Three Women in the Cage

After the last reconciliation, Zhang Erfa's attitude towards Yang Yu softened a little. Zhang's mother would occasionally help with the housework, and his other brothers-in-law would take the initiative to serve their own meals and no longer boss Yang Yu around. In this way, they lived a peaceful life.

That day, Yang Yu was doing farm work at home, and Zhang's mother was helping out in the kitchen. Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside: "Second sister-in-law, come out and see, someone is looking for you, saying it's from your mother's village."

Hearing her mother's village, Yang Yu put down her work and hurried out. From a distance, she spotted a vibrant, beaming girl running toward her. "Sister Yu'er, I've been looking for you for so long, but I finally found you," Liu Chunxiang said excitedly.

Yang Yu also excitedly pulled her hand and asked curiously, "Why did you come here? It's an hour's journey here. Is there something wrong that made you run so far?" In Yang Yu's heart, she didn't quite believe that Liu Chunxiang would come all the way to play with her.

"Why? Can't I come to see you? Ever since you got married, you haven't come back to see me. I wanted to see if you were doing well, so I asked Uncle Yang for his address and came here."

Liu Chunxiang didn't really care about Yang Yu, but she was just competitive. She wanted to see whether Yang Yu had married well or not. After all, she married Zhang Erfa, who was envied by everyone in the village because of his handsome appearance.

Yang Yu invited Liu Chunxiang into the house, intending to have a good chat. After all, she hadn't talked to anyone for a long time since she got married, and she was feeling depressed.

As soon as she entered the house, Zhang's mother saw the pretty young Liu Chunxiang. Her eyes lit up and she squinted her eyes and said to Yang Yu enthusiastically, "Yu'er, this is for you. Wow, the little girl is so pretty. What's her name? Is she married?" She said this to Yang Yu, but her eyes were always on Liu Chunxiang.

Liu Chunxiang felt a little embarrassed being stared at, and turned to Zhang's mother and replied, "Hello, auntie, just call me Chunxiang. I'm from Sister Yu's hometown, and I came here to talk to Sister Yu."

Mother Zhang nodded with satisfaction and said, "You must come more often in the future. Your sister Yu'er is here with you talking to her more, and she will feel more comfortable." As she said that, she couldn't help but pull Liu Chunxiang's little hand, patted it and said, "Oh, that's great. I'll go get you some food and stay at home for lunch together." After that, she went into the inner room to get the food.

Liu Chunxiang felt a little embarrassed by the stranger's enthusiasm. He turned around and said to Yang Yu, "Your mother-in-law is too enthusiastic. It makes me feel a little embarrassed." "Don't pay attention to her. She's just fake. Let's go to my room and talk."

After entering, Liu Chunxiang took a look at the simple bedroom with only a bed and a table. She couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She had thought that their family was poor, but she didn't expect them to be so poor. She was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say.

Yang Yu saw Liu Chunxiang's strange expression and shook her head indifferently. "You are surprised too. I was also surprised when I got married. With his looks, there is no way he would choose a girl as old as me. And the fact that he is so poor must have scared away many girls." With a sigh, Yang Yu had accepted the reality.

Because there were no extra stools, Yang Yu could only pull her to sit on the edge of the bed and continued to say that she really wanted to find someone to tell what was in her heart. She had been holding it in for too long and she couldn't feel better unless she got it out.

"There are six brothers in their family. Although he is the second oldest, he is also the eldest brother. His younger brothers are also useless and have not yet married. They all squeeze into the empty room. There are so many people to eat and drink, and there are endless housework and farm work to do. Your eldest brother Zhang listens to his parents in everything and rushes to do all the work first. He has to take the responsibility of taking care of his younger brothers and also wants to share the burden of his parents.

He can't carry this burden by himself, but wants me to help him. You say I am also a newly married bride, I am also a woman, he thinks too much of me. If you ask me, Chunxiang, listen to me, stay at home for a few more years, don't rush to get married, because once you get married, you will have no control over your own life."

Liu Chunxiang knew she was upset and listened quietly, not interrupting. But she was also pondering what she was saying. She was young, and hadn't really set her sights on anyone. Hearing about Yang Yu's situation, she felt a bit apprehensive about getting married. She replied confidently, "Sister Yu, don't worry. I'm still young and in no rush to get married. Besides, I haven't had enough fun yet. What's the fun in getting married?"

As she was talking, Zhang's mother came in with food and some home-grown fruits and said, "Chunxiang, come and have some. You little girl will definitely like this. And these fruits are all home-grown. Come and try them." Seeing Zhang's mother enthusiastically placing the plate in front of him, Liu Chunxiang was a little overwhelmed when he took a fruit and tasted it. "Hmm, it's really sweet. Thank you, auntie."

Hearing Liu Chunxiang say that the food was delicious, Zhang's mother beamed and asked her to eat more. She also kept pulling her aside to chat about family matters, which made Liu Chunxiang embarrassed. She smiled from time to time and said "yes, yes" in agreement. Yang Yu couldn't bear it any longer, so she turned around and said to Zhang's mother helplessly, "Mom, is the meal ready? Isn't it time for Dad and the others to come back?"

"Yes, yes, I almost forgot about this. Let's have lunch together with Chunxiang later. The meal will be ready soon. You guys chat more. I'll go out and do some work first."

After seeing Zhang's mother off, Liu Chunxiang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your mother-in-law is so enthusiastic. She also helps with the farm work at home.

Yang Yu disapproved and said, "She was just pretending. When I first got married, no one in her family helped me at all. Because of this, your brother Zhang even beat me. My parents came in person to ask for an explanation. Only now have I felt better these days."

Liu Chunxiang didn’t understand these things and didn’t want to ask too much. Anyway, she wasn’t getting married yet, so she would think about these things later.

"By the way, after lunch, I'll take you around the village so you can accompany me. Since I got married here, I haven't really taken a good look at this village," Yang Yu said with a hint of anticipation.

"Okay, let's see what's different from our village. Anyway, I came to find you today and I have one day. I just hope I don't disturb you."

As he was speaking, there was a noise outside. Yang Yu knew that they must have returned from work. He looked at the time on the wall and it was already 12 o'clock.

Sure enough, after a while, I heard Zhang's mother's voice coming from outside, "Xiaoyu, come out quickly, your father and the others are back, hurry up and get ready, it's time to eat, and by the way, quickly call Chunxiang to come out for dinner together." Zhang's mother couldn't hide her excitement, and she kept busy while shouting.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see their family and let you see the world," Yang Yu said half-jokingly.