It was already broad daylight.
A breeze blew in through the courtyard window.
It was a bit chilly, but the sunshine was nice today.
When Yu Yin opened her eyes, she was immediately dazzled by the sunlight streaming in through the window.
She squinted, stretched, and rolled over in bed once more, intending to sleep a little longer.
However, the next second, her lazy expression froze, as if a broken machine had clicked twice and been forced to stop.
She looked so helpless and bewildered.
It seemed as though she had forgotten something.
At that moment, two childish voices came from outside the door—
“Ningning, why isn’t Auntie up yet?”
“Shh, Auntie, let’s keep our voices down. Grandma said Second Auntie was so tired from fighting off the bad guys last night that she needs to sleep a little longer.”
“Auntie, let’s wait a little longer. Second Auntie will be up soon.”
“O-okay, then. But I’m so hungry.” Pei Rong, whose mental age was only four or five, rubbed her stomach, glanced at the lean pork congee and bread laid out on the dining table, and swallowed hard.
“It’s going ‘gurgle, gurgle.’”
Pei Rong and Pei Kangning hadn’t had breakfast yet.
Early this morning, Mrs. Sheng had prepared breakfast and then left. Although she’d told them to eat first before she left—and had even set the table for them—they’d received a gift from Yu Yin first thing in the morning. They were so excited that they wanted to have breakfast with her.
But Yu Yin still hadn’t woken up.
It was almost nine o’clock, and they were so hungry.
Yu Yin, who had overheard the entire conversation from inside: “……”
She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
Yu Yin silently let out a huge “Ah!” and then hurriedly got out of bed to get dressed.
In less than five minutes, Yu Yin opened the door with a guilty look on her face.
The two little cuties outside heard the noise, their eyes widening instantly as they hurried to the doorway to watch Yu Yin emerge.
Yu Yin was wearing new clothes today—a red, floral-patterned lightweight cotton jacket prepared by Mrs. Sheng, paired with dark blue pants, which made her look fair-skinned and full of energy.
When the two little cuties saw their sister-in-law—or auntie—looking even prettier than yesterday, their eyes immediately lit up.
Especially the innocent Pei Rong, whose eyes sparkled brightly.
She was the first to rush over and hug Yu Yin. “Sister-in-law, you look so pretty!”
Next came Pei Kangning. Though he had just turned three and looked tiny, he wore a serious expression, acting very much like a little adult.
He cautiously followed behind the carefree Pei Rong. When he saw that Yu Yin didn’t seem to mind or reject Pei Rong, he called out as well, “Hello, Second Auntie.”
Yu Yin tried her best to shake off her unease. First, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind Pei Rong’s ear—it had somehow gotten out of place—before greeting the two of them: “Hello, you two. Sorry, I overslept.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I overslept too, Sister-in-law.” Pei Rong liked her sister-in-law for helping her with her hair.
Since her sister-in-law mentioned oversleeping, she followed suit and said she’d overslept as well.
She’d completely forgotten that just a moment ago she’d been rubbing her stomach and saying she was hungry.
A smile flickered in Yu Yin’s eyes as she pinched Pei Rong’s little cheek. “So are you hungry? Do you want to have breakfast with your auntie?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“I want to drink congee and eat buns.”
“And Ningning—Ningning wants to eat too.” She hadn’t forgotten her little nephew, Pei Kangning.
Yu Yin smiled and coaxed her, “Okay, let’s all eat together.”
Yu Yin led Pei Rong to the dining table. She touched the bowls containing the congee and steamed buns and realized they’d been sitting out too long—both had gone cold.
It had turned cooler today, so they shouldn’t eat cold food.
So Yu Yin took the porridge and buns back to the kitchen to reheat them, bringing them out only when they were just the right temperature.
The two little cuties couldn’t wait any longer—especially Pei Rong, whose mental age was only four or five. As soon as Yu Yin set the breakfast down, she began wolfing it down.
“Slow down, be careful—it’s hot. Don’t choke.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the impatient Pei Rong immediately choked.
“Achoo! Cough, cough, cough.”
As she choked, the porridge in her mouth sprayed out, splattering everywhere.
Once she finally caught her breath, Pei Rong saw the mess all over the table and instantly puckered her lips, her eyes welling up with tears.
Seeing that she was about to cry, Yu Yin immediately ran over to comfort her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Did you choke on your little nose? Does anything hurt?”
Pei Rong had thought her new sister-in-law would look down on her or scold her, just like the other kids did, but to her surprise, Yu Yin’s gentleness and questions distracted her the very next second.
She blinked her teary eyes—the tears didn’t fall—and, rubbing her little nose, cried out, “Nose-nose, it hurts.”
After a pause, she tugged at her clothes. “Dirty, Rongrong’s a dirty kitty.”
“Oh, right, Rongrong’s turning into a dirty kitty.” ” Seeing that she wasn’t hurt, Yu Yin smiled and pinched her nose.
Pei Rong didn’t realize she was being teased; she thought she really was turning into a “dirty-dirty cat,” so her little mouth, which had just returned to normal, puckered up again.
“Waaah, Rongrong doesn’t want to be a dirty-dirty cat.”
“Then what should we do?”
Pei Rong tilted her little head and answered, her eyes brimming with tears, “Cry-cry.”
“Haha!” Yu Yin couldn’t help but laugh out loud—Pei Rong was just too cute.
She took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth clean and gently guided her, “Not by crying, okay? Crying won’t solve the problem. What we need to do now is change your clothes. As long as you put on clean clothes, our Rongrong won’t be a ‘dirty kitty’ anymore.”
“Rongrong, don’t you agree?”
Pei Rong nodded instinctively, “Not a dirty kitty.”
“That’s right. Once we change your clothes, our Rong Rong won’t be a dirty kitty anymore. So next time something like this happens, what should our Rong Rong do?”
“…Change clothes!”
“Yes, Rong Rong, you’re so smart.”
Hearing the praise, Pei Rong immediately stopped crying and flashed a bright smile at Yu Yin.
After calming Pei Rong down, Yu Yin almost forgot that there was another real three-year-old, Pei Kangning, right beside her. She hurried off to look for him, only to unexpectedly spot Mrs. Sheng and Aunt Cai, who had returned at some point.
And the very Pei Kangning she was looking for was standing right in front of them, nervously clutching a small handkerchief.
He must have gone to fetch the handkerchief just now while Pei Rong was choking.
He really is such a thoughtful child. Yu Yin’s expression softened, and she looked up at Mrs. Sheng and Aunt Cai, calling out, “Mom, Aunt Cai, you’re back.”
“We’re back. Yin Yin, you go ahead and eat breakfast. I’ll take Rong Rong to change her clothes.” Mrs. Sheng now treated Yu Yin like family, but even so, she didn’t want to trouble others with her own “silly” daughter.
Yu Yin didn’t insist. After Mrs. Sheng took Pei Rong to change, she continued eating breakfast with Pei Kangning.
Aunt Cai, however, didn’t follow them.
Aunt Cai was absolutely smitten with Yu Yin; if her own son weren’t already married, she’d have wanted to snatch Yu Yin away to be her daughter-in-law.
She’d never met such a wonderful young woman—bold and principled in her actions, kind-hearted, never bullying the weak, and never looking down on people with disabilities.
That last point was especially important—even elderly people like them, who’d lived through so much, sometimes showed disdain when faced with someone with intellectual disabilities.
Yet she’d met Yu Yin twice—once without Yu Yin even knowing it, a situation that truly reveals a person’s character—and not only did Yu Yin show no disdain toward Pei Rong, but she also patiently taught her.
Her younger brother had certainly made a good choice in choosing this daughter-in-law.
“Yin Yin, did you sleep well last night?” Aunt Cai looked at Yu Yin with a loving expression, making small talk when she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Did those two little ones wake you up this morning?”
“I slept very well, thank you for asking, Aunt Cai. Rongrong and Ningning were so well-behaved—they waited for me to wake up and even had breakfast with me.”
As she spoke, Yu Yin kept an eye on Pei Kangning. When she saw him reach out for a steamed bun, she picked one up with her chopsticks and handed it to him.
Pei Kangning’s little body, which had just been about to stand up, froze, and he shyly yet stubbornly pulled his short little hand back.
He set his round little face straight and thanked Yu Yin, “Thank you, Second Auntie.”
“Second Auntie, just eat your own—don’t worry about me.”
Aunt Cai chimed in, “That’s right, Yin Yin. You don’t need to worry about Kangning. Our Kangning is such a little grown-up—he even takes care of his little cousin. He can take care of himself.”
Yu Yin smiled and said to Pei Kangning, “Well then, Kangning, if you ever need Second Auntie’s help, remember to let me know, okay?”
Pei Kangning’s stern little face showed a moment of confusion, but he still nodded slowly.
“Sister-in-law, Rongrong isn’t a ‘Dirty Cat’ anymore!” Pei Rong quickly changed her clothes and came out, running up to Yu Yin with little thump-thump-thump steps.
Fearing she might trip and fall from running so fast, Yu Yin hurriedly caught her and praised her: “Mm-hmm, you’re not a ‘dirty kitty’—Rongrong looks the prettiest.”
Rongrong had never been praised like this before; her little face flushed bright red, and she shyly hugged Yu Yin, burying her face against her chest.
Mrs. Sheng followed them out. It was rare to see her silly daughter get so close to someone; her heart felt both bittersweet and full, yet she also felt a sense of relief.
She was relieved that she’d finally agreed to Matchmaker Zhao’s suggestion and chosen a girl from the Yu family.
If she hadn’t agreed back then, she would have missed out on such a wonderful girl.
“Rongrong, don’t cling to your sister-in-law. Aren’t you hungry? Hurry up and eat breakfast! If you don’t eat, we won’t take you with us when we go out later.”
“Take me, take me! Rongrong wants to eat!” Pei Rong pleaded anxiously.
She hurriedly sat down next to Pei Kangning, who, seeing his little niece take her seat, handed her a wooden spoon.
After taking the spoon, Pei Rong began wolfing down her food again.
Yu Yin, afraid she might choke again, was about to speak up. But Mrs. Sheng, sitting nearby, beat her to it and snatched the spoon from her hand.
“What did Mom always tell you?” Mrs. Sheng’s expression turned serious. “How should you eat?”
Pei Rong pouted. The expression looked somewhat eerie on her face—which still looked youthful but actually belonged to a girl who wasn’t that young anymore.
There was also a strange sense of pity about it.
Mrs. Sheng resisted the urge to soften and persisted, “How should you eat?”
“…Eat… slowly.”
“Well, are you eating slowly?”
“Rongrong wants to go out—with my sister-in-law.”
“We didn’t say we wouldn’t wait for you.” Mrs. Sheng couldn’t hold out much longer and handed the wooden spoon back to her. “So eat slowly. We’ll go out after you’re done.”
“That’s right, Rongrong. Your sister-in-law doesn’t eat fast either, so let’s eat slowly, okay?”
Hearing that her sister-in-law didn’t eat fast either, Pei Rong immediately nodded. “Okay, Rongrong will eat slowly. Sister-in-law, Rongrong will wait for you after she finishes.”
The fact that she was actually willing to wait for someone made Yu Yin smile again.
Mrs. Sheng couldn’t help but laugh along, though her smile was tinged with a hint of tears.
Mrs. Sheng, Sheng Siyang, explained, “She’s not usually like this. She’s usually very well-behaved and doesn’t make a mess while eating.”
Early in the morning, Yu Yin didn’t really have much of an appetite. After taking a couple of sips of congee, she picked up where Mrs. Sheng left off.
“I know. Rongrong looks like such a good girl. She’s only in such a hurry because she doesn’t want to be apart from me. She’s acting this way because she likes me.”
Pei Rong was eating her congee very earnestly. When she heard her new sister-in-law—whom she liked—call her name, she flashed a big smile at Yu Yin. “Rongrong loves my new sister-in-law the most.”
“Mm-hmm, I love Rongrong too.”
Pei Rong continued eating while covering her little mouth with her hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Mrs. Sheng was about to say something else when Aunt Cai, sitting beside her, held her back.
……
After breakfast, in accordance with custom, Yu Yin was led by Mrs. Sheng to pay visits to their neighbors.
They now lived in Guiyuan street on Yuanfeng Road in Lihe District.
Established during the Guangxu era, this entire area was once home to distinguished families and high-ranking officials.
As a result, most of the buildings here retain the traditional residential style characteristic of southern China. Aside from a few newer structures, most are Xiguan-style mansions.
Of course, there are also a number of raised-floor houses, though they are not located in Guiyuan Street itself.
Sheng Siyang’s mother and Aunt Cai led Yu Yin on a tour to visit the neighbors, explaining the area as they went.
Of course, Aunt Cai did most of the talking; she had a cheerful personality, was well-traveled, and spoke with great wit. Thanks to her explanations, Yu Yin gained quite a bit of insight into the local culture and surroundings.
“And over here—”
“Oh, showing the country bumpkin the ropes, are we?”
“Sheng Siyang, what were you thinking? Why on earth did you find Ah Zhan a country bumpkin? Aren’t you afraid that when Ah Zhan gets promoted, his bosses and coworkers will make fun of him?”
Suddenly, a sharp, cutting voice cut in, instantly shattering the previously pleasant atmosphere.
Yu Yin recognized the voice. She turned her head and caught sight of Zhang Guihua emerging from a house at the end of the alley.
Like them, Zhang Guihua had come to bring her daughter-in-law to meet the other families.
Mrs. Sheng’s previously joyful expression immediately faded.
Just as she was about to speak, Aunt Cai stepped in front of her, spraying Zhang Guihua’s face with spit.
“Pfft! Zhang Guihua, didn’t you brush your teeth this morning? Your breath stinks.”
“Let me tell you, our Ah Zhan’s wife is so wonderful. If you keep spouting nonsense about her being a country bumpkin, I’ll tear your mouth to shreds.”
Zhang Guihua wasn’t paying attention—or perhaps she hadn’t even noticed Aunt Cai—and was splattered with spit from head to toe.
“Ah, are you crazy, you fat cow Cai?! How dare you spit on me?!” Zhang Guihua hurriedly wiped and shook it off with her hands, moving like a monkey dancing.
Aunt Cai admired Zhang Guihua’s dance moves while standing firmly in front of Sheng’s mother to retort, “So what if I spat on you? It’s your own fault your breath stinks so bad.”
“Get out! Take your daughter-in-law and get the hell out of here!”
“If I ever see you bullying my younger sister-in-law or Ah Zhan’s wife again, I’ll spit on you every single time I see you.”
“Spit on you!” Pei Rong shouted along with her.
After shouting, she immediately ducked back behind Yu Yin.
Pei Rong had the mental capacity of a four- or five-year-old and didn’t really understand what the adults were arguing about.
She only knew that Auntie Pei was cursing at her mom and sister-in-law—both of whom were Rongrong’s favorite people. Anyone who bullied them would get cursed by Rongrong.
It was already humiliating enough to be scolded and spat on by that fat woman Cai, but now to be scolded by a little fool as well—Zhang Guihua’s face contorted with rage.
She glared fiercely at Pei Rong, but just as her gaze landed on her, it was blocked by a slender figure.
It was Yu Yin.
Yu Yin’s face was expressionless, her eyes clear and cold, as if nothing mattered to her.
But if you looked closely, when your gaze met her pupils, you’d discover her eyes were filled with the glint of blades and swords.
For a split second, Zhang Guihua thought she’d seen Pei Zhan.
No, it must have been Pei Zhan in his youth.
Zhang Guihua suddenly shuddered, her heart pounding with fear.
She wondered, “Could I have seen a ghost?”
That bratty girl surnamed Yu had never even met Pei Zhan—how could she possibly bear such a striking resemblance to him?
“You!”
“Just you wait.”
“Let’s go!” Unable to win an argument or a fight, Zhang Guihua could only slink away, dragging her daughter-in-law with her.
“Pah!” Aunt Cai spat again at Zhang Guihua’s retreating back, and Pei Rong, standing nearby, followed suit, spitting even louder.
Yu Yin watched, shaking her head.
“Has Zhang Guihua gone crazy lately? Why can’t she stand to see you happy and keeps picking on you?” Aunt Cai asked, pointing out Zhang Guihua’s strange behavior.
Sheng’s mother, Sheng Siyang, pondered for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t know either. Maybe she’s not holding back because she’s married such a formidable daughter-in-law.”
“She’s just a ticket seller at a movie theater—what’s so impressive about that?”
“I heard someone in her family holds a government position.”
“And Ah Zhan is a soldier, after all.”
“Never mind, let’s not talk about that disgusting woman. Let’s finish greeting everyone quickly, then take Yin Yin to the neighborhood office for a quick visit, and head home for hot pot.”
“Your older brother swore up and down this morning that he’d catch a big, fat fish for us to eat our fill. If there isn’t enough, he’ll go buy some.”
Sheng’s mother, Sheng Siyang, nodded with a smile.
While Yu Yin was being led around to greet people, Zhang Guihua—whose introductions to just two families had been interrupted—felt something was off the more she thought about it.
She had originally planned to lead her daughter-in-law from the end of the street to the beginning to introduce them to everyone, and then make a stop by the subdistrict office.
But now that she thought about it, it didn’t make sense. These neighbors weren’t people with power, influence, or money—it didn’t really matter whether she introduced them or not. The most important thing was the subdistrict office.
Their daily work and lives were closely tied to the subdistrict office. If she delayed the identification process and let Sheng Siyang and that fat woman Cai beat her to it—what if they said something they shouldn’t in front of the subdistrict office staff, and it affected her family?
Her husband, Pei Guangyi, was currently at a critical juncture in his career, on the verge of a promotion.
She couldn’t let Sheng Siyang’s family ruin everything.
“Come on, let’s go to the neighborhood office first.” With that, Zhang Guihua grabbed Fang Xiumei’s arm without a word and dragged her toward the neighborhood office.
Fang Xiumei never expected Zhang Guihua to suddenly yank her like that; she nearly fell flat on her face.
Once she finally regained her balance, Fang Xiumei yanked her hand free from Zhang Guihua’s grip. “What are you doing? You almost made me fall.”
Zhang Guihua’s anxious expression froze; she stared at Fang Xiumei with wide eyes, looking at her in disbelief.
“What could I possibly be doing? I’m your mother-in-law—is this how you treat me?”
“How have I treated you? You grabbed me first and almost made me fall.” Fang Xiumei had no intention of showing respect to her mother-in-law; when she was upset, she fired back.
“Why did you pull me for no reason?”
“What else could I do? I had to take you to the neighborhood office first to confirm your identity. What if Sheng Siyang’s family got there first and started badmouthing you?”
“What could possibly happen? Do you think the people at the neighborhood office would believe a country woman with no job and no connections, or would they believe me—a city ticket seller?”
“You’re just worrying about things that aren’t your business—making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Zhang Guihua: “……”
Although her young daughter-in-law had a point, it stung, and she wanted to slap her right across the face!
“Are you going to acknowledge me or not? If not, I’m leaving. I’ve got plans to hang out at Lihe Park with friends today.”
Zhang Guihua took a deep breath: “…Get lost.”
Fang Xiumei pouted, “What a terrible temper.”
Zhang Guihua: “……”
It was driving her crazy!
Who was the real daughter-in-law here, anyway?!
……
Without Zhang Guihua’s rambling disruptions, Yu Yin’s introduction to the neighborhood went smoothly.
Perhaps everyone in Guiyuan Street knew they’d be passing by this morning to introduce her, so every household’s wooden door was already open, saving them a lot of time.
It took them only about forty minutes—not even an hour—to go from the end of the street to the beginning.
“This is the last house, but is no one home?”
Aunt Cai noticed something was off as Yu Yin went to knock on the door. The Xiguan houses had three sets of doors: the outer gate, the sliding lattice door, and the large wooden door.
Normally, if someone were home, the large wooden door wouldn’t be closed.
Sure enough, after Yu Yin knocked several times, no one answered.
“Whose house is this? Didn’t we agree a few days ago that we’d introduce you today?”
Sheng’s mother, Sheng Siyang, frowned at the tightly shut door. “It’s the Fang family’s.”
“If they’re not home, never mind. Let’s just go straight to the neighborhood office.”
“Is that the Fang—” Aunt Cai realized suddenly, but immediately clamped her mouth shut.
As if trying to cover something up, she hurriedly said, “If they’re not home, they’re not home—at least we saved our family some candy. Come on, let’s go to the neighborhood office. When we get back, we’ll have hot pot!”
“Hot pot! We’re having hot pot!” As soon as Pei Rong heard they were leaving, she immediately grabbed her new sister-in-law and little nephew and ran off.
For a moment, Yu Yin was led forward by her and didn’t notice the subtle signal Aunt Cai had given to Mrs. Sheng.
But even without noticing it, Yu Yin had a vague sense of what was going on.
It seemed the Fang family had some kind of conflict with the Pei family.
Still, it probably wasn’t a big deal, right?
They turned right after leaving Guiyuan Street and walked for about ten to fifteen minutes to reach the subdistrict office.
There weren’t many people at the neighborhood office today; most were out on home visits at this time of day. Even so, those who remained welcomed Yu Yin and her group warmly.
This was all thanks to last night’s feast—fish, meat, and big prawns. They wouldn’t normally get to eat such fine food.
But despite their warmth, Yu Yin and her group didn’t stay at the subdistrict office for long. After saying their goodbyes, they headed home.
They had made plans with Auntie’s family to have hot pot at the Pei household for lunch today.
It was about time for them to head back and get ready.
But just as they arrived home in high spirits, they ran into two unexpected visitors.
Auntie Cai was the first to react. She stepped in front of everyone and glared at them angrily: “What are you doing here? Is Zhang Guihua up to something again?!”