NOVPUB
Chapter 503: 493
"But during that time, my elder brother was away on a mission, and I guess the letter my father wrote to him must have been received by my sister-in-law. No idea what was going on there, but she didn’t send a cent over here. With no choice left, my mother had to borrow money from outside so I could get married smoothly," Li Hongqi said.
After hearing this, Zheng’s mother’s face turned somewhat sheepish. Although they hadn’t insisted that their son-in-law buy a house when their daughter got married, they had required him to buy a sewing machine for her. So, that’s how the money had come about.
However, people are like this, when they realize they might have done something wrong, they instinctively look for excuses, for scapegoats. Zheng’s mother wasn’t exactly a kind-hearted person to begin with. At that moment, upon hearing her son-in-law mention the money issue, she immediately said, "In that case, your sister-in-law is really out of line. How could she handle things like this? She wouldn’t even hand over the money for your parents’ elder care. This person’s character isn’t any good."
"My sister-in-law is just a countrywoman without much worldly experience," said Li Hongqi about the former Shen Yunfang.
"No wonder then. If only your sister-in-law had willingly given the money, then our Xiaolan could have lived in town. She wouldn’t have had to shuttle back and forth to the countryside with you, which exhausted her and caused her to lose her first child. If you were living near us, your father and I could have looked after you more, and Xiaolan might not have lost the second child due to lack of experience," Zheng’s mother said, growing angrier as she spoke, as if she had found the real culprit.
"Mom, it’s not all my sister-in-law’s fault, after all, who doesn’t have selfish motives? If she wasn’t willing to give the money what could I, a junior brother-in-law, say? In front of others, I still need to save face. If people knew I was asking my own sister-in-law for money for my wedding, they would talk, but if it was someone else who needed the money, then it wouldn’t be my business," said Li Hongqi.
"You might not be able to say anything, but your mother could. It’s not about giving money for your wedding, it’s about handing over the money for your parents’ elder care, which is her duty. No, when your mother gets back, I have to have a good talk with my in-laws. Your sister-in-law has caused you and your wife a lot of suffering. If she had just willingly handed over the elder care money back then, you two could have bought a house in the county. Then none of these terrible things would have happened afterwards. Our Xiaolan wouldn’t have had to suffer and lose two children in a row, your sister-in-law has committed a terrible sin," Zheng’s mother said with a pained expression.
"Mom, my sister-in-law isn’t a bad person, and she certainly didn’t foresee such consequences," Li Hongqi defended Shen Yunfang.
"Alright, you’re young, and you don’t see the evils of the human heart. You don’t need to worry about this, I’ll have a good talk with your mother," Zheng’s mother said, who at this point couldn’t listen to those excuses. She had finally found someone to hold responsible for her daughter’s successive miscarriages.
When Qiu Shuping returned to the ward with the food containers, she saw her in-law sitting there staring at her solemnly and felt a twinge of anxiety. What had happened?
Looking down at the food the daughter-in-law’s mother had bought, Zheng’s mother sneered inwardly at the simple vegetables without a speck of meat. Under normal circumstances, she would have landed a few sharp jibes on her in-law, but today she had more important matters to attend to.
"Mother-in-law, you must be tired, please, take a seat," Zheng’s mother said as she pulled Qiu Shuping over to sit down on a stool by the bed.
"Oh, no, it’s not tiring, not tiring at all, just running a little errand," said Qiu Shuping, completely bewildered, not knowing what to do as this in-law had never spoken to her so kindly before, usually maintaining an air of superiority.
"Mother-in-law, don’t fuss about, we have a serious matter to discuss," said Zheng’s mother, determined not to let Qiu Shuping go. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Qiu Shuping thought to herself, here it comes.
"What, what major issue?" Because her son was married into the Zheng Family, Qiu Shuping, though usually assertive, didn’t dare to be harsh with her in-laws or daughter-in-law. She could only complain behind their backs. This was a case of one thing overcoming another; she was subdued by the Zheng Family’s dominance.
"In-law, look at our Xiaolan. She had to commute with Hongqi every day, and she wasn’t able to carry two pregnancies to term. We, as parents, feel sorry for our daughter, and we also feel for your Li Family about the loss of the grandchildren. The two of us discussed it at home and feel that this can’t go on; for the sake of the children’s well-being, they should move to the county to live," Mother Zheng said slowly.
Upon hearing that this was the issue, Qiu Shuping felt relieved. She too hoped that her younger son could move to the county, and that way, she could also spend some days there from time to time, enjoying her son’s good fortune, "That works, we had the same idea from the start."
Mother Zheng smiled but inwardly cursed, do you think just by thinking you can conjure up a house? "Since you agree, then it’s easy to handle. We also know about your family’s situation, and it might be difficult for you to buy a house in the county. I’ve discussed it with my husband, and we’d like the young couple to come live in our house."
Qiu Shuping nodded, indicating that was fine with her, and it would even save the trouble of acquiring a house.
Seeing that she hadn’t grasped her implication, Mother Zheng decided to speak plainly, "This would work out, as my husband and I only have our daughter Xiaolan. If the two of them move over, then Hongqi will truly be like our own son, and we can count on him to take care of us in our old age."
"What?" Qiu Shuping’s eyes widened as she looked at her in-law. Was she suggesting that her younger son become a live-in son-in-law? That wouldn’t do; she was counting on her youngest to provide for her in her old age, not someone else’s family.
"In-law, you have many sons, and you won’t have to worry about who’ll take care of you in the future. If you can’t afford a house for Hongqi, then we’ll take responsibility," Mother Zheng said, then looked coolly at her in-law. She didn’t believe Qiu Shuping would agree to simply give away an eldest son to their family.
Sure enough, without thinking, Qiu Shuping said, "That won’t do, my son can’t live in your house." She wanted to say that her son couldn’t provide for the old age of the Zheng Family. But the words at her lips took a turn; she hadn’t lost all her wits.
"So what then? My daughter has stayed in your village and lost two babies already. If this continues, does your son no longer want descendants? We don’t necessarily need the kids to come to our house, just as long as your family can buy them a house in the county, we definitely won’t interfere," Mother Zheng stated her ultimate goal.
"Hongqi?" Of course, Qiu Shuping wanted to buy a house in the county for her son, but she had no more than ten yuan on her; what could she do?
"Mom, Xiaolan truly isn’t suited for living in our village. I can’t let her suffer any longer," Li Hongqi said, looking genuinely distressed, which tugged at the hearts of both mothers.
"But, but, we don’t have money. Mom can’t afford to buy a house," Qiu Shuping murmured quietly.
"I heard that your second son is in the army, and when you separated households, they agreed to provide for you two in old age. Now that Hongqi and his wife are living like this, as his elder brother, he should at least make a contribution, shouldn’t he? Even if they don’t consider Hongqi’s face, they should at least consider the face of you, his parents," Mother Zheng brought the subject to Shen Yunfang and her spouse, "In-law, I’m not speaking ill of your son and daughter-in-law, but if your second son had considered your face and given some money from the start, Hongqi and his wife wouldn’t have had to suffer so much. Don’t you think? Perhaps by now, you would have been holding your eldest grandson."
