Lu Da was still a bit confused, “Isn’t driving tractors usually a job for men?”

Lin Shu replied, “How can that be? Haven’t you seen movies where many women drive big tractors and trucks?”

Lu Dage overheard and snorted, “What’s a woman doing messing around with machines? That’s a job for us men.”

Lin Shu couldn’t help but retort, “Big Brother, do you earn more work points than Sister-in-law?”

Normally, if someone criticized her husband, Lu Da would defend him.

But Lin Shu… she really admired Lin Shu now.

This was her sister-in-law who had been praised by the county police and the commune leaders, even receiving an award.

So Lu Da said, “Your Big Brother is very capable and can earn high work points too.”

Of course, not full points; in the family, Fang Dihua, Old Lu, Sister Lu Da, and Second Brother Lu were the ones who earned full points.

Lin Shu continued, “Anyway, I think Sister-in-law can drive a tractor better than any of them.”

She made a gesture as if brandishing a knife, “Sister-in-law, show them what you’ve got!”

Meanwhile, Panpan and Tiantian, who were reciting their lessons with their grandfather, turned around and chimed in, “That’s right! If Mom says Big Aunt can do it, then she can do it!”

Lu Da kept saying she couldn’t do it, but in her heart, she started to wonder.

What if… she really could do it?

Lin Shu knew that Sister-in-law had already agreed to give it a try.

When Sun Xiaohong went back to her parents’ house to deliver peaches, her mother gave her a thorough talk, telling her to hurry back and make up with Lin Yue.

“Once you’ve got control over your man, what do your in-laws and sisters-in-law matter? Back in the day, your grandmother…”

Sun Xiaohong, still holding onto her pride, said, “I’m not going to bow down to him.”

Old Mrs. Sun said, “In a marriage, there’s no such thing as bowing down. You just need to treat him well, and when you’re in bed, doesn’t he still listen to you? Hurry back, we don’t have 200 yuan to buy you a sewing machine.”

Sun Xiaohong felt uneasy.

Even though she hadn’t expected her parents to buy her the sewing machine, hearing her mother say so clearly that they wouldn’t give her the money made her uncomfortable.

Old Mrs. Sun noticed her daughter-in-law peeking in and gave her a hard shove, whispering, “Don’t come back and cause your brother and sister-in-law to fight again. Don’t act as badly as your third sister-in-law.”

When Old Mr. Sun came back and told her how Lin’s father and the neighbors pressured him to give 200 yuan to replace the sewing machine for their daughter, Old Mrs. Sun almost jumped in anger.

Twenty yuan might be doable, but two hundred? Why not just rob them?

Who has two hundred yuan to spare?

The old couple didn’t want to admit it at all.

There was no way they would just give up two hundred yuan because Lin’s father pressured them, so they didn’t tell their son or daughter-in-law.

They just wanted their daughter to sweet-talk Lin Yue and make up for accidentally hitting her mother-in-law.

This issue was brushed over, and the matter of the sewing machine became irrelevant.

As long as Lin Yue didn’t pursue it, his parents wouldn’t dare to make a fuss, and the third sister-in-law was insignificant.

Sun Xiaohong felt aggrieved.

That was her sewing machine, why should she give it up? She hadn’t really hit her mother-in-law; they were ganging up on her.

Why should Lin Yue not comfort her, and instead, she had to comfort him?

Why wouldn’t her parents and brothers stand up for her?

Wasn’t it their duty?

Why not this time?

Old Lady Sun, seeing her daughter being stubborn, quietly complained, “This time, you’re in the wrong. If you hadn’t lost your temper, would it have come to this? Why did you have to kick her? I taught you so many ways to handle men and deal with in-laws, but you chose the dumbest one?”

“You could have quietly mocked her, insulted her where no one could hear. You could have made her work without giving her enough food to eat, wouldn’t that have vented your anger? Even if you went outside her window at night to make noise and keep her up all night, it would have been better.”

“Why resort to violence? The one who hits is always in the wrong, don’t you know that?”

Old Sun was also annoyed and didn’t comfort his daughter much.

He asked Sun Er to take his sister back home.

Sun Xiaohong, feeling wronged, left her parents’ house in a huff, mumbling all the way.

Sun Er, frustrated, said, “Sis, don’t worry. If Lin Yue dares to scold you, I’ll beat him up!”

Feeling even more aggrieved, Sun Xiaohong, seeing her brother still protecting her, vented, “Yes, beat him up!”

At the Lin house:

Because Lin Yue was shouting about getting a divorce, Aunt Lin and Uncle Lin also came over.

Uncle Lin analyzed the disadvantages of divorce with Lin Yue and the others.

In those days, divorce was unheard of in the countryside.

Couples, no matter how badly they fought, just accepted their fate and endured it for the sake of their children.

The most crucial point was that divorce would bring shame!

Not just to oneself, but to the parents, siblings, and the entire family.

Mother Lin was lying on the kang bed.

Initially, she pretended to be unwell as her daughter suggested, but later, she truly felt uncomfortable.

Being scolded made her anxious and short of breath, especially after that kick from Sun Xiaohong.

It brought up deep-seated fears, causing her to tremble and triggering her heart condition.

Last night, she had a fever while on an IV drip and kept having nightmares about past traumas.

She dreamt of being old and unable to move, with Sun Xiaohong beating and cursing her and not giving her food.

The nightmares left her unsettled.

Hearing her son talk about divorce, she felt a bit of hope but was also burdened by the guilt of potentially ruining her son’s marriage.

She feared that Lin Yue, with his soft heart, was only saying it out of anger and that the couple would reconcile, leading to even worse treatment from her daughter-in-law.

Moreover, she pitied her grandson losing his mother and felt regret for the significant betrothal gifts they had given.

“Getting a divorce would be a huge loss,” thought Lin’s mother.

Even she felt that Uncle Lin was right—better to downplay the situation and avoid a divorce.

She even took the initiative to explain on Sun Xiaohong’s behalf, saying that Sun Xiaohong didn’t do it on purpose; it was just a moment of bad temper.

“Every family has its ups and downs, right? Who doesn’t have little quarrels throughout their life? It’s rare to find a family where the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law never argue,” she thought.

Lin’s mother believed she could endure this.

She’d endured hardships her whole life, so what was one more thing to tolerate in her old age?

Lin Yue hadn’t initially wanted a divorce, but when he came home and saw his mother’s bruised face, the anger he’d been suppressing for a long time surged up.

Sun Xiaohong used to only scold him and pinch him, complaining about how his mother was stingy or didn’t ask their daughter for enough money.

But she never directly insulted his mother or dared to hit her.

But now, over a sewing machine, Sun Xiaohong not only yelled but also hit his mother.

If it happened once, it could happen again.

He feared that in the future, she might vent her anger on his mother whenever something went wrong.

Uncle Lin’s words made Lin Yue hesitate.

Without a mother, his son would suffer. Returning the dowry would be a big financial loss.

A divorce would embarrass his parents and sisters…

At that moment, Mother Zhou, Aunt Lin, Lin Aidi, and several other elderly women came running in.

After hearing Uncle Lin’s perspective, Mother Zhou immediately said, “I’m not trying to cause trouble, but that Sun family girl is too much!

She hit her mother-in-law today, and you can bet she’ll do worse tomorrow. This isn’t just your family’s problem—if other daughters-in-law start copying her, we older women might as well jump into the river now.”

The other elderly women agreed—they were genuinely shocked by Sun Xiaohong’s actions.

Even though they weren’t particularly close to Lin’s mother before, seeing her so frail and pitiful made them empathize.

Especially since some of them also had difficult daughters-in-law, they felt the need to push Lin Yue toward divorce, to set an example and warn other daughters-in-law in their village.

As for the shame of divorce? It wasn’t their son getting divorced, so why should they care?

If anything, they saw it as a good deed—saving Lin Yue and his parents. If anyone mocked Lin Yue for getting divorced, they’d be the first to stand up for him.

So, Mother Zhou began questioning Aunt Lin about how Sun Xiaohong had beaten Lin’s mother.

Aunt Lin hadn’t witnessed the whole thing, but with the other women egging her on, she exaggerated the story.

By the end, Aunt Lin claimed she saw Sun Xiaohong punching and kicking Lin’s mother, cursing her for being useless and not even being able to take care of a sewing machine, and even hitting her on the head with a corn cob.

A kick landed squarely on Lin Mother’s chest.

As she continued, she became more fluent, painting a vivid picture that even she started to believe.

The other women believed it even more.

If it weren’t this serious, how could Lin Mother be on an IV drip?

The barefoot doctor had said it was very serious!

Initially, Lin Yue felt guilty and blamed himself seeing his mother in such a pitiful state.

Now, hearing his aunt recount the events, he felt so distressed that he started slapping himself.

Lin Mother, unable to bear it, quickly insisted that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed and that Sun Xiaohong hadn’t hit her.

However, Lin’s aunt and the other women wouldn’t have it.

They continued to persuade Lin Mother, saying, “You’re too kind for your own good. Even when you’re being cursed, you deny it; when you’re being hit, you hide your injuries. She hit you like that, and you still protect her? If I hadn’t stopped her, she would have beaten you to death.”

With their words adding fuel to the fire, Lin Yue felt even more heartbroken, guilty, and furious.

His anger surged, and he was determined to get a divorce.

He could no longer let Sun Xiaohong hit his mother.

If this continued, it would kill her!