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墨書 Inktalez
Hu Ruoyun asked Mao Na, "If Zhang Meina contacts me again in the future, will you still be jealous?"
Mao Na, sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist, softly replied, "She’s quite pitiful too."
Hu Ruoyun knew that this girl wasn’t truly free of jealousy; it was just that Zhang Meina had been with someone else. If he hadn’t known, it would have been one thing, but now that he did, he was certain he would never accept her again.
As they chatted along the way, they unknowingly returned home. Xiao Feng and Xiao Hu had been waiting impatiently. As soon as they entered the yard, one came over to help push the cart into the house while the other took Mao Na inside to warm up and went to assist Zhao Meirong in setting the table.
The family chatted casually while eating, discussing various topics. Zhao Meirong mentioned that there had been a commotion at the Woodzi Family's front yard earlier that day.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Woodzi Family and Mu Xiumei were both strong-willed individuals. Wu Mingliang had been earning about ten yuan a day working with the village construction team. At home, besides taking care of the children, she raised a flock of chickens, feeding them with leftover grains and crushed corn daily. She could collect over ten eggs each day, providing nourishment not only for the hardworking men but also for the children. However, on the Second Day of the Lunar New Year, when the couple returned from visiting her maternal family, they discovered that there were no eggs in the chicken coop!
When she discussed this with Wu Minghui's wife, Song Junying, the younger sister-in-law said, "Sister-in-law, I saw our mother-in-law go to your house around noon. You might want to ask if she collected your eggs."
This seemed harmless at first; it was normal for a mother-in-law to check on her son and daughter-in-law. Moreover, Song Junying didn’t imply anything negative.
So Mu Xiumei went to visit the Woodzi Family and found Woodzi Woman doing needlework at home. After some casual conversation and noticing that her mother-in-law hadn’t mentioned anything about the eggs, she casually asked, "Mom, did you collect the eggs our chickens laid?"
To her surprise, Woodzi Woman exploded like a firecracker. She threw down her sewing basket and shouted at her daughter-in-law, "I raised your husband with great difficulty! What’s wrong with taking a few of your eggs? It’s New Year’s! Shouldn’t you be honoring me instead?"
The eldest daughter-in-law already knew what kind of person her mother-in-law was and didn’t back down at all: "You may be older, but do you act like an elder? People shouldn’t just grow older; they should also grow in virtue... Look at what kind of elder you’ve become!"
Each word struck deep and left Woodzi Woman speechless.
The second daughter-in-law, Song Junying, stepped in: "...It’s New Year’s; let’s keep our voices down!"
But Woodzi Woman turned her ire toward her: "You’re just stirring up trouble! If it weren’t for you passing messages back and forth, would we be in this situation?"
The second daughter-in-law shot back: "Fine! I’m a pig; let’s see whose piglets my children are... I’m just passing on what Sister-in-law said! I told her to ask you if you took them or not—what’s there to yell at my sister-in-law about?"
With both daughters-in-law united against her, they managed to leave Woodzi Woman without a retort.
When Woodzi returned from playing mahjong outside and saw a crowd gathered around his home, he approached to hear his wife shouting unreasonable things. He pushed through and slapped her twice: "It’s New Year’s! Why are you making such a scene? Aren’t you ashamed?"
Wu Mingyang and his second aunt came over to pull Mu Xiumei and Song Junying away.
Both daughters-in-law understood that while they could argue with their mother-in-law, it was unwise to clash with their father-in-law. They quickly left.
Woodzi Woman refused to relent and demanded her two sons beat up their wives to vent her frustration. However, she was met with resistance from her youngest son Wu Mingliang: "Mom, if we can’t live well ourselves, do you really want to ruin Second Brother's and Eldest Brother's lives too?"
Feeling bullied and unable to swallow her anger, Woodzi Woman cursed as she stormed off to her maternal family in the neighboring village to call upon her two brothers for support. However, both of her sisters-in-law were sensible people who knew that this sister-in-law was not someone easy to deal with; they stopped their husbands from getting involved in the mess...
Fuming upon returning home, Woodzi Woman spent half an hour shouting in the yard.
After dinner, with no television at home and bedtime too early, the two decided to visit Second Uncle and Second Aunt.
Blood is thicker than water; in this household, there were just the two brothers. Hu Qihua took out two bottles of wine that Mao Weiguo had given him from the cupboard. “Xiao Na is visiting for the first time during the New Year, so let’s not go empty-handed.”
At Second Uncle's house, a mahjong table was set up in the main room, where a group of people were playing and watching. Cousin Shangyun and younger cousin Shuangyun spotted them first and called out to Second Uncle and Second Aunt, who were chatting with others, “Dad, Mom, Brother Yun and my sister-in-law are here!”
The mention of “sister-in-law” made Mao Na blush.
Second Uncle and Second Aunt ushered them into the Dong House to talk. Shangyun and Shuangyun brought sunflower seeds and peanuts while gathering around the warm stove to chat. Many women from the main room came in under the pretense of “seeing the New Bride,” including aunts and sisters-in-law who introduced themselves one after another.
Some asked Mao Na how many sisters she had, while others inquired about how many acres of land her family farmed, leaving her feeling overwhelmed.
Just as she was trying to keep up with the conversation, they heard Xiao Feng's voice from outside: “Brother, Sister Mona, someone is looking for you at home…” Then a woman’s voice chimed in, “Xiao Feng, don’t call her ‘sister’; that’s your sister-in-law…”
Second Uncle and Second Aunt escorted the three of them to the door. Xiao Feng turned on his flashlight and said to Hu Ruoyun, “Ming Liang from the front yard has come to our house.” Mao Na asked who Wu Mingliang was, and she introduced him.
Back at home, after greeting Wu Mingliang, Mao Na went to her room with Xiao Feng while Hu Ruoyun returned to her own room with Wu Mingliang.
Wu Mingliang took out two hundred yuan and handed it to Hu Ruoyun. “It’s been eight or nine months; I should have paid you back long ago.”
Hu Ruoyun replied, “You can keep it; I still have some money on hand.”
Wu Mingliang placed the money on the table. “I’ve told my parents everything. If they want me to study well, they need to support me properly. I’ll work hard; if they don’t want me to study anymore, I’ll drop out and work to earn money for the family without any complaints… They’ve compromised.”
He sighed deeply. “My mother is such a person; it’s better not to deal with her… No one else in this world can do it but her… My two sisters-in-law are such good people but have been forced into being shrews by her…”
However, Hu Ruoyun found it difficult to respond further.
After Wu Mingliang left, Hu Ruoyun returned to the main room where Xiao Feng was pulling Mao Na over as well.
Mao Na sat with the family cracking sunflower seeds and said to Hu Ruoyun, “Why don’t you buy a television for our home? A color one!”
Hu Qihua and Zhao Meirong shouted at Hu Ruoyun but couldn’t refute what their future daughter-in-law said. Zhao Meirong responded first: “This year our mill and feed processing business has almost broken even; after the New Year when we reopen, we’ll be making a profit… You can tell us what kind you want!”
Hu Qihua also agreed: “I still have over two thousand yuan; a seventeen-inch one would be enough…”
Mao Na insisted, “You don’t need to worry about the money; just let Hu Ruoyun buy it. It can stay in your room… We’ll be leaving in a few days anyway; before we go, let him set up the antenna and everything.”
Hu Qihua and Zhao Meirong exchanged glances: their daughter-in-law was indeed buying something for them!
What else could they say? Other families had daughters-in-law asking for things for their elders; here they had an unwed daughter-in-law buying things for them…
They might as well accept it.
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