Chen Qiao hesitated. It had been twenty years since she married into Sujia Village.
Although her family was in ruins, she had never considered leaving.
Besides, leaving would mean giving up her registered permanent residence and becoming a refugee...
It didn't matter to her, but Su Xiaowen was still young. Without land and a registered permanent residence, what would he do in the future? It
wasn't that Chen Qiao didn't want to live a good life with Su Xiaorong; she also had to consider Su Xiaowen and the family property left by her late husband.
After much deliberation, she finally decided to refuse.
"Xiaorong, I'm not going to leave you, son-in-law."
"I don't want to give up the family property left by my husband. This is my roots. Where else can I go?"
"Besides, what if Xiaotang comes back and we're not home? What will happen to her?"
"I appreciate your kindness."
Su Xiaorong couldn't understand why her mother wouldn't want to live a good life with her.
After all, her husband was happy to do so.
"Xiaorong, you and your wife don't need to persuade me anymore. I'm already satisfied with your filial piety."
It looked like her mother-in-law wouldn't be leaving with her anytime soon.
They could only think of a solution later. They couldn't stay in Sujia Village for long.
With Tian Xiuhua's arrogant attitude, they couldn't expect to live in peace.
"Mom!"
"Xiaorong, forget it. We're here to visit, Mom and me."
Chen Qiao was reluctant to go with Su Xiaorong. She felt a little down.
It was just like when her mother had married her to Ye Ming.
She felt abandoned.
Seeing the awkwardness, Chen Qiao stood up and said, "You two must be hungry. Mom will cook for you."
"It's just that our family is poor. Don't be offended, son-in-law."
"No need, Mom. I'll go cook. I brought you some food."
Ye Ming stood up and took out the package behind him.
Inside were several pounds of polished rice and a few pieces of bacon.
"Mom, it's white rice and meat!"
The bacon was made from leftover wild boar piglets that Ye Ming had eaten, and it had shrunk considerably after being smoked.
When Su Xiaowen saw the meat, he stopped hiding behind Chen Qiao and excitedly approached Ye Ming.
But when Ye Ming reached out to touch his head, he subconsciously dodged.
Damn, this child is still shy.
"Son-in-law, why did you bring so much fine rice? The price of grain is not cheap now. It must cost a lot of silver, right?"
"It didn't cost much silver. Mother, the disaster situation in the city has stabilized now, and the price of grain has dropped."
"As for the pork, I went up the mountain and caught it myself for free."
Ye Ming planned to let Su Xiaorong take him to the kitchen.
This was the first time he met his mother-in-law, so he had to perform well.
"This is still too expensive. We can't accept it."
"You two have just started your life. Although son-in-law has an estate, it's better to save a little, right?"
"My legs are healed now, and I can support my mother and me."
In Chen Qiao's subconscious mind, money is saved, and as a commoner, she doesn't need to eat such good things.
"Mom, you're Xiaorong's biological mother, and therefore my biological mother."
"You didn't despise me because I was stupid back then, and you gave Xiaorong to me. So it's only right that I should be filial to you now."
"Besides, I don't need this little food."
"Come on, Xiaorong, let's go cook."
"Okay, husband, I'll take you."
Looking at the couple's backs, Chen Qiao felt a sense of relief.
She had thought her husband was dead, her second daughter had been sold into slavery, her own leg was lame, and her eldest daughter had married a fool.
Her family had been hopeless. But now, seeing her eldest daughter living happily, loved by such a capable husband as Ye Ming,
she had nothing to worry about. Now all she had to think about was saving her second daughter and raising her youngest son.
"Great! Xiaorong is so lucky to have married such a good man."
"Mom, why are you crying again?"
Su Xiaowen gently wiped Chen Qiao's tears with the corner of her clothes.
"Mom, you're happy for your eldest sister. I'm happy too."
Everyone enjoyed lunch very happily, and Ye Ming felt a warm welcome as well.
It felt just like the feeling of eating with her family as a child in her previous life.
After lunch, Ye Ming and Su Xiaorong helped repair the roof and patch the damaged mud walls.
By the time the house was finished, it was already late, and despite Chen Qiao's pleas, Ye Ming and Su Xiaorong decided to return.
"Husband, why doesn't Mother want to go with us?"
"She obviously has a better life with us,"
Ye Ming said, gently taking Su Xiaorong's cold hand.
"Didn't you hear what Mother said? This is her roots. She won't leave easily."
"I'll try to persuade her later."
Su Xiaorong's gaze grew firmer as she listened to her husband's words.
She looked at Ye Ming, was silent for a moment, then said, "Husband, I want to make money too."
"I told you before, I can embroider, and I want to make purses and other things to earn money."
"My mother and husband have been supporting me before, and I want to make money to support you too. Xiaorong doesn't want to be a burden."
Su Xiaorong assumed that Chen Qiao didn't want to bother Ye Ming and make him tired of her, so she didn't want to go with him.
So she wanted to make money, she wanted to be a useful person, not only for her mother but also for Ye Ming.
Now everyone in the village is helping Ye Ming, but she has nothing to do except cooking.
She also wants to contribute.
"Xiaorong, I, your husband, can make money."
"Well, I want to make money even if you don't want me to."
Ye Ming is very happy that Su Xiaorong has her own ideas.
This means that she has a goal and has become a living person.
Not a numb shell.
"Okay, I promised you casually before, let's do this, after my ceramic shop opens."
"I will open a tailor shop for you next to it, and let you take the sisters-in-law and aunts in the village to make some ready-made clothes."
"Sewing clothes for others or something."
"Of course, if you know how to weave, I can also find a way to get you to weave and sell it."
Ye Ming didn't have all the looms and dyeing techniques in mind,
but he did have books on the subject in the online shopping system.
Each book cost just over twenty points, enough to buy any one.
"Really, husband?"
"Of course, but we don't have the raw materials right now. The equipment hasn't been developed yet."
"We can still make finished clothes."
"Husband, is it really possible to sell finished clothes?"
After all, no one buys ready-made clothes. Most importantly, women in this era learn needlework from a young age.
Every woman in every household sews.
Another problem is that bought clothes don't always fit.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to sell the finished clothes and make money for my little Rong!"
Ye Ming had already thought it through. He planned to follow the model of the clothing stores in his previous life.
He would make uniform styles based on individual sizes and then offer custom orders.
This would be the main clothing item in the early stages, and he would then incorporate modern trends and innovative styles.
There was a high chance it would sell well.