After a long journey—planes, high-speed trains and buses—everyone collapsed exhausted at the bed-and-breakfast. While my sister-in-law complained about everything, I stood quietly by the window, gazing at the familiar mountain scenery. The fresh air brought a small sense of peace to my otherwise troubled heart.
"Mom, there are too many mosquitoes in this room. I want to switch with you!" my sister-in-law whined.
"And this place is filthy! It’ll ruin my clothes for tomorrow’s livestream. Here, wash them by hand," she continued to nag at me.
I took the clothes she threw at me and asked casually, "Since we're picking mushrooms tomorrow, do you want to go over the plan tonight?"
She snorted, "What's there to plan? It's just mushrooms. My fans love it when I'm clueless—it gets me traffic. You're just my lackey tomorrow, fetching props. Stay out of the way."
I smiled and replied, "Of course. I’ll leave it all to you."
Using my “pregnancy” as an excuse, I tossed my dirty clothes to my husband, who reluctantly braved the cold night to hand-wash his sister’s things. He returned frozen and shivering.
Growing up in the mountains with my grandparents, I learned to recognize mushrooms well, even if I wasn’t an expert. By high school, I had dropped out and started working in the city, slowly building my way up to becoming a factory owner. Though I couldn't identify every mushroom, I knew enough to distinguish between the more dangerous ones and those that were safe to eat.
Yet, my husband had never been interested in stories from my childhood in the village. His most common remark was, "Stop talking about the village. It's embarrassing if people hear."
He always said he didn’t mind that I was from the countryside, but he feared what others might think.
Despite his attitude, I knew my worth. My factory had helped his family prosper. But in this life, I would do things differently. I’d listen to my sister-in-law. If she wanted me to stay out of the way, I would—far away. Let them deal with their own mess.
Part 3
The next morning, we got up one after another. I prepared our suitcase earlier and have breathable warm clothes to put on.
This time, my sister-in-law didn't have a jacket or warm clothes to put on because she had let me wash her clothes and I ensured they didn't dry, using the cold mountain air as an excuse.