Just after getting off the bus, He Juzhen was suddenly stopped by someone calling out to her.
“Auntie, what a coincidence. Do you still remember me? I’m Pan Mengping, Wenhui’s classmate.”
He Juzhen looked at the man standing before her. He was half a head shorter than Mu Chengfeng. His features were not ugly, but crowded together in a way that lacked presence. She suddenly remembered that back then, there really had been a boy like this chasing after her eldest daughter. Looking at him now, with those looks alone, forget her eldest daughter, even she would not have approved of such a son in law.
She replied perfunctorily, “Of course I remember. It’s been so many years, I almost didn’t recognize you. What are you doing here?”
Pan Mengping brightened immediately. She still remembered him.
“I work at the military hospital now. I’m already an associate chief physician.”
He Juzhen was startled. She only knew that the more titles a person had, the higher their salary must be.
“My eldest son in law is also an associate chief physician. He was transferred to the military hospital on the island too, earning more than eighty yuan a month. Do you make the same salary as him?”
Asking about salary upon first meeting was incredibly rude, but Pan Mengping did not think so at all. He was eager to show off.
“For now it’s the same, but once I become a chief physician, my salary will be even higher than his.”
He Juzhen looked at Pan Mengping differently after hearing that. The reason her eldest son in law was so sought after was because his salary alone equaled that of two ordinary working adults combined. Yet Pan Mengping was apparently just as promising. Suddenly, even his shortcomings in appearance no longer seemed so glaring.
She smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries before sighing sorrowfully.
“You work at the same hospital as my eldest son in law, so you must already know, right? Wenhui passed away a few months ago. That son in law of mine truly has no conscience. It’s only been a few months and he’s already remarried, without even telling me.”
Pan Mengping immediately joined in criticizing Mu Chengfeng.
“I told Wenhui back then that Mu Chengfeng’s personality wasn’t one that knew how to care for people. Since Wenhui couldn’t transfer her work assignment, he should have gone to her instead. He valued work more than family. Poor Wenhui never even got to live a proper family life before she died.”
The two quickly found common ground and spent quite a while condemning Mu Chengfeng together.
He Juzhen then asked, “It’s the weekend today, you should go home and spend time with your wife and children instead of chatting with me.”
Pain crossed Pan Mengping’s face.
“My wife also passed away a few days ago, leaving me alone with two children. I honestly don’t know what to do anymore.”
He Juzhen immediately felt a sense of shared misery.
“We’re both unfortunate people. Alright, enough about that. I should go look for my son in law.”
Pan Mengping spoke bitterly, “He’s not home. He went to the supply and marketing cooperative with his wife to buy things. That little wife of his is terribly wasteful. One trip to the market and she spent a hundred yuan. Who knows how much she’ll spend at the cooperative today.”
He Juzhen’s heart ached instantly.
“It must be that little wife demanding things. My eldest daughter was just too strong willed. I told her to ask Mu Chengfeng for his wages, but she insisted she earned her own money and didn’t want his. Look at this now, all his money is being spent on another woman. A man like you who cherishes his wife and children is rare. Wenhui would’ve been better off marrying you back then.”
Li Ruyi tugged at He Juzhen’s sleeve. If she did not interrupt now, who knew what nonsense her mother might say next.
“Mom, brother in law isn’t home anyway. Why don’t we come back later?”
Pan Mengping had long wanted to ask about the quiet young woman standing beside He Juzhen, but since she had simply stood there silently, he feared speaking too suddenly might make him seem frivolous. Now he finally seized the opportunity.
“You’re Ruyi, aren’t you?”
Li Ruyi nodded shyly without replying.
Pan Mengping smiled.
“I still remember when I used to go out with your sister, you always wanted to tag along. I said I’d bring you, but your sister refused, and you cried so hard afterward. By the way, did you ever wear those little leather shoes your sister brought home?”
Li Ruyi remembered them. At first she had been furious at her sister, but after receiving the little leather shoes, she had even helped wash her sister’s clothes for an entire month.
He Juzhen naturally knew perfectly well whether her daughter had any money back then, so she suddenly asked, “Oh my, I always thought Chengfeng bought those shoes. Don’t tell me it was actually you?”
Pan Mengping nodded.
“I thought Wenhui would’ve told you. I didn’t expect the misunderstanding to last so long. Ruyi really looks more and more like her sister as she grows older.”
Li Ruyi forced out a smile.
“Sisters naturally resemble each other somewhat, but our personalities are completely different.”
Inside, Li Ruyi was furious. Her sister had actually tricked her into washing clothes for an entire month. She felt aggrieved and miserable. Even from childhood, the few memories she retained were all memories of being bullied by her sister. When they used to gather little red berries to make necklaces, she could never string them properly. Her sister would come over, string one beautifully for herself, then make her start over from scratch. She still remembered crying miserably back then. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became.
Pan Mengping noticed her mood and quickly changed the topic.
“No telling when Mu Chengfeng and the others will return. Auntie, why not come to rest at my place for a while and have some tea to cool off?”
Li Ruyi’s impression of Pan Mengping improved further. She also wanted to see his living conditions and what his two children were like, so she said, “Mom, it’s really hot outside. I’d like a drink of water.”
Pan Mengping was delighted and enthusiastically invited them over. He Juzhen herself was never particular about such things and happily followed him home for a place to rest.
…
Jiang Xiaoyu had quite a fruitful shopping trip today. She bought oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. After all, food only tasted good when there were proper seasonings. The group chatted and laughed all the way back.
Just after getting off the bus, Doctor Pan approached with a stiff face, speaking only to Mu Chengfeng and deliberately trying to pull him aside.
“Mu Chengfeng, come over here for a moment. I need to talk to you.”
Ever since their school days, Mu Chengfeng had never liked Pan Mengping much. The man always took himself far too seriously, constantly inserting himself into other people’s affairs while somehow remaining unaware of how irritating he was.
“If you have something to say, say it here.”
Mu Chengfeng refused to budge.
Jiang Xiaoyu worried it might be related to the surgery incident, so she hurriedly pushed him forward.
“Doctor Pan probably doesn’t want children hearing whatever he needs to say. Go on.”
Pan Mengping glanced at Jiang Xiaoyu. Out of everyone present, she alone had understood what he was thinking. Originally, he had intended to complain to Mu Chengfeng about how wasteful his little wife was, but now he suddenly felt too embarrassed to bring it up.
Not knowing what Pan Mengping wanted, Jiang Xiaoyu turned worriedly toward Qian Chunmei.
“Sister in law, do you think this is about the surgery incident from before?”
Qian Chunmei reassured her.
“If it were work related, they’d discuss it at the hospital, not block people at their doorway.”
A short while later, Mu Chengfeng returned looking displeased.
“Pan Mengping’s insane. He invited Damei’s grandmother and second aunt to his house for tea.”
He had also said a bunch of nonsense, all of which Mu Chengfeng flatly rejected. Naturally, none of it could be repeated in front of the children.
Jiang Xiaoyu immediately relaxed. So it was just something like this. A grandmother coming to see her grandchildren could hardly be driven away. They would have to invite her over and speak things through properly.
Smiling, she said, “What’s the big deal? Take the groceries home first. I’ll bring Damei, Second Sister, and Little Brother over to pick them up.”
Mu Chengfeng hesitated.
“Damei’s grandmother speaks harshly. I should go instead.”
Jiang Xiaoyu could not care less.
“No matter how harsh she is, could she possibly be worse than your stepmother or my grandmother? I’ll handle it.”
Qian Chunmei pulled Mu Chengfeng back.
“Let Xiaoyu go. Damei and the others aren’t going to follow their grandmother away anyway, so what’s there to worry about?”
Mu Chengfeng frowned.
“Pan Mengping just told me Damei’s grandmother wants me to find a husband for her second daughter. I refused, and he said I was heartless. I told him if he cared so much, he could do it himself. I’m not interfering.”
The hospital certainly had unmarried men around, but Qian Chunmei did not think becoming He Juzhen’s son in law was any kind of blessing.
“That’s exactly why Xiaoyu should go.”
Jiang Xiaoyu followed Pan Mengping to his house. Inside, his son, who was about the same age as Damei, was arguing fiercely with Damei’s grandmother, shouting that he did not want a stepmother and that the old woman should stop trying to steal his father away. Damei’s second aunt stood nearby, red with embarrassment.
Pan Mengping immediately smacked his son on the backside, which only upset the boy further. He burst out crying, accusing his father of already becoming a cruel stepfather before even remarrying. The entire scene was utter chaos, so Jiang Xiaoyu quickly escorted Damei’s grandmother and second aunt away.
She then brought them to tour the newly completed house.
Damei and Second Sister each now had their own small bedroom. Along the hallway stood an entire row of wardrobes, so anyone could store clothes without disturbing whoever was inside the rooms. Everything was peaceful and quiet. Little Brother and Wangzhou’s room had two small beds lined against the wall along with another row of wardrobes. Once they started school and bunk beds were installed later, there would even be enough space for a large study desk.
“Auntie, if you’re worried about a stepmother raising the children, then let me ask you this. If Damei, Second Sister, and Little Brother lived with you, could they have a place this spacious and comfortable? If not, then what reason would Mu Chengfeng have to hand the children over to you? As for whether I treat them well or not, you can ask Damei and Second Sister yourself in a bit. Ask them whether they eat better with me or at your place.”
He Juzhen felt deeply stifled. If the children returned with her, they would all have to squeeze together in one room. Why? Because her eldest grandson naturally needed a spacious room of his own, and boys and girls could not share rooms anyway. As far as living conditions went, she truly could not find fault with Jiang Xiaoyu.
She touched the cement wall.
“Why are the walls just cement? Since you already built the rooms, why not paint them? And these beds and wardrobes, I heard from Pan Mengping that you used wood salvaged from old furniture to save money.”
Jiang Xiaoyu pulled her down to sit and asked Damei to pour tea.
“Auntie, don’t just listen to half the story from other people. Whitewashing walls with slaked lime leaves a strong irritating smell that’s harmful, especially for children. And tung oil smells even stronger. If we used fresh lumber coated in tung oil, the children could easily get sick from the fumes. We’d regret it terribly.”
He Juzhen was startled.
“Tung oil fumes can make people sick? Who said that?”
Jiang Xiaoyu replied, “You still have a younger son who isn’t married yet, right? When he gets new furniture coated with tung oil someday, don’t air it out first. Sleep there for one night yourself and see how it feels. Dizziness and headaches would be the mildest symptoms, especially during winter with all the windows shut tight. It’s terrible.”
Panic immediately spread across He Juzhen’s face.
“Damei, hurry and ask your father to take me to make a phone call. Your cousin’s been complaining about dizziness every morning lately, but the hospital couldn’t find anything wrong. It never even occurred to me it could be those new beds and wardrobes. Hurry, we need to call right now.”
Mu Chengfeng truly did not want to get involved.
“I mentioned this issue to you and Damei’s mother before. You just didn’t remember.”
Feeling guilty, He Juzhen insisted on making the call anyway, only calming down after returning.
By then Jiang Xiaoyu had already started preparing dinner. She asked Damei to borrow some pickled cabbage from next door.
“Damei, ask Grandma Hua if we can borrow one of her pickled cabbages. We have guests tonight.”
Damei went over immediately.
He Juzhen looked dissatisfied.
“I’m the grandmother of these three children, and you’re planning to feed me pickled cabbage?”
Jiang Xiaoyu laughed.
“Auntie, I haven’t even started cooking yet, and you’re already misunderstanding me again. At least wait until the food’s finished before complaining.”
Sea fish had few bones, making it perfect for pickled cabbage fish soup. Jiang Xiaoyu sliced the grouper into thin fish fillets while frying the fish head and bones first to make broth. Into the soup went the pickled cabbage, napa cabbage, radish, and kelp as the base. After removing those ingredients, she cooked the fish slices briefly until tender. The main dish for dinner became a huge basin of pickled cabbage fish soup loaded with vegetables, enough for everyone to eat their fill. She also stir fried two vegetable dishes and reheated a pot of coarse corn buns.
Watching Damei and Second Sister casually eat whatever they wanted, He Juzhen’s heart ached again. Children did not do heavy labor, so how could they possibly eat the same food as adults? In her own home, if a child dared reach for the best dishes on the table more than once, they would already have been scolded.
Jiang Xiaoyu noticed her sitting still and smiled.
“Auntie, why aren’t you eating? In our house, meals are practically fought over. If you hesitate too long, the basin will already be empty.”
He Juzhen spoke earnestly.
“The way you’re raising these children isn’t right, especially the girls. Women should think about the men, the elders, and the children first, with themselves coming last. If you spoil Damei and Second Sister like this, they’ll suffer once they marry into their husbands’ families.”
Jiang Xiaoyu laughed lightly.
“They won’t. Families like the ones you described are exactly the sort Damei and Second Sister would never marry into.”
Damei’s face turned red. She quickly pulled Wangzhou over and fed him corn buns soaked in fish broth.
Second Sister nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Mom’s right. I’d rather never marry than marry into a family like that. Mom, you won’t throw me out of the house when that time comes, right?”
Jiang Xiaoyu replied, “Even after you and Damei get married, these rooms will still belong to you. You can come home whenever you want.”
Second Sister held her bowl while feeding Mu Huisheng and warned him sternly, “Did you hear that? If you ever stop me or my big sister from coming home, I’ll hit you.”
Little Brother immediately hugged his sister in fright.
“No hitting, no hitting. This is my big sister’s home.”
He Juzhen could not bear listening any longer. Once Damei and Second Sister grew up, they would eventually belong to someone else’s family. Yet Jiang Xiaoyu still allowed them to threaten their younger brother like this. Mu Chengfeng had married such a willful little wife who openly said all these outrageous things. Everything He Juzhen had always considered natural and unquestionable was being overturned here. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She wanted to pick a fight with Jiang Xiaoyu and establish authority, yet somehow could not find a single excuse.
At last she turned her criticism toward Mu Chengfeng instead.
“Just because Damei’s mother died, am I no longer your mother in law? Why didn’t you inform me before remarrying?”
Jiang Xiaoyu immediately cut in before he could answer.
“You really can’t blame him for that. I was the one who played a little trick to avoid his stepmother and my cousin. I approached him directly, made him promise conditions for after marriage, and pressured him into agreeing immediately. We got married the very day we met.”
Li Ruyi stared in shock.
“You negotiated with your brother in law yourself?”
Jiang Xiaoyu had already guessed part of what was going on.
“Of course! Is it really that hard to charm a divorced man? Mu Chengfeng hands all his salary over for me to manage now. Honestly, my life is pretty comfortable.”
Li Ruyi lowered her head and continued eating while silently thinking things over.
Although He Juzhen had been treated extremely well today, she still felt unhappy. After thinking it through, she realized it was because none of her goals had been achieved. She could not even find a reason to argue with Jiang Xiaoyu, leaving her utterly frustrated.
Mu Chengfeng had long since run out of patience. Setting down his bowl, he announced, “I’ll take you to the guesthouse.”
He Juzhen finally found something to complain about.
“With this many rooms in the house, I can’t stay overnight?”
Jiang Xiaoyu answered before anyone else could.
“Of course you can. You and Second Aunt can sleep with Damei and Second Sister. If their mother were still alive, no one would gossip about it, but things are different now, aren’t they? Second Aunt isn’t married yet. If you don’t care about her reputation, then I certainly don’t mind. After all, she’s not sleeping with me.”
Li Ruyi’s thoughts were already in complete turmoil. She had wanted to leave her brother in law’s house for quite some time now and immediately said anxiously:
“Mom, if you want to stay, then stay. I’m going to the guesthouse. And my brother in law doesn’t need to escort me either. I can go by myself.”