"Sweetie, are you considering finding a job?"
Shen Yiguang did not approve of her childish antics, believing his wife’s trivial activities were ultimately insignificant. However, he did not want to confront her too bluntly about her dignity, so he decided to take a roundabout approach.
He tactfully mentioned the current situation.
"There’s not much going on at home now, we could look for jobs, so you won’t be so bored."
Yang PeiMin laughed, "Sure, then I’ll stand tall. Even if you don’t give me money for food, I won’t starve to death. What’s that called? Financial independence."
Shen Yiguang pinched her nose, "What are you talking about? MinMin, if you really want to stand tall, then hurry up and bear me a chubby boy. At that point, even if you sit on my head and take a dump, I wouldn’t mind."
Yang PeiMin placed her hands on her hips, "There it is, the deep thought you’ve been hiding. Tell me, did you marry me just to carry on the family line?"
Shen Yiguang laughed heartily, "Isn’t it the same for every family?"
Yang PeiMin was cross, wanting to tickle him, but he wasn’t afraid and actually enjoyed the way she threw herself on him.
They played around for a while then reached home.
The Shen family house was eerily quiet, which was unusual because even if others were absent, Chen Guizhi would usually be around. No clue why she wasn’t there today.
Despite its large rooms, the Shen family house often felt deserted.
Then Shen Yiguang gave her that meaningful look again.
Yang PeiMin acted like she didn’t understand and said to him, "Maybe I should go out and search if there’s something going on."
Shen Yiguang held her back, "Do you even know the way?"
Right now was also cooking time, so she went to the kitchen to cook, while Shen Yiguang went out to look around.
They still had preserved meat, eggs, pumpkin, and potatoes at home. These days they ate meat almost every day during the New Year holidays, and Yang PeiMin felt she was gaining weight on her face.
She planned to stew the preserved meat with pumpkin and stir-fry eggs and shredded potatoes. Just as she measured the rice to wash it, Chen Guizhi rushed in hurriedly, grabbed her hand, and said, "Daughter-in-law, stop cooking. Today we’re eating at your granny’s place."
Yang PeiMin thought she misheard. Shen Yiguang’s grandmother? Hadn’t they nearly torn faces?
"Mom, why are we suddenly eating at Granny’s place? Is something going on?"
Chen Guizhi glanced at the food she had set out, helped to put it back, and replied, "His aunt came back today. They invited us over to meet. The aunt was still in confinement on the second day of the Lunar New Year and couldn’t return. Your granny has been looking forward to this. Today their whole family is here, and your granny is happy, so she asked us to come over for a meal and also to introduce you."
Chen PeiMin looked at her smiling mother-in-law, perplexed. To her knowledge, before they separated households, her mother-in-law didn’t have a great time there; in fact, it was quite awful. Even after splitting, the ancestral home side continued to hassle and torment them. Over the years, even a kind-hearted person like Chen Guizhi had grown a bit tough.
That day, Uncle Shen also could see it. Although Chen Guizhi was still a little restless, under the children’s firm stance, she no longer spoke as she used to of compromise. She managed to stay away, not engaging but also not conceding.
"Did Yiyue and the others go over too? Why did they suddenly come over, and Yiguang just went out to look for you all? Does he not know you went over there?" Yang PeiMin tentatively asked.
Chen Guizhi, who was not good at keeping secrets, instead told her the reasons, "Granny was sick a while ago, quite seriously, and I’d visited her twice. I don’t know if it’s because she’s getting old, plus the sickness almost took her, she’s not as tough as she was before. Talking about the past, she even said she had treated me badly."
She sighed, "As people get old, their thoughts change too. The days in the past might have been harsh, but they are gone now. We shouldn’t keep looking back. Besides, Granny realizes her mistakes, and not many days are left for her. We, as her descendants, shouldn’t keep holding onto the past."
Yang PeiMin was stunned, not expecting such a turnaround. Was it not her harboring the worst thoughts, suspecting the one who previously could wring the last bit of value from this daughter-in-law, who ruthlessly neglected her grandchildren, even pushing her granddaughter towards peril, suddenly changed for the better, having a 180-degree change in thought?
"Your two younger sisters went to their good friend’s house to play. I’ll go and fetch them in a while. Your fourth sister and your dad are already at the old house. Come with me."
Yang PeiMin said, "Mom, how about this—I’ll wait for Yiguang, and we can go over together later."
Chen Guizhi seemed somewhat unsure about her son, she said to Yang PeiMin, "Daughter-in-law, Yiguang has his own big ideas, and he’s stubborn. He had some unpleasant moments with them in the past too. Later on, help me persuade him, Granny doesn’t have many days left, and she has softened her attitude without repeating the past harsh words."
"It’s also my fault for not bearing him more brothers, and he will have to uphold the family alone; it’s not easy. Also, having siblings to watch each other’s back in times of need is important—’brothers sever bones but not sinews.’ There are many cousins at the old house; just standing up together means others can’t easily bully us."
Yang PeiMin nodded, "Mom, I will talk to Yiguang." But she couldn’t guarantee if he would listen.
The mother-in-law was clearly lulled by some soft words from Granny Shen.
Chen Guizhi then said quite a few more words, and seeing her daughter-in-law obediently agree, she was satisfied and hastily returned to the old house.
She seemed almost afraid to face her own son.
Yang PeiMin sighed deeply.
She boiled some water to wash her face, seeing there were still buns left from the morning, she simply sliced and fried them, not sure if there would be a meal later, and decided to fill her stomach first.
Shen Yiguang came back soon, with Shen Yiyue and her younger sister following behind. Yang PeiMin walked out of the kitchen.
She immediately explained the situation to them.
Shen Yixiang jumped up before she even finished, "Mom really, how many times have we told her—those people’s hearts are utterly black, no amount of washing can clean them. They’re just finding an excuse to have her over, who knows what they’ll scheme against us later. Brother, we can’t let their cunning plans succeed."
"Why didn’t you stop her? Don’t you know it’s like sending a lamb into the tiger’s den?" Shen Yixiang turned to Yang PeiMin and demanded.
"How can Yixiang talk to your sister-in-law like that?" Shen Yiguang’s face darkened. "Apologize to your sister-in-law."
"Yixiang, Mom’s a grown person, not a child; how could your sister-in-law stop her?" Shen Yiyue chided her younger sister’s idea.
Shen Yixiang turned her face away and snorted through her nose, her mouth tightly closed.
Yang PeiMin smiled, "Fourth sister and dad are also there."