AYLS – Chapter 69

When Mother Xu and Xu Xiaomei returned home, Su Weizhen was busy tidying up the dishes.

Just as Li Ermei had said, Su Weizhen was wearing a sour expression and was in a very bad mood.

Thanks to Lin Qiao’s earlier warning, she had prepared in advance—some of the more conspicuous items at home had already been put away—but many larger items couldn’t be moved. As soon as the two of them entered, they immediately started looking around, remarking that she was living like the lady of the house.

Su Weizhen hadn’t spent much time with the Xu family, but even a few days during the newlywed period had been enough to roughly understand what kind of people they were.

This visit only reinforced that impression—it was utterly unreasonable.

And, of course, since they were Xu Yuanzheng’s closest relatives, she couldn’t say anything and could only endure it.

After finishing their meal, they finally left, only to return again soon after.

Su Weizhen didn’t even look at them, planning instead to quickly tidy up the house and then go out to chat with Lin Qiao. She really needed someone to talk to, or she would go insane.

Mother Xu had just endured Li Ermei’s attitude outside. Seeing her daughter-in-law’s sour face at home made her temper flare. “Who is that face for? If you don’t want to be part of our family, then leave early. Let me tell you, I never even liked you in the first place—I liked Lan Zi. You barged into our family, so what else do you have to complain about?”

Su Weizhen was so frustrated that her chest ached. She really wanted to tell her that the Lan Zi who had married Xu Yuanzheng soon abandoned him, spreading bad rumors about him everywhere, forcing him to avoid returning home after leaving the military, and had no choice but to start his own business elsewhere.

At the time, she had come for Xu Yuanzheng, drawn by affection and moved by his experiences—but she had never clung desperately. She had only met him once, and the marriage happened because he himself had the intention!

“I married Xu Yuanzheng out of love. This isn’t the old society. Who you favor has nothing to do with him,” Su Weizhen said.

“I’m his mother!” Mother Xu shouted angrily. “Which daughter-in-law talks to her mother-in-law like this? Go back to our village and see—who dares to disrespect their mother-in-law?”

“I shouldn’t have let you come with the army back then. Once you came, you grew wings,” she added.

Xu Xiaomei chimed in, “Among all the sisters-in-law in our family, you’re the most heartless. All the others have no selfish intentions, and we’ve never divided the family. Yet you hide your own savings.”

Su Weizhen replied, “I haven’t eaten a single meal from this family. Why should I give my money to you?”

“I’m still alive along with Yuanzheng’s father! You won’t support us?” Mother Xu plopped down on the bed. “If Yuanzheng thinks the same way, I’ll go ask the army leaders how to educate him.”

Next door, Li Ermei was about to leave for the chicken farm to hand over work to Lin Qiao. Hearing the commotion next door, she couldn’t stand it and stood at the doorway, hands on her hips, shouting, “Su Weizhen, are you putting on a big show for the whole courtyard? Come out quickly. What are you doing hiding at home?”

Su Weizhen: “…”

She lifted her apron and walked straight out from the table. Mother Xu called after her, “Stop! Where are you going? I won’t let you interact with that woman. Don’t you remember how she bullied us just now?”

Su Weizhen wasn’t one for arguing. Ignoring them, she just walked away.

Outside, Li Ermei mocked her, “Besides scowling, what are you good for? You have a mouth on your face, but you can’t speak.”

Su Weizhen said with a straight face, “I never reason with people who don’t understand. It’s a waste of words.”

“Don’t make it sound so noble. You just can’t win the argument. You’re taking the heat for nothing.”

“…”

“Alright, I’m going to find Lin Qiao. Are you coming or not? If not, go back and continue your performance at home.”

Su Weizhen thought of the two large Buddhas in her home and frowned. “I’m coming.”

At the chicken farm, Lin Qiao was carefully inspecting each chicken. Without the bran Su Weizhen had been providing, their growth had slowed a bit, but they were still quite healthy—proof that they were strong birds.

Lin Qiao was pleased, thinking they should start laying eggs soon.

Once they did, she planned to hatch another batch of chicks immediately.

While she was working, Li Ermei led Su Weizhen over. Upon entering, Li Ermei immediately mocked her, saying that Su Weizhen was useless at home, got scolded by her family without defending herself, and could only leave with her help.

Lin Qiao glared at Su Weizhen. “They bullied you?”

“Not really. I don’t care about them,” Su Weizhen replied.

Li Ermei said, “Pride brings suffering. If it weren’t for Lin Qiao, I wouldn’t even bother with you. The drama is so entertaining.”

Lin Qiao hurriedly asked Su Weizhen what had happened.

Su Weizhen briefly explained the situation at home: the family thought the remittance she sent back was too little. The old matriarch was unhappy and took advantage of the New Year to come over, hoping Xu Yuanzheng would agree to send at least half of his allowance back every month. Once they arrived, they realized Su Weizhen was also working at the unit and had her own income.

The old lady immediately got excited. When she did the math, she realized that since the couple had no children, Su Weizhen’s salary alone would be enough for a very comfortable life.

Xu Yuanzheng’s allowance could easily all be sent back home.

Li Ermei made a snide remark, “Then just send it back. I already sent mine. Ah, the fewer complications, the better.”

Lin Qiao looked at her. “Then I’ll tell Instructor Chen. He’ll probably be overjoyed.”

Li Ermei: “……”

Su Weizhen said, “Our Xu has been in the army for a long time. All his achievements now are because he worked hard, learned diligently, and endured hardships. Before marriage, he also took care of his old home, giving all his money away. Over the years, he must have given quite a bit. But after we got married, Xu said he needed to save for our little family, so he started giving less—but he still gave every month. You could say it’s our way of honoring the elders.”

Li Ermei felt a pang of envy.

Other men just understood like that, while her foolish man seemed completely blind.

Lin Qiao said, “It’s not bad that Xu Yuanzheng thinks this way.”

“So I don’t want to make things difficult for Xu Yuanzheng. After all, his mother is his mother. If she wants to make a fuss, let her. As long as Xu Yuanzheng is firm in his own thinking, I have no other concerns. His mother won’t stay here forever; I believe life will get better over time.”

Lin Qiao could roughly understand Su Weizhen’s thoughts. When it came to one’s own family, there were always many considerations. Just like Gu Huayuan—he knew Aunt Zhang didn’t like him coming home and would push him away. But what could he do? He could only move out, voluntarily giving up that home.

But this kind of frustration couldn’t just be swallowed. People need their dignity, and she absolutely couldn’t tolerate being wronged! For example, Gu Huayuan could endure moving out—but she would confront Aunt Zhang!

“Why don’t you just lay it out for them? Just say you don’t agree, and that’s that—no discussion.”

Su Weizhen shook her head. “I’m not afraid of falling out with them. My main concern is dragging Xu Yuanzheng into it. If they make a big scene, we, being the younger generation, might have the right on our side, but it will be turned against us. It could affect Xu Yuanzheng’s future in the army, and our family back home might misunderstand him. I don’t want him to end up like in the memoirs, where he couldn’t even go home.”

“I’m even thinking of not going home for the next few days, just staying in the dorm at work to avoid them.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiao mentally asked Fat Cat, “How did Su Weizhen manage her mother-in-law?”

Fat Cat said, “Exactly like this—patience. Whenever this mother-and-daughter duo upset Su Weizhen in any way, she just endures it, over and over, and eventually it passes naturally.” Endure and endure—it only gets more infuriating, and eventually even the player gets affected.

Lin Qiao didn’t agree. My god, could it be that Miss Weizhen can only win in the end thanks to the heroine aura? The main thing is, for the same villains, when Ermei made a fuss, she had a miserable outcome—yet these two actually ended up with a happy ending.

Enduring forever… she couldn’t think like that. Her fists clenched.

But if the main person doesn’t want to cause trouble, there was nothing she could do. She could only help come up with ideas. “Why don’t you stay at my place? Gu Huayuan and I have already agreed. You stay outside, and if they manage to persuade Xu Yuanzheng, you won’t even know.”

Li Ermei couldn’t help but get excited. “No way, really going to endure it? Coward.” Well, it wasn’t her making the fuss; it was Su Weizhen willingly taking it. She couldn’t blame herself for just watching the show. Oh my.

Lin Qiao said, “Don’t laugh. Zhenzhen has her concerns.” She might not understand fully, but she respected that.

Li Ermei, gloating, said sarcastically, “Let them make a fuss. At worst, they’ll part ways, and she won’t even have ten bucks left.” By then, Su Weizhen and Xu Yuanzheng would also have to go back home.

Su Weizhen and Lin Qiao: “……”

The two exchanged a glance, sensing potential. Then they looked at Li Ermei.

“……” Li Ermei stepped back. “Why are you looking at me?”

“Ermei, I realized you’re the strategist among the three of us—a single remark awakening us from a dream.” Lin Qiao happily linked arms with her. “Ermei, let’s plan together and figure out how to handle this.”

Li Ermei: “……” No, no, no. She had just said it casually—she didn’t actually have a plan. She glanced at Su Weizhen. “This coward doesn’t even dare make a fuss. My advice is useless.”

Lin Qiao said, “Don’t worry. As soon as you reminded me, I suddenly got an idea. But we might need someone to cooperate.”

“Who?”

“You!” Lin Qiao excitedly pulled them down to sit. “I suddenly have an idea. Let’s plan together.”

Once Li Ermei reminded her, Lin Qiao realized that Mother Xu also had her own concerns—money.

Just like Li Ermei sympathized with Instructor Chen, and Aunt Zhang cared about face—these were all weaknesses.

“I think we could do this…”

Lin Qiao’s plan was simple. Everyone in the courtyard knew Li Ermei and Su Weizhen didn’t get along well. Although they later made peace, no one could say they had no conflicts. The person who couldn’t stand to see Su Weizhen doing well was Ermei—so this should be believable.

“Of course, I know Ermei, you genuinely care for Weizhen. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have helped get her out of the room today, right?”

Li Ermei: “……” At that time, she was purely annoyed at the old lady.

Su Weizhen glanced at her, conflicted, but said nothing.

Lin Qiao said, “As long as outsiders think so, that’s enough. You infiltrate the enemy, keep them under control, and extract some information about Zhenzhen and Xu Yuanzheng. Then you betray them immediately, threatening to report Su Weizhen and Captain Xu to the military leaders, demanding Captain Xu be transferred back home. Let’s see if they’re scared.”

Su Weizhen’s eyes lit up. “Xu Yuanzheng is the pride of the Xu family.”

Lin Qiao smiled. “Exactly. She definitely won’t believe Zhenzhen would disregard Xu Yuanzheng, but if Ermei does it, she will believe it—and she’ll definitely be cautious then.”

Li Ermei: “……That probably won’t work.”

“Why not? Don’t worry, Ermei. Everything’s prearranged. No one will misunderstand you. We can even coordinate with Xu Yuanzheng. It’s all just a performance.”

“It’s not like that… I had already yelled at them and sent them out of the house before…”

Lin Qiao: “…”

Su Weizhen: “…” suddenly felt a little touched.

Although the plan had run into some unexpected issues, Lin Qiao thought this method was still worth trying.

The only problem was that Ermei might be going back on her word and taking the person back, so she’d need to be coaxed again.

Li Ermei said, “Wouldn’t that make me look bad?”

Lin Qiao comforted her, “Face doesn’t matter. Later we’ll have something delicious to eat, and your pride will be restored.”

Su Weizhen also said, “I’ll make you baijiu-braised duck then. If it really works out, I’ll treat you to a meal at a restaurant next time.”

“…At least twice.”