Su Qing's coaxing gaze was sincere, her expression earnest, and her tone heartfelt. Wang Cuifen's initial unease lasted only two seconds before she was completely mollified.
She'd always known her wicked mother-in-law was terrible, and even Su Qing sympathized with her plight.
Wang Cuifen beamed and said, "You're such a good girl. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me. Give me three months, and I’ll make sure you’re plump and healthy."
Unlike her stingy mother-in-law, who hoarded money, she was generous—she loved spending on her children.
Hearing Wang Cuifen’s bold promise to pamper her, Su Qing let out a soft "Eep~" and nuzzled her head against Wang Cuifen’s arm, wriggling playfully.
"You’re the best, Mom."
Fresh from transmigrating, Su Qing had only about two hundred yuan as her dowry—all from the Xie family’s betrothal gifts. Despite being swindled by the Su Family, Wang Cuifen hadn’t taken a single penny back, leaving it all for Su Qing to use freely.
Not only did she give money, but to show trust, Wang Cuifen even revealed her secret savings.
Even with a disabled veteran and an active-duty soldier in the family, exposing these assets would’ve cost the Xie family their coveted "poor peasant" status.
Though class labels like "poor" or "wealthy" would lose significance in a few years, they still mattered for now.
While Su Qing was still observing, Wang Cuifen had already embraced her as family, giving without hesitation.
Thinking of this, Su Qing grew even more moved. She whined sweetly, "Mom, from now on, you’re my real mother—"
"Ah! Huh? Ah!"
Wang Cuifen’s voice shifted from delight to shock, then settled into helpless laughter as she plopped onto the floor.
Seeing her topple over, Su Qing gasped and hurried to pull her up. "Mom, are you okay? I got too excited and didn’t hold back—"
The loud thud of Wang Cuifen’s landing drew the whole family’s attention.
Even Xie Jianhua set down what he was doing and peered from the doorway. Xie Jianzhong, too, cracked his door open to spy.
"I’m fine!" Wang Cuifen stood, cheerfully dusting off her pants, unfazed by the tumble.
Her robust, cheerful tone confirmed she wasn’t hurt. The stool was low, and the fall harmless.
Cripple Xie craned his neck to check, then simply reminded her, "Cuifen, the sweet potatoes are ready."
At the mention of roasted sweet potatoes, Xie Jianzhong promptly shut his door and retreated to his bed with feigned dignity.
The rich, caramelized aroma made Su Qing sniff eagerly.
Before she could ask, Wang Cuifen happily handed her a steaming sweet potato.
"This is for me?" Su Qing asked, voice sugary sweet.
"You barely ate tonight. I roasted this just for you. Eat it while it’s hot."
Su Qing broke it in half and offered the first bite to Wang Cuifen. "You have some, Mom."
"You’re too sweet. I’m not hungry—dinner’s still sitting heavy." Wang Cuifen refused outright. With the New Year and wedding festivities, meals had been hearty.
She wasn’t hungry, but the younger ones couldn’t resist.
Xie Jiankang and Xie Guiying, who’d been playing Go-Moku on their bed, immediately jumped up. "I want some!" "Me too!"
"What do you want? A smack? You barely touched dinner—now you’re fussing? Get back to your game!" Wang Cuifen scolded without missing a beat.
In their rebellious teens, they’d met their match in an even more rebellious mother. Defeated, they slunk back.
Wang Cuifen shot them a glare, draped a freshly sewn garment over her arm, and ushered Su Qing to her room. "Eat inside. Don’t catch a chill out here."
Once the door closed, Xie Jianhua, still working, kept sneaking glances at Su Qing’s sweet potato.
The crispiest, caramelized part was the best. Su Qing took a big bite, then generously extended it. "Want some?"
"I’m not hungry. You eat." Xie Jianhua’s expression turned odd. "I thought Mom roasted this for Big Brother. Didn’t expect it’d be for you."
"Oh? Will he be mad if I eat it?" Su Qing nibbled delicately.
The potato was deliciously sweet.
Xie Jianhua wanted Su Qing to show more respect to the eldest brother, but he only said, "Just eat. He won’t throw a fit over a sweet potato."
Su Qing smiled. "Good."
Cough. Xie Jianhua cleared his throat, uneasy. By his guess, Big Brother was probably seething.
Even Cripple Xie tensed, bracing for fallout.
Once Wang Cuifen returned to her room and shooed the kids to wash up, Cripple Xie whispered, "Cuifen, should we roast another? There was only one."
Wang Cuifen narrowed her eyes. "You hungry? You’re a grown man, not a new bride. Can’t you wait for proper meals instead of begging for snacks?"
Fresh from venting about her own wicked mother-in-law, she’d forgotten Cripple Xie’s virtues and snapped at him.
He sighed. He shouldn’t have asked.
But if he hadn’t, she’d blame him later for not reminding her.
"Big Brother skipped dinner. Shouldn’t we send him something? Don’t want him starving in bed." This time, he was direct. "There’s peanut candy from the gifts—he likes that."
Wang Cuifen glared. "Cripple Xie, spoiling kids isn’t your job. He’s 23—not a baby!"
Now Cripple Xie truly had nothing to say. The hypocrisy was staggering.
Xie Jianzhong had been sickly as a child, coughing until he couldn’t breathe. Wang Cuifen, terrified of losing him, coddled him relentlessly. Even after he recovered, her habits stuck.
Cripple Xie had tried to reason with her once, only for her to throw their firstborn’s death in his face. He decided health mattered more than discipline and let her be.
And now she blamed him?
But what could he do? He yielded. "Fine. Let him go hungry. Maybe it’ll teach him a lesson."
"It's all because you spoiled her. It's high time she changed." After saying this, Wang Cuifen suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to take out a box of peanut candy from the cabinet.
Cripple Xie's expression first showed a look of "I knew you'd do this," but when he saw Wang Cuifen carry the peanut candy into Su Qing's room, his face shifted to sheer bewilderment.