I transmigrated to the 1970s and became the female lead's vicious stepsister.

"Good heavens, I knew it! That old lady Zhao is so stingy, how could she possibly let her daughter-in-law run the household?"

"That's right. They've been married for over ten years, and Guoyao is already ten years old. When they came, the three children weren't even grown up yet. They were still wary of them. No wonder they didn't want to hand over their salary. If it were me, I wouldn't hand it over either. Who do you think is stupid?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Zhao family has gone too far. They can't even have a peaceful meal with that mother and daughter, and they even hit people."

"If you ask me, Nana has been led astray by the old lady. She complains about every little thing all day long, making the house noisy. She's a real troublemaker. We can't marry a girl like that."

The neighbors' opinions changed instantly. They had thought that Xu Meili was disregarding the Zhao family's difficulties and was using the Zhao family's money and food to eat and drink extravagantly with her daughter, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

"You...you all..."

"Waaah..."

Zhao Nana never expected that this incident would ruin her reputation, and she ran away crying, covering her face.

"Beautiful, look, it's all a misunderstanding. Don't hold it against your mother. Let's go back..."

"Get out of my way! Didn't your mother tell me to go back to the Xu family? I'm not staying in your Zhao family anymore."

"Do you think anyone would want to serve your troublesome family?!"

Xu Meili went straight into the house and quickly packed some things into a package.

"Meili, don't go! I was wrong, okay? I'll have my mother apologize to you."

"Mother, say something!"

Zhao Yongjie urged his mother to bow her head and admit her mistake.

He's already so old, he doesn't want to go through any more trouble. He really likes Xu Meili, otherwise he wouldn't have insisted on marrying her despite his mother's objections.

The daughter-in-law was driven away by her own mother and daughter; it's really laughable if word gets out.

The old lady of the Zhao family had never yielded in her life, so naturally she refused, keeping a long face and remaining silent.

"Beautiful, beautiful, let's talk this out. What are your requests? Are you willing to take a commission?"

Xu Meili snorted coldly, "Why didn't you care earlier?"

He slung his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his daughter's hand, and left.

This is a good opportunity to teach them a lesson.

She's already so old, and she doesn't want a divorce unless absolutely necessary. She's not alone anymore; she has a ten-year-old son.

If she gets divorced again, it might affect her daughter's reputation. Her daughter is about to get married, so what if her in-laws mind that she is divorced?

Su Lingwu did hope that her biological mother could truly leave the Zhao family and live with her from then on. However, she knew it wouldn't be that easy, as she still had a younger brother in the Zhao family.

Things have escalated to this point today, and the Zhao family really needs to calm down. They should not cede territory or pay reparations, but instead, they should ask her mother to return home with a good attitude. Don't even think about taking her back home.

She also went to visit her maternal grandmother, because she was able to obtain the golden finger (a magical ability), all thanks to her grandmother.

"Mom, let's buy some things for Grandma and Grandpa. I happen to have some money here. I haven't properly taken care of Grandma yet."

"You're still a child. Leave the matter of taking care of your grandmother to me." Xu Meili couldn't let her daughter take the money.

"Keep those for yourself, they'll come in handy later."

Hearing the mother and daughter's conversation from afar, the Zhao family members' expressions turned even uglier, especially the old lady of the Zhao family, who looked as if she had lost a fortune.

"Look at you, look at your good wife! She has money but doesn't share it with her family, only spending it on her own. And that brat, he doesn't even know how to be filial to us. I'm his grandmother!"

"mother!"

"Can you please stop talking? You're bullying Meili like this, why should she spend money on you?"

"Also, that child has a name, Su Lingwu. Stop calling her 'little brat' and 'little girl.' Besides, her surname is Su, not Zhao. She has her own grandmother, so why should she be filial to you?"

Zhao Yongjie was also exhausted both physically and mentally by his mother.

Let Meili calm down in a few days before going to her mother-in-law's to pick her up.

The mother and daughter rarely had time to go shopping together. They happily linked arms and discussed which food was delicious and which fabric would make beautiful and durable clothes.

Xu Meili is a female worker in a textile factory, earning thirty-two yuan a month. Because of the convenience of her job, she can get defective fabrics and scraps, so Su Lingwu has never lacked clothes to wear in recent years.

"I just brought the work cloth I've been saving up for a long time. It'll be perfect for making a pair of pants for your grandparents and your two uncles. They'll be durable and easy to wear for work."

"I'll go buy some pastries for your grandparents, they're soft and delicious." Xu Meili led her daughter to the pastry counter.

"Daughter, what do you want to eat? Mom will buy it for you."

Su Lingwu looked at the counter in front of her. Although it was not as elaborate as the ones in later generations, it looked like it was made of solid materials.

Steamed rice cake, peach shortbread, flaky pastry, ox tongue biscuits, golden and silver dates, water chestnut cake, open-mouthed biscuits, and animal-shaped cookies.

Things I used to never even glance at, I now find myself drooling over.

"Hey, are you buying or not? If not, stay away. Don't get your drool on the pastries, how are we supposed to sell them then!"

The saleswoman rolled her eyes when she saw Su Lingwu's unambitious appearance. She looked her up and down and saw that she was dark-skinned and dressed in tattered clothes. She looked like she came from the countryside and had never seen the world.

"Buy it, why aren't you buying it? Give me a pound of each." Xu Meili couldn't let her daughter be laughed at; it's not like she can't afford it.

He took out his money and went to pay.

She saves money so that she and her daughter can have it when needed.

Seeing her mother so willing to spend money on her, Su Lingwu felt a warmth in her heart.

She herself might not be willing to spend an extra penny on herself. Although Xu Meili works in a textile factory, she is wearing an old dress that has been worn for many years, and the hem is frayed.

It's estimated that most of the fabric she acquired was given to her daughter, and the rest was given to her family, while she herself couldn't bear to use it.

Zhao Guoyao was wearing clothes that his older brothers and sisters had discarded.

Xu Meili didn't want her daughter to be dressed in rags and be laughed at by others. Her youngest son was still small, so as long as he had clothes to wear, that was fine.

As for her maternal family, they could support her. If she couldn't stay in the Zhao family, her maternal family would be her last line of defense. Therefore, in Xu Meili's heart, her daughter came first, followed by her maternal family and her youngest son.

"Xiao Wu'er, eat up." Xu Meili brought the snacks she had bought to her daughter.

Su Lingwu took a piece first and put it in Xu Meili's mouth before starting to eat it herself. "Mmm, so delicious!"

The mother and daughter smiled at each other.

"Mom, I'm out of face cream. I'm going to buy a bottle. Wait for me." Su Lingwu ran to the general merchandise counter and bought three bottles of Friendship face cream. Each bottle cost 50 cents, and the three bottles cost 1.5 yuan.

Remembering that Fu Linchuan had given her a few cigarette coupons mixed in with her ticket, she decided to use them and bought two packs of Peony cigarettes. Each pack cost 49 cents, so two packs would cost a dollar. She put them in her bag.

"Mom, this bottle is for you. I'll keep one, and this one is for Grandma."

Su Lingwu placed the face cream in Xu Meili's hand.

"You silly child, Mom doesn't use this. It's neither food nor drink, and it costs five cents a bottle, which is too expensive. You can use it yourself."

I just bought a lot of snacks for my daughter, which cost more than four yuan and two jin of grain coupons, but I didn't think it was expensive.

"Mom, I'll make sure you have plenty of skincare products from now on. Don't be stingy with them. We should dress up nicely and not hesitate to spend money on ourselves. Money spent on ourselves is what truly belongs to us; otherwise, it's meaningless."

"My daughter is all grown up now, I can support myself, and... I also have your son-in-law, he earns 138 yuan a month, I have to spend some of it for him, so you should buy yourself more things and make yourself happy."

Hearing her daughter's words, Xu Meili felt a lump in her throat; her daughter had grown up.

"Okay, Mom will listen to you!"

My daughter is right. The most important thing a woman should do is love herself.

How can someone who doesn't even love themselves expect others to love them?

She never seems to have the same level of wisdom as her daughter.

"Let's go, let's get a few more meat buns from the restaurant."

The mother and daughter ordered fifteen meat buns from a state-run restaurant.

"Wait a moment, could you give us a chance to get to know each other?"

Before the mother and daughter could even step out the door, they were stopped by someone.

The two men frowned, wondering who this person was.