"Why did you come up? Did you finish eating so quickly?"
Li Minxi was surprised to see Guo Xuyang ascend.
"No. Mom chased me up."
Guo Xuyang said, touching his nose.
"She disliked that I didn't bring you food?"
"Don't be so narcissistic.
I just made a couple of lighthearted remarks, and Mom didn't like it.
She kicked me out in front of everyone.
She didn't leave me any face."
Guo Xuyang said a little aggrievedly.
"What did you say? Tell me."
Li Minxi said with a smile.
She was happy to see Guo Xuyang embarrassed.
Most people couldn't handle him, but this mother-in-law had him completely under control.
"Mom said she wanted a daughter, so I said you are all Mom's daughters."
"You're right. Mom treats us like her own daughters.
Then why would Mom chase you away?"
"I then said that as long as she doesn't dislike us.
But Mom's face changed, and she scolded me directly in front of everyone."
"You're not wrong. Why would Mom dislike us?"
"So I'm also confused.
I don't know where I said the wrong thing to make her so angry."
"Perhaps your tone was wrong? And were you trying to sow discord?
Jealous that Mom treats us too well?"
"That's not true, why would I be jealous?
As for my tone, wasn't I joking? I didn't expect her to take it seriously."
"Although she gets along with us like mother and daughter, she still has boundaries.
Just as you said, if she hears something displeasing, she'll scold you regardless of the occasion, and that's because you're Mom's son.
If we say something excessive, she absolutely won't scold us; at most, she'll say we're being immature.
Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because, after all, we are not mother and daughter. Although she treats us like her own daughters, it's far from it.
A biological daughter can fall out with her mother, but the bond of kinship can never be broken; no matter what, she's still their mother.
But we daughters-in-law cannot.
We and Mom maintain a relationship of mutual respect, where we care for each other, think of each other, look out for each other, and carefully maintain this relationship.
This kind of relationship requires long-term maintenance.
But you, relying on being Mom's son, tried to sow discord in front of everyone.
Of course, Mom would scold you. She absolutely wouldn't allow anyone to damage this relationship.
Because the relationship between us and Mom is very delicate. You spoke without malice, but if someone takes it to heart, it could break this balance.
Once this balance is broken, this relationship will be difficult to maintain."
"Don't you think too much? I just said a couple of things, it's not worth blowing things out of proportion, is it?"
"It's not easy to maintain a family, let alone when you have so many women.
Mom is usually very careful about these things, always worried about favoritism or hurting someone, so she tries her best to be fair.
But everyone knows how difficult it is to be perfectly fair.
And you, you're away from home for long periods, so you don't know the difficulties of maintaining these relationships."
"I really didn't think that much. The way you put it, it seems I was wrong."
"You were wrong. Why did Mom mention Xiao Yun just now? Do you know?"
"No. I didn't think about it."
"Think carefully, how many of the women around you are not pregnant?"
"Xiao Yun is one, then there's Yu'er, Tong Xin..."
"Yes, Xiao Yun isn't pregnant yet. But almost everyone present today is pregnant.
Why did Mom intentionally bring up Xiao Yun?
As you said earlier, Xiao Yun didn't come back for dinner."
"Why?"
"How can such a normally smart person be so foolish today?"
"I really don't know. Who would have thought the relationships here were so complicated?"
"Mom said it intentionally. If she wants to be fair, she needs to find a point of balance.
When she said Xiao Yun manages such a large operation, she was actually saying that Xiao Yun simply doesn't have time to have children.
It was also a criticism that you haven't been treating everyone equally.
Did you notice a recent news report about a daughter who married far away and had a big argument with her mother over taking care of her nephew, returning to her in-laws' home overnight?"
"No, I don't have time to watch the news. Tell me what happened?"
"That mother's situation is actually the same as why Mom scolded you.
She had to consider her daughter-in-law's feelings, so she scolded her own daughter.
As I said earlier, the mother-son bond is always there. No matter how much she hits or scolds you, you'll just grumble a bit, but you won't hold a grudge against your mother.
But it's different with a daughter-in-law. She might not say it, but she might be thinking it.
If she does, a rift will form, and if this rift isn't mended quickly, it could eventually lead to a complete breakdown.
Either Mom will leave, or some of your wives will leave."
"Have you been watching too many palace dramas? Why do you think it's so complicated?"
Guo Xuyang still didn't believe her.
"If you don't believe me, you can talk to Mom when you get back and see what she says," Li Minxi said.
"By the time I find Mom to talk to, the yellow flowers will be cold. I feel like Mom wasn't joking; she was serious."
"You're careless with your words, which makes people overthink.
Her scolding you is right.
Don't dwell on this. We'll talk to you about it when you get back."
"Knock, knock" came two knocks on the bedroom door.
"Come in," Li Minxi said.
"Sister Xiaoxi, Auntie saw you weren't downstairs, so she asked me to bring you the lamb soup," Wu Jia said.
"Put it there. Did your aunt say anything else?"
"No. She just told me to take good care of you." Wu Jia said.
"It's best if she didn't. If she had any instructions, just say them out loud. Mom will be our witness. Don't be afraid."
Li Minxi said.
"No, really not. Auntie didn't say anything," Wu Jia replied.
"Alright, I won't trouble you any further. Please bring me two more portions of this lamb; one isn't enough."
Li Minxi said.
"Okay, Sister Xiaoxi, when I get back, I'll bring you two more portions."
"When did our meals start being supplied by portion?" Li Minxi muttered.
"No, we can order whatever we want to eat.
If they don't have something, they'll send someone out to buy it specifically," Guo Xuyang said.
"Why is there no lamb for me to eat?" Wu Jia asked.
"It's not like that; it's just that we don't have any lamb at home.
When the lamb is delivered tomorrow morning, I'll make lamb soup for you."
"But I just heard that some people's lamb soup is still being served. Why is our lamb gone?
This is the lamb I caught."
"Sorry, Mr. Guo, there was an unexpected deviation on the way. We didn't anticipate something like this happening."
"Tell me, what exactly happened? Why don't I know?"
"This..."