“Nonsense! You’re my daughter-in-law, why would I harm you? It’s a fine day today with no wind in the yard. Opening the window for some fresh air won’t hurt. Come now, let me see this little girl.”
Jiang Yue’s expression instantly darkened as she slapped away the woman’s hand. “Don’t touch my daughter!”
Mother Lu also grew angry. “She’s my granddaughter too! What’s wrong with me holding her? Just a little girl – look how protective you are! When she grows up, she’ll just benefit others anyway. Will her children carry your family name? Will she support you in your old age? You hate me now, but when you reach my age, you’ll understand how good it is to have sons. If you don’t listen to your elders, you’ll regret it later!”
“Bullshit! She’s my daughter, and I’ll treasure her however I want! That precious grandson of yours is as fat as a pig and not even clever! You just wait for him to mourn at your funeral!”
If Lu Da Sao heard this, she’d definitely start a fight.
Before Mother Lu could defend her precious grandson, Jiang Yue launched another attack.
“And don’t call her your granddaughter from now on! You should be ashamed to say it – I’m embarrassed to hear it! Just a few days ago you wanted to throw her into the mountains to feed wild dogs! Have you forgotten what you said already? And what you did the day I gave birth – I’ll remember it for life! When Lu Jingzhou returns, I’ll tell him everything exactly as it happened. Don’t think I’ll swallow my anger quietly – that’s impossible!”
“You’d actually tell on me?” Mother Lu began to panic. “Just try saying one word to Third Son and I’ll tear your mouth apart! You’re the useless one who gave birth to worthless goods! We elders can say a few words if we want! Besides, in these times, which family hasn’t abandoned baby girls? Your second sister-in-law also abandoned one! Only you make such a big fuss, even wanting to attack people with a knife! I’ll tell Third Son you tried to kill his parents! Let’s see who he sides with then!”
“Pah! I don’t care who he sides with! I’m going to divorce him anyway – I won’t live this kind of life anymore!” Having eaten her fill these past two days, her confidence had only grown stronger.
“Fine, get divorced then! Did you think our Lu family needs you? The moment you two divorce, I can immediately find Third Son a fresh young maiden! As for you – cast out with a child in tow – who would want you except some crippled old bachelor!”
Not daring to confront Jiang Yue physically, Mother Lu fled after her tirade, abandoning the dirty diapers she was supposed to wash.
She ran outside, planting her hands on her hips as she stood fuming by the doorway.
This won’t do, she thought. I need to gather some people to teach Jiang Yue a lesson.
So early the next morning, when all the men had gone to the commune for cleanup duty, Mother Lu gathered a bunch of idle women. They sat in the courtyard doing miscellaneous chores while gossiping.
“Jiang Yue! Has your brain been muddled by pig dung? What has Third Son ever done to wrong you that you keep clamoring for divorce? Do you think divorce is something glorious? Even if you don’t mind the shame, our Lu family still needs to save face!”
“Exactly! Have you considered where you’ll earn work points after divorcing? Without work points, how will you get grain rations? Without grain, what will you eat and drink? Wait to starve to death?”
“Besides, take a look in the mirror – with your looks, you’re lucky anyone wanted you at all.”
Jiang Yue touched her face – she had actually looked in the mirror recently.
Truth be told, she was quite pretty – small face, pointed chin, single eyelids with large eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners.
Only her hair was somewhat dry and yellowish, her lips lacked color, and she was quite thin.
But in the countryside, especially in the eyes of elders, these qualities weren’t considered attractive.
They favored women with a fortunate appearance—broad faces, ample bosoms, generously rounded buttocks, and wide hips—believing such traits promised fertility, the kind that could yield two sons in three years.
Lu Da Sao fit this ideal perfectly. She had borne a son with her first pregnancy and now carried herself with such pride that she scarcely needed to look where she was going, her chin tilted so high it nearly scraped the sky.
“Jingzhou is a boy we’ve watched grow up—tall, handsome, and after all these years in the military, he’s bound to be extraordinary. When he returns on his next leave, the two of you can try again. You’ll surely have a son eventually—don’t lose heart!”
“These young girls nowadays, always lost in wild fantasies. In my opinion, it’s because they’re too well-fed and idle.”
“Exactly! Nothing like our youth, when we were so hungry we could barely walk straight—who had time for such thoughts?”
“Right! Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Just live your life properly, and that’s enough.”
“She lacks discipline—a few good beatings would set her straight.”
The women suddenly caught each other’s meaning and burst into raucous laughter, slapping their thighs.
…
Jiang Yue leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, rolling her eyes at the sky in exasperation.
Mother Lu hid behind the gaggle of old biddies, stealing occasional glances at her, so distracted she hadn’t even noticed she’d mismatched her shoe uppers.
One look at the old woman’s expression, and Jiang Yue felt like laughing.
“Green tea” behavior knew no age limits—and her mother-in-law was nearly sixty!
She was the very picture of it.
The memory of that vicious, terrifying face the day Little Bean Sprout was born was etched into Jiang Yue’s mind, indelible forever.
Yet, around outsiders, the old woman transformed completely—playing the part of a bullied, long-suffering little granny oppressed by her daughter-in-law.
Jiang Yue pointed at the women howling with laughter. “Sister Liu, I never imagined you’ve been pining for Lu Laosan all this time. Fine—when he gets back, I’ll divorce him. You hurry home, kick your husband to the curb, and marry Lu Jingzhou. What do you think of my proposal?”
Liu Feng, whether from guilt or genuine anger, looked extremely uncomfortable. “Don’t you dare slander me! There’s no such thing! Don’t you ruin my reputation! You might not care about face, but I do! Keep spouting nonsense, and I’ll rip your mouth shut!”
Jiang Yue rolled her eyes again. “And Auntie Zhao, you praise Lu Laosan as if he’s a blooming flower—do you have designs on him too? After all, your husband is old and ugly, and surely useless in bed. Pity, though—your face has too many wrinkles. Maybe get a new one first, and see if Lu Laosan would even glance your way?”
Zhao Juhua clutched her chest, nearly apoplectic. “Good heavens! Jiang girl, what kind of foul talk is this? How old am I, and how old are you, that you dare mock me like this? Zhang Guifang, control your daughter-in-law! If this gets out, how am I supposed to go on living!”
Mother Lu shrank back, feigning frailty and pitifulness. “I wouldn’t dare scold her—who knows, she might hit me. Look at this.” She pushed up her sleeve, revealing a bruise. “She did this to me.”
In truth, she’d hurt herself while working—she just bruised easily.
Zhao Juhua slapped her thigh and wailed, “Heavens above! A daughter-in-law beating her mother-in-law—is there no justice left? Don’t your eldest and second sons care? What about Lu Decheng? Is he dead or what?”
Mother Lu pulled up her sleeve to wipe her tears. “Third Son isn’t home. The eldest and second sons can’t lay hands on their brother’s wife either. At most, the old man might scold her a couple of times, but if she’s truly provoked, she’d dare to pick up a knife and attack someone. I just never expected that even though I’ve been tolerating her like this, she wouldn’t consider the newborn child and is insisting on divorcing my Third Son. Ah! Being a mother-in-law to this extent, I’m quite useless!”
Jiang Yue was thoroughly disgusted by this old woman. “Still pretending, are you? Fine! Since you said so, I won’t hold back!”
She yanked down the corn cobs drying under the eaves and hurled them at Mother Lu.
Her mother-in-law was also a tough one, standing frozen without dodging.
“Ouch!”