If his peers had said that about him, he would have charged over to fight them long ago.

But that aunt was an adult, with a baby in her belly, so they couldn’t fight her.

“What?” He Jiaxing’s mom suddenly became alert.

Who dared to speak ill of her son?

She couldn’t bear to hear anyone say her son wasn’t good, but someone actually dared to say that about her son?

Although He Jiaxing’s mom had accepted that He Jianxing did chores and worked in the fields, deep down, she still spoiled him.

Others could criticize her, but they couldn’t criticize her son.

He was her only son, and no one was allowed to speak ill of him.

Although He Jiaxing’s mom was angry, she didn’t immediately confront anyone.

Instead, she first carefully asked for the reason: “Why did that aunt speak ill of you?”

He Jiaxing explained, “We were helping the aunt clean, and she was sleeping on the table outside the house.

Later, the water in the bucket ran out, so we called her to ask what to do, but no matter how we called, she wouldn’t wake up.

Later, Lin Haiyang said he saw the aunt move. Then Lin Haizhi said since there was no water, we couldn’t clean, so we left.

Just after we left the aunt’s house, Lin Haizhi told us to hide at the door, and we watched from there.

Guess what happened next…

We saw the auntie wake up immediately after we left, and she started scolding us.

She was pretending to be asleep, she’s so bad. Mom, why did she pretend to sleep?

We called her several times, but she wouldn’t wake up.”

“Why pretend to sleep?” He Jiaxing’s mom snorted.

Obviously, she didn’t want to work and was lazy.

Why do they say women understand women the best?

It’s because women rarely give other women the benefit of the doubt.

Besides, it’s clear in this case that she didn’t want to do chores, so she pretended to be asleep.

Just thinking about her son being criticized for doing chores made He Jiaxing’s mom unable to bear it.

So, instead of taking a nap, she decided to go and confront the aunt.

After all, her son couldn’t take this injustice. Besides, her son was right, so who was she afraid of?

“Jiaxing, let’s go to the twins’ house.” He Jiaxing’s mom said.

She had lived for thirty years and had never seen such a shameless woman.

“Let’s go, let’s go to the twins’ house.” He Jiaxing bounced ahead happily.

When he noticed his mom walking slower, he urged her, “Mom, hurry up.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Walk carefully, don’t run so fast, what if you fall…” Listening to his mom’s nagging, He Jiaxing wanted to cover his ears.

As mother and son walked along, they heard someone call out from beside them, “He Jiaxing…”

Yang Wenjie’s voice called out.

He Jiaxing and his mom turned their heads and saw Yang Wenjie and his mom approaching as well.

He Jiaxing’s mom said, “Sister-in-law, where are you going? We’re going to the twins’ house.”

Yang Wenjie was the youngest son, with older siblings above him, and his mom was older than He Jiaxing’s mom.

“We’re also going to the twins’ house. Just now Wenjie told me…” Yang Wenjie’s mom explained Wang Yuhong’s situation, “Are you here because of this too?”

The two children had been cleaning together, and now meeting here was easy to guess why.

“Exactly! Our Jiaxing also told me. How could there be such a person, who can’t distinguish good from bad?

These kids were good enough to go clean for her, and she still talked badly about them behind their backs.

Luckily, they were clever and heard everything hiding by the door,” He Jiaxing’s mom said, growing angrier the more she thought about it.

Yang Wenjie’s mom wasn’t as impatient as He Jiaxing’s mom.

She kindly asked, “Speaking of which, Wenjie, why did you hide by the door? Didn’t you leave?”

Wenjie replied, “Because Lin Haiyang said he saw that aunt move, but even though we called her several times, she didn’t wake up.

Lin Haizhi suggested we hide by the door to see if she woke up. As soon as we left, she woke up immediately; she was just pretending to sleep.”

Yang Wenjie understood this well, especially in winter when he couldn’t get up in the morning.

When his mom came to wake him, he pretended to be asleep and ignored her calls.

“Exactly, she lied to us, pretending to sleep. How could someone be like this?” He Jiaxing also complained.

As the two pairs of mother and son discussed, they walked towards the Lin family.

Meanwhile, the Three brothers were still unaware of their friends’ situation; they were waiting at the gate for their dad.

Unlike other children in the family compound, the Three Brothers were quite well-known at the gate.

Upon arriving, they dutifully greeted the guard and then sat at the gate, enjoying the cool breeze while waiting for their dad.

At the Lin family’s house, the two pairs of mother and son had arrived.

“Sister Ning Shu… Is Sister Ning Shu here?” Yang Wenjie’s mom called out at the Lin family’s door.

“Ning Shu…,” He Jiaxing’s mom also called several times.

“I’m here, inside.” Ning Shu hadn’t been asleep for long, so she was still somewhat awake.

First, the Er Bao came to get a rag, then the Three brothers returned loudly, and now two pairs of mother and son had arrived, so she wasn’t deeply asleep.

As guests arrived, Ning Shu quickly got out of bed.

Coming to the door, she saw He Jiaxing’s mom and Yang Wenjie’s mom, with He Jiaxing and Yang Wenjie as well.

She was somewhat surprised, “Sister-in-law, why are you both here? What a coincidence.”

“We came over on purpose. We heard from the kids that you’ve got new neighbors next door?” He Jiaxing’s mom said.

“Yes… Please come inside, both sisters.” Ning Shu invited He Jiaxing’s mom and Yang Wenjie’s mom to sit in the dining room and then brought the fan from the room over.

Once Ning Shu brought the fan, Da Mao and Tie Dan immediately stood up and followed to the dining room, where they lay down in the spot where they could feel the breeze, acting all smart.

“Da Mao and Tie Dan are really smart, knowing to sleep in front of the fan,” Yang Wenjie’s mom said.

He Jiaxing’s mom added, “This is truly better than being human; some families don’t even have a fan to blow air.”

Ning Shu and Yang Wenjie’s mom had known He Jiaxing’s mom for about three years.

They understood that she had a straightforward personality – blunt, lacking in emotional intelligence perhaps, but fundamentally good-hearted.

If such words were spoken in another context about “being better off as a dog,” it might seem like a veiled insult.

However, knowing her well, they didn’t dwell on it.

Ning Shu replied, “In our rural hometown, we still don’t have electricity. Even if we had an electric fan, we couldn’t use it. In the summer, it’s still unbearably hot.”

He Jiaxing asked, “Auntie, what about the twins?”

Ning Shu replied, “I don’t know either. They might have gone somewhere to do something. The Three Brothers usually don’t go out when the sun is hot, so they must have had something to do.”

Upon hearing that the twins were not at home, Yang Wenjie and He Jiaxing bid farewell to their moms and left.

Looking at He Jiaxing’s mom and Yang Wenjie’s mom, Ning Shu asked, “Sisters-in-law, what’s happened? Why have you both come together? It seems quite serious, making me think of the worst.”

He Jiaxing’s mom replied mysteriously, “Didn’t the twins tell you?”

“No, I was just napping. They might have seen me sleeping and didn’t say anything. What’s happened? Weren’t they supposed to be cleaning next door? Is it done?” Ning Shu asked, surprised.

“Oh my, it’s about the cleaning…” He Jiaxing’s mom recounted the whole incident of the cleaning. “…Do elders do such things? Talking like that behind children’s backs?”

Ning Shu was also surprised; she hadn’t known about this.

But considering what Wang Yuhong had said earlier, Ning Shu wasn’t entirely surprised anymore. “It’s partly my fault. Actually, she asked me to help with the cleaning…”

Ning Shu explained from borrowing the water bucket onwards, “The kids were willing to help clean, and I thought since we’re all family members, and their male relatives are hospitalized due to a mission, and since they were willing to help, we shouldn’t refuse. So, I let them go.”

Yang Wenjie’s mom chimed in, “Exactly. When your kids came to ask for help, I heard it was to help the pregnant family members clean.

Although it’s a bit… After all, we’ve all been pregnant; who can’t do household chores when pregnant?

But regardless, they’re family members, and it was the first time. Since they asked, and the kids were doing a good deed, we were happy to agree. But now, things have turned out like this; it’s really disappointing.”

“This person must be insane,” He Jiaxing’s mom exclaimed.

Ning Shu smiled and thought If these two sisters were in modern times, they’d know some people have special traits, like being pretentious, hypocritical, excessively filial, or obsessed with love…

“Anyway, people with different principles shouldn’t associate too closely. But sisters-in-law, are you here to resolve something?” Ning Shu asked.

“Yes, how can we let our Jiaxing bear this anger? It’s not right to seek trouble,” He Jiaxing’s mom said.

Ning Shu chuckled, “But it’s not suitable to go now. She’s still pregnant. If we say something harsh, even if it’s unintentional, she might feel intimidated. Others might think we’re bullying her. Although this might not happen, it’s better to be cautious.”

Yang Wenjie’s mom found Ning Shu’s words reasonable. “Ning Shu, you’re so sensible. What you said makes sense. I was too angry at first and didn’t think about all this. Now that I do, it’s indeed not appropriate. The pregnant woman’s comfort is paramount. Knowing her nature, she might use any excuse to accuse us. Also, if her place isn’t cleaned yet, and she asks for help due to discomfort, it wouldn’t be right to refuse.”

While they were angry at how she spoke about the children, they couldn’t ignore a pregnant woman in need of help.

After all, they were all family members.

Turning a blind eye would show a lack of awareness and affect the men’s reputation.

He Jiaxing’s mom agreed, “I’m not that clever. If you hadn’t reminded me, I might have gone over there, and this matter wouldn’t have been resolved.”

“Of course not,” Ning Shu replied.

He Jiaxing’s mom’s eyes lit up. “Then, Ning Shu, what do you suggest?”