These past few months, I haven’t been eating or sleeping well at home, worried that Shi Heng wouldn’t take good care of Xue Zhu. As soon as the house was ready, I rushed over.
Zhou Qianqian stared blankly at the woman in front of her who looked at He Xue Zhu with so much affection, even doubting whether she was dreaming.
She also had a mother-in-law. Before she went to join the army, she had seen how other families dealt with their in-laws. In Zhou Qianqian’s impression, mothers-in-law would inevitably have some dissatisfaction with their daughters-in-law. When her mother expressed dissatisfaction with her sister-in-law, she once said that there must be one person who concedes in the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. Her mother didn’t want to be the one to back down, so she aimed to suppress the daughter-in-law from the start.
After Zhou Qianqian got married, she did sense her mother-in-law’s vague dissatisfaction with her. She didn’t think of resisting but chose to be submissive and carefully curry favor. After all, she knew very well that between her and her mother-in-law, her husband would definitely choose his biological mother.
So when she learned that Lin Shi Heng’s mother did not like He Xue Zhu as a daughter-in-law, Zhou Qianqian felt this was to be expected and had no doubts whatsoever.
But she never anticipated that while Lin Shi Heng’s mother came, she acted even more affectionately than He Xue Zhu’s own mother.
Li Chunhua held the hands of the person in front of her, chattering for a long time but got no response. When she looked over again, she could only see Zhou Qianqian’s dreadful expression.
How could this person be like a wooden log, and she expected her to follow along with a few more words?
Feeling a bit disgusted, she let go of her hand and switched to someone else for a handshake.
This time, Sister Zhang, who was close with He Xue Zhu, was very cooperative and exclaimed, “You treat Xue Zhu so well!”
“Of course!”
Li Chunhua was waiting for this statement and immediately stood tall with a proud expression: “That girl Xue Zhu, even before she married into my family, I had already favored her. She’s good-looking, well-mannered, and capable at work. I thought right away that she was destined to be my daughter-in-law!”
He Xue Zhu, supported by Lin Shi Heng, was somewhat dazed upon hearing her mother-in-law’s words. Back then, she only knew that one day her mother suddenly told her that the Lin family was interested in her and had offered a betrothal gift, confirming that she could just wait for marriage. She had no idea that her mother-in-law liked her enough to propose.
Seeing the genuine expression on the old lady’s face, Sister Zhang, who had secretly worried about He Xue Zhu, sighed with relief and smiled: “That’s great, Xue Zhu is indeed lucky to have a kind-hearted and affectionate mother-in-law like you.”
Hearing this, Li Chunhua immediately smiled more warmly: “Not at all! It’s still that child Xue Zhu who is lovable. Back when Shi Heng was in the army, as his wife, she should have followed him, but because she was worried about me, she stayed in the village for three years to keep me company.”
“Three years? They met so few times that one could count them on both hands. I used to be greedy, wanting her to stay with me longer because I liked her, but then I thought, I can’t be that selfish. No matter how much I like Xue Zhu, I can’t keep her away from Shi Heng for too long.”
He Xue Zhu felt touched as she realized her mother-in-law truly liked her. Hearing Li Chunhua’s words, she was filled with emotion, especially since she was pregnant.
So her mother-in-law didn’t want her to follow Shi Heng into the army simply because she liked her?
Lin Shi Heng aptly interjected, “Mom, since you like Xue Zhu, why not stay here? We can buy a house nearby, and our family can live together.”
“No way, your father’s grave is still in the village, and I need to watch over it,” Li Chunhua replied to her son, then explained to Sister Zhang, “My husband passed away early, and for those whose family members died before turning thirty, unless the grave is moved, someone must guard it, or they risk becoming a wandering soul.”
Sister Zhang naturally wouldn’t be so ungracious as to say that’s superstitious nonsense. She just offered a generic sympathetic comment: “You have it tough too.”
“Fortunately, I used to just think about raising my children. I never expected once they grew up, they would join the army. Luckily, there’s Xue Zhu with me, which gives this old woman some comfort.”
Li Chunhua couldn’t help but mention her daughter-in-law constantly. After a bit of small talk, she reluctantly released Sister Zhang’s hand, saying, “I’ll head back now. I’m specially raising some hens these past few months, carefully tending them, and finally raised them to be nice layers. They lay a lot of eggs, and this nutritious hen soup will be good for my Xue Zhu. I brought them over alive; I need to let them stretch a bit so they don’t wilt.”
“Go ahead.”
Seeing the surprise and envy in the eyes of the few women in front of her, Li Chunhua felt satisfied and let go.
Since her son and daughter-in-law left, she had been thinking of various strategies.
First, Shi Heng’s infertility was something that absolutely must not get out. And now, Shi Heng was trying to hide it even from her, his mother. Li Chunhua understood her son was worried she’d be upset if she found out, and she couldn’t bear to expose it.
Actually, as long as she could ensure that Shi Heng had an heir to carry on the family name, allowing him to become a father, she would feel satisfied. She didn’t want him to grow old without having anyone to honor him.
But soon after, she became concerned about the unborn child’s gender.
Honestly, Li Chunhua certainly hoped that He Xue Zhu was having a boy, but even though she was a rural woman, she knew such matters weren’t determined by personal wishes.
If it’s a boy, that would be great! But what if it’s a girl? Just thinking of the Lin family’s many members alone was enough to give one a headache.
Months passed, and after working hard to convince herself, Li Chunhua finally transitioned from feeling suffocated and unwell at the thought of He Xue Zhu having a girl to thinking, “If it’s a girl, I’ll raise her well; if it’s a boy, that’s fine too.”
No matter what, as long as it’s Shi Heng’s child, she would hold it close in her heart. So what if it’s a girl! The chairman himself said both boys and girls are the same! Wasn’t she, Li Chunhua, also a girl?