Lin Xiao's first morning at the Jiang family was woken by the birds chirping outside the window and the soft footsteps of the servants. When she opened her eyes, the sky was just dawning, and the electronic clock by the bed showed 5:30 a.m.—earlier than any time she had woken up in the past twenty-odd years.
Hearing faint footsteps downstairs, Lin Xiao quickly got up to wash up. As soon as she changed her clothes, she saw Mama Zhang, the personal maid of Jiang Yu's mother, standing at the bedroom door, holding a neatly printed paper: "Young Mistress, Madam asked me to give this to you. It's the 'Daily Rules for Jiang Family's Daughter-in-Law'. You just need to follow it from today onwards."
Lin Xiao took the paper; it was filled with dense rules. The first one read: "Get up at 6 a.m. every day and personally prepare breakfast for the whole family. Mr. Jiang (Jiang Yu's father) needs low-sugar and salt-free food; President Jiang (Jiang Yu)'s coffee must be hand-brewed, with a concentration of 7.5 and half a cube of sugar added." She was stunned—she hadn't even figured out where the kitchen was, let alone how to make hand-brewed coffee.
"Mama Zhang, I…" Lin Xiao wanted to explain that she couldn't do it, but Mama Zhang interrupted her with a smile: "Madam said if you can't do it, you can learn. She asked me to teach you by your side. Hurry up, Madam will come to the dining room to check at 6:10 a.m."
Lin Xiao followed Mama Zhang into the kitchen. The huge open kitchen was even bigger than the apartment she used to rent, with a wide variety of kitchenware. She couldn't even find the switch of the coffee machine. Mama Zhang patiently taught her to grind coffee beans and control the water temperature, but the first cup of coffee she brewed was still too strong. When Jiang Yu's mother walked into the dining room, she took a sip and frowned: "The concentration is wrong. Yu'er will have a stomachache if he drinks this. Make it again. If you make a mistake next time, you won't have breakfast."
Lin Xiao's face turned red instantly, and she hurried to make it again. By the time she brought the qualified coffee to Jiang Yu's mother, Jiang Yu's father had already finished breakfast and was ready to go to the company. Jiang Yu hurried in, picked up his briefcase and left without even glancing at her. He only said to his mother, "Mom, I have an important meeting today, so I'll leave first."
That morning, Jiang Yu's mother arranged a "Ladies' Etiquette Class" for Lin Xiao—teaching her how to drink tea, how to sit properly, and how to chat with other wealthy ladies. In the afternoon, she was taken to a ladies' tea party. All the women present were wearing exquisite dresses and holding limited-edition handbags, chatting about topics like "which brand has launched new jewelry" and "which private hospital has good beauty treatments". Lin Xiao wore the dress prepared by Jiang Yu's mother and held a handbag whose brand she couldn't name. She couldn't get a word in and could only sit in the corner, drinking tea awkwardly.
Halfway through the tea party, Jiang Yu's mother called her aside and pointed to a woman in a pink dress not far away: "That's Li Man, the young mistress of the Li family and your sister-in-law. She's been married into the Jiang family for three years. You should learn from her and see how a qualified daughter-in-law of a wealthy family behaves."
Lin Xiao walked over to greet Li Man. Li Man looked her up and down and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law is really young," but there was a hint of contempt in her tone. After chatting for a few words, Li Man deliberately raised her voice: "I heard your parents run a business in the vegetable market? Last time I went shopping for vegetables, I saw an aunt arguing with the vendor for a dime. I wonder if that's your mother?"
Everyone around looked over, and Lin Xiao's face turned pale instantly—her parents did run a vegetable stall in the market, but Li Man's words were obviously mocking her humble background. She wanted to refute, to say "My parents earn money with their own hands; there's nothing to be ashamed of," but the words got stuck in her throat—she was afraid of saying something wrong and shaming the Jiang family.
After the tea party, Lin Xiao mentioned this matter to Jiang Yu's mother, but his mother didn't care: "Manman is just straightforward. Don't take it to heart. Such words are common in wealthy families. You need to learn to endure; it will pass if you endure it. The Jiang family doesn't need a 'competitive' daughter-in-law; they need an 'understanding' one."