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

Su Wanqing glanced at Chen Xiuer, a hint of approval in her eyes. Spending an extra twenty yuan now would save her a lot of suffering in the winter. Money was money she could earn back in a month or two next year when the mushroom harvest started. Besides, she just wanted Xiuer to show her respect.

Then she can give her some cheaper coal.

Professor Wu and Elder Shen are not locals and will be returning to the city in a few days, so they said they wouldn't buy it. Guo Mingyuan lives in the factory and doesn't need it.

Su Wanqing nodded, but her mind was still preoccupied with other matters. Selling alfalfa seeds this year would bring in a considerable sum, and it would be even better if she could mobilize the entire group to contribute some of that money to buy cheap coal as welfare, so that at least no one would freeze to death this winter.

In Xinjiang, where the outside temperature is below -30 or -40 degrees Celsius, the temperature inside the house drops suddenly, making it a place where people are most likely to die, not to mention that the original storyline mentions a major disaster this year.

However, based on everyone's past experience in winter, burning firewood mixed with coal didn't kill anyone from the cold, so she couldn't explain why she suddenly needed to buy coal this year.

We can only wait.

She wanted to save people, and if she actually saved them, her merit points would increase dramatically. Of course, she was also selfish; every time she saved a lot of people, she would definitely get some good stuff. Since the rescue space was giving her good stuff, she was naturally happy to think about it.

Just then, the door was suddenly opened.

The room fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the doorway—

It turned out to be Chen Xiuer's mother-in-law, Granny Sun, and her husband, Zhao Shupi!

Grandma Sun's cloudy eyes were glued to the table, from the cleanly gnawed pig's trotters to the little bit of braised pork broth left at the bottom of the bowl, and finally she stared intently at the bowl of egg drop soup—the soup was almost gone, but the egg drop soup was still floating on top of it, with at least seven or eight eggs!

"Damn it!" Granny Sun slapped her thigh and wailed at the top of her lungs, "My life is so miserable! My daughter-in-law is out there feasting, treating a whole house full of people, while my husband and I are at home eating cornbread and cabbage scraps! What a tragedy! What did our Zhao family owe her in our past life? She eats and drinks the best food, while we starve!"

She wailed and pounded her chest, "Everyone, please be the judge! Can I even keep this daughter-in-law? My mother-in-law starves at home, yet she puts meat and eggs into other people's bowls! Did I marry a wife or a debt collector?!"

Everyone was stunned by her wailing and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chen Xiuer's face turned ashen, her nails digging into her palms: "How did you find us? What are you doing here?"

She didn't say a single word to them.

Zhao Shupi's face was sullen as his gaze swept over Chen Xiuer's face—she was fairer and more energetic than before. Although she was still wearing her old clothes, she looked surprisingly neat and tidy in the crowd.

He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

The Chen Xiuer who used to revolve around him, cook and do laundry for the whole family, and was so tired that she couldn't straighten her back, seems to have disappeared.

"What am I doing here?" Zhao Shupi's tone turned cold. "Your mother came. My mother and I kindly wanted to invite her home for dinner, but we went to the planting site and found out that you had moved to a brick house. You invited a whole house full of people to dinner, but left your husband and your mother at home eating pickled vegetables."

He knew, of course, that Chen Xiuer had brought her mother over.

That day, his mother was about to come and make a scene, saying that Chen Xiuer now had a salary, and if she added a mother-in-law who ate for free, would she still be able to get money in the future? He stopped her.

"What's the rush?" he said at the time. "When Chen Xiuer brings her mother here, everyone in the village laughs at her for not having a son to support her in her old age. People are talking about her so much that they've broken her back. When she can't take it anymore, she'll naturally come begging to us. At that time, whether she pays her wages or how she lives will be up to us, won't it?"

He figured: Chen Xiuer and her mother were crammed onto that dilapidated wooden bed at the planting site, without even a heated kang in winter. They wouldn't last more than a few days before they came to beg him for help.

But to his utter surprise, she actually moved into the brick house!

Wasn't this brick house supposed to be occupied by someone with connections? When did that pushover Liu Shuqing become so generous?

And this whole table of food—she'd rather invite these complete strangers than call him. In her heart, was she, a man, even less than those outsiders?

"Do you even care about this family anymore?" Zhao Shupi's voice was even lower, yet it carried a chilling resentment. "Do you even consider me your man?"

Chen Xiuer stared at him, then suddenly laughed.

"Zhao Shupi, stop pretending. I'm asking you—were you at the entrance of the planting site the day my mother and I arrived at the production team?"

Zhao Shupi's expression changed slightly.

"Did you see that? Your mother-in-law came all this way, with just a small bundle. She had to squeeze onto my wooden bed at night, and she couldn't even stretch her legs out. Why didn't you come to lend a hand that day? Why didn't you invite us home for a hot meal?"

She spoke each word with an icy tone: "You know everything. You're just waiting for me to beg you. You think we won't survive the winter. You think you can definitely control us. You're just waiting."

Zhao Shupi opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Because Chen Xiuer was right about everything.

Granny Sun couldn't hold back any longer. She slapped her thigh and started wailing again: "Please? And you're acting all wronged? You brought your old mother here, you've made our Zhao family lose all face in the village! Every daughter-in-law serves her in-laws, but you, you bring your mother here to freeload and treat us like thieves!"

Granny Sun's eyes darted around, catching sight of the spacious brick house, the bright windows, and the high-ceilinged kang (heated brick bed), and her voice suddenly rose several octaves:

"Alright, alright, I won't hold the past against you! This brick house... since you've already moved in, I won't say anything more. Later, have your husband move in too, so your mother-in-law can have a warm place to stay in the dead of winter. What kind of woman are you, without a man to support her?"

As she spoke, she stepped inside, her eyes scanning the surroundings as if she were surveying her own territory.

This new house is great; it's bright and airy, with thick walls that don't let in any drafts. It's more than twice as good as that old house that was drafty everywhere.

"Don't take offense at my harsh words," Granny Sun raised her voice even louder, "Go ask around outside, which daughter brings her old mother over to live with her? Who wouldn't laugh their heads off? Which family has a son who doesn't let his son support him in his old age, but instead lets his daughter live with him? Does she not want to live anymore or what? It's not impossible for you to bring your mother over to live—but why should our Zhao family support someone for nothing? Why should we let the villagers gossip about us? Here's the deal: your husband and I can live in the brick house, and you and your mother can live in our old house. This is already giving you a huge favor!"

She felt her words were perfectly reasonable. What daughter-in-law would bring her own mother who just wants to freeload? The fact that the Zhao family agreed to let her daughter-in-law's mother stay was already a testament to the Zhao family's kindness; it was a blessing from their ancestors. Her daughter-in-law's mother should be secretly grateful to have a shack to live in.