A Good Country Wife-Chapter 132 Not Foolish_1

Li Xiaomei had long wanted to separate from the main household, but the presence of her father-in-law and mother-in-law loomed over her. God knows how much she envied Zhao Erhu’s wife, who didn’t have to serve in-laws, could manage her own finances, and had no one overseeing what she ate or did. Zhao Cheng always listened to her. Imagine how comfortable life would be after they separated; she wouldn’t mind losing some benefits, especially since Li Xiaomei knew that even if she managed to take over Zhao Erhu’s family business, the benefits would all fall into her biased mother-in-law’s hands, and she wouldn’t get anything. Now that her mother-in-law had spoken in such a way, she saw an opportunity to propose the division of the family. If her mother-in-law, in a fit of rage, really separated their family, it would be a blessing.

"Divide the family!" The sound of those two words made Wei Family’s voice sharp with irritation, showing how deeply she was provoked, "Li Family, you unfilial wretch, you dare to encourage Erhu to separate from the family! Do you believe that I would have Erhu divorce you right now?"

Zhao Cheng was indeed tempted by Li Xiaomei’s suggestion. In his view, life would be easier if they separated. He wouldn’t have to be caught between his mother and his wife anymore, nor would he have to deal with his mother’s favoritism. "Mother, actually, what my wife is saying isn’t wrong. Separating from the family isn’t a bad thing. Even if we do separate, I’ll still be your son and will continue to honor you and father. You can keep all the benefits for my third and fifth brothers; I won’t covet them. Wouldn’t that be good?"

"Out of the question! You unfilial son, your father and I are not dead yet. If you want to separate, wait until after my death. There happens to be a pair of scissors on the table. Why don’t you just pick them up and stab me to death now, then you can live your good life with your wife without anyone stopping you!" Wei Family refused to believe that her second son and daughter-in-law could bear the guilt of driving her to her death.

Seeing Wei Family like this, Li Xiaomei knew that it was impossible for them to separate now. Although she hadn’t expected it to be easy, she couldn’t help feeling resentful. Yet, she knew that matters had to be taken step by step, and she was determined to eventually reach her goal. Wei Family’s behavior truly disgusted her, enjoying the advantages while expecting her and her husband to bear the reputation of being unfilial. Li Xiaomei thought, "No way!"

"Mother, it was you who, for the sake of not sharing the benefits with Zhao Cheng, my third, and fifth brothers, allowed us to live separately. It wasn’t me and Zhao Cheng who forced you. If you don’t want to, then forget it. There’s no need to make such a fuss. Everyone knows that our Zhao Cheng is a filial son, who has always swallowed his grievances. Are you trying to drive Zhao Cheng to his death? What kind of mother is so heartless? Poor Zhao Cheng, to have such a hard life!"

Li Xiaomei began to cry as she spoke, fully confronting Wei Family. Li Xiaomei was not intending to swallow her pride; if she remained as submissive as she used to be, Wei Family would only continue to bully and manipulate her. She might as well be assertive, so Wei Family wouldn’t dare to provoke her easily. Otherwise, she would make a scene all the way to her own family’s home and see how Wei Family would then explain things to her parents.

Zhao Cheng’s heart sank with his mother’s actions, and he just stood there woodenly. Unnoticed, Li Xiaomei pinched Zhao Cheng and gave him a meaningful look.

After being married for so long, and especially after spending every day watching the expressions of his mother and wife for guidance, Zhao Cheng immediately understood what Li Xiaomei meant and joined her in crying, "Mother, I am your own son as well. Why do you push me so hard? All these years, my heart has been filled with bitterness. Am I no longer your own son?!"

When Wei Family saw her son and daughter-in-law banding together against her, she grabbed the teacup beside her and hurled it fiercely to the ground, "Get out! Both of you wretches, get out of my sight right now! I don’t want to see you two ever again!"

Zhao Cheng and Li Xiaomei didn’t hesitate to leave the house. They had decided not to meddle in Zhao Erhu’s affairs anymore. It was a thankless task, and only fools would bother with it. However, Li Xiaomei was still discontent; with Wei Family treating them so poorly and standing by as her third and fifth brothers enjoyed the benefits, she wasn’t going to let it happen without a fight. As a result, she didn’t go back to her room with Zhao Cheng but instead went to the vegetable garden to find Liu Family, the wife of the eldest son who was digging in the soil.

"Big sister, digging the soil, huh? You must be tired from working so long. Let me help you," Li Xiaomei, abandoning her usual disdain and arrogance towards Lady Liu, cheerfully approached and said, which greatly surprised the latter.

Putting aside Li Xiaomei’s strange behavior, her inherent laziness was such that even the Wei Family had to repeatedly urge her to do anything. Now, seeing her so eager to help, Lady Liu wondered if Xiaomei had mistakenly taken some medicine or if she was brewing some malicious plot. On alert, she nevertheless did not stop Xiaomei from working. The Zhao Family homestead hadn’t been divided yet, and household chores were everyone’s responsibility, not just hers alone.

Though Lady Liu appeared naive and easy to bully, she was not foolish. In her view, working a bit more wouldn’t cost her any flesh and it would spare her from conflict with the Wei Family’s mother and daughter-in-law, which would be truly exhausting.

"I am indeed a bit tired from working all day, so it’s great that my sister-in-law is willing to help. I’ll take a break," Lady Liu said, massaging her shoulders and taking the opportunity to sit down in the shade of a tree, waiting to see what Xiaomei would do next.

Li Xiaomei was only putting on an act and cursed Lady Liu inwardly for being oblivious. Yet, she had something she wanted Lady Liu to do and could not afford to fall out with her immediately, so she maintained her fake smile. Li Xiaomei, who was quite accustomed to being domineering, didn’t seem to realize that Lady Liu was of the same generation in the family hierarchy, and in fact, she was her elder sister-in-law. Why should she defer to Xiaomei’s mood? frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Big sister, did you know mother purposefully sent you and big brother away? She’s been acting all sneaky inside the house with her sons. What are they conspiring about?" Li Xiaomei casually said while slowly hoeing the ground with her hoe, feigning nonchalance and waiting for Lady Liu’s curiosity to be piqued.

Lady Liu paused while wiping her sweat, feigning indifference, "What can they be up to? If there are any important matters to discuss, your big brother and I can’t interfere anyways."

"That won’t do. You don’t know just how closely this matter affects big brother. If the Wei Family trio succeeds, your poor nephews will be without a father, and I fear it won’t be long before they lose their mother too. By then, if they are driven out, they won’t even have a place to live," Wei Family said, and having stopped digging herself, threw her hoe aside, squatting by Lady Liu’s side with a look of genuine concern, as if she truly meant it.

"Younger sister-in-law, don’t talk nonsense. Erhu has only been injured and unconscious. He will wake up sooner or later. You shouldn’t curse people like that," Lady Liu said displeased, and although public decorum and her mother-in-law’s presence prevented her from caring more for her husband’s brother, she was still sympathetic.

"You’re missing the point. Big sister, you know I’m nothing if not kind-hearted. I couldn’t stand to watch this injustice, so I made a special trip to warn you. The mother and third and fifth brothers are plotting something vile while taking advantage of Erhu’s misfortune, planning to seize Erhu’s property. Big brother and Erhu are brothers from the same mother. I think neither you nor big brother would want to see Erhu’s family end up like this, which is why I came to give you a heads-up. You should quickly send word to Erhu’s wife to be on guard and prevent them from falling prey to mother’s schemes."