Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 384 - 0384 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship 4_1

Chapter 384: Chapter 0384 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship 4_1

"If Jiaojiao could learn even a fraction of Xiaoxue’s industriousness, even one tenth, I would ask for nothing more in this life." Miao Fengqin gazed at Feng Qingxue, who was sitting on a straw mat, playing with Xibao and basking in the sun.

Miao Fengqin grew increasingly fond of this generous and honest niece of hers. Just look at how well she managed her life.

Who among the production brigade didn’t hold Feng Qingxue in high esteem?

Given that Feng Qingxue frequently helped the needy, offering medical treatment, medications, bandaging wounds, and setting broken bones all free of charge, and seldom accepted any gifts of gratitude, very few still brought up the Lu family’s social status. If anyone dared to suggest that Father Lu should be sharing in the heavy and menial tasks like the two miscreants in the cow shed, anyone present would reprimand them for their lack of respect.

Whether one’s reputation is good, whether one is a good person, and whether one can win unanimous praise from all, all depends on one’s conduct and dealings with others.

Wang Zhengguo achieved this, and so did the niece who everyone said bore the most resemblance to Wang Zhengguo.

That’s right, many people whispered that Feng Qingxue was more like Wang Zhengguo’s daughter than Wang Jiao was—in temperament, in method, and in cultural knowledge. But as for Wang Jiao... even Miao Fengqin couldn’t find the right words to describe her.

But who can blame her? A daughter she raised herself is indeed her responsibility for life.

Jin Cuihua followed her gaze, "If Xiaoxue’s mother-in-law were alive, imagine how blessed she would be to have such a good daughter-in-law."

Miao Fengqin strongly agreed with this sentiment, nodding emphatically.

"What was my mother-in-law like? Does my mother-in-law’s family have any relatives?" Feng Qingxue asked curiously. She didn’t forget to pat her baby boy who was drowsy from the sunshine in her arms.

To be honest, ever since she married into the Lu family, she never heard her father-in-law or husband mention anything about her mother-in-law’s life.

Miao Fengqin pondered, "Dignified, elegant, noble and rich—she was the epitome of an upper-class lady. And she was charitable and kind-hearted, very different from the other landlords’ wives. It is said that her family was quite wealthy and her marriage was celebrated over ten miles. Where she came from and whether she had any relatives, we are not sure. All we know is that it’s far from here."

Feng Qingxue carried the sleeping Xibao home and couldn’t help but relay today’s trivial matters to Lu Jiang, asking about her deceased mother-in-law as well.

As Lu Jiang was chopping firewood, he said, "My mother? She was a very nice woman, harmoniously married to my father for life. It’s just a pity she passed away so young. We still have a photo of her with my elder brother and sister-in-law. Next time, I will take it out for you. I never dared to mention her in front of my father, fearing it would upset him. It’s a great tragedy to lose a spouse, and my father has lost his son and daughter-in-law, too."

"Do you think.. if my mother-in-law were alive, would she like me?"

"Of course, she would. With such an excellent daughter-in-law like you, why wouldn’t she like you?" Lu Jiang replied without hesitation, "When I was younger, my mother often said that just as her mother-in-law was good to her, she would also aim to be a good mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law should be based on empathy. After all, every mother-in-law was once a daughter-in-law. Our Aunt used to serve in my mother’s room."

Feng Qingxue was taken aback, "Really? I’ve never heard of that."

"Who would want to bring up one’s less glorious past? Nobody likes to mention if they had been a maid." Lu Jiang shrugs, "Didn’t you notice? Auntie’s name and that of your aunts all contain the character ’feng’. That follows the naming pattern for maids in our family. Many maids were selected from tenant farmer’s homes. They weren’t born into our home but were hired. As I recall, my parents said that most tenant farmers value sons over daughters. Their actions, you could say, gave many girls the chance to survive."