Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 16

“Mom, right now the senior year is very intense, and the teacher says we need to start evening self-study sessions. It’ll be too late to come back at night, and it’s not safe to travel back and forth every day.”

“Do you want to live at school?” Sister-in-law Xu Doudou immediately countered.

“What’s wrong with living at school?” Xu’s mother, who initially intended to object, immediately took the opposite stance.

This is the benefit of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discord. Xu’s mother didn’t want Xu Jing’an to live at school either, primarily because it would cost money.

But who asked Xu Doudou to speak so quickly?

Following the principle of “If the daughter-in-law agrees, I’ll oppose; if the daughter-in-law opposes, I’ll agree,” Xu’s mother quickly retorted.

Xu Doudou frowned and turned her head, pouting.

“I plan to live at school. My homeroom teacher said the school will waive my room and board fees.”

Only by mentioning that no money would be spent could Xu’s mother be persuaded to agree.

At this point, Xu’s mother probably thought that even if Xu Jing’an wasn’t to her liking, she was still flesh and blood.

After all, she was closer than a daughter-in-law, right?

As long as Xu’s mother was arguing with Xu Doudou and trying to impose rules on her daughter-in-law, Xu Jing’an could escape those household chores!

Xu’s mother would also agree and then pass the responsibility onto the daughter-in-law, taking the opportunity to test her character.

Otherwise, even if Xu Jing’an were to say something impressive, it wouldn’t help! If things went badly, even if Xu’s mother agreed to let her live at school, she might still make her return every day to do household chores.

Xu’s mother sighed with relief. As long as no money was involved, it was fine. After having exchanged arguments with her daughter-in-law, she regretted her words the moment they were out.

“Well, go ahead. Take your things, and if you’re missing anything, come back for it.”

Xu Jing’an nodded obediently. “I’ll move into the school dorm tomorrow and come back when the holidays start.”

The family wasn’t wealthy, so saving on one person’s food was better than anything!

Before going to bed that night, she packed her things. It wasn’t much—just a few old clothes and her current bedding. Everything else had long been put into storage.

As for whether Xu’s mother would go to the school to ask the teacher about this, who has ever seen someone benefiting from something and then loudly boasting about it?

Those who make the most noise and show off are usually the ones who don’t gain anything. In this world, isn’t everyone just minding their own business?

Early the next morning, Xu Jing’an quickly ran off with her belongings.

She had no choice but to run! The female lead, Xu Doudou, was about to discover her pregnancy, and Xu’s mother would have no choice but to tolerate it. The book mentioned that the female lead had severe pregnancy symptoms, vomiting everything she ate, only getting better after five months.

During this time, relying on Xu’s mother to handle it was like daydreaming. Taking care of a pregnant woman was no easy task. Could she even survive it all?

She wasn’t just moving; she was escaping for her life!

Xu Jing’an began her eagerly anticipated life at the dorm.

Although she was in a shared dormitory, at least she had her own bed and didn’t have to passively listen to the noise from the neighboring couple.

Every night, lying there, Xu Jing’an felt an unparalleled sense of awkwardness. It wasn’t something a young woman like her could openly talk about; otherwise, her reputation and dignity would be completely ruined!

In the following week, the Xu family’s life became chaotic because of Xu Doudou’s pregnancy.

Taking advantage of her pregnancy, Xu Doudou became quite demanding, and Xu’s mother had no choice but to ease up. But housework? Xu Doudou could forget about getting out of it.

As Xu’s mother put it, “How can the pregnancy go smoothly if you don’t keep moving? Even if it looks like hard work now, it’s for her own good!”

“If you don’t believe it, eldest son, go ask around. See if Mom is fooling you!”

What did Xu Jianguo know about this?

But now that life was tough, whose family wasn’t busy with a pregnant woman? Very few were even taking the postpartum rest!

He had seen Xu’s mother and the neighbors busy with pregnancy when he was young. They were truly working hard up until the birth, never having a moment’s rest!

In the end, Xu Doudou doing the housework was a settled matter.

“Third Sister, I really envy you. I also want to live at school,” said Xu Jianshe, who was in his first year of high school, as he chatted with Xu Jing’an.

“Oh, since the elder sister-in-law is about to give birth, are you coming out to leave the house for the eldest brother and his family?” Xu Jing’an asked in response.

“How could that be!” He was planning to return after the elder sister-in-law gave birth. The main issue was that the house was currently in such disarray that Xu Jianshe was very annoyed.

“Well then, you’re in your growth spurt, so this is a good time for you to make up for it,” Xu Jing’an comforted the fourth brother.

Xu Jianshe was indeed in his growth spurt, constantly hungry and feeling like he could never eat enough; he was always hungry in no time!

He thought: Since the family bought a lot of good things because of the elder sister-in-law’s pregnancy, if he left, all of it would go to the eldest brother and his family. No, this can’t be done! He needed to eat more and keep a close watch.

Seeing the fourth brother Xu Jianshe abandoning the idea of living at school, Xu Jing’an secretly sighed with relief.

If the fourth brother lived at school, it would be like having an extra pair of eyes on her, making it inconvenient for her to do things.

After self-study in the evening, many students continued to study hard in the classroom. Xu Jing’an tidied up and returned to the dormitory. After washing up, she lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and began to rest.

However, in the middle of the night, Xu Jing’an found another book about herself. This time, the protagonist was not a member of the Xu family, but it mentioned a colleague of the male lead named Xu Jianshe.

The book tells the story of how Xu Jianshe graduated from high school in 1968. At that time, young people without jobs had to go to the countryside. Finding a job was extremely difficult, and there was fierce competition.

With no connections, and Xu’s mother feeling sorry for her son, she gave up her own job for him.

During the forced rural relocation, Xu Jing’an, who had been idle at home for two years, was sent instead, and she was only mentioned twice in the book.

Once was when it was heard that Xu Jing’an had gotten married in the countryside, and Xu’s mother went to the countryside empty-handed to demand a dowry. Xu’s mother’s original words were: “I gave birth to her once with great difficulty and nursed her; was my suffering in vain?” In the end, she used 100 yuan, a new watch, 10 pieces of cloth coupons, and 10 meters of coarse cloth for her younger son’s wedding.

The last mention was in 1978 when Xu Jing’an died. When Xu’s mother and family arrived, the villagers were preparing to carry the coffin up the mountain for burial.

Xu’s mother, blocking the coffin, cried out heartbreakingly, claiming that her daughter’s death was too sudden and demanding to see her one last time. She threatened to call the police if they did not allow it. Terrified, the groom’s family took out the old lady’s funeral funds and ultimately borrowed 1,000 yuan from the whole village to give to Xu’s family.

Xu’s family used the money to buy two more houses and divided the family assets between the two sons. Life went very smoothly for them!

Xu Jing’an was so enraged that it felt like all her organs were in pain. She realized that the Xu family’s prosperity was built on the original owner’s grave and was sustained by the original owner’s blood money.

Now that it was her turn, she hoped the Xu family would just go away!

She originally planned to secretly find a job and obtain a household registration, but now it seemed she needed to stay very far away from them.