Chapter 7: Argument

“There are only a dozen eggs, not enough for the four of us to share.”

Hearing her words, the Qin family felt a darkness before their eyes.

A dozen wasn’t enough for her?

Wait, she was going to eat all the eggs?

Qin’s mother was the first to react, and she stood up and ran towards the kitchen.

But it was too late.

“Damn it, you beat all the eggs?!”

Lin Su: “What’s wrong, Mother, are you reluctant?”

Of course she was reluctant!

Qin’s mother was afraid of being scolded by the old man, so she could only swallow the words that came to her mouth, and said with heartache, “You can’t beat them all. I saved these for a month.”

“Only this many eggs in a month? That hen is no good. Why don’t we kill it and eat it?”

Qin’s mother was almost angered to the point of vomiting blood. She couldn’t bear it any longer and angrily scolded, “You’ve ruined my eggs and now you want to ruin my old hen, damn it, why don’t you starve to death!”

Lin Su sighed, “In the end, you’re still reluctant. If the eldest brother’s children wanted to eat, you’d probably catch it and kill it. Sure enough, Qin Sui was right, Mother’s heart is biased.”

Mentioning Qin Sui, Qin’s mother instantly felt short of breath, but if she were to say she wasn’t biased, the facts were obvious and she couldn’t argue.

“Alright, the food is getting cold. Are you still eating or not!”

The yard wasn’t far from the kitchen, so Qin’s father could hear their conversation. The eggs had already been beaten, so there was no use saying more. Besides, Lin Su was very clever and knew that they couldn’t ruin their relationship with their second son, so she always mentioned him to threaten them.

What was the use of arguing with her? She was good at talking, and in the end, she would probably say something to upset them, so Qin’s father called Qin’s mother out, afraid that she would do something stupid.

The yard was quiet, but the kitchen was a bit lively.

The three children watched Lin Su scramble the eggs and couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

The second child, Qin Ni, made the loudest noise.

The third child, Qin Keke, grabbed Lin Su’s pants and asked Lin Su if the eggs were ready while swallowing his saliva.

The eldest child, Qin Yao, was a bit more reserved, but his eyes didn’t leave the eggs in the pot.

To be honest, Qin Yao admired Lin Su a bit. She actually dared to talk back to Grandpa and Grandma, and she could always shut Grandma up. Even the fierce Grandma was always defeated.

Who would have thought that the gentle and weak Lin Su would dare to stand up to her parents-in-law?

…

Because of the egg incident, Qin’s mother disliked Lin Su even more, and by the way, she disliked Qin Sui’s three children even more.

Not daring to say it openly, she would knock and beat things to be sarcastic.

“Eat, eat, eat, all you know is to eat. You don’t know how to lay an egg, just wasting food all day long!”

“Damn it, you’re good at finding fault without doing anything!”

“Qin Yao, Qin Ni, you two have been running wild for a few days and think you can fly, huh? You don’t wash the dishes or feed the chickens. What, are you waiting for me to feed you?”

The first two sentences were sarcastic towards Lin Su, and the latter was a direct order to Qin Yao and Qin Ni.

The shadow that Qin’s mother had left on Qin Yao and Qin Ni was still there. After hearing her scolding, they wanted to go out to work, but Lin Su stopped them.

“Don’t go. She doesn’t dare to do anything to you. Or do you two love to work?”

Qin Yao and Qin Ni didn’t answer.

Lin Su simply opened the door and went out. Not seeing Qin’s eldest brother’s children, she asked, “Are there only Qin Yao and Qin Ni in this family?”

“The eldest brother’s children have already gone out to help with work.” Qin’s mother guessed what she was going to say and quickly made up a lie.

Saying that, she didn’t forget to be sarcastic, “Unlike you few debt collectors, you still can’t get up when the sun is out. What, are you all waiting for me to cook and serve you?”

Lin Su automatically ignored the latter sentence and said in surprise, “Oh, they really went to help with work? Then I’ll let Qin Yao and the others go help too.”

Those children didn’t know where they ran off to play. Letting Qin Yao find them would expose her lie.

That clever dead girl, she must have realized that she was lying and deliberately said that.

Qin’s mother hated her in her heart, and her face showed emotion, “What are you going for? Just let them work at home.”

“That won’t do. Mother should be fair to everyone.”

There was ambiguity in these words, and Qin’s mother, who wasn’t educated, could hear it. She was both angry and annoyed, but she would lose if she confronted Lin Su, and she couldn’t swallow her anger if she gave up, so in the end, she could only vent her anger on Qin Yao, who came out.

“You only know how to eat and not work. Are your eyes on top of your head? Can’t you see the work? Do I have to call you?”

They had to work as soon as they came back. The key was that Qin’s mother liked to treat them differently and couldn’t stand them in every way, which wasn’t good for recuperating and taking care of their bodies. After comprehensive consideration, when Qin Yao was about to go to work silently, Lin Su stopped him.

“Wait,” Lin Su called him and said to Qin’s mother, “Since Mother thinks we’re wasting food, then I’ll take them back to my house and not come back.”

Qin’s mother’s face immediately fell, “What kind of new daughter-in-law goes back to her mother’s house to live as soon as she gets married? You still want to take Qin Yao and the others away. Outsiders will definitely gossip about our family.”

Lin Su smiled, “Mother is still afraid of people talking? You’ve already worked Qin Yao’s mother to death, and the neighbors have been gossiping for a long time. Logically speaking, you should be used to it.”

Qin’s mother subconsciously denied, “Don’t talk nonsense. Qin Yao’s mother clearly died of illness.”

Lin Su didn’t argue with her, but looked at Qin Yao, “Do you want to go back to my house and wait for your father to come back, or stay here and wait?”

Without waiting for Qin Yao to answer, Qin’s mother scolded angrily, “If you dare to go, don’t come back!”

A rebellious thought suddenly arose in Qin Yao’s heart. Plus, he had stayed in both places, and it was obvious that he could eat his fill and not be beaten or scolded at Lin Su’s house. Even a fool would know which to choose.

Qin Yao had forgotten his wariness towards Lin Su. Now, afraid that Grandma would hit them if Lin Su left, he mustered up his courage and rebelled for the first time, “We’ll go with you.”

To be honest, Lin Su was quite apprehensive when she asked Qin Yao. She didn’t expect him to follow her without thinking.

Lin Su was delighted and ignored Qin’s mother, pulling him into the house to pack their clothes.

Seeing this, Qin’s mother jumped up and down in anger, “Damn it, you’re going to rebel. Lin Su, you dead girl, where do you want to take my grandsons? Qin Yao, you heartless boy, following your stepmother and not being afraid that she’ll kill you!”

Lin Su packed while replying to her, “Mother, what are you saying? If I really treated them badly, would they dare to go back with me?”

Speaking of this, Lin Su looked at Qin’s mother, “Mother has to reflect on herself. Qin Yao and the others would rather follow me, a wicked stepmother, than stay with you, which shows that you’re really not good to them.”

“If they stay with you any longer and get thinner again, I won’t be able to explain it to Qin Sui when he comes back.”

As long as Qin Sui was mentioned, Qin’s mother’s arrogance would diminish. She hated it in her heart but couldn’t do anything to Lin Su. She just watched them leave and wasn’t willing to give up. In the end, she could only scold.

“What kind of new daughter-in-law runs out as soon as she gets married? Don’t tell me she’s going to the cornfield with some short-lived ghost! Lin Su, I’m telling you, if you corrupt my grandsons, I’m not done with you!”

Lin Su’s face darkened, and she directly pulled her away.

“What are you doing, what are you doing? Do you want to hit me?” Qin’s mother’s anger surged, wanting to fight.

Lin Su’s weak body was no match for her, so she let go and walked out, leaning weakly against the door frame, and complaining to the aunts who came to gossip.

“Aunts, you have to stand up for me.”

Lin Su was good-looking and thin, her small face pale and pitiful.

People mostly sympathized with the weak. Plus, Qin’s mother’s personality was unpleasant, and she had conflicts with the surrounding neighbors. Seeing that the situation was wrong, they all came over to ask with concern.

“Are you from Qin Sui’s family?”

“Girl, what happened to you?”

“It looks like she was beaten by Qin Sui’s mother!”

“Poor thing, Qin Sui’s mother has already tormented one daughter-in-law to death, and now she wants to torment another one to death.”

“You’re talking nonsense, when did I hit her!” Qin’s mother, who had chased out, heard this and scolded with a dark face.

Lin Su interjected, “Yes, Mother never hit me, but isn’t your random arrangement just trying to force me to death?”

Qin’s mother was about to refute, but Lin Su grabbed the words again, “Since I married Qin Sui, I really treat his children as my own. Mother always favors the eldest brother’s children and makes Qin Sui’s three children work. It’s okay to work, but they don’t get enough to eat.”

“I thought Mother disliked them wasting food. My grandmother and I don’t dislike them. It’s always good for me to take them back to my mother’s house, but Mother not only stopped us from going back, but also randomly arranged that I was in a hurry to go back to my mother’s house to go to the cornfield with some wild man.”

“If these unfounded lies are spread and everyone believes them, isn’t Mother trying to force me to death?”

After hearing Lin Su’s words, the surrounding neighbors angrily accused Qin’s mother.

“You can’t just say whatever you want! You tormented one daughter-in-law to death and now you want to force the new daughter-in-law to death. Qin Sui’s mother, how much do you hate Qin Sui that you have to make him bear the name of being a wife-killer before you’re satisfied?”

“That’s right, I’ve never seen a mother-in-law as vicious as you. You can be so cruel to your own grandsons and granddaughters!”

“Qin Sui’s wife is such a good person. She treats his children as her own and pities them, taking them back to her mother’s house. Logically speaking, you should give them food to take back, but you randomly slander people. You’re really vicious!”

“If Qin Sui comes back and knows that you’re treating his wife and children like this, you’ll force him to divorce you!”

Qin’s mother was fierce and didn’t fear being surrounded by so many people. She put her hands on her hips and spat on the ground, “Bah, you’re meddling in other people’s business. Is she your father or your mother, that you’re so eager to speak for her?”

“If you’re so enthusiastic, why don’t you give them this food? You’re all just pretending to be kind. Do you think I don’t know you!”

Hearing about giving food, the neighbors were silent.

In this era of food shortages, food was crucial. People had to save it for their own families, so how could they spare it for an outsider?

Seeing them retreat, Lin Su wasn’t surprised, “Thank you aunts for speaking for me. I naturally won’t let you give food, I just pity those children…”

Before she finished speaking, tears fell from Lin Su’s eyes. A beauty in tears was pitiful and very sad.

She coughed a few times, so fragile that she seemed to break with a touch.

Seeing this, several aunts couldn’t bear it. Lin Su was about the same age as their daughters.

“Qin Sui’s mother, don’t go too far. You tormented your ex-daughter-in-law to death before, and you should have been sent to be criticized and paraded through the streets. Now you still want to force your current daughter-in-law to death. Aren’t you afraid of being reported?” A knowledgeable aunt said the key point.

There were few criticisms in the village now, but the shadow of the previous criticisms was still there. Qin’s mother had witnessed it with her own eyes, so she was still a little afraid when she heard it, but she was still stubborn.

“Do you think I was scared big!”

It would be more convincing if her voice didn’t tremble.