Yang PeiMin had finally enlisted, and the Yang Family were overjoyed. They specifically invited some uncles and several brothers from the Yang Family to come over for a meal to celebrate her university acceptance and to see her off.
Li Hong was arranging dishes in the kitchen when she saw Bai Hehua come in to get some boiling water. Li Hong had been quite pleased with herself these past days for faking a pregnancy, and it upset the Yang Family, so she had been keeping a low profile. In an attempt to win back Zhang Minghua’s favor, she had been eagerly taking on household chores, especially when Zhang Minghua was around. She had realized that Zhang Minghua was the one who controlled the family’s finances and also had the caramel recipe—pleasing Zhang Minghua could only bring benefits.
However, Li Hong had just truly realized another problem. Zhang Minghua wasn’t the only daughter-in-law. With multiple daughters-in-law, comparisons were inevitable—the eldest sister-in-law’s diligence and the second sister-in-law’s cunning were strong competition for her. And particularly, Bai Hehua, who was shrewder than a honeycomb. Now that she saw her sister-in-law had returned, she hurriedly pushed forward, unconcerned about any past embarrassing incidents.
But everyone in this household knew that Li Hong, the married-off sister-in-law, was the apple of Yang Dahai’s parents’ eyes—she couldn’t be spoken ill of or scolded, and she had married well, always bringing lots of gifts back to her parents’ home. Now that Bai Hehua had cozied up to Yang PeiMin, hadn’t she indirectly curry favored with the mother-in-law too?
Li Hong rolled her eyes then said to Bai Hehua, "Second sister-in-law, seeing Minmin come back and all this talk of a banquet, I’m not sure if it’s customary here. Doesn’t seem quite right, does it? Shouldn’t the banquet be held at the Shen family instead? I wonder if they have any objections to this."
Bai Hehua glanced at her, secretly sneering. Li Hong was indeed crafty, but Bai Hehua wasn’t foolish despite sometimes being impulsive, "You should tell mother-in-law about this, I don’t know anything, I just follow what mother-in-law says."
Li Hong cursed silently, "sycophant," realizing Bai Hehua hadn’t fallen for it, she could only helplessly smile and added, "You know I don’t have much say in this house. By the way, second sister-in-law, can Xiao Bao start eating mush now? He’s getting skinny, doesn’t he? I remember when my brother was little, no matter how poor we were, we would still grind some rice flour and occasionally make some egg custard. Xiao Bao is currently the only grandson in our family, he deserves to eat better, right? I’ve heard if a child eats well, he grows up clever."
Although Bai Hehua knew Li Hong had ulterior motives, her words struck a chord as Xiao Bao was Yang Family’s only grandson and also the eldest. She had heard that city children drink formula, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford it.
Noticing her change in expression, Li Hong pressed on, "Ah, I’m talking about Minmin organizing all this banquet and stuff, and it’s with our close relatives. No one would bring gifts, and the cost will all be on us. Mother loves to save face, and we’ll have to spend quite a bit on meat alone. That would translate to a substantial amount of money, which could buy two packs of formula for Xiao Bao instead."
Bai Hehua looked at her, arching an eyebrow, "What do you mean, sister-in-law?"
Li Hong tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly, "I mean nothing specific, just worried about Xiao Bao, that’s all. Recently, I thought I was pregnant and going to be a mother, but it turned out I was mistaken. I just love children so much, seeing such a small child struggle makes me uneasy."
Li Hong had initially spoken in quite a flirtatious way, her tone well-managed, but as Bai Hehua looked at her timid appearance, she felt nauseated. Pretending for what? Did she think she was some young unmarried girl? Already a yellow-faced woman, still acting all flirty; it’s not like she was Yang Peijun. Who was she trying to impress? Despite all her talk, didn’t she just want someone else to do her bidding? Normally, she never even hugged her sister-in-law’s daughters, and when she returned from her parents’ home, didn’t everyone know she brought tasty treats back? Yet, did anyone see her share any with the kids at home? With these thoughts, Bai Hehua scoffed, "Well, thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. Xiao Bao is his grandparents’ grandson; of course, they would love him."
Seeing that she was not falling for it, Li Hong cursed inwardly and lost her interest in speaking, her tone turning cold at once.
Bai Hehua snorted even colder, "However, sister-in-law, your concerns, I shall mention them to mother, claiming you were too shy to bring it up, and I’ll convey your thoughts for you." With that, she grabbed the water jug and walked out.
Li Hong’s face changed instantly, and she rushed out after Bai Hehua, only to see her talking to Zhang Minghua and Yang PeiMin. Hastily, she said, "Mother, this was all second sister-in-law’s idea, I don’t know why she dragged me into this."
Just as Li Hong had suspected, no sooner had Bai Hehua come out than she began relaying Li Hong’s words to Zhang Minghua, though she framed her report differently, "Sister-in-law just told me that Minmin hosting the banquet at our house affects our home’s feng shui..."
Seeing the two of them passing blame, Zhang Minghua’s face turned stern immediately, "Is there a problem here?"
Bai Hehua responded promptly, "Not at all, mother. These are all sister-in-law’s thoughts. I have no objections." Previously, her mischief had resulted in Zhang Minghua starving her a few times, a significant punishment for someone who savored food as much as she did. She had often gone hungry as a child and felt like she had never had a full meal until she was married into the Yang Family, discovering only then what it felt like to be satiated and resolved never to starve again.
Watching her quickly defend herself, Li Hong inwardly cursed, forcing a smile, "Mother, I didn’t have such thoughts."
Zhang Minghua scanned them with a stern glance, "Good, because I’m telling you, I’m still alive in this house. As long as I live, this house hasn’t been divided yet, I haven’t passed away, and I am still in charge. Both of us old folk, after half a life of hard work, raised your men, paid dowries for their weddings, and still have to look after the grandson who has yet to grow up. Can’t I prepare a meal for my daughter and offer our family a good meal without issue?"
This statement made it clear she was angry.
"Speaking of which, among all my children who got married, Minmin was the least fortunate. Despite whatever the three sons received, respectable dowries were given, regardless of the brides’ dowries, and even if there were dowries, you couples managed it yourselves without us elders intervening. Only Minmin didn’t take a penny from our house for her dowry; those dowry goods were bought with the cash gifts from her uncle. Don’t start with that men and women are different rubbish; in my eyes, whether a son or a daughter, they are all meat from my body, without any distinction of thickness."
Li Hong and Bai Hehua managed a forced smile, "Yes, mother."