Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 378 - 200: Granny Hua’s Confusion

Ten days or so passed like this. The innocent and artless Meizi didn’t find married life difficult at all. On the contrary, she felt very happy. Her parents’ home was so close that whenever she felt homesick, she would run back for a meal. At her in-laws’ house, she was just as frank and outspoken as she had always been.

Although her mother had repeatedly drilled advice into her before the wedding, Meizi was an open book by nature, incapable of holding anything back. As a result, she hadn’t changed one bit.

This made Li Changming worry endlessly. ’If I go out to work,’ he thought, ’can she and Mom really get along?’

Whether they could get along or not, Li Laoda had already warned Granny Hua. "Changming won’t be living at home for much longer, and Meizi is a good girl. For the time they’re staying here, you’d better behave yourself. If you keep running your mouth like you always do and make our daughter-in-law angry, don’t blame me for dealing with you."

Granny Hua replied hurriedly, "What could I possibly do? I’m a grown woman. Am I going to bicker with a little girl like her?"

Li Laoda snorted. He looked at the strip of cloth wrapped horizontally across the bridge of her nose and the gaping, toothless hole in her mouth. The sight of her, looking neither human nor ghost, made his chest tighten. He turned and left, figuring it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.

That night, Li Changming thought about how he had to go to the wheat fields to weed the next day. He would probably be spending more time in the fields from now on, so he wanted to give Meizi a few words of caution—he just couldn’t shake his unease.

He leaned against the headboard with one arm around Meizi’s shoulders, his large hand gently twirling a strand of her hair. "Meizi," he said, "I have to go work in the fields tomorrow. While you’re at home..."

He trailed off. ’Am I supposed to say I’m worried about my own mom?’

In truth, it was Meizi he was worried about. He recalled how his mother had a way of talking that could make a person jump up in fury, and he absolutely did not want to leave Meizi at home alone to face her.

’What if Mom makes Meizi cry? What then?’

’It’s highly likely. His mother’s way of thinking was always different from everyone else’s, and you could never reason with her. Meizi, on the other hand, is straightforward, always speaking her mind and never beating around the bush. Putting those two together... they’d be talking completely past each other. It would be total chaos.’

He finally understood. When Meizi’s mother had initially suggested they live separately from the family, it wasn’t because she wanted the young couple to have a comfortable life, but because Meizi’s naive personality was simply incompatible with this household.

He sighed and warned Meizi with great concern, "My mom... sometimes she says things without thinking. If she says something hurtful, don’t get angry with her. Just wait until I get home and tell me."

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Meizi offending his mother. He was afraid that if Meizi argued with her, his mother would undoubtedly make her cry. That was why he told her to just ignore her and leave it all for him, as the son, to deal with.

In the darkness, Meizi blinked her large eyes and nodded. "I know. My mom already told me everything."

Hearing this, Li Changming couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ’This just makes me even more worried. How can she be so artless? You can’t just tell other people what your mother told you in private. He could just imagine that Gou Dan’s mother had taught Meizi plenty of tricks for handling his own mother, but that was certainly not something she should be telling him, the son.’

Thinking of his mother’s pregnancy and her recent fall, he added, "Just focus on making the meals. Don’t worry about the other chores. We’ll sort them out when we get back."

’These things weren’t something you could explain in a sentence or two. His mother’s personality hadn’t changed in decades, so he’d given up hope on that front. In any case, they’d be moving out in a few months. There was no point in saying too much to Meizi. She was used to an easy life and just wouldn’t understand.’

But Meizi was mentally prepared. She had her own set of ideas that she planned to put into action now that she was married. She couldn’t be as carefree as she had been at her parents’ house; she had to learn from Liu Xiaomei and Juhua.

So, after hearing Li Changming, she leaned closer against him and said thoughtfully, "Don’t you worry, Changming. I know how to manage a household now. I definitely won’t let you worry about things at home."

Li Changming was touched and couldn’t help but smile. ’This little wife of his is just so endearing,’ he thought. ’But she completely missed the point.’

Sigh. ’One step at a time, I guess.’

The next day, after Li Changming left, full of unease and reluctance, only Meizi and Granny Hua remained at home. Meizi immediately got busy, just like a proper young wife. No, that wasn’t right. She *was* a proper young wife now.

As she started tidying up the house, she said to Granny Hua, "Mom, after you wash the dishes, go feed the pigs. Be sparing with the acorns, or we won’t have enough to last until autumn."

Granny Hua froze. ’Me? Wash the dishes and feed the pigs? Didn’t I just take a fall?’

She said to Meizi hesitantly, "Meizi, my nose isn’t feeling too good." With the gap in her teeth, her words came out slurred and off-key.

Meizi didn’t even glance at her. Spinning like a whirlwind as she sorted through the clutter, she replied nonchalantly, "Mom, a sore nose will heal in a few days. What’s there to be anxious about? Hurry up and wash the dishes and feed the pigs. If you keep busy, you’ll forget all about the pain."

Resigned, Granny Hua had no choice but to go wash the dishes and feed the pigs. She had no excuse not to. After all, the girl was busy cleaning the house.

But she had always been a dawdler. Before Meizi joined the family, this house was her kingdom. There was only so much to do anyway, and she used to do the laundry and cooking at her own slow, deliberate pace. As for the pigs, Changming would always rush to feed them as soon as he got home.

But that all changed today.

She was puttering around slowly in the kitchen for what felt like an eternity when Meizi rushed in, aghast. "Heavens! Mom, what are you doing? You’ve been washing dishes all this time and you’re still not done? Hurry up and finish so you can feed the pigs and then make lunch! Otherwise, what are Dad and Changming going to eat when they get home?"

That look of disbelief and shock on her face left Granny Hua stunned. ’She’d been doing her chores this way for decades. Why, all of a sudden, was it no longer acceptable?’

She could only agree out loud, while cautiously asking, "Meizi, if I do the cooking, what will you be doing?"

’Could it be that Gou Dan’s mother taught her daughter to handle me this way?’ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit qidian.com to vote and leave a monthly pass. Your support is my greatest motivation.)