Chapter 163: Chapter 163

As soon as she entered the house, she found Grandma had come.

"Xiao Xue! You’re back!" Grandma Li Xiuying beamed with joy upon seeing her.

She had been busy lately and hadn’t visited Grandma’s house much, except to deliver things, and she’d leave in a rush afterward.

"Grandma! How come you’re here, isn’t the house busy?" At this time, she should be busy planting something in the garden.

"I heard about your dad! Came to have a look!" Li Xiuying said, glancing at Bai Xianglan, who hadn’t spoken, "Xianglan, sister, you’ve had a hard life, but now it’s finally looking up!"

"Old sister! My sister-in-law was so ruthless! Sigh! Daliang and I have been separated for almost forty years!" Bai Xianglan, hearing Li Xiuying’s words, couldn’t help but start crying, and moved to sit on the kang.

The two of them already knew each other, and now they found common ground and started chatting away.

"My daughter suffered so much under her, if I’d known you were her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t have suffered so! Grandma Bai was truly cutthroat and shrewd!" Li Xiuying said, making a religious gesture, her face full of dislike and fear.

Wang Cuihua came back in after fetching firewood, and Lin Xue took out some melon seeds and candies from her bag for the two grandmothers, made them tea, and let them chat while she went to help her mother stoke the fire.

Dong Sihan was also very obedient, staying close to Wang Cuihua, trying to help wherever she could.

Though still thin, she was no longer weak and her spirits were better.

"Sihan, I’m going to the town tomorrow, do you want to visit your Grandma?" Lin Xue asked carefully, afraid to upset the little girl, but still saw a look of loneliness on her face.

"Sister, can I... can I not go? They definitely won’t recognize me. Sister, I’ll eat less and work more, can I stay here?" As she spoke, tears started falling.

A child of only eight years, without the protection of her parents, living under someone else’s roof—just the thought made Lin Xue’s heart ache.

"Alright! Then you can stay! From now on, you’re my... no, Lin Xue’s sister! This is your home! Your sister can definitely afford to raise a sister! Don’t eat less, eat more! That’s how you can grow tall! Rest at home for a few days, and once the wound on your foot heals, I’ll send you to school! You’ll study alongside your brothers and sisters!" she said.

She was still getting used to her new name, often catching herself referring to herself as Bai Ruxue.

Dong Sihan was shocked to hear this; to be given a meal was already a luxury, let alone being sent to school.

"Sister, I don’t want to go to school. I’ll just help Auntie at home and take care of the kids! School costs money; I won’t go!" Dong Sihan shook her head.

"This child is truly considerate!" Wang Cuihua said, looking at the young child who was already learning to read social cues, feeling deeply for her. "If you’d like, you can also call me Mom, just like Sister Xiao Xue!"

"Mom!" Dong Sihan kneeled on the floor in the outer room to greet Wang Cuihua, calling her mom, and then kowtowed three times.

No one had taught her that, yet the child knew so much.

Lin Xue, seeing this, was delighted and rushed to help her up, "Stand up! From now on, our house will have eight children!" she said to Wang Cuihua.

"Exactly! She’s our family’s sixth child now!" Wang Cuihua said, smiling until her eyes disappeared, as everything seemed to be going well.

"Sister! Do I have five brothers and sisters now?" Dong Sihan stood up, clearly happy hearing the mother and daughter talk.

Being an only child, she had never been spoiled at home; even though her parents married for love, they didn’t pamper their only daughter. Instead, she had to help her mom with chores from a young age.

"Yes! When the holidays come the day after tomorrow, you’ll meet them!" Lin Xue said, patting Dong Sihan’s head, "Go light the fire! Let’s get the cooking started!"

That evening, the three of them made a big table of dishes.

Now that Grandma Bai didn’t dare to come over, they felt freer to enjoy delicious food, and Lin Xue no longer periodically stored things in her special space.

In this way, Lin Xue felt reassured going out, not only because Bai Xianglan stayed home with her mom, but also because Grandma Bai didn’t dare drop by, which put her mind at ease.

At the dining table, Bai Xianglan brought up the topic of the job transfer.

"Old sister, originally this job transfer from my husband was meant for my daughter-in-law, but Xiao Xue said since Cuihua has given birth to their seven children and her health isn’t as strong as before, and since the family already has two breadwinners, adding my little pension means Cuihua doesn’t need to work outside; she can just stay home to look after the kids and tend the garden! Since there’s no need to go out to work, that means the job transfer opportunity is available! Young Yongsheng works at the milk powder factory; why not give this opportunity to his wife, so the couple can be together?"

What Bai Xianglan said was straightforward, leaving Li Xiuying moved and excited.

She had no reason to refuse. The fact that they didn’t give it to her daughter was because they cared for her daughter, and that made her extremely happy. Now that her daughter had such a mother-in-law, she wouldn’t have to worry about her being taken advantage of anymore.

"This is truly Yingying’s good fortune! Who knew she could also work at the milk powder factory with Yongsheng! It’s something I dare not even imagine!" Li Xiuying expressed her gratitude, making Bai Xianglan happy too. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noᴠelfire.net

Who would have thought such a simple job transfer could bring so much joy?

Originally, giving this job opportunity to Gangzi was fine, but seeing the things Grandma Bai did, combined with the fact that her husband died without knowing who his real son was, all thanks to Grandma Bai, she refused to give the job to her son out of fear of not facing her husband after death. Therefore, she severed ties with Gangzi, fearing she’d bring trouble to her biological son.

Now, seeing how happy this job opportunity made her old sister, it seemed worth it. She hadn’t done much for her only daughter-in-law, but helping her family was good.

"Old sister, don’t thank me so much, I have just one daughter-in-law, and helping her family makes me happy! In the future, I’ll have to rely on them, this old lady! Raising a son who isn’t mine, yet relying on my biological son whom I never raised to take care of me in my old age — it’s hard to bear!" she said, her eyes turning red again.

"Mom, you shouldn’t talk like that! We’re happy to have a mom like you! If you can stay home in the future to help with the kids, it’d be a great help! You have no idea how tiring it is to take care of two kids!" Wang Cuihua chimed in, comforting her.

Hearing Wang Cuihua call her mom, Bai Xianglan felt reassured, "Mom is happy to help you! As long as you don’t mind mom being useless!"

Seeing the family’s happiness and harmony, Li Xiuying felt deeply gratified.

Knowing her daughter’s future would be worry-free gave her peace of mind; after all, this daughter was her favorite. While others favored their sons, the couple had a special fondness for their daughter.

Wang Cuihua never expected to get along so well with her mother-in-law; thinking of Grandma Bai, she especially cherished such a mother-in-law.