Chapter 130: A Life of Toil

Li Xihua was dumbfounded. She had acted on impulse to ask for a divorce but hadn’t truly made up her mind yet. Yet they, on the other hand, were already thinking about how to divide the spoils. They were calculating what chores she would have to do once she returned to her parents’ home.

For some reason, Li Xihua suddenly had a strange feeling: her sister-in-law had long been hoping for her to divorce and come back, so that the Li family would have one more person working hard every day.

That night, Li Xihua shared a room with Fang and Tang Xin. The three women chattered away late into the night, hardly sleeping until dawn. Li Xihua had her bedding at home; it wasn’t the first time she returned to her parents’ place to stay.

It was Tang Xin’s idea—since her elder sister had been married for years, she hadn’t had a proper moment of closeness with their mother. Actually, Tang Xin feared that Li Xihua’s resolve wasn’t strong enough and that if another scoundrel came along, she might be easily swayed again.

So it was better to fortify the victory, to deepen the mother-daughter bond through heartfelt talks. It was also a way to reassure the eldest sister that the Li family would always be her strongest support, no matter what she decided, standing by and understanding her.

This way, Li Xihua could put aside all distractions and firmly divorce that money-hungry scoundrel, Qian Darong.

“Sister, step forward boldly—we’re all behind you!” they said.

That very night, after the women had fallen asleep, Fang and Li Xihua had the same dream, sharing identical scenes. In the dream, there was no meddling from Tang Xin; Li Xihua was endlessly scolded by her mother-in-law as a useless hen that laid no eggs.

At Qian Darong’s repeated urging, Li Xihua finally adopted a child. But unexpectedly, having a child only made her life more miserable. The parents-in-law and husband were lazy and gluttonous, and with an extra child to raise, Li Xihua had to do even more work. Food became scarcer, and in the end—

In the dream’s final scene, Li Xihua died, starved to death.

When they woke, mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both breaking out in cold sweat. Fang thought, “Thankfully, my daughter is still alive; I must treat her better from now on.” Li Xihua thought, “Thankfully, I’m still alive; I must never be foolish again and take better care of myself.”

Of course, both were deeply grateful. Without Tang Xin’s intervention, perhaps the nightmare would have played out in reality. They sighed in unison: Li Sheng truly married the right woman!

Claiming she had come to help her mother, Li Xihua kept her word, waking almost before dawn to prepare breakfast, even stopping Fang from getting up.

“Mother, it’s time for me, your daughter, to show you some filial respect,” she said.

At her in-laws, Li Xihua had risen at this hour daily, working tirelessly from morning till night without a moment’s rest. Even then, the old madam always found fault, constantly criticizing her daughter-in-law.

It felt utterly unfilial—working like a beast for others, while her own mother suffered hardships at home. So now that she was back, Li Xihua was determined to care for her mother.

Fang was soon persuaded, smiling as she said she wanted to experience the devotion of a daughter. This was also Tang Xin’s idea: since the eldest sister was a hard worker who tended to overthink when idle, it was better to keep her busy. More importantly, it gave her a sense of belonging and presence in her own family, preventing her from being deceived back into the Qian household.

Because the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law often talked openly, Tang Xin intentionally probed Li Xihua for information. She learned that Li Xihua was little more than a live-in maid at the Qian house—working hard but unpaid.

Damn it, Tang Xin wanted to curse again. No wonder Qian Darong, the despicable man, didn’t want a divorce. An overworked, underfed maid who endured abuse without pay—where else could they find another like her?

Thus, mother and daughter happily agreed: Li Xihua would get up to make breakfast and do chores, while Fang rested in bed—a leisure she had rarely known before.

Fang smiled as she gently pulled the blanket back over her daughter-in-law, who was sound asleep nearby. The early spring morning was still chilly.

Then, when Tang Xin finally woke—no, she didn’t sleep in naturally—someone called her:

“Tang Xin, get up, it’s time to eat!”

The eldest sister-in-law was indeed one of the most annoying women in the world. Well, one of them—her younger sister-in-law was also irritating.

Rubbing her eyes, Tang Xin muttered inwardly: Can’t I just have a good sleep? After last night’s midnight talks, no one knew when she had fallen asleep. Yet they had to wake her early just to have porridge. The eldest sister-in-law’s actions were downright cruel.

There was nothing she dared not say; Tang Xin frankly expressed her feelings to Li Xihua.

“You’re really shameless,” Li Xihua rolled her eyes. “Look at you, lazy and still making excuses. Which daughter-in-law doesn’t get up before dawn to work? You sleep in until we have to call you, then blame me for disturbing your sleep?”

“I was sleeping so well, and you woke me up. Isn’t it your fault?”

“You—” Taking a deep breath, Li Xihua reminded herself: Remember the dream. Be kinder to your sister-in-law. If she’s delicate and lazy, so be it. She’ll just do more housework.

Not wanting to continue the quarrel, Li Xihua went out to wash dishes, deciding to do more so her mother would have less to do later.

As the family ate breakfast, Li Erniang showed up again—this time, surprisingly, to see Li Xihua. They thought she might be compassionate, but she came to scold her great-niece.

She scolded Li Xihua for being ungrateful, saying divorce was shameful and would invite gossip. She added, “Your nephew-in-law just can’t father children—that’s not a big problem. Why are you so eager to stir up trouble and make your niece divorce?”

This time, Fang spoke up. Finally, she could be a confident, resolute mother:

“She’s my own flesh and blood. I can’t bear to let her suffer in her in-laws’ home. Is it wrong to bring her back?”

Tang Xin joined in with a bright smile: “Yes, I want my eldest sister back. We can support her for life.”

She looked provocatively at Li Erniang. “Aunt, do you have a problem with that?”

“If you have objections, keep them to yourself. My eldest sister isn’t eating your family’s food, so what right do you have to complain?”

Though woken abruptly and annoyed, Tang Xin’s bad mood passed quickly. After washing up, she wandered around before breakfast.

Indeed, her eldest sister was diligent and capable—rising early to cook, wash clothes, clean the yard, and even tend the nearby vegetable patch.

So industrious and efficient, it was almost unbelievable. Tang Xin glanced at the mother-in-law, who sat leisurely nearby, her wrinkled old face beaming with a smile.

This made Tang Xin even more convinced that it was right for the eldest sister-in-law to divorce and return home. Even if they had to support her for life, she and Li Sheng could easily afford it.