Chapter 152

Chapter 152

Men are quite an interesting species. Before they are married, they can freely vent their frustrations on their parents and never mention the word "filial piety."

But the funny thing is that once they are married, whenever there is a conflict between their wife and mother, the first thing they say is, "My mother had a hard time raising me, I must be filial to her."

Mrs. Zhang had also been talking to Lin Chunyan about these old trivial matters. Once it got cold, Mrs. Zhang moved in with them.

They planned to go to the shop after noon, but since Mrs. Zhang had nothing to do, she started telling these stories.

"At first, I thought your dad was the model of filial piety! I couldn’t even speak loudly. If I raised my voice, your grandmother would throw a fit, and your dad wouldn’t give me the time of day."

Lin Chunyan was doing the accounts at another table, while Lin Taohong and Wang Yingniang were helping Mrs. Zhang sort out the wool yarn. Wang Yingniang wanted to learn as well, so that when winter came and it got dark early, she could knit sweaters during times when there was no work.

"When you mentioned this, I remembered hearing my parents quarrel like this when I was a child. But later, my mother caused a big scene at home. After that, my grandmother didn’t dare to cause trouble again."

There was a hint of bitterness in Wang Yingniang’s voice as she spoke. A few days ago, Wang Chuizi and Wang Dalang were executed, and it was said that many people went to watch.

The townspeople were usually peaceful, and it had been years since anyone had been killed. Both adults and kids were curious and gathered around like flies.

Wang Yingniang didn’t go. Lin Chunyan, fearing that she might be holding something back, didn’t go to the shop that day and stayed home to keep her company.

Although the relationship was shallow, they still bore the title of parents. Seeing them end up like that, Wang Yingniang certainly didn’t feel good.

It was only natural to feel this way. If there were no emotions left, one wouldn’t feel such pain.

Seeing that Wang Yingniang had let some of it out, Mrs. Zhang quickly changed the subject. "Of course, I was fierce too and wouldn’t stand for such losses! But people have their ways. When the door is closed, you’re not of the same family name, and no one stands by your side. No matter how much you protest, you can’t change anything."

Lin Taohong spit the sunflower seed shells into a basket to avoid sweeping later. She found sweeping quite troublesome.

"So what did they do to you?" Lin Taohong asked.

Mrs. Zhang snorted, her voice filled with anger. "They wouldn’t give me food and locked me in the room, only letting me out after I kowtowed to your grandmother to admit my mistake."

"Did you really kowtow?" Lin Taohong was shocked and stopped chewing on the sunflower seeds.

"Of course, I kowtowed; otherwise, they would have starved me to death!"

Seeing that Lin Taohong was about to start scolding after throwing the sunflower seeds away, Lin Chunyan quickly pulled her back.

"Sister, why are you pulling me? They were too much! How could they treat our mother like that!"

"They are already dead. What can you do? Scolding them won’t help. Anyway, we don’t have any ties with them."

Lin Taohong pouted. Thinking about it, they weren’t even allowed to burn incense for Lin’s grandmother—young women weren’t allowed. Even if Lin’s grandmother could see from beyond the grave, she’d be furious.

Lin Chunyan, having finished calculating the accounts, said it was time to distribute the dividends.

Mrs. Zhang quickly came over. "Are you really going to distribute the money?"

Lin Chunyan nodded. "Of course, I’ve already calculated it."

Lin Taohong and Wang Yingniang also gathered around. According to the shares they had put in, Lin Chunyan gave them the money one by one.

In the end, Mrs. Zhang got the smallest share.

Seeing that Wang Yingniang and Lin Taohong received much more, Mrs. Zhang, feeling envious, leaned in and asked, "You two got so much more than me. In the end, I’m the one who got the short end of the stick."

Lin Taohong was smug. "It’s like money making more money on its own!"

Mrs. Zhang agreed and asked Lin Chunyan, "Yan Niang, I still want to invest. Is it possible?"

Lin Chunyan teased her, "Sure, you can invest, but it won’t be like it was at the start."

Realizing she’d miss out on some money, Mrs. Zhang felt a pang of regret but still pulled out the cash to invest.

Meanwhile, old lady Wu saw that her previous troublemaking tactics were no longer effective and became panicked. She knew her daughters-in-law couldn’t cause much trouble because her two sons were obedient. If they were to take their side, things could become troublesome.

She stopped her tantrum and sat down, tears streaming down her face. "I know you all probably think this old woman is just causing trouble for no reason, but I’m doing this for your own good. We haven’t officially started working for our wages yet, and those wages need to be saved properly. You both have children, and there will be plenty of expenses in the future."

Her heartfelt words left her sons unsure of how to respond, but they gently helped her up and said, "Mother, we know you’re doing this for us, but today we just want to celebrate receiving our wages. It’s not like we eat roast duck every day! This is just a one-time thing, and if they want to buy it, let them. In the future, we’ll work hard with that young lady from the Lin family and make sure you don’t have to worry about this again."

Old lady Wu was unhappy that she didn’t hear what she wanted, but today wasn’t suitable for more trouble, so she went along with it, saying, "As long as you understand my heart, I’m doing this for you."

As the two daughters-in-law walked towards the town, their earlier joy had vanished, and they sighed while holding their children’s hands. "I think we should head back early, or else our mother-in-law might come looking for us in town."

If she caught them buying roast duck, it would be embarrassing.

One of the daughters-in-law disagreed, "Are we going to be afraid of her? I don’t intend to live under her control for the rest of my life."

Determined, they made their way to the town. In the past, they had only come to town a few times with the men of the family and had never entered any shops.

When they arrived, they were so taken aback they almost jumped. There was a crowd of people in front of the shop, and even the idlers waiting to receive their goods had been standing in line for a long time.

"Is this really Yan Niang’s shop?"

"Of course! Otherwise, would they have asked us to help out as well?"

They hesitated at the door for a long time, feeling overwhelmed by the number of people inside.

Finally, the Village Headman spotted them. He had been watching the scene of wages being handed out for a while, feeling envious that he wasn’t part of it.

Initially, when he asked the Zhang family’s young ladies to work here, both mother and daughter turned it down, thinking the wages were too low. But once others started receiving their money, the Village Headman’s wife became envious. When the young lady mentioned wanting to eat roast duck, the Village Headman decided to run an errand, leaving space for the mother and daughter, hoping the young lady would come around.

"Are you here to buy something with your wages? Go ahead, there are a few villagers inside, and we’ll all head back together later."

The Village Headman’s words were true. For many villagers, getting their first wages filled them with joy. Some came to buy things for their families, while others brought their children along.

Even at Mrs. Song’s cold rice cake stand, a crowd had gathered.

While hesitating, the two daughters-in-law had already seen what the cold rice cakes were like. The green rice cakes looked beautiful and contained hawthorn, raisins, peanuts, torreya seeds, and more. The children with them weren’t the only ones feeling thirsty after such a long walk; the adults felt the same.

But the children, though eager, didn’t ask for anything. Even if asked directly, they wouldn’t say a word.

"Should we let the children have a taste? Let’s share one bowl."

Seeing the children’s eager expressions, they didn’t want to disappoint them, as they had brought the children to experience this.

"Alright, let’s have a taste."

Before the children could say anything, the two daughters-in-law had already ordered two bowls of cold rice cakes. Mrs. Song, seeing them talk with the Village Headman earlier, guessed they were from Qingshan Village and gave them extra toppings.

Although it was one bowl, it was filled to the brim. The two of them happily called the children over to eat and took a bite themselves.

"Delicious and refreshing!"

By the time they went inside to buy roast duck, they were no longer nervous and even greeted Mrs. Zhang when they saw her.

Mrs. Zhang received her share of the profits and, after eating lunch, went back to help at the shop. She had been talking non-stop, and her throat was starting to feel like it was smoking. Yet, every customer who came to eat at their shop and saw her there looked at her with envy, making her feel incredibly proud.

She loved those kinds of looks!

It was too hot in the shop, and the rabbit fur scarf around Mrs. Zhang's neck was almost unbearable to wear, but she kept it on stubbornly, just to make others envy her.

That evening, not long after returning home, Mrs. Zhang felt a sharp pain in her throat, as if she had swallowed a blade, and she started running a fever.

Her body had always been strong, so she didn’t realize how bad she felt, thinking it was just from talking too much. When Lin Chunyan and the others came back after digging yams, she told them that she would never talk so much again.

"I’m so tired my legs feel like jelly," she said.

Lin Taohong pointed at Mrs. Zhang's face, "I think your face is red too, Mom."

In the afternoon, when Lin Taohong saw Mrs. Zhang was too hot wearing the rabbit fur scarf and advised her to take it off, Mrs. Zhang refused. Lin Taohong still remembered that moment.

Mrs. Zhang touched her own face in agreement and said, "Yes, I do feel hot. Maybe I've been wearing it for too long."

"What do you mean by wearing it too long?" Lin Chunyan came over and touched Mrs. Zhang's forehead, only to find it scorching hot. "Oh dear! You're running a fever!"

Both Wang Yingniang and Lin Taohong quickly gathered around, each touching her forehead and confirming, "She's indeed warm!"

"What should we do? Should we call a doctor?"

Mrs. Zhang was reluctant, "Why call a doctor? I'm not a child; a fever won't kill me! Just boil some perilla water for me to drink later."

"But since your throat hurts, drinking perilla water won’t help. You need something to cool you down."

Living near the mountains, not many people actually went to see a doctor when they got sick. They would just dig something up from the mountain to make tea.

We could use either cogongrass root or bamboo leaves.

In a hurry, Lin Chunyan went to the cellar and found a bag of cogongrass root she had picked earlier to boil for Mrs. Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang obediently lay in bed and muttered to herself, "It must be because I didn’t cover myself properly last night—Wang Yingniang's sleeping habits are terrible; she always steals my blanket."

Seeing that Mrs. Zhang's face was flushed from the fever, Lin Taohong didn’t argue with her and said that she would switch places with Wang Yingniang that night. "Let’s see if you can still blame me tonight."

Aunt He had just returned from the county, looking much thinner and wearing tattered clothes compared to when she was released.

Walking alone, she had encountered robbers twice, but since she had nothing of value and was old and somewhat eccentric, asking everyone if they were her sons, Erlang or Sanlang, no one wanted to bother with her. They were afraid that if they tried to sell her, they’d end up losing money by having to feed her.

Aunt He managed to make it back safely to the market, where she witnessed Wang Chuizi and Wang Dalang being beheaded with her own eyes, and then stumbled her way back.

Wang Erlang and Wang Sanlang were nowhere to be found and hadn’t returned, which had become a heartache for Aunt He. She would ask everyone she met about them.

As if on purpose, she happened to walk to Lin Chunyan's house.

When Mrs. Zhao came out to talk to Second Aunt Lin, she saw Aunt He peeking around the door and mistook her for a thief. She immediately grabbed her by the arm.

The commotion grew, and Lin Chunyan and the others heard it. They told Mrs. Zhang not to come out and watch the excitement. Several of them went to the door.

With more people living at the foot of the mountain, Lin Chunyan wasn’t as worried as before. It was still daylight, and many people hadn’t come down from the mountain yet. They were the kind who wished to stay on the mountain all day long, aiming to be the top group.

A crowd had already gathered around Aunt He, and she started muttering again, grabbing Mrs. Zhao’s hand and insisting she was her son, Erlang.

"Second Son, how heartless you are! You’ve finally come back to visit your mother. I've missed you so much..."

Mrs. Zhao was so frightened that she got chills and quickly pulled her hand back, stepping backwards. "Have you gone mad, Aunt He? Can't you even recognize people?"

In her hasty movement, she accidentally stepped on Wang Yingniang behind her. Mrs. Zhao hurriedly turned around to apologize, and upon seeing that it was Wang Yingniang, she felt even more embarrassed.

After all, Aunt He was Wang Yingniang's mother. It wouldn't do to insult her mother in front of her; they might become enemies over it.

Nowadays, a lot of people were trying to get close to Wang Yingniang. Some wanted to arrange a marriage for her, and others wanted to adopt her as their daughter. Everyone in the village knew exactly why this was happening.

Mrs. Zhao didn't dare to look down on Wang Yingniang as she used to, or casually gossip about her at home.

Wang Yingniang hadn't noticed Mrs. Zhao's actions. Her entire attention was on Aunt He. She wanted to know if Aunt He was really mad or just pretending.

It was obvious that Aunt He was acting very strange this time. After Mrs. Zhao broke free, she grabbed Lin Taohong, who was standing at the front, and insisted she was Wang Yingniang.

"My daughter, I've finally found you! I know I was wrong. I'll treat you better from now on, so please don't blame me."

Lin Taohong also couldn't break free, her hands tightly gripped, so she had no choice but to ask Lin Chunyan for help. "Big Sister, she's really mad! How can she not even recognize people!"

Big Sister Lin had been watching Aunt He closely since earlier, just like Wang Yingniang. Although Aunt He's actions didn't have any obvious mistakes, something felt off.

When Aunt He started praising Wang Yingniang while holding Lin Taohong's hand, Lin Chunyan knew she was faking it.

She just didn't know how to tell Wang Yingniang. If Wang Yingniang didn't realize Aunt He was pretending, it might cause a rift between them, which wouldn't be good.

After breaking free, she grabbed Second Aunt Lin and started mumbling again.

Lin Chunyan didn't listen anymore but focused on Wang Yingniang's expression, moving a little closer to her.

Wang Yingniang gave Big Sister Lin a smile. For a moment, Wang Yingniang actually thought that Aunt He had a sudden change of heart and realized how much better she was compared to her three older brothers.

But soon, Wang Yingniang knew this guess was wrong. Aunt He, who had always bossed her around since birth and only cared about her sons, how could she possibly change all of a sudden?

Especially when she said she realized Wang Yingniang's virtues in front of her, Wang Yingniang didn't believe it at all.

For a moment, Wang Yingniang felt frustrated. Why did Aunt He keep showing up every few days, messing with her peace of mind? She even wondered why Aunt He was still around, why she hadn't just... disappeared.

Wang Yingniang was so shocked by her own thought that she got chills. She suddenly understood why Madam Hong had splurged, inviting opera troupes and gathering relatives to give Father of Shiliu a grand funeral. It was all for peace of mind.

And after Father of Shiliu was gone, they could finally live in peace, without worrying about sudden attacks.

When Aunt He finally let go of Second Aunt Lin, she managed to grab Wang Yingniang's hand. Lin Taohong wanted to help Wang Yingniang, but Wang Yingniang smiled and said to Mrs. Zhao and Second Aunt Lin, "It seems my mother has become confused and finally realizes I'm good! It's the first time I've heard her say this. Since she's looking for me, I can't just leave her outside. I'll take her home and have a look."

Lin Taohong became anxious immediately, but Lin Chunyan held her hand and signaled her not to say anything more.

She trusted that Wang Yingniang had her reasons for doing this.

Second Aunt Lin and Mrs. Zhao looked at each other. They were not outsiders, and they advised Wang Yingniang, "Talk things out properly. She's like this now, maybe she's realized her mistake. Just make sure you don't get taken advantage of."

When they brought Aunt He back to the house, Big Aunt Zhang struggled to get up to see who they had brought back. As soon as she saw who it was, her face darkened.

"Why did you bring her back again?"

"Mother, she's gone mad! She confused me for Yingniang earlier."

"Mad?" Big Aunt Zhang didn't buy it for a second. Her throat still hurt like she was swallowing knives, which made her temper worse. "How can someone just snap like that?"

Big Aunt Zhang told Lin Taohong to grab an oil lamp so she could take a closer look at Aunt He.

Aunt He chuckled and turned to Mrs. Zhang with a grin, reaching out to grab her hand and calling her Yingniang.

Mrs. Zhang was so startled that she got goosebumps, her eyes widening in surprise as she asked Lin Chunyan and Wang Yingniang, "Is she really losing it?"

Wang Yingniang tightly pursed her lips, pulled Aunt He over, and led her to her side.

"Come this way, I'll find you a place."

Aunt He actually followed Wang Yingniang, who then opened the door to the west room and shut Aunt He inside.

The west room had been used to dry grapes, and once the raisins were ready, the wooden racks were brought back inside.

Aunt He waited for a while before realizing that Wang Yingniang had silently locked her in. She panicked and started pounding on the door.

"Yingniang, where are you? Why did you bring me here? I’ll treat you right from now on, my girl..."

Aunt He's commotion was so loud that even Mrs. Zhao heard it from her home. She turned to Lihua and said, "She seems pitiful now, but she was hateful back then! I still remember how they wanted to marry Yan Niang off, using a matchmaker!"

"Is she really losing it?" Lihua still had some doubts, but after listening for a while, it became clear that Aunt He, despite following Wang Yingniang back, kept muttering about where Yingniang was, clearly unable to recognize people anymore.

"There’s always a reason why someone who’s pitiful can also be detestable."

Mrs. Zhang and Lin Taohong watched in shock as Wang Yingniang returned swiftly and efficiently. Mrs. Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "You just locked her up like that?"

"She's already crazy, if we don't lock her up, she might go out and harm others!"

Seeing that Wang Yingniang had been feeling down, Lin Chunyan took her back to the room and whispered to her, "What do we do next?"

"For now, we'll keep an eye on her. If she behaves, then it's fine. If not... it'll just be her bad luck."

Lin Chunyan disagreed, "If you do something like that, you might regret it for the rest of your life. But I do think you were right to lock her up. Since she came back, it must have been premeditated."

With Lin Chunyan by her side, Wang Yingniang felt relieved. "I was afraid that only I saw through her act, but it turns out you did too."

She had been most afraid that others would call her heartless and say she didn't care about family ties, but thankfully, Lin Chunyan didn't think that way.

After drinking some cogongrass root, Mrs. Zhang didn't feel much better and her throat still hurt terribly. The next day, she even started to sniffle and cough.

"Why did it get worse?"

The previous night, before they went to bed, they were worried Aunt He might freeze. In the end, Mrs. Zhang gave her a blanket to wrap herself in. Lin Taohong, understanding Wang Yingniang's plan, played a dual act with Mrs. Zhang to scare Aunt He.

Aunt He had no idea she had been found out. Listening to Mrs. Zhang and Lin Taohong's conversation, she grew more and more frightened. Thinking about Wang Yingniang's ruthlessness, she believed that the girl might actually go through with something terrible.

"Speak softer, Mother, don't let the person inside hear us. Just give her a blanket for now, and tomorrow we'll take her to the mountains."

"Let her hear! Everyone knows she's gone crazy now. Even if she hears, people will think it's because she's crazy! By letting her stay and feeding her, who wouldn’t think we’re doing a good deed?"

Aunt He didn’t even notice when Mrs. Zhang and Lin Taohong left, but their words stayed with her, filling her with fear.

She didn’t sleep much, but she was used to it by now, so it didn’t bother her too much. She drifted off for a while, and just before dawn, she saw Wang Yingniang and Lin Chunyan coming over.

Aunt He jolted awake, a cold shiver running down her spine.