Chapter 41: Hit by a Boomerang

Glancing at her eldest daughter-in-law, who was clearly enjoying the drama, Liu Hehua turned to look at her daughter and waved her hand in irritation.

"You two go back after you finish eating. Don't forget to come over tomorrow morning to apologize to your mother-in-law with us, otherwise, don't bother stepping foot in this house again."

Zhao Meijuan was very reluctant, but catching the look in her parents' eyes, she didn't dare let the protest escape her lips.

"Fine, I get it. Oh, by the way, we don't have a coal stove. Doesn't our family have an extra one? Let me take one with me; it'll save us the trouble of buying one."

The eldest sister-in-law rolled her eyes. They had only just moved out, and already she was eyeing her natal family's belongings.

As the saying goes, "a daughter is half a thief"—it seemed she wasn't being slandered unfairly.

Liu Hehua just wanted to get this couple out of her sight as quickly as possible. She stood up and hurried to the shed in the courtyard to rummage out an unused coal stove.

"Mom, I see there's still plenty of coal briquettes left. Let me take some of those too. You know we just moved out and haven't had time to prepare anything."

Hearing her daughter's matter-of-fact tone, Liu Hehua's brow twitched, and she glared at her.

"That's enough! You've had me on edge all day with your antics."

As she had suspected, nothing good would come from these two fools moving out. Before they had even started their new life, they were already eyeing the family's goods.

Neither of them seemed cut out for managing a household; if things continued like this, this girl would eventually strip her family home bare.

Just as she was thinking of how to refuse, the eldest sister-in-law, who had stepped out at some unknown point, looked at the two of them and remarked sarcastically, "Oh, how many things is little sister lacking? A coal stove, coal briquettes... our family's things didn't just blow in with the wind."

"Exactly. The coal briquettes at home are rationed; we live frugally just to ensure we have warmth for the winter. If you take them all, how is our whole family supposed to get by when winter comes?"

The second sister-in-law leaned against the doorway and curled her lip. They had come back to eat several times now without bringing a single thing; did they really think they were someone important?

The mother-in-law always cooked in fixed portions, and the food these two were eating was part of the family's shared rations.

Hearing the displeased tone of the two sisters-in-law, Zhang Jianshe's face turned bright red with shame.

"Juan, we'll just buy our own coal."

"Why buy anything when there's already stuff at home? Buying coal isn't free. We just moved out, and we have plenty of places to spend money."

"Oh, so your money is real money, but ours is just paper?" *How can she have the nerve to say that? What a shameless thing.*

"Exactly. Little sister certainly knows how to do math. They say a daughter belongs to another family, and they aren't wrong."

No matter how spoiled Zhao Meijuan was, she could hear the sarcasm in her sisters-in-law's voices. She puffed out her chest and huffed.

"What's wrong with taking a few coal briquettes? They aren't worth much. Every time I come to visit relatives, I bring bags and bundles. Taking a few pieces of coal—look how much you're all acting like it hurts!"

"Isn't it natural for a daughter to bring something when she visits her own parents? What, are you going to settle accounts with us now?"

"Your parents have raised you for all these years; how much money have they spent on you? Can you ever truly settle that account?"

Standing to the side, Zhang Jianshe wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

"Juan, let's not take anything. We'll buy our own."

"I won't! These are my family's things, and I'll take them however I want. My parents are still here; since when did the eldest and second sisters-in-law become the ones in charge?

But as a daughter, I've done my best. To repay my parents, I gave all the wedding gifts from my in-laws to them. I've contributed my share to this family.

Since I got married, how many coal briquettes could the money I've spent visiting my parents buy? Have the eldest and second sisters-in-law ever calculated that?"

Liu Hehua stared blankly at her daughter. For years, she had been instilling the idea that her natal family was her true home, that even after marriage, she should side with them, and that the Zhao family was her only support.

Now, she suddenly felt as if she had been struck by a boomerang.

"Alright, enough. Everyone stop talking."

Suppressing her irritation, Liu Hehua quickly grabbed a woven bag from the side, stuffed five or six coal briquettes into it, and placed it at her son-in-law's feet.

"It's getting late. You two should head back."

If they kept arguing like this, her household would descend into chaos.

Seeing their mother-in-law's stance, the two Zhao daughters-in-law curled their lips but said nothing.

Zhang Jianshe looked at the coal at his feet, then at his two clearly angry sisters-in-law. Although the evening light was dim, he could still feel their piercing glares, which made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

"Just a few pieces? That won't even last two days." Zhao Meijuan pouted and looked resentfully at her mother, only to receive a glare in return.

"You brat! A coal stove and now coal briquettes... that's plenty. Don't push your luck."

"Juan, let's go." Zhang Jianshe pulled at his wife. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he could sense that his mother-in-law's family had developed a grievance against them.

Originally, he hadn't wanted these things, but thinking about how their rental room had nothing, and that buying new things would mean borrowing money, he decided to just bite the bullet. He tied the items to the back of the bicycle and started pushing it out.

"Third Brother, wait for me!" Seeing Zhang Jianshe leave, Zhao Meijuan stomped her foot and hurried after him.

With the back seat occupied, Zhang Jianshe had her sit on the large front rack as he pedaled back to their rental room.

"From now on, let's just focus on living our lives steadily and ignore everything else," Zhang Jianshe muttered quietly as he rode.

"Just thinking about it being just the two of us from now on makes me so happy I can't control it." Zhao Meijuan turned her head and planted a kiss on Zhang Jianshe's chin.

Startled by her sudden movement, Zhang Jianshe swerved the bike in an S-curve. "Don't mess around, I'm riding!"

Back at the rental room, looking at the furniture piled high, the two of them did a quick wash and collapsed onto the bed.

"I've already applied to the group leader for loading and unloading work. If I work the whole month, I can earn an extra twenty yuan. That should be enough for the two of us to eat and drink."

"Mhm, I believe Third Brother can definitely support me," Zhao Meijuan said coquettishly, lying in his arms.

"Go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow." Zhang Jianshe turned off the light. He stared into the darkness until sleepiness finally overcame him, and then he closed his eyes.

***

Li Xiangqin had worked the night shift, but she had adapted well. On her way home from work, she bought a few pieces of fried dough sticks to take back.

By the time she arrived home, the fourth child had already left for work, and the fifth child had finished making porridge.

That girl was quick-witted and observant; she was clearly afraid of being implicated in any trouble.

"Mom, you bought fried dough sticks! That's great, I've been wanting some for a long time." The fifth child's eyes lit up as she turned to head to the kitchen to serve the porridge.

"Has the sixth one not woken up yet?"

Li Xiangqin brushed her teeth and looked at the slightly ajar bedroom door. The coal coupons had been distributed during the night shift yesterday; they were rationed, so one had to go early to queue.

"Mom, I'm up! I've been reading and studying," the sixth child said, pushing the door open with a grin.

"You call reading martial arts novels 'studying'? Who are you trying to fool?" The fifth child, seeing his attempt to act well-behaved, unceremoniously called him out.