Three Women in the Cage

After a while, there were rustling sounds in the yard, and faint voices of talking. It was Zhang's father and his friends who had returned from work.

Before Yang Yu and the others left, Zhang's mother entered the kitchen first. Seeing Liu Chunxiang helping in the kitchen, she couldn't hide her satisfaction and walked forward. "Oh, the food cooked by Chunxiang smells delicious outside. It's good and he's really capable. Go and have a rest. Don't tire my eldest grandson out. Let your sister-in-law do the rest. Come on, go sit at the dining table." As she spoke, she pulled Liu Chunxiang towards the dining table.

Zhang's mother was too enthusiastic, so Liu Chunxiang couldn't admit that he didn't help much. He smiled awkwardly and glanced at Yang Yu, then followed Zhang's mother to the dining table outside. Yang Yu silently watched their backs, and then looked at Huanhuan who was forgotten and not even looked at by Zhang's mother. He felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart, and finally set the table without saying a word.

Everyone gathered around the table, looking at the dishes, and kept praising Liu Chunxiang. Because of the favoritism of Zhang's father and mother, the other brothers-in-law were quite good to Liu Chunxiang. In addition, with Zhang Sanmao's protection, they naturally had a certain respect and goodwill towards Liu Chunxiang. Liu Chunxiang herself was also quite sweet-mouthed and had a delicate and pretty face, which made people want to favor her. So when they saw her participating in the kitchen chores, they naturally thought that she had cooked the food, and they gathered around to praise her, thinking that she was not pretentious even though she was pregnant.

From beginning to end, they forgot about Yang Yu who was still busy, and Huanhuan who was playing in the mud on the ground. When Yang Yu brought Huanhuan to the dining table, they were already talking and laughing and eating happily.

Looking at the table, Zhang's mother praised Liu Chun's delicious country dishes while picking up food for her. Zhang Sanmao also kept putting food into her bowl and carefully poured her a cup of tea. However, she stood aside with Huanhuan. No one greeted her or even gave her a seat. Her husband didn't even notice her presence. He was smiling and agreeing with everyone, eating happily.

Liu Chunxiang suddenly turned his head and looked at Yang Yu standing beside him. He stood up awkwardly and said, "Second sister-in-law, come and sit down. And Huanhuan too." He quickly pulled Zhang Sanmao aside to make a seat for her. Before Yang Yu came closer, Zhang's mother spoke first.

"Hey, Yu'er wants to feed Huanhuan. It's not convenient to sit at the dining table. You guys sit down. Yu'er, you serve some rice first and feed Huanhuan. Let the little baby eat first."

Yang Yu had an expressionless face. He filled a bowl of food, pulled a small stool, and took Huanhuan to the side to feed her. Then he filled a bowl of food for himself, took a few bites, and supervised Huanhuan while she ate. Although Huanhuan, who was over one year old, was not very skilled at eating, she could still feed the food into her mouth.

In this way, they ate together happily. I and Huanhuan seemed to be isolated. I finished the meal in pain.

After eating, Liu Chunxiang was called to the bedroom to rest. She was afraid of tiring out her eldest grandson, so Zhang's mother asked Yang Yu to take on more of the remaining work. So Yang Yu took Huanhuan with him and busy herself with the remaining housework.

Yang Yu, who had been suppressed for too long, finally couldn't help but resist. When Liu Chunxiang came to the kitchen late again, he found that the kitchen was empty and there was no sign of fire. Liu Chunxiang came to Yang Yu's bedroom with some confusion, and looked at Yang Yu lying on the bed and said: "Second sister-in-law, why haven't you gotten up yet? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Well, my stomach feels a little uncomfortable today and I can't get up, so I wanted to tell you that I'll have to trouble you in the kitchen today," Yang Yu said a little tiredly.

"But I'm afraid I can't do it alone. I'm not feeling well now. There are so many people in their family and it's too much work. I'm afraid I can't do it," Liu Chunxiang said a little anxiously.

"Chunxiang, it's true that I'm not feeling well today. You see, I can't even take care of Huanhuan. You're only two months pregnant, it's not a problem. When I was pregnant with Huanhuan, I was still helping mom with housework for more than seven months. You can't pick on me just because I'm your sister-in-law, right?" Yang Yu thought of how she was busy in the kitchen every day, and in the end the whole family praised Liu Chunxiang. She was speechless. In that case, let her busy herself all the time. Anyway, it didn't matter much whether she was busy or not, so she said with a bit of sarcasm.

Listening to Yang Yu's slightly sarcastic words, Liu Chunxiang's face darkened. He shook hands, then immediately relaxed and said slowly, "Sister-in-law, I don't mean that. I'm just afraid that I can't handle it alone. Don't take to heart what mom and the others say at the dinner table. I will tell mom in private." Liu Chunxiang knew what Yang Yu meant, but Zhang's mother was too enthusiastic, and she was embarrassed to say that she didn't help much in the kitchen.

Liu Chunxiang had no choice but to return to the kitchen alone. Looking at the cold pots and stoves, she kicked the stool and her face turned red with anger. She thought to herself, what's the big deal? It's just housework. It's not like she hasn't done it before. It's just that she is unwilling to do it. She is not like Yang Yu, who has to serve the whole family after getting married. She said that she is different from her. She wants her husband to love her and her parents-in-law to care for her. Thinking of this, she smiled in her heart and immediately became aware of it.

So, when Zhang's father and his family came back, they saw Liu Chunxiang busy in the kitchen alone. Zhang Sanmao took the lead and pulled Liu Chunxiang up and down to look. Suddenly, he saw a red burn mark on his hand. He was anxious and said, "What happened? How did he get burned? Why is he alone in the kitchen?"

"It's okay, I did it accidentally. It's all my fault for being too impatient. My second sister-in-law was not feeling well today. When I was busy in the kitchen, I was worried about her and got anxious. I didn't pay attention and got burned," Liu Chunxiang said with some grievance.

Zhang Sanmao was now furious. He thought to himself, why didn't his wife get sick earlier or later? She got sick not long after she got married. I'm afraid she doesn't want to work and is pretending to be sick to be lazy.

Seeing Zhang Sanmao with a bad complexion, Zhang's mother was afraid of causing trouble, so she asked Liu Chunxiang to take Zhang Sanmao outside to rest, and she would take care of the rest herself. Then she winked at Zhang Erfa with a bad complexion. Zhang Erfa understood what Zhang's mother meant, and went into the inner room to see Yang Yu.

When Zhang Erfa came in, Yang Yu had just gotten up and was helping Huanhuan get dressed. Seeing Zhang Erfa, she didn't even raise her eyebrows. It was Zhang Erfa who spoke first, "What's wrong with you? Your third brother's wife is pregnant. How can you let her work alone in the kitchen?"

"Can't you see I'm not feeling well today? Besides, don't they praise her for her ability every day at the dinner table? What does it matter if I'm busy or not?" Yang Yu said dissatisfiedly.

"I was wondering how you could be sick. Turns out you were waiting here. As a sister-in-law, why do you care about those things? How is someone doing? Can't you just give in? Besides, she is pregnant with my parents' grandson. It's your fault for not being able to have a baby. Stop being so upset and stop throwing tantrums," Zhang Erfa said disdainfully. He turned around and walked out.

Yang Yu had long known that he would never stand by her side. Besides mocking her, he would always say she was ignorant. Suddenly, she felt that although Zhang Sanmao was hateful, he also knew how to protect his wife. Perhaps Liu Chunxiang was really much luckier than herself.

After Yang Yu brought Huanhuan out, everyone was already sitting together to eat. No one even called me. If I didn't come out, I was afraid I wouldn't even be able to have a bowl of hot rice.

Yang Yu was furious. He pulled Huanhuan and went to get a bowl of food. When they just sat down, Zhang Sanmao said sarcastically, "Oh, some people are too sick to get up, but they run so fast when eating. Come on, it's too obvious to be lazy."

Liu Chunxiang kicked Zhang Sanmao and signaled him to shut up. Only then did Zhang Sanmao shut up in dissatisfaction.

"Yu'er, Chunxiang is pregnant, so you should be more responsible in normal times. Today, she even burned her hand because she was worried about you. You are sisters-in-law, so you should take care of each other," Zhang's mother also said meaningfully, and then looked up and glanced at Zhang Erfa.

"Mom, I've just talked about her. She is just ignorant and a sister-in-law's person," Zhang Erfa replied when he saw Zhang's mother's eyes.

"I won't forgive anyone who hurts my eldest grandson," Zhang's father said in an ambiguous tone.

Everyone was chattering non-stop in Yang Yu's ear. Yang Yu was getting annoyed and anxious. She really didn't understand who she owed someone. She felt a nameless rage in her heart that was about to burn her. She looked at Huanhuan on the side and tried to hold it in, but finally couldn't bear it anymore. She threw the bowl in her hand to the ground and yelled, "That's enough."