Chapter 141: The Woman I Despise the Most

When they reached the commune, Tang Xin had managed to call her mother twice. The first problem was that getting through was difficult. The second was that she had to call her father’s office and have the call transferred to her mother.

In other words, her parents were always together when they spoke, making it inconvenient for either of them to say much. As a result, Tang Xin had not had time to tell her mother many of the things in her heart.

Although her mother loved her dearly, she was, after all, a traditional woman who regarded her husband as the center of her world. Apart from expressing longing and voicing a few complaints, there probably was not much else she could write in a letter.

So Tang Xin did not hurry to read it. Instead, she opened the parcel first.

Inside were several spring and summer outfits, all clothes the original owner had worn before.

They were old clothes, but the Tang family was well-off, and even Tang Xin’s so-called old clothes were better than what most country people wore.

Perhaps because her conscience was troubled, Tang Xin did not particularly want the original owner’s old clothes that had been sent from the provincial capital.

She picked out two suitable pieces and gave them to the sisters, Li Xihua and Li Xiyue. Both girls were delighted.

Li Xihua especially had not worn a decent piece of clothing in all these years. To suddenly receive one naturally made her very happy.

But happiness was one thing. Getting her to refrain from making a sharp remark was another matter entirely.

So Li Xihua still said, “If you give them all to us, will you have anything left to wear?”

It had to be said that the eldest sister-in-law had changed a little. At the very least, after becoming the women’s team leader, she had learned to consider other people’s feelings when she spoke.

This time, however, Tang Xin was the one who left everyone speechless.

“It’s all right. I don’t want these anymore anyway. I’ll just have new ones made later.”

With that single sentence, she offended all the women in the Li family. Even Li Xiyue’s joy at receiving a new dress was greatly diminished.

During the New Year, everyone had also received new clothes, which was an extremely rare occurrence—though naturally, that had been thanks to their sister-in-law.

Their mother had used all the cotton harvested by the family, along with the cotton cloth their sister-in-law had managed to spare, to make new padded jackets for several of them.

Compared with the wool coat Tang Xin had bought in the county, those jackets were of course far inferior. After seeing her sister-in-law’s new clothes, even Li Xiyue’s delight at having something new to wear for the New Year had been reduced considerably.

And now, Li Xiyue once again felt that her sister-in-law truly was the most detestable woman in the world—

Without exception!

Li Xihua, however, was more sensible and remained quite happy. In all these years, even her former husband had never bought her a single yard of cloth.

“Well, sister-in-law, I’m going to take the quilts apart and wash them this afternoon. I might as well wash your quilt cover at the same time. There isn’t much work in the fields these days, and there’s nothing much for me to arrange among the women either. If you have anything else to do, just tell me all at once. I’ll help you with everything.”

The moment Li Xihua finished speaking, Li Xiyue followed up, “Sister-in-law, Eldest Sister is busy with work, but I’m the idlest person in the family. I’ll help you wash things. I can wash the clothes you changed out of after your bath too.”

Not only Li Xihua and Tang Xin, but even Madam Fang was nearly frightened out of her wits.

When had this little girl become so diligent and considerate?

As it turned out, Li Xiyue was no fool. Although her sister-in-law’s words had been unpleasant, the dress in her hands was undeniably real.

Country girls generally did not wear long dresses, and this smooth, silky fabric was not something that girls from a small rural place could buy.

After weighing things over in her mind, Li Xiyue decided that she had better curry favor with her sister-in-law.

Being on good terms with her brought plenty of benefits. Just look at Eldest Sister—she was now the deputy leader of the women’s team.

How impressive was that when she went out?

Whatever Li Xiyue’s motives were, there was no harm in having a younger sister-in-law become more hardworking. So Tang Xin cheerfully brought out everything she wanted washed.

When Li Xiyue saw the large basin and the enormous bucket, she felt a tiny bit of regret.

Then she thought better of it.

Her sister-in-law’s family had sent both parcels and letters. Perhaps next time, her sister-in-law could introduce her to a young man from the city.

With that thought, Li Xiyue’s determination to flatter and please her sister-in-law grew even stronger.

Of course, if she had known what was written in the family letter Tang Xin had received this time, she would probably have regretted the decision she had just made.

Naturally, none of the Li family knew that Tang Xin had taken the letter back to her room and read it alone.

They would not pry into their daughter-in-law’s private affairs, but they still ought to show concern for her. So when Tang Xin came back out of the room, Madam Fang noticed that her expression was not very pleasant.

Unable to resist, she asked, “Daughter-in-law, what did your family write in the letter?”

Tang Xin answered honestly, “It was written by my mother. It was nothing more than the usual family matters. My father didn’t write a single word.”

“Not even one word of concern?” Madam Fang asked in disbelief.

For a moment, the rest of the Li family looked at Tang Xin as well.

Fortunately, Li Sheng and his father were still outside working and had not yet returned. Otherwise, Li Sheng would have been heartbroken to hear what had happened to his wife.

Tang Xin sighed before saying, “My father was already unhappy that I was going to marry someone in the countryside. My mother told me over the phone that she would help persuade him. Then I didn’t go home for the New Year, which made him even angrier. And now that Meng Jia and Lu Liqin are married, he’s even more displeased. He’s gone so far as to say that from now on, he has no daughter like me—because I refuse to obey him.”

Tang Xin no longer concealed anything. Not only did she tell the truth, she also revealed a great deal.

She had thought it through. In the past, she had repeatedly used her father as an excuse whenever she brought things out of her spatial farm, causing the Li family to develop an extremely favorable impression of him.

But that was not the truth.

Tang Xin intended to return to the city and face that heartless father of hers, as well as Meng Jia’s mother—the hypocritical white lotus who was always stirring up trouble and fanning the flames.

She also hoped to bring her mother away from the Tang family.

Since that was the case, she could no longer keep improving her father’s image in front of the Li family. In the future, she could simply attribute the good things she took from the farm warehouse to her mother instead.

Tang Xin hoped that her mother would not spend the second half of her life as miserably as she had in the novel. Naturally, the first thing to do was to ensure that she no longer depended on that scumbag, her father.

But her mother was not a modern woman capable of living independently and supporting herself. As her daughter, Tang Xin had the responsibility and obligation to provide for her.

So Tang Xin changed her strategy. She wanted the Li family to develop a better impression of her mother, hoping that in the future they would agree to let her care for her own mother.

At once, Madam Fang and the Li sisters’ expressions became extremely ugly.

At that moment, only the women were at home. To a certain extent, Tang Xin’s words felt like a slap in the face.

Tang Xin knew that, of course. But she also knew that there were some things she had to say.

After reflecting on everything, Tang Xin walked straight up to her mother-in-law, took her hands, and said sincerely, “Mother, I’m truly happy that I was able to marry Brother Li Sheng and become part of your family. I’ve always worked hard because I hoped to genuinely fit in here. But I have no control over what my father thinks. Mother, I’m sorry.”