Chapter 575 - 577: Big Brother Brings Back a Great-Grandmother
The people in the yard all greeted the arrival. Even Bai Ruozhu slowly walked towards the main gate. But due to her unstable health, she couldn’t walk too fast or work hard.
The horse carriage did stop at the Bai Family gate as predicted, and Bai Zehao was the first to jump down. His face shone with delight as he looked at his family, "Father, mother, we’re back!"
"Good, good, help Caiyue down quickly, let’s go inside the house to talk." Seeing his eldest son and daughter-in-law return, Bai Yihong excitedly said.
A look of difficulty suddenly crossed Bai Zehao’s face, and Bai Ruozhu knew all too clearly that something had changed.
Before he had a chance to put his words together, Old Lady Bai’s voice rang out from inside the carriage, "Ay, no one is coming to help me, my old bones are about to fall apart!"
The faces of everyone who had gathered at the gate couldn’t help but change upon hearing these words. Why did Old Lady Bai come along too? Having witnessed Old Lady Bai’s temper firsthand and knowing the Bai Family’s situation, the Lin and Zhang families tactfully nodded at Lin Ping’er and retreated into their rooms.
"The old lady had to come with us, and Uncle Deshun and his family came too." Bai Zehao explained.
As he spoke, Zhou Deshun got off the horse carriage, a bashful smile on his face as he greeted, "Brother Bai, sister-in-law, we are here to visit."
Previously, Bai Ruozhu had treated Zhou Chuang and it was agreed that Zhou family would visit Beiyu City for a follow-up consultation. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that they accompanied Bai Zehao to Beiyu City, it was only sensible to travel together.
But why Old Lady Bai had to come was a mystery.
Zhou Deshun’s wife and Zhou Chuang had already exited the carriage, only Old Lady Bai remained inside, constantly complaining about how crowded the rickety carriage was and how it was about to dislocate her old bones.
The coachman huffed unhappily and muttered, "If you think my carriage is in shambles, why don’t you go buy your own carriage? Why hire mine?"
Bai Zehao quickly pacified the coachman with a smile, and paid the coach fare. Old Lady Bai had been quite a nuisance on the journey and the coachman had been unhappy for a long time.
Wan Caiyue’s voice came from inside the carriage, "Grandma, can you get out of the carriage first? Can we go inside and talk?" Her tone was obviously very careful, clearly she had been at the receiving end of mistreatment during the journey.
Bai Ruozhu silently sighed. Her sister-in-law was the granddaughter of a prestigious family. Under reasonable circumstances, she wouldn’t need to be so apprehensive. At the end of the day, Wan Caiyue was just too soft-hearted.
A sharp slap resonated from within the carriage, clearly, the old lady had slapped away Wan Caiyue’s hand. She then began to complain loudly, "Don’t be sanctimonious with me. I know you all don’t want me here. You want me to starve in the countryside while you enjoy the good life here. I have finally arrived, and there isn’t even anyone to greet me."
Lin Ping’er looked at Bai Yihong, who deeply sighed, a forlorn look crossing his face. Their family was all present at the entrance to welcome her; in no way was no one there to greet her. What kind of welcome was she expecting?
Bai Zehao’s face flashed with anger as he walked over to the carriage, pulled open the curtain and said, "Caiyue, you get off first. You haven’t suffered like this at home. You didn’t marry into our Bai family to be a slave."
When Bai Zehao helped her out of the carriage, Wan Caiyue’s eyes were red, apparently struggling to hold back tears. She went to greet her in-laws. Upon seeing Bai Ruozhu, a surprised look appeared on her face, "Ruozhu, you don’t look well. Are you sick?"
Bai Ruozhu gave a bitter smile, "It’s a long story."
Wan Caiyue knew it was difficult for Bai Ruozhu to discuss the matter in front of the old lady, so she didn’t press any further.
Old Lady Bai still sat in the carriage arrogantly, leaving Bai Yihong with no choice but to go over personally with a smile to assist her down the vehicle.
Lin Ping’er went to welcome the Zhou family and said, "You must be tired from the journey. Let’s go inside. I’ll arrange a place for you and we’ll have dinner afterwards."
After saying this, she linked arms with Zhou Deshun’s wife and headed inside, followed closely by Zhou Deshun and Zhou Chuang.
Bai Ruozhu also greeted them with a smile, "Uncle Zhou, Auntie Zhou, you should take a rest first."
Upon noticing Bai Ruozhu’s pallid complexion, Zhou Deshun’s wife’s face turned to worry and she asked in a low voice, "What happened to Ruozhu?"
"It’s nothing, she just took a fall from a horse and suffered minor internal injuries." Lin Ping’er casually explained, then, seizing Zhou Deshun’s wife’s arm, she asked, "How did my family’s old lady just decide to tag along? Isn’t there anyone to take care of her back home? Is Sanlang’s leg still not healed?"
Zhou Deshun’s wife sneered, "You guys need to be careful this time. your family’s old lady has been completely played by that widow Zhou. She swindled most of our money away, and life isn’t as comfortable as before."
"What?" Lin Ping’er gasped in surprise but quickly regained her composure, "We guessed that might happen a long time ago so we didn’t dare give her too much money. Even if we did, it would just benefit the poor falling household."
Zhou Deshun’s wife curled her lips, "The more disgusting thing is that Sanlang and that widow Zhou are involved with each other. Now the whole village knows about it. The old lady also feels it’s humiliating, and she can’t control Widow Zhou, so she insisted on moving here, stating that you owed her a retirement."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping’er showed a displeased expression, "Taking care of old people is our duty, and we won’t shirk it. But do you think she came here to enjoy her old age? She obviously wants to act as the matriarch. We were finally able to live a quiet life, and now it’s going to be thrown into chaos again."
Zhou Deshun’s wife sighed, "Isn’t that the truth? We’ve had a headache just from the journey, let alone you guys having to deal with her every day."
While they were talking, Lin Ping’er had located an empty room. She had wanted to call Fang Guizhi over to arrange the room together, but upon turning around, she didn’t see Fang Guizhi anywhere. Suddenly, she understood.
Fang Guizhi had heard Old Lady Bai’s voice and immediately hidden herself, fearful that the truth about her not really being sold would be revealed to Back Mountain Village, and that her mother would rush over to make a scene at the Bai Family.
With this in mind, Lin Ping’er dared not call for Fang Guizhi. So she and Deshun’s wife hastily tidied up the room, which would be the lodging for the three members of the Zhou family for the night.
Outside, the coachman lost patience and shouted, "Are you going to get off or not? Don’t delay my business, or else you can go back with me!"
Saying so, the coachman started moving the carriage and turned the horse’s head around. This finally prodded Old Lady Bai to stop dawdling and step down from the carriage.
Bai Ruozhu, with her excellent hearing, had clearly heard her mother’s conversation with Zhou Deshun’s wife. Her heart held some contempt for her grandmother. She was still living it up back home, took in an notoriously ill-reputed widow, nearly caused the death of one of her own granddaughters, and now that Widow Zhou had swindled her out of all her silver, she wanted to take refuge in her second son’s house. Couldn’t she change her attitude a bit? Did she think that she could gain full control over the Second Family with a bit of manipulation?
Walking with tiny steps, Old Lady Bai entered the yard. Her face showed traces of jealousy and annoyance. "Oh, your yard is really quite big. Seems like it has benefited a lot. Now you are so prosperous that you have forgotten your own mother."
Bai Yihong felt a chill on his scalp. "Mother, why would you say that? This yard isn’t even ours."
"Granny, don’t you see that there are more than just our family in here? We just pooled the rent with them." Bai Ruozhu signaled her father and loudly added in reply.