Chapter 37 A Sharp, Huge Mistake
"Divorce?" Sister-in-law Qin glared at Aunt Qin. She didn't expect Aunt Qin to say that. Is divorce something that can be said so casually?
"That's right!" Aunt Qin nodded. "Your family has a spy, a traitor."
“No, that’s my uncle, not my family,” said Sister-in-law Qin.
"Shameless!" Aunt Qin said.
"Back then, it was you who wouldn't let Song Fenglan into the house." Sister-in-law Qin took a deep breath.
“I only said a few words. If your in-laws don’t agree, then they don’t agree. I’m not Yizhou’s biological parents, so I can’t make a decision.”
Aunt Qin didn't think she had done anything wrong. Being the kind of person who was always quick to change her mind, she couldn't possibly say much at such a crucial moment. A few words were enough; not saying anything at all wouldn't work, and saying too much would easily offend someone. Therefore, Aunt Qin didn't say much.
However, Qin's sister-in-law kept saying that Song Fenglan's family background was bad, and that she was afraid that Song Fenglan would affect the Qin family and her husband.
Song Fenglan didn't marry Brother Qin, yet Sister-in-law Qin talks a lot.
"Eldest sister-in-law..."
"The eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, are you going to say that?" Aunt Qin rolled her eyes. "Your mother-in-law is still alive, how can you, as the daughter-in-law, make decisions? You have no good intentions, you don't care about the Qin family at all, you only care about your own good."
"you……"
"What? You dare say you didn't have that thought?" Aunt Qin said.
"Mom, I really don't know." Sister-in-law Qin looked at her mother.
"..." Qin's mother remained silent, her feelings were complicated. Her eldest daughter-in-law's family had a spy, and that was a spy.
"Mom, you have to believe me, I really don't know," said Sister-in-law Qin.
"You don't know? Does your dad know? Does your mom know?" Aunt Qin said. "I remember before Yizhou got married, your mom came over and told him not to marry Song Fenglan. Your mom even said she could introduce Yizhou to a good partner. Luckily, Yizhou didn't listen to her. If he had, we would all be in big trouble. The worst thing we could have done was let you into the family. That's why the family is like this now."
"No!" Sister-in-law Qin gritted her teeth, "This is not my fault."
“If it’s not your fault, whose fault is it?” Aunt Qin said. “The spy is your great-uncle, and that’s a huge mistake.”
"I..." Sister-in-law Qin looked at her mother again, pleading with her eyes, hoping that her mother could say a few words.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, is there something you need?" Qin's mother asked, not wanting to talk about her sister-in-law and uncle.
"My dad lost his job, and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do with him..."
"There's no way, absolutely no way," Aunt Qin said. "You really have the nerve to ask for help. If I were you, I'd go back, keep quiet, and live a peaceful life. Otherwise, I'd just hang myself. How can you even have the nerve to ask for help?"
"We really can't help with this," said Qin's mother. This was no small matter, and there was no way her family could help.
The Qin family didn't help with the Song family's affairs, but now they want to. However, the matter of Qin's sister-in-law and uncle has been settled. It's not something capitalists can overturn; they're spies. How can that be overturned? Unless Qin's sister-in-law's uncle is an undercover agent from the mainland, is that even possible?
Impossible! If Sister-in-law Qin's uncle really was an undercover agent from the past, such an undercover agent wouldn't have it so easy. Sister-in-law Qin's uncle was living a very comfortable life on the other side of the strait, and he had done his share of things to deal with the mainland.
Previously, no one knew that the man was Sister-in-law Qin's uncle, but now the truth has been revealed.
"Mom, where's Dad?" Sister-in-law Qin thought she had to find her father-in-law; what if he agreed?
"Stop looking," Aunt Qin said. "How about this: you divorce your husband, and we'll find someone to help your father?"
"..." Sister-in-law Qin could not divorce her husband. If she did, she would be nothing.
Aunt Qin could tell from her sister-in-law's expression that she couldn't possibly divorce her brother. And rightly so; her sister-in-law could live a good life with her brother, and she could even get things from the Qin family to support her own family. Why would she give up such a huge benefit?
"Your father is so old, why is he still working?" Aunt Qin hit the nail on the head regarding Aunt Qin's inner thoughts.
If she really had to choose, Sister-in-law Qin would rather her biological father didn't have a job.
"Aren't you going to be a dutiful daughter?" Aunt Qin scoffed. "What are you still standing here for?"
With a thud, Sister-in-law Qin knelt down before her mother. She still hoped her mother could help her father. "Mom, as long as you help Dad, I'll definitely let my child come visit you more often. We..."
"So what if we don't help them? You're going to disown your parents? You're going to stop taking care of them in their old age?" Aunt Qin then looked at Qin's mother. "See? This is what your eldest daughter-in-law's family is like. How can someone like this be fit to be the eldest daughter-in-law? I think we should just let them get a divorce."
Aunt Qin didn't believe that Sister-in-law Qin could turn things around. For those who couldn't turn things around, they had to be crushed and made Sister-in-law Qin feel afraid.
"Aunt, this is our family matter, it has nothing to do with you." Sister-in-law Qin gritted her teeth, unwilling to let Aunt Qin continue.
“I am a daughter of the Qin family. Even if I get married, I am still a daughter of the Qin family,” said Aunt Qin. “If I don’t say something and do something about it, your mother-in-law will be fooled by you again.”
Sister-in-law Qin looked at her mother, but her mother didn't look at her. Sister-in-law Qin angrily got up and ran away. She felt that since she, as the eldest daughter-in-law, had already knelt down, and her mother still didn't give her face, it was her mother's fault.
As soon as Sister-in-law Qin stormed out, before she even reached the door, Aunt Qin continued, "I think you're all finished. You can't rely on the eldest son and his family for your old age. Look at her, she reacts like this the moment things don't go her way. It's not like we didn't give her choices, she's thinking about her husband and helping her father. She wants this and that, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Aunt Qin knew how to embellish the story and how to hurt people's feelings.
“Think about it carefully. If they hadn’t divorced…” Aunt Qin sighed, “They’ve been married for so many years, it’s really unlikely they would divorce. But… given the situation of the eldest son’s family, it’s best to let her visit her family less often.”
"Sigh," said Qin's mother, "After so much careful selection, who knew her family would be like this?"
“There must be something wrong with their family. Otherwise, why would my father-in-law lose his job?” Aunt Qin said. “Others didn’t lose their jobs, but he did. That shows there must be something wrong here.”
"Things have already come to this..." Qin's mother felt terrible, even worse than when she first heard Qin Yizhou say he wanted to marry Song Fenglan.
"You all need to be more assertive and more involved in the future, so that your eldest daughter-in-law's family doesn't go too far," said Aunt Qin. "All she does is send our Qin family's things to her parents' house all day long, without any embarrassment. What kind of daughter-in-law is like her?"
Aunt Qin hadn't said so much about Song Fenglan before. At most, she'd say that Song Fenglan's family background was bad and that Qin Yizhou wasn't suitable to marry her. She'd only say a few words, and that was it. Aunt Qin hadn't even said these things much in front of Song Fenglan herself.
In Song Fenglan's presence, Aunt Qin remained relatively quiet, and Song Fenglan did not provoke her. Aunt Qin outwardly showed that she disliked Song Fenglan and spoke little.
The Qin family was unwilling to help, and even if Qin's sister-in-law went to others, it would be the same. No one else would help, and no one would be willing to get involved. Qin's sister-in-law's uncle was indeed a major spy, the kind whose criminal record couldn't be cleared.
Back home, Sister-in-law Qin lay there crying. She thought the Qin family members were not human at all; how could they treat her like this?
Aunt Qin didn't call Song Fenglan. She felt that although she hadn't said many things to Song Fenglan, she had still offended her somehow. Calling her now wouldn't do any good, so it was better to wait until Song Fenglan returned to discuss other matters.
The things that Song's mother mailed to Qin Zihang have arrived. They should have arrived much earlier, but they were delayed and took almost a month to arrive.
Song Fenglan opened the email. Inside were clothes suitable for Qin Zihang, as well as milk powder and other items. Song's mother had originally wanted to send some dried fruit, but she was worried that the packaging wasn't good enough and that the journey from the capital to Nancheng was too long, so the packages might take a long time to reach Song Fenglan. Therefore, she didn't send the dried fruit and decided to wait until the weather got colder to send other things.
"Mom, did Grandma send all of these?" Qin Zihang asked in surprise. "So many things!"
“Yes, they were all sent by my grandmother.” Song Fenglan nodded.
Song's mother didn't know what size clothes Qin Yizhou wore, so she didn't buy him any clothes. However, she did keep a few pieces of cloth, which Song Fenglan could use to make clothes for Qin Yizhou.
"Nice clothes." Qin Zihang picked up one of the clothes.
That dress was made by Song's mother when she was on the farm. She even embroidered small animals on it, intending to send it to Qin Zihang later. Later, the Song family was exonerated, and Song's mother and others returned to the capital. They bought more things, and Song's mother sent this dress, along with other items, to Song Fenglan.
“Your maternal grandmother is better at embroidery than I am. All of my mother’s skills were taught to her by your maternal grandmother,” Song Fenglan said.
"I really want to see my grandma," Qin Zihang said. "Grandma is so good, so very good, better than my paternal grandma. Paternal grandma isn't good."
Song Fenglan did not teach Qin Zihang to speak ill of his grandmother; this was the child's own genuine feeling.
“You…” Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou sitting next to her.
“His mother isn’t good to him, and he senses it. He doesn’t like his mother, and that’s okay,” Qin Yizhou said. He didn’t force the child to like his grandmother.
"Don't you think it was me who taught them?" Song Fenglan said.
“You didn’t teach me to say things like that,” Qin Yizhou said. “If you really did teach me, that would be better. Don’t be silly. No matter who it is, whether it’s your parents or anyone else, don’t like anyone who treats you badly. Don’t let family ties oppress you.”
Song Fenglan strongly agreed with Qin Yizhou's words, "Zihang is still young, I dare not instill his likes and dislikes in him, for fear of..."
He set a bad example. Children are young; they pick up everything, good or bad, right away. That won't do. It's easy for children to learn bad habits, but very difficult for them to learn good ones.
"Thank you for your hard work," Qin Yizhou said. "Your mother-in-law sent so many things."
“Several packages arrived together,” Song Fenglan said. “They sent all the winter clothes, and they’re all new.”
Song Fenglan had been planning to go to the mall to buy winter clothes soon, as the weather was getting cold. The research institute had also distributed clothes, but she preferred nicer clothes; she needed at least one or two outfits, and most importantly, clothes for Xiao Zihang.
“Mom said she didn’t know your size, so she didn’t buy any for you. She told me to use this fabric to make clothes for you,” Song Fenglan said.
"Mom has thought this through very well," Qin Yizhou said.
Song Fenglan opened another package. She had just said that there were no clothes for Qin Yizhou, but there was a coat inside that was clearly meant for Qin Yizhou.
“Mingming’s mom said there weren’t any clothes for you.” Song Fenglan looked at the package slip again. “I didn’t take the wrong one.”
Song Fenglan simply called her mother to ask if she wanted to give it to someone else, such as Professor Su.
"It's for Yizhou," said Song's mother. "We don't know what size it is, we're just guessing and buying one."
“Mom, you didn’t tell me anything,” Song Fenglan said.
"I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" Song's mother said. "These things only arrived at your place now. It's slow, but the later items arrived. It's fast, but the earlier items only arrived now. Open the milk powder and feed it to Zihang as soon as possible. Look, it shouldn't be spoiled. If it were, we would have thrown it away."
“They’re all fine, nothing’s broken.” Song Fenglan had checked the milk powder cans.
"You should eat something too, to replenish yourself." Song's mother felt sorry for her daughter. She didn't know what her daughter's figure was now, but she thought her daughter must be working very hard. "Don't worry about us not having food. Your father received a lot of back pay, so we have money to buy these things. If you need anything, just tell us."
They couldn't expect the Qin family to prepare those things for Song Fenglan and her son; the Song family had to prepare them.
"Nothing's missing. Take good care of yourselves. I'll go back to unpacking more packages." Before hanging up the phone, Song Fenglan waved to Qin Zihang, "Come here, thank you, Grandma."
"Thank you, Grandma," Qin Zihang said into the phone. "I like you all very much. Thank you, Grandma. I'll come back to see you sometime."
“Okay, Grandma, Grandpa, and your uncle and aunt are all waiting for you to come back and see us,” Song’s mother said with a smile.
Song Fenglan hung up the phone and turned to see Qin Yizhou's resentful gaze. "What's wrong?"
"I haven't thanked Mom yet," Qin Yizhou said.
"Well... I forgot for a moment," Song Fenglan said. "Why don't you call and say thank you?"
"No, I'll do it next time," Qin Yizhou said. It would be too much of a waste of phone credit to make another call just to say thank you.
Qin Yizhou felt embarrassed to spend public funds on phone calls like this, since he would have other opportunities to talk to his mother-in-law in the future.
"Take this and try it on." Song Fenglan handed the coat to Qin Yizhou.
“I want to give it a try too,” Qin Zihang said.
“Alright, you two, father and son, go and try it together.” Song Fenglan waved her hand; she needed to take all those things out.
Everything Song's mother sent was still there; nothing had been stolen. She had placed the milk powder can in the middle of her clothes, so when others carried the package, they wouldn't necessarily suspect it contained the can. Since it was sent to a family compound near the military region, no one dared to touch the items carelessly.
Song Fenglan placed the clothes her mother had given her aside; they were bright red, pretty, and made her look quite slender. Her mother understood her well and knew what kind of clothes she liked.
Qin Zihang and Qin Yizhou put on their coats. Qin Yizhou's coat fit him perfectly, but Qin Zihang's coat was a bit too long.
"His hands were inside his clothes," Qin Zihang said.
“Your grandma was worried that you would grow too tall all of a sudden, so she bought you clothes that you couldn’t wear, and decided to buy them a little longer,” Song Fenglan said. “Mom also told grandma the same thing, that our Hangbao will grow taller very soon.”
"Grow taller quickly," Qin Zihang said.
“Take these clothes off, they need to be washed,” Song Fenglan said. “They’ve traveled such a long way to be shipped here, they need to be washed and disinfected.”
"I'll wash it," Qin Yizhou said.
"You wash it," Song Fenglan said with a smile. "It's your turn to wash it. You're getting a good deal; you'll save a lot of money."
"Yes, I got a good deal. My mother-in-law married you, who is beautiful and talented, to me. I got a great deal," Qin Yizhou said.
"What about me? What about me?" Qin Zihang asked hurriedly.
"You are the fruit of my love, my little darling." Song Fenglan always said this to Qin Zihang. She said it the same way before, when her relationship with Qin Yizhou wasn't as good.
Song Fenglan couldn't let her child feel that her parents' relationship was bad, and she couldn't let her child have any negative feelings.
"My little darling," Song Fenglan said, "Are you satisfied now?"
"Dad?" Qin Zihang looked at his father again, but his father hadn't said anything yet.
“Your mother is right, you are the apple of our eye,” Qin Yizhou said, looking at his son covering his mouth and laughing, feeling good too.
"It has to be the apple of my eye." After saying that, Qin Zihang rolled his eyes twice, "Dad, Mom is the apple of my eye, you're a little bit behind Mom."
"Hmm." Qin Yizhou pretended to think. "Mom is Dad's darling, and you're just a little behind Mom."
"Okay, we'll all stay a little behind Mom." Qin Zihang looked at his mother again, "Mom, am I your darling, or is Dad your darling?"
"..." Song Fenglan smiled as she looked at her son. Was her son about to ask a deadly question? "They are all my precious ones."
"They're both 'heart's tip,' with two horns, like a panda with two horns?" Qin Zihang asked. "Aren't they unicorns?"
Song Fenglan smiled. Thankfully, Qin Zihang didn't yet know he only had one heart and didn't have a strong grasp of these things. Song Fenglan thought that as the child grew older, he would become harder to fool. She wondered how long she could keep up this gullibility with her son; it was better for him to be a little smarter.
Today, Qin Yizhou went to pick up the packages, again taking a car. There were too many packages for him to carry alone. Yue Hongwei also had errands to run, so they only had one car. Yue Hongwei was surprised to see all the items, remarking on the sheer volume and asking if they were sent by Qin Yizhou's parents.
"It was sent by my parents-in-law," Qin Yizhou said at the time to avoid others thinking it was sent by his own parents. His mother called to ask if Song Fenglan and her son were here, and then didn't send anything. Qin Yizhou really couldn't rely on his own parents.
When the Song family returned to the capital, their first thought was of Song Fenglan. They considered what she might need, bought everything they could think of, and sent it to her. Sometimes, even after buying and sending things during the day, they would feel that there were still things they hadn't bought that evening, and they would still have to buy them.
Mother Song wasn't afraid of being called capitalists; their family had been exonerated. They were simply sending things to Song Fenglan, not doing anything wrong. Mother Song hadn't seen Song Fenglan for many years, and she felt there were many things she hadn't prepared. She wanted to prepare as much as possible, thinking that the south was damp and cold, and even damp cold was still cold, not necessarily warmer than the capital.
People saw Qin Yizhou taking a lot of things out of the car, and when people passed by and asked, Qin Yizhou would say the same thing.
When Yue Hongwei returned home, he remarked to Fan Yani that Qin Yizhou's in-laws were quite good.
“My family doesn’t have that many things to send, as you know, my adoptive parents.” Fan Yani couldn’t expect her adoptive parents to treat her better than they would treat her biological son; that was unrealistic.
“It’s not that your family should send it,” Yue Hongwei said. “When Qin Tuan submitted his marriage application, the leaders also advised him to be cautious.”
"And now?" Fan Yani raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone says he made a good marriage," Yue Hongwei said.
“That’s right,” Fan Yani said. “Things change, and nobody knows what will happen in the future. Marriage is a lifelong commitment. If someone likes another person and wants to be with that person, you can’t stop them.”
It makes sense. If they truly love each other, let them be together. Life is short; why not live it to the fullest?
"You have no idea how hard Qin Tuan has worked on missions these past few years, and how many injuries he's sustained." Yue Hongwei knew this. "Everyone says that if he hadn't married this wife, maybe he wouldn't have had to work so hard."
“He was being responsible to his wife,” Fan Yani said.
"Yes." Yue Hongwei nodded. "It's only recently that Commander Qin has felt a little more at ease."
"It's better to relax." Fan Yani thought that Qin Yizhou might not be so at ease. Song Fenglan was Song Xingyun's niece, and who knew if she had read Song Xingyun's notes or something. In any case, the Song family was exonerated so quickly, and Song Fenglan was definitely part of it. Whatever Qin Yizhou was doing on other missions, he should be protecting Song Fenglan. "Commander Qin did his best, and Sister-in-law Fenglan probably did as well. She must have put in a lot of effort without us seeing it."
“You…” Yue Hongwei looked at Fan Yani, “You seem to really like your sister-in-law.”
“Of course I don’t like people like her. What kind of people do I like?” Fan Yani said. “I can still tell right from wrong, and I’m not going to listen to my sister-in-law’s nonsense. Let me tell you, my sister-in-law has been much quieter lately, like a quail.”
Fan Yani thought that Shi Guilan's husband had been transferred away too early. If Shi Guilan and her husband were still here, Shi Guilan would have done a lot of work when she was in the Revolutionary Committee. Now that those people are being rehabilitated one after another, Shi Guilan is bound to suffer.
The higher-ups have been quite kind to Staff Officer Xu, transferring him to an unfamiliar place where he doesn't know as many people and won't offend as many. As long as Shi Guilan is at ease there and doesn't spread rumors, everything will be fine. Shi Guilan has just arrived and is unfamiliar with the place, so she should be more restrained.
"Did someone see those things?" Fan Yani asked.
“Someone saw it,” Yue Hongwei nodded. “Commander Qin said it was sent by his mother-in-law.”
"Qin Tuan is a good person," Fan Yani said. "What the Yue family sent was sent by the Yue family, not by his biological parents."
The problem is that some men, fearing embarrassment for their biological parents and themselves, insist that their children were sent by their biological parents. Some women dare not object and can only let their husbands say what they want.
Qin Yizhou simply said it was sent by his father-in-law and mother-in-law, which was good and would save his wife from being unhappy.
When the residents of the family compound learned that the Song family had sent a lot of things to the Qin family, they were all very envious. At this time, not many people talked about the capitalists; if they did, they would only say a few words in private, not daring to say it in public.
The Song family has been exonerated, and that special era has come to an end. Who would be so shameless as to say those things? Saying them would be pointless and would only make them a laughingstock.
Qin Zihang looked around as if he had fallen into a treasure trove, glancing at this and that. When Zhang Xiaohu came over to play, Qin Zihang proudly told Zhang Xiaohu that his grandmother had sent him a lot of things.
The Song family also prepared overcoats for Professor Su and his wife. Preparing overcoats was less likely to cause any problems; preparing other items might attract unwanted attention. The Song family wasn't worried about upsetting Professor Su and his wife, but rather about others and the potential repercussions.
Song Fenglan's family was going to deliver some things to Professor Su and his wife, so Zhang Xiaohu would stay there for a while and then go back.
“So many things.” Zhang Xiaohu gestured at home, “Zihang’s maternal grandparents sent a lot of things.”
Zhang Xiaohu was so envious of Qin Zihang. Qin Zihang had so many things, while he didn't have as many.
“That belongs to their family; every family is different.” The fat woman looked at Zhang Xiaohu. “Don’t ask Zihang for it.”
"I don't want it. I can't wear Zihang's clothes anyway," Zhang Xiaohu said. "My aunt made me a cup of milk. The milk is so delicious."
"You still drink other people's milk?" The fat woman stared at Zhang Xiaohu.
"My aunt made it for me," Zhang Xiaohu said.
"..." The fat woman didn't know what to say. Her youngest son always liked to play next door, and Song Fenglan was so good to Xiaohu. The fat woman thought her youngest son was really lucky despite his foolishness. "You should be nicer to Zihang, you know? He ate so much of their food."
The chubby woman didn't know if her youngest son felt embarrassed, but she, as his mother, certainly did.
Professor Su and his wife invited Qin Yizhou and his wife to have dinner at their home. They both said the coats they received were very nice and asked Song Fenglan to thank the Song family.
"You're too kind," said Madam Su.
“That’s only right,” Song Fenglan said.
While Mrs. Su was cooking, Song Fenglan didn't help; Qin Yizhou did. Qin Zihang played in the living room. Song Fenglan and Professor Su went to the study to discuss some work-related matters.
“Even when your uncle is resting, he’s still thinking about work,” Madam Su said with a smile. “He still has to drag Fenglan along.”
"Uncle is a hard worker," Qin Yizhou said.
“Fenglan is also very serious,” Madam Su said. “Your uncle is alright, he doesn’t have to worry about these things at home. Fenglan is a mother, and mothers are always worried about their children, so she has to take care of more things. If there are any things Fenglan hasn’t taken care of, please be more understanding.”
Madam Su has been through this before; she can tolerate it. I wonder if Qin Yizhou can.
"Part of my job is also to take care of my family and provide logistical support for Comrade Song Fenglan," Qin Yizhou said earnestly and seriously.
When Madam Su and Qin Yizhou brought the food to the table, Song Fenglan and Professor Su were still in the study.
"Dinner's ready, eat first." Mrs. Su knocked on the door. "We can talk about those things after you go to work. Come out and eat."
Professor Su stopped when he heard Mrs. Su's voice. "Go eat quickly, or your aunt will be unhappy."
"Your aunt is worried that you might upset your stomach, so she wants you to eat on time," Song Fenglan said. "You still need to take care of yourself."
"Take care, take care. With you all here, how could I not take care?" Professor Su thought about the new fighter jet. He wanted to live as long as possible, partly to do more, and partly because he wanted to see the country produce its own fighter jets instead of being held back by foreign countries.
Everyone sat down to eat, and Mrs. Su habitually served food to Qin Zihang. She was used to taking care of Qin Zihang and knew what dishes he liked to eat.
After dinner, Qin Yizhou and his family left the Su family home together. Professor Su wanted to say something, but Mrs. Su glared at him and said, "It's your day off. Don't keep thinking about work. Even if you don't rest, Fenglan should at least get some rest."
Professor Su gave up; he really wanted to get back to work. Oh well, it'll be the same when we go to work.
Qin Zihang held his father's hand in one hand and his mother's hand in the other, his face beaming with joy.
Li Hui and Guo Peng happened to be walking towards each other, and that's how they bumped into each other.
Li Hui stopped walking, and Guo Peng stopped walking with her.
Song Fenglan didn't speak to Li Hui and her husband, nor did Qin Yizhou. Song Fenglan and Qin Yizhou led the child forward.
"..." Li Hui pursed her lips, then turned to look at the departing figures of Song Fenglan's family.
"Stop looking," Guo Peng said.
“They’re happy,” Li Hui said.
"..." Guo Peng thought that Qin Yizhou and his wife were naturally happy. The Song family had been exonerated and their labels removed, so Qin Yizhou would no longer be negatively affected. Song Fenglan was still working at the research institute, and having such a wife would only be a plus for Qin Yizhou.
Guo Peng wondered if Li Hui was still thinking about Qin Yizhou. He was indeed not as good as Qin Yizhou, but Li Hui was not going to marry Qin Yizhou.
Qin Yizhou and his wife didn't care about Li Hui at all. They didn't care whether Li Hui was hesitant or not, or whether she was happy or not. Li Hui wasn't their relative, so why should they care whether she was happy or not?
A moment later, Sister-in-law Qin returned home very unhappy, having encountered setbacks at every turn. Those who had once greeted her with smiles now vanished upon seeing her, even asking, "What are you doing here?"
This infuriated Sister-in-law Qin, as those people weren't like this before.
Sister-in-law Qin had no choice; after what happened to her family, both she and her family became objects of public scorn.
"Do you want a divorce?" Sister-in-law Qin told her husband to keep the child in the room to rest while she talked to him in the bedroom. She didn't want the child to see her hysterical side.
"No," Brother Qin said.
"Your aunt wants you to divorce me," Sister-in-law Qin sneered. "Is it any of her business what we do in our family?"
"She's just saying what she wants, why are you paying attention to her?" Brother Qin said.
“You have no idea what she’s saying, she’s so rude,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “She even compared me to Song Fenglan. Now look what’s happened, Song Fenglan has become the most sought-after person. Song Fenglan didn’t hold it against me, but your aunt does.”
Qin's sister-in-law had originally expected Song Fenglan to make things difficult for her, but so far, neither Song Fenglan nor Qin Yizhou had called to question her. Qin Yizhou and his wife believed that questioning Qin's sister-in-law would be pointless, so they figured it was better not to make the call.
“You know what kind of person my aunt is,” Brother Qin said. “She likes to talk, so just let her talk, and let it go in one ear and out the other. Back then, she said she wouldn’t let Yizhou marry her, but Yizhou didn’t listen to her, did he? My aunt can say whatever she wants, but it won’t affect us…”
"How can it not have an impact?" Sister-in-law Qin said. "She used to say I was a good niece-in-law, and she always said nice things to me. Now she's saying all sorts of unpleasant things. It's not just me who's heard it; others must have heard it too. I think she's trying to force me to divorce you."
"Do you want a divorce?" Brother Qin asked.
"Divorce? Forget about it!" Sister-in-law Qin has no intention of getting a divorce. She's already in this state, what's the point of getting a divorce?
If others knew about her family situation, those men would definitely not want her.
Sister-in-law Qin wants to continue being Brother Qin's wife; she still has two children.
"Isn't that enough? You didn't think about divorce, and neither did I." Brother Qin felt his wife was being unreasonable; she'd been acting like this lately, jumping to conclusions without thinking. "Before, when Auntie was talking about your wife, you..."
"Don't bring up the past with me," Sister-in-law Qin interrupted Brother Qin. "Do you think that just because Song Fenglan could tolerate it back then, I have to tolerate it now?"
"..." Brother Qin did mean that. Song Fenglan didn't make a fuss, so why should his own wife make a fuss?
Who is really the victim?
Brother Qin felt that his wife was not very sensible and was not a good enough eldest sister-in-law.
"You all have nothing but bad things to say about me," Sister-in-law Qin said sadly. "Do you think I wanted my family to go through something like this? I really didn't know!"
Sister-in-law Qin sat there crying. She knew she couldn't be so forceful anymore; she had to be gentler. Sister-in-law Qin was worried that her husband would really divorce her. After such a big incident in her family, if her husband divorced her, no one would say anything bad about him; they would only say she deserved it.
“My dad lost his job,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “His job can’t be passed down, and our family… I’m telling you this, but you ignore me. You’re unwilling to help them out even a little bit.”
"I can't help, I really can't help," Brother Qin said. "Your family has a spy..."
“He’s my great-uncle, so we’re quite distant,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “Back then, people could get separated from their own parents, let alone their uncles and aunts.”
Sister-in-law Qin wondered why her great-uncle hadn't died earlier; with his death, the debts would have been settled, no one else would have known about those things, and it wouldn't have mattered. Now, her family had been implicated and suffered this fate; Sister-in-law Qin felt it was incredibly unfair. Her own family, and her father hadn't been a spy.
Previously, when the Song family members were on the farm, Sister-in-law Qin didn't think they were innocent; she just thought they deserved it. It doesn't hurt until the fire burns you, then Sister-in-law Qin feels her own family is innocent.
“Whether the relationship is close or not is not up to us to decide,” Brother Qin said. “Dad has only lost his job, which is actually a good thing. Don’t make a fuss, and don’t ask anyone for help. No one else will fall into this trap. I’m stuck in this trap now, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
"I think you want to escape this hellhole of mine," Sister-in-law Qin said unhappily. "Don't even think about it, not even in your dreams."
When Jiang Yufei heard about Sister-in-law Qin's behavior, she clapped her hands in delight. Back then, Sister-in-law Qin not only looked down on Song Fenglan, but also treated Aunt Yu and others with disdain. Whenever Jiang Yufei saw Sister-in-law Qin and tried to greet her, Sister-in-law Qin would either ignore her or roll her eyes.
If Jiang Yufei finds out about this now, she'll definitely tell everyone, including her mother.
“Fenglan’s sister-in-law, the one from the Qin family, her uncle is a spy.” Jiang Yufei arrived at her parents’ home and sat in the living room. She poured herself a glass of water. “I heard her father lost his job.”
"Why do you care about this?" Aunt Yu asked.
“She looks down on me,” Jiang Yufei said. “It’s one thing for her to look down on Song Fenglan, but she looks down on us too. Her family is working class, and so is ours. She thinks she’s so great, but look how arrogant she is now.”
"Why do you care how arrogant she is?" Aunt Yu didn't want to talk about these things; she didn't want to care, and she couldn't care less.
Ever since the Song family was exonerated, the Jiang family members have been trying to get Aunt Yu to associate more with Song's mother, hoping to extract more money from her. Aunt Yu is quite helpless; she doesn't want to always have to go to her eldest sister's side.
Aunt Yu and Song's mother are not from the same mother; they are half-sisters, though their relationship seems alright. However, Aunt Yu always feels inferior in front of Song's mother. Even though Song's mother doesn't look down on Aunt Yu, she has never said that Aunt Yu is a stepmother's daughter. Song's mother genuinely treats Aunt Yu as a younger sister; otherwise, she wouldn't have given Aunt Yu so many things and asked her to take care of Song Fenglan earlier.
Song's mother trusted Aunt Yu completely. Aunt Yu knew what kind of people her husband's family were, and she believed that her family had received enough and could no longer bother her sister.
“Mom, she’s already rolling her eyes at you. What’s wrong with us gloating?” Jiang Yufei said. “Believe it or not, if Song Fenglan were here, she would definitely laugh back.”
"..." Aunt Yu missed Song Fenglan a little. Song Fenglan was quite reliable and didn't require much worry. Aunt Yu looked at Jiang Yufei, thinking how wonderful it would be if Jiang Yufei and Song Fenglan switched places.
Jiang Yufei knew that Song Fenglan was not someone to be bullied. On the surface, Song Fenglan seemed to be patient and forbearing, but she also had ways to get revenge on those who bullied her. At first, Jiang Yufei thought that Song Fenglan would be defeated by reality. She didn't see such a weak and powerless person. Instead, she saw a Song Fenglan who was gentle on the outside but prickly on the inside.
This year, during the leap month Mid-Autumn Festival, Sister-in-law Qin spent it alone. Her parents didn't invite her to celebrate with them; instead, they asked her older brother to bring the children. Actually, it wasn't that her parents meant she couldn't come, but she felt that since they hadn't directly told her, she wouldn't go. In previous years, during the leap month, they would invite some relatives over for a leap month meal, but this year they didn't; no one was in the mood for it.
"I'm not going. You take the child and go to your parents' place," said Sister-in-law Qin. "They didn't invite me; they invited you over. Would I go there eagerly and make your parents laugh at me?"
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