Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 490: Chapter 480 Enjoy Your Blessings

"Big sister, you’ve really made it in this life. All of your kids are doing so well, and now your youngest son has married a girl from the city. No one in our Taoshu Village can hold a candle to you. You just wait and enjoy your good fortune," a woman with a face full of wrinkles complimented Qiu Shuping.

By now, the whole Taoshu Village knew that the youngest son of the Li Family had married a city girl who even had a job, and her father was some kind of official. In short, the third son of the Li Family had finally established himself in the city. The elders in the village would use this as a lesson for their own children, telling them to learn from Li Family’s third son—marry a city bride if they wanted to be impressive.

Qiu Shuping, who had been beaming with a splendid smile, suddenly stiffened, but quickly pulled an even wider smile, "Oh my, big sister, look at what you’re saying. What good fortune? As long as I’ve gotten all the brothers married off, my job is done. As for what kind of daughters-in-law they got, I don’t meddle. As long as they’re happy, that’s enough."

"What’s the matter? Your third daughter-in-law causing trouble? It figures, since she’s from the city, it’s normal for her to have more demands. You should just indulge her a bit more, as the mother-in-law," the wisdom of a rural old lady should not be underestimated. She sensed something from just one sentence from Qiu Shuping and probably already figured out what was going on.

Well, there was actually no need to guess. Whether from the city or the countryside, it was rare for daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law to get along. With a son who had just gotten married, there were bound to be a few quarrels until the hierarchy between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was settled.

"Am I not indulging them enough? I’ve nearly turned into their maid," Qiu Shuping might also have been frustrated, and she blurted out what was on her mind.

"What is it, what is it? Tell us, and we might be able to give you some advice," the old woman was eager and kept urging Qiu Shuping to spill the beans.

Seeing that everyone was listening, Qiu Shuping decided not to hide anything. She glanced around to make sure no one else was around, then spoke up, "Big sister, you don’t know. Marrying a city girl just looks good on the surface, and it sounds enviable, but honestly, living with one is even less sensible than our rural ways."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? City folk have so many quirks—like insisting on brushing teeth in the morning and washing feet before bed, changing the sheets and quilt cover every couple of days. Tell me, does that sound like the actions of someone who knows how to live proper daily life? I tell you, she’s going to drive this family to ruin sooner or later," Qiu Shuping thought of her daughter-in-law’s ’annoying habits’ and felt a headache coming on.

"Look at you. Whatever your daughter-in-law wants to do, why bother so much? If she doesn’t mind the hassle, let her be. Just you and your husband live your own lives, and that’s that," the old woman seemed unconcerned.

"I wish I could but the daughter-in-law is not just fussing over herself, she even insists that the child’s father and I fuss along with her. If that’s not asking for our lives, I don’t know what is." The memory of her daughter-in-law looking up with tilted eyes, telling her to wash her feet quickly, made Qiu Shuping’s blood boil again. She wasn’t known for her good temper. Even though a city bride might be precious, she couldn’t let her walk all over her. So since her youngest son got married, there had not been a single quiet day at home.

"Dear me, that’s truly troublesome. Didn’t your son say anything?" The old woman also looked pained.

In those days, people in the countryside could hardly get enough to eat, so who would have the time or care to wash their feet every day? If others found out, they’d say you were showing off your poverty.

Of course, not all urban residents had formed such good hygiene habits at that time. Mainly, Zheng Guilin wanted to show off her superiority as a city person and establish her position in the household. It was a deliberate move on her part.

"What’s there to say? My daughter-in-law is pregnant. How could Hongqi broach such a topic at this time?" Qiu Shuping deliberately spread the news about her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy.

Hongqi and his wife had been married for a month and a half now, so it was about time to let this news out.

"What? So soon? It has only been a month and a half since the wedding," the old woman said, somewhat surprised, but immediately she perked up and quickly followed with some kind words, "Oh, big sister, you are really blessed. Now your daughter-in-law is going to give you a grandson, everything’s complete for you, you could close your eyes this instant and be content."

Qiu Shuping forced an awkward smile. Initially, she thought marrying a city girl as a daughter-in-law was quite good, everyone envied her, it was prestigious to speak of, but when they actually started living together, she realized that reality wasn’t as perfect as she had imagined. Not to mention the couple’s annoying habits, it seemed like her son had also been led astray by his wife.

Hongqi used to listen to her a lot, but now with a wife, he pushed his mother aside too, it was always "my wife says this, my wife says that". She couldn’t hear him saying "my mom says" anymore.

"You should stop, there’s nothing else I would pick on her for, but this city girl, she’s even stingier than us villagers," Qiu Shuping decided it was appropriate to air out some grievances about her daughter-in-law to the outside world, lest she ends up looking like the bad guy, while the other plays the saint.

"How so?"

"Originally, to get my son a bride, I didn’t shy away from borrowing money around Taoshu Village. My son has a conscience. He said at the time that we’d use the wedding gifts to pay off the debts. But up to now, I haven’t seen the daughter-in-law bring over a dime. Tell me, is this how things should be done?" Besides her youngest son, what Qiu Shuping valued the most was money.

This daughter-in-law had been keeping a tight hold on her money since she married into the family. How could Qiu Shuping possibly be pleased with this daughter-in-law.

Of course, she also indirectly brought up the matter of money with her youngest son, but as soon as she mentioned it, Hongqi would crouch down clutching his head, crying out that he was useless. Seeing her son like this, she thought that the daughter-in-law must be too formidable, planning to confront her. But when Hongqi grabbed her and knelt down, begging her not to go, what else could she dare to say? In the end, she could only complain to her husband and swallow this bitter pill in silence.

So her heart was smoldering with frustration.

"Aren’t city people supposed to be rich? How can they be so incompetent? You can’t let this slide; if you do, just wait and see, your daughter-in-law will surely end up walking all over you," the old woman said with the air of someone who had been through it all.

"That’s what I think too, but my son won’t let me ask, what am I supposed to do?" Qiu Shuping was also anxious. Just half a month ago, her second son had sent exactly one hundred yuan, not a cent more or less, mailing their allowance for the elderly. Hongqi got married and her second son and his wife didn’t contribute a penny, Qiu Shuping was so angry she stomped around the house cursing for days, yet cursing changed nothing.

With a heap of debts still to be paid, Qiu Shuping had no choice but to use that hundred yuan to pay off debts. But what about the rest of the money? Her youngest son didn’t bring back a cent when he got his salary. If they’re counting on her husband to eke out a living from the soil, they’d never pay it off.

"Old Qiu, you still have the leisure to gossip here, your daughter-in-law has been taken to the hospital," another old woman came over from a distance and immediately set eyes on Qiu Shuping. She couldn’t stand Qiu Shuping on normal days, so seeing her in distress was quite pleasing.

"What? My daughter-in-law went to the hospital, which one?" Qiu Shuping asked subconsciously.

"Your youngest daughter-in-law, apparently it happened while she was getting off work with your son, they both fell off their bicycle," the old woman reported.

Qiu Shuping ran towards her house as fast as her legs could carry her, suddenly remembering the precious grandchild in her daughter-in-law’s womb.