Speaking of Elder Sister, she was also a woman with a tragic fate. She became a widow at a young age and had to raise her three children on her own, leading a tough life.
Elder Sister was an exceedingly diligent and traditionally conservative person. When she was younger, many people advised her to remarry, but she would say, "A woman should not serve two husbands," insisting on remaining faithful to her late husband. She rejected all matchmakers who came knocking and even drove them out of the house. Any man who harbored those intentions and harassed her was met with her chasing them off with a knife.
Therefore, Elder Sister had quite a reputation for her chastity and righteousness in the local area, and people often praised her.
It’s not easy for a widow to raise several children, but she was strict with herself, never relying on another man or remarrying no matter how tough or exhausting life was. She managed to raise her three children, even married off the eldest son, and had a grandchild. She thought the hardships were over and better days were ahead. But life is unpredictable, and disaster can strike overnight. Elder Sister’s eldest son, Deng Weidong, died in a traffic accident last year while out trading goods early in the morning.
"It happened in April, and you got married to Taiguo in May. It hadn’t even been a hundred days since the accident, so their family didn’t attend your wedding. We didn’t go over either, to avoid any clash," sighed Qi Fenglian as she wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. "Elder Sister is only two years older than our mom, and her Weidong was about the same age as Taiguo. Since their father passed away early, he had been working since he was young. Being the eldest son, he was like a father figure and the mainstay of the Deng family. Who would’ve thought that someone so young would... truly a hard life."
Cheng Su hadn’t expected this, and felt quite uncomfortable upon hearing it. Thinking about it, she indeed had not met such relatives on her wedding day, and asked, "What happened with the traffic accident? Was the culprit caught?"
"Caught? Not at all!" exclaimed Qi Fenglian, anger apparent on her face. "Weidong sold vegetables, and he would ride out with his cart to get the goods before dawn. The culprit hit him and then ran off; no one saw anything. It wasn’t until daylight that someone found him, but it was already too late. That murderer, may heaven deal with them!"
Cheng Su sighed softly at the thought of the hardships awaiting the orphans and the widow left behind.
"You go ahead with your work. I’m going to see Elder Sister, and you should come over later to meet her," said Qi Fenglian.
"Oh, you go ahead. I’ll come over in a bit," Cheng Su said hastily.
After Qi Fenglian left, Cheng Su shook her head and swiftly went through the kitchen’s ingredients, preparing a couple more dishes. She then recalled her Elder Sister talking about Elder Sister’s chastity and frowned slightly.
Thinking that the idea of "A woman should not serve two husbands" was admirable in terms of tradition and chastity, it unfortunately also sounded terribly old-fashioned.
Her thoughts then turned to her elder cousin’s widow. Would Elder Sister expect her to remain alone for a lifetime as well?
Reflecting on this, Cheng Su shivered at the thought. It seemed too heartless.
Not wanting to dwell on it further, Cheng Su quickly chopped and prepared the food. Once ready, she took off her apron and went to the main room.
As soon as she entered the main room, Cheng Su could feel a heavy atmosphere lingering; the oppressive air was so dense it almost made it hard to breathe.
Looking around, she saw the room was full of people: some were deep in thought with their heads bowed, some wiping tears away, and some were even sobbing softly.
This was supposed to be during the New Year celebration, and yet with all the weeping, one might think a terrible tragedy had occurred!
When Qi Fenglian saw Cheng Su arrive, she dried the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "You’re here. Come and meet Elder Sister." Leading her to a woman, she added, "Elder Sister, this is Taiguo’s wife, Cheng Su. This is your first time meeting her!"
Cheng Su greeted her with a polite smile, "Elder Sister, hello, I am Cheng Su."
As she observed the woman before her, Cheng Su was inwardly startled. Elder Sister was just a couple of years older than her mother-in-law, who was only fifty-two, making Elder Sister merely fifty-four. Yet, she looked as if she were over sixty, with half of her hair already gray.