CTF 0017

Li Cuihua’s mind was not on the conversation that Li Qiaohong was striking up. She had been so excited last night that she ended up not sleeping. Since her sister-in-law had been treating her so well, she wanted to repay her in some way.

Last night, during dinner, she had heard her sister-in-law mentioning that the food in her school’s cafeteria wasn’t as delicious as the food at home. She couldn’t help being reminded of a spot where shepherd’s purses grew slowly due to the shade. Even in July, one could still dig up some tender shoots. She woke up early and, after boiling water and simmering porridge, headed out to gather the wild vegetables for Xu Yin.

Unfortunately, no one made rice cakes in the summer, since they couldn’t be stored for long and would spoil in just a couple of days. Otherwise, she would have made shepherd’s purse rice cakes for Xu Yin, who would have definitely loved them.

Li Qiaohong looked at Li Cuihua as she carried her basket and went away without even looking back. It made her feel even worse.

Just then, Mother Xu came into the yard to feed the chickens. Li Qiaohong quickly smiled and tried to please her by saying, “Auntie, why are you up so early doing chores? Cuihua should do these things, right? Where is she? Is she still sleeping?”

“Lazy? She’s not like that at all. There are no lazy people in our family. Why must she feed the chicken? I’m more than happy to do it. While I’m at it, I can pick a couple of eggs to stew for my daughter.”

After Mother Xu finished feeding the chickens, she squatted down and picked up four eggs from the chicken coop. Her eyes squinted as she smiled.

“What a nice day; we got four eggs today.”

Li Qiaohong: “…”

Since her first plan didn’t work out, she hatched another one.

“Is Yinyin back from school? Why isn’t she coming out to play? Is it because Cuihua roped her into doing chores? I heard that Cuihua is expecting. She isn’t using this as an excuse to dump all the household chores on Yinyin, is she? As a sister-in-law, she’s being too much…”

“You sure like to yap, don’t you?” Mother Xu glared at her disapprovingly. “Our Yinyin just finished her exams yesterday and is still sleeping. There are so many people in the house, and it’s not her turn to get up early and do chores. You, on the other hand! How long have you been idly chit-chatting in front of our house? Why don’t you go do some laundry instead? Don’t tell me you’re trying to use this as an excuse to slack off. Tsk, tsk! Thankfully, I didn’t choose you back then…”

Muttering under her breath, she turned and went inside.

Li Qiaohong was so angry that she was trembling.

“You’re too blind to see my good intentions!”

Li Qiaohong’s mother-in-law came back from their private plot and saw her standing outside the Xu family’s yard in a daze. Li Qiaohong’s mother-in-law frowned and said, “Hey, you, why are you still here? Have you washed the clothes? If you have, then go and clean the pigsty.”

“Mother, I haven’t washed the clothes yet.”

“Then do it quickly! You’re always dilly-dallying. What a lazy woman.”

Li Qiaohong looked aggrieved. She stormed off with her wooden basin in her arms, seething with anger. Mother Xu stayed in the living room and listened to what happened outside her home for a while. She curled her lips and sneered. “What a fool! With a brain like that, she thinks she can meddle in our family affairs!”

Even if Mother Xu didn’t like her daughter-in-law, it wasn’t Li Qiaohong’s place to make remarks about it. 

Besides, Mother Xu had noticed something recently. Her daughter-in-law could earn much more money by sewing than by farming, chopping wood, and even picking up manure. Perhaps what her daughter said was right. Maybe, next year, she could build a big new house and live there, and she’d even have less household chores as well.

The more Mother Xu thought about it, the more pleased she became. She scooped out more flour than she usually did and filled up two large bowls with which she’d make noodles. 

The Xu family had a sumptuous breakfast that day. They had millet and mung bean porridge, diced sausage, shepherd’s purse pancakes, and scrambled eggs. Their meal that day was comparable to what they’d usually only have for a festival feast.

The sausages were made before last year’s Lunar New Year, and there weren’t many left. Originally, they planned to save them for when Father Xu’s body needed some extra nourishment. However, Mother Xu saw that her daughter had lost some weight. She gritted her teeth and cut half a piece of sausage and washed it. Then, she chopped it into little dices and mixed it with finely chopped shepherd’s purse and white flour to make a thick pancake batter.

She didn’t skimp on cooking oil either, so the pancakes came out incredibly fragrant.

Even the smoke coming out of their chimney seemed to have a meaty aroma.

The villagers that were passing by their house swallowed hard. Was today a special day? Why was the Xu family cooking meat dishes so early in the morning? Were they trying to make everyone else go insane from jealousy? This was torment in its purest form.

The children from nearby houses were also crying so much that they were rolling on the ground, though it was still early in the morning, because of this.

“I want meat! I want to eat meat! I don’t want plain rice!”

“Where am I supposed to get meat for you this early in the morning? Come here, now! You’re getting your clothes all dirty!”

“No, I won’t get up! If you don’t give me meat, I won’t get up!”

“…”

The Xu family didn’t care about the things that were unfolding outside. They closed their courtyard gate and enjoyed their greasy, fragrant, and delicious shepherd’s purse and meat-filled pancakes inside.

“Eat more, Yinyin! I made these specially for you.”

Mother Xu hurriedly put pancakes and scrambled eggs on her daughter’s bowl, fearing that her daughter-in-law would eat them all if she didn’t.

“You should eat too, Mom.”

Xu Yin divided the pancakes in her bowl between her parents. She also put a piece in the bowls of her sister-in-law and her nephew. She kept only one piece for herself.

“Everyone, eat up! Our family is making money now. Mom, you shouldn’t be so frugal anymore. Spend the money and eat whatever you want. Otherwise, what’s the use of making money? Besides, only when you’re well-fed do you have the energy to earn even more money.” 

Mother Xu was a little unhappy at first. She had cooked the sausage for her daughter. She didn’t want anyone else, apart from her husband, to have a share. 

However, her daughter’s words made sense to her, and she simply said, “You’re right. Let’s eat, then. We can do more work after we’ve eaten.”

The whole family enjoyed a delicious and nutritious breakfast with a variety of dishes.

After the meal, Xu Yin rushed to wipe the table and wash the dishes, insisting that her sister-in-law go back to the house to rest for a while.

Mother Xu had prepared the sausage, but Xu Yin’s sister-in-law had made everything else. It mustn’t have been easy to prepare breakfast for the whole family while pregnant.

Mother Xu was very unhappy with what Xu Yin did. She said, “Why didn’t you let your sister-in-law wash the dishes? You have delicate skin and tender flesh. How could someone like you do household chores, while she gets to enjoy her time? It’s one thing not to chop wood or pick up manure, but why can’t she wash the dishes? No! Let her do it. If she dares not to, I—”

“Mom, I’m the one who wanted to wash the dishes. It has nothing to do with Sister-in-law.”

Xu Yin grabbed her mother, afraid that she would cause trouble for her sister-in-law.

“Do you know what the people in the village are saying behind my back? They say I’m lazy, that I’ve been spoiled at home, that I only eat and don’t work. They’re saying that even if I get married, I’ll be a burdensome daughter-in-law, and that lazy girls like me probably won’t find anyone who wants to marry them…”

“Which gossiping bitch is running her mouth like that? I’ll go talk to her!”

Mother Xu was so angry that she rolled up her sleeves, wanting to confront the person who’d said those words about her daughter.

“Oh, so many people have said it; they just didn’t dare say it to your face. I was really angry when I first heard it, but when I calmed down and thought about it, they weren’t wrong. I am lazy. I can’t cook, I can’t wash dishes, I throw my dirty clothes to my sister-in-law to wash, and I don’t sweep the yard as often as Doudou does. When the oil bottle tips over, I don’t even know how to pick it up. I’ve never gone beyond the edge of the field in our family’s land to help you guys farm in all these years… No wonder people say these things about me.”

Xu Yin looked at Mother Xu with a gaze that invited pity. She was working so hard to avoid being a cannon fodder… 

“Mom, you wouldn’t want me to have trouble finding a good match in the future, would you? Families with good prospects won’t want to accept a lazy girl like me.”

“Hmph! I won’t let you marry into their family even if they want you! I don’t intend to find someone for you in the village. After you graduate from high school, your brother will help you to get a job in the city. You’ll have a much higher chance to marry a good man in the city!”

“…”

Xu Yin was finding it difficult to counter her mother’s argument and fighting will. She buried her face in her hands. 

“Even if I find a guy from the city, won’t I bring him here? What if he hears what people in the village are saying and changes his mind after that?”

“He wouldn’t dare!”

Father Xu couldn’t help coughing. “You two don’t know if this thing will even happen, and yet, you’re already arguing about it!!”

“…”