Father Qi, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, glanced at her indifferently upon hearing this and said, "What do you mean by that, ’elbow turns outwards’? Talking nonsense? According to you, isn’t the daughter-in-law a member of our Qi family anymore?"
Mother Qi was left speechless by his retort, her face turned beet red, and she stuttered without being able to utter a word.
"How can people of our age still act like they have no brains at all, with mouths firing away like machine guns, relentlessly spurting out words? Luckily, it’s just the two of us old folks talking behind closed doors. If you said this outside, I’m afraid it would make others laugh their heads off," Father Qi humphed.
Mother Qi’s face was filled with indignation, "So, you’re going to lecture me too?"
"I’m not lecturing you; I’m telling you not to embarrass yourself. Once a daughter-in-law enters our home, she becomes part of the Qi family. If you say that our son’s elbow turns outwards, that means you’re seeing the daughter-in-law as an outsider. Let’s not even talk about others; if people found out, what would that make you? How would Fenglian and her sister be treated at their in-laws’ house? They would also be seen as outsiders. Just look at Fenglian," Father Qi continued.
"My daughter is flesh of my flesh; how can she be compared?" Mother Qi argued defiantly.
"Once they go to another family, they become members of that family. If you even harbor the thought of seeing your daughter-in-law as an outsider, others will surely belittle your daughters," Father Qi said irritably. "And don’t say other families are different from ours, otherwise, you’ll truly be slapping your own face."
Mother Qi was so choked by his words she could barely breathe; didn’t he have any conscience? Wasn’t she also defending his seed? Yet he insisted on siding with outsiders against her?
"You, always only think about your own son, never trying to put yourself in others’ shoes. When you give away your daughter, you hope others will treat her as one of their own. It’s the same for others; they all hope we treat their daughters well. When dealing with people, we must have empathy," Father Qi sighed and began puffing on his tobacco pipe again.
"So you’re always right," Mother Qi huffed and sat down, saying, "What did I even say about her? It’s just that I can’t stand her attitude. So what if she earns a bit of money? As if she’s capable, as if she’s arrogant, like she’s better than everyone else."
"Eating someone else’s food makes you quiet, taking someone’s hand makes you shorter; don’t you understand this saying?" Father Qi said disdainfully with a glance.
Mother Qi opened her mouth, snorted, and said, "Since she married into this family, siding with our family is right."
Father Qi scoffed, "If you’re not nice to them, what reason do they have to be loyal to you? You think everyone is a clay Bodhisattva? Even a clay Bodhisattva can get fired up!"
"Hey, what’s with you tonight? You’re like a thorn in my side, just daring to oppose me," Mother Qi glared at him.
"I talk because I have reason. Whether you want to listen is up to you, but that’s all I’m saying." Father Qi put down his tobacco pipe, lay down, and added, "Just don’t talk to our son about his wife anymore. It makes things difficult for him."
With that, he stopped talking and closed his eyes to sleep.
Mother Qi fumed to the point of falling backward, wanting to muster some rebuttal, but she lacked the confidence and finally gave in resignedly. It took her a long time to settle in bed before she managed to fall asleep.
In the room of Taiguo and his wife, Cheng Su, reflecting on the evening’s events, sighed, "Since ancient times, it has been hard for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to get along. We’ve just come back, and the rivalry between the two has kicked off. How long will this battle go on until it’s settled?"
"Is it as serious as you make it out to be?" Taiguo clicked his tongue.
Cheng Su huffed lightly, "You expect me to believe you didn’t see what happened at dinner tonight?"
Taiguo fell silent, then embraced her and said, "Being someone’s daughter-in-law is very hard; you have my sympathies."
"Here, you’re the only one I’m closest to. If you don’t protect me, then no one will! So, Taiguo, you have to stand by me," Cheng Su looked at him.
"Fine, I’ll stand by you," Taiguo kissed her and said, "Let’s sleep!"