Shubao

Before getting married, Old Madam Lin’s maiden surname was Ma, and she was called Cuilan. Back in the day, women didn’t usually go by their names, but now times have changed, and men and women are considered equal. Many people in the village still called her Cuilan.

This was the Yuxi Production Brigade, a large collective farming unit formed by merging three villages—Yuxi Village, Zhangjia Village, and Banpo Village. Life wasn’t as good as it had been a couple of years ago. While people weren’t starving to death anymore, things were still tough.

When Old Madam Lin was young, she had a gentle personality. After marrying into the Lin family, she quickly took charge of her husband, keeping everything in order. Her mother-in-law was timid, and the whole family was honest and naive.

But Old Madam Lin quickly realized that wouldn’t do. The Lin family only had one son, with no brothers to back them up. In rural villages, that meant they were easy targets. Just imagine—if a dispute broke out between families, the other side could call on a group of tall, burly men, while the Lin family only had one. How could they not be at a disadvantage?

Old Madam Lin vowed that she would endure anything in life except being taken advantage of. So, under her mother-in-law’s teary protests and her husband’s hopeful gaze, she became the undisputed matriarch of Yuxi.

There wasn’t a soul in the entire Yuxi Production Brigade who didn’t know her name.

Outside, she spoke with authority. At home, she stood tall and proud. And why? Because as soon as she married into the Lin family, she gave birth to three healthy sons. Back then, that was no small feat.

Her timid mother-in-law had no choice but to let her take charge. But later, her husband passed away early, leaving her to raise their three sons alone.

Whenever the villagers mentioned her, they felt both intimidated and impressed. Those were chaotic times—forget being a widow, even a strong, able-bodied man couldn’t guarantee his survival. Yet, Old Madam Lin not only kept herself safe but also raised her three sons to adulthood.

As she often said herself, she had done enough to live up to the Lin family in this lifetime.

Speaking of those three sons, opinions varied throughout the village. But one thing was certain—every parent admired Old Madam Lin’s parenting skills. Her three sons grew up tall and sturdy, and they were fiercely filial.

The eldest, Lin Jianmin, married Zhang Caifeng from Banpo Village. They had one son and two daughters. Their firstborn son was especially cherished by Old Madam Lin, who personally picked his name. For this first precious grandson, she even invited the most educated person in the village to name him Lin Baojun, with the nickname Liu Jin. As for the two daughters, Old Madam Lin didn’t think daughters were all that special, so she simply called them Da Ya (Big Girl) and Er Ya (Second Girl).

The second son, Lin Jianguo, married Li Xiaohong from Shanghe Production Brigade. They had one son and one daughter. Their son was named Lin Baoguo, nicknamed Heidan (Black Egg). Their daughter was called San Ya (Third Girl).

The third son, Lin Jianhua (don’t know why the name changed), married Li Xiuying from Yuxi Village, though her family was originally from elsewhere and didn’t have many close relatives in the village.

The youngest son of the Lin family was the most handsome and the most capable. Old Madam Lin adored him the most because he looked just like her. She was also very pleased with his wife, who, as soon as she married in, gave birth to two healthy grandsons—Lin Baoxu, nicknamed Lüdàn (Donkey Egg), and Lin Baochen, nicknamed Yādàn (Duck Egg).

All the nicknames in the family were chosen by Old Madam Lin herself. As an older woman, she firmly believed that the reason she successfully raised her three sons—aside from her intelligence and hard work—was because she gave them humble-sounding names. That way, even the King of Hell wouldn’t take them away.

When the matriarch of the Lin family made a decision, it was final. Her three sons immediately praised her wisdom, saying, “Mother, you’ve really thought this through. These names are great!”

Then, the four of them sat together, reminiscing about the hardships of the past. By the end, all three sons wiped their eyes and vowed, “Mother, you’ve had a hard life. We will be good to you.”

Surrounded by her sons, Old Madam Lin smugly patted their heads like they were puppies.

Meanwhile, the three daughters-in-law silently watched the scene unfold. They had no reaction whatsoever. At first, when they were newly married, they played along, but after seeing this display every few days, they were completely numb to it.

The way their husbands clung to their mother made them shiver. They weren’t even this affectionate with their own wives.

Among all the grandchildren, only Lin Baojun had started elementary school. The rest were still too young, but that didn’t mean they were idle. Every now and then, their grandmother would send them to collect firewood or run errands.

Today, the children were playing in the courtyard. The three granddaughters didn’t dare to approach their grandmother.

They watched as she cradled a baby in her arms and walked inside. They knew it was their new little sister.

Seeing this, Heidan’s eyes darted around, and he loudly called out, “Grandma, where are you taking my little sister? I want to go too!”

Old Madam Lin turned her head, her face stern. “Go on, go play in the courtyard.”

“I don’t wanna!” Heidan protested. His grandmother was definitely taking his little sister to eat something good.

Old Madam Lin ignored him, making Heidan anxious. Normally, she doted on him.

So, he threw himself to the ground and started rolling around, throwing a tantrum. Just as Old Madam Lin was about to scold him, Lüdàn and Yādàn had already stepped in, pulling Heidan up from the ground.

Lüdàn turned to their grandmother and said, “Grandma, Heidan has us. You take Little Sister and do what you need to do.”

Old Madam Lin looked at the two boys and nodded in satisfaction. “Your mother is in the house. You can go see her now.”

She never allowed children into the birthing room. In her opinion, it wasn’t good for either the mother or the child.

The two boys were overjoyed. “Grandma, we’re going to see our mom!”

Then they ran off, leaving Heidan alone on the ground. With dirt and snot smeared across his face, he looked utterly pitiful.

Old Madam Lin cast him a look of disdain and walked away with her precious granddaughter in her arms.

Heidan was dumbfounded. When had his grandmother ever been this cold-hearted?

He wailed, “Boohoo! Grandma doesn’t love me anymore! What’s the point of living?”

Then he flopped back onto the ground, rolling around dramatically.

Da Ya and Er Ya watched their little brother’s antics. Da Ya turned to San Ya and said, “Little Sister… you’d better not learn from Heidan.”

San Ya nodded blankly.

In the end, it was Da Ya and Er Ya who dragged Heidan off the ground.

Meanwhile, Old Madam Lin carried Lin Shu into her own room. The Lin family had four rooms, and she had one all to herself—it was quite spacious.

Once inside, she carefully placed Lin Shu down and pulled out a key from under the bed. Then, with great reverence, she opened a red lacquered wooden box.

She proudly showed it to Lin Shu. “My dear granddaughter, you are my precious treasure. Look, these are the things I’ve saved for you.”

Lin Shu glanced inside. Most of it was ration coupons—fabric coupons, grain coupons—and a handful of loose money.

It wasn’t much. Even though the Lin family had many members and should have been able to save, feeding so many mouths left them with little to spare.

Yet Lin Shu’s heart felt sour. She opened her tiny mouth, wanting to say something, but all that came out was a string of gurgles and drool.

Lin Shu grew anxious.

Old Madam Lin quickly wiped her drool away and cooed, “Oh my, my sweet girl, are you hungry?”

She gently dabbed Lin Shu’s mouth and smiled warmly. “Look what Grandma has for you.” She then proudly took out a can of powdered milk.

In these times, milk powder was an absolute luxury. Old Madam Lin only had one can, and no one else had ever been allowed to touch it.

Seeing her grandmother’s proud expression, Lin Shu stretched her tiny body forward and planted a slobbery kiss on her wrinkled cheek.

Old Madam Lin was overjoyed. “Oh, my sweet girl, you love Grandma too!”

Lin Shu burrowed herself into her grandmother’s embrace.

The two of them spent some time together, until around eleven o’clock, when the rest of the family returned from the fields.

Lin Jianhua rushed in first—he was eager to see his wife and daughter.

At home, cooking was handled on a rotating basis by the three daughters-in-law. This month, it was Zhang Caifeng’s turn.

As soon as Lin Jianmin and the others stepped inside, they saw their mother cradling a small bundle. When they got closer, they realized it was a baby.

They had already heard from their younger brother that it was a girl. But seeing their mother doting on her so much, they were quite surprised.

They knew exactly how their mother felt about daughters.

But their own daughters? Well, they still loved them.

Lin Jianmin was a simple and honest man. He glanced at his chubby little niece and smiled. “Our little niece is so cute.”

Lin Jianguo also chimed in, “I’d say she’s just as good-looking as those city girls.”

Lin Jianhua was practically bursting with pride. “Of course! She takes after me.”

His two older brothers knew their third brother well—he loved to show off.

But Old Madam Lin shot her beloved youngest son a sideways glance and scoffed, “She takes after me. Look at those big eyes—do you have eyes like that?”

Lin Jianhua did, in fact, not have big eyes. He had a handsome face, but his eyes were on the smaller side.

He pursed his lips, unwilling to argue, but his wife, Li Xiuying, laughed and said, “She does look like Mother. Her skin is so fair—definitely not like the rest of us.”

At first, Old Madam Lin was quite pleased, but as soon as she heard the latter part, her expression darkened. “What do you mean, not like us? Just because your Li family can’t raise fair-skinned children doesn’t mean our Lin family can’t.”

Li Xiuying was annoyed but seeing that her husband wasn’t paying her any attention, she swallowed her frustration.

Zhang Caifeng then asked, “Has the baby been given a name yet?”

Old Madam Lin looked at her and, thinking about the plain names given to Da Ya and Er Ya, decided she couldn’t let her precious granddaughter be called Si Ya (Fourth Girl).

So she declared, “I think Da Ya and Er Ya’s names are too rustic. They should have proper names. From now on, those can just be their nicknames.”

Lin Jianmin’s wife and Lin Jianguo’s wife both instinctively looked up at the sky. Nope, no red rain falling. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Their mother-in-law had always insisted that daughters didn’t need formal names since they would be married off eventually. They had fought with their husbands for ages to change their daughters’ names, but their efforts had been in vain. And now, just like that, it was happening.

Old Madam Lin then continued, “I’ve already thought of a name for my little granddaughter—Lin Shu. Her nickname will be Shu Bao.”

At that moment, Lin Shu was sound asleep. No wonder she liked her grandmother so much—her name was exactly the same as in her past life. Good thing she wasn’t awake to hear it.

Oh, so this was fate, huh? The two daughters-in-law exchanged a look. They weren’t expecting their mother-in-law to change her ways. What else could they say? The third daughter-in-law really had all the luck.

The key to the kitchen was kept with Old Madam Lin, so whenever the daughters-in-law needed to cook, they had to get it from her.

Zhang Caifeng took the key and was about to start preparing the meal when Old Madam Lin instructed, “Make an egg for your third sister-in-law.”

Zhang Caifeng agreed without complaint. It wasn’t a big deal—when she and Li Xiaohong had given birth, whether it was to sons or daughters, their mother-in-law had also given them an egg. There was nothing to argue about.

She then asked, “Mom, should I add some brown sugar?”

Old Madam Lin nodded. “Sure, do as you see fit.”

Even though Zhang Caifeng was the one cooking, Li Xiaohong didn’t just stand idly by—she followed her into the kitchen to help.

Li Xiaohong was sharp. As she watched her sister-in-law silently preparing the meal, her eyes flickered with thought. She leaned in and whispered, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you upset?”

Zhang Caifeng continued stirring the vegetables. “Upset about what?”

Li Xiaohong smirked. “What else? Look at how Mother is treating this little girl like a treasure.”

Zhang Caifeng replied flatly, “Oh? Didn’t you also give birth to a little girl?”

Li Xiaohong huffed, “Can you just listen to me properly?”

“Alright, I’m listening.”

“You see how Mother treats Da Ya, Er Ya, and San Ya compared to Shu Bao? You can’t tell me you don’t feel a little sour about it.”

Zhang Caifeng’s hands stilled for a moment before she muttered, “So what can we do? Whoever Mother likes, she treats well.”

Li Xiaohong studied her sister-in-law’s expression and cautiously suggested, “I think we should split the family.”

“Split the family?” Zhang Caifeng was stunned.

“Would your husband agree to that?”

Li Xiaohong hesitated before replying, “In a marriage, the wife has a say too.”

Then she added, “How would we know unless we try? Sister-in-law, aren’t you even a little tempted?”

To be honest, Zhang Caifeng was tempted. It wasn’t about being unfilial—she just wanted to live her own life.

She scooped the food onto a plate and sighed. “Even if we split, Mother would still live with us.”

Li Xiaohong smirked. “I think Mother wants to live with the third brother’s family. Go talk to your husband, see what he thinks.”

After all, if they were going to split the family, she couldn’t do it alone. She needed someone to take the heat with her—if it failed, they’d all share the blame.

(End of Chapter)