She said with a half-smile, “Third branch, it seems you’re feeling better now. My sister-in-law and I are working hard every day, and you’re just cooking at home.

I have a pair of shoes here. A few days ago, you couldn’t get up because of something, so I didn’t want to trouble you. Now look…”

With such an obvious hint, even if the original owner was unwilling, she had to reluctantly agree with, “Sister-in-law, then you can bring them over, and I’ll help you make them.”

Even if the original owner didn’t take the initiative, Lu Er would force her to.

If she didn’t agree, Lu Er would ask her to do it directly.

The original owner’s thin skin couldn’t withstand such indirect pressure, as Lu Er would use her stinginess, pettiness, and even throw in some derogatory comments about sister-in-law relationships.

The original owner’s skin was as thin as paper; even a glance or a sneer could pierce through it, let alone sharp words.

Lin Shu saw through Lu Er’s intention immediately and nodded, “Just bring them over.”

Soon, Lu Er returned with some scraps of cloth. “I remember you have some prepared cloth. Help me make a new pair of shoes,” she said, showing Lin Shu her worn-out shoes. “Look at my shoes; they’re all falling apart. The other day, when I went back to celebrate my mother’s birthday, the sisters laughed at me, saying our Lu family is so poor that we can’t afford shoes.”

So, she was not only asking the original owner to make the shoes but also provide the material.

With such a statement, the original owner had no choice but to agree, as it was unthinkable to let the Lu family lose face.

In reality, the original owner was wearing straw sandals herself.

Hmm, even the fabric for making shoes was taken by the second sister-in-law.

Lin Shu, recognizing the familiar fabric, decided to use it to make herself a pair of shoes since it was returned by the sister-in-law.

Sister-in-law Lu Da was nibbling on the cornbread. “Lu Er, the third branch is still sick. Don’t make her work.”

Lu Er grumbled internally about Lu Da, “If the third branch is willing, fine.”

Lin Shu: What do you mean by “fine”?

I should thank you for bringing the fabric to make shoes.

She imitated the original owner’s aggrieved look, “Ah, we can’t let the big sister-in-law and mother lose face, right? Sister-in-law, why don’t you just bring over the unfinished pair as well, and I’ll finish them together.”

Good things should come in pairs!

I’ll alternate between the two pairs!

Lu Er was very pleased and quickly brought over the shoe soles and uppers.

Sister-in-law Lu Da was distracted by the cold cucumber salad on the stove.

She took a bite and chewed, saying, “Third branch, what kind of dish is this? It doesn’t taste good.”

Doesn’t taste good?

Panpan and Tiantian widened their eyes.

My mother’s cooking is so delicious.

How can you say it doesn’t taste good?

Panpan asked, “Auntie, what kind of food tastes good then?”

Sister-in-law Lu Da replied, “This cucumber needs…”

“Add some water and stew it until it’s mushy, that’s when it tastes the best.”

Panpan and Tiantian exchanged a look, recalling their grandmother’s scolding words, “The wild boar can’t eat fine bran.”

It seemed fitting, considering the food was for pigs.

Grandmother always complained that their mother’s cooking wasn’t as good as hers.

However, when their mother fell ill, she cooked for them and their grandfather for two days, and they were all very satisfied.

Soon, Elder Sister Lu’s two sons, Lu Ping and Lu An, returned from school while cutting grass.

However, Second Sister Lu’s daughter was nowhere to be seen, even though she usually played until dark.

Elder Brother Lu and Elder Sister Lu Da had two sons.

Their daughter, aged 14, was learning tailoring at the commune aunt’s house, while the two sons were still in elementary school.

Second Brother Lu and Second Sister Lu Er had only one daughter.

During busy farming seasons, everyone returned at different times.

With many chores to do, they often ate when hungry.

There was always just dry food and pickles.

Lin Shu prepared cornbread and some cold dishes for them, along with fine noodles for each person.

The food for her in-laws was set aside.

She made five fine noodle rolls, just enough for each child.

These portions matched Panpan and Tiantian’s appetite.

Later, she planned to ask her mother-in-law if the children could continue eating the fine noodles.

If not, she would find a way to earn money to buy food for them.

Second Sister Lu looked into the pot and then at the food storage. “Third Family, is that all the fine noodles you made?”

“T0he Third Family is getting cunning and hiding food.”

She had often said that Lin Shu was secretly eating and hiding good food, but Elder Sister Lu Da didn’t believe it.

How ironic!

Lu Ping hesitated, then took the fine noodle rolls from himself and his brother, putting them back in the basket.

He said to Lin Shu, “Auntie, let the younger ones have these. We don’t need them.”

He gave cornbread to his younger brother, who pouted, refused the vegetables, and took the cornbread outside to play. “I’m going out to play.”

Lu Ping quickly followed him outside, picking a few green onions from the yard as a substitute for vegetables.

Outside:

Lu Ping frowned and said, “Lu An, why are you acting like that?”

Lu An wiped away tears, “Grandfather and grandmother said we could eat. Why can’t we?”

Grandfather and grandmother said the younger ones could eat the fine noodles, and since they were older, they would be fine with having one piece of fine noodles and then cornbread.

He hadn’t even had one piece yet!

Lu Ping said, “Can’t you see that Auntie only made that little bit? We ate fine noodles until we were six years old. Now that we’re older, we don’t need to eat it anymore. When Tiantian and Panpan turn six, they won’t get any more.”

Lu An was still unwilling to accept, saying, “Third aunt is doing it on purpose, making such a small amount of food and not giving us any.”

Lu Ping replied, “Third aunt isn’t like that. Didn’t you notice that the cornbread today is especially good? It’s mixed with fine flour.”

Moreover, since the little uncle passed away and there was no salary being sent back, the family didn’t have the money to supplement the fine flour, so they couldn’t afford to eat it casually.

The little uncle’s fate was uncertain; the commune said he had sacrificed, but the grandparents refused to believe it.

Lu Ping admired the little uncle since he was young and had planned to join the army with him when he grew up.

Now that the little uncle might be gone, Lu Ping was also very upset.

Lu An was still aggrieved, “I want to eat fine flour. I don’t like eating cornmeal; it makes my throat dry.”

Lu Ping reassured him, “I’ll work in the fields and earn labor points to buy fine flour for you once I finish junior high.”

Lu An perked up, “Brother, you mean it?”

In the room, Lu Er was constantly glancing around with her eyes, holding the fine flour roll she had taken from her daughter and saying she would take it back for her daughter to eat.

Lin Shu knew that everything she had taken for her daughter had been eaten by herself, and her daughter didn’t get any.

Lin Shu didn’t care; it was none of her business what the mother and daughter did.

After dinner, Lin Shu went back to the yard to dig the ground.

She needed to continue preparing the vegetable beds because she wanted to grow vegetables!

She had decided to plant more sunflowers.

They didn’t take up much space, served as decoration, and the sunflower seeds, when roasted, were delicious and nutritious.

Lu Er chewed on her cornbread while staring at Lin Shu’s slender waist and full hips with disdain.

This third wife was always showing off, wearing patched-up clothes and walking with a sway in her hips.

Who was she showing off to with her man gone?

She had been lying around not working for several days; now, was she digging to show off to someone?

Could she even dig properly? Could she handle that big hoe?

Was she hoping to impress some man at home?

While she thought to herself, she spoke pleasantly, “Third wife, why are you digging? I’ll come help you after finishing my cornbread.”

She always spoke sweetly but rarely acted on it.

For example, she took a piece of cloth from the original owner, saying she would give her some next time, but when she had some, she didn’t give any.

When the original owner gathered the courage to ask, she was rebuffed with, “You’re still remembering such a small thing. No wonder people say you’re petty,” which made the original owner quite upset.

Lin Shu decided not to get angry with Lu Er; instead, she resolved that she would not let Lu Er gain any more benefits from her!

For every advantage Lu Er took from the original owner, Lin Shu would reclaim it bit by bit!

Lin Shu’s big hoe was taken away, and the person started digging the land with great force, nearly knocking Lin Shu over.

Wow, the strength was impressive—one hoeful was equivalent to what Lin Shu had dug in quite a while!

Lin Shu thought, “No wonder my mother-in-law wanted to find such a strong and tall wife for the eldest son!”

Looking at the strength, she felt a mix of envy and sourness.

Elder Sister Lu Da was tall and strong like Fang Dihua, but unlike Fang Dihua, she was darker and coarser, with a large, round face and a loud voice.

She was chosen specifically by Fang Dihua for the eldest son.

However, Elder Brother Lu was never satisfied, finding his wife unattractive and far from the ideal wife in his mind.

His dissatisfaction was always apparent, and although Elder Sister Lu knew it, she didn’t care.

She felt she was not good enough for her husband and always did all the work, letting him do nothing at home.

Fang Dihua couldn’t stand it and asked Elder Brother Lu to sweep the yard and fetch water.

Elder Sister Lu was quick to offer, saying, “I’ll do it.”

Elder Sister Lu was indeed a hard worker and efficient in everything, though not suited for delicate tasks.

When she first got married, Fang Dihua asked her to cook, but she kept messing up the dough.

Eventually, Fang Dihua had to clean up the mess herself.

This was overheard by Panpan and Tiantian when their grandparents were gossiping.

The two three-year-olds, who couldn’t use chopsticks and were teased by their uncle for being clumsy, whispered among themselves, “Your wife is the clumsy one, with dough…”

Lin Shu knew about this too.

Lin Shu used a hoe to break up clumps of soil and said, “Elder Sister, I want to plant some more vegetables, but this soil needs fertilizing. I don’t know how to do that. Where can I get some fertilizer?”

Elder Sister Lu was immediately interested and replied, “I’ll bring you two shovelfuls from the pigpen later. That should be enough.”

Currently, everyone had to give their pig manure to the production team, and it was counted as work points.

It was said that raising one pig was equivalent to a laborer’s work points for a year.

Some people tried to use all the manure for their own plots to avoid giving it to the team and not earning work points, but as long as the total amount wasn’t too low, a little sneaky use was usually overlooked.

Second Sister Lu, holding a piece of cornbread in one hand and leaning on her elbow with the other, came over and said, “Old Third’s wife, your waist…”

Isn’t it a bit soft?

But before she could finish, Lin Shu interrupted.

With a glint in her eyes, Lin Shu exaggeratedly said to Lu Er, “Second Sister, I noticed that you look… quite flirtatious.”

Second Sister Lu had a fair complexion, sharp eyes, thin lips, and a pointed chin, and she was more clever and articulate.

If anyone were to be called a “vixen,” it would be her.

Despite this, she often referred to Lin Shu with derogatory terms like “vixen,”

“flirt,”

“little flirt,”

“seductive,” and “spineless,” among others.

When Lin Shu was angry, Second Sister Lu would laugh and say it was a compliment, claiming she envied Lin Shu’s looks rather than insulting her.

Seeing Lu Er about to get angry. Lin Shu immediately said, “Second Sister, don’t be angry. I’m actually complimenting you.”

Seeing Lin Shu’s response, Second Sister Lu was stunned, wondering if Lin Shu had been possessed by a ghost.

How dare she stand up for herself and even retaliate?

Elder Sister Lu didn’t think Lin Shu was insulting anyone.

She took Lin Shu’s words at face value and asked, “Second Sister, are you going to fetch water or continue digging?”

Second Sister Lu, feeling infuriated, decided she needed to complain to her in-laws and get them to discipline Lin Shu.

She grabbed a water bucket and shoulder pole and ran outside to confront her in-laws.