Chapter 25 Choking Back Tears: This is the Decision Your Father Made
“It was just one chicken,” Dr. Lin said. “We went over when the baby was a month old. One chicken is one chicken, there are no six chickens. It’s impossible that her family members hid them. You sent over one chicken, and Song Fenglan’s aunt killed it for her to eat. That’s how many there were, we can’t say more.”
After saying this, Dr. Lin thought of another question, "Back then, did you have your eldest son's family send it over?"
"Yes." Qin's mother nodded. "I'm not feeling well, so I had the eldest son's family send it over."
"Whether they sent one chicken or six chickens, it's quite obvious," Dr. Lin said. "They wouldn't go so far as to claim six chickens are one; they couldn't possibly hide the chickens, could they?"
Dr. Lin didn't think Song Fenglan's family would do something so disgusting. Even if others were craving food, they shouldn't have hidden five chickens while Song Fenglan was in postpartum confinement.
“Even if her aunt’s family is short of meat, they wouldn’t eat that much,” Dr. Lin said. “Didn’t you ask Song Fenglan about this?”
"Isn't it enough that I sent them? Who would ask her how many she ate? At most, I'd ask if she ate them or not. If she says she did, I won't say anything else," said Qin's mother.
Mother Qin wasn't stupid; she figured the problem mostly lay with her eldest son's wife. Her eldest son's wife disliked Song Fenglan and even suggested that the family send fewer things over, saying that since Song Fenglan didn't come to the Qin family, she didn't want to be part of the Qin family at all, so why should they bother trying to win her over?
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, a little cold and stiff.
"This is ultimately a family matter," Dr. Lin said. "Some things are better left unsaid; it's too embarrassing to ask others about them."
Dr. Lin stood up. He had come to talk to Qin's mother about the Song family, to prevent these people from patting themselves on the back. The Song family hadn't received any credit from the Qin family; they shouldn't try to claim any credit.
“I went to the Song family yesterday,” Dr. Lin said. “Yizhou also said that they don’t need to come to see you. It’s the groom’s elders who should be visiting the bride’s elders. They’ve cleared their names, and they’re living in their own home.”
Dr. Lin supports Qin Yizhou and Song Fenglan. The Song family owes nothing to the Qin family; they are the bride's family, and they haven't acted too subserviently. The bride's family elders should maintain a higher stance and not let the groom's family think they are easy to bully.
Over the years, Dr. Lin has noticed the Qin family's attitude towards the Song family; none of them like the Song family.
“Things are different now,” Dr. Lin said. “You can decide for yourselves. This matter will spread sooner or later, and not everyone will think it’s all thanks to the Qin family.”
Perhaps at first those people thought the Qin family had helped the Song family, but as time goes on and the truth comes out, it will be too late for the Qin family to explain. Everyone will think the Qin family didn't help the Song family, and the Qin family will still claim it was their doing.
Dr. Lin did not stay for dinner at the Qin family's house, believing that Qin's mother needed time to resolve those issues.
As soon as Dr. Lin left, Qin's mother went to the kitchen with a cold face, and Qin's sister-in-law was startled when she saw her.
"Mom, why did you come over? I can keep an eye on things," said Sister-in-law Qin.
"When Song Fenglan was in confinement after childbirth, I asked you to send over six chickens. How many did you send over?" Qin's mother asked coldly.
"Six...six of them," said Sister-in-law Qin.
"Make it clear, is it six or just one?" Qin's mother said. "Do you want me to investigate?"
"I gave her one." Sister-in-law Qin tried to deny it, but there was no point in continuing. If her mother found out, and then asked Song Fenglan, the truth would be revealed sooner or later. It's alright, it's just one thing being exposed, the others haven't been exposed yet, so it's not a big deal. "At the time, I was thinking that my sister-in-law's class background wasn't very good. If people saw her eating so many chickens during her postpartum period, they would say she was being bourgeois, which would be bad for her."
Sister-in-law Qin offered an excuse: "I did all this for my sister-in-law's own good. Given the circumstances, the more she did, the more mistakes she would make."
"What about the five chickens?" Qin's mother asked. Qin's sister-in-law hadn't taken the chickens home. If she had, Qin's mother would definitely have found out.
"I sold it," said Sister-in-law Qin. "I gave one of the chickens to my parents. They're old and don't have much good food. I thought I'd give them a chicken to help them recover."
Of course, Sister-in-law Qin didn't just send one chicken; she sent three. One chicken was for her parents, one was for her pregnant sister-in-law to help her recover, and the third was cooked so that Sister-in-law Qin and her child could eat it together. Sister-in-law Qin also told her son not to tell anyone, not even her older brother Qin.
Anyway, all of this is in the past. Sister-in-law Qin doesn't believe that her mother would really investigate. She can't let her mother think that she is too biased towards her own family.
“The rest were sold on the black market,” Sister-in-law Qin said. “Mom, I didn’t want to put you in a difficult position back then, so I made the decision myself. If you want to blame someone, blame me.”
"..." How could Qin's mother explain this? She had always thought that her family had sent over six chickens.
“Mom,” Sister-in-law Qin said, “If my sister-in-law wants to blame someone, she should blame me. She can’t blame you. I’ll go explain to her, I…”
"What's the point of explaining now?" Qin's mother said. "What's the use of explaining now?"
Qin's mother felt indignant. She had given away one chicken, but there were still five left. The eldest son's wife was so greedy, taking five chickens at once, and she still had the nerve to say it was for Song Fenglan's good. How dare the eldest son's wife do that?
"Mom..." Sister-in-law Qin saw that her mother's face was gloomy and didn't know what to say.
"Does your husband know?" Qin's mother asked.
“He doesn’t know.” Sister-in-law Qin said anxiously, “Mom, please don’t tell him. If he finds out, he will definitely be angry. Mom, I know you will all be unhappy. If you can’t bring yourself to do this, I will do it. Song Fenglan’s parents and brothers have been sent to a farm. Many people are afraid to get close to them. I’m doing this for the sake of our family.”
"..." Qin's mother remained silent, pondering what she should do.
"Mom, you know I've been married into this family for so many years, and I've always done everything for it," said Sister-in-law Qin. "Mom, please, please don't tell my husband. I can't let him feel guilty. I did it, I did it all."
When Qin's mother saw her sister-in-law like this, she sighed.
"Qin Yizhou, Mom, you know how he and his wife treat us," said Sister-in-law Qin. "Early on, when you disagreed with him marrying Song Fenglan, he was unhappy and wouldn't listen to you. He insisted on marrying Song Fenglan. When he comes home for vacation, he's always on Song Fenglan's heels. He... Mom, do you want my husband to become like that too?"
Sister-in-law Qin paused deliberately, believing that her mother-in-law would understand her meaning.
Qin's mother was heartbroken. Of course, she knew that Qin Yizhou was growing distant from her, but if she helped her eldest son's family cover it up, her youngest son would only become more estranged from her. Qin's mother thought that in the future, anything she gave to her youngest son's family should not go through Qin's sister-in-law. Qin's sister-in-law was more terrifying than a bandit; she had directly hidden so many things.
“Mom, Song Fenglan herself knows what her situation was back then,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “It’s all in the past. She hasn’t said anything else, so let’s not talk about it.”
Sister-in-law Qin wanted her mother to keep this a secret. As long as they didn't tell anyone outside that they had given away six chickens, there wouldn't be a problem.
Looking at her sister-in-law, Qin's mother was extremely disappointed. She had initially thought her sister-in-law possessed the qualities of a respected elder sister-in-law. Now it seemed that her sister-in-law was not kind at all; she was a heartless person.
"We still need to talk to the eldest son and your father about this," Qin's mother said. "When they first found out it was six chickens being sent, they tried to keep a low profile and didn't say a word. Now that the Song family has been exonerated, do you think they won't say anything?"
Leaving aside Brother Qin and Father Qin, Mother Qin herself just told Dr. Lin how good she was to Song Fenglan. In reality, she wasn't that good; she was just feeling guilty and wanted to show that she had been very good to Song Fenglan.
"Mom!" Sister-in-law Qin cried out, grabbing Qin's mother. "Mom, please, don't say it. Dad and the others are men, they won't gossip about it."
“This isn’t gossip,” Qin’s mother said. “Do you want them to find out about this from other people? There are no secrets in this world. They can’t stay silent forever. They will find out sooner or later. If you say it now, it’s like you’re admitting your mistake. If you say it another day, you’ll be making a mistake on top of a mistake.”
Ultimately, Qin's mother still cared for her daughter-in-law. Her daughter-in-law had been her daughter-in-law for so many years, and the two had lived under the same roof. Her daughter-in-law even did a lot of housework. Qin's mother couldn't completely ignore her daughter-in-law; she said this to try and resolve the matter properly, lest someone expose it, which would be disastrous.
"..." Sister-in-law Qin fell silent. She loosened her grip on her mother's clothes and let her hands hang down.
If she had known she would be exposed one day, Sister-in-law Qin would never have done such a thing. But those things were really good, not just chickens, but also money; she took most of it.
Sister-in-law Qin wondered if Song Fenglan would go and tell anyone that she had gone to join the army. If Song Fenglan did, it would show that she was a very petty person who remembered things from the past so well.
Song Fenglan was unaware of the Qin family's messy affairs; she had never taken them to heart. Relying on these people, how could she possibly survive? A person has to rely on themselves; they can't always depend on others.
After Song Fenglan went to the research institute, Madam Su came to take Qin Zihang.
Qin Zihang was at the Qin family's place today, not the Su family's. Qin Zihang happily told Madam Su, "Auntie, Auntie, my family has a telephone now."
"Great, we have a phone at home now." Mrs. Su was also very happy to see Qin Zihang so happy.
"It's a phone, it's a phone!" Qin Zihang counted on his fingers, "I've called my great-aunt and my grandmother."
"Okay, go ahead and call," Mrs. Su said. "Did you call your grandmother too?"
"I don't want Grandma." Qin Zihang pouted. "Grandma doesn't like me, and I don't like Grandma either."
Mrs. Su reached out and patted Qin Zihang's head. "Then you don't like it."
Madam Su didn't know how Qin's mother treated Qin Zihang. Looking at Song Fenglan, she realized Song Fenglan didn't seem like the type to speak ill of Qin's mother to a child. It was more likely the child had sensed it himself; that's why the child disliked his grandmother so much. If Qin's mother treated her grandson well, the child couldn't have been unaware of it.
"Grandma loves her precious grandson," Qin Zihang said, "but not me."
“She doesn’t like our little baby, but Auntie likes the little baby, she likes our Hangbao,” Madam Su said. “Many people like Hangbao.”
"Yes, of course. I'm so good, there must be a lot of people who like me," Qin Zihang said. "My mother said that feelings are mutual. If they don't like me, I don't like them either. It's a two-way street."
"..." This was the first time Mrs. Su had heard of such an explanation for going to each other's homes. "Your mother is clever."
"Mom is the smartest mom in the world." Qin Zihang loves his mom very much. His mom always stands by his side and loves him very much. "Mom knows so much, and she also tells me stories."
When Madam Su was with Qin Zihang, Qin Zihang would always talk about his mother, and Madam Su could sense Song Fenglan's kindness towards Qin Zihang.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Mrs. Su went to check and found that it was Grandma Fang, Gao Xiuxiu's mother-in-law.
"Can I go inside and make a phone call?" Grandma Fang asked. "I need to call my son in the countryside..."
As she was speaking, Grandma Fang was about to go inside when she was stopped.
“No,” Mrs. Su refused. “There are public phones outside. Go make the call from a public phone.”
"We're all neighbors, just need to use the phone..."
“Phone calls are expensive. Do you want to pay for them?” Mrs. Su said. “This phone was installed for Fenglan by the police station, and the station paid for it. If you make calls without paying, that’s misappropriating public property.”
Grandma Fang likes to take advantage of others. She found out last night that Song Fenglan's family had installed a telephone, so she wanted to come over and make a call. Making a call from a public phone booth costs money, but Grandma Fang didn't intend to pay at Song Fenglan's house. How could Song Fenglan's family, with her age, possibly ask her for money?
"Appropriating public assets is a crime." Madam Su looked at Qin Zihang, who was clutching her clothes, and said, "Hangbao, do you hear me? From now on, you can't let anyone come to the house to make phone calls. The phone at home is for you to make calls yourselves. If someone else makes a call, that person will go to jail. That's cheating people."
If it's really an emergency, then you can call.
Clearly, Grandma Fang wasn't in a hurry; she simply wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Mrs. Su was here; she couldn't possibly allow Grandma Fang to make the call. Mrs. Su also had a phone at home, and she always told others not to use it unless absolutely necessary, as it was paid for by the research institute—it was public money. Sometimes, when Mrs. Su called home, she even had to go to a public phone booth.
"If you don't need it, you don't need it." Upon hearing that it was illegal or criminal, Grandma Fang had no intention of going in to make the call, and she withdrew her foot.
Grandma Fang had just left when Fatty Sister-in-law came over.
"Is Aunt Fang coming over to make a phone call?" the chubby woman asked.
“Yes, I told her to go to a public phone booth to make the call,” Mrs. Su said.
“You did the right thing,” said the plump woman. “It’s only the first month. If she makes phone calls carelessly, the phone bill will come out later and she’ll have spent so much money. What will people think of Fenglan then? Everyone will think that Fenglan is taking advantage of public funds, and they’ll all talk about Fenglan.”
“My mom did nothing wrong.” Qin Zihang poked his head out. “How could they be so mean?”
"They're thinking of the neighbors, they're convinced your mother will feel embarrassed," said the plump woman. "They all think, 'A fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal.'"
“Turtles can live for a very, very long time,” Qin Zihang said earnestly.
"A scourge can last for a thousand years," said Madam Su.
“We have to refuse them from the beginning. If we don’t, once they do, they’ll do it again. If one person goes to make a call and others can’t, people will say it’s favoritism,” said the plump woman. “No matter what we do, it’s wrong. It’s better not to let them in from the start. Before, when Staff Officer Xu’s family mentioned Feng Lan, none of them dared to come over, afraid of being implicated. Now that they know there’s a phone line here, they want to come over.”
The words may be crude, but the principle is sound; that's how most people are. Many of them don't have much education, but they don't feel ashamed; they just think that saving their families a little money is a good thing.
If Song Fenglan and her husband agree, those people will keep coming and coming. It's like they're using Song Fenglan's phone as a free phone call; they don't have to pay, so they'll just keep calling.
“They’ve come over, and they still say it’s not like Fenglan paid for the phone call, so why can’t they make the call?” Fatty Sister said. “Some people are shameless.”
"You stay here and keep an eye on things," Madam Su said.
"Lock it up. Lock it up since you're not here," said the plump woman. "Those people wouldn't bother to pick the lock and get in. If they did, they'd be thieves."
“It will be locked,” Madam Su said. “Sometimes if we’re not paying attention, you can keep an eye on it for us, but you don’t need to watch it too much. If there’s a problem, there are other ways to solve it.”
Both Song Fenglan and her husband have to work, so they don't stay here every day.
Madam Su was worried that something bad might happen. If those people saw that someone else had something nice in their home, they would definitely start thinking about other things.
In the evening, Mrs. Su didn't go home at all; she cooked at Song Fenglan's house. Professor Su had said early that morning that he wouldn't be home for dinner and told Mrs. Su to make her own arrangements. When Song Fenglan returned, she saw Mrs. Su cooking and quickly went over to help.
"Go check on Zihang, you don't need to help," Madam Su said. "I can manage cooking."
"Aunt," Song Fenglan said a little embarrassedly, "I'm not very good at cooking, but I'm okay at chopping vegetables."
"Everything's chopped, it'll be ready in a bit." Madam Su pushed Song Fenglan out of the kitchen.
When Qin Yizhou returned, the food was just being served. Madam Su had specifically checked the time before cooking; she figured Qin Yizhou and his wife should be home from work by then. If Song Fenglan hadn't been working overtime, then it would be around this time.
when.
At the dinner table, Mrs. Su talked about Grandma Fang's situation.
“I said no directly,” Madam Su said. “These people are really something. The fat lady next door was right. If we don’t refuse, more people will come over.”
“You did the right thing,” Qin Yizhou said. “We shouldn’t have let them in to make the call.”
“It’s not an emergency, they can just make a call from a phone booth,” Madam Su said. “They’re just taking advantage of Fenglan’s youth and her shyness. That’s why they’re trying to manipulate her like this.”
As Mrs. Su spoke, she glanced at Qin Yizhou. Some men like to pretend to be magnanimous; they don't consider the family's situation at all and make decisions for the family directly.
Although Professor Su sometimes makes decisions directly, Mrs. Su knows that Professor Su's decisions are all good, and that Professor Su would not make decisions blindly.
"No matter who I am, it's useless. Even if this phone was installed for me, I can't let them call." Qin Yizhou understood Madam Su's meaning; he wasn't that magnanimous and had no intention of using the phone installed at the research institute to do favors. Qin Yizhou put some food on Song Fenglan's plate, "Eat more."
Qin Yizhou sensed that Song Fenglan looked tired; she must have worked very hard at her job.
"Eat more." Song Fenglan put some food on Qin Zihang's plate.
Qin Zihang looked at his parents and then went to serve food to Madam Su, saying, "Auntie, have some more."
"Alright, let's all eat more." Madam Su chuckled. "Come on, let's eat."
Qin Yizhou and his group enjoyed their meal quite a bit, but the Qin family in the capital were not so happy.
At the dinner table, Qin's sister-in-law confessed to her father and brother that she had secretly eaten five chickens. As for other matters, they knew nothing about them, so she couldn't say anything. She could tell them later when they found out; they were asking her to give money to Song Fenglan, but they might not specify the amount.
Money is a rather private matter, and no one would likely discuss the amount.
Sister-in-law Qin hadn't expected Dr. Lin to know those things. If she had known that her uncle knew these things, she would have made him leave long ago instead of letting him sit there talking.
"What?" Brother Qin was shocked. "Six chickens, you stole five?"
Qin's father didn't say anything, but Qin's elder brother slammed his fist on the table.
"Many women don't even have a chicken to eat during their postpartum period," said Sister-in-law Qin.
"I think you still don't realize your mistake," Brother Qin said with a serious expression.
Brother Qin caught a glimpse of his father out of the corner of his eye. His father remained silent, and Brother Qin knew this situation was terrible. He hadn't expected his wife to do such a thing. He knew she was unhappy with Song Fenglan, but he never imagined she would eat a chicken—the kind of chicken women eat during postpartum confinement to nourish their bodies.
What will others think of the Qin family? The Qin family prepared so many chickens, but only gave Song Fenglan one chicken for her postpartum confinement?
Brother Qin felt ashamed as the eldest brother, and he was worried that if his younger brother found out, things would get out of hand.
“Dad, Mom, I was worried that my sister-in-law would be targeted, given her family background…”
"What ingredients?" Qin's father looked coldly at Qin's sister-in-law. "Besides the chicken incident, what else did you do?"
"No, it's gone." Sister-in-law Qin couldn't possibly admit it.
But Qin's father felt it wasn't just about the chickens; there must be something else going on. Once something like this happened, another would follow. Song Fenglan hadn't mentioned it to them, so they assumed the goods were already in her hands. They never imagined their eldest daughter-in-law had embezzled so much.
"That's really all," said Sister-in-law Qin. As long as Song Fenglan didn't say anything, these people wouldn't know. "If there really was anyone, it's that she came here once before she joined the army..."
Sister-in-law Qin had thought it over. If she said there was nothing else, these people wouldn't believe her. If she had to bring up something, then she would talk about this one thing, the one that was least relevant.
Qin's mother's expression changed slightly. When she had spoken to her youngest son on the phone earlier, she had implied that Song Fenglan hadn't informed them beforehand about joining the army, and they only found out after Qin's mother went to Aunt Yu's place. Looking at her eldest sister-in-law, Qin's mother felt conflicted; she had ultimately trusted her eldest daughter-in-law too much.
"You all need to move out!" Qin's father said.
"Dad!" Brother Qin and Sister-in-law Qin could hardly believe that this was a question from their father.
"This house originally belonged to me and your mother. You should move out." Qin's father didn't want to say anything more. No matter what he said, it wouldn't change what had already happened.
The Qin family has done such a thing, they have to give the Song family an explanation. Even if the Song family may not know about these things, Qin's father cannot pretend that he doesn't know.
The Song family's exoneration had nothing to do with the Qin family. The Qin family hadn't contributed anything, and Qin's sister-in-law was still unhappy, even assuming that it was Qin's father who had done the work. Qin's father felt that if his elder brother and his wife continued to stay with him, it would probably cause even bigger problems, so it was better for them to move out.
“Yizhou didn’t live at home after his wedding, so you should all move out,” Qin’s father said.
“Dad, we’ll still have to take care of you in your old age,” said Sister-in-law Qin. Although her father had retired, he still held considerable influence. Sister-in-law Qin didn’t want to move out; if she and her husband moved out with their child, what would others think of them? “Qin Yizhou is the youngest, and my husband is the eldest son…”
“The eldest son and the youngest son are the same,” Qin’s father said. “You will move out in a couple of days.”
Qin's father didn't say anything about Qin's sister-in-law's mistakes, and told these people to move out so he wouldn't have to see them or be bothered by them.
“Old man…” Qin’s mother looked at Qin’s father. She thought her husband would at most reprimand the eldest son’s family, but she didn’t expect him to tell them to get lost.
"Do you want to move out with them?" Qin's father asked.
"Make them move out," Qin's mother said. She knew her husband had made up his mind, so there was no point in saying anything.
Qin's father put down his chopsticks and left the table before he had even finished eating.
Qin's father was heartbroken by what had happened. He had some connections, and people had congratulated him on having such an excellent daughter-in-law. At the time, Qin's father thought they were talking about his eldest son's daughter. But when he learned that they were talking about Song Fenglan, Qin's father wasn't upset; he just sat in his study for a long time.
Initially, Qin's father did not really agree to Qin Yizhou marrying Song Fenglan. Given Song Fenglan's social class background, they knew perfectly well that marriage would negatively impact Qin Yizhou's future, so how could they possibly agree? As parents, they all wanted a brighter future for their son, and they even advised him to sever ties with Song Fenglan.
Looking back now, it's fortunate that Qin Yizhou persisted. If he hadn't, things would have turned out this way, and the Qin family would be in an even more embarrassing situation.
"Mom." Sister-in-law Qin looked at her mother; she didn't want to move out.
"This is your father's decision," Qin's mother said. "Take advantage of these next two days to find a place to stay and move out."
"Mom, isn't two days too rushed?" Sister-in-law Qin was hoping her husband could persuade her father to calm down in a few days, thinking he would calm down soon. "And there are children around, they..."
“Your fathers all know,” Qin’s mother said. It’s not that Qin’s father didn’t see the child, but the child wasn’t enough to shake his resolve.
After dinner, Qin's father asked Qin's mother to call Qin Yizhou; there was something he needed to discuss.
After the call, Qin Yizhou learned of his sister-in-law's actions, and his face turned very ugly. How dare his sister-in-law be so greedy? His sister-in-law is a woman herself; she should know how dangerous childbirth is for women, and how damaging it is to a woman's body.
"Your father made your eldest brother and sister-in-law move out," Qin's mother said. "Your father and I were also at fault. We didn't send them over ourselves, but had your sister-in-law do it, which led to this huge mistake."
Afterwards, Qin's mother asked Qin's sister-in-law about it, and Qin's sister-in-law said: "Mom, don't you trust me to handle things? The things have been delivered!"
Sister-in-law Qin said she had delivered it, and Qin's mother didn't want to ask too many questions. If she did, they might just say, "Mom, if you're worried, you can deliver it yourself. You won't go wrong." "Don't worry," Qin's mother replied, "I delivered it myself, personally handing it to my sister-in-law."
"It was indeed your fault." Qin Yizhou understood that if the Song family hadn't been exonerated, his mother would have turned a blind eye to this matter. As for when exactly his mother found out about it, Qin Yizhou didn't know.
Qin Yizhou couldn't understand his sister-in-law's actions. He couldn't comprehend what Song Fenglan had gained, since she didn't live in the Qin family's house.
It's extremely rare, so why would Sister-in-law Qin do something so shameless?
“They moved out; that was your decision,” Qin Yizhou said.
“Yizhou…” Qin’s mother choked up a little, worried that her youngest son would blame her.
Qin Yizhou understood what his mother meant. "Mom, I am a living, breathing person. I have people I care about. Fenglan is my wife, the wife who bore my child."
Why should they be expected to understand Sister-in-law Qin? Who does Sister-in-law Qin even belong to?
Sister-in-law Qin bore children for Brother Qin, but Qin Yizhou thought that he and Sister-in-law Qin were not related by blood; their kinship was maintained solely through Brother Qin. Sister-in-law Qin was so disgusting; Qin Yizhou couldn't possibly sympathize with these people. He even suspected that Brother Qin might know about this.
Qin Yizhou no longer trusted his family members.
"I...we didn't do a good job," Qin's mother said. "Have you eaten?"
"I've already eaten," Qin Yizhou said. "Is there anything else?"
"No, that's all," Qin's mother said.
Then, the mother and son hung up the phone without saying anything more.
Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou, whose expression seemed rather unpleasant.
"Mom said she would give you six chickens when you were in postpartum confinement, but my sister-in-law took five of them," Qin Yizhou said.
"You greedily sent five chickens?" Song Fenglan was taken aback. She really didn't know. She only knew that Qin's mother had asked her sister-in-law to send over one chicken.
“Yes.” Qin Yizhou was in a bad mood. “It wasn’t like this before… When I went back, they were all very polite. I was so stupid to think they would at least put on a show. Who would have thought…”
Qin Yizhou wondered if there was something else besides this matter, since his sister-in-law was so greedy.
Not only did Qin Yizhou think that way, but Song Fenglan did too. However, Song Fenglan didn't bother arguing with Qin's sister-in-law. She rarely met Qin's sister-in-law, so what was the point of arguing? At that time, others would definitely side with Qin's sister-in-law.
“She’s not our family,” Song Fenglan said. “Just don’t worry about it.”
"Is that what you think?" Qin Yizhou asked. "She hurt you. You were physically weakened at the time, and she..."
“She’s not related to me by blood, and she never liked me,” Song Fenglan said. “Do you think your mother didn’t know she didn’t like me? She did, they all knew, but they still had your sister-in-law deliver the things. Isn’t that like throwing good money after bad?”
"Indeed." Qin Yizhou felt a pang of heartache seeing Song Fenglan's calm expression. He gripped her hand tightly. "It was my fault for not protecting you. I..."
Qin Yizhou was on a very important mission at the time and was injured. He wasn't by Song Fenglan's side when she gave birth. He returned home injured, not daring to let Song Fenglan know.
“Let’s not talk about the past,” Song Fenglan said. “Some things are better left unsaid. What can we gain by dwelling on them? Do we really need those chickens? You gave us the money and the tickets, and I had my aunt buy the chickens. It’s not like I didn’t get to eat any. If we’ve prepared for ourselves, we don’t need to expect others to send us things.”
"You've suffered," Qin Yizhou said. "I..."
“You don’t have three heads and six arms,” Song Fenglan said.
"Nezha, do you want to tell the story of Nezha?" Qin Zihang thought of Nezha when he heard about the three-headed, six-armed Nezha.
The children loved the story of Nezha, and Qin Zihang stared at Song Fenglan with shining eyes.
"Let your dad tell you the story of Nezha." Song Fenglan reached out and poked Qin Yizhou.
“Dad.” Qin Zihang turned and stared at his father.
“Okay, let me tell you the story of Nezha,” Qin Yizhou said.
Grandma Fang was telling her son at home about how Qin Yizhou's family refused to lend her their phone. "Every time I mentioned it, they said it was illegal or criminal. I was just making a phone call to your brother, I wasn't doing anything wrong, and she..."
"Isn't that Professor Su's wife there?" Gao Xiuxiu said.
"Yes," Grandma Fang said.
"What she said isn't wrong," Gao Xiuxiu said. "If you want to make a call, go to a public phone booth. It's not as good as using their phone. Their phone is a public phone; it's fine for their own family to use, but who are we to use it?"
Gao Xiuxiu thought her mother-in-law was out of her mind, insisting on taking advantage of the situation.
"What do you know?" Grandma Fang glared at Gao Xiuxiu. "It's public property, they don't need to pay for it."
"The government will always check the bills." Gao Xiuxiu wasn't that stupid. She had worked herself and knew what she was doing. How could the government not check the bills? And if they did, wouldn't they go and complain to Song Fenglan? How could she save face?
"I'm just making one phone call, not many," Grandma Fang said. "It's just a few words, is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?"
"A few minutes for this person, a few minutes for that person." Gao Xiuxiu felt quite embarrassed. Her aunt had mentioned this matter when they were chatting. Gao Xiuxiu felt ashamed; Song Fenglan's family had just gotten a telephone, and her own family was acting like this. "Then it's not just a few minutes. Mom, if you say a few minutes, then go to a public phone booth."
"Public phone booths, public phone booths, that's all you know. Do you think making phone calls is free? You should save money if you can," Grandma Fang said.
"Heh." Gao Xiuxiu chuckled. What's so special about this? Her mother-in-law really has the nerve to do this.
Sister-in-law Qin and Brother Qin were in the room. Sister-in-law Qin was reluctant to move out of this big house. It had many rooms, was a detached house, and even had a yard. This house was very nice; Sister-in-law Qin had long considered it hers.
Brother Qin is the eldest son of Qin's parents, and the eldest son should inherit these things. Sister-in-law Qin never thought that she and her husband would be kicked out.
“This time, if we move out, we might not be able to move back,” said Sister-in-law Qin. “Think about it, it’s better for us to stay at home. If we move out, won’t your parents want the house to stay with your younger brother?”
"..." Brother Qin didn't want to talk about it.
"Say something!" Sister-in-law Qin said. "Let your aunts and the others persuade your father. It's so much better for us to live here; we can take care of them. It's more troublesome for us to come over from outside..."
“It’ll be the same even if Aunt comes,” Brother Qin sighed. “The Song family has just been exonerated, and Dad is determined to stay.”
"Do we have to do this for the Song family's benefit? Are the Song family that important?" Sister-in-law Qin said. "Once the Song family is exonerated, I'll become the sinner. Back then, your parents didn't agree to your brother marrying Song Fenglan. Now, you're just washing your hands of it, as if it's not your fault, but all my fault?"
Sister-in-law Qin was unwilling to be the scapegoat. "If all else fails, call your younger brother and ask him to persuade Mom and Dad. Your brother lives so far away; he can't be there to be filial to Mom and Dad. It's always us who are filial to them. As the older brother, you have to ask him to. He hasn't been filial to Mom and Dad, so how dare he make things difficult for us?"
“If you tell Yizhou, he’ll only get angrier,” Brother Qin said. “Don’t go to him. Even if Mom calls him, it won’t make a difference, let alone if we call him. Move out first, and if you behave well, Mom and Dad will naturally give in.”
“I behaved better? Didn’t I behave well enough? Do you think those chickens all ended up in my family’s mouths? And in your son’s mouth too?” Sister-in-law Qin said. “I did all that for the sake of our family.”
"Go tell your parents," Brother Qin said irritably. His wife always said these things, which gave him a headache.
“If my words were useful, would things have come to this?” Sister-in-law Qin said. “I told your mother not to tell Dad and you, but she insisted, and even wanted me to tell her myself. If I didn’t tell, she would. I was forced into this situation; I had no other choice but to be honest with you. Given the circumstances, what I did was understandable. Did your father really have to kick us out?”
The more Qin's sister-in-law thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Her husband wasn't dealing with this matter, so she was going to.
Early in the morning, Sister-in-law Qin went to her parents' house. She refused to move and insisted on staying there. Sister-in-law Qin wanted her family to make the decision for her, and she also wanted her aunt to make the decision for her.
"I'm staying at my parents' house tonight, I'm not going back." Sister-in-law Qin went to Aunt Qin. "Aunt, is this all my fault? Mom sent all the good things in the house to Song Fenglan, do you think Song Fenglan will thank Mom? There are still children at home, and they all want to eat meat. If I don't care about them, who will?"
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