Gu Dasao said angrily, “She’s really good at slacking off. Didn’t even wash the bowls and just left. I’ve been doing the housework for over a month. Mom, I’m not washing the dishes this month.”
“Washing the dishes one more time won’t make you lose a piece of flesh,” Gu Lao Da said honestly.
Smack! “I’m still not washing them! Why should I do the housework while she’s in postpartum confinement? When I was in confinement, she certainly didn’t do any housework.”
Gu Dasao deliberately shouted angrily in the courtyard.
Gu Lao Da said, “Keep your voice down. The neighbors will hear and laugh at us. When you were in confinement, wasn’t Younger Sister-in-law not yet married into the family?”
“She’s not afraid of being laughed at, so why should I be? If they’re going to laugh, they’ll be laughing at that Zhang Cuihua.”
“Gu Aiguo, you’re such a good-for-nothing! Can’t you see your wife working so hard every single day?” Zhang Cuihua flared up as well.
Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Grandma Gu said angrily to Gu Lǎotóu, “Look at that. No one wants to do an ounce of extra work.”
“Old man, what do you think about sending our eldest grandson to school?”
Gu Lǎotóu glanced up at his old wife and said, “If the family has the money, then let him go. Aren’t you the one in charge of the money?”
“Alright then. I was just thinking we shouldn’t let the child grow up illiterate. Look at the name that Grandma Gu next door gave our little granddaughter. Isn’t it lovely and meaningful?” Grandma Gu said happily.
Suddenly thinking of something, she stood up and went into the courtyard. “Eldest Daughter-in-law, don’t you go on every day about how much work you do. Why don’t you talk about how you sneak food while you’re cooking? You think I don’t know?”
Just as Wang Ni was about to retort, she heard Grandma Gu say, “I was originally planning to let little Hao start school when the term begins.”
“Since you’re so keen on haggling over every little thing, I can’t be too biased. The second branch of the family doesn’t have any children who can go to school, so let’s just have no one go to school.”
Hearing this, Wang Ni couldn’t let that happen. She immediately said, “Mom, what are you talking about? I was just about to wash the dishes.”
“Little Hao still has to go to school. After all, he’s the only boy in our family. If he becomes successful, won’t it bring you honor in the future, Mom?”
Although Wang Ni herself was illiterate, she knew that going to school was important. Only by going to school could one leave this place.
Inside the house, Gu Hao heard that he could go to school and ran out happily, hugging his grandmother’s arm. “Grandma, can I go to school? I really want to go to school.”
Looking at his happy little face, Grandma Gu said, “You can go to school, but you have to study hard, you hear?”
Gu Hao let go of Grandma Gu’s arm and ran around the courtyard in delight. “I can go to school!”
In their room, the family of three from the second branch heard the sounds from the courtyard.
Zhang Cuihua angrily hit Gu Aidang’s shoulder and said, “Look at your mother, always favoring your elder brother. Now she’s even letting that little brat Gu Hao go to school.”
Gu Aidang didn’t fall for his wife’s act. “What’s this all about? Are you that unwilling to look after the child?”
Zhang Cuihua didn’t dare say that her body had been weakened this time. The last time she said her body was weak, he had thought she was just making excuses to be lazy.
She knew that Gu Aidang was extremely biased towards having sons.
He just hid it well. Don’t be fooled by his usual pained expression for her; if she couldn’t have children in the future, there was no telling what he would do.
Zhang Cuihua could only say aggrievedly, “I don’t know why, I just don’t like her. And I asked Mom to look after the child for your sake.”
Then, pretending to wipe away tears, she said, “I don’t have any milk, and the baby is so young, so she has to sleep with us. You work hard all day, and if you have to keep waking up at night, won’t it disrupt your sleep? I’m just worried about you. Have you forgotten what it was like when Mengmeng was little?”
Gu Lao Er thought back to how Mengmeng used to cry every night as a baby, and a shiver ran down his spine.
He grabbed Zhang Cuihua’s hand and said, “My wife is so smart, thinking of such a good solution. It’s just that you’ll have to work hard with me.”
Zhang Cuihua didn’t want to work and said pitifully, “I can’t do much anyway. Aren’t Dad and Elder Brother still around?”
“Don’t work too hard. If you wear out your body, I’ll be heartbroken. I want you to recover well so you can give me a son.”
Gu Lao Er thought that made sense. He was a slacker at work himself. He said to Zhang Cuihua, “From now on, let Mengmeng come work in the fields with us. Other people’s five-year-old children can already do laundry, cook, and watch younger siblings.”
Hearing her father call her name, Mengmeng, not yet understanding the hardship of working in the fields, said with a happy face, “Mom, I’ll work for you.”
Zhang Cuihua said happily, “My daughter is so considerate of her mother. She knows how hard it is for me. I love my daughter the most.”