Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Conflict

“Mr. Su is so young and beautiful, and so capable, it’s really amazing,” said the young woman, with a face full of envy and admiration, once again feeling the huge gap between people.

“Hello, Sister Su,” the boy called out politely before going off to pick clothes in the men’s section by himself.

Susu’s standardized smile became a bit more genuine, “Not at all, Mr. Li, let me take you inside for a look, your figure is a bit fuller, you could try on…”

“That looks great, I’m going to try it on,” Mr. Li interjected.

…

Susu sent off the smiling brother and sister from the Li Family, carrying big and small bags, before finally sitting down next to the man.

“Wife, you seem so happy?”

Susu nodded, her impression of the Li Mingcheng family from today was quite good.

Looking at how the three siblings spoke and behaved, they weren’t the type to bury schemes behind their words. Their family runs a private business, and judging by their spending today, they must be earning quite a bit.

But she hadn’t seen any of the siblings act like they were better than everyone else, with eyes on the top of their heads, looking down on others; presumably, their parents must be quite decent too.

Li Mengcheng’s elder sister is called Li Yue Ru; her husband works at a steel mill, and they have two children, the elder son is four years old, and the little daughter is just one.

Li Mingcheng is the second child at home, with a younger brother named Li Mingwei, 16 years old, still in junior high school.

Susu felt that the people from the Zhang Family were quite good too, and even offered them a 12% discount, not too high or too low, as a gesture of goodwill rather than trying to curry favor.

“Cough cough…”

Susu put her hands behind her back and deliberately sauntered in front of her younger sister, with a seemingly indifferent glance floating past.

Su Nian, who had just finished checking out a customer, felt her cheeks steadily redden.

With a mix of embarrassment, anger, and annoyance, she stamped her foot, “Elder sister~~~”

“What’s wrong?”

Susu blinked her sparkling big eyes, pretending to be completely innocent.

Su Nian, feeling ashamed, huffed, “Hmph, I’m ignoring you.”

Lu Xiaomei, who had been enjoying the show from the side, quickly pulled the pouty figure aside, winking, “Tell me, what was that situation just now? I saw everything.”

Su Nian, having been teased by the looks of her elder sister and Sister Wan, stamped her foot and shouted, “Sister, Sister Wanwan~ if you keep this up, I won’t be nice to you anymore; I’m really angry.”

Susu and the Little Aunt exchanged a look, their smile barely restrained by sheer will.

“Okay, okay, we’ll stop talking about it, don’t be angry, Xiao Nian.”

Susu nodded in agreement, “Yes, yes, we didn’t see anything just now.”

Su Nian, with a red face, “…”

“Mommy, Little Aunt, Aunt, what are you doing?”

The three people, hearing the voice, looked down and came eye to eye with three pairs of big, dark and round eyes.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Candy, go share with your brother,” Lu Xiaomei quickly pulled out a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candies to usher the three little ones away.

After the lunchtime rush, Susu led her sister and Little Aunt to their little family restaurant for a meal, leaving Lu Xiaoting to watch the kids at the store.

The father and sons had a meal delivered from the small restaurant, and even Xiao Sun, who always went to find his wife every midday, was chased out by his own daughter-in-law.

The few ladies claimed they wanted to discuss women’s topics among themselves, sending the men away.

As it was past the rush hour, each person enjoyed a bowl of noodle soup personally cooked by Xian Yue, talking while they ate.

“Sister-in-law, you don’t know, our Xiao Tian is so mischievous lately; he’s always climbing on the walls in the yard, and it’s a good thing we don’t have any trees, or he’d really want to climb and practically lift the roof off.”

Xian Yue brought up her elder son with a headache. If you discipline him, the grandparents feel too sorry for him; if you don’t, what if he gets hurt?

“Sister-in-law, you have no idea how indulgent Granny and Grandpa Sun are with the kids. If I say one thing, the old couple feels terribly heartbroken.”

Su Xianyue sighed.

Susu, “Didn’t you notice how much Grandpa and Granny Sun spoil Xiao Tian?”

“Exactly, they practically feed the great-grandson mouthful by mouthful.”

Susu frowned, “It won’t do to go on like this. Kids are the best at reading situations. They need to be disciplined when necessary, or else if they aren’t afraid of anything, that won’t do.”

“Sister-in-law, what should I do then? Every time I say something, the grandparents say the child is still young and make all sorts of excuses, leaving me with no recourse.”

Susu finished her last bite of noodles and wiped her mouth.

“This really needs to be addressed by Xiao Sun. After all, they are his own grandparents. As his wife, you’re in a difficult position if you say too much. Speak to Xiao Sun privately and get him to talk to his grandparents. When teaching a child, it’s best to avoid others chiming in with contradictory opinions. You should also take a firmer stance. Besides, Xiao Sun is their real grandson; whatever he says, the old couple won’t take it to heart. You’re still an outsider after all, so just talk to Xiao Sun privately about any issues.”

Su Xianyue nodded her head, “Sister-in-law, I got it. It’s just that I’m scared of speaking too harshly sometimes and hurting the old couple. We all live under the same roof, seeing each other all the time. But keeping this bottled up isn’t right either, and it annoys me intensely.”

“Achoo~ Achoo~”

Xiao Sun, who had just finished eating, sneezed twice in a row and rubbed his nose.

Lu Xiaoting looked at Xiao Sun with a teasing glint in his deep eyes.

“What’s wrong with you, second brother? Why are you staring at me like that?” Xiao Sun felt a shiver run through him at that look and nervously swallowed.

Lu Xiaoting shook his head with a half-smile, “It’s nothing.”

“Daddy.”

“Hmm? What is it, An’an?”

An’an pointed at the greens in her bowl, “Daddy, sister isn’t eating her vegetables; she’s sneakily throwing them into my bowl.”

Lu Xiaoting looked down at his pouting daughter, smiling as he asked, “Lele, is what third brother said true?”

The little girl, unsatisfied, put the piece of green vegetable into her mouth with a discontented face, looking as if she was eating poison.

Tianyu pursed his lips and smilingly picked up the greens his sister had tossed into his bowl and put them back into hers.

Lele’s shoulders sagged as she resignedly swallowed the unsavory vegetable.

…

In the small restaurant, the conversation between the two resonated with the proprietor and the young married woman.

Each shared stories about the “good deeds” of their in-laws, with mother-in-law conflicts being all too common.

“Before you enter the door and the moment you cross the threshold, their faces change so quickly.”

“And how. During my confinement, I couldn’t even eat an egg. They said the chickens at home were sick and hadn’t laid eggs for several days. Then I saw the old lady sneakily saving up a basket of eggs to send to her pregnant daughter. I was almost mad with anger.”

“Ah, my mother-in-law is incredibly biased. My husband is the eldest, so it’s natural for her to live with us and I wouldn’t say anything. But instead, she secretly skimps on my daughter and son’s food to give extra to her younger son’s family.”

“Whether it’s the palm or the back of a hand, it’s all flesh. How can favoritism reach the sky?”

…

Listening to a bunch of married people complain about their in-laws, Su Nian and Lu Xiaomei, two unmarried girls, exchanged glances.