Seeing her son howling after being beaten by her, Mrs. Li suddenly looked refreshed. She put her walking stick aside, crossed her legs and smoked her pipe, and glanced at Li Mulin: "What's the point of raising you? You've made me worry since you were little, and when you grew up and didn't show filial piety to me, you ran away and disappeared. Your eldest brother didn't come back for several years because he was fighting in the war. Later, he was sent to Fujian, across the country from Beicha, and he really couldn't come back. Your brother has excusable reasons, and I don't blame him. What's your reason?"
Li Mulin was in tears when he was asked. Over the years, Zhang Chunhua used work, pregnancy, and young children as excuses to avoid going home, but he also used the same excuses to cover up his anxiety. In fact, although Zhang Chunhua was not right, the responsibility still lies with him.
Seeing her 30-year-old son standing beside her with red eyes and tears falling, Mrs. Li felt bad. She took two more puffs of her pipe before saying, "You are a father now, so that's all I have to say. Just keep it in mind."
"I know! I know!" Li Mulin wiped his tears and nodded repeatedly. He glanced at Mrs. Li's cane and took a cautious step forward: "Mom, I also applied for a house last year. You can come with me to live in Bingcheng for a while!"
"No!" Old Lady Li rolled her eyes at him and snorted, "When you wrote to me last year, I told you not to let Dongzi write back. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just staying at home and feeling comfortable!" Old Lady Li knocked off the ash from her cigarette and knocked the edge of the kang with her pipe in her hand, "Besides, your second brother and his wife are very filial. I live with them and am happy every day. Do you think you two can serve me better than your second brother and his family?" As she said that, Old Lady Li knocked the edge of the kang hard, making a loud "dong" sound. Zhang Chunhua was frightened and shook her head subconsciously.
Old Lady Li was delighted. She pointed her pipe at Zhang Chunhua, turned around and said to Li Mulin, "Look, your wife has admitted that she can't do it. It's your second sister-in-law. Don't say that again. I feel ashamed for you when I hear it."
Li Mulin was either beaten or scolded this afternoon, and he was almost driven crazy. His wife either added fuel to the fire or sabotaged him, and kept dragging him down. Li Mulin couldn't help but glare at Zhang Chunhua, then turned around and immediately promised his mother: "If you don't want to go to Bingcheng, we will come back to see you twice a year."
Old Lady Li snorted proudly: "You can come back if you want. If you don't come back, I can save food."
Li Mulin couldn't help wanting to kneel down in front of his mother: "Whatever you say is reasonable, or you can hit me twice more."
Old lady Li raised her pipe, Li Mulin nervously shrank his neck and closed his eyes, ready to continue being beaten. Zhang Chunhua was so scared that she dared not move. The arrogant villain in her heart huddled in a corner with tears in her eyes: We were supposed to have a verbal battle and curse each other, but why did it turn out to be a style of beating people up for every disagreement? This is different from what I thought at the beginning.
Old Lady Li raised her pipe high up and gently put it down, tapping her son on the head: "Come on, don't act like that in front of anyone, it's embarrassing. Even if you're not afraid of the pain, I'm afraid of breaking my pipe. It's a family heirloom."
Li Mulin glanced at the kang edge that had turned white from being knocked, and couldn't help but mutter, "Why weren't you afraid of damaging it when you knocked on it?"
"What did you say?" Old Lady Li slowly took the pipe in her hand again. Li Mulin quickly smiled and said, "I mean, I brought some cigarettes for you. You can try them later to see if they are better than the pipe."
"I don't like smoking that stuff, it's boring!" Old Lady Li snorted, and finally moved her gaze to Zhang Chunhua: "The fourth son's wife."
"Here!" Zhang Chunhua was startled and her legs were shaking with fear as she sat on the stool.
Old Lady Li put on a kind face and said with a smile, "You didn't come home when you got married. Mu Lingguang wrote to me about your family situation. Logically, I should have gone to Bingcheng to visit your parents, but I have bound feet and can't walk far, so I didn't go. You can talk to your parents later and don't let them be offended."
Zhang Chunhua wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve, and said with a forced smile: "Well... I don't mind..."
Old Lady Li nodded and said, "That's good. When we leave, I'll prepare some gifts for you to take back to your parents. That will count as meeting your in-laws."
Zhang Chunhua looked at Li Mulin at a loss. Li Mulin smiled awkwardly and said, "Well, mother, we have been married for so many years..."
"We can't let people say that our family is rude." Mrs. Li interrupted her son, a hint of sarcasm flashing across her face: "I also prepared the money for your marriage, and each of you brothers got a share. But you were in Bingcheng for your wedding and couldn't go home, so you didn't use the money." Then she turned around and took out a handkerchief from her pocket. When she opened it, there was a roll of money inside: "The money for your marriage was paid by Yue's family, right? Return the money to them for me later."
Li Mulin quickly pushed the money back: "It's the money I saved from work, and I also borrowed some from my colleagues. Later I paid it back. Mom, you can take the money back. Your son has earned money from work, and I haven't been able to take care of you for so many years. It's my turn to give you the money."
"Let's put it this way!" Old Lady Li rolled up her handkerchief and stuffed it into her son's hand without allowing anyone to refuse. "I have never done anything to accuse others of me in my life. This money is to pay you back for marrying a wife, so that others won't say that I didn't contribute to my son's marriage at all."
Li Mulin thought about it and put the money away: "Okay, but we have a deal, you can't push away the pension money I give you when I leave."
"I definitely won't refuse." Old Lady Li said, "Even your eldest brother sends money back every year. I rely on your second brother for food and lodging. I can't let him suffer any loss. I have to give him some money."
"That's right, mother." Li Mulin nodded. "Actually, I save a portion of my salary every month. I have saved quite a bit over the years and will give it all back to mother."
Zhang Chunhua's eyes widened when she heard this. She pointed at Li Mulin and shouted in disbelief, "How dare you keep some private money?"
Li Mulin looked at his wife calmly and said, "It's not much. I give a certain amount to my father-in-law's family every month, and I also leave a portion for my mother."
Zhang Chunhua blurted out subconsciously: "That's different!"
"How is it different? Come sit here, daughter-in-law, and talk to me properly." Old Mrs. Li suddenly interrupted with a smile and waved to Zhang Chunhua.
Zhang Chunhua glanced at the crutches and the pipe in the hand of Old Lady Li standing at the foot of the wall, silently retracted her hand, and her legs began to tremble again: "Mom, why don't I just sit here."
"That's fine." Old Mrs. Li adjusted herself to a comfortable position: "Then tell me, what's the difference?"
Zhang Chunhua glanced at Li Mulin, whose face looked a little ugly, and hardened her heart. She said boldly: "We lived in my house for several years after we got married. My mother has always taken care of me during my confinement after giving birth. I think I should give my family more money."
Old Lady Li nodded: "Chunhua's words make sense."
Li Mulin glanced at Zhang Chunhua and whispered, "When I lived in my father-in-law's house, I gave all my money to my mother-in-law except for the money for food and money for my mother. It was only in the past two years when I moved out that I didn't give her that much."
Zhang Chunhua said confidently: "Before, you had to pay for food, drink and coal when you lived in my house. What's wrong with handing it all in? I'm talking about now!"
"Then how do you want to give it?" Li Mulin asked.
Zhang Chunhua glanced at Old Lady Li, then quickly turned around and said, "I am the only child of my parents. Giving them more money will make them feel at ease."
"But… "
"Alright!" Old Lady Li shouted, interrupting the two people: "You should have made this clear at home a long time ago. Why did you come to my house to make a scene?"
Zhang Chunhua's eyes turned red and she wiped her tears with her sleeve: "Do I need to say these words? He should have thought of it himself."
Old Mrs. Li sighed, looked at Zhang Chunhua and said, "Actually, I can guess what your family is thinking."
Zhang Chunhua felt a chill in her heart and stood up suddenly with a pale face, not knowing what to say.
Old Lady Li sneered, "I've lived to this age and have seen everything. Don't look at my bound feet. I've killed two Japanese before." Seeing Zhang Chunhua's face getting paler, Old Lady Li said, "But I'm not unreasonable. I don't like those who play tricks on others and treat them as fools. What would happen if your family simply told me that you wanted Mu Lin to take care of your father-in-law and mother-in-law in the future?"
Li Mulin was stunned for a moment, looked at Old Lady Li and then at Zhang Chunhua, feeling a little confused.
Old Lady Li pointed at Li Mulin and Zhang Chunhua with her pipe and said, "Look at my silly son. He has lived with your family for so many years but still hasn't figured out all these twists and turns."
Zhang Chunhua's tears fell to the ground like beads. She lowered her head, bit her lips and dared not say a word.
Old Lady Li took some more tobacco leaves and stuffed them into her pipe, lit it and took two puffs, then slowly said, "Marrying into the wife's family is definitely not an option, but I know you don't want to do that, seeing the names of Mingshu and Mingxin. As for letting Mulin take care of your parents until they die, there's no problem with that. Your father is his master, and in the past a master was the same as a father. What's more, after you get married, your parents will also be his parents, and being a son-in-law is the same as being a son. Why is it so difficult to ask for that?"
Zhang Chunhua covered her face and started crying. Li Mulin looked at Zhang Chunhua and was still confused: "Then my father-in-law doesn't have a son either. If it's not us who will take care of him in his old age? What's there to cry about?"
Zhang Chunhua looked up at Li Mulin in disbelief, with a look of surprise and annoyance on her face. Seeing this, Mrs. Li couldn't help but laugh: "Why didn't you just talk about it earlier? It's really annoying to see all these crap!"
Liu Xiulan watched the whole scene with great interest. Seeing her sister-in-law crying like a tearful person, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's no wonder that my sister-in-law's family thinks too much. The older generation thinks that once a daughter is married off, she is like water spilled. They are just afraid that no one will take care of them in the future."
Old Lady Li snorted coldly, "Do you think I'm that kind of person? Let alone you sisters-in-law, even when I traded soybeans for Guihua, whom I raised since she was a child, I didn't treat her so harshly. I never let her take things home to visit during the New Year or other festivals."
Liu Xiulan couldn't help laughing: "There aren't many old ladies as sensible as my mother!"
"Alright, alright, stop flattering me!" Old Lady Li waved her hands and smiled, "I heard the east room is very lively. Go over there and ask your second sister-in-law to bring Zhenzhen over to show her uncle. She's our first daughter."
Zhang Chunhua went out to find a basin of water to wash her face and came back. Old Mrs. Li simply and roughly untied the knot that had been in her heart for many years, which made her look much more cheerful than when she was in Ice City, and the smile on her face was much more sincere.
Liu Xiulan stood up to call for help. Zhang Chunhua was still a little embarrassed sitting there. She could only find a way out for herself: "Mother used to like girls. Nowadays, there are not many people who love girls as much as you do."
Old Lady Li was directing her son to use a palm leaf fan to blow away the smoke. She glanced at Zhang Chunhua and said, "Don't be so jealous in front of me. I'm telling you clearly that my granddaughter is more precious than my grandson. Zhenzhen is the only golden flower in my family for five generations."
Zhang Chunhua's face flushed with shame, and she said with a wry smile, "Didn't I say anything?"
Old Lady Li curled her lips and said, "I like to say ugly things first, so that no one will make me uncomfortable during the New Year."
Zhang Chunhua closed her mouth and dared not say anything more. She stared at the door, wanting to see what kind of golden treasure could make her mother-in-law like it so much.
Not long after, Wang Sufen came with Zhenzhen in her arms, followed by four followers, who were holding small toys like rattles in their hands and kept trying to make Zhenzhen laugh.
When Old Lady Li saw Zhenzhen coming in, she couldn't help but laugh. She sat on the kang and quickly reached out her hand: "Hurry up and bring her here so I can see if our Zhenzhen has gained weight again?"
Mingbei couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Grandma, you watch it eight times a day. What does my sister eat to gain weight so quickly?"
Old Mrs. Li picked up her walking stick and hit Mingbei on the butt, then turned around and immediately hugged Zhenzhen in her arms with a smile: "Oh my, look, our Zhenzhen is smiling at grandma. This little girl is getting more and more handsome." Zhang Chunhua called her second sister-in-law and without further ado, she quickly walked over to take a look at Zhenzhen.
Normally, babies born in the confinement period have ugly heads and faces that haven't fully grown, but Zhenzhen is very cute, with bright black grape-like eyes, long eyelashes like small fans, fair skin, and a delicate red mouth. She is a natural beauty. Although she felt a little jealous, Zhang Chunhua had to admit that this little girl was pretty.
Mingxin squeezed in front of Zhang Chunhua, raised his little face and asked sincerely: "Mom, tomorrow you can also give me a sister, who is as pretty as sister Zhenzhen!"
Zhang Chunhua subconsciously replied: "What's so good about a girl..."
Halfway through her words, Old Lady Li couldn't help wanting to touch her pipe. Zhang Chunhua was quick-witted and changed the subject: "This girl is too pretty. I'm afraid I won't be able to give birth."
Old Lady Li put her pipe back in place and continued to look at her granddaughter happily, not even letting her take a moment to glance at Zhang Chunhua: "With your character, you really can't give birth."
Zhang Chunhua covered her chest with her hands. Her mother-in-law was too straightforward. It was heartbreaking!