A meal, Cheng Su ate with such a tastelessness that she wondered if it was her own illusion; she felt that the auntie was watching her every move.
After the meal, Cheng Su began to clean up. Qi Fenglian took off her coat to help, but Auntie stopped her, saying, "You’re here as a guest, an auntie visiting relatives. Guests don’t do chores. We have a daughter-in-law here; there’s no need for you to intervene."
Qi Fenglian and Cheng Su looked at each other, both at a loss.
"Older sister, you rest. Baobao must be getting hungry; I can take care of it," Cheng Su said with a light smile.
Qi Fenglian felt somewhat guilty.
Cheng Su didn’t dawdle; she was always someone who handled things efficiently. She first made a pot of tea for them to drink and chat, put out a fruit plate, and then swiftly cleaned up the dining table and did the dishes.
Qi Taiguo quietly followed her to the kitchen and said, "Auntie is traditional by nature and finds many things about young people’s behavior hard to accept. If she says something that displeases you, just bear with it, pretend you didn’t hear it, and feel sorry for her!"
Cheng Su, while washing dishes, first glanced at the kitchen door and asked in a low voice, "Is it true that in their place, women don’t sit at the table?"
Qi Taiguo nodded and said, "Yes, it’s true."
Cheng Su sighed sharply and said, "My goodness, what kind of place is that? It seems very closed off, right?"
"Mhm, it’s a very closed-off small mountain village, where the traditional customs are quite strict, and they’re used to it," Qi Taiguo replied.
"I’m glad when I came over, it was here and not there. Otherwise, what would I have done?" Cheng Su muttered to herself, filled with relief.
She really had not expected such traditional customs to still exist; it was extremely suffocating. With this in mind, her firm decision not to remarry was also a matter of following the example, wasn’t it?
If that was the case for her, what about her cousin-in-law?
With such a young child, and so young herself.
Cheng Su shook her head; she couldn’t intervene, as these were each person’s choices, and she didn’t want to worry needlessly.
...
After Cheng Su finished tidying up, she returned to the living room where everyone was talking. However, Auntie and the others had started crying again.
"It’s fate, there’s nothing to be done, I accept it. Thankfully, Weidong left behind an only child. We mother and daughter-in-law can bring him up together. It’s just that Weidong was the mainstay of the family, and now he’s gone. Gou Sheng is still young; the burden falls on Weixia. Before, he was helping his brother sell vegetables, but it seems that won’t work any longer, it won’t bring in much money. Taiguo, you’re an officer in the army; perhaps you could pull some strings to get your cousin a government job—holding a secure job would surely be better than being a peddler," Auntie began by lamenting her own fate, but soon shifted the topic to finding a job.
Cheng Suxin felt a sudden pang in her heart and an ominous premonition.
Indeed, before she even settled on the thought, and without Qi Taiguo having to say anything, Mother Qi spoke up first, "There’s no need for Taiguo to arrange anything. I think he should just work in Taiguo’s wife’s store. We’re all family, and it’s easier to talk. After the New Year, Fenglian and her family are going to work there too!"
Cheng Su’s scalp exploded, and her face slightly changed.
Auntie was also surprised and looked toward Cheng Su, "Are you running a business?"
Cheng Su glanced at Qi Taiguo and said, "It’s just a small business, nothing like a secure job; it’s all just freelancing."
By saying that, she hinted at a refusal.
No sooner had she spoken than Auntie and Mother Qi had understood—while they were looking for a secure job, she said hers wasn’t one; wasn’t that a refusal if not what?
Mother Qi’s face instantly darkened.