When Cheng Xiaokui heard Lin Qiuru's voice coming from nearby, she quickly turned around and replied, "Mom, I'm here. This is my home."
She didn't have time to say anything more to her brother before quickly getting up to go out and greet him.
My own home is too small; even having my mother-in-law come in to cook is a luxury.
She took out a few small stools from home for her mother-in-law to sit on.
She said to Song Wenhui, "Mom, this is my mother-in-law. These two children are orphans of martyrs adopted by my mother-in-law's family!"
Upon hearing the words "mother-in-law," Song Wenhui quickly reached out and grasped Lin Qiuru's hand, saying, "Oh, so you're my in-law! Please come inside and have a seat..."
The next moment, she seemed to remember something and awkwardly pursed her lips.
She said, "My house is too small... there's only half a bed in one room, and there's not even enough room to invite you in... Please don't mind..."
Lin Qiuru said, "What's there to complain about? I've heard that city dwellers live in small houses, after all, land is incredibly valuable in the city."
Unlike in our rural area, where land is cheap and there's plenty of space to build houses, I'm afraid my coming from the village to the capital will be a burden on you.
Song Wenhui said, "There's no trouble at all. We're in-laws! I'm more than happy to have you come to my house!"
Auntie finally managed to get up from the ground, rubbing her ribs which she had almost broken. She sat down and listened to Lin Qiuru and Song Wenhui's conversation with surprise.
She clearly remembered the eldest maid of the Li family telling her that Cheng Xiao Kui had slept with another educated youth and was divorced by her own husband!
What exactly happened? How did she get divorced, and why is her mother-in-law still living with her?
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand it.
Either Cheng Xiao Kui lied to her, or the eldest daughter of the Li family lied to her!
She got up from the ground, staggered out of the courtyard, and went to find the eldest maid of the Li family to find out the truth and have the eldest maid of the Li family come over and expose Cheng Xiaokui's lie!
Song Wenhui hurriedly asked her youngest daughter to boil water and make tea for her in-laws.
Tea, such an ordinary thing, was quite precious in those days, and her family certainly didn't have any.
Cheng Qiuqiu could only borrow some tea leaves from her neighbor to use in the meantime.
A large mug of tea was brewed and poured into glass cups.
The so-called glass is actually a small jar left over from eating canned food.
Buying a glass costs money, but if you're lucky, you can find these small jars in the red brick garbage bins outside the alley.
These small jars were all collected by Song Wenhui, who washed them clean and boiled them in water.
For her family, saving money wherever possible is the priority.
She is unable to work due to her health condition and can only receive subsidies from the local community each month.
Although her son is sick and can receive a subsidy, the total subsidy for both of them is only a little over twenty yuan.
Her youngest daughter just graduated from technical school and has been working for less than two months.
Two months ago, the family of three lived on just over twenty yuan a month.
Every year I also save two yuan to send to Cheng Xiao Kui before the New Year...
Song Wenhui listened to Lin Qiuru praising Cheng Xiaokui, her eyes filled with joy. She had heard from the eldest maid of the Li family that Cheng Xiaokui had cheated on her husband and had been divorced.
The news spread throughout the entire alley.
When she and her youngest daughter walked outside, people would point and whisper behind their backs, gossiping about them!
In particular, when she wanted to find a matchmaker to introduce a potential partner to her youngest daughter, the matchmaker immediately shook his head and refused to help when he heard that she was Cheng Xiao Kui's sister.
They said the groom's family wouldn't want a sister like that; they're afraid the sister, like the older sister, is a "slut"...
Cheng Qiu Kui cried for several days because of this incident. She was not only laughed at by her neighbors, but also by her classmates at school.
But if what Li's eldest daughter said was true, why would Lin Qiuru praise Cheng Xiao Kui so highly?
She cursed the eldest daughter of the Li family in her heart, wondering why she would fabricate such a lie to harm her daughter and her whole family.
Just as Song Wenhui was cursing Li's eldest daughter in her heart, her second aunt pulled Li's eldest daughter into the courtyard.
Second Aunt pointed at Lin Qiuru and said, "Take a look, is this old woman Cheng Xiaokui's mother-in-law? Could it be that Cheng Xiaokui just picked some random old woman to deceive people?"
Didn't you say she was divorced?! She was divorced, so why is her mother-in-law still going back to the capital with her? Her reputation is so bad, why did the village give her the only spot to return to the city?
The eldest daughter of the Li family looked at Cheng Xiao Kui; they had grown up together since childhood.
Even though Cheng Xiao Kui has been gone for so many years, she can still recognize her at a glance.
Cheng Xiao Kui looked up at Li Fen and said, "Li Fen, long time no see! This is my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law and I went back to the capital together!"
How come I heard you were spreading rumors about me everywhere, saying that I was divorced? Saying that I slept with a former educated youth?
Which eye of yours saw me get divorced? Which eye of yours saw me sleep with another man?!
Li Fen's expression froze with embarrassment. She stammered, "I... I didn't say that. My cousin wrote it to me in a letter. You should scold her!"
Cheng Xiaokui rolled her eyes and said, "Wang Lanlan has always been jealous of my performance. This time, when I got the quota to return to the city, she was even more jealous and cursed me behind my back every day!"
I never expected her to write back and ruin my reputation!
As soon as she finished speaking, the neighbors who had gathered to watch the commotion started talking all at once, saying, "Wang Lanlan is really wrong of her. She's just jealous of someone and she's ruining their reputation."
"Now that her mother-in-law has gone back to the capital with him, how could she possibly be divorced?"
"Li Fen, you're wrong too. How can you just say things like that without investigating them thoroughly?! Aren't you ruining someone's reputation?!"
Li Fen opened her mouth, then stomped her foot angrily and said, "It was my cousin who wrote the letter to me! How was I supposed to know? I don't even live in that village. Who knew my cousin was lying to me?!"
She turned and left after she finished speaking. She dared not say anything more about this matter, after all, Cheng Xiao Kui's mother-in-law was sitting there.
Moreover, how could someone who isn't proactive and performs poorly possibly get a spot to return to the city?!
She felt as if someone had slapped her face from a distance, the slaps stinging.
When Second Aunt saw Li Fen run away, she hurriedly chased after her out of the courtyard. She grabbed Li Fen's arm and asked, "Is that person really her mother-in-law? Could it be that she just found some old woman to impersonate her mother-in-law?"
Li Fen said, "How would I know? I've never met her mother-in-law. Besides, if the mother-in-law is fake, then those two children are fake too?"
"Pshaw! Go ask her yourself, why are you dragging me into this? Everything was written to me by my cousin, not a single word of it was made up by me!"
She hurriedly washed herself clean, afraid that Cheng Xiao Kui would come after her!
Second Aunt stomped her foot in anger. Now everyone believed Cheng Xiao Kui's words. She had clearly trampled her sister-in-law's family into the mud, but they turned the tables and stood up again!
Her gaze shifted, and the next moment she let out a cold laugh. So what if it's Cheng Xiaokui's reputation?
Their tiny house is so small, there's nowhere for relatives to sit when they come over. She wants to see where Cheng Xiao Kui and her mother-in-law live!
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