64. 064 Attempting to sever ties
I scolded Ping An in the morning, and he calmed down after leaving Ningjin. At noon, I fried tofu for the two of them and made a bowl of tomato and egg soup.
Ping An followed Xiao Yuan into the room. Seeing that his father didn't have a sullen face, he breathed a sigh of relief. Instead of calling out "Dad" first, he shouted "Xiao Hei!" He slung his schoolbag over the back of the chair, held Xiao Hei's dog head, and spoke loudly to it. Ning Jin held back her anger at his dog-like behavior, but still didn't get angry.
"Still eating?" Grandma Ping'an stood at the door and peered into the house. "Ping'an, watch the dog for Grandma. If it bites me, I'm going to stay at your house and not leave."
"Has Auntie eaten yet?" Ning Jin stood up, tied up Xiao Hei, and carried a chair from inside the house to the side. "Auntie, please sit down."
Granny Liu noticed there was no meat in the dish, pouted, and sat down. Then, feeling it was too far away, she moved closer. "Little Wu," she said, "I heard they're implementing some kind of family planning policy in the city? They say having three children is too many? Is it true?"
"It's true, it is." Ning Jin had been asked by countless people all morning, so he repeated what he had said that morning: "But we haven't heard any news about it in our town yet, and we don't know what the policy is. You can go to the government and ask; their information will be more accurate."
Government officials wouldn't bother with ordinary people like them. As if she hadn't heard this, Granny Liu continued, "What if they keep having children? Will they be locked up in a cowshed or sent to a farm?"
Ning Jin said he didn't know. They were out-of-town deliverymen and had only overheard people talking about it in the city. "Auntie, if you want to know, go ask the government," he said again.
"And what about you? Are you having any more children? You already have two." This was the first time Granny Liu had really looked Xiao Yuan up and down. He didn't seem very impressive and had a petty air about him.
“My family’s situation is special. Neither Su Yu nor I have given birth to one child. Two is just right. We are still short one.” Ning Jin talked nonsense. Xiao Yuan was already registered in his household, but Granny Liu believed him.
Seeing that Ning Jin knew nothing when she asked him again, she was a little stunned and fell silent for a moment, but her eyes were scanning every corner of the yard.
"Xiao Wu, lend your nephew the bicycle for a couple of days. It'll be easier for him to find a wife if he has a bike. Anyway, you have two bikes."
“Oh, those are for Ping An and Xiao Yuan. People can tell that my family is well-off just by looking at them riding them, so it will be easier for them to find wives in the future,” Ning Jin replied without dozing off.
The old woman glanced at the two little brats shoveling rice into their bowls and spat at his nonsense. "Don't be so stingy, you little uncle. Just consider it a wedding gift for your nephew. You have a higher salary, someone else is earning money, and life is better for your family. You can even eat in the yard. My family has more than a dozen people crammed together, all with small eyes and big bellies. Life is hard. If you loosen your grip, it won't be in vain that my Xiaoyi gave you a son."
"I have another son outside?" Ning Jin asked.
"Huh?" Granny Liu didn't react.
“It’s always the case that when a son gets married, his father buys him a bicycle. Why would I give your grandson a bicycle when he gets married? So what I’m asking is, do I have a son in your family? When was Xiao Yi born?” Ning Jin asked in confusion.
"You damned bastard, I'll teach you to talk nonsense!" Granny Liu stood up and pounced on him, slapping him twice. Seeing him stand up, she immediately ran away, even using a stick to block the door knocker after she left.
"You heartless wretch! My Xiaoyi was full of life before she married you. She gave birth to your son and died because of her health problems. Now that you've married a new wife, you turn your back on me. You curse her sister-in-law, her brother, and even this old woman like me! You despicable wretch! Good days always come to an end!" Granny Liu stood outside the door, hands on her hips, cursing and calling out for peace. "My poor grandson, your father is about to have another baby. He doesn't even respect me, his former mother-in-law. If you suffer any injustice in the future, your grandma won't be able to support you. Just bear with it. Things will get better when you grow up." She shouted outside the door like a theatrical performer.
"Grandma, open the door for me." Ning Jin called out to Grandma Wu through the crack in the door. He had misjudged her. This mother-in-law, with whom he didn't usually interact much, was a hornet's nest. She would curse him or lay a hand on him without hesitation. She was also shameless and would run away at the first sign of danger. He was stung by her.
When Granny Liu saw someone coming to open the door, she spat and ran away.
"What's going on? Why are they arguing?" Aunt Wu asked. She had witnessed Granny Ping'an's street swearing before; she was incredibly fierce, advancing when the enemy advanced and retreating when the enemy retreated, getting more and more energetic as she swore, never getting tired even after a whole day. Why was she arguing with Xiao Wu now? Had they completely broken off relations?
"She wanted my bicycle, saying it was for her grandson's wedding. I asked her if I was her grandson's father, since only a father buys a bicycle for his son's wedding. Then she started cursing and slapped me twice." Ning Jin rubbed the back of his head. "That's good. Now that we've torn off the mask, she won't pretend to be a good person and come to my door again."
"That's hard to say. Your mother-in-law is the kind of person who can take things in stride, so you should be careful." Aunt Wu looked at Ping An. "Child, don't listen to your grandma's nonsense. Your mother's health was ruined by her illness. She was perfectly fine when you were six or seven months pregnant. It wasn't because giving birth to you that her health was damaged."
"Oh." Ping An nodded.
Granny Liu rushed back and said to her two sons, "The news is true. Ningjin, that bastard, doesn't know anything else. Just hurry up and give birth. The baby is yours once it's in your belly."
But the two wives weren't happy. Having too many children was a problem; they didn't even know if all the children had returned home by night. If they had another child, they wouldn't even have a place to sleep on the floor. Besides, the food was getting worse and worse. Every day they ate cornbread with salty sauce. It was deadly for pregnant women to eat this stuff.
"I can get pregnant, but I won't eat this greasy porridge and cornbread every day. Even adults can't stand it. If I eat this while pregnant, I'll die before the baby is born." The second son's wife made the request, and the eldest son's wife nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll go to the countryside to buy fish tomorrow, and I'll stew it for you." Granny Liu was determined to spend all her money for her two grandsons whom she hadn't even met yet. She was prepared to use her savings, even her own coffin money, to get her two daughters-in-law to give birth as soon as possible. If they could have two children in a row, they could do so.
After two long-distance bus trips, another month passed. One day, Ning Jin was temporarily assigned to transport saccharin. On his way out, he saw Granny Liu in an alley with peaches in her pocket and what looked like Ping An standing against the wall. He passed by in a flash and was unsure if it was Ping An. It probably wasn't.
"What's wrong?" Old Wang asked the person who had suddenly fallen silent.
"It seems like I've seen peace again."
"So what if they see it? It's a holiday, the streets are full of kids." Since it wasn't a big deal, Old Wang moved his foot off the brake pedal.
On the morning of the fourth day, Ning Jin drove his car to the factory, went to the canteen to ask the head chef for a quick fried rice, ate it, and planned to go back to sleep. Last night, mosquitoes got into the engine compartment and bit him so badly that he didn't sleep well all night.
He had dirty clothes tucked under his armpits, and the scorching sun made him walk with his head down. Hearing the footsteps ahead, he thought he had run into a neighbor. When he looked up, he saw it was Grandma Ping An. She also had something tucked under her armpits, like a piece of cloth sewn from old clothes.
The man stopped and thought for a moment. When the person in front of him turned into the alley, he didn't immediately follow. After waiting for three minutes, he heard Xiao Hei's defiant shouts.
Ning Jin leaned against the wall, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Grandma Liu had been waiting since early morning. Now only her grandson and another child were at home. She knocked on the door and called softly, "Ping An, Grandma's here. Open the door for Grandma."
Xiao Yuan put away his comic book, frowned, and asked, "What's your grandma doing here?"
"I don't know either, I'll go check."
"Grandma, what did you want to see me about?" Ping An opened the door, hugged Xiao Hei, and asked.
"I've come to see you. Hold the dog tight and don't let it bite me. I'm so old, if I get bitten by a dog, I'll have to go to the hospital, and your parents will have to spend a lot of money." Granny Liu avoided the dog and went straight into the house.
"What are you doing? Don't come into my kitchen." Xiao Yuan came out of the house and stopped the person who was barging in.
Without saying a word, Granny Liu pushed Xiao Yuan aside, went into the kitchen, and hoisted the door shut. She quickly rummaged through the cupboards for rice, flour, and cooking oil, none of which were valuable. She would borrow them for now, considering it as a way for Xiao Yi to have eaten these past few years.
Outside, Xiao Yuan and Ping An pushed open the door, and Xiao Hei barked. Ning Jin flashed past the door, saw the situation in the courtyard, and knew that the two children were no match for Granny Liu. He quickly retreated into the alley.
"If your dog bites me today, I'll stay at your house and not leave unless your dad pays me two hundred yuan. Ping An, hold on tight to the dog, don't let it bite Grandma, otherwise your mother's giving birth to you will have been for nothing." Granny Liu, carrying a cloth bag, watched from the window as Ping An pulled the dog back. She opened the door to leave, but Xiao Yuan grabbed the bag, turned around, twisted his ear, and spun him around. She only let go when she saw him cry. "Hmph, you little brat."
The neighbors came out after hearing Xiao Yuan's crying and saw Granny Liu carrying a large bag of things, her back bent over, yet she was walking very fast.
"What happened? I thought you two brothers had a fight. Xiao Yuan, did Granny Liu hit you?"
"She stole our food, and she took everything from the kitchen." Xiao Yuan cried, covering her bright red ears. He pushed her away to check on her ears. "Don't touch me! Why are you stopping Xiao Hei? Are you happy that everything was stolen? You and your grandma are in cahoots."
“Little Blackie bites people, it can kill people, Mom and Dad have to pay compensation, and she’s my grandma, my own mother.” Ping An also covered his face and cried. How could his grandma steal things? How could he explain this to his mother?
"Alright, alright, let your parents handle it when they get back. You two stop arguing. Next time something like this happens, just call for help." Actually, they had all heard the dog barking fiercely, but no one expected it to be like this in broad daylight. They assumed it was a guest visiting their house. Whenever a stranger entered their house, the dog would bark loudly, and since it was hot that day, no one came out to check.
On the other side, Ning Jin followed behind Granny Liu and watched her carry her things upstairs. He then went straight to the police station and reported that his house had been burgled.
The police took him home. When Xiao Yuan saw him come back, he hugged his waist and cried, "Grandma Ping'an took everything from our kitchen and hit me. Ping'an even stopped Xiao Hei from stopping his grandma."
Ning Jin looked at his ears, which were bright red. He checked them and found that they were alright, with no bleeding.
"I understand. I heard about it before I even got home. I called the police. The police won't let the bad guys get away with it."
"Is the person who robbed you a relative?" It turned out to be a relative. He had thought it was some thief trying to get a free meal before he died, so he broke into someone's house in broad daylight to steal things.
“She’s not a relative, we’ve had no contact with her anymore. My ex-mother-in-law, my son’s mother, died eight years ago, we haven’t had any contact since. Now she’s brazenly coming to steal my things and beat my child. If you don’t do anything, will she come back next time to empty my house and hurt my child?”
"I'll go with you to see what's going on and get it back. As for what to do about this, let's see. If it were a stranger, I would definitely arrest and lock her up, but this is your ex-mother-in-law, so this is a family matter. Come on, I'll go with you to see what's going on." The policeman was also helpless; it's always the hardest to make a decision when there's a family connection.
Sure enough, when they arrived at Granny Liu's house, she denied it was robbery. She pointed at Ping An and said, "This is my own grandson. I took it in front of him. What kind of robbery is this? I took it for my daughter. My son-in-law doesn't want to associate with me anymore, but I raised my daughter to marry him and gave birth to his son. How can he just cut ties like that? If he wants to cut ties, he has to give me my daughter in return."
"You're just being unreasonable. Your daughter has passed away, and he's started a new family. Besides, he's not your son, he doesn't support you, and he doesn't owe you anything." The policeman saw the two children going into the house to get their belongings and grabbed the old woman who was trying to stop them. "Why did you bring what you were taking for your deceased daughter into the house?"
"I'll eat it for my daughter."
"Officer, how do you want to rule on this? She stole my things, and we found them at her house. I don't think this is a family matter. I can give up these things. How long can you send her to jail?" Ning Jin was too lazy to argue about who was taking the blame for; he just wanted to sever ties with this family.
"Since no one is satisfied, then let's all go to the police station." The police officer was also getting impatient with Granny Liu. She was just taking advantage of her age to throw a tantrum. He couldn't handle this kind of thing, and the person who called the police wasn't willing to settle either. It would be better to take them all to the police station. They might behave themselves there.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
