Chapter 10

Lin Xi wasn’t the least bit intimidated by her little tricks. Her expression didn’t change in the slightest as she said flatly:

“We don’t have any rice to lend you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Qingyan’s wife? You’ve only been married into this family a few days and you’re already acting so unreasonable—bullying your mother-in-law and her nephew like this? Now your mother-in-law can’t even make the decisions in her own household.

Fine, I won’t borrow the rice today, but your mother-in-law and I have been good friends for years. I can’t just stand by and watch you treat her and the children like this. I’ll call the neighbors over to judge for themselves—who’s ever seen a daughter-in-law this vicious?”

Tian Yufen immediately shot back:

“Sister-in-law, what nonsense are you spouting? Lin Xi hasn’t bullied us at all, and when did I lose the right to make decisions in my own house?

You come over every few days to borrow things and never once return them. We have to live too, you know. I’ve only been making excuses to avoid tearing our relationship apart, so why drag Xiaoxi into it?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, can’t you use your head? I’m helping you here, standing up for you! Don’t be so ungrateful.”

Tian Yufen bristled.

“I don’t need you barging into my home to ‘stand up’ for me…”

Before she could finish, Lin Xi cut in:

“Mom, go check on the rice before it burns. I’ll handle her.”

Seeing Lin Xi’s face calm and unruffled, and remembering the pot of rice still steaming in the kitchen, Tian Yufen turned back to tend to it.

Wang Dama kept on grumbling, so Lin Xi smiled again and asked:

“So, Aunt Wang, do you still want to borrow rice or not?”

The old woman immediately assumed Lin Xi was backing down. Her plump face lit up with satisfaction, completely missing the cold glint in Lin Xi’s eyes. She raised her brows and said:

“Well, I wasn’t going to bother anymore. I could always get it from someone else. But your mother-in-law’s right—it’s your family matter, and as an outsider it’s not my place to interfere. And I’d rather not waste the trip to another house, so just measure me out some here.”

Lin Xi:

“How much do you need? Will two jin be enough?”

Wang Dama beamed.

“Ah, Qingyan’s wife, you’re such a sensible girl. All that I said just now was for your own good. Us women—our main duty in life is to serve our in-laws, take care of our husband, and raise the children.

But say, you and Qingyan have been married three or four months now—how come your belly’s still flat?”

Then she slapped her forehead like she’d just remembered something.

“Oh right! Jinyan left the day after your wedding, so you haven’t spent much time together. Still, you never know—some get pregnant on the first try, some take a few more. Don’t worry. If nothing happens, have Qingyan bring you to stay with him on the base for a few days.”

She kept chattering away, all solemn and “concerned,” and Lin Xi could only think this old woman had no small number of screws loose.

“Aunt Wang, my personal matters don’t need your concern. Now—are you borrowing rice or not? How much exactly?”

“All right, all right, I won’t say more if you don’t like it.

Your third brother will get paid in about ten days. Just measure me out two jin for now—if it’s not enough, I’ll come back for more. Once your third brother’s paid, I’ll buy some and send it over right away. I’ll even give you extra, so you won’t lose out.”

“Aunt Wang, here’s the thing. Our grain ration is bought in fixed amounts. If you take some, I’ll have to make an extra trip into town to replace it. I won’t charge you much, but you’ll need to cover my travel cost.

And it’s tiring to walk all the way to the township. My feet are already blistered, so I can’t go for now—you’ll need to find me an ox cart.

Also, if you keep the rice for a long time, you’ll need to return more. And I buy the best quality rice from the county supply co-op, so make sure you get the same kind back to me.”

Lin Xi had originally planned to simply refuse her, but this old woman was far too obnoxious. She decided she’d help her mother-in-law collect on all the previous “loans” as well—no way this leech was getting off cheap.

She rattled all this off without pause, raising her voice whenever Wang Dama tried to cut in, completely drowning her out. By the time Lin Xi finished, the old woman’s face was black with rage.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Qingyan’s wife? You so desperate for money you’ve lost your mind? I’m just borrowing two jin of rice, and you want travel money and an ox cart? Why not just rob me?”

“Aunt Wang, now that’s not fair. You’re the one robbing us—coming by every few days for something and never once returning it. I’m only making the terms clear beforehand. If you agree, fine; if not, forget it.

I’m not like you—thinking that if you want to borrow, I’m obligated to hand it over. And if we don’t, you hang around making snide comments until we do. How’s that robbery on my part?”

Lin Xi’s tone stayed warm and smiling, but to Wang Dama it was like pouring oil on a fire—her temper exploded, all reason gone.

“Who are you calling a robber? I always ask nicely, never said I wouldn’t pay it back! I’m just short on cash for the moment. Don’t push me too far.”

“Short on cash, really? You have four people in your family working in the city—even if they’re just temps, the combined income’s not small.

My family relies on my husband alone to support the whole household. We both know which of us is worse off.

And besides—Gu Qingyan is in the army defending our country. We’re a military family, and you still come leeching off us, each time taking more and never repaying. We’ve even had days recently with no rice to cook—living on bran, wild greens, and pot-scrapings. That’s bullying a soldier’s family.

Just yesterday I scraped up the last of my savings to go into town and buy something decent for the kids. And today you turn up smelling the food. Fine—I’ll go straight to the village head about this. If that doesn’t work, I’ll take it to the authorities in town.”

“Lies! Those two kids’ parents died, and your mother-in-law got a huge compensation payout. No way you’ve got no rice!

You’re doing this on purpose. You’ve got plenty of money, so what’s the harm in lending me a little? Two jin of rice isn’t worth much!”

Hearing her bring up the compensation for her daughter and son-in-law’s deaths, Tian Yufen couldn’t hold back—she stormed out of the kitchen and shouted:

“Have you said enough? You’re not welcome here. Get out!”

Seeing the grief in her mother-in-law’s eyes, Lin Xi hesitated for a split second—would dropping it now stop this old hag from spewing more filth?

The thought passed quickly. She knew people like this—stay silent and they’d still dig up every wound and weakness you had to get their way.

So…

“Mom, don’t bother with her. Let’s finish cooking. After we eat, I’ll go into town to find her son and collect the debt. No way we just sit here and take it when she’s this brazen.”

Lin Xi took Tian Yufen’s arm, steering her back toward the kitchen. The two little ones had been crouched there the whole time, too scared to come out.

At that, the old woman panicked—her son and daughter-in-law’s jobs weren’t easy to get, even if they were only temp work, and they paid well enough. If Lin Xi really stirred up trouble, they’d surely lose them.

“Don’t you dare!”

“Just watch me.”

“Heavens above! This is outrageous! You two are bullying me to death! Neighbors, come see for yourselves—Gu’s daughter- and mother-in-law are heartless!

Just because my son and his wife have jobs, they’re trying to wreck them. You’re going to drive this poor old woman to her grave! I might as well drop dead right here in your yard!”

The Gu family’s two closest neighbors had heard the racket long ago, but when they peeked out and saw who it was, they decided they wanted no part of it—no one dared step in.