Chapter 58
“You little brat, what nonsense are you talking about?” Team Leader Jiang didn’t dare to scold Su Xiaoxiao, but he could scTeam Leader Jiang Yexun with confidence.
However, Su Xiaoxiao immediately became displeased. “Was there anything wrong with what I just said? In other people’s families, even if they want to control their daughter-in-law, that’s the mother-in-law’s business. Are you, as the father-in-law, really going to meddle in this? You’re more meddlesome than a woman! Moreover, when you see a pregnant woman working and feeling uncomfortable, shouldn’t you ask her to rest? Is it necessary for you to force someone to work when they’re not feeling well, risking a miscarriage or illness? Even in the old society, Yang Bailao wasn’t as ruthless as you!”
Su Xiaoxiao’s delicate face was tense, and even though her voice lacked authority, her words were still forceful.
As Team Leader Jiang heard the last few words, his face completely lost color. With such an accusation hanging over his head, if someone reported him, he might end up in jail. At the very least, he could forget about being the team leader.
Now, he had no choice but to set aside his pride and say, “This was my mistake. I was mistaken earlier. I’ll ask her to rest right away.”
After saying that, he didn’t even give Su Xiaoxiao a chance to respond. He turned and quickly walked toward the field where Yu Siping was working.
Seeing Team Leader Jiang’s hasty retreat, Su Xiaoxiao triumphantly raised her chin at Jiang Yexun.
Jiang Yexun lowered his eyelids and shook his head, amused.
If it weren’t for the people around them, he might have wanted to pat the girl’s head.
Team Leader Jiang hurriedly approached the field where Yu Siping was already back at work, her husband still nearby. Although she was too far away to hear what had transpired earlier, when she saw her father-in-law coming over with his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, she knew something was wrong.
Indeed, as soon as Team Leader Jiang arrived, he shouted angrily at Yu Siping, “Second daughter-in-law, what are you still doing in the field? Didn’t you say you had a bellyache? You’re not in pain now, are you?! If you can’t work, come up immediately and go home to rest! People would think that our Jiang family and our production team are abusing you.”
Yu Siping shivered and looked to her husband for help but was met with Jiang Quansheng’s cold gaze, which startled her. She didn’t dare to say much more and quickly climbed out of the field.
“Dad, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault…” She looked at Team Leader Jiang with teary eyes, and her voice was trembling.
However, Team Leader Jiang wasn’t interested in hearing her excuses. Impatiently waving his hand, he said, “Go, go, go! Go back and rest! For the next few days, don’t come to work. People would think that I, as your father-in-law and the team leader, am mistreating you.”
Yu Siping didn’t expect him to get so angry. Even if she cared about work points, she didn’t dare to act like a helpless damsel anymore. She could only lower her head and walk away.
But the scolding Team Leader Jiang, who had been humiliated in front of everyone, wasn’t so easily appeased. In the end, he cast a stern look at his second son, who was still working in the field.
“Take care of your wife. Don’t be so petty.”
Jiang Quansheng’s expression soured, but he didn’t retort. Seeing him like this, Team Leader Jiang didn’t want to say anything more either. He walked back with his hands behind his back.
He had no intention of working for the rest of the day. Instead, he planned to find a place to rest. However, as he passed by the field where he had been working, he saw Su Xiaoxiao sitting on the edge of the field and smiling at him.
Team Leader Jiang immediately felt that she must have something up her sleeve and turned to escape. However, he heard her sarcastically say, “Team Leader Jiang, where are you going? Are you trying to avoid work? Everyone in the production team is working hard during the harvest season, and you want to hide and slack off? And why is it that in other families, men do the heavy work while women do the lighter tasks, but it’s the opposite here? This won’t do! As the team leader, you should set an example.”
“No… no, I just wanted to get a water jug and have a drink,” Team Leader Jiang said awkwardly with a blackened face.
After today’s incident, Team Leader Jiang had lost all face and reputation. As for Su Xiaoxiao, she had become a fiery pepper in the production team that no one could afford to provoke. While other people’s daughters-in-law might grumble a bit, they wouldn’t dare to argue with their mother-in-law. This was the first time they had seen someone publicly confront their future father-in-law.
In the days that followed, not only did the Jiang family behave, but even Team Leader Jiang became more obedient. They all did their own work and didn’t dare to assign any tasks to Aunt Guo or Jiang Yexun.
After five days of harvesting and two days of drying the grain, Team Leader Jiang, along with his three sons and some young men from the production team, went to the city to deliver the grain early in the morning. The rest of the people got a day off from work.
Su Xiaoxiao finally managed to sleep in without being disturbed by the loudspeakers. When she woke up, she felt like cooking something, so she decided to make small cakes with eggs, flour, and sweet potatoes. However, she didn’t want to delay lunch for everyone, so she planned to steam the cakes after they had finished eating.
As she carried a basin of semi-finished cakes and sat down in the courtyard, she suddenly heard an unpleasant voice from the yard.
“Hey, Xiaoxiao, you’re really skilled. You even know how to knead dough. We thought you wouldn’t do anything when you came from the city.”
Su Xiaoxiao looked up and saw Hu Yuezhen and Yu Siping standing in the courtyard with a basket.
“Do we have anything to talk about?” Su Xiaoxiao’s face immediately turned cold.
But these two women seemed completely oblivious to her dislike. They walked straight to the table and tried to shake Su Xiaoxiao’s hand.
Worried that they would disgust her, Su Xiaoxiao quickly took a step back. She not only moved herself away but also held the large enamel basin in front of her as a shield. Her defensive stance was clear.
Hu Yuezhen and Yu Siping’s fake smiles almost froze on their faces. Eventually, Yu Siping adjusted her attitude first and said with a forced smile, “Xiaoxiao, although we can’t be considered your sisters-in-law, since you’ve married into the Jiang family, we still have to see each other often. We can’t let our relationship become too hostile, can we?”
“Why not? You two are full of schemes, and I have to greet you with a smile?” Su Xiaoxiao seemed to find this idea hilarious. In her past life, she had been too concerned about how she looked like. She got married unwillingly and then was bullied, unwilling to go to college again and eventually hurriedly remarried. Now that she had a second chance, why should she care about irrelevant people and what they thought of her?
“We didn’t intend to scheme against you either. It’s just that we’re from the countryside and we’re used to being thrifty. You’re a city girl, and if you don’t like our ways, we can change, right?” Yu Siping tried to placate Su Xiaoxiao, looking innocent and helpless.
“Whether you change or not is your business, but just don’t bother me,” Su Xiaoxiao directly rejected their goodwill.
However, Yu Siping, seemingly unfazed, continued in a good-natured tone, “You’re just saying that out of anger. Our village is so small, and we’re bound to cross paths when it comes to eating and living. Besides, we have many children in our family. How can there be absolutely no interaction in the future?”
On the other hand, Hu Yuezhen, who had lost her patience, rolled her eyes sneakily.
Yu Siping almost kicked her under the table when she saw Su Xiaoxiao’s gaze turn in their direction.
Hu Yuezhen yelped.
When Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned toward her, she quickly put on her fake smile again.
“Sis, what second sister-in-law said is correct. We came here today to apologize to you. Look, we’ve brought gifts, so don’t hold a grudge against us,” Hu Yuezhen said and placed two baskets on the table.
The baskets were covered with cloths, giving the impression that they were full.
However, the more Su Xiaoxiao saw this, the more certain she became that these contained worthless items.
“Do you think I have such shallow insight? You both know that there’s tension between your families and Yexun. You want to make amends with these meager offerings?” Su Xiaoxiao sneered and reached for the cloths covering the baskets.
Hu Yuezhen was startled and instinctively tried to stop her.
“So, you also know that the things you brought are insignificant,” Su Xiaoxiao taunted even more.
Hu Yuezhen, embarrassed, said, “Oh, look at the way you’re phrasing it. It’s just that we don’t have much money, so we’re doing our best to express our sincerity. There’s a saying about light gifts and deep feelings…”
She couldn’t recall the exact saying and looked to Yu Siping for help.
Yu Siping, suppressing her annoyance, gently explained, “It’s a light gift with deep feelings.’”
“Yes, that’s it! A light gift with deep feelings,” Hu Yuezhen hurriedly agreed.
Su Xiaoxiao was truly speechless, “Other people send a goose feather from afar as a light gift with deep feelings. Do we live thousands of miles apart? What kind of junk are you trying to pass off to me?”
“They are valuable stuff that no other household in our production team would easily obtain,” Hu Yuezhen insisted.
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. With a slight force, she uncovered the clothes on the baskets, revealing the fresh green vegetables inside.
“Huh!” Su Xiaoxiao burst out laughing in frustration. “Is this your gift? You picked some wild vegetables and thought you could appease me?”
She knew that the Jiang family’s main and second households were penny-pinchers, but she never imagined they would be so miserly as to offer such gifts.
“Look, it’s not that we’re trying to dismiss you. You know, we’re poor country folks, and we don’t have much to offer. These wild vegetables were picked by me and your sister-in-law early this morning. They’re the tenderest ones, and it took us several hours,” Yu Siping hastily explained.
The vegetables they had picked were indeed of high quality. After all, if they thought they could win her over by sending some common wild vegetables, even a fool wouldn’t side with them.
“She’s not my sister-in-law, and neither are you. Every day, we earn ten work points, and we can keep four of them, which amounts to two cents and four pence. Do you really think I’m so easily taken advantage of by your shoddy offerings?” Su Xiaoxiao mocked, shaking her head, and couldn’t be bothered to continue arguing with them.
“Xiaoxiao, don’t be angry. We came here mainly to discuss something important with you,” Yu Siping saw Su Xiaoxiao’s face turning completely dark and didn’t dare to delay any longer, quickly saying.
Su Xiaoxiao pursed her lips, her gaze probing as she looked back and forth between them. She knew that these two had nothing good in mind, but she still wanted to hear their ridiculous daydream.
“Speak, what are you planning to scheme against me this time?” She was unusually direct, showing no mercy.
Yu Siping was completely at a loss for words, not knowing how to continue the conversation. Hu Yuezhen, on the other hand, was cheeky enough to push forward.
“Do you know the background of your future mother-in-law? We heard that your family in the city all have jobs. What if they lose their jobs because of Guo’s identity as a daughter of a capitalist? Wouldn’t that be unfilial of you?”
“Isn’t Aunt Guo already married to Team Leader Jiang? Don’t worry, Team leader Jiang comes from three generations of poor peasants, and Aunt Guo’s background is clean now. Even if there were any problems, Team Leader Jiang would be the first to face the consequences, wouldn’t he?”
Su Xiaoxiao curved her lips, looking at them with a sly, ambiguous smile. For a moment, Hu Yuezhen and Yu Siping both wore awkward expressions.
However, Hu Yuezhen was still unwilling to give up and continued, “We were wondering after you get married and move in, when do you plan to have children? We heard there are contraceptive methods in the city now. You and third younger brother shouldn’t be in a rush to have children, right?”
Her not-so-big eyes couldn’t conceal her calculating gaze, and she stared at Su Xiaoxiao intently. Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but chuckle at how worked up they were.
Trying to take away her share of the grain by scheming against her unborn child, was truly ridiculous!
“Huh, now that you’ve plotted against me, you want to scheme against my unborn child? You’re really ruthless. Does Team Leader Jiang know about this?” She raised an eyebrow lazily and threatened.
But Hu Yuezhen’s brain wasn’t working well; she didn’t even catch Su Xiaoxiao’s implication. Instead, she continued confidently, “Xiaoxiao, we’re just thinking about your well-being. You don’t want to return to the city and leave third younger brother behind, do you? City folks look down on us country bumpkins. If you have a child, it’ll be even harder to leave us.”
“When did I ever say I looked down on the people in the production team? You really love to make baseless accusations against me.” Su Xiaoxiao frowned, her beautiful face scrunching up like she was looking at two idiots.
They were so keen to stop her and Jiang Yexun’s child from getting a share of their current food supply. This kind of scheming was simply laughable!