Work: A Dead Pig Is Not Afraid of Boiling Water.
Third sister Xie carried a wooden basin filled with bowls from the morning meal, intending to clean them. When she caught sight of Su Xiaoman by the well, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and she became instantly furious.
“You’re just getting up now?! Oh my, what sin has our Xie family committed to have invited such a lazy ancestor back?!”
“Which daughter-in-law acts like you?!”
Every time she saw Su Xiaoman, Third sister Xie would become so angry that she wanted to jump up and down. Among all the people in the Xie family, she detested Su Xiaoman the most. Almost every time she saw her, she would be filled with rage and couldn’t help but scold her to relieve her frustration.
However, apart from scolding, there wasn’t much else she could do.
Third sister Xie despised Su Xiaoman to the core.
Su Xiaoman gently combed the ends of her hair with the comb, listening to Third sister Xie’s angry words without much reaction. She politely greeted, “Good morning, Third Aunt.”
Saying “good morning” was a subconscious habit in contemporary society.
When she said “good morning,” Third sister Xie felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She believed that Su Xiaoman was deliberately provoking her, and she became so angry that she almost couldn’t speak.
“Third Aunt, you’re still carrying a child, don’t get too worked up,” Su Xiaoman sincerely advised. She actually understood Third sister Xie’s situation and didn’t want to confront her.
However, these words fell on deaf ears to Third sister Xie, who was left gnashing her teeth in frustration.
Third sister Xie grabbed her daughter’s back and pulled her away. The little girl stumbled backward, clutching her still barely visible belly. Third sister Xie pointed and scolded, “What were you looking at just now? Why are you looking around like that? Don’t follow after these unsavoury things.”
The little girl lowered her head and murmured, “Mom…”
Unable to bear it, Su Xiaoman spoke up, “Don’t take it out on the child.”
Third sister Xie sneered, speaking sarcastically, “I’m teaching my child properly. We’re destined to be nothing but grass and dirt in this hardworking life. Do you think you’re some kind of golden nugget that the Xie family couldn’t wait to marry you off, huh?”
“Now I’m carrying a child, the Xie family’s grandchild. Can you compare to the preciousness of the Xie family’s grandchild? I still work hard every day, but what do you do?!”
“Can you learn how to be a proper daughter-in-law? How to serve your parents? Have you washed the family’s dirty clothes? Fetch some buckets of water, clean the latrine, and wash the pigsty from now on…”
Su Xiaoman simply treated her words as if they were nothing and continued leisurely combing her hair.
“I won’t do it.”
She absolutely refused to do any work. The previous Su Xiaoman didn’t do it, and she wouldn’t do it either.
Third sister Xie’s biggest resentment towards Su Xiaoman was that she hated that Fifth Brother Xie (*nickname for Xie Mingtu*) had married a daughter-in-law who wasn’t a diligent worker.
“Why do you have the nerve to say such things? Which daughter-in-law is as lazy as you? Every daughter-in-law works diligently in her husband’s family.”
Su Xiaoman spoke frankly, “Because I’m a daughter-in-law who doesn’t cost anything.”
“A daughter-in-law who doesn’t cost anything, that’s what I am.”
“If you let your mother-in-law send me back to the Su family, I have no objection.”
“You…”
It was indeed because Xie Mingtu married Su Xiaoman without any dowry, without spending a penny, and Su Xiaoman didn’t do any household chores, so the Xie family couldn’t do anything about her.
When other men married a wife, it usually involved a hefty dowry. The higher the dowry, the more face the bride’s family had. Even if the new daughter-in-law suffered a little, there was nothing her family could do. After all, they had received the dowry, spent the money, and if the daughter was sent back, their reputation would be tarnished, and they would have to refund the money. It was not cost-effective, so they could only advise their daughter to endure.
As for Su Xiaoman, she didn’t have a good reputation to begin with. If she was sent back by her in-laws because of her “laziness” or “lack of virtue,” the Su family wouldn’t owe the Xie family anything. If the daughter returned, she returned, and it would also restore her previous reputation. Meanwhile, the Xie family would have lost a daughter-in-law who didn’t cost anything.
In other words, if Su Xiaoman was sent back by her in-laws because she was too lazy, this result would actually be a good thing for both Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu. Su Xiaoman’s laziness was well known in the village. Because of her “lack of virtue,” if she were divorced, her reputation wouldn’t be any worse, and she was pretty enough to marry again. As for Xie Mingtu, although he would be criticized for marrying an unvirtuous woman, at least he wouldn’t be cuckolded.
“You… you… you…” Third sister Xie pointed at Su Xiaoman, stuttering for a long time without being able to say a word. She had never seen such a “pig who wasn’t afraid of boiling water.”
She had been taught since she was young to be diligent and hardworking, to please her husband after marriage, to be submissive to her in-laws, and to swallow any grievances she faced. But Su Xiaoman, her good sister-in-law, was completely opposite to her. She dared to say defiant things like “if you have the guts, send me back to my parents.”
The Xie family really didn’t want to send back this free daughter-in-law. Mother-in-law Sun Mei was now very pleased. Her youngest son married without spending any money and also married a beautiful girl, which made her very happy.
Therefore, Su Xiaoman was lazy and didn’t do any work at home, and Mother-in-law Sun Mei basically didn’t care about her. There were three other daughters-in-law in the Xie family, so the household chores were arranged as before.
Xie Mingtu was the fifth child in the family. There were three older brothers and one older sister above him. All three older brothers were married, and the older sister got married last year.
The eldest brother, Xie Jianping, had been in the army for many years and had two sons and a daughter. The eldest sister-in-law, Qin Xiuying, stayed at home with her children. The second brother, Xie Weiqiang, was a temporary substitute teacher in the village school and had a five-year-old son with the second sister-in-law, Xu Yanlan. The third brother, Xie Huadong, was very strong and worked diligently. He earned ten work points a day and was married to Third sister Xie, Zhou Xiaohui, and they had two daughters. Now, Third sister Xie was pregnant again.
Sun Mei, the mother-in-law, was most partial to Xie Weiqiang and his wife. Before Su Xiaoman married into the family, most of the dirty and tiring work in the house was done by the eldest sister-in-law and the third sister-in-law.
The eldest sister-in-law, Qin Xiuying, was an orphan with no family to rely on, and the third sister-in-law, Zhou Xiaohui, came from a poor family that couldn’t help her much. These two daughters-in-law of the Xie family had always endured silently.
However, Qin Xiuying’s situation was much better than Zhou Xiaohui’s. Her husband was in the military and could send money back every month. They also had two sons. Zhou Xiaohui was the only one among the three daughters-in-law who hadn’t given birth to a son yet and always felt inferior in the Xie family.
Previously, Zhou Xiaohui had been eagerly awaiting Xie Mingtu’s marriage. She hoped that he would marry soon, even more so than anyone else in the Xie family. She had been waiting so long that it seemed like she would turn green with impatience.
Xie Mingtu was Sun Mei’s least favourite son. It was said that Sun Mei had suffered greatly when giving birth to him, so she hated this youngest son, feeling that he was unlucky and brought misfortune to his parents.
As for why Sun Mei didn’t like her youngest son, Zhou Xiaohui didn’t care. She only knew that if Xie Mingtu got married, the status of the Xie family would be the lowest among all the brothers, and then she, as the “third sister-in-law,” would have someone to oppress, and she could push all kinds of dirty work onto the new sister-in-law.
When Zhou Xiaohui and Qin Xiuying calculated, they often hinted to their mother-in-law to hurry up and find a wife for Xie Mingtu…
Who knew that Xie Mingtu would actually marry Su Xiaoman!!!
Eldest sister-in-law and Third sister-in-law were dumbfounded.
They had been urging their mother-in-law to find a wife for Xie Mingtu because marrying him didn’t cost any money, and they naturally urged her vigorously. But they didn’t expect their superficial mother-in-law, Sun Mei, to be reluctant to spend money on Xie Mingtu’s marriage. She just wanted to take advantage of the situation and caused trouble by marrying Su Xiaoman.
Sun Mei was very pleased with herself for getting a daughter-in-law for free and saving money.
But eldest sister-in-law and third sister-in-law were almost driven mad. They were the ones who did all the work at home, but when Xie Mingtu got married, they didn’t get any benefits at all. They almost felt like spitting blood.
Third sister-in-law was also someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. She didn’t dare to provoke eldest sister-in-law, who had two sons, or second sister-in-law, who was favoured by their mother-in-law. She only dared to vent her emotions in front of Su Xiaoman.
“It’s only because you have a sharp tongue. Wait until you’re really sent back to your parents’ house, then you’ll know how to cry.” Third sister-in-law was furious, vigorously shaking the basin of dishes she was holding, and the dishes in the basin made a crisp sound as they hit the ground.
“Go wash the dishes!!!”
With these words, she didn’t even care about her daughter anymore and left angrily, heading back home.
As she walked back home with her head down, she continued to curse Su Xiaoman, saying that she had a flirtatious face, was promiscuous, and only knew how to seduce men. Before she got married, she openly pursued men, and who knows when she would cuckold Xie Mingtu.
As third sister-in-law stepped over the threshold, second sister-in-law was sitting on a long bench leisurely cracking melon seeds. She had her legs crossed, and there was a pile of melon seed shells at her feet.
Xu Yanlan was a somewhat attractive woman. Although her skin was a bit dark, her figure was plump, and she had a mole above her eyebrow. Before Su Xiaoman married into the Xie family, she was considered the most beautiful among the three daughters-in-law and the most particular. She was very good at pleasing her mother-in-law, Sun Mei, who liked her plump appearance and always felt that Xu Yanlan could bring the most fortune to her beloved second son.
After Xu Yanlan married into the Xie family, she lived a comfortable life. While the eldest and third sister-in-law had rough hands from hard work, she had managed to keep her hands fair and delicate, and she became lazier over time.
When facing the eldest and third sister-in-law, she felt a sense of superiority and looked down on the two women.
“Sisters, where have you been? Have you washed the dishes? Otherwise, Mother will scold us again later.”
Third sister-in-law stiffened upon hearing this, without responding, and went to the kitchen with a sullen face.
Xu Yanlan chuckled quietly, then continued cracking melon seeds.
She had heard every word third sister-in-law had just said clearly.
Xu Yanlan was delighted, watching third sister-in-law fuming and cursing Su Xiaoman as if it were entertainment. She also envied Su Xiaoman for her beauty. Now, seeing both the eldest and third sister-in-law resent Su Xiaoman, she looked forward to seeing them quarrel with each other.
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