Hearing this, Lin’s mother decided to give up, weakly saying, “Then you tell me what you want.”

Sun Xiaohong replied, “Either return the sewing machine to me or give me 200 yuan.”

The sewing machine was worth 150 yuan, and buying a ticket cost 50 yuan.

Lin’s mother said, “But it was originally bought by her in-laws.”

Sun Xiaohong insisted, “I don’t care. You said it was my dowry.”

Aunt Lin interjected, “That’s not right. Sun Xiaohong, you should remember that your family said the dowry would be converted into cash. You didn’t get a dowry; even your new clothes were converted into cash by your parents.”

Sun Xiaohong felt a bit embarrassed but firmly argued, “That doesn’t matter. Anything that was in my room when I moved in is mine.”

Aunt Lin and Lin’s mother united against her, “You’re being unreasonable. The matchmaker was still around, and the neighbors who came to the wedding are also still around.”

Sun Xiaohong stubbornly refused to acknowledge their claims, saying only that she was concerned with what was in her new home.

Aunt Lin got angry, “So you think your husband is less valuable than a sewing machine?”

Do you want the sewing machine or your husband?

Sun Xiaohong didn’t understand this and said, “Of course I want both. Everything is mine, so why shouldn’t I have it?”

She always thought the Lin family was very poor, and she felt it was a great favor to marry into the Lin family.

Lin’s mother, realizing she couldn’t argue and was feeling very unwell, said to Aunt Lin, “Sister, I have a severe headache, I feel dizzy and nauseous, and my heart is pounding…”

She couldn’t argue because when she did, her heart would pound and her limbs would go weak.

Aunt Lin said, “Let’s go. You can rest at my house for a while.”

Aunt Lin helped Lin’s mother out, intentionally raising her voice in the alley so that nearby old women would hear and come over to see what was happening.

When they saw Lin’s mother’s face, they exclaimed, “What happened?”

Aunt Lin replied, “Her daughter-in-law hit her.”

The old women became immediately upset, “How can the daughter of the Sun family be so cruel? How dare she hit her mother-in-law? Isn’t that outrageous?”

Lin’s mother was worried as she went to her sister-in-law’s house, afraid that Sun Xiaohong might throw a tantrum and destroy things at home.

There was only one thermos at home, and the basin, bowls, and teacups were all limited.

If they were broken, they would be expensive to replace.

Lin’s mother lived a hard and poor life, so she had to save every little thing, never wasting anything.

Even if the urine pot was broken by Sun Xiaohong, it would still make her heartache.

Aunt Lin whispered to her, “She treats the household items as hers, so she wouldn’t waste them.”

As an observer, Aunt Lin understood that Sun Xiaohong always considered the Lin family’s things as her own.

She thought of her in-laws as her personal property.

She wanted them to work for her and support her financially, as she was trying to get money from her older sister.

Imagine if you broke a dish—how would she react? She definitely wouldn’t be happy.

People tend to care for their home only if they feel it’s truly theirs.

Those who keep messing around or going back to their own family haven’t made the in-laws’ house feel like home.

They only disrupt the place they consider their real home.

Aunt Lin thought that Sun Xiaohong was selfish.

Sun Xiaohong manipulated her in-laws for her own enjoyment and didn’t contribute anything to her family.

Sometimes, she even went back to her own family to enjoy a good meal.

Aunt Lin saw through her.

When Aunt Lin passed, Sun Xiaohong was very angry at home.

She wanted to throw a tantrum in her in-laws’ room, but there wasn’t much to throw.

The room had broken items: a cracked mirror, a chipped tea cup, and a damaged porcelain bowl, along with a sewing basket.

Her own room, however, had the good items like the warming pot, enamel basin, and jars.

If she threw things, she would be damaging her own favorite belongings.

Her sewing machine, though, was a different story!

Sun Xiaohong was so angry that she stomped her feet and pounded her chest, crying out, “Thieves! I must go to Lu Family Village to get it back!”

She sent her child to Aunt Lin’s house and went out to investigate.

She found out that Lin Yue, her husband, and Zhou Weimin had taken the sewing machine to Lu Family Village.

She went to Zhou Weimin’s place to make a scene.

Zhou Weimin was a young, unmarried man, and his mother cherished him.

After hearing that Sun Xiaohong had hit her mother-in-law, Zhou’s mother wasn’t inclined to be kind.

Zhou’s mother stopped her with a stern face and said, “Sun Xiaohong, what are you doing?”

Sun Xiaohong was furious when Zhou’s mother didn’t refer to her as Lin Yue’s wife but by her own name.

She replied coldly, “Auntie, I need to ask why Weimin took my sewing machine to Lu Family Village?”

Zhou’s mother responded sharply, “You should ask your husband and your in-laws. Weimin was just helping out.”

Sun Xiaohong felt insulted.

Zhou’s mother’s response made her feel even more angry and frustrated.

Sun Xiaohong: “He helped carry it over, who else could it be? Why is he so proactive?”

Zhou Mother: “Don’t make a fuss in my house. I’m not your soft-spoken mother-in-law who lets you bully everyone. How did you even marry Lin Yue? Do you think we don’t know? You’re really something!”

Sun Xiaohong’s face turned red with embarrassment.

She was bold enough to act but couldn’t handle being criticized.

She immediately wanted to make a scene.

Zhou Mother pushed her out. “Go make a fuss on the street and let everyone hear about your mess.”

Sun Xiaohong, already angry, stood at the door and shouted.

Soon, other women gathered around, deliberately commenting, “Whose daughter-in-law is this? Why is she so outrageous?”

“Being unreasonable, really a shrew!”

“Oh, isn’t this Old Sun’s daughter? Even before marriage, she was so promiscuous and wanted to sleep with men everywhere. Only Lin Yue, an honest child, was fooled by her.”

Sun Xiaohong’s face turned from blue to black with rage.

Trembling, she pointed at them and said, “You… you all wait!”

Originally, it was a matter about the sewing machine, a conflict between her and Lin Shu.

But now, since she kicked Lin’s mother, it turned into a conflict between her and all the village women.

The village women might not have supported Lin’s mother, but the sentiment of mutual opposition was quite intriguing.

They grouped together in support.

Sun Xiaohong rushed back to her parental home to complain.

Sun’s village wasn’t far from Lin’s village, but coming back late at night was quite alarming, making everyone think there was an urgent matter.

Sun’s Mother: “Daughter, what happened? Who bullied you?”

Sun Xiaohong cried and complained, asking her parents and brothers to support her.

Sun’s Mother was so angry she immediately wanted to grab a weapon and go over. “How dare they!”

Old Sun, however, was more rational. “This matter isn’t easy to handle. Should we go beat up the in-laws?”

Sun’s Mother: “We have to reason with them! Why did they bully our daughter-in-law?”

Old Sun: “Didn’t you hear? Our daughter accidentally kicked the mother-in-law.”

Sun’s Mother: “Then we should reason with them, why didn’t they protect the daughter-in-law and let her be bullied by the villagers?”

Old Sun was more clear-headed, realizing that if Lin’s parents could protect their daughter-in-law, they wouldn’t have failed to protect their son.

And could their daughter have married Lin Yue if that were the case?

He wasn’t a scoundrel, but he had many sons and the family was poor, making it difficult to find a wife.

His only daughter wasn’t very attractive and couldn’t hope to marry into a wealthy family to help her brothers.

He needed to use some tricks.

After some deliberation, he chose the Lin family.

The Lin family had three daughter and one son.

The daughter was very pretty, and her older sisters were married in the city and could send money home.

If his daughter could marry the Lin family’s younger son, it would be good.

Lin Yue was tall and handsome but had a gentle and naive personality, which made him easy to manipulate.

Plus, he was very good-looking, and the young women liked him.

His own daughter also fell for him immediately.

The old lady of the Lin family was very shrewd.

She had married off her granddaughters well, and with few sons and low expenses, she was eager to find a marriage that would benefit the Lin family.

At that time, Lin Yue was still young.

The old lady wasn’t in a hurry and thought she could start looking for a match for him when he was 19.

She even considered arranging a job for him in the commune or county.