Lian Manman said she agreed to let Lady He and Lian Xiuxiu work in the workshop, Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang looked at Lian Manman in surprise. The couple knew in their hearts that Lian Manman was the least likely to agree to this.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma all said so, let’s just agree," Lian Manman said, and then she secretly winked at Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were at their wits’ end with Lady Zhou, knowing that Lian Manman was clever and must have thought of a plan, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mom, stop hitting, we agreed," Lian Shouxin hurriedly begged Lady Zhou for mercy.

Lady He and Lian Shouxin had been watching from the side, and when they saw that Lian Shouxin’s family agreed, they came forward, shouting and persuading Lady Zhou, asking her not to hit Lian Shouxin anymore. Old Master Lian also spoke up from the side, asking Lady Zhou to stop.

Seeing her goal achieved, Lady Zhou released Lian Shouxin, conceding that Lian Shouxin, Lady Zhang, and Lian Manman had all submitted to her.

Lian Manman quickly went to check on Lian Shouxin’s injuries. Thanks to Lady Zhang’s selfless protection of her husband, Lian Shouxin’s face only had two scratch marks near his ear, and three deeper ones on his neck. Conversely, Lady Zhang had blood drawn from behind her ear by Lady Zhou, her hairstyle was disheveled, and a button was torn off her clothing.

It seemed that even in a fit of rage, Lady Zhou’s mind was still clear. She took a heavy hand to Lady Zhang while she was busy protecting Lian Shouxin. In terms of strength, Lady Zhou was no match for Lady Zhang, but as Lady Zhang wouldn’t lay a hand on Lady Zhou and was preoccupied with defending Lian Shouxin, she was at a disadvantage.

Lian Manman couldn’t help but recall a phrase Lady Zhang once said, "Your Grandma is no ordinary person."

Lady Zhou was indeed extraordinary.

"How could you really go hard on the kids!" Old Master Lian, seeing his son and daughter-in-law’s injuries, scolded Lady Zhou.

Lady Zhou immediately clutched her chest, groaning. Lian Shouyi, Lady He, and Lian Xiuxiu all hurried over, soothing her while bombarding her with concerned questions.

"Dad, you’re still blaming Mom, look how upset she is," Lian Xiuxiu pouted.

"Old Fourth, it’s not right for me to criticize as your brother, but you’re a father yourself now, how can you be so thoughtless? If you upset our mom to the point of something serious, see what you’ll do." Lian Shouyi then turned to blame Lian Shouxin.

Lian Shouxin and his wife exchanged glances, somewhat feeling like they had survived a catastrophe, while Lian Manman contemplated how to take revenge for Lady Zhang. Lady Zhou, meanwhile, sat on the kang bed like a victorious general, looked up to by Lady He, Lian Shouyi, and Lian Xiuxiu.

Lian Xiuxiu, seeing Lady Zhou’s breathing gradually stabilize, reached out and tugged at her clothes.

"Mom." Lian Xiuxiu gestured with her mouth towards Lady Zhang’s side.

"The promise you made, don’t go back on it. Let Old Second’s wife and Xiuxiu start working tomorrow," Lady Zhou, upon receiving her older daughter’s hint, immediately put pressure on Lian Shouxin again, aiming to cement the agreement. However, deep down, Lady Zhou was very confident, believing that after pulling this ace from her sleeve, Lian Shouxin would not dare to defy her.

In fact, Lady Zhou didn’t even care much about Lian Shouxin’s workshop. The idea of working in the pickled vegetable workshop was suggested by Lady He.

"...Half a day’s work can earn you Eight Wen Money. In ten days, that’s eighty Wen Money. In one month, that’s almost three hundred Wen Money... Old Fourth’s family is quite generous, just today, I saw them give out One String of Coins." Lady He gesticulated as she told Lady Zhou how much money another daughter-in-law in the village had made from the workshop in just ten days.

"Is there really that much money?" Lady Zhou was genuinely surprised at the time.

"Isn’t that the truth." Seeing Lady Zhou interested in her topic, Lady He moved her ample behind closer, "Mom, I’ve noticed that Old Fourth’s family is drifting further from us. It’s not so bad for us as his brothers and sisters-in-law, but how could he grow distant from his own mom too? Towards outsiders, they’re better than to his own mom. All that money, not even One Wen Money is willing to be spent on his mom, all given away to others."

After listening to Lady He, Lady Zhou of course felt uncomfortable, but she knew Lady He’s character well and understood she came to stir trouble. Lady Zhou didn’t want to let Lady He get too pleased with herself, to prevent Lady He from climbing the pole, thinking she had gained face. Stirring trouble was their local slang for inciting discord.

"If they earn money by working in the workshop, you can earn it too if you go work," Lady Zhou said, turning her face away to ignore Lady He. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Lady He was just waiting for this very response and quickly twisted around to get back in front of Lady Zhou.