The second watch, asking for pink votes.
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Lian Jizu had never done this kind of work before, but he was sowhat intimidated by Lian Manman, so he reluctantly climbed out of bed.
"I’ll go," Lian Lanlan said with a forced smile. She could tell that Lian Manman’s words indirectly included her.
"Aunt, if you hadn’t spoken up, I’d have almost forgotten," said Lian Manman with a smile. "We just asked Jizu why my eldest uncle’s wife, my sister-in-law, and the others aren’t coming back to take care of Grandma. Jizu said no one can take care of Grandma as well as Aunt can. With Aunt here, my eldest uncle and aunt are relieved, and we’re all reassured too."
Lian Lanlan followed Lian Jizu out of the room to fetch firewood for cooking.
During this ti, Lady Zhou sat on the bed without saying a word.
Earlier, Lian Manman had tested the waters from the outer room, and now seeing Lady Zhou’s reaction, she felt even more certain. Lady Zhou couldn’t stay in Thirty Mile Camp; she must be particularly eager to return to Taicang.
"Grandma, since Aunt and Jizu are not here, we have a question for you. Do you want to stay here in Thirty Mile Camp, or do you want to go back to Taicang?" Knowing that indirect speech wouldn’t work with Lady Zhou, Lian Manman asked straightforwardly.
Lady Zhou kept her face dark and stayed silent for a long ti.
Because of her stubbornness, she was tricked and brought back from Taicang, yet she didn’t learn her lesson. Now putting on this attitude, clearly wanting to force the sons and daughters-in-law at ho to give in, flatter her, and pave the way for her.
But this ti, Lian Manman had made up her mind—no one was going to indulge Lady Zhou any longer.
"Alright, Grandma, take your ti to think about it. Once you’ve made up your mind, let us know," said Lian Manman. "If you want to stay here in Thirty Mile Camp, Aunt and Jizu will take care of you. Jizu will do the rough work, while Aunt handles cooking, boiling water, and the finer tasks of looking after you. This has all been arranged by my eldest uncle’s side... We’ll keep our distance, lest others laugh at you. With so many sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and granddaughters all living together, yet no one’s tending to you, forcing those who’ve separated to co over instead."
"Grandma, if you’re unhappy, just keep cursing and making a fuss. When we hear the news, we’ll surely co over to help you. If Aunt and Jizu have not taken good care of you, whether you want to fight, scold, or involve the Governnt Office, just say the word, and we’ll follow through without hesitation."
"Oh, and there’s one more thing I should let you know. We’ve already inford the neighbors, so you can rest assured, Jizu won’t run away, and Aunt won’t shirk her responsibility either. They’ll definitely stay here to keep you company."
"That’s all for now," said Lian Manman and then stood up. "Dad, Mom, do you have anything else to say?"
Lady Zhang shook her head definitively.
"Well then, Mom, you just stay here peacefully. Whatever happens, happens..." Lian Shouxin pondered and said to Lady Zhou. What he ant was that even if Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi stopped taking care of Lady Zhou, he wouldn’t let her be abandoned as long as he was there.
"I’m asking you to take charge for , can you?" Lady Zhou imdiately seized on the tail end of Lian Shouxin’s words.
"Mom, it depends on what kind of charge you’re asking for. You still have Dad, my elder brother, and my second brother here," Lian Shouxin replied.
The family all stood up, ready to head out.
"Why should I stay here? I want to go back to Taicang!" Lady Zhou finally dropped the pretense and spoke her true thoughts.
Sending her back to Taicang was exactly their plan, Lian Manman thought silently. But they couldn’t say it outright; they had to let Lady Zhou voice it herself. When dealing with soone as unreasonable and difficult as Lady Zhou, one had to plan carefully to avoid unnecessary conflicts later.
Even though they had this plan in mind and Lady Zhou had now expressed her wish, Lian Manman wasn’t about to imdiately agree to her request.
"This isn’t sothing we can decide. You still have Grandpa, my eldest uncle, eldest aunt, my second uncle, and second aunt—every one of them has priority over us," said Lian Manman slowly. Seeing Lady Zhou’s expression change again, she shifted her tone. "However, we can think of a way..."
Lady Zhou stopped looking at Lian Shouxin and fixed her eyes on Lian Manman instead.
"When we return, we’ll try to figure sothing out. If things go quickly, it’ll take a day or two; if slow, it could be ten days, half a month, or even two or three months. For now, you can stay here and cool off. Once you stop yelling and stop cursing, that’ll an your anger has subsided, and we can confidently take you back then, right?" said Lian Manman gently to Lady Zhou.
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