country bumpkin

Chapter 202 Wei Xiu Returns Home

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Wei Xiu and Jin Bao returned to her parents' home. It's customary to visit the bride's family three days after the wedding.

Liu Fangxiang had prepared the gifts well in advance. Although Wei Xiu's stepmother, stepfather, and mother were not good people, she still put on a show to make Wei Xiu look good.

When the villagers saw this, they only praised the family for valuing Weixiu as their daughter-in-law. They also said that Weixiu was a good daughter-in-law.

As for the Zeng family, everyone in the village knows how they mistreat and abused Wei Xiu. Not a single person speaks a good word about them.

At the village entrance, a few gossipy women were saying, "Tsk...tsk...tsk, Wei Xiu has really struck it lucky. Even though Jin Bao is a fool, he knows how to cherish his wife!"

Granny Xu chimed in, "That's right, that's right. This old lady, Liu Fangxiang, is a kind person. Wei Xiu has really turned things around this time."

Granny Wang, however, disagreed, saying, "That's not necessarily true. If Wei Xiu also gives birth to a fool, let's see if she can still enjoy a good life in the future."

Granny Zhang pouted, "Oh...oh...oh, you're so mean! Wei Xiu has suffered for most of her life, and she finally married into a good family. You're making sarcastic remarks like this. Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?"

Granny Wang retorted, "What are you saying? How is that just making sarcastic remarks? It's not impossible, after all, Jinbao is a fool."

The two started arguing back and forth. Granny Xu quickly tried to smooth things over, "Alright, you two stop arguing. What does this have to do with you? We're just chatting, why are you arguing? You'll see later."

The two then stopped fighting, glared at each other, and then pulled the people listening to the gossip aside to talk about other things.

After breakfast, Kong Jinbao and Wei Xiu carried their things to the foot of the mountain at the south end of the village.

After getting married, Kong Jinbao grew up and stopped running around with the village children.

He just stays at home obediently with his wife. When there's work to be done in the fields, he also goes to work in the fields with his parents.

If he just stands there without saying anything, strangers wouldn't realize that he has a mental problem.

After all, what kind of fool would look like that? He was gentle and refined, with fair skin like jade, and a warm smile often graced his face.

It has to be said that his "father" gave him a good appearance.

Upon arriving at the Zeng family's gate, Wei Xiu stepped into the courtyard. She carried a pork gift in one hand and two cans of food in the other.

Jinbao followed behind her, struggling to carry a basket filled with heavy items.

When Wei Xiu's stepmother Jiang Xian'e and stepfather Zeng Daniu saw what she had brought, their faces immediately fell.

Jiang Xian'e said directly, "Is this all you brought back? That's too shabby. Now that you're married, you don't care about your family anymore?"

Wei Xiu was stunned and felt very wronged. She explained, "Grandma, these are all things we prepared carefully." This is how we always bring gifts back to our parents' home in our village.

But then Da Niu chimed in sarcastically, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. It seems that saying is absolutely true. You're bringing such a small amount of stuff because you're afraid we'll eat you out of house and home."

Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Wei Xiu's eyes. She had thought that returning home would be a happy occasion, but she never expected to be scolded like this as soon as she entered the house.

Wei Xiu thought that if it were her own father, he wouldn't care how much he brought, he would only care about whether his daughter was doing well in her husband's family.

Wei Xiu's mother kept complaining, saying that other people's daughters brought good things when they returned home, such as fabrics, high-end tea, cigarettes and alcohol, and that Wei Xiu was a disgrace to them and that her husband's family looked down on them.

Wei Xiuzhen really wanted to turn around and leave, but she held back because Jinbao had come back with her.

She can't leave. If she does, the villagers will gossip and laugh at Jinbao for being kicked out of his mother-in-law's house. Jinbao already has mental problems, and if he really goes back, people will definitely spread very unpleasant rumors.

The atmosphere was particularly oppressive during lunch. The step-grandmother and stepfather didn't give each other a friendly look, and the step-grandfather ate his meal in silence, not daring to lift his head.

Her mother, Li Zhaodi, kept nagging about the homecoming gift. Wei Xiu felt extremely sad and barely ate anything. She feared that her biological mother had now become a stepmother.

Whether or not the wife's family exists is no longer important; what matters is a better life from now on.

After finishing their meal in a depressing atmosphere, Wei Xiu quickly pulled Jin Bao back home.

None of the stepmother's family members got up to see them off. Jinbao, of course, didn't understand these things. He was just not very happy either, because his wife had a stern face and a frown the whole time, and he also felt that he wasn't happy at his wife's parents' house at all.

As soon as Liu Fangxiang entered the house, she heard a commotion. She quickly came over, grabbed her daughter-in-law's arm, and checked her over, "Xiuer, are you alright! Did they hit you?"

Seeing her mother-in-law's anxious and concerned expression, Wei Xiu hugged Liu Fangxiang tightly, threw herself into her mother-in-law's arms, and cried out for her mother.

Liu Fangxiang gently patted her back to comfort her: "Good girl, from now on, your mother-in-law will be your own mother. You must take good care of yourself."

Wei Xiu was so moved that she cried for a while. Jin Bao looked at his mother and wife, who were hugging and crying, and wondered what had happened.

He said anxiously, "Mother, Xiuer, what's wrong? Has someone bullied you? I'll help you fight back."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. Liu Fangxiang thought to herself, if she treats her daughter-in-law well, Xiuer will also treat her son well after she passes away. With her two older sisters helping to take care of him, her son should have no worries about food and clothing.

Wei Xiu thought to herself, "My mother-in-law's family treats me even better than my own mother. I must live a good life, be filial to my parents-in-law, and take good care of my husband."

Liu Fangxiang helped her daughter-in-law into the main room and told her to sit down and rest. She then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

With nothing else to do, Jinbao pulled over the fruit plate on the table and peeled oranges for Weixiu.

After peeling the whole orange, he fed it to Wei Xiu segment by segment. Wei Xiu ate the sweet and sour orange, her eyes crinkling with happiness. This was a life she could never have dreamed of.

When Liu Fangxiang brought the food into the house, she saw the loving scene between the couple, and she felt at ease. It seemed that her son would be secure in the future.

Kong Shangbiao went to help his younger brother Kong Shangwu's family because it was almost Chinese New Year and his brother's family was going to slaughter a pig, so several families went to help.

He went out to help out all day and didn't come home. He doesn't know what happened during his son's homecoming visit. If he did find out, he would definitely cause a scene at his in-laws' house.

He wasn't afraid of his in-laws, much less of the gossip circulating in the village. Back when his son Jinbao was born, rumors were flying everywhere, including rumors that he had been cheated on, but he wasn't afraid of them. These little things are nothing to him now.

Only he is broad-minded and easygoing; if it were someone else, they would have caused a complete breakdown in their marriage before they would stop.

However, looking at his life now, with a son and a daughter, a dutiful daughter-in-law, and a virtuous and family-oriented wife, it seems like he has won.