Chapter 5 The Eccentric Old Lady Li
Huo Chunyan glanced at her warily. Shen Zhixia usually wouldn't even look at people directly, so why was she interested in these sordid matters now? She deliberately raised her voice: "Oh, the sun has risen in the west! Before, when I asked you if you needed a hand, you always said you didn't need help from rough people, but now you're asking about other people's business?"
Shen Zhixia said, "I'm going to stay here for a while anyway, so it's good to learn more about them."
Huo Chunyan's eyes looked like she had seen a ghost.
But then she suddenly snorted, "Fine, since you're willing to listen, I'll tell you..."
She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and spoke as if she were a storyteller about to reveal a shocking secret: "Everyone in the military dependents' compound knows about Old Lady Li's messy affairs. Her daughter-in-law, that is, Officer Li's wife, couldn't even get a hot meal when she first married into the family. In the dead of winter, they made her wash the whole family's clothes by the well, until her hands were frozen like carrots, because they said a new bride had to follow the rules."
Shen Zhixia frowned as she recalled Old Lady Li's imperious manner earlier.
"This time, her arrival with the army has only made things worse."
Huo Chunyan was so angry that she slapped her thigh. "Most of Officer Li's monthly salary goes to supporting her second son's precious grandson. Buying milk powder, buying floral fabrics, spending money like water. If Officer Li dares to say a word against it, she lies on the ground and throws a tantrum, saying that she's wasting her time raising this unfilial son. Last month, when his wife wanted to buy a bar of soap to wash her hair, the old woman pointed her finger at her and called her a spendthrift. In the end, it was Sister Zhang who secretly slipped her half a bar."
"Her daughter can't even read a single word! Back when the commune ran night school, all the wives in the courtyard went to learn to read, but she insisted on stopping her own daughter. She said that girls was wasting kerosene on studying, and she even burned all the literacy books that the night school gave out! Poor girl, she still can't write her own name, and she has to ask others to help her keep accounts when she goes to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy salt."
"That old woman pretends to be pitiful in front of others, saying that her daughter-in-law is unfilial. But behind her back, she treats her own daughter like a maid and her daughter-in-law like a farmhand. If it weren't for the fact that Officer Li is an honest man with a good reputation in the company, everyone would have talked about her behind her back long ago."
Shen Zhixia sighed: "It seems that the Li family is not having an easy time either."
Huo Chunyan suddenly leaned closer, the end of her braid brushing against Shen Zhixia's hand, "If you really care, why don't you advise Officer Li to stop being such a... blindly filial son!"
Shen Zhixia gently shook her head: "Some things are useless no matter how much others say."
When she looked up, she met Huo Chunyan's probing gaze. "But thank you anyway for letting me know this."
"Who needs your thanks!" Huo Chunyan abruptly turned her face away, her ears turning red. "I just can't stand that old hag bullying people! If she dares to talk about you again, I'll expose all these things and make sure she can't stay in this business anymore."
After saying that, she turned and left.
...
After returning to her room, Old Mrs. Li felt uneasy: "That Shen Zhixia looks like a vixen. I bet the child in her belly isn't even Commander Huo's. I don't know what she's so arrogant about."
Officer Li was smoking, the pipe making a jarring, popping sound. When he heard what Old Mrs. Li said, he said with a serious expression, "Mom, don't meddle in other people's business, and don't gossip behind their backs."
Old Mrs. Li sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her cane pounding heavily on the ground, each strike feeling like a blow to the heart. She yelled, "Say something! That Huo family daughter-in-law is clearly trying to ride roughshod over us, and you're telling me to ignore it? Are you even my own son?"
Officer Li remained silent as the cornmeal porridge in the pot emitted a monotonous aroma, mixed with the smell of stale tobacco, making one's throat tight.
He knew exactly what kind of person his mother was. After all, everyone was talking about what happened today, and it was probably caused by Old Mrs. Li again. But she was his mother after all. Others could criticize her, but he couldn't.
“Mom,” he finally spoke, his voice like rough cloth worn smooth by wind and sand, “Commander Huo is our company’s superior, you…”
"What did I do?" Old Mrs. Li stood up abruptly, her cane almost poking her son in the back. "I was disciplining that ill-mannered city wife for you, and you're siding with outsiders? Have you forgotten who taught your wife manners when she first came into the family? Huh?"
Soft footsteps came from the inner room. Old Mrs. Li's youngest daughter timidly peeked out, clutching a hard cornbread in her hand. Her floral blouse was faded from washing, the cuffs were frayed, and her braids hung loosely over her shoulders, tied haphazardly with straw.
"Get back here!" Old Mrs. Li turned around and saw her, immediately scolding, "You ill-mannered thing, who let you sit at the table?"
The girl shrank back in fright, staring at her toes without saying a word.
Officer Li opened his mouth, but lowered his head under his mother's piercing gaze.
The batter in the pot was bubbling away. He got up to get a bowl, but deliberately took an extra one and placed it next to the stove.
"What are you eating!" Old Mrs. Li slapped his hand, and the porcelain bowl smashed on the ground. "Where do we get so much food to feed an idle person? She's just a little girl, does she deserve to eat with us?"
The girl's shoulders jerked suddenly, and she turned and ran back into the inner room, her footsteps sounding like a startled sparrow.
Officer Li stared at the broken bowl on the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing twice. Finally, he bent down, picked up a larger piece of porcelain, and silently put it into the stove.
"Mom," he said, sitting back down at the stove, his voice barely a sigh, "Don't mess with the Huo family anymore, okay?"
"You!" Old Mrs. Li trembled with rage, slamming her cane heavily on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "I've raised a complete ingrate! Fine, I don't care anymore! Don't come looking for me if someone ever shits on your head again!"
The batter in the pot was still bubbling, but he suddenly lost his appetite.
Grandma Li was still babbling on the kang (a heated brick bed), but he couldn't hear anything anymore, only staring at the empty bowl in the cupboard.
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