Chapter 98

The next day, Zhang Hongying ran into Grandma Xie.

She went up to her and asked, “Your Tingyu and Qingshui both moved out. Did you know about this?”

Grandma Xie was stunned when she heard the news. “What happened?”

Zhang Hongying’s friend next to her tugged at her and said to Grandma Xie, “It’s nothing, don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Why interfere in other people’s family matters and take the lead like this?

What if the young couple moved out willingly and weren’t driven out by their stepmother? When the family reconciled and got close again, wouldn’t Zhang Hongying be stuck between a rock and a hard place?

Grandma Xie’s face clouded over, and she angrily demanded, “Let her speak. Is there anything I can’t hear?”

Zhang Hongying repeated the rumors she’d heard to Grandma Xie verbatim. Grandma Xie’s face sank, and she was clearly very upset.

Grandma Xie thanked Zhang Hongying and went back to the Xie house. She found that her grandson and granddaughter-in-law were indeed gone. The young couple had even taken the clothes they usually wore, and the room was empty.

“Outrageous! Simply outrageous!”

How dare Xu Maofang do this?

What made Grandma Xie even angrier was that she only heard the news from someone else.

Xu Maofang had just returned from buying groceries when she saw her mother-in-law sitting with a grim face, waiting for her.

Xu Maofang’s face turned pale. “Mom, why are you here?”

Grandma Xie picked up a teacup and slammed it down. “Do you still see me as your mother?”

Xu Maofang gritted her teeth in hatred. She didn’t expect Grandma Xie to find out so quickly. It must be those two little bastards who complained behind her back!

She burst into tears and knelt in front of her mother-in-law, looking mournful and aggrieved:

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have advised Shui Ya. She’s been busy making sausages to sell to people in the compound every day lately. I saw her with her big belly, and our family isn’t short of food, so why does she have to work so hard?

It wouldn’t look good if word of this got out. Is our family the kind that mistreats its daughter-in-law? That child is too sensitive. I advised her not to work so hard, and she thought I was looking down on her.”

Did she do anything to them? She said less than three sentences, and those two little bastards moved out just like that.

This wasn’t an honest move; this was clearly trying to roast her alive.

The more Xu Maofang spoke, the more indignant she became. A sense of grievance and indignation truly rose in her heart, and even her tears became somewhat genuine.

“I know I really shouldn’t have spoken, but since they moved out, I’ve been begging them to come back every day. I’m one step away from kneeling to them. Everyone says it’s hard to be a stepmother. I won’t say any more or offer any advice from now on. I’ll just end up pleasing neither side.”

If it weren’t for the fact that Xie Tingyu was a child raised single-handedly by Grandma Xie, and she was extremely biased, any person, even one with a heart of stone, wouldn’t think Xu Maofang was wrong after seeing her wiping tears and kneeling, looking so heartbroken.

What was she doing wrong?

She was concerned about her daughter-in-law and advised her not to tire herself out for money. Instead, Qingshui was overly sensitive and moved out without a word.

Grandma Xie quickly shook her head. Everything was wrong!

This was not a matter of being overly sensitive. There was a huge difference between care and contempt, which any person could feel. If Xu Maofang’s face showed genuine concern, why would Shui Ya move out in a fit of pique?

Even the usually sensible grandson moved out with her, showing that this was far more than just a couple of words of “concern.”

Grandma Xie, with her quick temper, slammed the teacup down again. Xu Maofang’s heart trembled, and she forgot to cry.

“I don’t care what method you use, but you must invite them back tomorrow, even if you have to kneel. They are good and kind children. If you sincerely apologize, how could they make things difficult for you? Maofang, I know that sending Dongmei back to the Zhou family has made you resentful…”

Good and kind children?

Would kind people resort to rumors to force someone out? Xu Maofang almost forgot the meaning of the word “kind.”

Xu Maofang could barely maintain her facial expression.

She agreed, and seeing her mother-in-law’s expression finally soften, an idea sparked, and she brought up her daughter.

“I won’t stop Shui Ya from making sausages anymore, but she is busy working inside and outside every day. It’s too tiring for her. I’m clumsy and not as capable as the young people. Why don’t we let Dongmei come back? At least she can help her sister-in-law with some chores.”

Grandma Xie pondered for a moment but did not agree to let Zhou Dongmei move back.

But she was afraid that Shui Ya would get too tired. After all, it was inconvenient to do heavy work while pregnant.

So, Grandma Xie said, “She can come and help Shui Ya at the weekend. Since her sister-in-law is pregnant and it’s inconvenient for her, and the Xie family has raised her for so many years, helping her sister-in-law for a few days is her duty.”

Xu Maofang’s eyes went dark, and she nearly choked on those words.

Not only did this old woman not agree to let Dongmei move home, but she also wanted Dongmei to work for free?

…

Ye Qingshui and her husband stayed out for three days. On the fourth day, Xu Maofang was “escorted” by Grandma Xie to apologize to them.

It was unrealistic to ask Xu Maofang to kneel.

Xu Maofang’s knees were soft for her parents and mother-in-law. But kneeling to the younger generation? She still had her pride.

She apologized to Ye Qingshui with lowered eyes.

When Xu Maofang’s eyes weren’t focused on someone, they were like hidden knives, but she forced herself to swallow her anger and put on a submissive appearance.

Ye Qingshui felt quite satisfied watching this.

Xie Tingyu was not in a good mood. He said, “Shui Ya is heavily pregnant now. If anything happens, I won’t be able to care for her, and it will be too late for regrets.”

If they moved back, would he be afraid of an accident, but not afraid of an accident if they stayed out? These words were truly cutting. Xie Tingyu was practically implying that Xu Maofang was a murderer.

If anything happened to the child, it must have been Xu Maofang’s doing.

Why? Because the stepmother and stepson didn’t get along, and she couldn’t stand the daughter-in-law, right?

Grandma Xie’s face visibly darkened. She didn’t expect the conflict between her daughter-in-law and grandson to be so deep.

Xu Maofang forced a smile and said, “Isn’t Shui Ya’s child my grandchild? Even if something happened to me, I wouldn’t let anything happen to it.”

Only then did Xie Tingyu reluctantly agree to move back to the compound.

The grandmother, grandson, and granddaughter-in-law walked ahead in a harmonious atmosphere, leaving Xu Maofang to trail behind, forgotten.

She looked at the three of them with a dark expression.

…

After Ye Qingshui returned home, Grandma Xie finally remembered. She smiled sweetly and said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you.”

“Grandma is afraid you’ll be too tired, so I told Dongmei to come and help you with work on weekends. Shui Ya, are you willing?”

Ye Qingshui couldn’t imagine Zhou Dongmei, that pampered young lady, doing manual labor, but why not use free labor?

She smiled sweetly and agreed. “Of course, I am willing.”

On the weekend, Zhou Dongmei legitimately came to the Xie house.

Since she had moved out of the Xie family, she could only visit under the guise of seeing her mother. This time, she was legitimately required to come to the Xie house by Grandma Xie.

But Zhou Dongmei felt no joy at all.

She looked down on Ye Qingshui for selling things and shouting in the compound just to earn a few dimes, and she disliked the petty commonness that Ye Qingshui brought from the countryside, which stained the Xie family’s noble reputation.

But now, Zhou Dongmei was required to lend a hand to help Ye Qingshui with work… Zhou only felt insulted.

Greasy, dirty, and even in spring, the stench emanating from the kitchen was overwhelming.

Yes, Ye Qingshui was washing casings.

Seeing Zhou Dongmei, she pointed to the casings. “Grandma asked you to help me. I really didn’t expect you to agree. Thank you for your trouble…”

Could Zhou Dongmei refuse?

No, she couldn’t. She was still hoping Grandma Xie would agree to let her move back to the Xie house, hoping Grandma Xie would see her working and relent.

But Ye Qingshui was truly toxic. On the very first day, she made the pampered young lady, who never did any housework, wash pig casings.

Zhou Dongmei’s face went from white to black, and then from black to red. She almost vomited from the sheer disgust right there and then.

She almost turned and slammed the door shut.

But then she thought of the chaotic environment of the Zhou family and the world of difference in the treatment she received after leaving the Xie family. Her friends who used to revolve around her were now deliberately distancing themselves.

Zhou Dongmei clenched her fists.

Wearing a mask, Zhou Dongmei rinsed the casings three times.

The look of suppressed tears almost made Ye Qingshui laugh.

She looked as if she were a laborer being abused by a landlord. If Zhou Dongmei wore rags, she could probably sing “Little Cabbage is yellow in the field, neither father nor mother loves it.”

She hadn’t even made the young lady do the truly heavy, dirty work yet!

Ye Qingshui quickly stopped worrying about Zhou Dongmei’s feelings. It was the weekend, and she had taken orders for twenty catties of sausages. The sausages needed a full week of sun-drying before they could be shipped. Her existing stock of sun-dried sausages was almost depleted, so Ye Qingshui had to hurry and make more.

The processing fee for one catty of sausage was five mao (half a yuan). Although the profit was thin, she didn’t have to provide the pork. After deducting the cost of casings and spices, the five mao was almost all pure profit.

How much were casings and spices worth?

Five catties of casings didn’t even cost one mao. If she went to the slaughterhouse early, she wouldn’t even have to spend money, as the workers would give them away for free.

Making ten catties of sausages a day, Ye Qingshui could earn five yuan. That was one hundred and fifty yuan a month. This income was more than double Grandma Xie’s salary from her workplace.

She wasn’t making sausages; she was making golden sausages!

Zhang Hongying came to the Xie house at noon to pick up her one catty of sausages.

She happily hugged the sausage, which was full of meat, and said, “I’m taking this to supplement my husband’s meat intake. This thing keeps well, and my kids love to eat it.”

Ye Qingshui smiled and replied to Zhang Hongying, “Sister-in-law, although it can be stored, you should eat it within a week. These are homemade sausages, focused on cleanliness and safety. They are not like the sausages sold in factories that have preservatives and nitrites added.”

Zhang Hongying didn’t know there was so much to learn.

She cheerfully agreed, “Then I’ll listen to you, sister-in-law, and finish eating it sooner.”

Zhou Dongmei’s face looked a little strange when she heard this.

Just a village girl from the countryside, and she knows about preservatives and nitrites?

She probably learned it from her brother, Zhou Dongmei quickly dismissed the thought.

In her mind, Ye Qingshui was a shallow and materialistic country person. How could a country person know about these things?

After washing the casings, Zhou Dongmei washed her hands with soap for half an hour, reluctantly leaving only after she felt like she had scrubbed off a layer of skin.

Ye Qingshui didn’t have the time to care about Zhou Dongmei’s feelings. Xu Maofang, on the other hand, was heartbroken, seeing Ye Qingshui as a thorn in her side.

It was unbearable.

Xu Maofang lovingly patted her daughter and said to her, “Your father is back. He was just watching you work. You just need to hold on for a little while longer… He will stand up for you.”

“Now Ye Qingshui is pregnant, and the family is spoiling her. Let’s see if she can still be so smug after she gives birth.”

Zhou Dongmei finally cheered up.

In Xu Maofang’s heart, her own daughter was much better than Ye Qingshui in every way. Her daughter was university material and had a future beyond measure, while Ye Qingshui?

She could only do these petty jobs. Her Dongmei was destined for an office job.

In the long run, would Xie Jun and Yan Chun still not make a choice?

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