Yang Yufen put the rice on to cook and then suddenly remembered that she had only half - finished repairing the toilet. So she quickly went back to work on it.
When Qin Nian woke up, she was awakened by the aroma of food.
There were washed grapes placed on the bedside table.
Qin Nian stared at the grapes for a while. After a nap, her mind was much clearer. Recalling all the things her mother - in - law had done since she came, Qin Nian thought it couldn't have been her mother - in - law who spread the rumors. She decided to apologize to her mother - in - law.
As soon as Qin Nian stepped out of the room, she saw her mother - in - law bringing in the washed clothes.
"Mom, I can do it myself," she blurted out instinctively.
Hearing this, Yang Yufen didn't say anything. She handed Qin Nian's clothes to Qin Nian.
"Good that you're awake. It's time for dinner," Yang Yufen said and then went to the kitchen.
There was chicken soup, rice and a plate of stir - fried green vegetables on the table.
Looking at the drumstick in her bowl, and seeing that her mother - in - law was eating with her head down without saying a word, Qin Nian also silently lowered her head to eat the meat.
"I'm going to see Aunt Wang. I promised to help her with something. I'll be back in about two hours. If you're tired, you can rest first," Yang Yufen said after finishing her meal.
"Okay, Mom. Go ahead. I'll clean up the dishes," Qin Nian nodded. Yang Yufen left in a hurry. Qin Nian took the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them. When she came out, she noticed a small brick - built shed in the yard. It even had tiles on it. She was curious and went over to take a look.
There was a door on each side. On one side, the ground was paved with cement, and on the other side, there was a big pit with a section of pipe in it.
Since the cement wasn't dry yet, Qin Nian didn't go inside. Turning around, her eyes fell on the chicken coop, and she was shocked to find that one chicken was missing.
Her mother - in - law took good care of those three hens and would boil an egg for her every day and put it in her pocket. So, because of what she said at noon, her mother - in - law had actually killed one of the egg - laying hens.
Qin Nian suddenly felt at a loss.
Her mother - in - law was apologizing to her. But thinking it over carefully, what had her mother - in - law done wrong?
In other families, it would be good enough if the mother - in - law didn't boss the daughter - in - law around. When she married Shen Xianjun, they just filed a report and got the marriage certificate without even holding a wedding. Her mother - in - law bought a ticket and came all the way here by herself.
She didn't make any noise or fuss. After she settled down, she did the laundry, cooked meals and cleaned the house for her every day. All the changes in this house were thanks to her mother - in - law.
Her mother - in - law was not wrong, and these things were not wrong either. The ones in the wrong were those who spread the rumors!
Thinking this way, Qin Nian decided to go to see her teacher's wife. Since it was her teacher's wife who told her about the rumors, her teacher's wife must know something more. Even if she didn't, asking her teacher's wife to help investigate would be faster than doing it herself.
Professor Wen also lived in the corridor - style apartment building. The difference was that the layout of the house was different. It was a three - story building, and there were five households on each floor, each with three large rooms.
As soon as Qin Nian entered the corridor - style apartment building, she noticed that people were looking at her differently, but she didn't care.
However, although Qin Nian didn't care, there were still people who came up to her enthusiastically.
"Comrade Xiao Qin is here. Are you looking for Comrade Xiao Yi or someone else?"
Qin Nian was a bit stunned. Why would she come to look for Yi Mengling?
But since these people were asking, there must be something going on.
"No, I'm here to see Professor Wen."
"Oh, I thought you were here to ask Comrade Xiao Yi to apologize to you. Comrade Xiao Qin, you're really lucky. You've married into a good family. Your mother - in - law protects you, and your husband is an officer. You'll have a good life ahead of you."
Hearing this, Qin Nian was stunned. What the teacher's wife and her supervisor told her was different.
The person who came to talk saw Qin Nian looking confused and puzzled. Could it be that Comrade Qin Nian didn't know? Immediately, he excitedly told Qin Nian what had happened.
"Comrade Xiao Qin, you can't still not know, right? Your mother - in - law came to the apartment building today. She was so fierce. She grabbed that Comrade Yi and gave her several slaps right away. She immediately subdued that person..."
Her mother - in - law had beaten someone in the family compound? And the person she beat was someone Qin Nian knew.
Qin Nian thought to herself. After listening to this sister - in - law vividly describing the scene that afternoon, Qin Nian was shocked.
So, her mother - in - law had gone out to find the culprit and seek justice for her, but she hadn't mentioned a single word about it. Instead, she had killed a laying hen to comfort her.
"Thank you, sister - in - law, for telling me this. I really didn't know. It was only when my supervisor and the teacher's wife told me to take a half - day off today that I found out. But my mother - in - law is really nice."
After Qin Nian finished speaking, there was a smile on her face, and her steps became much lighter.
Although she knew what had happened, she didn't plan to go find Yi Mengling. Such a person was so disgusting that she didn't even want to look at her.
Qin Nian made her way familiarly to her supervisor's home. The supervisor wasn't there, but the teacher's wife, Professor Wen, was.
"Teacher's wife."
"Come on, sit down quickly. Have a fruit. Your mother - in - law is a nice person. You should be filial to the old lady in the future."
Apparently, Professor Wen had also heard about it.
"I know. My mother - in - law is really an excellent person."
Qin Nian nodded.
"You've finally had a turn for the better. Live a good life from now on. When you're done with your work, bring your mother - in - law to my place for a meal."
"Okay, teacher's wife. This incident was provoked by Yi Mengling. Yi Mengling must be punished."
This was the first time Qin Nian had spoken to her teacher's wife like this.
"She really deserves to be punished. She disrupted the atmosphere of the research institute and affected the efforts of those at the front. Don't worry. After she apologizes to you, the punishment will be announced."
At first, Professor Wen had wanted Qin Nian to marry her son so that she could take care of Qin Nian. But her son had someone he liked, and Qin Nian only regarded her son as an elder brother. It was all for the best. She was also very satisfied with her daughter - in - law.
Now seeing Qin Nian married, although her husband was busy and his job was dangerous, at least her mother - in - law was a good person. That was better than anything else. She could finally feel at ease.
They were like Qin Nian's family. When her in - laws came, they definitely had to treat them well.
Qin Nian left with the apples that Professor Wen had forced on her. When she got home, Yang Yufen wasn't there. Thinking that Yang Yufen had gone to Aunt Wang's place, she decided to go and look for her.
At Aunt Wang's home, Yang Yufen was helping to set up the frame of the greenhouse. It had to be said that this was a job that required both strength and skill.
If it were just Aunt Wang alone, she would have just set up a low shed where she could only bend over to get in and out.
But with Yang Yufen's help, the shed was built so that Aunt Wang, who was a little over one and a half meters tall, could stand upright and walk inside the shed without worrying about hitting her head.
Aunt Wang was in charge of directing and explaining, while Yang Yufen did the building. The speed was amazing. They just needed to cover it with tarpaulin and fix it before the weather changed, and they wouldn't have to worry about the winter.
"Aunt Wang, is my mom here?"
Qin Nian's voice came from the front yard. Yang Yufen heard it right away.
"I'm here. I'll be done soon!"
Yang Yufen replied loudly and quickened her movements. She quickly put away all the tools.
"My daughter-in-law has come to see me, so I'll go back now. I'll come back tomorrow to continue helping you."
"Sure, sure. I'll take care of the rest. You two don't seem like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. You're more like mother and daughter."
