Gu Yanli didn’t answer her question. Instead, he glanced at Gu Xiaohua, the third sister of the Gu family, standing behind her, and Lin Jingshen, who was pushing the bicycle. He simply said, “Mom is lying down inside.”  

Gu Yinfeng had come mainly to mediate the quarrel. Hearing Gu Yanli’s words, she nodded. “Alright, I’ll go talk to her.”  

“The new daughter-in-law just arrived, and now this mess—isn’t it just asking to be laughed at?” The topic shifted, and she forgot to question why the new daughter-in-law wasn’t working while her brother was.  

Gu Yinfeng hurriedly went into Zhong Meixian’s room.  

Gu Xiaohua patted the dust off her pants and said, “Then I’ll go check on Eldest Sister.”  

When Gu Yinfeng entered, Zhong Meixian hadn’t even finished her porridge yet.  

After Gu Juyuan and Lin Liansheng went to work in the fields, and Lin Jingshen also left, Gu Yanli washed the dishes. First, he brought food to Gu Jinfeng.  

Faced with her younger brother serving her food, Gu Jinfeng was extremely embarrassed. “No… no need. I’m… I’m not hungry.”  

Gu Yanli didn’t say much. He just set the porridge and eggs down. “I’ll come back later to collect the bowl,” he said.  

Gu Jinfeng grew even more embarrassed. “No need, no need. I’ll… I’ll wash it later and bring it to the kitchen.”  

Gu Yanli didn’t argue. He simply nodded. But just as he was about to leave, he added, “Don’t take it to heart with Mom.”  

Hearing this, Gu Jinfeng’s eyes reddened. She felt both ashamed and wronged. “Who’s the one always picking fights with her? If I had to deal with her every day, I wouldn’t be able to live.”  

“Mm,” Gu Yanli responded with a noncommittal hum.  

Gu Jinfeng felt a little better.  

She knew it was her unreasonable mother causing trouble.  

See? Everyone else could see it clearly!  

After delivering food to Gu Jinfeng, Gu Yanli then brought some to Zhong Meixian.  

When Zhong Meixian saw him bringing her food, she wasn’t embarrassed—just disapproving. “You cooked again?”  

Gu Yanli gave an affirmative “Mm” and set the food down.  

Zhong Meixian nagged, “Can’t you let your wife do it?”  

“Couldn’t get up,” Gu Yanli answered honestly.  

Zhong Meixian frowned. “Couldn’t get up? Couldn’t you have woken her?”  

“Have you ever seen a daughter-in-law this lazy?”  

Gu Yanli repeated his reasoning: “She’ll get up to work for work points.”  

Zhong Meixian was furious. “Work points, work points—even if she weren’t earning work points, she shouldn’t be sleeping like this!”  

“Mm. Then should she sleep outside?”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhong Meixian smacked him on the arm. Her face flushed red with anger. “A grown man like you—must you talk like this just to provoke people?”  

“‘Sleep outside’?”  

“Does that sound like proper talk to you?”  

Gu Yanli nodded.  

Zhong Meixian raised her hand and smacked him again.  

Then, she noticed what Gu Yanli had brought her.  

“Eggs again?”  

Zhong Meixian slapped her thighs dramatically, as if the sky were falling. “Heavens! Are you trying to ruin this family?”  

“Who eats eggs twice a day, with one for each person?”  

“Is it New Year’s already?”  

“Are you trying to waste all the eggs I’ve saved up?”  

Gu Yanli wasn’t the least bit guilty. “I cooked. Shouldn’t I decide what to make?”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

She had already made up her mind—no matter what, she couldn’t let her son cook lunch. Who knew what else he might ruin!  

Gu Yanli didn’t say much more. He wasn’t a talkative person to begin with. When Zhong Meixian fell silent, he simply said, “I’ll come back later to collect the bowl.”  

Zhong Meixian was too angry to respond. She didn’t even bother telling him not to come back for the bowl.  

She was so mad she didn’t even want to eat.

But looking at the egg, she felt even angrier if she didn’t eat it.  

If everyone else could waste things, why couldn’t she?  

Eat it. If she didn’t, it’d be a waste. And if she did, it wouldn’t be for nothing.  

So by the time Gu Yinfeng arrived, Zhong Meixian still hadn’t finished her breakfast—her anger had delayed her for a while.  

Seeing Gu Yinfeng walk in, Zhong Meixian frowned. “What are you doing here?”  

“Did you fight with Eldest Sister again?” Gu Yinfeng countered, taking the initiative.  

At the mention of this, Zhong Meixian lost all interest in the last bit of porridge left in her bowl.  

But not wanting to waste food, she tipped her head back and finished it in one gulp.  

Only after finishing did Zhong Meixian let out a “Hmph!” and turn her face away.  

Gu Yinfeng moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What was it about this time?”  

Meanwhile, in Gu Jinfeng’s room, Gu Xiaohua was also asking her eldest sister, “The new daughter-in-law just arrived yesterday—how did you already end up in a fight with Mom?”  

Gu Xiaohua’s question only stoked Gu Jinfeng’s anger. “It’s all her fault! She’s been stubborn and competitive her whole life. Fine if she’s like that with others, but now she’s turning it on me!”  

Then, without pausing for breath, Gu Jinfeng recounted the whole incident, proving just how furious she was.  

After listening, Gu Xiaohua focused on just one detail. “So… you and Mom each gave a hundred yuan to the new daughters-in-law?”  

“And Mom even threw in a pair of silver bracelets?”  

Gu Jinfeng blinked. That was indeed what happened, but hearing it from Gu Xiaohua’s mouth made it sound… somewhat off.  

Gu Xiaohua gave a thumbs-up. “You and Mom are really…” She shook her head as if lost for words. “At least you two haven’t completely lost your minds. Why didn’t you just hand over the entire family savings to them while you were at it?”  

Gu Jinfeng’s eyes darted away, a little embarrassed. “Well… we were caught up in the heat of the moment.”  

Gu Xiaohua kept her thumb up. “Eldest Sister, are you still in the heat of the moment now?”  

“If you are, how about giving me some money too? I won’t ask for much—just twenty will do.”  

Gu Jinfeng immediately scoffed. “Go on, get out of here. Now you’re teasing me?”  

Gu Xiaohua spread her hands. “You and Mom have lived for decades—how did you two get played by a couple of youngsters?”  

Played?  

Gu Jinfeng thought about it. No, they hadn’t been played!  

Back in Zhong Meixian’s room, after hearing her second daughter’s question, she also recounted the incident, then sought validation. “Tell me, wasn’t she just picking a fight out of nowhere?”  

“I was perfectly fine! What’s wrong with me giving your sister-in-law a pair of silver bracelets?”  

“The Gu family only has your brother as the sole son—who else would these things go to in the future if not them?”  

“Right?”  

Gu Yinfeng nodded, feeling like there really wasn’t an issue. “Mm, she’s the Gu family’s daughter-in-law now. She’ll give you grandsons in the future. Giving them to her makes sense.”  

Zhong Meixian’s anger eased, and she finally turned to face her second daughter properly. “See? I told you she’s just a stubborn mule who’s spent her whole life trying to make me angry. I wasn’t wrong about her.”  

“And she dares to say it’s my fault!”  

“I gave my daughter-in-law a pair of silver bracelets—isn’t it just the truth that my daughter-in-law has a good life?”  

“She said I was competing with her. How is this competing?”  

“This is just the plain truth!” The old lady declared matter-of-factly.  

Gu Yinfeng: “…”  

“What did Sister-in-law say when you gave her the bracelets?”  

“She said she’s lucky—that marrying into our family was the right choice,” Zhong Meixian said, chin raised proudly.  

Gu Yinfeng: “… Was Eldest Sister and her daughter-in-law there at the time?”