The crowd took one look at the village chief's dark expression and quietly dispersed. All that remained was the scowling chief, Li Xiu; a completely unfazed Aunt Li and Li Yuan; and Zhou Lian, who was still in a daze.
"Alright, that's enough. That blabbermouth has always been like that. Her husband's a decent man, so don't go settling scores later!" Ge Dayu knew Li Xiu's personality all too well. The man was ruthless and vicious, yet he always managed to twist things so you couldn't argue with him. They were all from the same village; it would look bad if things got too out of hand.
Li Xiu let out a dry laugh and ignored him. 'What's the use of being decent? Failing to control his own wife is his mistake.'
"Village Chief, you need to do something about this. I think they're just idle and have had it too easy. We're so busy right now, yet they still have the energy to gossip. It seems the work isn't tiring them out. That won't do. Aren't we supposed to be upholding the spirit of 'fearing neither hardship nor death'? Give them more work!" Aunt Li really wasn't afraid of escalating things.
Ge Dayu watched them without a word. 'If anyone ever calls Li Xiu decent again, I'll wring their neck. That bastard. With just a few words, they've decided to make an example of Sun Er's wife—the chicken to be killed to scare the monkeys!'
"Brother-in-law, it's actually good that this is out in the open. She needs to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, I would've made her life a living hell until she couldn't take it anymore. Who does she think she is, that everyone has to spoil her like her parents? The nerve!"
Zhou Lian said after snapping out of her daze. She had just been stunned by the fighting spirit of Aunt Li and her sister-in-law. That Sun Er's wife was a real shit-stirrer. In her past life, the woman had often given her a hard time with her words. As a new bride, she had been too thin-skinned and felt it wasn't right to argue back.
Her eldest daughter was good friends with Li Xin, and they often caused trouble. Once, Li Yun and Li He ran into them and taught Li Xin a lesson, which finally made things quiet down. Now, in this life, she had picked a fight in front of Li Xiu's aunt. It was the perfect chance to straighten her out. 'Don't fucking think you can just walk all over me!'
Ge Dayu looked at Zhou Lian helplessly. 'My wife said this little sister of hers was honest, proper, and never caused trouble. This is honest? No wonder that guy Li Xiu adores her to death. They're all cut from the same damn cloth.'
"Fine, fine, you all handle it. Just don't blow it out of proportion so it's impossible to resolve!" Ge Dayu was at his wit's end. If he tried too hard to stop them, his wife would find out and raise hell with him. His wife and father-in-law both thought very highly of the Zhou family. If his father-in-law found out that Zhou Lian had been wronged right under his nose and he'd done nothing, he would surely get an earful.
"Alright now, listen to Brother Ge. We won't cause you any trouble. We know what we're doing," Aunt Li said with a smile, seeing Ge Dayu's expression. She couldn't make things difficult for him; after all, they were family by marriage now.
"Then hurry up and get back to whatever you were doing. I'm off." Seeing Aunt Li state her position, Ge Dayu left, satisfied. He just knew the people of the Lao family were reasonable. See, they weren't going to cause him any trouble. Not bad, not bad! Who knows who was just complaining for ages! The man sure changed his tune fast!
"Aunt Li, Little Sis, and I will head off now," Zhou Lian said to Li Xiu after watching Ge Dayu leave. Li Xiu nodded, greeted his aunt, and went back to work.
Zhou Lian called for Aunt Li and Li Miao to walk back to the village with her. "Little Sis, come back with me in a bit. Help me take something to Eldest Aunt's place," Zhou Lian said to Li Miao. It was spring and the work was hard, so every family was short on rich foods. Li Xiu had cured a lot of pork over the winter, so she wanted to share some with Eldest Uncle's and Third Uncle's families to give them a taste of meat.
"Sister-in-law, what are we delivering?" Li Miao asked curiously. 'This sister-in-law of mine is so gentle and pretty. No wonder Big Brother adores her. She seems like a good person.'
"Your big brother cured some pork. The farm work is heavy right now, so in a bit, you can pack some in a basket and share it with Eldest Aunt's family. It'll at least add some meat to the men's meals."
"Don't send any over, dear. You should keep it for Big Brother to build up his strength. My dear nephew really wore his body out these past few years," Aunt Li quickly refused. It wasn't easy for her nephew to get some meat, and while it was thoughtful of him to think of his elders, they couldn't let him short himself. He had already sent a lot over before the new year. How could they keep taking advantage of him? He'd risked his life in the mountains for that meat!
"Oh, Aunt Li, don't say that. We're all family. It feels distant to be so calculating. Li Xiu was going to bring it over in the next day or two anyway, but it would be too conspicuous for him to do it. Since Little Sis is here today, it won't draw any attention if she goes," Zhou Lian said. She really appreciated how clear-headed Aunt Li was. 'This was all meat my husband worked hard to get from the mountains. If it weren't for all the help from you and Eldest Aunt, I wouldn't be willing to part with it either. Meat is so precious these days!'
She divided the meat into four portions for Li Miao to deliver: one for Grandma, one for Eldest Aunt, one for the old residence, and one for Aunt Li's family. 'I didn't really want to send any to the old residence, but they are Li Xiu's biological parents, after all. We can't let things get too ugly. I still need to maintain a good reputation!'
The moment Li Miao walked through the door with the basket on her back, she was laughing so hard she was doubled over. Her father, brothers, and sisters, who had just returned from the fields and were resting in the courtyard, were utterly baffled.
"What happened? Did you go to your Second Uncle's house?" Aunt Li asked as she came out of the kitchen, seeing Li Miao pounding the basket and roaring with laughter. 'Seeing my little girl like this, nothing bad could have happened at her sister-in-law's. My niece-in-law is generous and sensible. She must have given a portion to her mother-in-law. I just wonder what kind of trouble my second sister-in-law is causing now.'
"Yeah, Mom. Sister-in-law divided it into four portions. There's one for Grandma, and she wrapped it all nicely in pastry paper. She told me to just take it out when I got there. The portions for Grandma and Eldest Aunt were the same size, so I didn't think much of it. Then I got to Second Aunt's place. Second Aunt and Li Xin were home, so I took out their portion and gave it to them."
Li Miao paused and laughed for another moment. Seeing her family staring at her, she quickly continued, "Their portion was maybe half the size of Grandma's. I didn't dare say anything. Then Li Xin asked me if everyone got some or just them. I was stunned. Li Xin is four or five years older than me, how can she be so brainless? I said everyone got some, and she immediately reached into my basket and pulled out our family's portion. Then everyone was stunned. Our portion was more than three times the size of the one in Second Aunt's hands. Don't even get me started. At that moment, I really couldn't laugh out loud. After a while, Second Aunt asked who sent me. I said Big Brother divided the meat, and Sister-in-law told me to deliver it! You should have seen the looks on Second Aunt's and Li Xin's faces. It was like they'd just eaten shit…"
"Have some respect! Your Second Aunt is an elder!" Uncle Li cut Li Miao off, reprimanding her. He couldn't control others, but he wouldn't let his own child be raised without manners.
"Yes, Dad, I know," Li Miao replied, ducking her head. Whenever her father was lecturing them, her mother never interrupted. Sometimes, she even joined in on the lecturing.
"Was it Sister-in-law who divided it?" Li He asked his younger sister.
"Yes. After Sister-in-law chopped and wrapped the meat in the kitchen, she told me which portion was for which family as she put them in the basket. She also told me to go to Eldest Aunt's and Grandma's first and tell them they couldn't refuse, that it was from Big Brother to show his respect for the elders," Li Miao said with a nod.
"Go on. What else did Sister-in-law tell you?" Li Gui asked.
"She also said that after delivering to Eldest Aunt's, I should go to Second Aunt's house and tell them directly that Big Brother had divided the meat and had me deliver it. That Eldest Uncle, Grandma, and our family all got some, and that I didn't know anything else."
Before Li Miao could finish, Li Bao burst out laughing. 'No wonder Big Brother was so set on Sister-in-law! Her way of doing things is exactly like his—neither of them is the type to be taken advantage of. I was worried Sister-in-law was too soft-hearted and would be easily fooled. Now I see there must have been other reasons Big Brother valued her so much. With Sister-in-law supporting him, the folks at Second Uncle's place won't be able to stir up any real trouble. I couldn't bear to see Big Brother, a grown man, having to deal with his own parents and siblings over such petty matters day in and day out. Now, Sister-in-law can handle these things. With her methods, she won't lose out, and she'll even be praised for being a filial daughter-in-law!'