Chapter 15: Visiting the Parents’ House

Chapter 15: Visiting the Parents' House

After Tao Hua finished washing up, she sat sideways on the bed, drying her hair.

The dim light from the oil lamp illuminated the room. Wei Dahu lay on the inner side of the bed, munching on a wild fruit. He watched Tao Hua dry her hair without blinking, his mind occupied with thoughts of the mountain while he shared his day's activities with her: "I spent half a day in the mountains today. Two rabbits fell into the trap we dug earlier, so I'll bring them back tonight. I caught a few wild chickens too. Tomorrow, when you visit your parents, we can't go empty-handed; it wouldn't be proper. I'll give your mother two wild chickens and two rabbits. On our way back, we'll stop by Zhou Village to deliver a wild chicken to Second Brother... I caught the fish not long after entering the mountain and kept it in a small pond. In the afternoon, I bought some coarse grains in town and fished it out on my way back. It was still alive when we got home; dead fish don't taste good."

As he mentioned the fish, Wei Dahu couldn't help but think about the dinner they would have that evening – the stewed fish was truly delicious. He couldn't resist smacking his lips, swallowing the fruit pit whole.

Tao Hua had been muttering to herself about the foolishness of the wild chickens in the mountains for letting themselves be caught. But when she heard him say that he would bring wild chickens and rabbits to her parents, she felt nothing but joy, glad that he valued her. She knew that this gesture would surely shut her two sisters-in-law up. However, when he mentioned going to Zhou Village to deliver a wild chicken to Second Brother, Tao Hua froze, her hand pausing in its task of drying her hair as she turned to look at him.

Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, Wei Dahu panicked, "What's wrong, wife? Why are your eyes reddening while you're drying your hair?" As he spoke, he propped himself up on his arms and leaned closer.

This time, Tao Hua didn't pull away. Instead, she reached out to embrace his neck, burying her face in his chest.

Wei Dahu was startled, quickly patting her back as if comforting a child, "What's happened?"

Tao Hua's nose tingled, and she couldn't hold back her tears as she embraced Wei Dahu's warm body. "On the day of the wedding, my second brother tried to give eggs to Big Brother on the way. Big Brother didn't take them but invited him home for a feast. I learned about it the next day from San Hua."

Wei Dahu nodded, familiar with the story. "Big Brother told me, and I guessed it was our younger brother. Being a teenager, he was quiet, so Big Brother brought him along for the banquet, seating him at the main table. He even glanced at me several times during the meal."

Tao Hua's tears flowed even more fiercely. "He should have been seated at the main table."

Wei Dahu patted her back soothingly, wondering why she always cried when talking about her second brother. He felt uneasy and hurriedly said, "Don't cry, don't cry."

Tao Hua shook her head, tears still streaming down despite her efforts to stifle them. "My biological father passed away when I was three. At that time, our uncles and elders were eyeing our house and fields. As a girl, I couldn't protect the family assets, so my mother had no choice but to marry my second father. He was a relative of the Zhou Family Clan Head within the fifth degree of kinship. The Zhou family held great influence in Zhou Village, so no one dared to cause trouble. Second Father treated Mother well and was kind to me too. When I was five, Mother gave birth to my second brother, Zhou Mancang. I took care of Mancang all by myself; I washed his diapers and watched him grow up. The first person he called out to was me, his sister."

Wei Dahu held Tao Hua tightly, gently patting her back without speaking, quietly listening to her reminisce.

"Treatments from Second Father were good, but I wasn't his flesh and blood. Many people in the Zhou family accused him of raising someone else's child, causing him shame. Over time, he grew less close to me, especially after Mancang was born. Whenever our hens laid eggs, Mother would secretly cook one for me and tell me to hide it. Thinking back to those days makes me smile." Tao Hua looked up at Wei Dahu, who wiped away her tears. His calloused fingertips stung her face, yet Tao Hua smiled contentedly. "Does it seem strange that I'm still happy despite how Second Father treated me?"

"There must be something that brings you happiness," Wei Dahu replied.

"Mm-hmm," Tao Hua nodded, nestling back into his embrace. "Second Father's parents had passed away early, and he didn't own much land. With no parents to arrange his marriage, our uncles and elders didn't bother much. He couldn't find a good match, nor would he accept a bad one. Eventually, he found Mother himself. Her only condition for marrying Second Father was to bring me along, which he agreed to. After that, Mother had to manage the household and work in the fields. With no one to take care of Mancang, I was the one who looked after him all day. I changed his diapers when he wet himself, carried him to find Mother when he was hungry. He grew up with me, closer to me than anyone else. Later, Second Father wasn't as affectionate as before, but whenever there was something delicious at home, he'd eat half and hide the rest for me. Mancang was around the same age as Dog now, yet he was very understanding..."

As Tao Hua spoke, her voice choked with emotion, revealing the deep impact of those memories. "But perhaps God didn't approve of us. Not long after, a heavy rain led to Second Father falling ill and passing away. The Zhou family feared Mother might sell the fields and remarry, so they surrounded our house. No matter how Mother explained, they wouldn't believe her. They didn't trust that she was willing to stay, saying the Zhou family couldn't afford the scandal of a widow having an affair. They unjustly accused her. Desperate, Mother cried, saying she would take us siblings and leave, not wanting anything."

Tao Hua recalled the chaos of that day, hiding with her younger brother in a corner while watching her mother being pushed to the brink of drowning by the Zhou family. With tears streaming down her face, she angrily grabbed at Wei Dahu's back and said, "But the Zhou family still refused! They wouldn't let my mother take Second Brother with her, only banishing both me and Mother from the house. Later, Mother took me to marry into the Qian family. As for what happened after that, you probably heard from Mother Wang – Mother married three times, which wasn't a good reputation. But she was strong-willed and wouldn't give up, and in the Qian family, she gave birth to Third Brother, and life went on like that."

She fiercely wiped away her tears, gradually calming down as she straightened up from Wei Dahu's embrace.

Having shared so many long-hidden thoughts tonight, she felt much lighter, as if the heavy stone on her heart had been moved, no longer pressing down on her so heavily.

"How did Cook Qian treat you?" After listening to these old tales, Wei Dahu asked only this one question.

Tao Hua glanced at him, her eyelashes damp, making her look pitiful. "When Mother married him, his eldest grandson, Qian Chuanzi, had just been born. The fact that he didn't treat me harshly was already quite good."

Wei Dahu nodded.

As an elderly man with grandchildren, how could he have taken a liking to this unexpected young girl? And what about the Qian brothers? Could they have truly cared for Dogzi, their stepbrother?

The Qian family was larger and more complex than the Zhou family, with two sisters-in-law and even a married daughter living in a neighboring town. Dogzi, despite his faults, was still a Qian, but Tao Hua, as an outsider, had it truly tough in the Qian household.

At the thought of all the suffering his wife had endured in the Qian family over the years, Wei Dahu's mood soured. He had intended to treat the Qians as genuine relatives out of respect for Tao Hua, Mother, and Dogzi, but now he no longer desired such an association. He was unwilling to consider Cook Qian as his "father-in-law."

"Has Second Brother not contacted you at all these past years?" It made no sense that his own son would sever ties after their mother remarried.

A rare emotion flickered across Tao Hua's face, and she spoke with a gloomy tone, "Third Uncle forbids Mother from visiting Second Brother, and he also doesn't allow Second Brother to come find her. Otherwise, our home would be in chaos."

Wei Dahu frowned upon hearing this. He had no idea that Cook Qian was so narrow-minded and lacked the generosity of a man. Mother gave birth to Dogzi with him, and Mancang is Mother's own son too. Besides, that person from the Zhou family has long passed away. How much interaction could there usually be? At most, during festivals, Mancang would want to see Mother and his sister, just once a year. What harm could it cause?

Yet, Cook Qian was still unwilling to have Mancang visit.

Tao Hua was exhausted. Wei Dahu got out of bed to extinguish the oil lamp and returned to wrap his arms possessively around her, allowing her to rest her head on his chest as they fell asleep together.

Resting against his firm arm, Tao Hua whispered softly, "Mancang is only eleven years old this year. Without Mother and me by his side, I wonder how he has managed to survive all these years. How long did it take him to save up that basket of eggs, and where did he hear about my wedding to secretly send a gift…?"

Wei Dahu's voice was already laced with sleepiness. Half-asleep, he replied, "Tomorrow, we'll go see him. Our Father isn't as petty as Cook Qian. He won't stop you from seeing your own brother. There will be plenty of time for that."

Tao Hua closed her eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease. A smile graced her lips as she nodded gently, "Mm."

The next day, after breakfast, Wei Dahu took Tao Hua back to her parents' house.

For such a significant event as a daughter's return visit, Wei Dahu was not one to keep it a secret. He carried three wild chickens and two rabbits while walking along the village road with Tao Hua. When people asked, he would proudly announce that he was taking his wife to visit her parents, his face beaming like a spring breeze, leaving no room for criticism.

The morning sun wasn't scorching yet, and those busy in the fields couldn't help but inquire about their destination. Upon learning that Wei Dahu was accompanying his wife to visit her parents, someone slapped their thigh, remembering that today was precisely the third day when a new bride returns to her family's home.

It seemed she had been so engrossed in observing the commotion between the Chen and Li families that she had overlooked the date.

"Aren't you surprised? Wei Dahu turns out to be such a loving husband! Oh dear, if I had known earlier, I would've proposed my niece to him. Did you see what he was carrying? Wild fowl and rabbits! He's really generous..." A neighbor, hoe in hand, stared at the couple's departing figures with regret. If only she hadn't dismissed the Wei family for their poverty before. Poverty didn't matter when the son-in-law was willing to spend.

"Back then, when Wei Dahu couldn't find a wife, you didn't offer your niece to him. Now that you see his generosity, you're envious and regretful," a passing villager pointed out her hidden motive.

"Pah! What do you know? Did I ask you to join the conversation? Why are you butting in?"

"Uninterested in arguing with you. You just spew saliva when you can't win, like a shrew," the villager shouldered his hoe, shaking his head as he walked away.

Tao Hua was oblivious to the bickering behind her. Her mind was preoccupied with her mother, Dogzi, and her long-unseen younger brother Zhou Mancang.

"You're really going to give Mancang a wild chicken?" Tao Hua was still pondering over the wild fowl, not because she was reluctant, but because it was awkward. She was bringing three wild chickens to visit her mother, only to take one back.

"Be straightforward about it," Wei Dahu chuckled, concealing his mischievous thoughts. "Mancang traveled a great distance to give gifts for your sister's wedding. As an older sister, how could you show up empty-handed at your brother's house? The Qian family is reasonable; they wouldn't nitpick with us common folk."

Upon hearing this, Tao Hua felt a headache coming on. She should have seen this side of her husband earlier – he wasn't a man who cared much for social niceties.

He acted according to his own will, oblivious to others' feelings or expectations.

Her third uncle had never been one to 'see the bigger picture' in front of family, but he was very conscious of his reputation among outsiders.

She could already picture the expressions on the Qian family's faces.