Chapter 2: Simple Meals, First Wife’s Slander

To a certain extent, Zhao Menglan still understood Ye Qiu. At first, she had taken a liking to Ye Qiu because of her good looks, thinking that any children she bore in the future would surely be good-looking as well. So she had paid a large bride price to marry her into the family.

Unexpectedly, the Lu family had married a troublemaker into the household. Ye Qiu would cause a stir about splitting the family at the slightest provocation, quarrel with her two sisters-in-law every few days, and even lord over the household relying on the fact that she had children.

After the family split, Zhao Menglan had worried that Ye Qiu, being alone with two children, would have a hard time making ends meet. She even gave away part of her younger son’s allowance to help. Yet, she did not expect that the two grandsons raised under Ye Qiu’s care would become thinner and thinner.

If it were not for her secretly providing support, Zhao Menglan feared that her two robust grandsons might have starved and fainted at home.

When Lu Zhibei saw that his grandmother did not believe him, he pulled her by the hand to take her home. Zhao Menglan hurriedly waved her hand.

“Da Wa, you’re the elder brother. Keep a closer eye on Xiao Wa. I won’t go inside.”

People always said that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were naturally incompatible. Every time Zhao Menglan met Ye Qiu, she would be met with sarcastic jabs. Over time, for the sake of her own health, Zhao Menglan had simply avoided meeting Ye Qiu altogether.

Just as Zhao Menglan turned to leave, Ye Qiu, who was in the kitchen, heard the commotion. She poked her head out, saw Zhao Menglan, froze for two seconds, and quickly came out.

Zhao Menglan was also a bit surprised to see her. The two of them stood there silently, the atmosphere awkward. Zhao Menglan coughed, her voice lacking confidence.

“Well, um, I came to bring some food for Da Wa and Xiao Wa.”

“Oh, oh, Mother, come in and sit for a while. Stay and eat with us later.”

Zhao Menglan waved her hand.

“No need. You three just eat. Chuanzi’s wife, Mother’s not criticizing you, but Chuanzi’s allowance isn’t much. You should save it.”

Ye Qiu did not quite understand. She lowered her head and, seeing the clothes on the two children, gave a small smile.

“The allowance is enough. I bought them a set of clothes to rotate between.”

Zhao Menglan was silent for a few seconds. She had not been referring to the children’s clothes—she had meant Ye Qiu’s. If she remembered correctly, the clothes Ye Qiu was wearing now were new too, ones she had never seen before.

Under the persistent pleading of her two grandsons, Zhao Menglan finally agreed to stay. But when she saw the dishes Ye Qiu brought out, Zhao Menglan was so shocked she immediately stood up.

“This… this… you cooked the cured meat?”

“Yes. Isn’t meat meant to be cooked and eaten?” Ye Qiu tilted her head, signaling the two children to help in the kitchen. Children should not be spoiled. “Zhinan, go get the bowls and chopsticks. Zhibei, pour some water for Mother.”

Cleaning the kitchen had exhausted Ye Qiu. She had scrubbed it from top to bottom, burning anything useless as firewood, and prepared a simple meal to make do for now, planning to make something tastier later when she had time.

There was a stir-fry of cured meat, a stir-fry of eggs, and four steamed white flour buns. Of course, the buns had been secretly taken from Ye Qiu’s space—there was no such fine grain available at this time.

When Zhao Menglan saw the buns, she gasped in shock.

“These buns are so white. Third’s Wife, where did you get such fine flour?”

“I traded for them. Mother, hurry and eat, eat more.” Not wanting Zhao Menglan to ask too many questions, Ye Qiu diligently picked food for her. Zhao Menglan, sitting across from her, felt restless. In just these few days, Third’s Wife seemed like a completely different person.

Before, she would roll her eyes and pretend not to see her. Now, this sudden attentiveness was almost frightening.

The two children were eating with great enthusiasm. Seeing her mother constantly drinking water, Lu Zhinan ran back and forth several times to refill her cup. Ye Qiu touched her eldest son’s head with satisfaction.

“Lu Zhinan is such a good boy.”

Hearing her daughter-in-law call her grandson by his full name, Zhao Menglan thought for a moment before speaking up.

“Elders say it’s better to call children by their nicknames—it keeps them healthy.” After all, lowly names helped children survive. Hearing the full name made Zhao Menglan uncomfortable.

Ye Qiu nodded. Upon learning that Lu Zhinan and Lu Zhibei’s nicknames were Da Wa and Xiao Wa, she beamed with joy.

Seeing her reaction, Zhao Menglan began to worry, afraid that Ye Qiu might get angry later. After all, she had named the children herself. According to the Lu family’s generational order, the children should be of the “Tian” generation.

The eldest branch’s child was named Lu Tianjie. For Ye Qiu’s children, they should have been Lu Tiannan and Lu Tianbei. But Ye Qiu had flatly refused, and had secretly registered them under their current names.

After the meal, Ye Qiu even stuffed two white flour buns into Zhao Menglan’s hands, frightening her into freezing in place. If it had been from another daughter-in-law, Zhao Menglan would have happily accepted right away. But since it came from Third’s Wife, she hesitated.

“Old Third’s Wife, do you need something from me?” Eating Ye Qiu’s food, Zhao Menglan felt as though there was a trap, her whole demeanor tense, as if she would return the buns unless she figured it out.

“No, nothing. Da Wa and Er Wa troubled Mother before. Please take these home and eat them.”

Although Zhao Menglan did not quite believe Ye Qiu had changed so suddenly, who could resist white flour buns? Besides, they were given out of filial piety. Ever since Ye Qiu married into the Lu family, Zhao Menglan had never eaten food she cooked.

A lazy person being diligent for one day was enough to earn praise. Today, having eaten Ye Qiu’s cooking and hearing such considerate words, Zhao Menglan was so moved that tears almost fell. She held Ye Qiu’s hand and reminded her,

“They’re my own grandsons—what’s there to worry about? With Chuanzi not at home, if you need anything, just come to our place. Your Eldest Brother and Second Brother are there and can help you.”

Zhao Menglan’s warmth was enough to make Ye Qiu a little uneasy, so she quickly nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Zhao Menglan happily carried the buns back home. Just as she arrived, she saw her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhuang Meifeng, hanging wet clothes in the courtyard, glancing at her with sideways eyes. Coming home only to be met with her daughter-in-law’s sullen face, Zhao Menglan’s own expression immediately darkened.

“First’s Wife, if your eyes are crooked, slap yourself twice. Who are you venting your anger at?”

At home, Zhao Menglan’s word was law. She kept her daughters-in-law in strict order. Seeing her mother-in-law return, Zhuang Meifeng quickly forced a smile.

“Mother, of course not. I’m just upset. We agreed to take turns tending the fire and cooking, but today Second’s Wife still refuses to do her share…” Zhuang Meifeng subtly sowed discord. She had long noticed that her mother-in-law feared only Third’s Wife.

Toward herself and Second’s Wife, Zhao Menglan was fair, neither favoring nor helping either side. If not for her own discord with Third’s Wife, she would have gone straight to Ye Qiu to ask how she managed to handle Mother-in-law so well.

Learning that Second’s Wife still refused to work today, Zhao Menglan’s face instantly turned dark. She strode to the doorway with a gloomy expression.

“Second’s Wife, come out.”

Inside, Wu Laidi trembled at the sound of her mother-in-law’s voice. She rubbed her belly and dared not make a sound. Looking at her two daughters beside her, she gave Da Ya a firm push.

“Go tell your grandmother I’m not feeling well. I need to rest these days to nurture the pregnancy and try to give the Lu family a big, healthy baby boy.”