The next day, the weather was clear and the sky was bright.
As soon as the morning sun revealed its head, the Shen family's thatched cottage became lively.
The Yu family had indeed come, and not just Yu Jiansheng alone.
Zhao Xiaomei's hateful in-laws had also come along.
Su Xiaoqi prepared bitter buckwheat tea and a plate of sun-dried peanuts and walnuts.
Zhao Shi and Old Madam Yu took their seats in the center of the main hall.
The guests lined up on both sides. Only the elders of the Yu family had seats, while the younger generations stood.
When Madam Qian saw that the Yu family had arrived, she followed close behind.
As soon as she entered and saw the scene, she was startled.
She quickly regained her composure and got straight to the point: "The grain seeds are here. I need them quickly. Give them to me."
Su Xiaoqi glanced at Shen Yun, who was standing beside her. He understood and invited Madam Qian to sit opposite the elder Yu couple.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Great Aunt? Here are walnuts specially bought by my husband. Use a stone to crack some and eat them," Su Xiaoqi called out.
Yu Jiansheng, who had taken a sip of tea, suddenly clutched his stomach and hunched over on his stool:
"It hurts, it hurts so much, it's killing me..."
Su Xiaoqi cried out in surprise, "Heavens, Eldest Brother-in-law, aren't you feeling well lately?"
Su Xiaoqi's expression was overly exaggerated.
Yu Jiansheng was startled and hurriedly said he was fine, that he was in excellent health.
Su Xiaoqi said with a serious face, "Your complexion is dark, your eyes are swollen, your face is pale, and your qi and blood are stagnant. Have you been coughing a lot lately?"
Yu Jiansheng looked at her in surprise, "How... how did you know?"
Su Xiaoqi thought to herself: How could she not know? These were obvious symptoms of a cold. He had coughed several times since arriving at the Su family's.
Shen Yun seized the opportunity and said, "Xiaoqi knows some medicine. Brother-in-law, why don't you let Xiaoqi take your pulse?"
Father Yu said with a grim expression, "We don't have money."
Mother Yu, Madam Huang, was somewhat worried about her son's condition but was equally unwilling to spend money. She nudged Zhao Xiaomei with her elbow.
"Isn't she your cousin's wife? See if she'll treat him for free."
Zhao Xiaomei's face flushed, and she bit her lip, looking pleadingly at Su Xiaoqi.
"Ah, we're all relatives. Talking about money would be too formal.
I'll treat Brother-in-law for free," Su Xiaoqi said with a hollow laugh.
After staging a little play, she finally got to take Yu Jiansheng's pulse legitimately.
His pulse was indeed stagnant, and the answer was obvious.
The reason Zhao Xiaomei had been unable to conceive for eight years was due to Yu Jiansheng.
Su Xiaoqi made up her mind and gave Shen Yun a confident look.
Their eyes met, but no one else noticed.
"How is it? Is my son alright?" Madam Huang asked, her face tinged with unhealthy paleness as she looked at her son, who looked like he could fall over with a puff of wind. She felt uneasy.
"Brother-in-law is not feeling well and needs proper recuperation," Su Xiaoqi chose her words carefully.
She was contemplating how to convey the problem lay with Yu Jiansheng without hurting his male pride.
Su Xiaoqi explained Yu Jiansheng's health issues and then, under the guise of writing a prescription, took Zhao Xiaomei to her room.
"What? I, my husband, he... he can't have children." Zhao Xiaomei covered her mouth. The corner of her lower lip was bruised and hurt when touched.
Su Xiaoqi pursed her lips and repeated word for word:
"That's right. Your body is fine. The problem is with him."
"No, they won't believe it." Zhao Xiaomei was first panicked, then covered her face and cried.
Su Xiaoqi felt a little helpless. She once again experienced the Zhao family women's tendency to cry easily.
She wasn't good at comforting people, so she summoned Shen Xiaomei and went to discuss it with Shen Yun.
As soon as she explained her thoughts to Shen Yun, he immediately had an idea: "Leave it to me."
Seeing that the problem that had been giving her a headache was taken care of by Shen Yun, Su Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief.
She returned to the room to check on Zhao Xiaomei.
Shen Xiaomei and Zhao Xiaozhu were on either side, each saying a word, but it seemed ineffective.
This was because Zhao Xiaomei was convinced that if Yu Jiansheng couldn't have children, she would be childless for the rest of her life.
She felt she had no future support and didn't want to live anymore.
Su Xiaoqi, hearing her talk about dying, patted her shoulder with a palm.
"Before, everyone said you had a problem, and it was understandable that you wanted to die. Now, it's clearly someone else's fault, and you're still talking about giving up.
I think you're intentionally not wanting to live, and you don't want your Aunt or Grandmother to live well either."
"No, I don't have that thought.
Your grandmother is biased towards sons. Let's not even mention that.
Your aunt raised you from when you were a baby, feeding you and taking care of your every need.
Yet, you're talking about dying for such a scumbag.
Aren't you trying to anger her to death?"
Su Xiaoqi's words were quite harsh.
Zhao Xiaomei couldn't bear it and started crying again.
Before her crying had stopped, the door opened.
Yu Jiansheng, led by Shen Yun, entered and also started crying.
Su Xiaoqi's head ached.
Shen Yun beckoned to them, leading everyone out.
As soon as the door closed, the crying inside became even louder.
Su Xiaoqi furrowed her brows and asked Shen Yun what he had said to them.
Shen Yun glared at her and told her not to pry, as it was a private matter between men.
Su Xiaoqi pouted, "Hmph, cross the river and burn the bridge."
If she hadn't been smart and observant enough to discover Yu Jiansheng's problem,
Zhao Xiaomei would have soon been driven to death by the elder Yu couple.
While they were talking, Madam Qian had already grown impatient.
She kept shouting at Su Xiaoqi to give them the hidden grain seeds.
Su Xiaoqi was annoyed with her.
She thought that she had married her daughter into such a family, and when something happened, she didn't even bother to show concern, only thinking of herself.
Truly selfish.
As Su Xiaoqi cursed inwardly, Zhao Xiaozhu, who was standing beside her, suddenly spoke up:
"My mother only cares about my little brother.
My elder sister, second sister, and I are all unimportant.
My second sister has been gone for so many years, and she acts as if she never gave birth to her.
She never even thought of finding her."
Su Xiaoqi had read about this in books.
Madam Qian was fertile and had given birth to five children in four pregnancies.
The first four were named Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum.
Finally, she was blessed with a son, whom she cherished dearly and named Baogui.
Zhao Xiaomei was gentle and weak-willed, allowing Madam Qian to mold her.
Zhao Xiaolan, however, had a fiery temper.
One day, after a minor argument with Madam Qian, she ran off with a peddler who had come to the village to sell goods.
She was never heard from again.
Madam Qian had never thought of looking for her.
Now, many people in the village assumed Madam Qian had only given birth to three daughters and one son.
Zhao Xiaozhu was naturally a taciturn person.
However, Madam Qian's actions in the past few days had completely chilled her heart.
This caused her to develop resentment towards Madam Qian as well.
"She's so detestable, I can't let her have it easy," Su Xiaoqi patted Zhao Xiaozhu's shoulder and put on a fake smile as she walked into the main hall.
She took out a small cloth bag from her embrace.
"Here, the grain seeds are in here. There are three catties left.
Since both families want them, why don't you discuss how to divide them?"
"What? There are only three catties in total, and we have to share them between two families.
Su Xiaoqi, you must have more. Hurry up and take it out!" Madam Qian was furious.
She had been waiting here since early morning, all for the free grain seeds.
If Su Xiaoqi told her there were only this many, it wouldn't do.
"If Great Aunt doesn't believe me, why don't you go look for yourself? You know this place better than I do anyway."
Su Xiaoqi's words were a veiled reference to Madam Qian's past habit of coming to the Shen family to snatch things.
However, Madam Qian, with her thick skin, wouldn't feel embarrassed.
This was because the Shen family lived in their old house.
Therefore, she always regarded the Shen family's belongings as her own, which she could take or leave as she pleased.
While Madam Qian was giving Su Xiaoqi a hard time, the elder Yu couple snatched the cloth bag and hid it in their embrace.
Shen Yun reminded them coolly, "Great Aunt, the grain seeds are gone."
"Hey, take it out!" Madam Qian immediately turned her attention to Madam Huang.
"We got it first," Madam Huang shouted defiantly.
"I don't care. This is my nephew's family," Madam Qian was not afraid.
The elder Yu couple exchanged glances, supported each other, and rushed towards the door.
Madam Qian quickly caught up and held onto the cloth bag, refusing to let go.
In the ensuing struggle, a commotion ensued.
Su Xiaoqi stood at the doorway, coldly watching them make a scene in public over three catties of grain seeds, a cold sneer rising in her heart.