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Chapter 195: Chapter 188 Pig
After dusk, Shen Yunfang groped her slightly protruding belly as she walked toward her home, but the thought of facing her mother-in-law and sister-in-law caused her eyebrows to involuntarily furrow.
Even before she reached home, she saw that the courtyard gate of her house was wide open. Her brows furrowed even more tightly, as her home, due to its many secrets, was always kept securely closed.
Li Xianghe was peering out from the gateway, and when she saw her sister-in-law returning home, she quickly waved to her at the entrance, "Sister-in-law, you’re back at last."
"What’s going on, why isn’t the gate closed?" Shen Yunfang quickened her pace, fearing what these two "capable people" might have done at her home.
Li Xianghe pulled Shen Yunfang into the courtyard, looked around outside, then dragged her toward the backyard.
"Hey, slow down," Shen Yunfang protested as she was almost made to jog by Li Xianghe’s pulling.
"Ah, hurry up, let’s check what happened," Li Xianghe urged, ignoring her and speeding up even more. After reaching the backyard, she pointed to the flock of ducks and geese huddled together for Shen Yunfang to see, "Not long after you left, my mother and I heard ducks and geese quacking at the gate from inside the house. We opened the gate and, oh dear, it scared both of us. These animals, for some reason, were just pushing their way into the courtyard, with the geese chasing us and pinching nonstop." She was so frightened that she hid inside and didn’t dare come out. It took a while before she ventured out to check, seeing that the geese had moved to the backyard.
Because they weren’t sure whose ducks and geese these were, the two of them didn’t dare to close the gate, worried that it would be difficult to explain if someone came looking later.
Shen Yunfang, although she hadn’t witnessed the chaotic scene, could imagine it, "I forgot to tell you, I raise these too." Indeed, she had forgotten, as these ducks and geese usually waited for her at the gate when she finished work and headed home.
Feeling reassured, Li Xianghe then became resentful, rubbing her thigh and suspecting her sister-in-law had done it on purpose.
Shen Yunfang ignored her and rolled up her sleeves to start preparing food for the ducks and geese. Although they found food on their own during the day, they needed an extra meal at night to help them gain weight.
Seeing her sister-in-law getting busy with work, Li Xianghe had no desire to help. She pouted her lips and twisted her body to head back into the house.
By the time Shen Yunfang finished with her chores in the backyard, night had completely fallen, and a dim oil lamp was lit inside the house.
Shen Yunfang entered and glanced at the stove. The food left over from lunch was gone, and the pot contained several unwashed bowls and dishes, around which several flies were buzzing, and she could faintly hear her mother-in-law and sister-in-law laughing and talking inside.
A surge of anger rose in Shen Yunfang.
Considering that the people inside were, after all, her husband’s family, she took a deep breath, trying hard to adjust her expression, and reached out to lift the cloth curtain at the doorway.
"There you are, finally inside. Quickly open that cabinet, I’ve been lying here bare for half the day, and it’s making my bones ache," Qiu Shuping said, hearing some noise at the door and turning to see her daughter-in-law standing at the entrance. She spoke irritably, "I don’t mean to criticize you, but why do you lock the cabinet as soon as my daughter and I come here? Are you taking us for thieves or what?"
Shen Yunfang didn’t move an inch, looking at the two people who’d rather lie on the bare kang bed and endure the painful separation than lift a finger to wash a dish. She truly lost any ounce of fondness for them.
"Which mother doesn’t go out to work during the day but instead thinks about slacking off on the kang?" She was anything but polite with her words.
"Who are you talking to?" Before Qiu Shuping could react, Li Xianghe was already upset, and with a swoosh, she sprang up from the kang, ready for a fight.
"You’re asking who I’m talking to? After eating, don’t you know to wash the dishes? It’s fine if our mother is old and can’t do much, but you, neither old nor young, neither dumb nor mute, how come you stop caring at all after putting down your chopsticks? Can’t you see the flies buzzing around the pots?" Shen Yunfang glared as she spoke.
"You... you... whom are you talking to? I’m your sister-in-law; you dare to ask me to wash your dishes?" Li Xianghe appeared to be overly shocked, clearly having not expected Shen Yunfang to say such things. Not just her, even Qiu Shuping didn’t anticipate this daughter-in-law would make a fuss over dishes and cutlery.
When Shen Yunfang had just married Li Hongjun, this mother-in-law really put on a grand display; those days she made Shen Yunfang prepare all three meals for the family. Although Qiu Shuping didn’t hold Shen Yunfang in high regard, she had to admit that this daughter-in-law was efficient when it came to work, compliantly doing whatever was asked without a single complaint. Yet now, back in Gaijiatun, this daughter-in-law dared to be so bold. Indeed, it’s the silent dogs that learn to bark, and she, typically reserved, now knew to protest.
"What’s this about? You came to my place, wasn’t it to help me out? It’s not yet time to go to the fields, and if you’re not helping me cook or wash dishes, do you expect me to come back from work every day to serve you?" Shen Yunfang was always directing her words at Li Xianghe, as if Qiu Shuping wasn’t even there.
"You..." Li Xianghe wasn’t convinced but just as she uttered the word, Qiu Shuping tugged at her.
"Your second sister-in-law is right; she’s currently carrying the Li Family’s child, a major contributor. If you don’t help out your sister-in-law, who will? You want your sister-in-law to take care of your mother? Don’t say anything else, hurry up and go wash the dishes," Qiu Shuping said, her words loaded with meaning, but she still gave her daughter a look, actually sending her off to work.
After all, she hadn’t achieved her goal yet; now wasn’t the time to fall out with her daughter-in-law, so she had no choice but to instruct her own daughter to do the work.
Li Xianghe looked at her mother and then at the sister-in-law standing at the door with her hands on her hips. Although she understood her mother’s intent, being scolded by her sister-in-law and sent out to do the work made her feel incredibly wronged.
She got off the kang, put on her shoes, and at the doorway, she glared fiercely at her sister-in-law to express her dissatisfaction, then went out to wash the dishes. Naturally, she took her frustration out on the task, clanging and banging about noisily.
"Your sister is this way because Hongjun spoils her. Every time he comes back, he doesn’t let your sister do any work. He says a young girl should rest because she’ll have to serve her in-laws after she gets married," Qiu Shuping said from the kang, feigning sincerity.
"Mom, Hongjun is a grown man; what does he know? You shouldn’t listen to him all the time. A young girl being this lazy at home—how will she find a partner later on? What family would want such a lazy daughter-in-law? I think Xianghe hasn’t found anyone suitable to this day because you’ve been holding her back," Shen Yunfang said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Qiu Shuping’s face drooped at these words, "Enough now, don’t talk about that. Hurry up and lay out the bedding for me; this afternoon has really been a pain."
Since the mother-in-law had spoken, Shen Yunfang didn’t needle her anymore and obediently stepped forward to unlock the wardrobe. She pulled out a large kang quilt and two more blankets. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
"We don’t have that many quilts at home, so I’ll use this small one. Mom, you and Xianghe can use this bigger one."
