Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

Chen Xiuer, holding her daughter, looked distressed: "Dr. Su, what should we do? It's so noisy day and night, how can anyone sleep?"

Su Wanqing smiled but didn't say anything. When the old lady started crying again that night, she quietly went over and gave her a few acupuncture needles. A little while later, the old lady fell asleep peacefully. The next morning, the old lady woke up in pain again and continued to howl.

In short, after a chaotic journey, they finally arrived at their destination. Wang Caili, the wicked, finally got her comeuppance. Little Feifei, craving food the whole way, ended up sleeping in the bunk above Su Wanqing, constantly calling her "sister" and begging for some. Su Wanqing only gave him one—a meatball—which only made him crave it more. Wang Caili watched all this, gritting her teeth, but she was too busy running around with her mother-in-law to do anything about it.

When the train arrived at Fengcheng Station, Su Wanqing and Zhou Yanshen discussed it and decided to go home with Chen Xiuer first to check the situation. Anyway, Bincheng was nearby, so it would be quick to get things done.

Chen Xiuer said urgently, "Dr. Su, please come to my house first and ask which hospital my brother took my mother to."

Su Wanqing nodded: "Okay, let's go."

The group didn't have much luggage, so they walked to Chen Xiuer's house after leaving the station. Her house was in an old residential area in the west of the city, and it took about half an hour to walk there.

It was late afternoon, the time when people were finishing work, and the aroma of food wafted from every household. Only Chen Xiuer walked faster and faster, her heart filled with unbearable anxiety—she had tried to remain calm on the train for the past few days, but in reality, she was burning with impatience. Now that she was finally home, she couldn't wait a moment longer.

As soon as I arrived at the gate, I heard a loud argument coming from inside.

Chen Xiuer knocked on the door, and after a while someone impatiently opened it a crack. A middle-aged woman holding a child opened the door and was stunned when she saw Chen Xiuer.

Chen Xiuer: "Sister-in-law? I'm Xiuer. I met you a few years ago before I went to the countryside."

Sister-in-law Zhang Guifang's face instantly lit up with a delighted smile: "Oh! Xiuer is back! We've been waiting for you to come back! Come in, come in!" Her gaze swept over Su Wanqing and the others behind Chen Xiuer.

Chen Xiuer briefly introduced, "This is a comrade I worked with in the Production and Construction Corps. He was just passing by."

"Oh, come in."

Su Wanqing followed her into the house. It was a typical old-style tenement building with a shared toilet and kitchen outside. Inside was a space of about 60 square meters, divided into a living room and two bedrooms.

They came in while the argument was still going on inside.

"Big brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but Dad always favored you! He gave you the good job at the factory back then, while the second son went off to learn carpentry and do odd jobs everywhere. So this vacant workstation that Dad has now should be compensated to our second family! Your company has already allocated dormitories, so why are you still fighting with us for this house?" A tall, thin woman with sharp eyes stood with her hands on her hips, her voice shrill. She was Li Cuilan, Chen Xiuer's second sister-in-law.

Only then did they notice Chen Xiuer carrying the child as she entered the room.

Upon seeing his sister, Chen Xiuer's eldest brother, Chen Jianguo, immediately exclaimed as if he had found reinforcements: "Xiuer, you're finally back! You be the judge! Your second sister-in-law is utterly unreasonable! Your second brother hasn't said a word, yet this outsider points fingers at our Chen family's house and criticizes us! Now that your second brother is a permanent employee, she still wants Dad's job! If you ask me, giving her that job opportunity from the neighborhood committee is the best we can do! Your eldest sister-in-law gave birth to two sons; she's a hero to our Chen family! Your second sister-in-law only gave birth to two girls; how dare she compete?"

Chen Xiuer felt a chill run down her spine. She had traveled a long way back, and no one had asked if she had had a hard journey, nor had they mentioned her parents' situation; the first thing they did was start talking about fighting for the inheritance?

Her second sister-in-law, Li Cuilan, immediately retorted, "Just because you had a son, all the benefits you've received over the years have been taken by you! We've been squeezed into a tiny cubicle, four people living in ten square meters! We have to walk more than an hour to get to work! Now that Dad's gone, you want to take his workstation, but shouldn't we at least have a place to live?"

Chen Xiuer's second brother, Chen Jianjun, remained huddled on a bench in the corner, holding his youngest daughter, silent and withdrawn.

"Enough! Stop arguing!" Chen Xiuer raised her voice, tears welling in her eyes. "You sent a telegram urging me to come back, and here I am. I don't want to get involved in Dad's affairs, and I can't. I just want to ask one question: Where's Mom? Why is she in the hospital? What's wrong? What's the situation?"

The room fell silent for a few seconds when the mother was mentioned.

Sister-in-law Zhang Guifang smiled and brought over a glass of water: "Xiuer, you're back. You must be tired from your journey. Have some water. I need to talk to you about Mom's situation... Mom is in the Provincial People's Hospital now. She's past the critical period, but..." Her eyes darted around, and her words lingered on her tongue.

The second brother, Chen Jianjun, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head and said in a muffled voice, "There's nothing to hide. She got sick from our argument. They said it was a stroke, and she was rushed to the hospital and survived, but the doctor said... she might not be able to get out of bed for the rest of her life and will need someone to take care of her. So we discussed bringing you back. My eldest brother and I are both grown men, and it's not convenient for us to take care of Mom, so you're the most suitable person to come."

Chen Xiuer's tears streamed down her face: "When Mom went to the countryside to see me, she was still very healthy. She could work in the fields and walk ten miles without even breaking a sweat! She's only been back for a little over a month, and she's already bedridden? How dare you say that?! So you made me come back to take care of Mom so you could conveniently take her job too? Have you ever thought about how my mother and I will survive? What will we eat? Where will we live? Have you ever considered that I also have a child to support, and a family to support, and I came all the way from Xinjiang just to take care of Mom?"

Sister-in-law Zhang Guifang leaned closer, smiling apologetically: "Look at what you're saying, how could we not think of everything? Your second sister-in-law and I both have jobs and can't leave, and our children are still young. You're not doing well in the countryside, you don't have a job, you're always digging in the mud, and haven't you always wanted to go back to the city? We've already inquired and found out that for Mom's situation, we can get your residency transferred back so you can take care of her. We won't let you work for nothing, both families will give you and Mom three yuan a month, plus some food coupons. Mom is paralyzed, she doesn't eat much, so the expenses aren't high... Isn't our arrangement filial enough? After Mom is discharged from the hospital, you can take her to live in my and your brother's dormitory, and take care of her there with peace of mind."

The group that had been arguing fiercely just moments before was now surprisingly united, offering their advice all at once:

"Little sister, you've fallen into a lucky hole! Mom always said you married far away and suffered in the countryside. Now it's all good, you're back in the city, taking care of your own mother—a hundred times better than serving your in-laws!"

"What do those country men want? They might as well not want them at all!"

"Exactly! You can stay here with us. We can make room for you and Mom, and we'll move in. It's close to the factory, and we can come back to help out at lunchtime!"

"Three yuan a month! You work yourself to the bone in the countryside, how much cash do you see in a year? This is a steady stream of income... You're really lucky to come back and take care of Mom."

In short, it seemed as if Chen Xiuer was the one who benefited greatly from returning to take care of her paralyzed mother.