The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 166: Confused

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Confused

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In the past few days, Doctor Ma had been telling her intermittently about things to watch out for when the head of the family would return home to recuperate.

Such as wiping his body every day, changing his clothes, and being careful to prevent bedsores.

She would also need to help him to the outhouse, feed him his meals, and move him outside to bask in the sun when it was clear, being especially careful when it rained as the injured area would hurt.

All in all, the numerous details overwhelmed Lady Lin.

Reflecting on it now, could she really persevere for decades, attending to the man who she once saw as her entire world, and who now relied on her for care every day?

Lady Lin felt a hint of fear and trepidation.

This small change was noticed by the Elder Brother and Sister-in-law of the Lin Family, and they exchanged meaningful glances.

Only then did Eldest Uncle Lin clear his throat and say, "When we heard about the incident at your home, we were incredibly worried—first for your husband’s well-being, and then for you! We finally managed to find out you had come to town and rushed over early in the morning to see you. Seeing that you’re fine, we feel relieved."

Lady Lin nodded gratefully to her brother and sister-in-law.

Eldest Uncle Lin continued, "These past few days, have you stayed by your husband’s side without leaving? Are you unaware of what has happened at home?"

Lady Lin nodded, "These past few days, my heart has been in my throat for fear that something would happen to the head of the house. How could I be in the mood to care about what’s happening at home? It was just that the day after my husband was injured, my sister-in-law brought people over to say it wasn’t an accident; it was the Li Family that caused it. My father-in-law and mother-in-law heard and took my brother-in-law back home to settle scores with the Li Family. A couple of days ago, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law came up to the town to pay for my husband’s medicine, and they didn’t say anything else."

Nonsense, after hearing you badmouth your own family behind their backs, who would want to tell you anything? Jindou mentioned this to Eldest Uncle Lin vaguely, and he had a good idea of what was going on.

Thinking of this, Lady Lin still couldn’t help but feel guilty.

But immediately, she realized something, "Could it be that, with my husband and I not at home, something has happened? Didn’t they go to settle accounts with the Li Family? Impossible. I heard a little from my sister-in-law that they even invited the Clan Leader for a meal to thank him for his help, and even our second brother came back. How could it not be taken care of?"

Eldest Uncle Lin felt his sister was being foolish—even with her husband so badly injured, practically becoming a useless person, she wasn’t making any plans, just orbiting a disabled man. What good would that do?

If they were to settle accounts with the Li Family, he should have taken charge himself. What would sending two half-grown kids home accomplish?

Even now, she didn’t know what kind of compensation they had secured from the Li Family. Nevertheless, she always boasted about how well she was treated in her in-laws’ home when she visited her parents!

Pah, with a mother-in-law so cunning and fierce that she managed to anger their formidable grand-aunt to death, surely his naive sister was just fooling herself?

Blinded by the title of Eldest Son’s Wife, did she think she could simply lie on the heated brick bed and wait for her in-laws to pass away to inherit the family’s property?

Such a brainless girl! Their family still has three sons—a Scholar, the youngest, and Laosan. Although she always complained about how good for nothing her brother-in-law Laosan was, look at him—he’s living comfortably, letting his wife and child be taken care of by his parents while he gallivants around carefree!

As for his sister and her husband, they thought themselves clever, but all they did was foolish things.

If it weren’t for still wanting to extract some money from the Wang Family, Eldest Uncle Lin really wouldn’t want to bother with this pair of fools.

Lady Lin, this foolish girl, was clever in appearance but stupid at heart. In the past, to marry Wang Yongfu, she claimed she’d manage the Wang Family as the Eldest Son’s wife, lift up her maiden home, and other such promises, which swayed their parents to marry her off and send her older sister to a single old man in the neighboring town.

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Getting married into the Wang family, as a daughter-in-law who couldn’t please her mother-in-law, she sided with her aunt to trouble her own mother-in-law. Wasn’t that foolish?

How old was the aunt anyway? In a few years, she’d be pushing up daisies, mixing with such an old thing, and once the old thing kicked the bucket, she’d still have to beg her mother-in-law for a living.

In the beginning, with the aunt around, the subsidies sent back to the Lin family were not few.

But once the aunt passed away, she did visit her parental home frequently, but she only paid lip service, being rather stingy. Each visit, she brought back just a few things, or a dozen or so large coins, much stingier than the aunt.

When asked, she said she had offended her mother-in-law and was tightly controlled; there was nothing she could do.

They knew, this sister had married off, women were devoted to their own husbands, thinking only of living with their men. Her parental home was left behind in her mind.

However, considering she brought back some stuff at least, the Lin family couldn’t well fall out with her. The family truly was poor, and these items could make life at home a bit better.

Who could blame them for being poor? Only the Wang family, this solid relation, was a bit richer. If they really offended them, what would the whole family eat and drink?

Therefore, the entire Lin family, though not quite satisfied in their hearts, still showed warm faces.

As time passed, they coaxed Lady Lin to gradually loosen the purse strings a little; plus, with her brother-in-law, Wang Yongfu, sweet-talking and crying poverty, they always managed to squeeze out a few large coins.

The visits between the two families were thus lively.

If it weren’t for that fierce Old Granny Zhang from the in-laws stirring up a scene later on, he had estimated that he could coax Lady Lin into lending him the money she had saved up. Unfortunately, all his previous efforts went down the drain.

It also made Lady Lin wary of her parental home, and afterward, she never mentioned borrowing money again. She’d only visit her parental home during festivals, and their relationship faded quite a bit.

And there was his brother-in-law, too — quite the fool. You’re the eldest brother, either act like one and assert control over your younger brothers or just bow to the Scholar Master, the second brother. What’s the harm in that? If it brings benefits, what’s face worth?

No! This brother-in-law of his — no one knew which peculiar temper he inherited from the Wang ancestors — was envious of the Scholar brother on one hand and on the other, he wanted to keep up the pretense of being the big brother.

Probably frustrated at home, he had too much to drink when visiting Eldest Uncle Lin for the New Year and a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. The underlying message of his rambling was that he and his sister had slaved away for so many years, yet didn’t live as well as the second brother and the youngest sister.

There’s a saying: the baby who cries gets the milk! You are the eldest son; without accidents, most of the family’s property will inevitably be yours.

A sweet tongue and a bit of flattery towards your own mother, a bit more of a smile on your face toward your siblings, so your silly sister won’t grumble about favoritism or complain that all the work and money earned is yours, and that the least is spent on your own family — all that nonsense.

The old saying goes: A youngest son, a first grandson, is the apple of an old lady’s eye.

Even though in the Wang family, the youngest son isn’t worth much—the valuable one is the young daughter—the principle is the same.

Having born three grandsons, as long as they don’t act out, won’t the entire household’s belongings eventually be left to the son and grandsons?