Seeing her face full of questions, her mother-in-law didn't hide anything and asked directly, "Didn't you see the long scar on Hao Hao's chest that runs down to his stomach?"
He had major surgery five years ago; he had a perforated stomach, which was terrifying. He would have died if he hadn't received immediate treatment. At the time, his family didn't have the money, and the hospital required payment before proceeding with the surgery. It was your aunt who provided the life-saving funds, which is how he survived.
So that's how it is. The life-saving grace must be repaid.
At this moment, Tangtang, sitting in the stroller, happily stuck out her tongue. Jiang Shuya did not stop stirring the rice noodles in her hands. After listening to her mother-in-law finish speaking, she asked softly, "How much life-saving money did Auntie send?"
"It seems to be eight thousand." The mother-in-law recalled the affirmative reply and saw that things were turning around: "Xiaoya, I know you have a good heart and can help others. Everyone at the door praises you for being kind, smart, and a good person. I know your income has been quite good lately, and you don't need a few thousand yuan. You are so young. Give Tangtang to me and go out to make money. I won't let you worry about anything else."
Jiang Shuya paused, chuckled softly, shook her head, sighed, and asked in return, "Mom, I just want to ask you, since Huang Minghao didn't go to a proper university, and you and Dad are neither old nor sick, why can't you come up with a mere eight thousand yuan for Huang Minghao's medical expenses? We borrowed money for the dowry, the banquet, and even the simple renovations upstairs. Also, I heard that the house we live in now was built with borrowed money, and it hasn't been paid back yet. What have you been doing all these years? You've been growing grapes for over twenty years. I've done the math for you. Even if you work every year and save at least three thousand yuan a year from the vineyard, it's still over eighty thousand yuan. Where did all the money go?"
A barrage of aggressive remarks left her speechless. She couldn't tell Jiang Shuya that she used to play mahjong every day when she was young, and now that she was a mother-in-law, she couldn't lose face in front of her daughter-in-law. Just because she wasn't showing her teeth didn't mean she was a pushover. She never expected that this usually quiet girl would be so sharp-tongued.
After calming down, she continued angrily, "You've really gone too far. You come to my house and start asking me questions. How could your wedding not cost money? How could you not borrow money? Which family doesn't need to borrow money for a big event? Go ask around and see if any of the newlywed brides in the neighborhood have a higher dowry than your family. Your parents sold you to my family. Don't you want to admit it?"
It's always these things, always used to criticize behind her back. In her past life, she always compromised, tolerated, and swallowed her grievances. After a moment, she sighed softly, thinking that she was better off without such a poor family.
She raised her head and said coldly, "Your son will be back in a few days, right? Can I divorce him?"
Seeing how serious she was, her mother-in-law gave her a disdainful look and felt a little guilty: "You know Hao Hao is coming back. If you don't want to make a big fuss, you'd better help me raise money to pay back your aunt's family. Otherwise, when Hao Hao comes back, I'll let him make his own judgment."
Jiang Shuya snorted coldly. Threatening her, what a great confidence she had. But her mother-in-law was right. Huang Minghao would not stand on her side. They were his parents who gave him life and raised him. Whatever they did was right. In her previous life, he had never stood on her side. In the end, he had to compromise or let things end.
Jiang Shuya no longer wanted to argue with her. She scoffed, "You've only gotten older all these years!" After saying that, she picked up Tangtang and carried her upstairs. She closed the door, sorted out the money, put it in her canvas bag, grabbed her ID card, ignored her mother-in-law's presence, put Tangtang in the electric scooter, sat on the back seat, and rode towards the ferry terminal.
When she arrived at the bank, she deposited a round number of ten thousand, leaving her with only a few hundred. She was confident that she would receive another sum of money over the weekend, and her heart was filled with joy.
On my way back, I passed by Zhang Xiaohui's house and was stopped. It was Grandma Sun, wearing an apron and holding the arm of a 7-year-old boy named Sun Xiaoman. Grandma Sun hesitated for a moment and stepped forward helplessly, saying, "Huang family daughter-in-law, I am Xiaohui's aunt. She told me that you helped her sell some grapes. Could you help me sell some too? I'll give you the same percentage of the price she gives you."
The old lady, somewhat short of money, tugged at her clothes and nudged Sun Xiaoman forward to greet her. "Hello, Auntie." A crisp voice called out. Jiang Shuya glanced down at him, then became serious. If she remembered correctly, this boy had fallen into the well in their vineyard and drowned during the grape harvest season. She later heard that his grandfather had taken him to the field. The grandfather was deaf, and the boy loved playing in the water. He accidentally fell in, and his grandfather, unable to hear, didn't find the boy that day, assuming he had run off to play and not paying much attention. But when it got dark and he still couldn't find him, he used a flashlight at night and found a pair of feet stuck upside down in the well. When they pulled the body out, it was already lifeless. This caused a sensation throughout Xixia Village. Grandma Sun cried her heart out, grieving all night long.
After thinking it over again, and going through it all, ...that's right, this very weekend was the day this boy's ordeal would begin. Seeing Jiang Shuya staring at him, the boy timidly took a few steps back.
“My eldest grandson hasn’t come back yet. He’s the one who helps sell the grapes every year. We can’t leave these grapes unharvested. A few days ago, I called someone to come and cut them, but they only offered two yuan per pound. How can that be acceptable?” Grandma Sun said, gesturing with her fingers to indicate that she couldn’t accept it.
“Okay, I’ll help you sell them! Grandma Sun, I’ll do my best.” Jiang Shuya readily agreed! She then glanced at Sun Xiaoman, “Xiaoman, how about you stay with Auntie this Sunday? Help Auntie watch Tangtang and play with her. Auntie will buy you some delicious food.”
The little boy glanced at Tangtang and thought, "She's so small. She can't talk or walk yet." ...But... since the auntie was buying her treats and Tangtang looked so adorable, he nodded. He told Grandma Sun to bring Xiaoman over on the weekend.
Looking around, Jiang Shuya decided not to go back, knowing she would only face that sour face anyway. So she simply parked her car in Zhang Xiaohui's yard.
He called out a few times into the house, but when no one was home, he picked up Tangtang and went to her family's vineyard, where he found her. "Can I come to your house for lunch again?"
“Of course, you can come every day,” Zhang Xiaohui replied as she was pruning the grapevines.
Jiang Shuya indeed stayed at Zhang Xiaohui's house for lunch. She found that Zhang Xiaohui's cooking skills were truly excellent. A simple dish of water spinach with minced garlic was stir-fried until it was vibrant green and flavorful, even better than what she could make at home. Usually, no matter where she was, she would only eat half a bowl of rice, but today she ate a whole bowl. Jiang Shuya then told her about Grandma Sun's visit.
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