Yan Huan smiled. “Maybe she is in a bad mood.”
“Her mood is not just bad, it is terrible.” The young lady tucked her neck back. “You do not know this, but your mother-in-law always hangs out with Jin Gen’s mother.”
Yan Huan paused for a moment. The smile gradually faded from her face.
“What does she talk about with Jin Gen’s mother?”
“It can’t be anything good.” The young lady realised that she was revealing too much as well. She yanked the ends of her hair. Now, she did not dare continue yapping, but Yan Huan could obviously tell that something was fishy. The young lady’s words meant more than what was on the surface, just that she did not want to continue speaking, no, she might not dare continue speaking too.
“Ah, I do not know. They always meet up and chat loudly. They are just as noisy as my hen when she is about to lay eggs. They just never stop.” The young lady tugged onto her hair once again. “Elder sister Xiao Yan, let me excuse myself first. My mother is waiting for me to get home for dinner.” Without waiting for a response, the young lady ran away.
As for the words that she left hanging, it was up to Yan Huan to play the guessing game.
Yan Huan would remember this incident, but she would not spend time investigating it. As she always said, she had nothing to do with Changsheng. No matter how picky Changsheng’s mother was, at the end of the day, it would be toward her future daughter-in-law, and not her.
However, Changsheng’s mother’s attitude toward her was getting worse day by day. Not only did she have to complete all the house chores and run all the errands, but she also had no room for error. If anything was the slightest bit below her expectations, or if she was slow to complete her tasks, she would hear unpleasant words and foul sentences.
Yan Huan was not bothered by it as she did not do anything wrong. She was fine as long as she was at peace with herself.
“Elder sister Xiao Yan…” When she was about to depart from home to collect firewood, she heard someone calling her. She turned around and saw a 16 year old lady hiding behind a big tree. She was waving at Yan Huan frantically. The lady had a preppy hairstyle, in fact, it was the exact hairstyle that was in trend that season. That hairstyle was definitely done by Yan Huan, and to be more specific, it was done by Yan Huan yesterday, and Yan Huan only styled one young lady’s hair yesterday.
“It is you, Liu Fang. What brings you here?”
Liu Fang flipped her hair then tucked a loose strand behind her ear. Actually, she was used to tying her hair up, but as Yan Huan said, the people in the city usually leave their hair down because it looked captivating.
It was indeed beautiful. She felt good about herself, in fact, she felt especially beautiful. Even her neighbour, elder brother Da Chun from the village complimented her about her hair. Hence, she persisted to leave her hair down even though she did not feel at ease, all because of beauty.
Liu Fang immediately grabbed Yan Huan by the arm and dragged her away.
Where are we going? Yan Huan’s upper arm started to hurt from the force, but Liu Fang insisted on dragging her along without offering her a choice.
“I am bringing you somewhere. You will know when you arrive.” Liu Fang’s pace increased. She got so fast that Yan Huan almost could not keep up. Her stamina had decreased quite a bit compared to back then.
Also, young lady, can you try to understand a middle aged woman who is also a special needs person?
She was limping on one leg, so how could she keep up with a normal person? Moreover an energetic young lady.
She could not deny that she was old, like really old, compared to this teen who was only 16 years old. She was already 28 years old. Even if she put her old arms and legs aside, she was still a lame person.
“Shh…” Liu Fang placed her finger by her lips to signal Yan Huan to stay quiet.
Yan Huan nodded to show that she got the hint.
Finally, Liu Fang brought Yan Huan to a hidden corner by the edge of the wall. There was a gigantic rock just enough to conceal two people. Right at that moment, they heard people talking nearby.
Yan Huan glanced toward the sound and saw Changsheng’s mother and Jin Gen’s mother. They were blabbering away about who knows what.
She was not used to eavesdropping. When she wanted to stand up and leave, Liu Fang quickly gripped her arm and pointed forward to them. She then tried to mouth a few words to Yan Huan.
We cannot leave.
Yan Huan could only squeeze her body back into the small space. It was true that they could not leave. If she had the guts to walk out of there, she would definitely drown in Jin Gen’s mother’s nagging. Changsheng’s mother would kick her out of the household as well.
If she could not leave, then she had to just bear it.
Through the peephole, she saw Jin Gen’s mother laughing at something. Her high-pitched laughter was disturbing, it looked like she was up to no good. Even the young lady Liu Fang pursed her lips. She obviously felt indifferent toward the whole situation.
“Your Changsheng was born energetic and hardworking. After this year, he will start bringing you pots of gold. From what I see, you can let him marry a woman from the city, a civilised and beautiful girl. I wonder what are the credentials of the girl living in your house? In my point of view, she is just an omen of bad luck. Ever since she came to our village, the snow has gotten heavier and heavier. I nearly lost my Jin Gen…”
When they reached this part of the story, Jin Gen’s mother started wiping her tears. “It is fine. He has gone through hell but survived. My Jin Gen is a tough cookie, he was not affected too much by that woman. However, if it was someone else, then I cannot be so sure. You really have to be careful.” As she was saying that, she held Changsheng’s mother’s hands in hers. “You should not be friendly to her. When she becomes a daughter-in-law, she also has to face the temperament of her mother-in-law. If you do not control her now, she will take advantage of you. Tell me, how are you going to be a grandmother? You should never let your daughter-in-law take advantage of you. We spent our blood, sweat and tears to raise our sons, we cannot just let him be with an inadequate wife.”
“It is like that.” Changsheng’s mother started to feel uncomfortable. “I see that my Changsheng is head over heels for her. If she says no, Changsheng would actually follow her orders. If it were not for my determination to persuade him, the people of the village would still be suffering by farming for a living. Nobody would know when the old houses could possibly be completed. By then, everyone in the village would be living in high rise buildings, but us, we would still be stuck in that mud house. If I really have to live like that, I would be beyond ashamed.”
“Exactly my point.” Jing Gen’s mother pat Chengsheng’s mother on the shoulder. “Just be grumpy and nitpicky, or else she would think that you are easy to mess with. In the future, if she really marries your Changsheng, how could she not take advantage of you as a mother-in-law?”
“Sigh…” Changsheng’s mother let out a long sigh of disappointment. “My Changsheng is stubborn, and he has already found his target. He is not like your Jin Gen. I am sure he will bring home a beautiful and smart city girl in the future.”
