Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Choices_1
Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Choices_1
Suddenly, the mother hen in the backyard started clucking. Qian Manxia stood up and said, “Old Ma is laying eggs.” Then she ran to the backyard to collect the eggs and handed them to Lady Wu.
Lady Wu smiled and took the chicken eggs, saying to Cheng Yue, “We don’t sell our eggs; we save them to nourish Yueyue. Next year, she’ll have a chubby little boy.”
Cheng Yue fawningly added, “And to nourish father too.”
Qian Sangui looked up and quietly chuckled upon hearing this. Qian Manxia had seen her father smile only rarely since she was born, so seeing this, she said to Cheng Yue, “Sister-in-law, you really have a way with words. You even made Father laugh.”
Lady Wu laughed, “Your sister-in-law is filial and has a sweet tongue. Learn from her in the future. Everyone loves to hear kind words.”
Licking her lips, Cheng Yue agreed wholeheartedly, “That’s true, Brother Jiang says Yueyue is sweet-mouthed, too.”
Lady Wu was both amused and exasperated, calling her a “silly girl” before going to the kitchen to put away the eggs.
When Lady Wu returned from putting away the eggs, she found Cheng Yue sewing little clothes, her posture graceful, her expression focused. Most importantly, her stitches were tight and even—a sure sign of an experienced hand. Lady Wu was pleasantly surprised; she hadn’t expected her daughter-in-law, who wasn’t good at any household tasks, to excel in needlework. Finally, she could help with some work.
Everyone was in good spirits when they heard the sound of the gate. Cheng Yue instinctively stood up and ran towards the little room.
“Oh, slow down,” Lady Wu said softly.
After Lady Cheng entered the small room, Qian Manxia went to open the gate. Lady Tang, Qian Ergui’s wife, came in carrying a basket. Lady Tang rarely visited their home, and her sudden appearance left everyone rather puzzled.
Sitting down on a small stool, Lady Tang lifted the coarse cloth covering the basket and said, “I heard Manjiang’s wife is pregnant, so I specially brought ten eggs to nourish her.”
In reality, Qian Ergui had long since asked her to buy twenty eggs to send to the third branch of the family, but she had been dragging her feet. Unable to evade it today, she counted out twenty wen money in front of Qian Ergui, claiming she was going to buy twenty eggs, but only spent ten and bought ten eggs instead.
Lady Tang had followed Lady Wu into the Qian family’s home, unable to stand Lady Wu’s pretense. Even though she might be a scholar’s daughter brought up in the countryside, she always acted delicately and pretended to be cultured, relying on a husband who could earn money and because she gave birth to a son earlier than she did, not doing farm labor and always knowing how to ingratiate herself. What enraged her most was that the in-laws were biased towards her. When her husband had issues and her son was gone, her family’s lands still needed to be worked by her father-in-law and brothers. What a thing!
“Our second sister-in-law isn’t well off either, so why are you sending us eggs?” Lady Wu said, well aware that the eggs from the second branch weren’t that tasty.
Lady Tang laughed, “I’m not like others with a sweet tongue, nor do I pretend to be frail; naturally, our household isn’t as comfortable as others. My husband is honest, after finishing work on our own land, he has to work on others’ fields. He is so tired that sometimes he can’t even eat an egg for days. Manhe is young and still growing, and he gets to eat an egg maybe only every few days. Still, my husband said that even if our own situation is tough, we must buy ten eggs to nourish Manjiang’s wife.”
Upon hearing this, Qian Sangui set down his work and returned to his room. Red-faced with anger, Lady Wu forced a laugh and pushed the basket back, “Take the eggs home for Second Uncle and Manhe to nourish themselves; we still have some in our house.”
Worried that Lady Tang might really take the eggs back, Qian Manxia quickly grabbed a freshly made straw basket from under the eaves, placed the ten eggs into it, and said, “Thank you, Second Uncle’s wife. When Brother Manhe’s wife is pregnant in the future, my mother will send her twenty eggs to eat.”
Lady Tang truly thought about taking the eggs back if Lady Wu refused them, but seeing Qian Manxia take them out, she was so annoyed she ignored her. Turning to Lady Wu, she said, “I’ve already brought them; how could I take them back? My husband will criticize me for not caring about familial bonds if he finds out.”
As she spoke, Lady Tang glanced toward the left chamber, saying, “To think that Manjiang’s wife, with her slight body, could get pregnant—oh my, who would’ve thought. Setting aside her looks and silliness, she’s too thin. That frail body of hers is going to suffer a lot during childbirth. Didn’t Old Feng’s second daughter-in-law die in childbirth three years ago? It was a weak constitution that killed her and the child together.”
Unable to restrain herself any longer, Lady Wu raised her voice, “What kind of words are you saying? My daughter-in-law has a robust constitution and will give birth to a healthy little boy smoothly.”
Lady Tang snorted in her heart, thinking, “As if I’d believe that,” and continued, “Manjiang’s wife is such a simpleton; what if the child turns out as silly as her one day?”
Qian Manxia was furious and blurted out, “My sister-in-law is not stupid at all, only a fool would say someone is stupid in front of others.”
Lady Tang was displeased, “Such a lack of manners, what child speaks to an elder like that? She’s a fool to begin with, and now no one can say it?”
Lady Wu said, “My daughter has been raised with manners. If an elder wants the younger ones to respect them, they must act like an elder. Alright, I’m busy, so I won’t keep you any longer, second sister-in-law.”
Lady Wu stood up, took Qian Manxia by the arm, and headed inside the house. Qian Manxia didn’t forget to carry the basket of eggs as she left.
Instantly, the courtyard was left with only Lady Tang, who felt she had lost face. She cursed, “What kind of people are these, I came to give a gift, not to be treated with disrespect.” Holding her basket, she stormed out of the courtyard gate.
Hidden in the corner, Qian Yixiu heard everything but did not see the person. This one was truly a rare piece of work, speaking so unpleasantly.
Seeing that Lady Tang had gone, Lady Wu said to Qian Manxia, “You child, what do you need with her family’s eggs?”
Qian Manxia replied, “Why shouldn’t I take them? Ten eggs can feed dad and sister-in-law for several days. Besides, even if I didn’t want them, the second uncle’s wife would go back and say she gave us eggs, then she’d secretly boil and eat them at home, and we would have accepted a favor for nothing.”
Lady Wu laughed and shot her a playful look.
Qian Yixiu looked at her cute little aunt and blew her a kiss. Good child, once your sister travels back in time, I will surely take good care of you.
The weather turned frightfully cold, the flowers at the door also withered away.
Cheng Yue, having nothing else to do, would loiter by the door, peering through the crack longing for the flowers outside to bloom again. Amidst her hopefulness, she had filled out a bit more, and her belly was slowly growing, but clearly not as well as the other expecting mothers in the village.
With the arrival of winter, Qian Sangui again lay in bed, unable to move. The only able-bodied laborer was gone, and another mouth was added to feed, so the family’s few coins didn’t last long. Other than buying some cheap medicinal herbs for him to take, there was no extra money to buy ginseng slices.
Lady Wu then considered selling another acre of land.
Qian Sangui wouldn’t let her sell it. Their home was already overwhelmed, and since he couldn’t be of much help, he didn’t want to be a burden anymore. He said, “The land is our family’s support for the future, try not to sell it. If later our grandson is born and we really can’t get by, then we can talk about selling the land. It’s not worth it to sell the land for a worthless person like me.”
Lady Wu tearfully said, “As long as we are alive, we can buy it back later. Besides, in a few years when Manjiang comes back, life will get better.”
Qian Sangui sighed, “Buy it back? It’s easier said than done. Also, don’t pin your hopes on Manjiang. If the war lasts ten years, Manjiang won’t be able to return for ten years. Listen to me, just make sure our daughter-in-law gives birth safely to our grandson and raise him to be strong and healthy. The grandson is our family’s real hope. For someone useless like me, to live is to live, to die would be a good thing for you all.”
Lady Wu’s tears flowed even more as she looked at her frail husband, thinking without supplements, how long could his broken body last? But her husband was right, she must put the grandson first.
Life is so helpless; one always has to choose among those they least wish to let go.
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