Chapter 2: Mother-in-Law

But of course, she couldn’t just say it outright.

It just so happens that Han Chao had such a personality when he was a child, and he was even in the newspaper some time ago.

Su Hong brought the newspaper straight to Chen Yufeng: “Look, Yufeng! It says here that Han Chao won the ‘Best Elite Soldier’ award. Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying he’s good at stabbing and killing people?”

Chen Yufeng ignored her, so Su Hong took the gossip to the town square: “I’ve been married into this family for ten years. I remember the year I came, Han Chao was sixteen. You all didn’t see it, but he once jumped from the fourth floor of the town hall while being chased, split his butt open, and still managed to knock out his pursuer with a brick before passing out. He was hospitalized for half a month, and when he woke up, the first thing he did was look for another brick to continue the fight. If that kind of person can stop fighting, I’ll eat dirt.”

“Yufeng shouldn’t follow him. If he beats his wife behind closed doors, who’s going to find out?” someone chimed in.

Another added, “She absolutely shouldn’t go to the capital. What if he kills her? Husbands don’t get punished for killing their wives. Yufeng has waited seven years for him—she shouldn’t end up losing her life too.”

Su Hong clapped her hands, “I say Yufeng should just stay here. My mother-in-law may be blind, but she’s still strong. She can feel her way around the kitchen and help watch the house. Han Chao sends money home every month—Yufeng could spend it all without a care. Life here is cheap, and no one would bother her. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Aunt Sun, who was always sharp-eyed, happened to be passing by after selling her tofu. She interjected, “Su Hong, that’s not right. Yufeng has twins and raised them all on her own—she’s had a tough life. Meanwhile, your two sons have been practically raised by your mother-in-law, who also runs your stall and manages your house. She’s worked tirelessly for over a decade. Yufeng staying here makes sense, but your mother-in-law is your responsibility.”

Who was she trying to fool? It was obvious that Su Hong didn’t want Yufeng to follow her husband because she wanted help taking care of the blind old woman.

A weasel wishing a chicken a Happy New Year—clearly up to no good.

But Su Hong was clever with her words.

She laughed and said, “Aunt Sun, I’m a devoted daughter-in-law. I’m more than willing to take care of my mother-in-law until her last breath. Even if she’s bedridden, I’ll clean her up without complaint. But the problem is, she keeps asking for the second son’s family to take care of her. What can I do about that?”

Everyone exchanged glances and quietly dispersed.

Married to an unreliable man and stuck with a cunning, black-hearted sister-in-law—who could Chen Yufeng share her woes with?

Aunt Sun thought of visiting Chen Yufeng, not to solve her problems but at least to comfort her.

But when she reached the gate, it was closed tight, flowers blooming beautifully around it. Clearly, Yufeng was in no mood to chat.

So Aunt Sun left a bowl of leftover tofu at the doorstep, knocked to let her know, and went on her way.

Inside, Chen Yufeng was washing the shrimp after cleaning the mushrooms she’d gathered that morning.

The fresh mushrooms were now drying by her feet.

She planned to turn the best ones into oil-preserved mushrooms to sell, keeping the lower-quality ones for herself.

After the shrimp were cleaned, she took out some soaked rice noodles.

Guihua Town was close to the capital, in the north, where rice noodles were rare. But her mother-in-law was from Yunnan and had brought along her skill for making springy, chewy rice noodles from ordinary rice, glutinous rice, and taro.

She fried the shrimp heads first to make shrimp oil, then used that oil to sauté the mushrooms and fresh shrimp. She layered the toppings over the rice noodles and poured leftover chicken broth from the night before. Setting the clay pot on the fire, the wood crackled to life.

Just after Aunt Sun left, Yufeng had her daughter bring in the tofu.

She had no time for gossip—she still needed to cook the mushrooms.

Everyone in town was arguing about whether she should follow her husband or not, thinking she must be overwhelmed and undecided.

But Chen Yufeng had already made up her mind.

Initially, she didn’t want to follow him.

The twins were about to start school, and the local school was right by her house. Once they started, she could start a small business, live comfortably, and avoid the foul-tempered man. Wouldn’t that be ideal?

But recently, she made up her mind—she had to go.

First, her mother-in-law knew that conflicts between siblings and in-laws were inevitable. She had split the family assets early on, assigning herself to the eldest son’s household, clearly intending for them to care for her until the end.

But you can’t foresee everything.

Her sister-in-law used to be sweet-talking, caring, and friendly to everyone.

But since the old woman went blind and the doctor mentioned her condition might require expensive treatment, her sister-in-law had changed her tune, demanding to divide the family again.

Now, all that’s left is for them to roll up the bedding along with the mother-in-law and dump her at Chen Yufeng’s place.

When she was healthy, they had her working for them. Now that she’s sick, they want to shove her off onto someone else. Where in the world does such a good deal exist?

If Chen Yufeng stayed in her hometown, sooner or later, her sister-in-law would find a way to send her mother-in-law over.

It’s not that Chen Yufeng refuses to take care of her, but there’s simply no logic in a mother-in-law dedicating half her life to the eldest son’s family, only to turn around and expect the younger son’s family to care for her in old age.

Then there was the issue of her daughters’ education.

Hadn’t she just had a dream?

When she woke up, she could clearly recall the course of her life in that dream.

It was said that in the future, because she had two daughters and no son, she would feel deeply inferior. Determined to have a son, she would nearly cause her husband to lose his job. Worse yet, she herself would die on the operating table due to complications from childbirth.

Chen Yufeng had never given serious thought to having a third child. But since she had two daughters, her mother-in-law, her own mother, and nearly everyone in town constantly urged her to try for a son. Over time, their persistence made her waver.

However, now that she knew she would die in childbirth, there was no way she was going to risk it.

In the dream, she had also stayed back to take care of her mother-in-law because of their close bond, delaying her move to the capital to join her husband by two years.

At first glance, two years earlier or later didn’t seem to matter much. But in that dream, her daughters had never attended early childhood programs, spent their first two years of schooling in the small town, and had no special skills or talents. When they later transferred to a school in the capital, they struggled in every subject, becoming timid and insecure. Eventually, they met an early demise.

Her daughters were everything to Chen Yufeng.

Anything that was good for them, she had to do.

As dawn broke, the rooster crowed, and the rising sun cast a golden glow over the fields. In the courtyard, Chen Yufeng was shredding mushrooms while her daughter, Tiantian, watched over the stove.

The flames licked at the edges of the clay pot. First, the aroma of sizzling oil filled the air, then the broth inside began to bubble.

The fresh river shrimp, combined with the rich, umami flavor of the mushroom-infused chicken broth, created an irresistible fragrance that quickly filled the courtyard.

Tiantian watched as the pot lid rattled from the steam and called out, “Mom, the pot’s boiling!”

Chen Yufeng rinsed her hands at the well, grabbed a cloth, and lifted the lid. Inside, the pale pink shrimp, mushrooms soaking up the deep brown broth, and the plump, glistening rice noodles came together like a delightful symphony.

In one swift motion, she chopped a handful of green onions and sprinkled them into the pot. Then, she scooped a portion of broth into a clay bowl, placed the bowl of tofu pudding given by Aunt Sun on top as a lid, and handed it to Tiantian.

“Take this to your grandma and your sister. They won’t need to cook for lunch; they can just eat this.”

“But Mom, I’m so hungry.”

Although her mother had left some cornbread for breakfast, Tiantian hadn’t eaten it. It had turned cold and hard, making it impossible to chew. She hadn’t eaten anything all morning and was now starving.

Chen Yufeng scooped out several large chopsticks full of rice noodles, added two spoonfuls of broth into another clay bowl, and said, “Then eat with your sister and grandma!”

“Okay, Mom!” As long as she could eat as soon as she reached her grandma’s house, Tiantian had no complaints.

Watching her daughter walk out the door carrying the clay bowl, Chen Yufeng finally sat down to eat.

She had been up since four in the morning, hiking up the mountain to pick mushrooms. In her rush, she had skipped breakfast, and now she was dizzy with hunger.

But just as she picked up her bowl, a loud clatter came from behind the house, followed by her sister-in-law’s voice:

“Mom! That was the meal I just made for you! Why did you knock it over? What do we do now? I’ll start the fire again and cook something new, okay?”

“Cook what? I’m not eating,” came another voice—sharp and full of temper. It was her mother-in-law.

Her sister-in-law cautiously suggested, “I can smell the food from Yufeng’s house. How about I go over and ask her for a bowl for you?”

Chen Yufeng was eating straight from the pot. The pot was big, but there wasn’t much food inside—only two shrimp total. She glanced at her meal and curled her lips into a smirk.

Before she could respond, her mother-in-law’s voice rang out again.

“Su Hong, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. When I was well, I watched your kids and managed your household. Now that I’m blind, you want to dump me on Yufeng?”

“Mom, why do you always think that? You just want to go to Yufeng’s house, don’t you? Stop making a fuss—I’ll cook for you right now!”

Her sister-in-law muttered complaints under her breath as she headed into the kitchen. But just as Chen Yufeng picked up her pot again, she heard her sister-in-law exclaim:

“Ow! My back hurts so much! I need to lie down for a bit!”

Enough was enough.

Chen Yufeng grabbed her clay pot and headed straight to her sister-in-law’s house.

Guihua Town was nestled among rocky hills, with houses built against the slopes. The homes were all quaint, stone-bricked buildings with blue-tiled roofs. In front of every house was a small stone courtyard, and green onions, cilantro, and fresh cabbages grew in the cracks of the stone walls. Looking down the row of houses, every doorstep was bursting with greenery.

Her mother-in-law, Wang Guoguo, stood in the courtyard, gripping the stone wall, fuming with anger.

Despite having several grandchildren running around, Wang Guoguo was not an old woman.

She had given birth young and was only 46 years old. Slightly thin with fair skin, she carried herself with a straight back and proper posture—just like her personality, rigid and upright.

But blindness had made her pitiful.

Two weeks ago, she had stumbled outside and accidentally fallen into the river. Not only had she lost her most treasured jade pendant, but she had nearly drowned.

Her eldest son had pulled her from the water, but she had developed pneumonia and only recently recovered. She had lost a lot of weight.

Now, she leaned on a wooden cane, standing beside a bowl of watery rice noodles. A flock of chickens eagerly pecked at it, fighting over the bits of food.

“Mom,” Chen Yufeng said, handing her a pair of chopsticks. “I made some food. Let’s eat together.”

“Han Chao is coming home soon. Instead of packing up and getting ready to leave with him, why are you here?”

Hearing no response, her mother-in-law raised her voice.

“I raised Su Hong’s children and ran her household. As a mother-in-law, I did my duty. Now that I’m blind, it’s Su Hong’s turn to take care of me. Why should that be Yufeng’s responsibility?”