Chi Yue: You flatter me, you flatter me.

In the end, she even said to Gu Jinfeng, “Mom, do you want the remaining money? If you do, I’ll give it to you now.”  

Every word Chi Yue said was music to Gu Jinfeng’s ears. How could Gu Jinfeng possibly bring up the money again? Naturally, she cheerfully shook her head.  

“No, no, Mom doesn’t want it. What’s given to you is yours—how could I take it back?”  

Since she refused, Chi Yue withdrew her hand from her pocket.  

She walked into the main room with Wen Tang, while Gu Jinfeng and Zhong Meixian carried their baskets to the kitchen.  

Once inside the kitchen, the mother and daughter immediately lifted the red cloth covering the baskets.  

When Zhong Meixian took the basket from Wen Tang, she had already felt its weight, assuming there’d be plenty of gifts inside. But when she uncovered it and saw only one pack of brown sugar, she frowned.  

There was also a can of fruit in the basket, so Zhong Meixian wasn’t upset about the quantity—she just thought a single pack of brown sugar looked a bit shabby. Brown sugar was much cheaper than canned fruit, and she figured two packs would’ve been more presentable.  

Before she could even purse her lips, she noticed Gu Jinfeng’s basket contained only one pack of brown sugar and two steamed buns with red dots on them.  

Seeing the gifts from her in-laws, the old woman’s downturned lips instantly curved upward.  

“Huh? Why just two buns?”  

Gu Jinfeng was already irritated at the sight of the two buns. This was a practice from the leaner years when food was scarce. Nowadays, with life improving, no one used buns as return gifts anymore. At most, people would return more or less of what the groom’s family had sent—no one used buns as filler. And just two buns, at that…  

But then Gu Jinfeng remembered Chi Yue saying she hadn’t bought anything to bring back.  

So she pulled out the pack of brown sugar from her basket and thrust it in her mother’s face. “Can’t you see this pack of brown sugar?”  

Zhong Meixian didn’t respond. Instead, she smugly lifted the basket with the canned fruit, answering Gu Jinfeng with action.  

Furious, Gu Jinfeng covered her basket and stormed back to her own yard.  

Delighted, Zhong Meixian cheerfully entered the main room and asked Wen Tang, “Tang, what would you like to eat tonight?”  

Wen Tang replied obediently, “I’ll eat whatever you make, Mom. I’m not picky.”  

“Alright,” Zhong Meixian said, carrying the basket back to her own room.  

Wen Tang watched as the basket disappeared into her mother-in-law’s room and whispered to her best friend in despair, “It’s over. No canned fruit for us.”  

Zhong Meixian wasn’t generous enough to open the canned fruit for everyone. In these times, canned fruit in syrup was considered a gift item. Keeping it meant having something on hand for future social obligations, saving them from having to buy more later.  

Chi Yue patted her. “Don’t be sad. Once I start earning money, I’ll buy some for you. I’ll get a whole truckload and let you eat your fill.”  

Wen Tang glanced at her best friend and said earnestly, “You know, in this era, the promise you just made is way bigger than any of the empty promises bosses give in modern times.”  

Chi Yue: “…”  

She had to admit Wen Tang had a point.  

Wen Tang tugged her hand. “Have you ever heard this saying?”  

“What?”  

“‘A timely gift is better than a grand one.'”  

Chi Yue: “…”  

“Wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate?”  

Wen Tang nodded. “It would!”  

“Then…”  

Zhong Meixian sat in the yard shelling peanuts—leftover from the brigade’s earlier distribution. Most had been used for the wedding banquet, leaving only a small portion. She planned to fry them for dinner as a side dish.

Happily shelling away, Zhong Meixian suddenly found Wen Tang and Chi Yue standing right in front of her.  

“Mom, shelling peanuts?”  

Chi Yue chimed in, “Grandma, shelling peanuts?”  

Zhong Meixian immediately nodded. “Yes!”  

She was about to add, “You two don’t need to help, there aren’t many left.” Mostly because she’d feel bad if they shelled too many—she’d have to cook more.  

But before she could even open her mouth, Wen Tang asked, “Mom, what do you think that canned fruit tastes like?”  

“Is it pears or oranges in that can?”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

She stared at the two of them. Maybe they genuinely didn’t know the taste of canned fruit, but what was inside the can? They couldn’t not know.  

The glass jar was transparent—anyone with eyes could see.  

Sure enough, when these two little troublemakers teamed up, they became one big troublemaker.  

As soon as Wen Tang finished speaking, Chi Yue played along. “You’ve never had canned fruit before?”  

“It’s so delicious!”  

Zhong Meixian let out an awkward laugh, sandwiched between the two.  

“That…”  

“Mom, do you want to open the canned fruit for me?” Before Zhong Meixian could even respond, Wen Tang blurted out with exaggerated excitement.  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

When had she ever said that?  

But Wen Tang was already on her feet, heading straight for her mother-in-law’s room, shouting as she went, “Mom, you’re so l good to me! I knew*l I married into the right family!”  

“When you’re old, I’ll take such good care of you!”  

“I’ll bring you chamber pots, cook you six meals a day—treat you like a new mother in confinement!”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

She didn’t need anyone to take care of her in old age—right now, she just wanted to kick the bucket.  

She was this close to passing out from frustration.  

And Chi Yue just had to join in. “Grandma, your daughter-in-law treats you so well!”  

“I wouldn’t even go this far for my own mother.”  

Zhong Meixian: forced chuckle

She didn’t want to say another word.  

Wen Tang and Chi Yue had exactly one redeeming quality—they didn’t hog the food. Shockingly, they actually saved half the canned fruit for everyone to share at dinner.  

Because of that canned fruit, Zhong Meixian decided she had to make up with her daughter.  

I mean, look—the two new daughters-in-law had already formed an alliance. How was one old lady supposed to fight them alone?  

When Zhong Meixian went to the Lin family to find Gu Jinfeng, the latter was sewing clothes with a needle, deliberately ignoring her out of lingering anger.  

But Zhong Meixian wasn’t offended. Instead, she walked over with a smile. “Jinfeng, how about I fry some peanuts for dinner? What do you think?”  

After all, this was her own mother, and she was clearly extending an olive branch. Gu Jinfeng felt it’d be wrong to keep sulking.  

So she nodded. “Fine. We’ve got some peanuts left too—I’ll bring them over later, and you can mix them in.”  

Seeing her daughter respond, Zhong Meixian immediately sat down beside her and launched into her rant.  

“Jinfeng, it must be bad feng shui from the old grave!”  

“Those two aren’t just lazy—they’re gluttons!”  

She then recounted how Wen Tang and Chi Yue had tag-teamed their way into her room to swipe and eat the canned fruit.  

Gu Jinfeng couldn’t help but gasp. “How shameless!”  

“Do they know how expensive canned fruit is?!”  

“One can costs one or two yuan—you could buy two or three jin of meat with that! It’s perfect for gifting!”  

Zhong Meixian slapped her thigh. “Exactly!”  

No one understood her like her own daughter—this was exactly what she’d been thinking.  

And so, mother and daughter huddled together, whispering and scheming.  

They couldn’t let these two new daughters-in-law keep running the show.