Chapter 5

“I’m not like some people who shamelessly covet things that don’t belong to them.”

Seeing the young woman with the neatly coiled bun—Second Sister-in-law Jiang—looking humiliated, Xu Lihong felt a rush of satisfaction. That woman was always making snide remarks, mocking her as a lonely, bitter woman left behind to slave away for the Jiang family.

But now her little sister-in-law had brought her honor. Today, Xu Lihong could finally hold her head high.

Just a few days ago, Second Sister-in-law had tried to borrow her younger sister-in-law’s bicycle to show off during her visit back home, only to be coldly refused by Grandma. Now, that same bicycle’s owner had offered to give her a ride home.

“What’s the big deal? Big Sis, you’re carrying Shitou on your back, plus all that stuff. If you walk, who knows how long it’ll take you to reach the Jianhua Brigade.”

Jiang Yao playfully tapped Shitou, the child on Xu Lihong’s back. “I need to go into town to buy some things anyway—I’ll give you a lift on the way.”

“Thank you, Yao Yao,” Xu Lihong beamed. “It’s just that Grandma stuffed me with so many things to take home. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared trouble you.”

As she spoke, she accidentally lifted the cloth covering her basket, revealing a glimpse of smoked pork—enough to make the mouths of the nearby onlookers water with envy.

She gave a smug glance at Second Sister-in-law Jiang, as if to say: Didn’t you always claim your mother-in-law treated you like her own daughter? That Grandma held you in high regard?

Then why didn’t she give you anything when you went back home? Not even a piece of salted vegetable, let alone smoked pork!

Clearly, her little sister-in-law was far more filial than Second Sister-in-law’s. And unlike Second Sister-in-law’s, hers actually respected her.

“In Grandma’s eyes, I—her eldest grandson’s wife—still hold more weight. As soon as she heard I was going home, she loaded me with gifts and told me not to lose face.”

A young girl standing nearby couldn’t hold back any longer and let out a cold snort. “Grandma is so biased!”

“She treats both of you as granddaughters-in-law, but when my sister-in-law went home, all she got were some wilted vegetables. Yet for Big Sis, she gave even smoked pork!”

This girl was Jiang Zhu, daughter of the Jiang family’s second son, and just a month younger than Jiang Yao.

Crossing her arms in indignation, Jiang Zhu fumed. Her grandparents had two sons and three daughters. The daughters were married far away and rarely returned except for New Year. Only her father and Jiang Yao’s father remained nearby to care for the elderly.

And yet, the old man and woman favored the eldest son’s family without restraint. Whenever there was something good, it always went to them. Even the eldest son’s job as brigade leader probably came from Grandpa’s scheming.

It was as if their whole branch of the family had been raised by a cruel stepmother—ignored and brushed aside. If they didn’t initiate contact, their grandparents wouldn’t bother with them.

And now, the bias was getting worse. Same family, same daughter-in-law status—but such a stark difference in gifts when going home?

“Sis-in-law, we can’t just let this go! Let’s get someone to judge this fairly. We’re all one family—why should Grandma treat Big Sis better than ours?”

“Let’s go to Grandma’s house and ask our uncles to step in for us. Big Uncle might be the brigade leader, but people in the brigade would just try to smooth things over because of that.”

The more Jiang Zhu talked, the better she thought her idea was. This time, the old lady was clearly in the wrong—biased and unjust. She was standing up for her family. Surely her father wouldn’t scold her for that again!

Li Guihua, who had overheard most of this from inside the courtyard, hadn’t intended to intervene. But hearing Jiang Zhu grow increasingly outrageous, she came out with a darkened expression.

“This old woman can give her things to whoever she wants—you’ve got no say in it.”

Over the years, she’d given plenty of help to her second son behind the scenes. Even though he had once done something that broke her heart, she had merely grown a little cold toward him.

When she saw he was struggling, she’d sent over food. When he couldn’t afford school fees for his children, she’d paid from her own pocket.

But to think that the daughter he raised would harbor so much resentment toward her!

“Even if your father came, he wouldn’t dare say a single bad word to this old woman.”

The money in Li Guihua’s hands partly came from her own hard work, and partly from the contributions of her eldest son and grandson, who was serving in the army. As for her second son? His sweet talk was worth little. She had every right to say what she said.

Jiang Zhu burned with frustration but didn’t dare talk back.

So biased, yet still hiding behind the authority of an elder and forbidding anyone from pointing out her faults. Such an old-school, feudal mindset.

Her father was the definition of blind filial piety. Grandma only cared about Big Uncle’s family, yet he obeyed her every word.

Even if Grandma saw Jiang Yao as more important than him, he still wouldn’t change. He’d never allow the younger generation to disrespect their elders. Just one word of criticism about Grandma, and she’d be scolded for half a day.

Though Jiang Zhu felt deeply wronged, she dared not speak again. She clenched her hands, red-eyed and aggrieved.

Xu Lihong saw Jiang Zhu step up to defend Second Sister-in-law and get scolded by Grandma. Her eyes gleamed as she turned to scold her:

“Second Sister, your words make it sound like Grandma’s some kind of cruel villain who mistreats her daughters-in-law.”

“How could a granddaughter harbor such vile thoughts about her own grandma?”

“You say Grandma isn’t fair—then tell me: do your sister-in-law’s family ever come visit Grandma with gifts like mine do? Does your brother give Grandma monthly support money like your Big Brother does?”

“Besides, Grandma said herself—I’ve worked hard managing the household. That smoked pork is her reward to me. People who don’t even show proper respect to Grandma shouldn’t be jealous.”

Shamed by her cousin-in-law’s rebuke, Jiang Zhu’s face turned a mix of red and pale. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to use force to win the argument.

Just then, Second Sister-in-law stepped forward and stopped her, pushing Jiang Zhu behind her.

“Big Sis, you’re taking it too far. Zhu Zhu is just a child—she spoke without thinking. There’s no need to accuse her of being disrespectful to Grandma.”

“Zhu Zhu is still Grandma’s own granddaughter. If her reputation gets ruined, it’ll affect the other girls in the family too. Why hold on to one slip of the tongue?”

“If it ends up ruining someone else’s marriage prospects, that’ll be your fault, Big Sis.”

As she spoke, she glanced expectantly at Jiang Yao, hoping the girl would follow her line of thought and help put her cousin-in-law in her place.

Although Jiang Yao had just shown sisterly affection toward Xu Lihong, she’d been pampered growing up and was very self-centered.

The rift between the two family branches was already beyond repair, yet Jiang Yao still acted like they were close kin.

Second Sister-in-law had heard the rumors—her father-in-law had once nearly sold Jiang Yao and her sister. And this girl still treated them like family?