Chapter 47 You're such a good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, He Maimiao! You haven't disciplined me for two days, and you're already thinking about...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 1997, it snowed.
"Crackling and popping..."
As firecrackers went off, villagers began to go out and exchange New Year's greetings.
The snow that fell all night had accumulated into a thick layer on the ground, and it even seemed to be getting heavier.
Chen Mian stood in the yard, holding a rectangular wooden rake, and pushed the snow from one end of the ground to the other.
She looked up at the gloomy sky, snowflakes landing on her eyelashes, icy cold.
Chen Mian rubbed her hands together and breathed on them. She had swept the snow in the yard, but there was still a layer of snow left.
She remembered that the snow in previous years hadn't been this heavy, and hoped it wouldn't freeze the crops in the fields or prevent them from going out.
The heavy snow fell on the branches of the trees behind the courtyard wall, as if dressing the bare trees in a new white coat, a truly beautiful sight.
Let's go.
Chen Yongliang and his wife each pushed a bicycle, with New Year's gifts hanging on the handlebars, and their two daughters sitting on the back.
Chen Mian tried to be brave and say that she could carry her younger sister, but her mother stopped her with a smile, saying, "It's snowing so heavily today, let's hurry up and go, you're riding too slowly."
"Okay, then I'll give you a ride when it stops snowing."
Two bicycles left Chen's courtyard one after the other, braving the thick wind and snow, passing through village alleys, and crossing wheat fields covered with a snow-white blanket.
The snow was so heavy that, apart from them, there seemed to be no one else on the road.
All four of them were wearing thick hats and gloves, but their noses were still red from the cold.
A thick layer of snowflakes had settled on her military green hat. Chen Mianmian, feeling bored, kept chatting with her mother.
"It's too cold. Keep your mouth shut, or you'll choke on the wind," Lin Huijun said worriedly.
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm perfectly healthy. It's rare to see such heavy snow!"
She remembers that when she was a child, her family only had one bicycle. When they went to her grandmother's house, no one wanted to ride on it; everyone had to walk with them.
In the end, it was Dad's skillful hands that allowed him to tie a small stool to the beam of the cart, which finally allowed both sisters to fit inside.
As for the older brother, he could only walk with his mother.
Those days didn't feel bitter at all.
In the blink of an eye, I've grown up...
"Mom, we're here."
"With such heavy snow, I was wondering if you weren't going to come at all?"
"How could I not come? I'm staying here tonight." Lin Huijun parked her bicycle in the doorway and, together with her daughter, carried the New Year's gifts into the main room.
Lin's mother slid off the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked down to find her shoes. "You two hurry up and get on the kang to warm up. I'll go cook for you."
"No need, Grandma, we ate before we left." Chen Mian stepped forward and took her grandmother's arm, deftly kicking her cotton shoe out from under the table with one foot. "Let me help you."
"Please sit back down, the floor is cold."
"It's alright, I just came down for a walk." After putting on her shoes, Lin's mother looked around again, trying to find some snacks for her two granddaughters.
After looking around, she took out a few apples from the snakeskin bag. "Grandma doesn't have anything good to eat, so I'll bake some apples for you."
After saying that, she took out a bag of candy from the side cabinet and stuffed it into Chen Mian's hand. "I knew she had hidden this candy again. You two should put it in your pockets and keep it safe."
"Oh, it's my sister-in-law's family! It's been so long! Her aunt is still so beautiful!" He Maimiao's voice preceded her arrival as she strode in, lifting the heavy curtain, followed by a silent young girl.
"I was just saying I heard magpies calling outside this morning, and here you are."
He Maimiao glanced at the two sisters and exclaimed dramatically, "How come you two look less and less alike? I remember you looking exactly the same when you were little!"
Looking at her aunt, who was as flamboyant as ever, Chen Mian replied with a smile, "I got a tan this year, so I'm not as fair as Muhe, and I don't look quite the same anymore."
“Now that you mention it, I remember. You’ve really gone to Xinjiang this year, you’re quite bold.” He Maimiao twisted her bottom, kicked off her cotton shoes, and sat down on the kang (heated brick bed).
"I heard it's really profitable over there. How about you? Tell your aunt how much you've made?" she asked gossipily.
She had heard from the villagers that if you went to Xinjiang, you could earn tens of thousands of yuan a year, and when you came back, you would dress up like royalty and eat and drink the finest food.
He Maimiao curled her lip in disdain. If she hadn't been so reluctant to leave her husband, she would have gone too.
Some women in the village have husbands who go to Xinjiang to work as painters. When they come back for the New Year, they even buy their wives a gold chain. They are so proud of it that they don't care about the cold weather and will pull it out from around their necks to show off to everyone they meet.
He Maimiao looked at the gold chain around the other person's neck and felt really envious.
But looking back at her good-for-nothing husband, he still goes out to work, and it's a miracle he can even get up when he's in the fields.
Knowing that Chen Mian had also made money in Xinjiang, he immediately had an idea: if he couldn't go himself, he could send his daughter.
With so much money, it's a waste not to make it.
Knowing her aunt's usual style, Chen Mian didn't reveal much, only saying that she hadn't earned much, "It's all hard-earned money."
"What's wrong with hard-earned money? These days, everyone who goes out to work earns their money through hard work. Just tell me what you mean, why are you treating your aunt like an outsider?"
He Maimiao came closer, took Chen Mian's hand and stroked it repeatedly, revealing her true intention with a smile, "Don't worry, I don't want to do anything, I just want you to take my girl with you when you go to Xinjiang after the New Year."
“She is very efficient and hardworking. She will be a good companion for you, and cousins can also look after each other.”
She looked at Chen Mian expectantly, then turned to signal that brat to say a few nice words.
Lin Qiaofang sat in the corner with her head down, not saying a word, as if she hadn't heard the conversation inside the room.
Chen Mian clicked her tongue. She knew that her aunt's mouth never brought anything good.
He immediately used the excuse that his hands were cold and wanted to warm them up, pulled his hands back, and tucked them into the blanket.
She shifted her position, leaned against the corner of the wall, and looked up at her cousin sitting in the chair below her.
The already taciturn girl seemed to finally realize that she was in the center of the conversation, and became increasingly uneasy, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
Chen Mian couldn't bear it and finally spoke up, "Shouldn't Qiaofang still be in school? I remember her grades were pretty good before."
"With her brain, what kind of education can she possibly have? Her grades are getting worse and worse, so all her education has been a waste. She might as well go out and work to earn money as soon as possible."
He Maimiao replied with disdain, then glared at her good-for-nothing daughter, "If she were even a fraction like you and Muhe, I'd be thanking my lucky stars. She's like a mute all day long, never daring to utter a sound."
Chen Mian tried to smooth things over, saying, "I think Qiaofang's personality is quite suited to studying; she can sit still and is serious."
Aunt, you've been pushing her too hard. Look, she doesn't even dare to say a word in front of you.
He Maimiao pointed to herself and shouted, "Is this my fault? Did I stop her from speaking? She's such a grown woman, and she can't even greet her relatives properly."
I feel so ashamed when I go out. I, He Maimiao, have always been a very generous and open person, but who knew that I would give birth to a daughter who is like a gourd with its mouth sawed off.
Even three blows won't make a sound.
Chen Mian frowned slightly, sighed, and before she could say anything...
Then Lin's mother came out of the kitchen, and heard her daughter-in-law talking about her granddaughter. Looking at her granddaughter's adorable little face, she instantly became furious.
She looked around but couldn't find anything suitable, so she turned back, picked up a fire poker, and went to cause trouble for her daughter-in-law.
"You little brat, He Mai Miao, you think you can climb on the roof and tear off the tiles after just two days of not being disciplined?"
You're talking badly about my granddaughter again, huh?
"I'll beat you to death this time!"
"No, Mom. I just wanted her to learn from her two older cousins and not be so quiet all the time."
He Maimiao jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and hid all the way from one end to the other, but still refused to admit defeat.
Lin's mother frowned and glared angrily: "If it weren't for you, her mother, always talking like a firecracker, would my granddaughter be so quiet?"
"What kind of mother are you? Can't you say a nice thing about your own child when you're out in public all the time?"
Chen Mian whispered, "Exactly."
Lin Qiaofang, who was pretending to be a quail in the corner, watched the comical scene in the room and covered her mouth to chuckle, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons.
Her grandmother was her protector; she would always come to her rescue.
I wish she could be as imposing as Grandma someday.
Lin's mother hit the nail on the head: "I think you're the one who should be learning to be good. What are you still doing lying on the kang? Get down and cook."
"Okay, Mom." He Maimiao slid off the kang (a heated brick bed) with a wronged expression.
After having dinner at her maternal grandmother's house, Chen Mian and her group played chess with her father-in-law, while Chen Yongliang played mahjong with her grandmother.
If you didn't know that Lin's mother and He Maimiao were mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, just looking at their fierce battle at the mahjong table, you would think they were mother and daughter.
Lin's mother said that her daughter-in-law was like a firecracker and her granddaughter was like a quail.
But if she looked back at her own children, her daughter was gentle and kind, and her son was a good-for-nothing.
None of them had her straightforward personality.
On the contrary, her granddaughter Chen Mian has a personality just like hers.
She usually seems well-behaved and sweet-talking, and knows how to handle things. But when it comes to real trouble, she's decisive and quick to step in. That's what she likes!
A woman should have this kind of straightforward personality to live comfortably. If you can't be open and generous and are always hesitant and timid, others will only want to bully you more.
Rather than relying on men or others for support, it's better to rely on yourself.
While thinking to herself, Lin's mother didn't forget to draw a tile. "Three of Bamboo, I won again, pay up, pay up..."
The following afternoon, as Chen Mian and her family of four turned into the alley, they saw a person squatting at the door from afar.
"Sister Kapok, something terrible has happened!"
Li Yaozu rubbed his hands together, looked up and saw Chen Mian, and hurriedly ran over, panting.
"My mom and my sister had a fight, and now my sister is smashing things at home."
You should go and try to persuade them!
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Author's Note: Suddenly I feel like the story of the Lin family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is quite funny, haha.
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