Chapter 25 The Chang Family

Chapter 25: The Chang Family

Meeting up with Man Geer and the others, the four of them carried large and small bundles as they headed back to the village. Passing by a narrow alley, they heard a woman yelling.

“You old hag, where’s the money? Don’t tell me you stashed away your funeral money and now have nothing left?”

Then a frail, hesitant old woman’s voice sounded, “It’s not that I’m holding out, I really don’t have any. When your husband’s dad died, it was all spent on his funeral.”

“Still lying? Your grandson is getting married, and you won’t even fork over a single cent. Is that how a grandma behaves?”

“When your husband’s dad died, didn’t all the cash go to you guys? I truly have no money left.”

“You old liar, still trying to argue? Who’s been supporting you all these years? Have you forgotten? I’ll show you!”

Meng Wan thought that old woman’s voice sounded familiar. He took a couple of steps forward, then felt something was wrong—why had Song Tingzhou, who was following behind him, stopped?

Song Tingzhou had been biting his tongue. He balled his fists as he walked past the alley, but in the end, he couldn’t contain himself.

“Wan Geer, you and Dali go ahead. I’ll catch up in a bit,” he said, then hurried into the alley with quick steps.

Meng Wan was worried and had no clue what was going on. He didn’t dare just barge in, so he stood there, anxious and helpless.

Man Geer and Dali looked at each other, confused, unsure whether to stay or leave.

Watching Song Tingzhou go into a house, Meng Wan clenched his teeth. “Dali, I’m going in to check. If something’s up, I’ll yell for you, and you come help. If I don’t call, you all go on ahead after a while.”

Dali nodded. “Okay, sure!”

Meng Wan hurried in after him and saw Song Tingzhou shielding an old woman, getting yelled at with fingers pointed at him.

“You little punk, think you’re a big shot now? Forgot how you mooched off me years ago?”

In the tiny yard, a woman in her thirties was on the steps, hands on her hips, screaming at Song Tingzhou.

Hearing that, Meng Wan figured out—this woman must be Song Tingzhou’s aunt. Glancing at the old woman behind him, he recognized her as Chang Jinhua’s mother, whom he’d met before.

The fact that Chang Jinhua didn’t tell her brother or mom about such a major event as his engagement to Song Tingzhou meant the two families were really on bad terms now.

Song Tingzhou was never good with words; he just stood in front of his old grandma, preventing his aunt from laying hands on her.

Meng Wan hung back at the door, thinking hard. This world wasn’t as easy as the modern one, where he could simply take his grandmother away.

Since the Chang family still had a son, the old lady had no business moving in with her daughter. Even if she wanted to, Song Tingzhou’s uncle’s family wouldn’t let her leave to save face.

Song Tingzhou was younger, and since he planned to become an official, starting a fight here would only ruin his reputation. Even though he was mad, he had no choice but to suck it up for now.

Once he figured out what was going on, Meng Wan plastered on a smile and walked into the yard, cutting off the aunt’s nonstop rant.

“You must be my aunt-in-law. You look great,” he said, even though her face was red and her neck was all puffed up from yelling.

The aunt gave him a suspicious look. “Who are you? What are you doing at our house?”

Song Tingzhou, who’d been quiet, finally said something. “Wan Geer, you go first. I’ll—”

“Don’t talk,” Meng Wan snapped, annoyed. Song Tingzhou, though mature for his age, still had some hot-headedness. Barging into someone’s house like this would just get him yelled at and do nothing to change things. Once he left, his grandma would get treated even worse.

“Oh, so you two are a thing. My great nephew’s got guts—lost one husband, and now he’s snagged another?” the aunt said sarcastically.

Meng Wan’s hair wasn’t tied up, which meant he was an unmarried guy. An unmarried guy following a strange man to a relative’s house—wasn’t that scandalous?

Meng Wan was stunned for a second. What did she mean by “lost one husband”? Was Song Tingzhou really married before?

But he snapped out of it fast, still smiling at the aunt. “You’re joking, Aunt. I’m Tingzhou’s fiancé. We were at the market doing some small trade today, and when we passed by, my cousin insisted on visiting you and Uncle. So I shamelessly came along. Here are some pastries for the children—please don’t refuse them.”

The aunt barely registered his talk of being a fiancé, doing small trade, or visiting. Her eyes were fixed on the two packages of pastries in Meng Wan’s hands.

“Those are for me?” She reached out.

Meng Wan pulled his hand back slightly, smiling. “Aunt, wouldn’t it be better to talk inside the house?”

The aunt slapped her thigh and warmly took Meng Wan’s hand. “Oh, look at me, so caught up in talking. Come in, young man, sit down. Tingzhou, help your grandmother inside. She’s old and forgetful—lost her money again today. I was just scolding her a bit. Don’t mind it.”

Meng Wan entered the house first, still holding the pastries, with Song Tingzhou helping his grandmother follow.

The old woman patted her grandson’s wrist. “I’ve seen this young man before—Wan Geer, right? He’s a good child. Treat him well from now on. I’m old, not long for this world. No need to come see me specially.” Her voice carried endless sorrow.

Song Tingzhou pressed his lips together. It was his fault. If he could pass the scholar exams, Chang Jinhua wouldn’t be so looked down upon, and his aunt, out of respect for him, wouldn’t treat his grandmother this way.

Inside the house, Meng Wan didn’t let go, clutching the two pastry packages tightly until Song Tingzhou helped his grandmother in.

The Chang home was fairly clean, with neatly stacked bedding on the kang. A three-year-old child sat on the kang, playing with his hands. His fair face bore a small red mole, similar to Meng Wan’s but lower, fully on his cheek—clearly a young man.

The aunt picked up the child and kissed him. “Yu Geer, look who’s come to see you? Your little sister-in-law brought you some cakes.”

Meng Wan quickly corrected her. “Aunt, you’re mistaken. I call you aunt out of kinship, but though my cousin and I are engaged, we’re not yet married. If word gets out that you call me that, I’d be… I’d…” He pretended to be ashamed and upset, covering his eyes with his hand as if crying. “I might as well dash my head against the Chang family door!”

The aunt’s eyelids twitched, and her smile nearly faltered. “I misspoke. Yu Geer, call him ‘brother.’”

Who visits a home and talks about hanging themselves? Just as unlucky as her sister-in-law. If not for those two packages of pastries, she wouldn’t have let him in!

Meng Wan broke into a smile. “Yu Geer is so cute. Let big brother open some cakes for you.”

He tore open the more expensive package of thousand-layer cake, handing a piece to Yu Geer. Then he gave one each to the grandmother and Song Tingzhou, and took one for himself.

“The pastries from the shop are delicious. Aunt, won’t you try some?” He’d spent so much money—he’d be a fool not to eat one before leaving!

The aunt’s face fell. In her eyes, those pastries were already hers, and seeing so many handed out pained her. Afraid Meng Wan would open the other package, she quickly said, “Wan Geer, I won’t eat. Your uncle isn’t back yet. I’ll put these away for him.”

Knowing he couldn’t push too far, Meng Wan handed over the remaining pastries. “If they’re for Uncle, then put them away quickly, Aunt. If my cousin and I move to town in the future, we’ll be sure to visit often with treats.”

The aunt smiled again only after taking the pastries. “You’re such a smooth talker. Just come by anytime—we’re close family. No need to bring gifts every time.”

Could they really buy a house in town after getting married? That boy had wasted so much money on studying—did Chang Jinhua still have funds?

She’d planned to take the pastries and send them off, but Meng Wan’s words gave her pause.

This new fiancé was so generous, clearly not one to save. If they did settle in town, it would be easy to coax things out of him.

Meng Wan stood up, speaking seriously. “Proper etiquette is a must. My cousin has a classmate whose aunt was reported to the county court for not respecting her in-laws. She got twenty lashes, and at thirty or forty, with two kids, the magistrate still ordered her husband to divorce her.”

The aunt looked incredulous. “The magistrate handles that?”

Meng Wan spoke earnestly. “Of course! If not for my cousin’s classmate telling him, we wouldn’t know about the magistrate’s affairs!”

Song Tingzhou stood up too, following Meng Wan’s lead in lying. “My classmate told me. He’s even been to the county courthouse.”

Seeing Auntie stunned by his mix of sweet talk and threats, Meng Wan smiled. "Auntie, my cousin and I will take our leave now."

Auntie put on a fake smile. "Won't you stay, young master? Have a meal before you go back."

Meng Wan glanced at the little lad in her arms. "Auntie, you have the elderly and the young to care for, so you must be busy with chores. We won't trouble you. Please don't see us out—it's cold outside, and you shouldn't let the child catch a chill."

The old woman sat uneasily on the edge of the kang, didn't get up as they were about to leave, just lowering her head to wipe her tears.

Meng Wan felt a lump in his throat and called out to her through the door curtain, "Grandmother, how were the pastries today? We'll bring you more next time, Grandma. We didn't buy much this time, just enough for you to have a taste. The rest has to go to Uncle."

Auntie now instinctively felt this was a trap, as if she'd be reported for abusing her mother-in-law and dragged off and beaten with a plank.

"With that many pastries, your uncle can't eat them all. I'll take some over to Mother-in-law's room right away."

Behind closed doors, no one would know if she really did it, but at least it might restrain her a bit, keeping her from constantly yelling at and hitting the old lady.

Song Tingzhou could see that too. Once they were outside the Chang family gate, he lowered his voice and said to Meng Wan, "Thanks."

Meng Wan was still grieving over the expensive pastries he'd bought for the New Year, having only eaten one himself. Hearing Song Tingzhou's gloomy tone, he was in no mood to comfort him!

He was in a bad mood too, damn it!

"Wan Geer, what's up? You and Tingzhou okay?" Man Geer and Dali, though they hadn't heard any commotion, hadn't left either. The couple had honestly waited for them at the intersection for ages.

Compared to them, Meng Wan wasn't as straightforward—he was a pro at hiding his feelings.

Pushing aside his grief over the pricey pastries, he forced a smile at Man Geer and said in a slightly louder voice, "The folks in that alley are relatives of my aunt's. We just popped in for a bit and left two catties of pastries for the old lady. But it seemed like Auntie's family was about to fire up the stove, so I didn't feel right hanging around."

Several families lived in that alley, and some were openly leaning on their doorsteps, listening in.

After Meng Wan and the others left, these women exchanged glances and started gossiping.

"At this weird hour, with no smoke from the chimney, what cooking are they doing?"

"You're so dense—that's just an excuse to not keep guests."

"How cheap! I heard they even brought pastries. The cheapest ones are eighty wen each."

Living in town, they all had some savings, but they didn't usually splurge on such expensive pastries, only buying half a catty during holidays for the kids or elderly.

"That young man said the pastries were for Old Lady Chang."

Auntie's habit of scolding and hitting the old woman was no secret. The neighbors had seen it all, smiling to her face but cursing her harshness behind her back.

Pastries for the old lady? She'd be lucky not to get beaten, let alone eat pastries.

Unexpectedly, from that day on, the Chang household quieted down considerably, with hardly any sounds of scolding or hitting.

—

Meng Wan and the others walked together, and this time the journey was uneventful, with them arriving home smoothly.

"Auntie, we're back."

The front door was wide open, and Meng Wan called out as he headed inside.

"Don't tell Mother about what just happened—it'll only upset her," Song Tingzhou said, taking off his basket in the kitchen.

Meng Wan shot him an annoyed look and muttered, "Do I need you to tell me that?"

Song Tingzhou lowered his head, meekly organizing the things in his basket.

Chang Jinhua pushed aside the cloth curtain and came out. "Why are you two back so late? It's almost dark. Da Lang, go bolt the front door. I've set out the bowls and chopsticks—time to eat."

Chang Jinhua had stewed pickled cabbage with frozen tofu and added several slices of braised pork belly. It was so cold that eating in the kitchen left hands and feet numb. In the village, every family ate on the kang table, and the Song family was no exception.

The kang table was set up in the main room, and Chang Jinhua ladled the stew from the pot onto it. "Today, the frozen tofu sold better than the regular tofu at the stall. Lots of people bought it, and since only our stall had it, it brought in more customers for the regular tofu too. I should have made more frozen tofu a few days ago—it's so easy to store."

Song Tingzhou came in, and the three of them scooped rice and sat down to eat.

Meng Wan had already eaten buns at the market, along with a sugar-coated hawthorn stick and thousand-layer cake, so he wasn't very hungry. He ate slowly while chatting with Chang Jinhua.

"It's a good thing it hasn't snowed the past couple of days and it's not as cold as before. Otherwise, even wrapped in quilts, the tofu might freeze, and we'd only be able to sell frozen tofu."

Chang Jinhua was in high spirits today and talked more than usual.

"Tomorrow, Aunt Tian's family is slaughtering a pig. I'm going to buy some pork for the New Year. Do you want to come?"

Without a second thought, Meng Wan said, "Yes, yes, yes."

The village was full of New Year's spirit, and both children and adults looked forward to a good holiday. Going to join the fun—how interesting would that be?