Chapter 12 Keep Your Tail Tucked Inside
Song Chunxue was very familiar with this conversation and almost subconsciously agreed.
"No, I'm planning to make myself two sets of clothes."
She locked the fabric in the closet. "It's been five years since I've had any new clothes made, while you just had two sets made before the new year. My second and third kids haven't even had a single set made."
The eldest son's tone softened considerably. "Then Mom, can you make me a T-shirt? I saw you bought cotton fabric; it will definitely be very comfortable to make clothes with it."
He had a sharp eye; Song Chunxue tore off four feet of cotton cloth, intending to make herself a t-shirt and a bellyband.
“Now that you’re married, Chen Feng is just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so let her do it for you.”
The eldest son said with some dissatisfaction, "Feng'er can't do it, and how can her work compare to Mother's? I still prefer the clothes Mother makes."
Song Chunxue sneered, "Didn't you say that what I made was ugly and unattractive? I remember when we got engaged, Chen Feng's father said that his daughter had the best needlework skills. Don't think I'm senile."
She used to be easily fooled and was completely deceived by the eldest brother, but now she won't tolerate him anymore.
"Mother," the eldest son said, grabbing her arm and admitting his mistake. "Mother, I was wrong. I was ignorant and said those hurtful things in a moment of anger."
A twenty-year-old young man, in the prime of his life, clings to her arm and acts coquettishly. He is still the apple of her eye, whom she has cherished for over twenty years. This feeling makes her heart ache.
The knot in her heart that had been there for over forty years was struggling fiercely at this moment, as if it wanted to burst out of her heart, and even the slightest movement caused her great pain.
But Song Chunxue knew all too well the estrangement between mother and son that had lasted for over forty years; this was merely a temporary measure on his part.
"By the way, I bought six chicks today. Adding to the five hens and four roosters we had before, we now have fifteen chickens. Your wife is heavily pregnant, so we don't let her do heavy work, but feeding the sheep and chickens, and cooking two meals a day shouldn't be a problem for her, right?"
Song Chunxue said calmly, "I've been through this before, I can tell whether she's comfortable or not. If she's just making excuses not to work, then she shouldn't eat. You should move out as soon as possible. There are plenty of earthen kilns outside. Seeing you like this gives me a headache."
The eldest brother looked a little embarrassed. "Alright, I'll tell Feng'er when she gets back."
The next day at noon, Chen Feng returned from her parents' home, heavily pregnant.
She sighed and plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Boss, I saw a doctor today. He said my stomach hurts from time to time and I shouldn't do heavy work. I need to rest for a few days. The doctor also said he would prescribe some medicine, but I didn't bring any money with me, so I didn't get it."
The group that was having lunch remained silent. The eldest brother, Jiang Yeming, glanced at his mother and pulled her towards the west room.
"Why are you pulling me like this? I didn't lie. I just feel uncomfortable."
Chen Feng was pulling and tugging in the yard, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"If you want to lie down, then lie down. Anyway, you two have to do chores while eating at home. Let the eldest do more chores. You can lie down for as long as you want."
Song Chunxue turned around and took out several silver ingots that she had saved for many years from the box, giving each of her three sons one tael.
“From now on, I will not favor anyone or indulge anyone. You are not children anymore, you can support yourselves, so don’t always think about taking money from me.”
"I'm just a woman who's almost forty. I dug all these things out of the ground and saved them up by being very frugal. I don't have any more."
Upon seeing the small silver ingot, which weighed a full ounce, Chen Feng's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, Mother's idea was right; that stingy old woman finally decided to give him the money.
"Sanwa isn't married yet, why are you giving him money?"
Chen Feng said irritably, "He's staying at home, so he'll take advantage of everything at home from now on..."
Song Chunxue scoffed, "Anyone can spend money, and he'll share it with others anyway. What's so great about this old courtyard? He'd like to build a new one, even if it's just two rooms."
She said coldly, "Build your own courtyards as soon as possible, so you can all move out and I can have some peace and quiet."
Chen Feng thought of what her mother had told her: once her child was born, she would be entitled to a larger share of land.
She touched her belly and said, "We're not in such a hurry. How can the eldest build a yard by himself? There's no one to help him. Let's wait until the baby is born."
Song Chunxue sneered; how could she not know what she was up to?
"Anyway, you can figure it out yourselves. If you want to eat, you have to work. If you keep making excuses, then don't eat. Go eat at the Chen family's place. I can't stand this humiliation. Sanwa and I will be busy outside. If you do a good job, we'll help you build your yard when we have time."
Chen Feng was so angry that she kept biting her lip.
The second and third kids buried their heads in their food, since this matter had little to do with them.
As the sun set, Song Chunxue returned home early today.
She just wanted to see if the eldest son and his wife were working diligently.
Sure enough, as soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw that Chen Feng had scratched the eldest brother's face. From the bridge of his nose to the corner of his mouth, the long bloody scratches left by his fingernails were very conspicuous.
For some reason, Song Chunxue felt like laughing.
"Serves you right. Who asked you to spoil her? There should be a limit to how much you pamper your wife, or you'll suffer the consequences."
Like all mothers-in-law who dislike their daughters-in-law, she was in a good mood.
"Anyway, if we don't get to eat the meal you two cook tonight, you'd better go out and earn money from now on, save up some money to hire someone to build a courtyard, we can't afford to serve you."
After saying that, Song Chunxue brushed the dust off her body, went inside to change her clothes and wash her hands.
She was prepared to go hungry tonight.
As darkness fell, she lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) listening as her eldest son finally emerged from the west room and went to the kitchen to cook.
When Sanwa returned, his meal wasn't ready yet.
After washing his hands, Sanwa went to the north room and quietly asked Song Chunxue in a low voice, "Mother, are you sure you don't mind Big Brother cooking?"
"He already knew how to do it. He did it on his own for three years at the school. Have you forgotten?"
Sanwa shrugged. "But he made a lot of noise, almost breaking the water ladle. It was a bit scary."
Song Chunxue got up from the old wooden recliner. "I'll go take a look."
Sure enough, as soon as she entered the door, she saw the eldest brother slamming a rolling pin down with a deafening roar.
"If you don't want to do it, then don't do it. If you disturb the Kitchen God, you won't have a good year."
She leaned against the door and said indifferently, "You're twenty, Chen Feng is eighteen, and you still act like a child."
"Once you're married, you should act like one. I won't go into how I got through it, but which married person still needs to be pampered by their mother?"
As Song Chunxue spoke, she straightened up, her tone cold and sharp.
"If you're not blind or deaf, you should know your place. Those who eat for free without working are the livestock kept in the pen!"
"If you two keep giving me attitude, I'll kick you out and make you your own way." She said with a half-smile, "If you don't believe me, ask Chen Feng if her second grandfather has been begging for food for several years."
The eldest brother's movements gradually softened. With his back to Song Chunxue, he skillfully folded up the dough pieces and cut them into narrow strips with a knife.
“If you two still haven’t learned to keep your tails between your legs, I’ll have the people of the village testify tomorrow and send you to live in the donkey pen cave.”
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