouth was tough, Di Ah-bao was still Ye Lei’s brother, and she was his third sister-in-law. The necessary courtesies could not be lost.

She went to a jewelry shop and picked out a silver hairpin and a pair of silver earrings, spending six taels of silver as a meeting gift for the bride, which made Liu Sisi wince for a while!

This silver was spent incrementally, and Ye Lei’s daily medicine was good medicine. The money flowed like water, and in just over a dozen days, six or seven taels of silver were gone.

With six more taels spent now, only 17 taels remained, which was really worrying!

Turning her head, she saw the custard apple wood hairpin again and couldn’t help but hold it in her hand, reluctant to put it down.

The last time she bought that hairpin at Sansheng Lakeside, it suddenly went missing.

Liu Sisi thought about it for a long time and finally decided that she must have lost it accidentally while struggling with the men in black.

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