Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse
Chapter 133 - 130: Attracting a Rotten Peach Blossom

Chapter 133: Chapter 130: Attracting a Rotten Peach Blossom

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Thus, Wang Xiaocui came to utterly despise her third sister-in-law, who was nowhere to be seen day after day.

She never minded that, whenever there was meat to eat, she would clamor to eat enough for two on her own, consuming the most and the heartiest!

Another point, Zhang Shanni noticed that the eldest sister-in-law was trying to cozy up to her occasionally, scheming against her two portions of the dowry.

Just when she was ready to stir up trouble with the fifth family, her mother-in-law had already seen through it and bluntly stated that the dowry was Zhang Shanni’s own. Whoever dared to eye those belongings should just get out of the Old Xie Family.

Wang Xiaocui, always in town, had absolutely no idea what the mother-in-law was talking about, and Xu Xiaofen had no time to fill her in.

What’s more, as soon as she returned home and saw the mother-in-law looking as if she was ready to bite her head off because of the children, she could only foolishly express that she had no objections at all.

After barely getting over this incident, Zhou Xiuhua had her working nonstop for three days, not allowing her to step out of the Xie Family Courtyard, and under the piercing gaze of her in-laws, Xu Xiaofen dared not say another word.

She had already lost the favor of the mother-in-law. Even though she coveted Zhang Shanni’s bicycle and sewing machine, she didn’t dare to speak up anymore.

She had made a mistake when her mother passed away, and according to the Xu family elders, she could have been divorced by her husband’s family for it.

If her in-laws truly couldn’t withstand the village gossip and decided to divorce her, she would have no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it. Fear was the reason she dragged her husband to not return home until after her mother’s seventh day memorial.

The more afraid she was, the less she dared to return. On another note, she had a bit of confidence in herself, thinking her husband would still listen to her. After all, she bore three children for the Xie family; surely, the in-laws wouldn’t actually go through with divorcing her!

Moreover, she wasn’t deaf to the ugly talk in the village; she had heard it all. Luckily, her husband was still feeling guilty and they avoided the idle chatter of the villagers, so he wasn’t fully aware of the situation yet, and the couple remained untroubled.

Because of this, when she saw her sons becoming distant towards them, she simply resigned to the coldness. She thought that with time, wouldn’t the children stop holding grudges against their own birth mother?

It was just that seeing how Xiao Si treated the fifth family, Xu Xiaofen grew anxious again: the child still needed to be properly coddled, otherwise if she ended up like Wang Xiaocui’s situation, what was the point of her even living!

As a result, she took her mother-in-law’s threat to heart, not daring to bring up the younger brother and sister-in-law’s dowry again, lest her in-laws got tough and sent her back to her own family.

After all, her father-in-law’s words still lingered in her ears!

"Lazy woman, what are you daydreaming about? Aren’t you going to cook?" Zhou Xiuhua heard the third daughter-in-law return and happened to see the fifth family glaring at Zhang Shanni, and immediately shouted loudly.

"...I’ll cook right away." Wang Xiaocui, entering the Xie Family for the first time and being thus troubled by her mother-in-law, replied loudly with a pounding heart.

"Make more food for lunch; everyone from the Fourth Family will be back later. San’er, go help your fifth sister-in-law," Zhou Xiuhua said, pointing to her youngest daughter who had followed her out.

"Got it, mom." Xie Jingzi responded briskly, after all, her main job was ’supervision’, if she was really asked to do the work, she wouldn’t be able to manage it.

Wang Xiaocui, hearing her mother-in-law’s words, entered the kitchen with a pained expression and remained silent. Aggrieved, she even forgot to ask whether her husband would be coming back today.

"Is Tie Dan from the Boss’s family not working today?" Zhou Xiuhua didn’t see her son and gruffly asked the eldest daughter-in-law.

Xu Xiaofen nervously glanced at her mother-in-law’s stern face and murmured softly, "Mom, today is the last day, his team is also stopping work today. He’ll definitely be able to come back tomorrow and help with the work."

The Xie Family had decided to start the winter harvest tomorrow, and indeed, most of the family members, young and old, would be able to return home today.

Indeed, around one o’clock, Xiao San and his wife were the first to return. Xiao San and Xiao Liu were overjoyed to see their parents, rushing forward eagerly. Lin Cai Xia was even more affectionate, pulling one son with each hand, their happy voices incessant, showing a harmonious bond between mother and children.

Having seen the cold relationship between mother and child for too long, the sight of Lin Cai Xia putting down her luggage and, with bulging belly, rushing towards her two sons ignited in Zhang Shanni an unexpectedly loving feeling!

Indeed, the fourth family’s child is the most astute and also quite emotionally intelligent, truly adept at social interactions.

Therefore, though both pregnant, the mother-in-law’s reaction to seeing Wang Xiaocui was one of infuriation, while Lin Cai Xia, upon returning home, softly called out to her in-laws a couple of times. In addition to expressing gratitude to them for taking care of her children during the past half-month she was absent, she bought two yards of fabric in town and presented a bag of about two pounds of brown sugar as a token of respect.

This gift wasn’t grand, but it wasn’t minor either. In Qingfeng Village, it was considered a meaningful act of filial piety.

Her gesture truly resonated with the elderly. After all, any rational parent, as long as they saw that their daughter-in-law treated their children and husband with sincerity and was hardworking, would generally not be nitpicky.

However, to achieve what Xu Xiaofen and Wang Xiaocui did, whether from a natural parental perspective or on principle, their behavior had already crossed the in-laws’ bottom line.

Following close behind was the fifth, Xie Jingyang. As he stepped into the courtyard, he happened to bump into Zhang Shanni. With a quick sidestep, the two narrowly avoided colliding.

"Sorry, Third Sister-in-law, did I bump into you?" Xie Jingyang, with a face full of frustration and glumness, apologized repeatedly upon realizing he had nearly collided with Zhang Shanni due to his carelessness.

Zhang Shanni frowned and, noticing her brother-in-law’s glum expression, along with the pungent scent of cheap perfume assaulting her, she smirked sardonically and teased, "Fifth, what kind of perfume did you buy for your sister-in-law? The scent is so strong it must have cost quite a bit, huh?"

While speaking, out of the corner of her eye, she even noticed a faint hint of rouge on the pale yellow of his shirt sleeve. If not for the peace of the household, she really wouldn’t speak up like this.

She absolutely detested homewreckers!

To be honest, she wasn’t inclined to meddle in the affairs of the fifth family. How they chose to live was their own business as a couple. Besides, she didn’t consider Xie Jingyang completely hopeless, though he might harbor some petty thoughts. It wasn’t clear that he was a scumbag.

In fact, as long as he didn’t bother the in-laws to death, she wouldn’t bother to pipe up.

"Third, Third Sister-in-law is joking. This scent might... it might have rubbed off on me in the car, I should go wash up first." Hearing her words, Xie Jingyang’s expression darkened further, his mood sour at the thought that he had been caught red-handed by a certain woman just before returning.

He had been actively avoiding her, so why could she always accurately pinpoint his whereabouts?

"Oh~~ Well, you’d better hurry up. Your sister-in-law is cooking; it should be ready soon." Zhang Shanni didn’t linger to observe his reaction. She continued along with the firewood in her hand, muttering to herself:

"A grown man reeking of perfume, isn’t that just an open admission of wrongdoing? Shame, considering he went to college. Doesn’t he realize that indecision in such matters only leads to chaos? His wife at home is still pregnant. Looks like all his education has gone to the dogs!"

Zhang Shanni spoke loudly enough to be heard, but not so loud as to be overbearing, and coincidentally, Xie Jingyang, who was right behind her, got an earful.

It was intentional for him to hear; Zhang Shanni had deliberately spoken for him to overhear. If her brother-in-law harbored any resentment toward her because of this, then let her be the busybody struck by lightning, she thought. From then on, she would wash her hands of such disgusting affairs.

But with no conclusions drawn yet, she had to at least take a stand and give her man an explanation, right?

Thinking of the Xie men, Zhang Shanni was quite vexed. It was a good thing she married Xie Jingchen; otherwise, how would this family get by? [Smug face]

Her own man had joined the military, and she would not speak of that for now. The household’s heavy labor had all fallen onto her as the Boss was always out making extra money. Fortunately, she was as strong as an ox; chopping firewood and carrying water were a piece of cake for her, and so the burden of these heavy chores fell on her.

This was a true reflection of "give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile."

She had the least interaction with her eldest brother-in-law’s family; as far as she could tell, they seemed rather sharp and capable, which seemed alright. However, her brother-in-law’s family was a constant source of trouble. He couldn’t even take care of his own wife and child, and still, he attracted an awful peach blossom outside!

In her opinion, that "peach blossom" was as rotten as they come!