Liang Xiu wiped her hands with her apron and walked out of the kitchen to open the door.
Xiaoqi was playing in the yard and heard someone knocking on the door, so she hurriedly ran over to open the door.
Liang Xiu stood in the yard and watched.
The person who entered the door was Su Manxiu, the eldest daughter of the Su family, who had not been back to her parents' home for a long time.
She stood awkwardly at the gate and called someone in a low voice.
"Third sister-in-law!"
When Liang Xiu saw her sister-in-law coming, she stepped forward with a smile and said, "No wonder there were magpies chirping on the big tree in front of the door in the morning. It turned out to be our Xiu'er coming back."
Although according to local customs, married girls should go home to celebrate the festival, Su Manxiu rarely came back.
Just because Su Manxiu had a hard time at her husband's family.
When she first got married, Su Manxiu's life was okay, but a year later, Su Manxiu's stomach didn't move, and life in her husband's family became difficult.
After all these years, Su Manxiu's life in Lao Wang's family was almost like that of a servant.
He works from dawn to dusk every day to serve Lao Wang's entire family, and also works in the fields to earn work points.
Despite this, she often didn't have enough to eat and was often beaten and scolded by her husband.
The old Su family initially offered some subsidies to Su Manxiu, but Su Manxiu refused and refused to burden her family.
The brothers of the Su family also thought about venting their anger on Su Manxiu, but Su Manxiu always said that she couldn't have a baby and owed the old Wang family, so it was okay to suffer a little.
Over time, everyone seemed to accept this status quo.
But Liang Xiu looked at Su Manxiu in front of her with sour eyes.
When Su Manxiu got married, she was twenty-one years old, the best years of her life.
Such a young and beautiful girl has been polished into this in just a few years.
She is only twenty-eight years old this year, but her face looks older than her thirty-six-year-old sister-in-law.
The clothes he was wearing were even worse. The patches had been patched to the point where there was no good spot left, and the shoes on his feet had a big hole, and his toes were exposed.
Perhaps sensing Liang Xiu's gaze, Su Manxiu curled her toes, as if this would make her less ashamed.
It's not that she is lazy and doesn't want to mend it, it's her mother-in-law who said that she is suitable for wearing shoes that no one wants.
"Let's go to the main room first." Liang Xiu took her sister-in-law's hand affectionately. Su Manxiu's body stiffened for a moment before relaxing.
"Dad, Mom, my eldest sister is back!" Liang Xiu greeted loudly with a smile.
When Grandma Su heard that her eldest daughter was back, she didn't even care about the half-finished buns, and walked out of the kitchen in two steps.
"Xiu'er, you finally know that you have come back to see your mother." Grandma Su rushed out and couldn't say a word to her daughter.
She also saw her daughter's miserable appearance.
She was such a good daughter, why did she end up like this?
"Mom, today is the festival, and I just wanted to come and see you and your family." After a pause, Su Manxiu said, "Just...just...I didn't bring anything with me..."
When Su Manxiu said this, his head had dropped so much that he could only see his feet.
Liang Xiu had long seen her sister-in-law's empty hands, how could she not know that it was strange that the old Wang family would be willing to prepare a festive gift for her.
"This is going home, what does it matter whether you bring something or not? When you come, your parents, brothers and sisters-in-law will be happy." Liang Xiu said hurriedly.
She is the sister-in-law, and saying this can make her feel more at ease than her mother-in-law.
Grandma Su glanced at her third daughter-in-law gratefully.
Sure enough, Su Manxiu's expression improved slightly.
But Liang Xiu just felt that there was something different about this sister-in-law today. She seemed to have been wronged.
This sister-in-law is good in everything, but she is too proud. She has been wronged by her husband's family and never speaks out.
She rarely went back to her parents' home in recent years, and she always tried to prevent her parents from visiting her.
It is rare for someone to take the initiative to come to her mother's house like this.
Su Xiaotian was reading peacefully in her room. When she heard the conversation outside, she was shocked to realize what she had forgotten.
That's the eldest aunt.
In the previous life, my eldest aunt took a gamble because her eldest uncle wanted to divorce, and she was unwilling to be her cousin's wife, and finally committed suicide.
But when she jumped into the river, she was rescued.
The marriage was eventually divorced, and the eldest aunt returned to her parents' home team with a lot of pain.
After she came back, some members in the brigade made irresponsible remarks. She couldn't bear the rumors and finally jumped into the cold river to have sex with Xiang Xiaoyu.
It should be this year, so now that the eldest aunt suddenly returns to her parents' home, is she already determined to die?
No, definitely not, aunt is just here to take a look, right?
Thinking of this, she hurriedly took a few steps out of the cubicle. Sure enough, her aunt's expression was wrong.
Su Xiaotian rolled her eyes and jumped up to Su Manxiu.
"Auntie, are you here? Tiantian misses you so much!"
Su Xiaotian's smile has a healing effect, which makes Su Manxiu feel warm in her heart.
But this warmth only lasted for a moment. She thought that she had no children, but the woman was already pregnant, and she couldn't help but want to cry again.
She asked herself that she had never done anything immoral, so why did God punish her like this?
The mother-in-law was right, as a woman doesn’t even have a child, what’s the point of living?
The fleeting smile on Su Manxiu's face caught Su Xiaotian's eyes, and her heart sank.
In a previous life, my eldest uncle had an affair with a young widow in the village.
The woman was pregnant, and her eldest uncle wanted to marry her, so he forced her eldest aunt to divorce her. As a very traditional woman, her eldest aunt certainly didn't want to be a cousin, so she begged hard.
However, the man was determined to get a divorce. If the eldest aunt refused to get a divorce, he would beat her.
This is probably going to be the case for the rest of my life.
How could she, with her stupid brain, forget such an important thing?
Su Xiaotian felt that she had no way to solve such a matter.
Even at her current age, it would be wrong to even say a few words.
Su Xiaotian was distressed.
But she suddenly thought that even if there was no way to solve it, it might be possible to wait for her eldest aunt to return to the village and ask her family to take more care of her and be more prepared.
The worst thing is that she will take more time off and watch her aunt at home.
As for the divorce, Su Xiaotian doesn't think it's a big deal. Anyway, he's just a scumbag, so let's get divorced.
Su Manxiu felt the deep affection from her family, and her heart became even more sour, but she did not speak out about her suffering.
"Mom, I'm going to cook something delicious for my eldest sister." Liang Xiu thought that maybe her sister-in-law was here, and Su Manxiu was embarrassed to say so, so she found a reason to leave.
When they arrived in the kitchen, Liang Xiu whispered her guess to her two sisters-in-law.
Wang Xianghua couldn't help but spat and said, "I've long seen that Wang Gouzi is no longer a thing. What happened to a good girl from our old Su family who was betrothed to him?"
"We'd better do something good to make up for the eldest sister. If the eldest sister, like the younger sister, knew how to go to her parents' house to cry and complain, life wouldn't be so difficult." Qi Liangying said.
The younger sister-in-law is clearly living a good life, but she often finds various reasons to come to her parents' house to ask for things. The older sister, on the other hand, is not fed, clothed or warm, and refuses to go to her parents' house for help.
"I would rather give those grains and meat to my eldest sister!" Liang Xiu sighed.
Su Manxiang, the white-eyed wolf who feeds unfamiliar food, eats her own food and slanders her Xiaotian.
Wang Xianghua sneered coldly and said, "Even if I give it to the eldest sister, I will be giving Wang Gouzi and his family a free advantage. The eldest sister is here today, let's make more good things for her."
Liang Xiu and Qi Liangying both agreed.
The third sister-in-law took out the dried noodles that Chen Zian brought and cooked them for Su Manxiu. She also didn't forget to give her two poached eggs. Finally, she also added a big spoonful of meat dumplings.
What was originally a simple bowl of noodles changed instantly when so many good things were added to it.
When Liang Xiu walked into the main room with a bowl of noodles, the atmosphere was silent. None of the three members of the family spoke.
"Mom, the rice is ready. Let me take a bite first. The buns will be cooked later." Liang Xiu said to Grandma Su with a smile on her face.
"Come on, Xiu'er, you eat a bowl of noodles first, and then you can eat a steamed bun later, your favorite pumpkin bun with oily residue." Grandma Su said distressedly.
But Su Manxiu muttered: "Mom, I won't eat it. This noodle is so good, so I'd better save it for the baby!" Su Manxiu looked at the face, her stomach growled hungry, but she still shook her head: "I just came to see it.
Look at you and my dad, you saw it, it’s time for me to leave!”
She didn't bring anything with her when she went back to her parents' house, so how could she still stay at her parents' house to eat?
Her mother's family has so many children and is not rich, so she cannot be too selfish.
"Sister, the noodles are ready, how could you leave like this? If you leave on an empty stomach today, how can your parents feel at ease?" Liang Xiu hurriedly grabbed Su Manxiu and said.
"But……"
"It's nothing, but when you get home, you should eat something good. My sister-in-law even nested eggs for you!"
Su Manxiu finally ate this bowl of noodles, but he ate it with tears.
After Su Manxiu finished eating the noodles, Wang Xianghua came in with a plate of steamed buns, placed it on the Kang table and said, "Mom, the steamed buns are ready. Let me help you taste them."
Su Manxiu ate a bowl of noodles with eggs and minced meat, and was already very embarrassed. Looking at the buns, which were bigger than an adult man's fist, she couldn't bear to eat them.
"Come on, Xiu'er, you like the taste." Grandma Su picked up a hot bun and without any explanation, put it directly into her daughter's hand.
When Su Manxiu was not married, she really liked eating pumpkin buns, but since she got married, over the years, she is satisfied if she is full, not to mention what she wants to eat.
"Mom, leave the buns for the kids!" Su Manxiu was about to put the buns back on the plate, but was stopped by Su Xiaotian.
"Auntie, let's eat together. My milk has made a lot of buns."
Su Xiaotian said, reaching out to pick up a bun and put it in Grandpa Su's hand, then picked up another bun and put it in Grandma Su's hand...
Soon, everyone in the room had an extra bun in their hands.
"Xiu, let's eat together, let's eat together. We still have some at home, so there is no shortage of children." Grandpa Su said, taking the lead in picking up the buns and gnawing them, but he couldn't swallow the food.
He knew that his daughter was not having a good life in her husband's family, but her daughter said that it was okay to be a little angry because she had no children. He also felt that since the eldest daughter did not have a child, the Wang family should also complain.
But this time, after not seeing each other for more than half a year, why did my daughter become like this?
It hurts my heart to be a father!
"I don't think you should go back tonight. Let's stay with mother and talk. Since you got married, you haven't lived at home for a long time." Grandma Su said without eating the buns.
Su Manxiu didn't want to agree at first, but after thinking about the man again, she finally decided to stay for one night. Maybe this was her last chance.
At this time, Su Manxiang came. There were five members of the family, and they were all complete. Even Kang Rende, who rarely came to the house, came with a smile on his face.
The whole family was sensible and had half a bag of chicken cakes.
Grandma Su looked at it and couldn't help frowning, who is this chilling?
Fortunately, he is always said to be a cadre in the town. How can a cadre be like this?
"Mom, it's the festival. My father and I are bringing the kids to see you and my father!" Su Manxiang said very nicely with a smile on her face.
But Liang Xiu immediately changed her face. If Kang Rende hadn't been there, she would have beaten Su Manxiang out immediately.
"Mom, I want to eat steamed buns." Kang Xiaobao saw the big steamed buns on the table and spoke immediately.
Before anyone else could speak, Su Manxiang had already spoken: "When you go to grandpa and grandma's house, it's not just like your own home. You can get whatever you want to eat."
The last few times she went back to her parents' house, she didn't get anything good. Today she specially brought her baby with her.
Even if you are reluctant to give it to her, you have to let her eat it. If a family is full for a whole day, they can eat a lot.
It was okay when she was poor before, but now that she is rich, she is not given any subsidies. It is true that the richer she gets, the more she is cut off from the door.
Su Manxiang thought dissatisfiedly, feeling that her mother's family was not good and they didn't care about her.
After hearing Su Manxiang's words, Kang Xiaobao immediately reached out to get the bun, but after reaching out, he found that the bun was gone.
Su Xiaotian held the remaining buns in her hands and looked coldly at Kang Xiaobao's extended paw.
"Mom, look, you've spoiled this damn girl into a fool. Why is she still eating alone? There are so many buns, why don't you give some to Xiaobao? Meihua, Dabao, you two also want to eat, give it to mom
Take one too."
Seeing Su Manxiang's appearance, Wang Xianghua didn't want to talk nonsense, so she turned around and went out.
When she arrived in the kitchen, she and Qi Liangying immediately started to pack up the mooncakes and steamed buns that had been steamed today and put them in the cabinet. They also didn't forget to lock the cabinet door.
There are so many good things, if Su Manxiang sees them, he probably won't leave any of them to his family.
From now on, we can no longer suffer this kind of loss.
In the main room, Grandma Su glanced at her daughter. She originally wanted to say nothing for the sake of the children, but when she looked at Su Manxiang, she accidentally saw Kang Meihua's eyes that were quenched with poison.
In an instant, she woke up. This family was not well-fed.
"Xiu, you go on eating. After a long trip back to your parents' house, you need to eat something good!" Grandma Su urged the eldest daughter.
"Mom, how can you be so partial?" Su Manxiang quit immediately. What did her mother mean?
Does Su Manxiu, a hen who can't lay eggs, deserve to eat such big buns?
"I'm biased. How much food and drink have I given you over the years? Your sister is honest and never talks about hardship, so I just pretend she doesn't see it. I've treated her badly. Are you not satisfied if I give her a steamed bun?"
As if that wasn't enough, Grandma Su added, "If you don't like it, go back to your home!"
Liang Xiu finally felt that her anger had calmed down a bit since she was trying to chase someone away. She was afraid that her mother-in-law would take away all the good things in the house because of her sister-in-law's words.
"Mom, it's not that I've had a hard time in the past two years. I'll give you lots of gifts when my life gets better in two years!" Su Manxiang didn't feel ashamed at all, but shouted loudly: "My sister is like this, how can you expect her to be filial to you and me?
father?"
"I can't count on you, just this half a bag of chicken cake?"
"Mom, this is a chicken cake. It's made with sugar and oil. It's fluffy and delicious. Don't just look at this half-pack. It's not easy to make. Rende only got a pound in total.
I left half a catty for my mother-in-law, and I brought this half catty to you. You and my father are old, so eat some chicken cakes to help them heal."
Su Manxiang has always been a good talker. Those who knew it said it was chicken cake, but those who didn't knew it thought it was some kind of high-end pastry.
Kang Rende works in a supply and marketing cooperative. It is not difficult to get some chicken cakes on weekdays. For this Mid-Autumn Festival, Kang Rende got four kilograms of chicken cakes, which are free of charge.
But Su Manxiang always felt that she could not let her family know how good her family was, so she was always used to crying about poverty.
When I came here this time, I originally planned to bring nothing with me, but thinking about the last few times I didn’t bring anything with me and being run over by my parents, I was so cruel that I took half a catty of chicken cakes.
For this reason, Kang Rende was very unhappy.
It was Su Manxiang who said that after she made her parents happy and said a few words to the county officials, she might be able to get him to go to work in the county town, and then she would be happy.
"Uncle and aunt, this is the thought of Manxiang and I. Don't mind it. Life is not easy now, and the city is not like your country." Even at this time, Kang Rende still couldn't let go of his superior attitude.
The old Su family were all weaklings, and he looked down on them. If Su Manxiang hadn't fascinated him by looking like a flower, he wouldn't have been so stupid as to marry a country boy.
"Did you come to our house to make your presence known? Besides, you're just from a town. You keep talking about being from the city. If you don't know, you think you're from the capital." Liang Xiu spoke up.
Kang Rende was embarrassed on the spot. The old Su family had no rules. When he came to the door, he was a guest, and his children were also guests. If he didn't greet him properly, he would still run away!
If he hadn't thought about relying on his mother-in-law to persuade him to be transferred to the city to work, he would have left long ago.
Liang Xiu originally thought that Kang Rende would definitely leave immediately after she said this, but unexpectedly, Kang Rende didn't leave, he just looked ugly.
Where does the sun come from?
"Third sister-in-law, please speak more politely. My man is here, and he is a distinguished guest!" Su Manxiang said condescendingly: "We were hungry all the way, and we won't be picky when there are ready-made buns. Give them to us."
Just make some egg soup to moisten your mouth."
This condescending look really made Liang Xiu laugh. She couldn't help but look at Su Manxiu who was sitting beside him like a quail.
How can there be such a big difference between daughters born to the same father and mother?
Su Manxiu looked at her complacent sister and became even more silent. She lowered her head and did not dare to say a word.