Landlady who likes to hoard land

Xu's mother's words made Wang Chengyu's anger rise. Of the three children in her husband's family, Xu Chenxing and his wife doted on Xu Shan the most, and by extension, they also showed special favoritism towards Xu Shan's children.

The character "Xing" in Zhu Xing's name is the same as the character in Xu Chenxing's name. According to their family's customs, younger generations cannot have the same name as their elders.

When Xu Shan, Zhu Xing's sister-in-law, was naming Zhu Xing, she asked Xu Chenxing for his opinion. Xu Chenxing said that it was an old custom and he didn't care.

Not only Zhu Xing's name is like this, but Xu Qian's youngest son, Zhao Chen, also has the same character "Chen" as Xu Chenxing.

Xu Chenxing often used this as an example to prove that his new ideas were not feudal, and after each boast, he would often add a sentence...

“It took a lot of effort to name Xu Yao back then, because his maternal grandmother’s side still had old ideas and traditions.”

As long as Xu Chenxing's boastful behavior wasn't mentioned in front of Wang Chengyu, Wang Chengyu would pretend not to know.

If you say it to Wang Chengyu's face, Wang Chengyu will politely but firmly retort.

"You love your grandson so much; your thinking is truly progressive."

Wang Chengyu often complained to her husband, Xu Jianren, about her father-in-law's double standards regarding Xu Chenxing's behavior.

When Xu Yao was named, the character "Yao" was the same as the name of a distant relative of Xu Jianren. It wasn't the character that was the same, but the sound. The relative's name was something like "Yao".

Xu Chenxing said that even if the pronunciation was the same, it wouldn't work. He disagreed with using the character "Yao" and insisted that his grandson be named Xu Wu, saying that it would be a perfect match with his eldest grandson, one being a scholar and the other a warrior.

Wang Chengyu's maternal family had a great-uncle named Wang Zhenwu. Wang Chengyu disagreed with naming her son Xu Wu and insisted on naming her youngest son Xu Yao.

Because of Xu Yao's name, the father-in-law said a lot to Wang Chengyu. Later, when the younger sister's son was named, in order to show that his thinking was progressive, Xu Chenxing did not object to Zhu Xing having the same character as him, and did not mention at all that he had objected to Xu Yao using the character Yao.

Seeing that Xu Chenxing favored Zhu Xing, Xu Qian, not wanting to be outdone, named her own son Zhao Chen after Xu Shan, and Xu Chenxing had no objections either.

What other people choose to name themselves is none of Wang Chengyu's business; she doesn't care, and she can't control it.

But when it comes to her son, she has to get involved, even if she can't.

Today, in front of Wang Chengyu, her mother-in-law sided with Zhu Xing so much, which shows that she had bullied Xu Yao quite a bit in the past.

She disliked her in-laws' domineering attitude and rarely went back to their home except during festivals; it was usually Xu Jianren who brought the children back.

Today, her mother-in-law made Xu Yao stand there and be beaten in front of her. When she wasn't around, Xu Yao had suffered countless other forms of bullying.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of the logic that if someone is disobedient, they'll keep making a fuss, and if someone is obedient, they'll just have to stand there and take the beating. In our family, does whoever is the most domineering always have the right?"

After scolding him, Wang Chengyu then lectured her own son.

“Xu Yao, why are you running away when he hits you? You're taller and stronger than him, fight back! Everyone else is chasing you and hitting you like this, so fight back hard, otherwise he'll bully you like this again next time.”

"Xu Yao, call back now! Mom's here."

Xu Yao nestled in Wang Chengyu's arms and refused to make a move. Wang Chengyu's youngest son was honest and kind-hearted from a young age, with a very good temper. At home, he was often made to cry by his quick-witted older brother, Xu Wen. But within two minutes, a few kind words and a piece of candy from Xu Wen would be enough to coax him back to being Xu Wen's little follower.

Xu Yao didn't make a move, but when Xu Shan heard her sister-in-law instigating her nephew to beat her son, she became displeased, pulled Zhu Xing away with a long face, and dragged him away.

"Everyone says that older brothers should give way to younger brothers; I've never heard of an older brother hitting his younger brother."

“I’ve never heard of a younger brother chasing after his older brother to beat him, while the older brother has to stand there and take the beating,” Wang Chengyu retorted angrily without backing down.

"Eat your food, eating won't shut you up."

Xu Chenxing, who had been pretending to be invisible for a while, finally spoke.

"Stop talking, let's eat," Xu Jianren tugged at Wang Chengyu's sleeve and said in a low voice.

Wang Chengyu was very disappointed in her husband Xu Jianren for his inaction. Not only did he not stand up for her, but he also remained silent while their son was being bullied.

He glared at Xu Jianren, then pulled over a stool and placed it next to him, letting Xu Yao sit down to eat.

“It’s just a toy, Zhu Xing, your aunt will buy you one,” said Xu Qian, Zhu Xing’s older sister.

"You don't need to buy it. How much do you earn in a day's work? Zhu Xing, ask your grandpa to buy it for you."

Xu's mother, feeling sorry for her eldest daughter, told Xu Chenxing to buy it. But her eyes glanced at Xu Jianren and Wang Chengyu.

"You uncles and aunts don't even bother to buy your nephews a toy, and you have the nerve to tell your children to hit others? You've corrupted the children!"

“My brother is such a miser, he’s not stingy at all,” Xu Shan said, glancing at Xu Jianren.

Wang Chengyu hated listening to her mother-in-law. She was the epitome of double standards, always finding fault with her and Xu Jianren and habitually using moral blackmail.

Wang Chengyu's father-in-law, Xu Chenxing, partnered with others to open a model casting factory in the area. It was a small factory with about twenty workers and had been operating for over twenty years.

The factory was doing quite well. Xu Jianren's main job at the factory was operating a forklift, and he did all sorts of other things when he wasn't busy.

Xu Chenxing paid him 4,500 yuan a month, which was the lowest wage among all the workers in their factory.

You should know that you can earn seven or eight thousand just by driving a forklift in other factories, not to mention that Xu Jianren also has to do other odd jobs.

With such a small salary, even if the family of four lived in a rural-urban fringe area where the cost of living was not high, it wouldn't be enough. Wang Chengyu had mentioned to her father-in-law several times about raising Xu Jianren's salary.

Every time Wang Chengyu mentions it, her father-in-law will say something.

"The meat will rot in the pot. Your mother and I aren't people who waste money. Whatever we save up will eventually be yours."

“That’s for the future. We need to spend money now too. The two children need money for school and everything else. His salary is simply not enough,” Wang Chengyu always said.

Wang Chengyu thought that if he had the ability, he should raise his child well when he was young, which would be much more worthwhile than leaving him a sum of money in the future.

Unfortunately, her husband and his family didn't think so.

Whenever things reached the end, Xu Chenxing would give Xu Jianren several thousand yuan to shut her up, without ever mentioning a raise.

The mother-in-law would immediately spread the word throughout the village that she had given them money. Everyone in the village would say that the old couple doted on their son.

Wang Chengyu had previously mentioned going to work, but her father-in-law wouldn't give Xu Jianren a raise. So, she figured she could at least go out and work and earn her own money.

She asked her mother-in-law to help pick up and drop off the children, but her father-in-law refused, saying he couldn't cook and that's why he refused. He even made a statement...

"We'll only take care of our son; we won't worry about our grandson. Each family member should take care of their own child."

They made no mention of what they had said when they asked Wang Chengyu to have a second child.

After their first child was born, neither Wang Chengyu nor Xu Jianren wanted to have a second child, but Xu Chenxing persuaded them.

"Don't worry, just have the baby. We'll cover all the household expenses. I earn money for you to spend."