Chapter 14: Getting Anxious – The Everyday Gossip and Melodrama of the Frail Sister-in-Law in the Compound

Chapter 14: Getting Anxious - The Everyday Gossip and Melodrama of the Frail Sister-in-Law in the Compound

"Xiao Shu, did Jiang Yang say when his family is coming to propose?" Zhang Mei had been thinking about this for a while. She hadn't had a chance to ask Lin Shu the previous night.

The next morning, when everyone else had left for work, she finally found an opportunity to bring it up.

Lin Shu's face fell awkwardly when her mother asked.

Seeing her expression, Zhang Mei knew there had been no movement from the Jiang family.

This made Zhang Mei unable to resist pointing her finger at Lin Shu's forehead. "You're being so foolish. Jiang Yang is a widower from a second marriage—what's so special about him that you'd fight with your aunt over him?

"If you hadn't been so insistent on Jiang Yang, your aunt might not have found such a good match." The last sentence, Zhang Mei said in a softer tone.

Of course, she only dared to say it softly because Lin Shu's mother wasn't home.

In any case, Zhang Mei thought that if it weren't for her daughter, her sister-in-law might not have found such a good marriage.

Lin Shu was also thinking to herself: Did her aunt end up with her current husband because I interfered?

Her face suddenly twisted in confusion. Why? Why did her aunt find someone even better after losing out on a good match?

"Speak up. When are Jiang Yang's folks planning to come propose?"

Lin Shu, growing impatient from the questioning, replied, "How would I know?"

"You don't know? If you don't know, do you even want to marry him? If you're not going to marry him, say so now, and I'll find someone else for you."

"I do want to marry him."

"Then when you meet him, tell him to have his family come propose soon. If this drags on, the Educated Youth Office might come calling. By then, you'll be sent to the countryside. Don't blame me then."

Hearing about the Educated Youth Office, Lin Shu finally felt a sense of urgency. She dreaded the thought of being sent to the countryside.

Though she had never been sent to the countryside in either of her lives, she had heard from those who had gone how hard life there was. Once you went, you'd have to wait over a decade for a chance to return to the city. That wasn't what she wanted.

"Okay, I'll talk to him."

……

Cen Xi and Lin Qing had lunch at a state-run restaurant and, after the meal, they also went to watch a movie. By the time the movie ended, it was late afternoon. The weather had cooled down, so they took a walk in the park.

It was only when it was about time that they headed home.

Meanwhile, in the front yard, a few neighbors noticed that Cen Xi and Lin Qing hadn't come back for lunch and began gossiping.

"Those kids don’t know how to save money. They’re always eating out at restaurants. What a waste of money!" Mother Jiang, as usual, had something critical to say.

"Why do you meddle so much?" Uncle Jiang, frowning, grumbled in reply.

Uncle Jiang had planned to come home for a rest, but as soon as he returned, he heard his wife nagging again.

"Can't I say a couple of words?"

"Mind your own business. That engineer over there earns as much as two or three of us combined. Do you think they'd be short of money?" Uncle Jiang, in fact, was quite envious, and his words were filled with sourness.

Hearing this, Mother Jiang also felt a pang of bitterness. She used to love comparing herself with Mother Gu across the way, but now there was a young man in their courtyard who was even more accomplished than their son, and he was younger too. There was no comparison at all.

She's always finding fault with the young Cen couple, and this is partly due to the reasons mentioned, along with the issue of the house and what happened during their previous meeting, all of which have accumulated to create the current situation.

Forget about Mother Jiang; even Mother Gu is envious and jealous! However, her envy and jealousy eventually turned into resentment.

"Eat, eat, eat, all they know is eating, and they even go to restaurants. They must have money to burn! Why don’t they just eat themselves to death?"

...

As soon as Jiang Li returned from her parents' home, she endured a morning full of curses, but she remained silent throughout, not responding, just listening carefully.

From the curses spewing out of Mother Gu’s mouth, it was clear that she was cursing the new couple in the front yard. However, she had gone back to her parents' home the day before, so she hadn’t even met the couple yet.

But honestly, her mother-in-law was something else. Who would be so bold as to demand meat from someone else’s house? It’s not like they owed her anything—where did she get off being so bold?

It was said that the husband of the couple was an engineer from the machinery factory. He’s such a capable person, yet instead of befriending him, her mother-in-law was actively making enemies. Sigh~ who knows what she was thinking.

But these were just thoughts in her mind; she didn’t voice them because she knew there was no point in trying to control what Mother Gu did. Even if she spoke up, it wouldn’t make a difference.

She heard that the couple was going to eat out for lunch. When would she ever get the chance to eat a big meal at a restaurant?

The only time she had ever eaten at a restaurant was during a blind date, which was her first time in a state-run restaurant. The food there was so delicious! She had wanted to go back ever since, but there was never an opportunity.

Now, the family depended on Gu Hang’s salary to support five people. Even though he earned 80 yuan a month, she never saw any of it.

The money in the household was all in Gu Hang’s control, and even his mother only had money for groceries.

Still, moving from the cramped and crowded apartment block to this place was already a stroke of great luck. She couldn’t ask for too much.

...

Sitting in her own home, Mother Su looked towards the door of the Cen family and couldn’t help but sigh. "Engineer Cen’s salary is high. Why don’t they help our family? We’re a widow and child in need of help. Instead of spending money at restaurants, why don’t they help us?"

After a moment of contemplation, Mother Su said, "No, I need to come up with a plan to get them to help our family. We’re struggling so much; it’s only right that they lend a hand, isn’t it?"

—

When Cen Xi and Lin Qing returned to the large courtyard, the children in the yard had already finished school. At that moment, they were gathered in the open space in the front yard playing games!

These children were still somewhat unfamiliar with the two because they hadn’t interacted with them. Even though they had gathered at the Cen family’s door the previous afternoon, they still didn’t recognize who they were. After all, their attention had been focused on the meat, and they hadn’t had time to notice what the people inside looked like.

The children stopped playing and just stood there, staring at Cen Xi and Lin Qing. Not knowing what to do, Cen Xi and Lin Qing simply nodded at them and went home.

"Oh, so they live in our yard too?" The children realized they were the newcomers only after seeing them enter the house.

"They cooked meat at their home yesterday."

"They’re stingy. My grandmother asked for some meat, and they refused to give her any." The eldest child of the Gu family suddenly remembered what his grandmother had been cursing about at home.

A more fair-minded child said, "It’s their meat. Of course, they wouldn’t give it to you!"

At this point, Su Dazhuang and Su Erzhuang, who were nearby, suddenly said with pride, "My family ate meat too yesterday."

"Wow~"

The group of children immediately shifted their attention to Su Dazhuang and Su Erzhuang, surrounding them and chattering about the meat they had eaten.