She used a shovel to plant the vegetable seedlings her mother-in-law had dug up.

By using fertilizer soil for planting, there was no need to improve the soil.

Then she soaked the other vegetable seeds, especially the cilantro seeds, which needed to be rubbed and soaked for two days.

She washed her hands, supported her waist, and took another look at the underdeveloped yard before going back inside to drink water and rest.

The house was quiet.

She took out her needle and thread basket to make shoes in the main room.

In her previous life, she was skilled at handcrafts.

Although she hadn’t made handmade shoes before, she had made them for dolls and still had the memories of the original owner.

Even though it was summer, in this era, the countryside didn’t have paved roads or cement; everything was mud and grass, with no heat island effect.

It was very hot under the sun, but cool in the shade. With the breeze blowing, it was even more comfortable.

The back window of the main room was open, and the front door was open as well.

The cross-breeze carrying the scent of sunlight brushed through, moving Lin Shu’s hair and bringing the fragrance of flowers and grass.

She quietly stitched the shoe soles, feeling a sense of peaceful contentment.

After making shoes for a while, Lin Shu’s shoulders and neck ached from the strain. She got up to stretch and heard some gossip:

“Did you know? The young widow wants to remarry, but her mother-in-law disagrees. She’s been making a fuss at home, threatening to starve her for a few days. I heard it clearly from behind the house.”

“Ah—no wonder. It’s hard to bear when a young woman’s husband dies and she doesn’t remarry. It’s tough in her in-laws’ home.”

They chatted excitedly about the original owner and Fang Dihua’s gossip.

In those days, the courtyards were open, and there were almost no secrets in the village.

If someone at the village head let out a particularly loud fart, soon someone at the village end would be spreading rumors that his buttocks had been blown off!

A young and attractive woman daring to speak to a strange man would quickly lead to rumors that she was having an affair with a wild man in the fields!

Lin Shu felt that modern cities were freer.

You could close the door when you got home, not knowing or caring about your neighbors.

No one would bother you, and there was no one to gossip about you.

But in modern times, there were keyboard warriors who delighted in spreading malicious rumors about successful, beautiful, and charismatic women, much like the gossips in the village about the original owner wanting to remarry or have an affair.

She listened carefully, realizing that one of the gossipers was the eldest daughter-in-law of Old Chang’s family.

In the days when the original owner was lying in bed, she had heard many of her malicious remarks.

The original owner didn’t dare to fight back and just fumed silently, suffering in silence.

In the original plot, it was this Chang family’s eldest daughter-in-law—Song Chunfang—who spread rumors that the original owner was having an affair and, after being caught, committed suicide out of shame!

She was on Lin Shu’s list of grudges!

If the original owner had told Fang Dihua, Fang Dihua would have stood up for her.

Fang Dihua was very protective.

Lin Shu decided to improve her relationship with her mother-in-law and then team up with her to give Song Chunfang a hard time!

After lying down for a few days, let that gossiping mouth stay in bed for a while too!

On the back street, Song Chunli was gossiping with great enthusiasm, “On the night of their wedding, I couldn’t sleep and went out for a walk. Lu Shaotang didn’t like his new wife at all. He had someone else he was involved with while he was in the army. This wife was just a cover; he never even consummated the marriage with her.

A nosy woman, skeptical, replied, “No consummation? That can’t be! How could he resist such a pretty wife? After all, married women know how men are.”

Song Chunli smirked, “Am I lying to you? I heard it clearly from their house. Lu Shaotang told his wife himself. She was crying so much… tsk, poor thing. I haven’t told anyone else this, just you. Don’t spread it around.”

The woman looked doubtful. “But the children look so much like their parents. Just look at Panpan; at such a young age, she has a high nose bridge, just like her father and grandmother. If they didn’t consummate the marriage, where would the children come from?”

Song Chunli’s eyes lit up, and she had a sly, knowing look. “Guess what, you bold guesser? It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

The woman exclaimed, shaking her head, “Impossible! It’s impossible!”

Song Chunli, with an air of someone who has uncovered a great secret, sneered, “Impossible? Just watch. Now that Lu Shaotang is dead, the wife will probably have more children.”

Inside the house, Lin Shu slammed her shoe on the floor.

She decided that Song Chunli’s gossiping mouth needed to stay in bed for a while longer!

If she doesn’t stay in bed for at least half a month, Lin Shu would dive straight into the river!

Lin Shu listened calmly to Song Chunli’s gossiping, suppressing the urge to splash her with the pot of washing water.

She decided to let the bad mouth have some space to grow; once it got bad enough, she’d be able to deal with it more severely.

After they left, Lin Shu started preparing dinner as the sky darkened.

As usual, she mixed cornmeal with a bit of fine flour to make corn cakes.

Since they were out of winter melon, she made pickled vegetables with minced Chinese toon buds and pickled vegetables.

Chinese toon buds are picked in the spring, and if there are too many, they are rubbed with salt to preserve them in a jar for later.

Though Chinese toon buds are delicious when fried with eggs and small fish, the current conditions at home don’t allow for that, so she could only dream about it.

Some fields in the village are far from home, and the production team leader doesn’t allow everyone to return for lunch.

People either have to bring their meals or send someone with food, or just bring dry rations, as eating cold food in the summer isn’t a big deal.

Lu Ping, Lu An, and Lu Cuicui are attending elementary school in the production team.

They can return for lunch, but a few days ago, the original owner was sulking and refused to cook, so Fang Dihua told them to bring their meals.

They found that even if they came home, there wasn’t much good food.

Bringing their lunch was usually just a bit cold, but they could play outside after eating, so they didn’t come back for lunch.

Lu Ping was considerate and would take his brother to cut grass and deliver it to the production team’s livestock yard for work points after lunch.

Lu Cuicui, on the other hand, was only at home in the early morning and evening.

She seemed like a mere visitor, barely seen during the day.

Fang Dihua came back as usual to bring lunch.

She carried a huge basket, filled to the brim.

On top was a layer of wild vegetables, and underneath were some melon and vegetable seedlings and seeds for Lin Shu.

She casually tossed the wild vegetables on the ground and then took out a large bundle from the sack, quickly heading inside to store it.

Lin Shu, who was preparing to put on a show of being the submissive young wife, was taken aback by Fang Dihua’s actions. What treasures was she hiding?

Noticing Fang Dihua busy inside, Lin Shu sat on a small stool with a broken knife and a piece of an old cutting board, chopping the wild vegetables into small pieces to mix with bran for the chickens and ducks to eat that night.

When Fang Dihua came out and saw Lin Shu chopping vegetables, she suddenly felt something was off.

Her daughter-in-law was unusually quiet and seemed… unhappy?

Was she unhappy about the vegetable seedlings?

At that moment, Aunt Li from next door came over to deliver chickens and ducks.

Fang Dihua went over to greet her.

Aunt Li’s mother duck had just hatched a batch of ducklings. She kept five for herself and exchanged the rest with the neighbors.

The surrounding area of Lu’s village is rich in water sources, so villagers like to keep a few ducks or geese.

They don’t need to spend on feed and can collect duck or goose eggs.

Aunt Li brought two fluffy ducklings for Fang Dihua. The family already had a large duck, so…

The Two Babies Can Go Out for Food

She also brought Fang Dihua two laying hens, one from her own family and one from her mother’s family in the rear village.

Her mother’s family raised many chickens and often hatched chicks to exchange with neighbors.

Fang Dihua paid her the market price, but Aunt Li insisted on giving her a discount of two cents.

She smiled and said, “Second Lady, I usually only make a few cents on each chicken. I can’t take advantage of you.”

After all, the house was given to her by the Lu family.

Fang Dihua replied, “It’s important to keep accounts clear even with close relatives. We’re neighbors, so we should be even more careful.”

She didn’t like taking advantage of others, and if she did, it would be expected to return the favor in the future.

Moreover, she wasn’t short on money right now.

Her third son’s monthly income…

Fang Dihua felt a pang in her heart, her expression darkened, and she forcefully handed the money to Aunt Li.

Aunt Li had no choice but to accept it and went back.