Zhou He had always known about the kind of days she faced back at home in the Xu family.
Apparently, her mother-in-law truly didn’t hold Zhou He in her heart, nor did she care if Zhou He was despised by her in-laws.
They had just gotten married, and the mother-in-law was already hitting Xiaohe, what kind of days did Xiaohe endure at the Zhou family before marriage?
When her own mother hit her, Zhou He did not shed a tear, but a single "I care about you" from Xu Nianji made the tears in Zhou He’s eyes burst forth.
The next day, Zhou He’s mother went early to the market to find Xu Nianji, who was selling bean sprouts. Seeing his mother-in-law, his eyes darkened as he thought of Xiaohe, who had cried for most of the previous night, her delicate face still red, thinking of all the wrongs Xiaohe had endured over the years.
Xu Nianji kept his pity for Xiaohe deep in his heart, and busily packed up two kilos of bean sprouts before saying, "Mom, Xiaohe and I have been married just over a month, and we still owe more than two hundred dollars in debt, we really don’t have any money now."
"Next time, don’t hit Xiaohe; hit me instead, I have thick skin and can take a beating."
Xu Nianji looked pleadingly at Zhou He’s mother, every word he spoke ached with pity for his wife, saying, "I know that Xiaoqiang’s wedding needs three hundred dollars, and a bicycle to boot, but Xiaohe is your own daughter too."
The message that Xu Nianji conveyed in these few sentences was quite profound. Indeed, Xu Nianji had been selling bean sprouts here for some time now, and many people had seen his new bride, who was quite pretty and looked virtuous. The couple standing together, even without any excessive displays of affection, still had an atmosphere of newlyweds about them.
Is this person standing before him really his wife’s mother?
To ask for a loan for her son’s marriage from a son-in-law who had been married less than a month?
And she hit her daughter, too?
"What kind of girl needs three hundred dollars and a bicycle for a dowry?"
"Even city girls don’t ask for that much dowry, right?"
"Exactly, I’ve never seen it, borrowing money for a son’s wedding from a newly wed daughter."
"And they don’t have money to lend, so she hits her daughter? Is this really her mother?"
"Definitely not, what kind of mother does this?"
"This daughter must have been picked up, right?"
Some were women buying bean sprouts, others were aunties selling vegetables and eggs nearby; everyone chattered and verbally spat at Zhou He’s mother.
"I, I just wanted to borrow a hundred dollars from my son-in-law, what’s wrong with that?" Zhou He’s mother, always fierce in the village, retorted instinctively upon hearing the women’s comments, "You all should mind your own business."
"What you’re doing isn’t right; the Xu family are good people. If it had been another family, how would your daughter hope to have a good life with her in-laws? You’re just tearing apart a good home."
The speaker was an old lady selling eggs nearby.
This young man from the Xu family is a good one; he had even offered her some bean sprouts to try once, and his wife, having seen her tender and gently smiling, was quite charming.
"Exactly, a real mother couldn’t do this," another old lady commented in agreement.
"Thanks for your kindness, ladies and aunties, I am grateful on behalf of Xiaohe, but, my mother-in-law is just a bit biased," Xu Nianji’s words were like adding fuel to the fire.
"Xu family’s young man, we are not in those old times anymore, men and women should be treated equally; how can she be so biased? Children are all the same," said Old Lady Liu, rebuking Zhou He’s mother for her highly improper actions.