Liu Cuirong was quite shocked.
In the past, whenever her mother saw silver, her eyes would gleam green, and she was insatiably greedy.
She wished she could swallow the silver into her belly.
How could she have become so calm now?
"Mother has no worries about food and clothing with your sister, and she can save quite a bit of copper coins each month by being frugal."
"I'll accept these cotton pants, Mother. You can take the silver back!~"
Lu Shi took out the cotton pants and held them up against herself. "They fit quite well!"
Liu Cuirong was completely bewildered.
What was going on?
Had her mother, because of Xiao Bao's matter, turned over a new leaf and become a new person?
"Mother, my mother-in-law is still angry about you selling Xiao Bao last time."
"When she calms down, you and Cui Jin can move back to the village, and we mothers and daughters can be closer!"
Liu Cuirong murmured.
Lu Shi was, after all, her biological mother.
The Yun family had fled famine all the way to Dashui Village. The An family farmed, and the harvests were abundant, making their lives better and better.
But her mother and sister were displaced and had no fixed abode.
Liu Cuirong felt very guilty, thinking she hadn't fulfilled her filial duties.
Lu Shi folded the cotton pants and smiled faintly, "Mother is not returning to Dashui Village. This county town is quite good, and I have a place to live. You don't need to worry about me!"
Her current transformation was due to two reasons: first, selling Xiao Bao, and second, getting older and unable to withstand too much hardship.
The mother and daughter chatted, and the topic turned to the Yun family taking in two maids.
"Mother, Jin Huaihua is only nineteen, young and beautiful, and she's also very good at handling things."
"I think she has feelings for Er Man. They flirt all day, like a vixen..."
Liu Cuirong poured out all her pent-up frustrations and bitterness.
She thought she would feel better, but the more she spoke, the angrier she became.
Finally, she covered her eyes and cried, "Wuwuwu, if my mother-in-law lets Jin Huaihua become Er Man's concubine, then I... then I won't live anymore!"
Lu Shi: "..."
So it was all because of this!
It was as if the sky was about to fall.
She was an experienced woman. Although she couldn't fully guess Gu Shi's thoughts, she could infer some of them.
"The Yun family lacks daughters the most. Perhaps your mother-in-law took them in as maids because she felt sorry for them, right?~"
Lu Shi said faintly.
Otherwise, why would she bear the infamy and cause the whole family to be in chaos and unable to find peace?
Liu Cuirong shook her head. "No, my mother-in-law is deliberately trying to disgust me."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she gritted her teeth. "She sees that I'm usually lazy and don't do housework, so she's using this method to discipline me..."
It must be like this.
"Or, she might as well have Er Man divorce me, then elevate that vixen to be his main wife, and have her give birth to ten or eight girls for the Yun family!~"
Looking at Jin Huaihua's figure, she was destined to give birth to girls.
Currently, the Yun family only had Yun Xi Tian as a daughter.
If Er Man worked hard and had a few more, his father and mother-in-law would be overjoyed...
Lu Shi sighed and tapped Liu Cuirong's forehead. "You know you're lazy, why aren't you more diligent usually!"
"Now that the fire is almost at your eyebrows, you're actually getting anxious!"
It was also her fault for being too foolish in the past and neglecting to discipline her daughter, which allowed Cui Rong and Cui Jin to develop lazy, greedy, and idle habits.
Ever since Liu Cuirong married into the Yun family, she had been somewhat disliked.
If she hadn't given birth to Yun Jin Shan, she would have likely been kicked out of the house long ago...
"Mother, what time is it? Please give me some advice!"
Liu Cuirong sobbed, her eyes swollen from crying.
If she were divorced by Yun Er Man,
She would have to do as her mother and sister did, washing dishes for others and smiling obsequiously.
Lu Shi scratched her face and looked up at the sky. "In my opinion, filial piety to your in-laws is more important than anything else!"
"And you must change your lazy habits. Don't always find fault and throw tantrums."
"You're so old, why are you still so disliked, like a naughty child!"
Not a single one of her daughters was a source of pride.
Liu Cui Jin was also getting old and still unmarried.
She looked down on the very poor, and if she married into a middle-to-upper-class family, she would either become a concubine or a dowry maid.
She had toiled away and become an old maid...
Liu Cuirong wiped away her tears and pushed Lu Shi. "Mother, I'm talking seriously with you!"
Her laziness was ingrained from birth, and she couldn't change it.
Lu Shi gave a wry smile. "Mother isn't joking either!"
"The Yun family now treats that little daughter as a treasure. Why don't you try to be nice to her?"
"When your father-in-law and mother-in-law see that, their prejudice against you won't be so great."
As the saying goes, love me, love my dog. As long as Xiao Xi Tian liked her and accepted her,
Then Gu Shi and Yun Lao Tou would also favor her.
Liu Cuirong's eyes lit up, and she slapped her thigh. "Yes! Why didn't I think of that!"
She had even crawled into the doghouse before to steal her sister-in-law's treasures.
During the famine, she had stuffed all the good food into her own mouth.
She always opposed the family's major and minor affairs.
Who would like such a second sister-in-law?
"But don't try too hard to please, or you'll still be disliked!" Gu Shi reminded her.
Liu Cuirong had found a solution and a trick, and she couldn't wait to fly back and hug her sister-in-law.
"Mother, I'm leaving now. I'll come to see you and Cui Jin again another day!~"
She tucked the silver into her embrace and hurried out of Fu Xiang Ge.
Outside Jin Xiang Academy.
"Dad, I can't eat all these pickles myself!"
Yun Jin He, holding a pickle jar larger than his head, was both amused and exasperated.
Yun Da Man glared at him. "You don't know how to be considerate. If you can't eat it, you can share it with the dean and the teachers!"
If the teachers were happy, perhaps they would teach him more knowledge...
The pickle jars contained pickled cucumbers, pickled beans, as well as carrots and cabbage.
They were all excellent side dishes.
Yun Jin He sniffled, his eyes feeling a little sore.
To support his studies, his grandparents worried day and night, and his parents worked themselves to the bone.
His second uncle was also busy with everything, with no time to rest.
If he didn't achieve some official position, he would be too ashamed to go home.
"Dad, there's an exam at the academy tomorrow. I'm going back to review!~"
Yun Jin He turned his back and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Yun Da Man's expression became a little nervous upon hearing this.
He didn't understand the imperial examinations.
But he had heard villagers mention terms like Tong Shi and Xiang Shi.
So he asked his son, "Is... is it the Tong Shi exam? Is it difficult? How are you studying?"
Yun Jin He smiled and shook his head. "It's not the Tong Shi, it's just a regular assessment exam. It's not difficult."
After the test, students would be divided into three classes, high, middle, and low, based on their scores.
If he could study in the advanced class, the Tong Sheng exam after the new year would be a sure thing.
Yun Da Man let out an "oh" that showed he half-understood and half-didn't. He instructed him, "Then you still have to study hard. Don't be the last one, or your mother and grandma will be sad!"
Yun Jin He: "..."
Last place?
Is your son that bad?
At this moment, Liu Cuirong arrived at the academy with many bags.
It was unclear what she had bought.
The bags were heavy in her hands.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yun Jin He, the two of them drove the horse-drawn carriage back to the village...