Chapter 138: Purchasing Soybeans

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu's face turned alternately pale and flushed. She had not yet fully swallowed the food in her mouth.

"Who is eating your food? What a joke! Is there anything of yours that is even tasty? Talk nonsense, am I eating your food here?"

"You married my son, so your things belong to my son. I am Chengjin's mother, aren't I allowed to eat my son's things?"

Gu Xiaoyao found her logic extremely bizarre. Even if this logic sounded correct in theory, she had no intention of entertaining it.

"Your son's possessions naturally include a share for you. However, everything you are eating right now was hunted and brought back by me from the mountains."

"Your son is currently lying in bed resting. Therefore, everything here was provided by me. There is nothing of your son's here, which means you have no share either."

Madam Liu refused to listen to such reasoning. She frantically gulped down the food in her hands, wishing she could swallow everything edible into her stomach.

"I am not going to do any chores. I am your mother-in-law! For a mother-in-law to take orders from you, wouldn't that make me a laughingstock to others?"

She was acting this way simply because she had been starving for days, driven to the absolute limit of hunger. If she hadn't been starved to desperation, she would never have sneaked into the kitchen to scavenge for food.

"You will be a laughingstock even if you don't do any work. Anyway, you've already swallowed the food, so whether you like it or not, you are going to work."

"I will give you two choices: either I beat the food you just ate right back out of your stomach, or you start helping me around the house tomorrow."

Gu Xiaoyao presented her with two options, both of which seemed extremely grueling to Madam Liu.

She did not want to choose either of these paths; she simply wanted to loaf around at home and wait to die.

"I won't work! I am your mother-in-law, your elder! What right do you have to make me work? If you have the guts, go ahead and beat the food out of me!"

Still failing to learn her lesson, she persisted in treating Gu Xiaoyao like an ordinary, submissive new bride, assuming Gu Xiaoyao was merely putting on airs.

In reality, whenever Gu Xiaoyao said she would do something, she followed through with action. Since Madam Liu chose the first option, Gu Xiaoyao did not waste words and rolled up her sleeves.

"Very well, I understand. I must admire your courage."

For the first time, Gu Xiaoyao felt that this mother-in-law truly possessed commendable bravery.

Madam Liu was grabbed by the back collar, feeling just like a mouse caught by the scruff of its neck. The choking sensation instantly terrified her.

As Gu Xiaoyao raised a fist to strike, Madam Liu shrieked and hugged her head in terror.

"Don't hit me! Please don't hit me! I yield, I'll work! I'll work, okay?!"

Madam Liu had initially wanted to stand her ground, but seeing the blow actually coming down, panic set in and she begged for mercy on the spot.

After begging for mercy, Madam Liu felt utterly humiliated by her own cowardice. Once Gu Xiaoyao released her, she sat down on the ground and burst into tears.

"Oh, Heavens above! What sin have I committed in my past life? Why on earth did I let Chengjin marry such a shrew!"

Seeing that Madam Liu had finally conceded, Gu Xiaoyao released her collar. In truth, she had already figured out what chores Madam Liu could handle.

"Since you've agreed, you'll start working tomorrow. I need a large quantity of soybeans right now; go around the village and procure soybeans for me."

Sniffling and wiping away tears, Madam Liu bewailed her bitter fate, wishing she could turn back time.

Had she known her life would become this miserable, why on earth had she spent two taels of silver to buy this bride in the first place?!

This was all simply her wretched destiny!