Chen Shuning felt refreshed after confronting Chen Tiewen. He returned to his small courtyard, went straight to the kitchen, scooped up some flour, and prepared to make pancakes.
She happily busied herself in the kitchen, preparing a hearty breakfast for her family.
However, the atmosphere in the front yard was unusually tense because the old lady insisted that she had encountered a ghost the night before.
The old woman lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) was pale, her eyes revealing fear and despair.
She claimed that she saw a woman in white in the yard last night, and the woman smiled at her in a very strange way.
The old lady also said that the woman's face was flaring up as if it were about to fall off, and her long tongue was swaying left and right in the wind before she suddenly disappeared from her sight.
The rest of the Chen family were terrified by the old lady's words. Everyone knew that this was a time of breaking down feudal superstitions, and the old lady's remarks could very well cause unnecessary trouble.
The family tried to convince the old lady that it was just an illusion or a dream, but she firmly believed that she had seen a real ghost.
In an era when feudal superstition was considered backward and ignorant, the old lady's words made the atmosphere in the house heavy and oppressive.
Everyone was worried that if someone with ulterior motives overheard, it would have a huge impact on their families. Anxiety and fear were etched on everyone's faces, as if that strange woman could appear in their lives at any moment.
In the end, it was the old man's angry roar that stopped the old woman's incessant chatter.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you even know what the situation is like now? Do you think you can just say things like that? Do you want to drag your whole family down with you?"
Chen Tiewen, who was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) angrily staring at Chen Tiejun and his wife, initially didn't pay attention to what the old lady was saying.
It wasn't until she heard the old man's words that she realized his words might affect her. She then said with a displeased expression, "Mother, don't talk nonsense. What ghosts? There are no ghosts in this world. If those women hear you say that, we'll all be implicated."
The old lady listened to two people the most in her life: her husband and her youngest son. Now, neither of them wanted her to talk about it. Although the old lady was full of grievances, she still obediently listened and stopped talking about seeing ghosts.
But when she looked up and saw Chen Tiejun and his wife standing at the door, she finally found a scapegoat to vent her anger.
The old lady, with her eyelids drooping, hummed twice and then called out, "Second son, your mother has suffered terribly this time. Go out and buy some meat later, and have your wife make a pot of braised pork for your mother. She's been craving it right now."
Qin Yalan was furious when she heard this. If she wanted braised pork, why didn't she ask her old daughter-in-law? And why give her a whole pot? She wouldn't even give her a bite.
Thinking back to last night at the hospital, even though all three sons and three daughters-in-law were there, it was her husbands who handled all the paperwork and paperwork. It's understandable that when an elderly person is sick, it's only natural for the sons to run errands and spend money.
But on the daughter-in-law's side, this old lady just kept bothering her and her sister-in-law, making them drink water and go to the toilet all the time.
The fourth son and his wife were fast asleep right next to them, not caring about anything. The fourth son's wife, seeing that the old lady was sick and might need someone to take care of her, made an excuse to go straight back to her parents' home after leaving the hospital, and the old lady didn't dare to utter a sound.
Now this old lady has the nerve to ask her for meat? Does she really think Qin Yalan is a pushover?
So Qin Yalan didn't wait for her honest husband to speak and said directly, "Mother, we have separated the family now. When we separated the family, we agreed that you and Father would live with the fourth son, and all the things in the house were given to the fourth son. Apart from the New Year's gifts, the other branches of the family will not take care of your living expenses."
So, Mother, if you want meat, you can't ask us for it. You should talk to Fourth Brother. By the way, we paid for last night's medical expenses, a total of five yuan and eighty-three cents. Would you like me to pay that now or deduct it from my year-end pension?
It shouldn't have cost this much to treat a small cut, but the old lady saw that Chen Tiejun paid the medical bills, so she kept asking for anti-inflammatory drugs, hawthorn pills, and a bunch of other useless things, which naturally increased the cost.
Qin Yalan hadn't intended to haggle over the money, after all, her husband was the old couple's son, and out of consideration for their upbringing, she didn't want to push things too far.
I just didn't expect this old lady to take advantage of my kindness and ask my husband for meat, a whole basin of it, as if she wasn't afraid of overeating herself.
Qin Yalan, who was furious, didn't care about anything else. Since you're so shameless, then don't even think about taking advantage of me.
No one in the room, including Chen Tiejun, expected Qin Yalan to bring up the medical expenses. For a moment, the room was completely silent.
Finally, the old man was the first to react, and with a stern face, he looked at Chen Tiejun and said, "Second son, you know your mother doesn't work, and my retirement pension isn't much, so..."
“Dad, Shuning is getting married soon, and Tiejun and I are a bit strapped for cash. Besides, this isn’t something I, as the daughter-in-law, should be saying, but you’ve said it yourself, that you two aren’t well-off. But I don’t think Mom’s way of spending money is right.”
We buy all sorts of medicines at the hospital, from anti-inflammatory drugs to hawthorn pills, whether we need them or not. People who don't know us would think we're incredibly wealthy!
These days, every family treats eating meat like it's New Year's Day, but my mother always insists on having a pot of braised pork.
I don't know about other families, but in all the years Tie Jun and I have been married, we've never eaten braised pork in a large bowl.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
