Zhong Meixian immediately thought of the teeth marks on her son’s chin and recalled the things Gu Yanli had said to her yesterday. Unconsciously, she took half a step back.  

Her son was right about one thing—he was young, tough, and could take a beating or a kick.  

But at her age? Absolutely not!  

As soon as Wen Tang finished speaking, Gu Yanli asked her, “Ready to go?”  

Before Wen Tang could even respond, Zhong Meixian quickly chimed in from behind, “Ready, ready!”  

Zhong Meixian thought to herself: Just take this little ancestor away already. If we wait any longer, my daughter’s family might start fighting right here.

Wen Tang also gave a soft “Mhm.”  

Gu Yanli pushed off with his foot, and the bicycle he was riding smoothly glided out of the courtyard.  

Lin Jingshen met Chi Yue’s gaze, then glanced at his uncle, who had already pedaled away on his bike. Quickly, he propped up his own bicycle. “I’ll go get the money.”  

Gu Jinfeng immediately said, “I’ll get it, I’ll get it!” She hurried back to her room and came out with another twenty yuan.  

As she handed over the money, Gu Jinfeng’s heart ached. She was filled with regret and misery, wishing she could go back in time and slap her past self silly. How could I have been so reckless? How could I have let my temper get the better of me?

Now, here she was—her daughter-in-law had only been married into the family for three days, and she’d already spent enough money to marry off another son.  

Placing the money in Chi Yue’s hand, Gu Jinfeng forced a smile. “Xiao Yue, I’m not sure what you’d like, so take the money and buy whatever you want. Go pick out something you like, and get yourself whatever else you need.”  

Chi Yue took the money and smiled. “Sorry to make you spend so much again, Mom.”  

Did Gu Jinfeng dare complain? Of course not. She shook her head. “It’s nothing, it’s not much money.”  

“Then… you two should get going. It’s getting late, and you still have to shop on the way.”  

Chi Yue nodded. “Alright then, Mom, Grandma, we’ll head out now.”  

Gu Jinfeng and Zhong Meixian both nodded.  

Once the two were gone, Gu Jinfeng turned to Zhong Meixian. “Mom, which piece of land do you think has good feng shui?”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

“Why do you ask?”  

Gu Jinfeng explained, “I’m thinking about where I should be buried when the time comes.”  

Zhong Meixian: “…”  

“You haven’t even held your grandchild yet!” she reminded Gu Jinfeng. Dying now would be a terrible deal.

Gu Jinfeng suddenly wailed, “Mom! How am I supposed to go on like this?”  

Zhong Meixian stayed silent. After all, she hadn’t suffered any losses today, so she had nothing to say.  

She also didn’t dare speak—afraid that if she said the wrong thing, she’d end up arguing with her daughter again.  

Left alone in the courtyard, Gu Jinfeng wailed for a while longer before finally picking up her hoe and heading out to the fields.  

The original Wen Tang’s family lived in Qingshui Brigade, right next to Xiangxing Brigade, so it didn’t take Gu Yanli long to bike there with her.  

When Gu Yanli and Wen Tang arrived at the Wen family home, the entire household was present. Everyone had stayed home for Wen Tang’s return, skipping work in the fields.  

Aside from Wen Tang, the Wen family had two older brothers.  

Both brothers were already married. The eldest had two children, while the second had one so far, with another on the way—his wife was four months pregnant.  

The eldest brother’s child was old enough to run around shouting, “Auntie’s back! Auntie’s back!” before darting into the courtyard.  

Gu Yanli parked the bicycle, and Wen Tang hopped off, calling out, “Wen Yan!”  

The little boy, Wen Yan, turned to look at his aunt but kept running into the house.

The Wen family members standing at the door of the main room quickly stepped out.  

Wen Yan also emerged, clinging to his grandmother’s side.  

Wen Tang carried her things into the courtyard, calling after Wen Yan, “Wen Yan, why are you running?”  

But Wen’s mother, He Suihua, Wen’s father, Wen Xiangshan, and the others barely glanced at Wen Tang, laden with gifts. Instead, they walked right past her to greet Gu Yanli behind her.  

“You’re here! Come, come inside!” He Suihua and Wen Xiangshan urged warmly.  

Gu Yanli, who usually wore a stern expression at home, managed to force a smile for his in-laws, nodding politely.  

Though his smile was a bit stiff.  

He Suihua and Wen Xiangshan exchanged glances, unsure whether he was happy or not, but they quickly ushered him inside.  

Fortunately, the Wen family’s attention was entirely focused on Gu Yanli, leaving the transmigrated Wen Tang free to relax.  

Relishing her freedom, Wen Tang gathered her nephew and two nieces and secretly opened a can of fruit for them to share.  

Syrup-soaked canned fruit—every child’s favorite.  

Wen Tang loved it too.  

He Suihua only noticed when she came out to catch a chicken for cooking. The four of them were huddled together, scooping spoonfuls, already finishing one can and about to start on a second.  

Smack! Wen Tang’s hand was slapped, and the can was snatched away.  

Wen Tang: “…”  

Before she could say a word, He Suihua scolded, “How can you eat so much at once?”  

“Wasting food like this!”  

Wen Tang: “…”  

“Who ‘wastes’ food by eating it?” Wen Tang retorted—only to get a sharp smack on the back of her head.  

The loud smack instantly awakened some deeply ingrained instincts in Wen Tang.  

And just like that, she behaved.  

Because He Suihua seemed to have some kind of primal authority over her.  

But while her actions were subdued, her mouth wasn’t. She immediately turned to her nieces and nephew and said, “This isn’t your aunt being stingy, okay? It’s your grandma who’s stingy.”  

“She doesn’t want to give you any. Make sure you tell your moms later.” Her body might have surrendered, but her mouth was still stirring up trouble.  

Smack!

Another slap. Wen Tang finally caved. “Ahem, actually, you shouldn’t eat too much canned fruit. You’re kids—it’ll give you stomachaches.” Turns out, Wen Tang could be quite… flexible when needed.  

While Wen Tang was being flexible at the Wen household, Chi Yue was also adapting at her own family home.  

Chi Yue’s version of flexibility went like this:  

Her birth mother, Song Dayan, called out, “Chi Yue, come here and wash this pile of clothes for me. I’m going to buy groceries.”  

Chi Yue looked at the massive basin of clothes—all thick winter wear—and the half-broken washboard, then said flatly, “No, I can’t.”  

Song Dayan glared. “Why can’t you?”  

“Now that you’re married, you can’t even wash clothes anymore?”  

Chi Yue nodded. “Yep. Pregnant. Can’t wash.”  

At that moment, Chi Yue finally understood why, in the original story, the real Chi Yue had eventually jumped into the river with her child.  

Probably because she found no shelter in either her husband’s family or her own.  

Truthfully, Gu Jinfeng hadn’t been wrong about one thing—the original Chi Yue had been hardworking, the traditional kind of diligent woman who handled all the household chores and even worked in the fields.  

But this Chi Yue wasn’t the original. She believed that where there was oppression, there should be resistance.  

Why should all the housework fall on one person?

Was this household hers alone? 

And her younger sister was already eighteen—perfectly capable of helping. Yet all the chores had been dumped on the original Chi Yue.  

Now that she was married and back for her third-day visit, her birth mother actually expected her to wash the whole family’s pile of thick winter clothes?  

Judging by the size of that basin… had they been hoarding dirty laundry for three days?