Lin Shu was feeling pretty good today since she wasn’t short of breath, unlike Fang Dihua, who was unusually tight with money.

She’d spent nearly 11 yuan on buying books and seeing a doctor.

11 yuan!!!

This money doesn’t last long, and this city really shouldn’t be entered carelessly.

While spending the money, she didn’t think much of it, but now she’s feeling more and more distressed.

She hasn’t even bought the cloth yet, which is even more expensive, but cloth is a necessity.

She can’t let the third daughter-in-law wear tattered clothes, right?

Fang Dihua isn’t usually the type to dwell on things. She’s usually fiery and quick to act.

She doesn’t hold things in; if she’s angry, she’ll shout.

But right now, it feels like she’s possessed by the previous owner of this body, holding in her frustrations and stewing silently.

She can’t scold Lin Shu.

She’s afraid to, because if she did, she might end up comforting her if she cried on the way.

Besides, the third son has been risking his life outside; she can’t scold his wife.

It’s frustrating and maddening!

Fang Dihua finally understands what it feels like to be the third daughter-in-law and stew in silence.

Lin Shu is still talking to her, “Mother, Dr. Yan is quite nice. My father’s situation went smoothly. I thought it would be a big hassle.”

Lin Shu lacks experience from this era and, since the previous owner was timid and hadn’t ventured out, most of her knowledge came from gossiping with her older sister-in-law.

She thought that turning the herbal balm into something useful might involve risks like speculative trading.

Even if the hospital was willing to let her father try it, there would be many strict conditions.

She didn’t expect Dr. Yan to be so accommodating.

It’s impossible for her father-in-law to be officially admitted to the hospital, but the best option is to get a barefoot doctor position.

This way, he won’t have to work in the fields and will still get work credits and consultation allowances.

Of course, it has to be done gradually; you can’t achieve everything at once.

Her mother’s eye treatment also went well.

According to the doctor, although the treatment was a bit late, it was still timely.

There were no serious problems that couldn’t be treated.

After some anti-inflammatory treatment, a minor surgery would suffice.

Lin Shu thought today was truly a good day with everything going smoothly.

She was so happy she couldn’t help humming, “Today is a good day.”

Except for the stubborn old lady who was unhappy about spending money and kept a sour face, ignoring her all the way.

By the time they got home, it was already noon.

Sister-in-law Lu Da and Second Sister-in-law Lu Er had prepared lunch.

Since it was so hot, the production team leader allowed the nearby villagers to go home for lunch and a nap, returning to work at 2:30.

For those coming from farther away, it wasn’t worth it to go back and forth, so they still had food delivered and rested in the shade at noon.

Second Sister-in-law Lu Er knew that Lin Shu and her mother-in-law went to the county, and she spent the whole afternoon making sarcastic remarks, saying how the mother-in-law favors the third family and protects them.

At lunchtime, she naturally refused to cook; it was Sister Lu Da who did it.

Sister Lu Er believed in doing as little work as possible in a big family.

If you did a task, it became your responsibility; if you didn’t do it, it was just left as is.

So, apart from the necessary farm work, she avoided household chores as much as possible.

The cost of this was that if Lin Shu didn’t cook, Sister Lu would go off the rails.

Her cooking was terrible, due to her lack of skill and excessive confidence, always trying to come up with new ideas.

For instance, she would try to add various ingredients to steamed buns, despite just needing to make them well.

Today’s lunch was steamed buns made with pumpkin, dandelion greens, and bitter herbs.

When pumpkin is overcooked, it becomes mushy and sticky, and dandelion greens and bitter herbs, apart from being very bitter and tough by now, are already past their prime!

Even chickens wouldn’t eat it!

Combined, these ingredients made a truly… unpleasant meal.

However, Sister Lu Da thought she was putting more effort into cooking compared to the third family.

Cornmeal was too hard to bite, and with the mushy pumpkin, wasn’t it just right?

Eating something bitter in summer helps clear heat and relieve fatigue.

Dandelion greens and bitter herbs were just right, she thought.

Combining food and vegetables saved the trouble of preparing separate dishes, making it both convenient and thrifty!

She was so proud of her culinary skills!

Confidently, she carried the soup pot and buns to the fields to deliver her “delicious” meal to the men.

Lu Ping and his brother, after finishing their meal at school, went to mow grass to earn a few work points, then caught grasshoppers and even cooked frogs, refusing to return home.

Lu Cuicui avoided home to escape her mother’s scolding, so she was nowhere to be seen except in the morning and evening.

With no adults around, Sister Lu Er complained openly in front of the children, Tiantian and Panpan.

If Lin Shu had cooked something delicious, she would come back, wash her hands, eat, and then enjoy making fun of Lin Shu’s sulking face, which would make Sister Lu Er very happy.

But today was different!

“This is cooking? This is pig food!”

“That pair of shoes is clearly mine. Why can’t I get them back? Why protect her? Does a man become an ancestor when he’s gone?”

“This whole family is just bullying me! Why didn’t they take me to the county for a visit? Am I not a daughter-in-law? Am I just picked up?”

Panpan and Tiantian stared at her, one on each side.

Panpan: “Aunt Er, are you scolding my grandmother?”

Sister Lu Er choked on her words and immediately said, “Nonsense, how could I scold your grandmother? Don’t spread rumors, you children.”

Panpan: “Then are you scolding my mother?”

Tiantian: “Aunt Er, why are you so upset? Who bullied you?”

Sister Lu Er: “…”

The two little troublemakers, getting off easy and still acting innocent, shouldn’t think I don’t know that the old woman is secretly giving you malt milk essence.

Why isn’t she giving any to me?

She went into the in-laws’ room, looking for the malt milk essence but couldn’t find it. She knew it must have been locked up by Fang Dihua.

Lin Shu didn’t lock it up at home, so locking it up at her own place is like treating herself like a thief?

That’s unfair to Fang Dihua.

The malt milk essence was bought by the eldest daughter to honor the elderly couple.

The old couple, reluctant to drink it themselves, mostly fed it to the kids.

Naturally, Tantan and Tiantian got more since, as the children of Lu Shaotang, they had never seen their father and the elderly were more affectionate toward them.

The remaining half can of malt milk essence was given to Lin Shu by Fang Dihua because she was worried about Lin Shu’s mental health and wanted her to have something sweet to cheer up.

Lin Shu locked it in her own box, as she was guarding against Second Sister-in-law Lu from stealing it.

..

When they arrived home, Fang Dihua first went to return the bicycle while Lin Shu struggled to carry a heavy bag of books and medicine back inside.

She was so weak that she swayed under the weight of the books.

Panpan and Tiantian immediately ran out like birds flying back to their nest when they heard them, shouting, “Grandma, Mom, you’re back!”

The two kids scrambled to help Lin Shu with the things.

Lin Shu smiled and handed them the medicine, saying, “This is Grandma’s medicine. Be careful with it, don’t drop it.”

She then carried the large cloth bag into the house.

Second Sister-in-law Lu, while smiling, said in a sarcastic tone, “Oh, the third family, did you go on a big shopping spree? Let me see what good things you bought.”

As she spoke, she reached out to grab things.

Lin Shu, who was already struggling, was further hindered by Second Sister-in-law Lu’s attempts to grab things.

Lin Shu continued to move quickly, putting the cloth bag on the bed and gasping for breath from exhaustion.

Second Sister-in-law Lu, unprepared, was bumped by the corner of Lin Shu’s bag and hit her head against the corner of the Eight table on the north side.

She cried out in pain and angrily shouted, “Third family, are you trying to kill me?”

She was so furious that she wanted to tear into Lin Shu.

Lin Shu, feeling hot and thirsty, hurried to get some water from the pot.

The family only had one kettle for the two kids, and neither she nor Fang Dihua had brought water.

After a morning of running around in the scorching sun, she was parched.

“Pfft—” A sip of water made her spit it out because it was so bitter and terrible to drink!

Second Sister-in-law Lu, who was about to confront her, got sprayed all over her face and head.

Lin Shu hurriedly said, “Second Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”

Second Sister-in-law Lu stomped her feet in anger, “Third family, are you trying to make me die of anger?”

Panpan and Tiantian immediately rushed to confront Second Sister-in-law Lu Er.

Tiantian: “Aunt Er, don’t be so harsh to my mother!”

Panpan: “Aunt Er is like a chameleon, one moment she’s smiling, the next she’s fierce.”

Sister Lu Er was fuming.

It seemed that even if they were bullying her, she couldn’t say anything!

Just as she was about to lose her temper, Fang Dihua returned from outside, accompanied by her cousin, Lu Shaocai.

Lu Shaocai wore a straw hat to shield himself from the sun, had a cigarette in his mouth, and was dressed in a white, short-sleeved, polyester shirt with several pens sticking out of the pocket.

He wore trendy, loose trousers that were soaked with sweat, though he didn’t seem to notice.

On his feet were black leather shoes and white nylon socks.

The moment Lin Shu saw him, she wanted to run away.