“I’ve never seen a family spend all their money on a nephew. Does he not have a father or a mother?”
“And look at the life her own son is living. In this freezing weather, the cotton padding is falling out of his jacket, and yet they haven’t bought him a new one. They don’t care about their own son, but treat their nephew like their own flesh and blood instead.”
“A Scholar? Is being a Scholar so impressive? I’ve never seen such a poor Scholar. I didn’t get a single lick of benefit from being married into your Old Bai family. And don’t think I’ve done Xia Qinghe wrong—that woman isn’t suffering nearly as much as I am now.”
“Whose daughter isn’t a treasure? Is the daughter in my womb not part of the Bai family? Now, my daughter wants a cup of goat’s milk, yet no one will buy a goat for her.”
…
You Jingui’s shrill voice drifted from the side room all the way to the main room.
Originally, Old Lady Bai and the couple, Bai Muban and Lady Zhen, had pretended not to hear, thinking they shouldn’t meddle in the small quarrels between Bai Erzhuang and his wife and letting them settle it themselves.
But You Jingui’s words were full of barbed insults and indirect attacks, dragging everyone in the Bai family into the fray.
Bai Dazhuang, Bai Sanzhuang, Lady Zhen, Xiao Fuyuan… she had taken a swipe at everyone and even dragged in the completely uninvolved Xia Qinghe.
“Is Second Sister-in-law still like this?” Bai Sanzhuang muttered in dissatisfaction.
He suddenly felt that his decision to refuse becoming a live-in son-in-law for the Xu family shopkeeper was absolutely correct. A girl like Xu Jiaojiao, who was pampered and spoiled, might not necessarily treat the Bai family well.
He felt a bit of pity for his second brother. Since childhood, everyone had said he was promising. When he passed the exam to become a Scholar, it caused a sensation for miles around. Ever since he married You Jingui, the prestige of being a Scholar had vanished, and he had been reduced to an object of public pity.
The Bai family was poor, but the parents were kind, the brothers were united, and life had always been harmonious. The only shit-stirrer was his second sister-in-law.
Hearing her daughter-in-law getting more worked up as she shouted, Old Lady Bai’s face grew darker. Lady Zhen could no longer sit still.
As a mother-in-law, if she didn’t step up to manage her own daughter-in-law, she couldn’t very well let the grandmother stand up instead.
As the father-in-law, Bai Muban was even less suited to manage his son’s private bedroom affairs. Only Lady Zhen was fit to handle You Jingui.
“…Second daughter-in-law, what are you shouting for? You are pregnant right now; if you feel wronged, speak properly. There are still elders in the house to handle things for you,” Lady Zhen said through the window.
Old Lady Bai sighed inwardly.
Lady Zhen’s upbringing was too refined. It was a temperament cultivated since childhood, and even after suffering so much, it hadn’t changed. She didn’t even know how to scold people; she didn’t have the air of a mother-in-law at all. If she, the old woman, wasn’t here to keep things in check, Lady Zhen would eventually be manipulated by her daughter-in-law.
To keep the household in order, a veteran like her had to step in personally.
“Second daughter-in-law, is your mouth smeared with dung or something? What nonsense are you spewing? Rambling on about this and that. What do you have to feel wronged about? Based on how you schemed against my Erzhuang when you were still an unmarried girl, you should have been drowned in a pond! Our family married you with all the traditional ceremonies and gifts, yet instead of showing gratitude, you’re putting on airs!”
“Erzhuang dotes on his nephew for a reason. Didn’t Dazhuang work himself to the bone to provide for Erzhuang so he could become a Scholar? Everything you eat and drink now, isn’t it grown in the fields by Dazhuang? The clothes you wear, weren’t they sewn by Chuntao? If my Erzhuang hadn’t married you, your family would have stuffed you off to some old man as a second wife or shaved your head to make you a nun long ago!”
“Do you have me and your parents-in-law in your eyes? Spouting nonsense in front of your elders! Tomorrow, I’ll go to your mother’s house and ask her how she raised such a daughter. It wasn’t enough to curse the eldest’s wife; you even dragged in your mother-in-law and your sister-in-law. How many days has your sister-in-law even been born? You’re acting blind and jealous. If you really give birth to a daughter, I’ll provide for you too; we’ll just see if you have that kind of luck.”
…
Xiao Fuyuan had long been woken up by You Jingui’s shouting. She didn’t cry, instead opening her round eyes wide to watch the drama.
Once Old Lady Bai stepped in, Xiao Fuyuan couldn’t help but marvel in her heart. As expected of a grandmother who commanded respect, her sharp-tongued skills were top-tier; she could suppress all parties the moment she spoke.
Sure enough, You Jingui was gradually silenced by Old Lady Bai until there was no sound left.
“…My second brother doesn’t have it easy either,” Bai Sanzhuang further resolved to marry a virtuous wife in the future.
“He doesn’t have it easy? He let himself be manipulated and foolishly fell into someone else’s trap. This is what he deserves,” Old Lady Bai’s teeth itched with resentment whenever she thought about how the You family had schemed against her grandson.
Lady Zhen, however, did not agree with her mother-in-law. When a kind person is targeted, it is often impossible to avoid.
Ever since the You family’s scheme succeeded against Bai Erzhuang, he had lost his spirit for studying. Having been held to high expectations since childhood, he failed the provincial exams twice in a row and completely gave up on the imperial examinations, opting instead to teach at the private school in town.
At the thought of this, Lady Zhen felt heartbroken.
Looking down, Lady Zhen saw Xiao Fuyuan staring up at her with her dark, round eyes. Seeing the gloom between Lady Zhen’s brows, Xiao Fuyuan wanted to cheer her up and began cooing and smiling at her.
“Oh, Mother’s little darling, you’re comforting your mother.” Lady Zhen marveled in her heart. No wonder people said a daughter was a mother’s little quilted vest. Indeed, such a tiny little person already knew how to smile at her.
Lady Zhen’s heart was soothed.
Bai Muban found it inappropriate to comment on the affairs of his second son’s couple. After sitting in silence for a while, he suddenly remembered something.
His youngest daughter was almost a month old.
The Bai family had longed for a daughter for ages. Although she wasn’t biologically theirs, there was no difference. Since the little daughter was turning a month old, shouldn’t they hold a one-month feast? None of the sons had one when they were born, nor did the grandsons. If the daughter didn’t have one, it wouldn’t be right.
“…Are we still holding a one-month feast for our Xiao Fuyuan?” Bai Muban carefully discussed the matter with Lady Zhen and his mother.
Lady Zhen and Old Lady Bai had also been thinking about the feast these past few days.
But where would the money come from?
Although they had made some money from selling fish, it had all been spent on rice, flour, oil, and other household supplies. Bai Erzhuang had given some silver, and though he said it was for Xiao Fuyuan, there were many places in the household that needed money. They couldn’t just host a single table for their own family to enjoy; that would be too shabby and would invite ridicule from the villagers.
“How about we don’t hold it? When we have silver in the future, we can throw Xiao Fuyuan a birthday party to make up for it,” Lady Zhen suggested.
While it was a pity not to have a one-month feast, she was well aware of the family’s difficult situation. They couldn’t possibly borrow money to host it. Besides, the villagers weren’t wealthy either. Who would lend them silver?
Old Lady Bai hadn’t intended to hold it either, but seeing Xiao Fuyuan’s round eyes smiling at her, her heart softened completely. This little girl was born without a mother and was picked up by the Bai family to be raised as a daughter. As soon as she arrived, she brought so many large fish to the house. More importantly, she brought a sense of warmth to this “monastery” of a household.
Wasn’t she worth a one-month feast?
“We’ll hold it! Why wouldn’t we? The whole village knows our family has a daughter. For such a joyous occasion, how can we not celebrate?” Old Lady Bai smoothed Xiao Fuyuan’s little swaddling cloth and made up her mind.
“Father, Mother, Grandma is right. Having a sister is a great joy for our family; we should have a one-month feast. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll ask around for some extra work to borrow some…”
Old Lady Bai interrupted Bai Sanzhuang: “The money doesn’t need to come from you.”
Then, she slid off the silver bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Bai Muban. “Take this to the town tomorrow and pawn it.”
“Mother, that’s the bracelet Grandmother left for you. There’s only one left; you can’t pawn it. I still have a hairpin; pawn mine,” Lady Zhen said.
“Keep your hairpin as a memento. Our Bai family doesn’t have a tradition of using a daughter-in-law’s dowry for money.” Old Lady Bai insisted on handing the bracelet to Bai Muban, forgetting for a moment that she, too, was a daughter-in-law of the Bai family.
Bai Muban took his mother’s bracelet, his heart filled with guilt.
His mother originally had a pair of bracelets. To support Bai Erzhuang’s studies, she had already pawned one. Now, for Xiao Fuyuan’s feast, she was pawning the other. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was an unfilial son and an inadequate father.
“I’m going out for a walk.” Bai Muban placed the bracelet on the bed, put on his shoes, and walked out to get some air.