The two sisters-in-law from Old Zhang’s family squatted in the corner of the wall, each lost in her own thoughts.
Lin Juhua curled her lips, wanting to ask if she had been back to her mother’s home recently, and wanted to advise her to visit her mother-in-law often to chat and keep her company.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She worried that her words might be misunderstood. This sister-in-law had helped her so much before, and she wanted her to be well.
Women, it’s not easy at all!
"Juhua, what do you think about transferring my household registration to the village and joining everyone to work in the fields for work points?"
Lin Juhua blurted out in shock, "Sister-in-law, are you crazy?"
After shouting, she patted her lips and then softened her tone, looking at the other woman, she said warmly, "How much is the work points for a year? Don’t be hasty, listen to what I have to say first."
Huang Cuilan paused, nodding her head.
"Isn’t it around three hundred and sixty? That’s only considering the weight of raw grains. In the best harvest years, after accounting for losses in the autumn harvest, and discarding the wheat bran, there are only about two hundred and fifty pounds of finished grain, right? It doesn’t reach three hundred and sixty in our hands, does it? Have you also calculated the city’s basic grains, even if you do nothing, how much is there? Why do so many people want to come to the city? Do you think they’re stupid?
Moreover, the most important point. Have you thought about it? If you stay in the village working in the fields, how quickly you’ll age? After a autumn harvest, you’ll be as dark as a ghost. Then you’ll be older than mom, what will big brother think?"
Lin Juhua spoke while watching Huang Cuilan’s facial expression, noticing that she seemed to abandon the idea, breathing a sigh of relief, yet still not entirely assured, she planned to wrap things up again.
Otherwise, if this sister-in-law is persuaded by someone with intent to run off to support rural construction, she’d really have to change sister-in-laws. She doesn’t want a stranger meddling in Old Zhang’s family. The three of them as sisters-in-law get along well without any messy issues.
She felt she had shared her heart and continued to say, "I used to work in the village while the children’s dad worked in the city. Once, Jiao Jiao came back, and as soon as she saw me, she was angry. Do you know what she said?"
Huang Cuilan shook her head.
Lin Juhua smiled, "She said, second sister-in-law, us women should cherish ourselves, don’t use ourselves like men. You love second brother and want to lighten his load by working hard in the fields, that’s not wrong, but often things go reverse. Your hard work will stay in second brother’s heart, but over time it can easily become taken for granted.
If you meet an ungrateful man, in ten years you become a village woman, he’s somebody at the table, even if he’s not disdainful, his friends will think you aren’t a match for him. If there’s a woman who sticks to him, you become leftover and still don’t match him, won’t you be aggravated?
People are vain. Not just men, even women, when dating, also find a proper man, so when people talk about your man, you feel proud. Let alone men?
They have more opportunities to go out than women, meeting all sorts of people, some kind-hearted, others malicious in stirring trouble. If his wife makes him lose face, once, twice he might not mind, but over time, can he still not mind?
Go and tidy yourself up, don’t have a situation one day when you’re out with the second brother, people see you and give you an unexpected surprise and immediately call you aunty."
At that time, mom was laughing loudly while listening by the side, saying Jiao Jiao was talking nonsense, but later privately told me, Jiao Jiao makes sense, advised me to do less work."
Huang Cuilan smiled slightly, "Mom is a good person!"


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