珊瑚孝婆

This is a story from Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio. The Ans had two sons. The elder son An Dacheng married Chen Shanhu. Shanhu was a kind woman with a sweet temper. Dacheng's mother, Shen Shi, was irritable（急躁的） and fierce. She often beat and cursed Shanhu. Shanhu never uttered a word of complaint. Later, Shen Shi went so far as to force Dacheng to divorce his wife. After Shanhu had left, Shen Shi tried to make Dacheng remarry. However no one dared to marry Dacheng because of his notorious mother. Later Shen Shi's younger son, Ercheng, married Zanggu, who was more fierce than Shen Shi. Every day, Shen Shi adjusted her behavior to Zanggu's expression. Even so, Shen Shi was often scolded and cursed by Zanggu. Ercheng, a weak man, dared not to stop his wife. Finally Shen Shi was sick due to overworking. Shen Shi had to ask her elder sister to wait on（服饰） her. Every day, a person from her sister's home sent delicious food to Shen Shi. Shen Shi sighed: "I would be happy if I had a good daughter-in-law like my sister's." After she recovered, Shen Shi went to stay at her sister's home. She often admired her sister for her daughter-in-law. Her sister said: "Shanhu is a good woman, but you often beat and cursed her. To tell you the truth, the delicious food you ate when you were sick was made by Shanhu. Shanhu made money by spinning yarn and prepared food for you. Where else can you find such a good daughter-in-law?" Upon hearing it, Shen Shi felt ashamed. She said while crying: "It's my fault！" At this moment, Shanhu ran out from the rear room and knelt down in front of her mother-in-law. Shen Shi regretted her actions, beating her chest and stamping her feet. Then Dacheng and Shanhu got remarried. Later after many hardships, Shanhu educated Zanggu, who was determined to thoroughly rectify（改正） her errors. Then all five members in the Ans lived a happy life.