Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse-Chapter 16 - 0 Neither Foolish nor Blindly Filial

```

——————

"Cough, cough!"

"Ma, little girl, I'm back." Upon hearing the coughing sounds of the old man behind him, Xie Jingchen suddenly snapped back to reality and called out loudly as he entered the kitchen.

"Ah, Shitou, you're back! Old man, come over and see the wife Third Son has found."

Zhou Xiuhua, impressed with Zhang Shan Ni's capability, found herself more and more satisfied with her, thinking that a daughter-in-law like Ni, who could take good care of her son, was indeed excellent! Much more so than the wives of her other three sons!

In her opinion, the wives of her other sons were either pretentiously virtuous, cunningly shrewd, or excessively delicate!

"Little girl, come here, this is Shitou's dad, greet him."

As soon as Zhang Shan Ni saw Mr. Xie, her eyes began to redden; this old man resembled her father from her past life so much!

Just one glance, and she felt like crying.

How long had it been since she last thought of her father? During the years of the apocalypse, she dared not think of her parents, who had gone without a trace, only praying in her heart that they were safe.

Now, seeing Xie Tiesheng, it evoked in Zhang Shan Ni a surge of paternal affection.

"Little girl, call him Dad."

Noticing the slight redness in her eyes, Xie Jingchen thought she might be feeling shy and afraid, so he hurriedly comforted her by patting her slender shoulders, his heart aching slightly at the feeling of bones under his touch; she was truly skinny to the bone!

When he first returned, the feeling of her wrist in his grip was thin and fragile, as if it would break at the slightest bend.

Zhang Shan Ni looked bewilderedly at Xie Jingchen's concerned gaze, obediently called out "Dad," her dark sparkling eyes shining bright, her long phoenix-like eyes half-closed, their rims growing even redder.

Zhang Shan Ni had dark skin, but her features were indeed delicate—with her eyes half-closed, they appeared long like those of a phoenix; when she opened them wide in surprise, they resembled round, upward-slanting almond eyes, which always conveyed a sense of beauty.

Beneath her eyes, her nose-bridge was pert and the tip round, unmistakably exquisite; her lips were of medium thickness, appearing thin when pressed tightly in nervousness, yet seemed full when slightly parted, and when smiling, one could glimpse the beauty of the curve on her upper lip, which seemed to invite a closer appreciation.

Moreover, her face shape was excellent, a very lovely oval, with a chin that was not too pointed, a little delicate flesh giving an overall feeling of approachability, only slightly dark-skinned—an absolute beauty.

This was precisely why Zhang Baonni detested and envied her—beauty was a sin, and Zhang Erni, who was extremely vain, naturally disliked this younger sister the most.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Seeing Xie Tiesheng looking at her kindly, Zhang Shan Ni feigned a shy demeanor and lowered her head, but inside she was pleased; Old Man Xie greatly resembled her father, and she willingly called him with an added sense of affectionate respect.

"Ah."

Xie Tiesheng had long heard of his Third Son's wife, and seeing her frail appearance, he felt a great deal of compassion; her submissive and gentle nature satisfied him greatly, about seven parts worth of satisfaction. Noticing she was still wearing Third Son's military coat, he gave his son a meaningful look:

"Shitou, take Ni to your sister's room to change into a different set of clothes."

Xie Tiesheng adopted the same way of addressing Zhang Shan Ni as his wife did. Seeing his wife's pleased look, he breathed a sigh of relief. He urged Third Son to take her back to their room, noticing she was still clad in Third Son's military coat.

In those days, although it was not unusual for women to wear men's clothing since there was little differentiation in male and female attire, having someone see one's daughter-in-law wearing one's son's clothing was indecent and could lead to unwanted gossip.

Most importantly, their status was still not officially recognized, and it was better to act with propriety.

```

Seeing his son and daughter-in-law carelessly not noticing, he found himself somewhat unable to look on.

"Hey, I really didn't think of this! Shitou, quickly take Ni to your sister's room to change into a coat!"

Zhou Xiuhua happily sent Xiao San and Zhang Shan Ni out the door, then turned to Xie Tiesheng with a happy smile, "Old man, see how much Shitou likes this girl, always calling her little girl, it's making my teeth sour!"

"Huh, isn't she young? Just a year older than our son!" Seeing his partner's delighted expression, Xie Tiesheng muttered to himself: You're not any less fond of the girl than Xiao San! "What do you think?"

"Good, really good!" Zhou Xiuhua laughed heartily:

"You see, little girl has suffered hardships, yet she followed Shitou all the way back. Even if it was via the mountain path, at least half an hour's journey, she wanted to talk to Shitou upon return. Shitou sent her to the kitchen to prepare the wild rabbit for cooking, and she didn't stop for a second."

Saying this, she even pulled the old man towards the kitchen and said: "You see, all the little ones are sitting quietly and neatly in the corner, slowly eating potatoes with porridge. The grains were all hidden away by the little girl herself, and look how skinny she is. She must have never been full at home! She's neither stupid nor blindly obedient, I think she's not bad!"

"This could work." Xie Tiesheng, having heard this, nodded in satisfaction.

"Tsk, what official air you're putting on, old man! Look, the entire kitchen is much cleaner and brighter. If it were Xiong Dan's or Mao Dan's wives, they would have loved to just walk away after finishing their work. They wouldn't have cleaned up for you."

"Hmph." Xie Tiesheng thought of his fourth son's wife who had returned to her parents' home, and his fifth son's wife who also wanted to return to hers, and felt displeased. After a sneering softly to himself, he then seriously asked his partner: "Why haven't the older ones come back yet?"

"The eldest grandson went to gather firewood with Xiao'er and Xiao San, and they should be almost home. What time do you think Xiong Dan will get back? It's nearly dark."

"Doing construction will definitely last until dusk, don't worry too much. As for Mao Dan, who did you ask to send the message?"

"Ah, old man, you didn't remind me and I forgot!" Zhou Xiuhua lifted her apron to wipe her hands, annoyed:

"Tie Dan's mother-in-law is unwell, and she went back to her parents' house so I said nothing, and Xiong Dan's wife is seven months pregnant so I let her go home, but Mao Dan's wife really is too delicate. Knowing that there's no one to cook at home, she still insists on going back to town, claiming to stop by to check on Mao Dan.

Ha, what coincidence? The town and the county are far apart. Do they think I'm dumb, never having left the house? Which wife is like her, cannot bear to be away from her husband and is so delicate? The kids at home are still so young, and when she leaves, she doesn't return for half a month, without a single thought about her children! I have things on my mind, and ended up not sending anyone to them! What kind of mess is this?"

Xie Tiesheng held back his displeasure and finally said coolly, "These daughters-in-law, all of them were approved by you." Implicitly saying, don't complain now, blaming her poor judgment back then!

"Go on, the wife of Xiong Dan was my choice, I admit it. If I'm displeased, that's my own doing! But Mao Dan's wife was chosen by Wu'er himself~ Back then I said that since the girl was from the town, she wouldn't settle down with him, but he wouldn't believe it. Alright, now after a few years of marriage, and having kids, she just abandons them like chicks, leaving them in a corner to fend for themselves! Xiao Si has grown this big, and I've hardly seen her take care of him for a few days. She spends all day thinking about men, it's truly shameful!"

"Alright, the kids are here, stop making such a fuss!" Xie Tiesheng, used to his wife's nagging, only found it intolerable as she became more heated in her speech, which was as loud as thunder. Glancing over, he noticed Xiao Si getting up nervously; he quickly chided her, but it was a step too late.

Seeing Xiao Si standing carefully to the side with tears in his eyes, and Xiaoqi still bewildered and oblivious, he hurriedly beckoned Xiao Si over, wiped his tears, and said, "Xiao Si, your grandma speaks without thinking, don't cry, my good grandson."

"Oh, Xiao Si, it's all grandma's fault, don't be scared. Grandma wasn't talking about you."

Xie Yuhua, Xiao Si, shook his head and softly said, "Grandpa, grandma, I know it's Mom's fault. I won't tell anyone." If Dad knew Mom caused trouble again, Dad would surely rebuke her fiercely upon his return, but Mom is impetuous and stubborn, only resolute in what she feels right!

"Ah, what a sin! Xiao Si, don't think too much, grandma spoke wrongly, except for this, your mom is very good. She's just too concerned about your dad, don't take it to heart." Saying so, she picked out several pieces of meat from the rabbit stew for each child, giving them two pieces each, as too much wouldn't be easy to digest.

"Mhm!"

"Good boy, go take care of your brothers and sisters." Seeing his grandson so obedient, Xie Tiesheng sighed inwardly, knowing that with an unreasonable and delicate mother, Xiao Si's future was destined to be more taxing than his other grandsons.

But children have their own fortunes, and it wasn't his place to directly criticize his daughter-in-law; it was up to Xiao Wu to discipline her.

"Aye." Xiao Si replied. Seeing the caring expression from grandma and grandpa warmed his heart, putting aside the sadness within, and decided it was best to quietly enjoy the meat.