The Lin Yuanshan couple were not the type to be careless; they knew that marrying their daughter to the Zhang family was considered marrying down. So they gritted their teeth and used more than half of their savings to buy a small courtyard house for their eldest son and daughter-in-law in an alley near the Zhang family's home in town. This way, when their son went out on his caravan guard duties, his wife would have her natal family nearby to look after her.
Lin Yousheng had been a filial child from a young age. As soon as he was old enough to understand, he helped his mother take care of his younger siblings, and when he grew a bit older, he went hunting and worked alongside his father.
Now that he was getting married, his parents naturally didn't want to shortchange their eldest son.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Madam Zhang should have been living near her natal home now. Why would she need to waddle back to the countryside while pregnant?
She had a good relationship with her husband, which was why she had agreed to sell the house that belonged to the two of them to help her in-laws redeem their family property.
But what was the situation now?
That white-eyed wolf of a brother-in-law from the other branch of the family was clearly coming back to cause trouble! How could she possibly be happy about that?
Including this suddenly appeared so-called Second Aunt, she found everything about her irritating!
"Hmph, what hunger? Didn't she slap it all onto the ground herself? That just proves she's not hungry at all, let her endure it!"
"Eldest daughter-in-law, this is your Second Aunt! How can you speak to an elder like that?"
Lady Liu knew why her daughter-in-law was unhappy, but she still had to speak up to stop her sarcastic remarks. The specifics could be discussed later, but they shouldn't leave room for criticism on the surface. Even if this Miss Chu might not understand, they couldn't be so inconsiderate.
"Hah, Second Uncle is gone, where did this Second Aunt come from?"
"Zhang Xuanniang! If you continue to disrespect your elders like this, don't blame me for telling my son to send you back to your natal home!"
The mother-in-law's cold rebuke immediately frightened the disgruntled daughter-in-law. Zhang Xuanniang bit her lip in anger but finally obediently shut her mouth.
After the two had finished their argument, Chu Chi finally realized as she rubbed her stomach.
So this gurgling was because she was hungry?
In the past, when she was hungry, her whole body would feel weak and she couldn't walk. Now when she was hungry, it was just her stomach making noise?
Hmm, hungry. Time to go hunting. Her brain fed her useful information. When it came to eating, her execution was always 100%.
She stood up, about to wander outside.
"Sister-in-law, sit here and don't move. I'll bring you a cloth to dry your hair, otherwise you'll get your clothes all wet in a bit."
Lady Liu grabbed her arm, muttering instructions. She put her well-fed niece back on the bed, telling the child to lie there and play by herself. Then she lifted the lid of the large wooden chest nearby, took out two clean cotton towels, and walked over.
She started drying the hair of this silly girl without hesitation.
"Sister-in-law, you must always dry your hair after washing it. It's fine in the summer, but in cold weather, you can easily catch a chill. Don't do this again, understand?
Also, when a woman goes out, she must comb her hair properly. You absolutely cannot go out with your hair loose like this, it's too improper."
Lady Liu chattered on, using all the same words she usually used to remind her daughters.
She understood clearly in her heart that although she called her sister-in-law, this was still just a child. Even a year younger than her eldest son, she could easily be her mother.
Zhang Xuanniang stroked her belly and pouted. Her mother-in-law was good in every way, except that her heart was too soft! Who knows where this idiot Chu came from, and yet she really accepted her as a sister-in-law for no reason?
What if her family comes looking for her in the future? Would their family be considered kidnappers? If they tried to drive her out now, would this idiot beat her up? She was pregnant, she couldn't take a beating!
Pregnant women tend to overthink, and she got herself all tangled up in her thoughts.
Chu Chi felt the soft hand on her head, listening to the chattering words. This feeling was strange and unfamiliar, but she didn't dislike it.
"Hungry."
It took her a while to remember to answer the question, making Lady Liu chuckle softly.
"Sister-in-law knows you're hungry. I reckon Fen'er is almost done over there. How about we dry your hair and put it up in a simple bun, then we can eat, alright?"
"Sister-in-law?"
Chu Chi was confused, what did this mean? But Lady Liu didn't realize she was asking a question, thinking she was just addressing her.
"Yes. Do you need something, sister-in-law?"
"Sister-in-law, is that me?"
"Yes, of course. I'm your elder brother's wife, and you're my younger brother-in-law's wife, so we're sisters-in-law. From now on, I'm your elder sister-in-law, and you're my younger sister-in-law."
These relationships sounded a bit complicated. Chu Chi took quite a while to process it, then turned to look at the fuming Zhang Xuanniang beside her. She remembered the knowledge she had secretly learned from interacting with humans back at the base.
"Is she... sister?"
"You silly girl, you can't just call people whatever you like."
Lady Liu laughed, gently patting her shoulder.
"This is your nephew's wife, she's your junior. She should call you Second Aunt."
"Junior? Then... I'm an elder?"
"Of course."
Lady Liu put down the now-wet cotton towel and picked up another clean one, continuing to dry her hair.
"Our family's parents-in-law have already passed away. Currently, the elders in this household are just us three. The rest are all your juniors."
Afraid that she still wouldn't understand, Lady Liu explained very carefully.
"When we go out in the future, listen to me introduce you. You can't just call people based on their age, understand? We have to consider generational hierarchy.
In some families, you might even find 70-year-old grandsons and 3-year-old great-uncles.
There's an old saying that the youngest branch produces the elders, and that's the principle.
Take our family for example. You'an's father is more than ten years younger than your elder brother, and only six years older than Yousheng, but isn't he still their uncle?"
In fact, Chu Chi didn't really understand much, but she still nodded. After all, she was a considerate zombie—no, from today on, she was a considerate person, and she needed to start learning how to use her fresh brain.
Lady Liu thought she had really understood and nodded approvingly. It's not scary if one's a bit slow, as long as they can take in teachings. After all, she had taught so many children, one more wouldn't matter.
But come to think of it, she became slow because of an injury, not because she was born this way, so it must be different from that situation.
These two completely unsynchronized trains of thought somehow managed to sync up in conversation. Isn't that just miraculous?
After thoroughly drying her hair, Lady Liu used her own peach wood hairpin to skillfully put it up in a simple bun. She then helped straighten out the twisted clothes before smiling and saying,
"Sister-in-law, let's eat first. Later, I'll teach you how to do your hair."
"Mm."
Chu Chi touched her head, remembering how humans interacted with each other. With a blank face, she rasped out a thanks.
"Thank you. Elder sister-in-law."
I'm so clever, learning so fast!
She gave herself a satisfied mental thumbs-up.
"You're welcome."
Lady Liu checked on her little niece who had fallen asleep playing on the bed, carefully covered her little belly with a piece of clothing, then turned and smiled, quietly beckoning,
"Let's go eat."
