Lin Shu didn’t hide anything from Fang Dihua, as she relied on her as her support and mentor.

So, when Fang Dihua came back at noon, Lin Shu told her everything.

Lin Shu said, “That Aunt Zhang wanted me to make clothes, and I thought, why not make money if I can? But I refused to make clothes for others and sent them back.”

Fang Dihua replied, “You did the right thing.”

She decided she needed to warn Zhao Meifeng again, making sure she wouldn’t keep dreaming about her sister-in-law marrying a big shot to benefit her.

Fang Dihua couldn’t help but wonder how her third daughter-in-law could change so much while her second daughter-in-law and her own daughter couldn’t.

If it were possible, she’d love to send her youngest daughter to attend the classes of the god teachings themselves to help her change her mindset.

….

Over at the Xu family in the back village.

Xu’s mother was boiling water and cooking while her grandson slept.

She had him tied on her back with a quilt, causing her to bend over with each step.

Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law came over to borrow a hammer for twisting hemp rope.

Seeing this, she advised her, “The child is asleep; why don’t you put him on the kang (a heated brick bed)? Carrying him all day long must be exhausting for you.”

Xu’s mother sighed, “It’s no good. Ever since this child was born without a mother, he’s been timid and can’t be away from me.

The moment I put him down, he wakes up and cries. I have to comfort him myself; otherwise, he won’t stop.

He cries several times a night, and I have to get up multiple times to soothe him. I haven’t had a proper night’s sleep in ages.”

She looked severely sleep-deprived.

Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law sympathized, “You’re working too hard, really too hard. It was tough enough raising Huazi, and now you have to raise his son too. It’s not easy.”

Xu’s mother felt comforted but said, “Who wouldn’t say so? We, as parents, are destined to work like oxen and horses. We just have to endure until the day we close our eyes.”

Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law then suggested, “You should bring little Youyou back home soon. You have no idea how people are talking. They’re not just saying that your daughter-in-law, as a stepmother, dislikes the girl; they’re saying that you, as the grandmother, are taking advantage of your in-laws.”

It was true that Lu Hehuan was a stepmother, but by sending her stepdaughter to her own family, people only accused Lu Hehuan of bleeding her family dry to support her husband’s family. No one called her a cruel stepmother.

Initially, Xu’s mother thought that by sending her granddaughter to the Lu family, it would save food at home and be a gain for her.

But later, when Fang Dihua came asking for food and Lin Shu caused a ruckus demanding eggs and flour, even publicly scolding Xu Shihua for taking advantage of his in-laws, Xu’s mother was furious and felt she had lost out by sending her granddaughter to the Lu family.

Now, after hearing what Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law said, she felt even more that she hadn’t gained anything but had actually suffered a loss, making it not worth it.

Lu Hehuan returned from outside, feeling very hungry.

She had only eaten a piece of cornbread at noon and couldn’t hold out until evening, so she came back to find something to eat.

She casually called out as she went to the pantry to look for cornbread, but found there was none left.

She asked : “Mom, where’s the cornbread? I’m starving, give me a piece quickly.”

Xu’s mother’s face darkened instantly. “What about the flour your sister-in-law took?”

Lu Hehuan replied, “Didn’t I bring back two pounds of food stamps?”

She got those by helping out a friend from the commune with some teaching.

Next time, she’d have to find another opportunity.

Xu’s Mother: “And what about the other three pounds?”

Lu Hehuan, who worked as a primary school teacher, didn’t get food stamps, only work points from the village.

She said, “It depends on when someone asks me to substitute again.”

She glanced at Yao Yao, who was asleep on Xu’s mother’s back. “He’s already asleep. Why are you still carrying him? He’s not comfortable, and you’re getting tired too.”

Xu’s mother took this as an accusation that she was making herself suffer and making her grandson uncomfortable.

She snapped, “What did you say? How does my grandson sleeping bother you? You’re always finding faults. You drove away Xiaoyou, and now you’re trying to…”

Lu Hehuan, frightened, quickly said, “Fine, carry him if you want. I just thought you didn’t need to wear yourself out.”

Lin Aidi’s mother also tried to calm Xu’s mother down, telling her not to get upset.

Since Lu Hehuan couldn’t find anything to eat, she quickly ran off to ask Lin Aidi for a couple of cucumbers to munch on.

Xu’s mother shouted after her, “Bring my granddaughter back quickly! I don’t want people talking behind my back, saying I don’t take care of my granddaughter and let her be raised by her in-laws.”

She now realized that having her granddaughter back was actually a good idea.

Compared to the little food she ate, the help she provided was more valuable.

Even though Xu Xiaoyou was still young, she could already light the fire and cook. That would be a big help.

Lu Hehuan, however, deliberately didn’t bring Xu Xiaoyou back.

It wasn’t that she disliked the child; on the contrary, Xu Xiaoyou was already capable of feeding herself, sleeping on her own, keeping clean, and helping out with cooking and chores.

Far from being a burden, she was actually a little helper. So why would she dislike her?

It’s just that… she couldn’t bear to see Xu Xiaoyou being tormented by Xu’s mother.

Such a small child, kept up all night long—who could handle that?

The child already ate so little, and Xu’s mother didn’t give her enough food. She was so thin that her ribs were showing.

It was heartbreaking.

Lu Hehuan instinctively thought that her parents and brothers were capable, and their family had enough money and food.

Giving Xu Xiaoyou a little more to eat wasn’t a big deal, so she didn’t think much about sending the child over to her sister-in-law.

Her mother didn’t object, so she thought she did the right thing, and that her parents had silently agreed.

Now that her sister-in-law was willing to take care of the child and even took away some of the food, why should she bring her back?

Xu’s mother was furious that Lu Hehuan ignored her and complained to Lin Aidi’s grandmother.

After comforting her with a few words, the neighbor quickly left, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Once the neighbor was gone, Xu’s mother hurriedly started cooking.

Normally, she wouldn’t prepare dinner this early, but since they had run out of fine flour steamed buns, she needed to steam more so her son could eat when he returned.

She noticed that the buns in the east room had already risen, so she quickly uncovered the pot to start loading the buns into the steamer.

However, the strap holding the baby on her back had loosened, causing the baby’s head to suddenly loll to one side.

Startled, he woke up and began to cry.

Xu’s mother didn’t put him down but instead tried to soothe him while he was still on her back. “Oh, oh, Yao Yao, be good. Grandma will steam some white buns for you. Your sister and stepmother won’t get to eat them.”

But Xu Yaoyao kept crying, flailing his arms and legs in protest.

With one hand holding the lid cushion and the other hand supporting the baby’s bottom, she tried to comfort him, saying, “Good boy, don’t cry. Grandma will feed you soon.”

She hurriedly carried the buns into the main room, but Xu Yaoyao was still struggling and crying on her back.

Just as she reached the stove, in her haste, she tripped over a small stool. The lid cushion tilted, and two buns slipped out.

Panicked, she tried to catch the buns, but her hands were still holding the lid cushion.

The more flustered she became, the more chaotic her movements were.

Her entire body twisted into a strange posture as she struggled, with Xu Yaoyao still flailing on her back.

Suddenly, he flew off her back and hit the stove, with one foot landing in the pot.

“Ah——”

Soon, the neighbors heard the sound of a child wailing in pain and the piercing screams of Xu’s mother.

Lin Shu happened to be leading Tiantian, Panpan, and Xu Xiaoyou towards the Xu family’s home in the back village.

She planned to confront Xu’s mother again about the food rations.

A child as old as Xu Xiaoyou needed at least 15 jin (approximately 7.5 kg) of food rations per month.

Xu’s mother wasn’t the type to make a scene in the street or shamelessly demand things like a rude and unruly old woman. Instead, she played the part of a pitiful and hard-working woman, selling an image of suffering.

Such people were easy to deal with—you just had to ignore her act, and she would be powerless.

Look at the second sister-in-law, Lu Er. She’s been sulking all day long now, unable to keep up the pretense.

Lin Shu wanted to break down Xu’s mother’s facade in the same way.

But before they even reached the Xu family’s home, they heard blood-curdling screams coming from the back village.

Then, they saw Lu Hehuan running out with her stepson in her arms, followed by Xu’s mother, who was stumbling and crying hysterically.

She even fell and got back up again.

Lin Shu had a feeling that, whether intentionally or not, Xu’s mother was turning this entire route into her personal stage, and she wouldn’t be satisfied until she had fallen down a dozen times, cried to the heavens, and played the victim to the fullest.

Xu Xiaoyou was terrified, thinking that her little brother had died.

When Lin Shu asked, she learned that Xu Yaoyao’s foot had been scalded.

She initially thought Xu’s mother had placed a pot of boiling water on the table and that the child had accidentally knocked it over, burning his foot.

But then she realized…

People said the child fell into the pot and got scalded.

Lin Shu: “What? Are you kidding me? How could a perfectly fine child fall into a pot? He’s so small, it’s not like he’s making food like Xu Xiaoyou. How could he fall into the pot?”

Lu Hehuan took the child to the village clinic, but Zhang Peijin was so frightened that he didn’t dare touch him and urged them to take the child quickly to the commune health center.

He shouted, “What…what did you put on this? Is this…poop?”

Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law said, “His grandma sprinkled salt on it, saying it was to disinfect, and then she applied soy sauce and soybean paste…”

Zhang Peijin, holding his head in frustration, cried out, “Oh my God, oh my God… How many times have I told you, for burns, rinse with water first and then bring them here. Don’t do these random things on your own; you’re going to cause an infection! I can’t handle this; I can’t treat this.”

Old Man Lu had already fetched clean well water and told Lu Hehuan to soak the child’s foot in it.