Chapter 56: Idle Gossip and Marriage Lessons

Aunt Huang nodded seriously, then glanced at her grandsons, who were completely absorbed in their comics. She motioned for Ming Dai to come closer.

Ming Dai leaned in, and Aunt Huang whispered, “Child, listen to me. Even if he’s a madman, he’s still a man. You must be careful and never let him take advantage of you. You’re still young and may not understand, but gossip can be deadly. Once something happens, it’s too late to fix it. If anything goes wrong, come straight to me. Even if I have to fight that lunatic, I’ll make sure you’re safe. Do you understand?”

Though her words were firm, her voice trembled at the thought of an actual fight.

Ming Dai felt touched. “Auntie, don’t worry. I’m being careful. Besides, I’m treating his illness. Let’s see if I can cure him.”

Aunt Huang was taken aback. It seemed that Ming Dai’s medical skills were far more advanced than she had let on.

Doctors from the city had been called in by the commune to examine Zhou Sinian, but they had all said there was no cure.

But Ming Dai wasn’t someone who spoke carelessly. If she said she could treat him, then she must have a way.

Aunt Huang’s eyes lit up as she looked at Ming Dai—what a treasure this girl was!

Too bad she had given birth to nothing but a toad!

“Well! If you really cure him, the whole commune will beat drums and gongs to thank you!”

Ming Dai laughed. “I’ll do my best!”

After sharing a hearty laugh, Aunt Huang began filling Ming Dai in on the village gossip.

She talked about how Ergouzi’s wife loved taking advantage of people—anyone picking vegetables near her house couldn’t leave without her snatching at least one green onion.

The woman with a birthmark from the east side of the village always shorted people a few cents when they helped her buy things—her skin was as thick as a wall.

Then there was Widow Zhang’s chicken, which had a habit of wandering into other yards and losing eggs. When one went missing, she immediately accused the stuttering neighbor of stealing it. She even stood outside his house cursing for an entire day until she managed to swindle an egg out of him.

And then, she started talking about Luo Cheng’s mother, Widow Luo…

“That woman is tough—she raised five children on her own, and one of her sons even became a company commander. That’s considered quite an achievement around here. But it’s a pity… Widow Luo is crooked at heart. She only favors her eldest and youngest sons, but she doesn’t like the one who’s actually the most successful—her second son.”

“Luo Cheng is blindly filial. He sends all his salary and allowances back to his mother, and she just hands it over to the eldest and youngest sons. He doesn’t get to keep a single cent for himself.”

“Last year, they even built a new house—one room for the eldest, one for the youngest, but none for the second son.”

“And why? Because she knows he’s already at the age where he should be getting married. If she doesn’t arrange a marriage for him, he’ll keep sending money home for a few more years. She’s deliberately delaying him.”

Ming Dai looked at Aunt Huang with admiration. If she were in the modern world, she’d be the ultimate internet commentator—her analysis was spot on.

Seeing the admiration in Ming Dai’s eyes, Aunt Huang spoke proudly. “Hmph! Widow Luo is making the dumbest mistake. When a family has multiple sons, the worst thing you can do is play favorites. She thinks she’s helping her eldest and youngest, but she’s only driving the three brothers further apart. Unless the second son never gets married, things will come back to bite her!”

Ming Dai, eager to hear more, quickly poured Aunt Huang another bowl of malted milk and waited expectantly for her to continue.

Aunt Huang took a sip, smacked her lips in satisfaction, and then began a serious lesson. “Listen, a man like Luo Cheng? If you can avoid marrying him, do it. He may look successful on the outside, but there’s nothing solid underneath.”

“A man who listens to his mother in everything might seem like a good, filial person, but wait until you marry him! That’s when you’ll realize you’ve stepped into a life of suffering. You won’t even have a place to voice your grievances, and if you dare to complain, he’ll turn around and accuse you of being unfilial!”

Ming Dai nodded furiously. That was too true! Wasn’t that just a classic mama’s boy?

She almost wanted to give Aunt Huang a standing ovation!

Aunt Huang, being detail-oriented, went on to teach her a few practical ways to judge whether a family would be a good one to marry into.

She explained that one should never choose a family that favored sons over daughters. “Like my second daughter-in-law’s family,” she said, “it’s fine for a man to marry a wife from such a household, but a woman should never marry into one. You’ll suffer endlessly after having kids.”

She also warned against only judging a man by himself—his parents and elders mattered too. “If his father or elders have a habit of beating their wives, be cautious. That kind of upbringing makes it very likely that he’ll do the same.”

And then, she talked about men’s personalities. “Never pick a smooth talker—those types are too flirty and prone to fooling around. But also avoid men who are so dull that they never say a word. When they explode, it’s the scariest thing. You need to find someone responsible, someone who’s willing to take care of you and stand up for you.”

…

Ming Dai felt that every piece of advice was golden and quickly jotted everything down.

Aunt Huang, feeling as if she had finally experienced the joy of having a daughter, was deeply satisfied.

“I’ll teach you more bit by bit in the future. If you have any questions, we can discuss them together—just don’t get carried away and make rash decisions,” she said.

Ming Dai found this incredibly reasonable and nodded seriously.

Seeing her reaction, Aunt Huang was pleased and switched the topic to something happening in the front courtyard.

“This time, there really is someone from your educated youth group who isn’t going to help with the reservoir construction—it’s that young lady who came with you all.”

Ming Dai immediately understood. “Fang Rou?”

Aunt Huang nodded. “Yeah, her. What was it? Square Rou or Round Rou, whatever her name is. Your uncle said she’s got some big connections. The city directly issued an order for her to go teach at the commune’s primary school. What a joke! If she was so afraid of hardship, why did she sign up to go to the countryside in the first place? She just caused trouble for nothing, and your uncle even got scolded for supposedly mistreating her.”

Ming Dai figured it probably had something to do with the fact that the Fang family hadn’t collapsed yet, so they were still able to pull some strings for her.

“In any case, you should keep your distance from them. That whole group is full of trouble—better not get involved if you can help it.”

Ming Dai obediently nodded.

The two of them continued chatting, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, Tiedan and Goudan were happily eating and reading, completely immersed in their books.

As the sky darkened, Aunt Huang glanced outside and decided it was time to go home and prepare dinner. She called her two grandsons and got ready to head back.

Goudan hadn’t finished reading his book and was reluctant to leave, whining and dragging his feet. Aunt Huang raised her hand, ready to give him a smack.

Ming Dai quickly stepped in to stop her. She grabbed a small basket, carefully packing up the leftover fruit, along with the book Goudan hadn’t finished. She also added the clam oil she had used on them earlier.

Then, she handed over the towel she had used to wipe their faces. “Auntie, let the boys use this towel. I have plenty at home—I got them from the city through trade.”

Aunt Huang thought about how her grandsons were always messy, their noses constantly running. She nodded in agreement. But hearing that Ming Dai had gotten these from the city piqued her interest.

“Xiao Ming, girl, is it easy to trade for these things in the city?”

Ming Dai nodded. “It’s easy! The city folks lack food, but they have plenty of these items. Every holiday, different factories distribute supplies—towel factories give out towels, glove factories give out gloves. They’re all really cheap.”

Aunt Huang’s eyes lit up. “If I ask you to trade for some, would that work?”

Ming Dai had been waiting for this. “Of course! I happen to be sending some things to my father’s superior in the city, so I can trade at the same time.”

Aunt Huang was thrilled. “That’s great! I’ll go home and ask around to see if anyone else wants to trade. I’ll let you know everything at once. But, Xiao Ming, let’s set things straight—you’ll only help us trade. We’ll cover the cost and the postage ourselves.”

Ming Dai smiled and nodded. “Of course!”