Chapter 544 Never Give Up
Xia Mulan arrived full of joy, because her family members were all relatives.
But she forgot that married brothers and sisters will naturally become estranged.
Because she had interfered in her parents' affairs and paid for them to build a separate house outside, she offended her two older brothers and their wives. They felt that since she, their married daughter, had money, they should not only not help her out, but also be wary of her.
The decision to build the house was made while my father was still alive. That day, my mother and second sister-in-law had a fierce argument, and in the afternoon, my father called a geomancer to look at the site. The next day, he took the money he had saved to give to his two sons after he died and went to the brick kiln to buy several cartloads of blue bricks and tiles.
My eldest brother and sister-in-law got married earlier and separated from the family early on. My mother also doted on my second brother more because of his personality.
I thought they would stay with my second brother and enjoy their old age, but things didn't go as planned. My second sister-in-law is the most difficult to get along with.
"Mulan, you should rest. Your belly is so big. Just take good care of the baby. I'll cook for four people." When Xia's mother saw Mulan sitting on a small stool scraping potatoes, she quickly stopped her. "Go sit on the kang (heated brick bed)."
"By the way, where's Sanwa?" Xia's mother thought of something. "Oh, we can't call him that anymore. I heard he passed the imperial examination and will become an official, even higher than our county magistrate."
Xia's mother picked up the kitchen knife to scrape potatoes, and said with a sneer, "People know that they have such powerful relatives, so they are all thinking about how to curry favor with them. But I gave birth to an idiot, and you all give me attitude when you come all this way, and you can't even afford to give me a meal."
“I think you should come here less often in the future. You have no vision. You are a girl, once you are married, you are married. You don’t need to interfere. She is my child, and it’s my fault for not raising her well. I accept my fate.” Xia’s mother’s voice was filled with an indescribable sense of vicissitude.
Xia Mulan said urgently, "Isn't it because I have my mother? I can't just not go back to my parents' home. What they think is their business. Mother knows that my second sister-in-law has a bad temper, so why does she still go to their house?"
Xia's mother remained silent for a long time.
“Your father has passed away, and now I’m all alone. Everyone else is so busy they don’t have a moment to spare, and all I do is wander around the vegetable garden and weed. Today is Father’s birthday, and I was thinking of going back to the old house to visit him…”
"Oh well, what's the point of saying this? I'll just not go there again. I didn't take the eggs. I'll just pay her a few more. I haven't even finished eating the eggs from my own chickens. Who cares about her few eggs?"
Xia Mulan took a deep breath in anger, "Then I can't compensate you. Don't go to my second brother's house anymore. If you need anything, just go directly to my second brother. Don't come into the yard, or you'll blame it on me for taking the needle and thread."
Xia's mother didn't say anything, but got up and started cutting potatoes.
The chopping board made a hollow sound as Sanwa came in from outside carrying firewood.
"Mom, I'll cook. You two can chat for a while. It's a rare treat for you to come all this way."
Although he had many complaints about what happened today, he was just a son-in-law, and interfering rashly would only make things more difficult for his mother-in-law.
"You can cook?" Xia's mother smiled. "Let me do it. It's not proper to let guests cook."
“We’re not guests, we’re family, Mother, please don’t be so polite.” Sanwa winked at Mulan, “Otherwise, Mulan, if you want to help, she’s been coming and going these past few days and her stomach isn’t feeling well. Let her lie down for a while.”
"Yes, Mother, let's come up to the kang and chat for a while." As she spoke, Mulan opened the food box she had brought, and inside the exquisite bamboo basket were some snacks. "Here, Mother, have a taste."
Xia's mother smiled and took the food, handing it to the child. "Here, Dandan must be starving. He didn't get to eat anything at his uncle's house. I'm sorry the child had to suffer."
The one-year-old child smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at Xia's mother, then took out another one and handed it to her, gesturing for her to eat.
Xia's mother felt a lump in her throat and couldn't help but reach out and touch the top of her head.
"This child, she still knows how to care for me. Eat up, I'll be happy if you eat the egg." As she spoke, she raised her sleeve to wipe away her tears.
Xia Mulan turned her face away. What a miserable life her mother was living now. She had enough to eat and drink, yet she insisted on making herself suffer.
She also knew that her mother was worried about her second brother. When her second brother was in school, she was always concerned about whether he was eating well and dressed warmly. Now that her second sister-in-law was taking advantage of her second brother's easy-going nature, she was always picking fights with him. Her mother was even more worried about her second brother when she had free time.
They chatted about things on the estate for a while, and the atmosphere eased. Xia Mulan casually mentioned, "Mother, why don't you come with me?"
Sanwa was kneading dough, and while rolling the dough with the kneading stick, he said, “Yes, Mother, I will be going to take up a post in the government in a few days. Mulan is about to give birth, and we will eventually need to find someone to take care of her. Others are not reliable. Mother is free now, so why don’t you come with us to Jincheng? It’s more reassuring to have family members during the postpartum period.”
Xia's mother was taken aback. "How can that be?"
“You are destined for a bright future. Mulan is an illiterate and clumsy girl. It’s already difficult for her to gain a foothold in your family on her own. Adding me as a burden will only harm Mulan.”
Xia's mother said bluntly, "If things don't go well between you and Mulan in the future, and you have another woman in the family, it won't be too late for me to go. Wouldn't going now just cause people to gossip?"
These words left Xia Mulan completely speechless. She bent down to pick up the crumbs of pastry that had fallen on the quilt, and took the pastries that the child couldn't chew and ate them herself.
It's better for kids to eat steamed buns; pastries are too hard.
“My mother-in-law doesn’t trust me anymore. It wasn’t just me who suggested that you take care of Mulan, but also my mother. She reminded me so that my mother-in-law would keep an eye on me and not let me neglect Mulan.”
Sanwa saw Mulan's downcast face and knew that she was also unsure of herself.
He said with a hint of helplessness, "Mother-in-law, don't worry. Even if I become a high-ranking official, I will never seek pleasure elsewhere. My mother has also said that if I betray Mulan, she will break my legs. I swear to God that no matter what happens in the future, there will only be Mulan in my family. If I break this oath..."
"Stop talking, I believe you." Xia's mother interrupted him. "I won't go with you. From now on, I'll go to the mountains to shovel weeds and pick wild vegetables, and go to the river bend to cut wild vegetables. I won't go and bother people, so don't worry."
"mother……"
"That's all, no need to say more."
Seeing her mother's resolute attitude, Xia Mulan didn't say anything more.
They had originally planned to go back after the meal, but since their mother wouldn't go, they took their things to visit their second and third uncles and received a warm welcome.
That evening, the eldest brother invited Sanwa and the others to his home for dinner. Surprisingly, the eldest brother even killed a chicken.
Xia Mulan guessed that her mother must have said something to make her so generous.
But a brother is a brother. When he figures things out and is still smiling, what does a younger sister have to worry about?
However, during the meal, she mentioned to her elder brother and sister-in-law that her mother was feeling lonely and wanted to take her to Jincheng, so that they could prepare in advance.
She won't give up. Anyway, if she doesn't go this time, her mother will get scolded more and eventually go with her when she's had enough.
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