Chapter 26 I don't care to eat Meng family food...
Du Li looked up in disbelief.
"What are you looking at?" Du's mother was furious at his gaze, and she scolded him even more fiercely: "You're so easily bribed by a little favor, you shallow-minded thing. Now look what's happened, I wonder how your mother-in-law will laugh at me behind my back, you've made me lose all face."
Du Li was both angry and heartbroken. His nose stung, but he didn't want to shed tears in front of her anymore, as that would only make her look down on him. He gritted his teeth, enduring the most painful moment, and chased after her into the east wing, asking, "Mother, why do you have to treat me like this? Am I your child, or the child of your enemy?"
As soon as he said it, his jaw was trembling.
"What did I say wrong? Did I starve or thirst you at home? Why did you have to go to the city to beg for food? Are you pretending to be blind or acting stupid? Don't you know your mother and mother-in-law don't get along? She's just waiting to see me make a fool of myself, and you're even going so far as to let her laugh at me." Du's mother became angrier and angrier as she spoke. She pointed at him and scolded, "Are you my son or her son? She says a few nice words and gives you a little treat and she's got you wrapped around her little finger. As soon as the work in the fields stops, you eagerly bring this vegetable and that vegetable to other people. I've never seen you be this filial to me."
“My mother-in-law has never made fun of you. She has never even asked about you. She doesn’t even ask about our family matters. It’s all your own suspicion and paranoia…”
Du's mother was completely enraged. She lost her temper and grabbed the spinning wheel next to her, smashing it at him.
This time, Du Li didn't wait to be hit. He turned and ran, shouting loudly in the yard, "My wife and son live at the Meng family's house. Shouldn't I go see them? What's wrong with me bringing some vegetables?"
Du's mother chased him out and tried to hit him. Du Li ran out of the yard, and he accused him, "Do you have any manners as a mother-in-law? Your daughter-in-law cares about your son and you can't stand it? She pays out of her own pocket to buy food for the family and asks someone to bring it back, and you not only don't appreciate it but also scold her. How can you act like an elder?"
"I don't care about that stuff!"
"Don't eat the food after you bring it back."
"You've gone too far! You dare to talk back to me!" Mother Du grabbed a chicken-herding stick and chased after him, hitting him. "Stop right there! You dare to run away? You've got some nerve! If you're so capable of running away, then don't come back!"
"Second sister-in-law, what are you doing! Your second son is such a grown man, and you're still yelling and shouting. Doesn't he have any dignity?" Aunt Du rushed over from home and said angrily, "I could hear you yelling at home. What are you yelling about? What kind of mother would drive her son away?"
Du's mother didn't give her a good look. She pointed at Du Li and said, "Your nephew is terrible. He's getting dumber as he gets older. He goes against his own mother and is always biased towards his in-laws. He's completely siding with outsiders. He doesn't have a single filial piety in him."
"You can't say things like that lightly." Aunt Du frowned and asked seriously, "You don't want him to live?"
Only then did Mrs. Du realize she had said the wrong thing, and she awkwardly shut her mouth.
Aunt Du was furious. Her sister-in-law was getting more and more confused. She had no self-control and dared to say anything. Once she was labeled as unfilial, Du Li could never hold her head up anywhere.
Several families around came out of their homes to watch the commotion. Du Li, feeling the heat of the stares, lowered his head and walked home.
Du's mother snorted.
"Second sister-in-law! Even if you're shameless, you have to think about Du Min. He's not married yet. If your reputation is ruined and you get a reputation as a wicked mother-in-law, what decent girl would dare to marry into this family?" Aunt Du said, making it sound very serious.
"How am I a wicked mother-in-law?" Mother Du jumped three feet high in anger.
“I heard everything the second son said. You’re wrong no matter where you go. His wife takes care of her brother-in-law’s food and drink in the city and is worried about whether her in-laws are eating enough. She’s a good wife.” Aunt Du shook her head.
"What's all this commotion about?" Aunt Du also arrived. She and Du's mother had always been at odds, the two sisters-in-law had been at odds for two or three decades, and Aunt Du would seize any opportunity to kick Du's mother while she was down, and this time was no exception. Taking advantage of her status as the eldest sister-in-law, she scolded, "If you keep shouting any louder, the whole village will hear you. The old are unkind, and the young are disobedient. If you have no shame, go make your fuss behind closed doors, don't come out here and ruin the reputation of our branch of the family."
Du's mother was furious. "What's it to you?"
"You ungrateful wretch!" Aunt Du spat at her.
"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing." Aunt Du quickly intervened to break them up. "Go back to your own homes, don't let outsiders laugh at us. I'm going back to cook dinner too, I don't have time to argue with you."
Du's mother returned in a huff, only to find Du Li sitting under the eaves wiping mulberry leaves as if nothing had happened. She opened her mouth to scold him again.
"If you curse me again, I'll leave tomorrow. I'll stay at my mother-in-law's house and never come back. You can hire someone to do the work in the fields." Du Lixue and his wife threatened him with the work in the fields.
Mother Du opened and closed her mouth again and again, but couldn't utter a single word. Her face turned purple with rage, and with a loud "Aow!" she clutched her chest and went back into the house to cry. "They've all gone too far! They've all grown wings and are threatening me now… What kind of life is this! The children I raised aren't sons, they're all wicked creatures…"
In the past, Du Li would have felt anxious and guilty upon hearing her cry, but this time he remained calm and unmoved.
After watching a grand opera, Li Hongguo finally came out from the east wing, with Qiaomei clinging to her back like a quail.
“Having a powerful backer really makes a difference,” Li Hongguo remarked cryptically.
Du Li paused.
"Qiaomei, go get some kindling, I'll cook." Li Hongguo only dared to make sarcastic remarks, afraid that Du Li would cause trouble for her, and she quickly went into the kitchen.
Du Li continued wiping the mulberry leaves.
Not long after, Du Laoding and Du Ming returned from the fields. When Du Laoding saw Du Li, he said, "There is still water in the paddy field. We need to let it dry for another day or two. Tomorrow, we'll cut down the beans on the ridges."
Du Li nodded, "Okay."
"Did you see your third brother when you went to the city this time?" Old Ding Du asked.
"Second brother, you're home? I need to talk to you about something." A thin, short old man came in with his hands behind his back.
"Big brother," Du's father called out in a rather unenthusiastic tone.
Du Li stood up and called out, "Uncle, please come inside."
“I’m not sitting here. I heard from your aunt that you had a fight with your mother. You’re a son, a junior, don’t you know what filial piety is? You dare to yell at your mother, what? Don’t you want to live a normal life anymore?” Uncle Du scolded loudly.
“It’s my mother…” Du Li tried to explain.
"Shut up! Stop arguing! You've got some nerve," Uncle Du scolded. "If you argue with me again, I'll slap you."
Du Li lowered her head and remained silent.
Du Ming stood to the side, head bowed guiltily, secretly relieved that word of his troublemaking at home hadn't spread.
Uncle Du scolded Du Li, then reprimanded Du Laoding: "Second son, how do you manage your wife? The older she gets, the more unreasonable she becomes. I heard from your sister-in-law that your second son's wife bought you food, but your sister-in-law not only didn't appreciate it but also scolded her. What's wrong with you? You're the ones who wanted to marry her, and even if you disliked her because she's a merchant's daughter, you should accept that. By treating her like this, you're not only ruining your family's reputation, but also the reputation of our entire clan. Will the men of the clan not marry and the women not get married?"
Old Du didn't know anything, but he understood about 70-80% of what he was being scolded for. His face was as sour as if he had been fermenting manure for half a year, and he felt like he was going to grind his old teeth to dust.
Uncle Du felt relieved to see him like this, gave him a few more scoldings, and then strolled away with his hands behind his back.
"Where is your mother?" Old Ding asked Du Li.
“Inside the house,” Du Li said, pointing to the west wing.
Old Du, his face dark with rage, kicked the door. "Now you know you're shameless? What are you doing hiding in the house? You disgraceful thing, I'll beat you to death."
Du's mother darted out from the west wing like a spinning top.
Qiaomei exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! My grandma runs so fast!"
Li Hongguo reached out and covered her mouth.
"What are you doing? You hit me? If you want to hit someone, hit your good son. He's the one who caused all this trouble," Du's mother shouted.
Seeing that she still dared to speak loudly, Du's father took off his shoe and chased after her, hitting her. Du Ming saw this and hurriedly tried to stop him. He didn't dare to push Du's father, he could only block. Du's mother hid behind him and was unharmed, but he was hit several times by the sole of the shoe.
Mr. Du was exhausted from running, so he put down his shoes and panted heavily.
Du Ming rubbed his sore flesh, suspecting that his father was trying to hit him, as the sole of his shoe kept hitting him, each hit louder than the last.
"Jiang Hehua, let me tell you, if you cause me any more trouble, you'll be sorry," Mr. Du warned gruffly, his anger still burning.
"I'm looking for trouble? It's the second son who's causing trouble. If he doesn't yell at me, would I hit him?" Du's mother retorted.
Old Du didn't believe it at all. Du Li wasn't the type to cause trouble for no reason. He was like a tamed ox in a cowshed; he would only bellow when the whip drew blood.
“If you don’t mention his wife, he’ll be fine.” Old Ding knew what Du Li cared about.
Du Li never expected his father to stand by him today, and he couldn't help but confess honestly: "Qingniang felt sorry for me because I was too thin, so she planned to ask a passing boat to bring back some food on every even-numbered day so that our family could fill our stomachs when we were hungry. When I told my mother about it, she mocked Qingniang for being stingy and said I was embarrassing her, scolded me for being short-sighted, and said that my mother-in-law would laugh at her."
When Du Laoding heard that he was going to take off his shoe and hit someone again, Du Ming dodged away, afraid that the sole of the shoe would hit him again.
Old Ding glared at him, then pointed at Du's mother and cursed, "You still say it wasn't you who caused trouble? You're getting the short end of the stick and you're still not satisfied?"
"Do you think I care?"
"If you don't care, then don't eat it." Old Du was furious when he saw that she was determined to argue with him today, like she was made up of a rock.
"Fine, I won't eat it. I don't care about the Meng family's food." The thought of Granny Pan laughing at her behind her back made Madam Du furious.
Old Du ignored her and went to sit in the main hall to wait for the meal to be ready.
Du Li went to the silkworm room to feed the silkworms, and Qiao Mei followed him in. "Second Uncle, will my Second Aunt still buy us food?"
"Yes, the day after tomorrow afternoon, go to the ferry crossing. When a boat comes and calls my name, go and pick up your luggage," Du Li said. He then instructed, "You must not play in the river at the ferry crossing. If you fall into the water and can't get out, you'll die. Then you'll never be able to eat the sweet biscuits, fragrant flatbreads, and soft rice cakes that your second aunt bought."
"I definitely won't play in the water," Qiaomei said loudly.
Qiaomei was preoccupied with this matter, and the next day after lunch, she ran to the ferry.
"The ship won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon," Du Li reminded him with a smile.
"I'll go check, just in case they're here today." Qiaomei ran off like a butterfly.
Not only Qiaomei was concerned, but even when Du Li was cutting soybean stalks on the ridge of the field, his eyes would involuntarily glance at the river where boats were passing by when he occasionally got up to massage his back. If a boat happened to pass by, even though he knew it wouldn't be the one he was waiting for, his heart would still race and he would break out in a cold sweat.
The unwelcome sun rose and fell again, and as it began to set in the west once more, a covered boat arrived at the Dujiawan ferry crossing.
"Who are Meng Qing's in-laws?" the boatman asked, staring at a group of young girls at the ferry.
"Me, me, me, my second uncle is called Du Li, Meng Qing is my second aunt, and my name is Qiao Mei." Qiao Mei jumped out happily.
The boatman used his oars to hand the heavy bamboo basket ashore, saying, "Here you go, wait for me here at this time the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you, Grandpa Boatman."
Qiaomei picked up the basket, but found she couldn't lift it, so she had to ask for help: "Sister Qiuyue, can you help me?"
"Then you have to share some food with me." Qiuyue is Uncle Du's granddaughter. Her three older brothers are all in elementary school. The family has a lot of money and is very frugal with food and clothing. She doesn't eat well at home, so she craves food when she's out.
Qiaomei was reluctant to part with him, so she changed her mind and said, "I'm going to call my brother."
"If you run away, we'll take all the food from the basket."
Qiaomei was so angry she almost cried.
"Hurry up and take it to the field, don't delay." The boatman was afraid that the girl would make a mistake, so he said, "Little girl, please help her. Her family will definitely not shortchange you once the things are delivered to the field."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a familiar figure running towards him like the wind; it was the same dark-skinned, thin man from the day before yesterday.
"Boat, boatman, do you have my luggage?" Du Li was almost out of breath from running.
The boatman pointed to the basket on the bluestone slab, "The goods have been delivered, I'm leaving."
"Second Uncle..." Qiaomei wanted to complain, but in the blink of an eye she saw her second uncle pick up the basket and leave, so she quickly picked up her leg and chased after him.
Du Li was stingy. There were about ten children at the ferry crossing, all from the same clan. He couldn't decide whether to give one or not. If he gave them all, it wouldn't look good if he gave too few, and he couldn't bear to give too many. So he could only pretend to run away in a hurry.
Everyone in the family was harvesting rice in the fields, including Jinshu. When no one was home, Du Li opened the door, went inside, and took two Biluo (a type of rice cake) to put in a box.
"Second Uncle, Second Uncle..." Qiaomei chased after him.
Du Li took the basket and went out, "Qiao Mei, come quickly, let's eat first."
The bamboo basket contained cherry biscuits and red bean paste biscuits on the top layer, and mint cakes on the bottom layer. Du Lige took one out, broke off half of each, and handed it to Qiaomei.
“I’m going to take the basket to the field. Are you coming with me or staying home to play?” he asked.
Qiaomei couldn't keep quiet, so she showed him with her actions that she was going to the fields.
Du Li carried a basket in one hand and ate a cherry pie in the other. The pie had a crispy skin and soft flesh, and the cherry juice inside had been baked out, but the color of the cherries was still bright, just like fresh cherries.
"Second Uncle, you run so fast!" Jinshu came running back, panting.
"Brother, look, these are cherries, they're so sweet. Here, have some." Qiaomei proudly presented her treasure.
Du Li gave him a cherry.
The three men, uncle and nephew, ate as they walked, and by the time they reached their own paddy field, all three were full.
"Father, elder brother and sister-in-law, come and have something to eat," Du Li called out loudly. "Qingniang has brought back Biluo and cakes."
Mr. Du and his wife walked out of the rice paddy one after another, leaving only Mrs. Du still bent over cutting rice in the field.
"Mom, come and have something to eat." Du Ming offered his mother a way out.
"I won't eat it!" Du's mother said gruffly. "You good-for-nothing, aren't you ashamed?"
Du Li was pleased, but he pretended not to hear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com