Chapter 21: Visiting Your In-Laws with Some Gifts

Chapter 21: Visiting Your In-Laws with Some Gifts

Upon returning from Mapo County, Wei Pozi took Xingxing to rest in the house. Although Bai Xiaofeng was very tired, she was too excited and went straight to Li Chunhua.

Li Chunhua was squatting in the kitchen, picking vegetables.

The past two days, weeds had started sprouting in the fields, and the Yu men had been spending all day weeding. She needed to prepare some food to bring to the men working in the fields later.

Bai Xiaofeng directly handed Li Chunhua an old money pouch and winked, "Big Sister, take a look."

Li Chunhua wiped her hands on her apron, took the pouch, and immediately sensed something was off.

Why is it so heavy?

She quickly opened it and counted—there were thirty coins. She stared in disbelief, "This can't be right. Why so many? Haven't you given any to Mother yet?"

Saying this, Li Chunhua felt uneasy, "No, I'll go to the main room and give it to Mother—"

Bai Xiaofeng grabbed Li Chunhua's arm and lowered her voice, still unable to contain her excitement, "Big Sister, Mother said that from now on, the money from embroidery work should be kept by us."

Li Chunhua almost dropped the pouch, trembling slightly, "What?! Really? Don't joke about such things!"

Bai Xiaofeng laughed until her eyes narrowed, "With such a big matter, how could I dare to joke? ... You sold three pieces of embroidery for thirty coins, not a coin more or less. Mother didn't take a single coin!"

Li Chunhua became equally excited, "This, this... really?!"

If they saved up this money over time, it would amount to quite a sum!

The two sisters-in-law worked with renewed vigor, fueled by their excitement.

In the afternoon, when Old Man Yu returned from the fields with his sons, he saw Wei Pozi sewing shoe soles for Xingxing by the window, using natural light. He clicked his tongue, curious, "Old Woman, what good news is there? I see the eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law looking radiant. What happened?"

Wei Pozi didn't look up, "Nothing much. Today, the second daughter-in-law sold some embroidery. I told them that from now on, the money from embroidery should be kept by them."

Old Man Yu wasn’t the type to covet his daughters-in-law’s private savings, so he nodded, "Do as you see fit."

"But..." Wei Pozi finished sewing the last stitch, bit off the thread, admired the completed sole, set it aside, and smiled at Old Man Yu, "Guess how much we got for that Heartburn Grass?"

Old Man Yu became interested, "How much?"

Wei Pozi held up one hand and made a "two" gesture.

Old Man Yu guessed, "Two silver coins?"

But he quickly dismissed his own guess, "No, if it were just two silver coins, you wouldn't be this happy."

Old Man Yu couldn't figure it out.

Wei Pozi smiled triumphantly, "Didn't expect that, did you?"

She lowered her voice and told Old Man Yu, "That Heartburn Grass sold for two taels of silver!"

Old Man Yu was genuinely shocked, "Two taels of silver?! ... Our plant? Its leaves were pecked by chickens; even getting a few coins would have been great. How did it..."

How did it sell for two taels of silver?!

He wondered how long he'd need to work in the fields to earn two taels of silver!

Wei Pozi proudly said, "Didn't expect that, did you?"

She recounted the details to Old Man Yu—Xingxing chose Renhui Hall, which happened to have a customer who urgently needed Heartburn Grass and paid a high price!

Old Man Yu couldn't help but slap his thigh, grinning widely, "Ah, I always say our Xingxing brings luck to the Yu family!"

Wei Pozi agreed wholeheartedly.

She looked out the window with a gentle expression.

Outside, Xingxing was feeding the chickens with a bowl of chopped wild vegetable leaves, her face full of joy.

At dinner time, everyone was smiling—except Yu Sanbao.

Everyone chatted and laughed, but Yu Sanbao ate silently, head down.

Yu Siyang, the fourth son, was simple-minded and didn't understand why everyone was so cheerful, but he joined in the laughter for a while.

However, Yu Siyang soon noticed something was amiss and called out, "Third Brother."

Yu Sanbao paused eating and looked at Yu Siyang, "Little Brother, what is it?"

Yu Siyang sincerely asked Yu Sanbao, "Third Brother, when is Third Sister-in-law coming back? I haven't seen Ju Geer for several days, and I miss him. He said he wanted me to make him a grasshopper, and I've already made it."

The dining table fell silent.

Yu Siyang was unaware that Su Rouer had taken Ju Geer back to her parents' house in anger, intending to pressure the Yu family.

He thought Third Sister-in-law had simply gone to visit her parents.

Mentioning his wife, Yu Sanbao felt annoyed, "If she doesn't want to come back, should I tie her here?"

Yu Siyang was puzzled, "Why doesn't Third Sister-in-law want to come back?"

Yu Sanbao didn't know how to explain it and continued eating silently.

"Alright, Fourth, eat your meal," Old Man Yu intervened.

Yu Siyang listened to his father and said, "Oh," then quietly resumed eating.

After dinner, Wei Pozi stopped Yu Sanbao and took out thirty coins from her box, handing them to him, "Tomorrow, go to the county, buy some gifts, and visit your in-laws."

Yu Sanbao clearly hadn't expected Wei Pozi to bring up this matter on her own.

Clutching the thirty coins, he was somewhat shocked. "Mom... you're not angry with Rou'er anymore?"

Wei Pozi sneered. "Angry? How could I not be?... Your wife looks down on us country folk from the bottom of her heart, thinking she's better because she's from the county. But no matter what, she is still your wife and the mother of your son. Can we really just abandon her? Back then, you insisted on marrying her, and we almost had a falling out. Now that you've brought her back, you need to take responsibility!"

The more Wei Pozi spoke, the more annoyed she became. If it were up to her, given how Su Rouer and Mother Su behaved today, she wouldn't want to deal with them at all!

But in the end, Su Rouer is still Ju Geer's birth mother!

Today, she saw that Ju Geer's clothes were covered in dirt, and his face was red and swollen. It seemed he had been fighting with his little cousin quite a bit at the Su family's place.

As a grandmother, how could she bear to see her grandson being bullied like this?

Seeing his mother's magnanimity and willingness to overlook past grievances, even though she didn't like Su Rouer, Yu Sanbao was deeply moved. He made a decision: "Mom, don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll bring Rou'er and the child back, and I'll teach her a lesson! She won't speak to you like that again!"

Wei Pozi, however, wasn't very hopeful about this. She gave a faint "Hmm" and waved her hand, signaling for Yu Sanbao to leave quickly.

She called out to Xingxing playing in the courtyard outside, "Xingxing, come, let's go for a walk."

Xingxing responded happily with an "Okay" and ran inside.

When she entered, seeing that Yu Sanbao was still there, she politely greeted him, "Third Uncle."

Yu Sanbao, who only had the mischievous little devil Ju Geer at home, genuinely liked the sweet and adorable Xingxing. Plus, with Wei Pozi suggesting he bring the family back tomorrow, he was in a great mood. Yu Sanbao laughed heartily and lifted Xingxing up, tossing her gently into the air. "Oh, I find myself liking our Xingxing more and more every time I see her!"

Xingxing was startled when she was suddenly tossed up and cried out "Ah," immediately hugging Yu Sanbao's neck tightly.

"Just scaring people!" Wei Pozi rolled her eyes at Yu Sanbao but, seeing her son so happy, didn't say anything more. She took Xingxing from Yu Sanbao's arms, and the two went out for a walk together.