Chapter 29: Return to the Maternal Home

On the first day of the New Year, everyone was busy eating and drinking. As the time approached the third day, it was the day for married women to return to their maternal homes.

In previous years, no one from the Liu family would go back home, but this year, since Shulan got married, she was returning to her maternal home. Therefore, Aunt Liu and Grandma Liu decided not to go back to their own homes but stayed to welcome their girl and her husband.

Early in the morning, Uncle Liu and his wife were sitting in the hall, both eagerly looking towards the door now and then to see if the girl had returned. Liu Jianjun had already run to the village entrance to wait for his sister and brother-in-law.

As soon as the winter sun came out, Shulan, carrying her large and small bags, returned home with her husband. Aunt Liu quickly stepped forward to grab her daughter, asking about her life at her in-laws, and Uncle Liu also had the mood for jokes and lighthearted conversation.

Shuxin didn’t want to interrupt her aunt’s bonding time with her cousin, so she called over her cousin’s husband and led him into the main hall to chat with Uncle Liu and Grandpa Liu.

Cousin Li Youjun answered Shuxin’s questions cautiously. Inside the house, both his father-in-law and brother-in-law made him feel quite pressured.

As the domineering son of the Li family, he had always been spoiled by his parents. In terms of both courage and eloquence, he prided himself on doing quite well, but in front of his wife’s cousin, he dared not utter a single word.

When he had just started getting to know Shuxin, he thought she was a clever, educated, and capable cousin. However, ever since marrying Shulan, he realized she also had considerable strength.

During the first month of their marriage, when Shuxin visited the Li family to see Shulan, as they were leaving, Shulan had asked Li Youjun to take his sister to the village entrance.

As soon as Li Youjun dropped Shuxin off at the village entrance and turned to go home, Shuxin called him back and gave him a stern warning. To make her words resonate more deeply, she picked up a brick from the ground and smashed it, leaving the pieces as a keepsake for him.

Ever since then, Li Youjun acted like a mouse in front of Shuxin, obediently following Shulan’s every request. Even when his sister-in-law tried to pick on Shulan, he would help defend her. He feared that if he didn’t help and Shuxin found out, he would face her wrath, and his small frame wouldn’t withstand her wrath.

Hearing Li Youjun’s responses about how Shulan had not been mistreated in the Li family, Shuxin felt relieved. She thought he was honest and didn’t want to scare him in the main hall, so she lifted the curtain and went out to find Shulan. Once Li Youjun saw that the “disaster star” had finally left, he sighed in relief and started entertaining his father-in-law with witty remarks, hoping to get on his good side for future dealings with his cousin.

When Shuxin found Shulan in Aunt Liu’s room, she saw Aunt Liu grinning widely, revealing her teeth, indicating something good must have happened that she didn’t know about.

“Xinya, come quickly! Your sister Shulan is pregnant!”

“Really? Sister, how are you feeling? The first three months are the most important. Was the journey here too much for you?”

“Yeah, I’m just over two months along. The doctor said I’m healthy, and walking won’t affect the baby.”

“That’s great! Such wonderful news! Aunt, go tell Grandma in the kitchen about this good news and let her cook some more meat to celebrate that I’m going to be an aunt!”

Once they learned about Shulan’s pregnancy, everyone in the Liu family was delighted. She got pregnant less than half a year after getting married, which meant she would quickly establish herself in the Li family. Even when she wasn’t pregnant, the Li family wouldn’t dare to mistreat the daughter-in-law with such backing.

Aunt Liu packed a large bag of items for Shulan to take back for her pregnancy, while Uncle Liu began to consider preparing toys for his future grandchild in his mind. Grandma Liu held Shulan and shared her experiences regarding pregnancy.

Shuxin returned to the bedroom and packed some barley milk powder and milk candies for her cousin to take back. This would help supplement both her sister’s health and the baby’s nutrition. Next time she had the opportunity to go into town, she would find some soft fabrics to send to Shulan to make clothes for the child.

Luo Yue, knowing that his close friend was pregnant, also looked curiously at Shulan’s belly. It was the first time he had seen a woman he knew well during her pregnancy. Once he snapped out of his astonishment, he also sent Shulan more snacks to ensure she ate well and didn’t neglect herself.

Seeing Luo Yue generously giving Shulan a lot of goodies, the Liu family members nodded in approval. Although Luo Yue was a bit of an oddball, they couldn’t deny that he had his merits and had completely won their hearts as an unconventional son-in-law.

When Shulan arrived, she brought big and small bags of items with her, and now she had even more on her return trip. Seeing that Li Youjun couldn’t possibly carry it all and that Shulan shouldn’t exert herself while pregnant, Shuxin decided to use her bicycle to take them back.

Shulan sat in front, wrapped in a thick quilt to ensure she wouldn’t bounce around. Li Youjun sat sideways in the back, holding some of the items on one side while hanging the rest on the other.

When Grandma Li saw Shuxin riding back with her son, she quickly ran to prepare a bowl of sweet soup to quench Shuxin’s thirst. Shuxin didn’t hesitate, downing the sweet soup in one go and wiping her mouth before saying goodbye to the Li family.

“Thank you, Aunt! I’ll see that they get home safely, so I’m heading back now. No need to see me off.”

After Shuxin left, Grandma Li returned to the hall to tidy up the items Shuxin had brought back, marveling at how generous her in-laws were; there were quite a few packages.

The barley milk powder and candies would all be kept for her daughter-in-law, as these rare treats were clearly brought back by her cousin to help Shulan recover. The meat and eggs would be saved for cooking one each day for Shulan.

Seeing Shulan return home with such a load, Li’s wife and the second sister-in-law felt a pang of jealousy. Ever since Shulan joined the family, her relatives would often bring gifts for her, never arriving empty-handed. Meanwhile, their own families? They had not even been visited; it was a bonus that they weren’t discouraged from asking for help.

Their mother-in-law was increasingly annoyed with the two of them, and their husbands were giving them the cold shoulder as well, which made them feel even more upset.

Although Grandpa Li didn’t say much, his increasingly pleasant demeanor toward the daughter-in-law Shulan made it clear that he had some reservations about their families.

Unaware of her sisters-in-law’s feelings, Shulan returned home, set the items down, and lay down on the bed to rest. Seeing this, Li Youjun didn’t disturb Shulan and gently closed the door as he left for his parents’ room.

“Son, why are you out here?”

“Mom, Shulan is sleeping; leave dinner for her.”

“Pregnant women need more sleep; let her be. I’ll steam her a cake with eggs to keep warm for her later.”

Grandpa Li also supported his wife’s decision. Though he had no particular affection for the two daugher-in-laws, he was fond of the younger one.

The younger daughter-in-law was generous, never keeping the things she received from her family to herself, always sharing with the elderly couple. Her temperament was gentle, and in the six months since their marriage, she had never raised her voice at her husband.

Unbeknownst to Shuxin, who had left for the Li family, a series of events unfolded in their house. After leaving the Li family, she didn’t return to the Liu home but instead headed towards the city.