Chapter 27 : Partiality?

Jiang Sui felt there was nothing else she needed to buy, except the peach cakes she had promised Xiao Hechuan.

But what the mother and daughter-in-law didn’t know was that as soon as they stepped into the pastry shop, a young man followed behind them and stood at the shop’s entrance, glancing around cautiously, as if trying to confirm something.

Mother Xiao ended up buying two bags of peach cakes. Each bag cost 38 cents quite pricey, considering there were only a little over ten cakes in each. Still, they were delicious and had a long shelf life.

After purchasing the cakes, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left the city and caught a horse-drawn carriage heading back to the town.

Since they had finished their errands quickly, they returned to town early and then took an ox cart back to the village, arriving home around 3 p.m.

This was usually about the time they returned from temple visits, so neither Zhou nor Liu found anything suspicious.

However, this time Mother Xiao had bought so many peach cakes that Liu’s eyes lit up with greed. As soon as she untied the string around the cake bags, she eagerly reached out, but Mother Xiao gently slapped her hand away.

“Don’t be so hasty. Everyone gets some, I’ll divide them up.”

Seeing how immature her third daughter-in-law still was, Mother Xiao felt a bit disappointed. She was already an adult but still acted like a child.

Liu, pretending to be wronged, pouted and rubbed the back of her hand where she’d been tapped, as if Mother Xiao had hit her with force.

“It’s not me who’s being impatient, it’s your grandson who wants some,” Liu muttered.

Everything had to be about her grandson, Mother Xiao was getting tired of hearing it. If she only said it once or twice, it could be considered a joke. But repeating it every day was just annoying.

Unlike Liu, Xiao Hechuan waited patiently with Goudan, sitting quietly as they waited to be given their share.

Mother Xiao handed out two pieces of peach cake to everyone present. One bag was nearly empty afterward. She took one for herself, and saved the second bag to share with the men when they came home later.

As soon as Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan got their pieces, they both instinctively took one and offered it to each other.

“Eat more, wife.”

“Hechuan, this one’s for you too.”  

They spoke almost at the same time, clearly thinking the same thing always putting each other first.

Everyone was enjoying the cakes, but when they saw this little exchange, their attention turned to the couple.

Since Xiao Hechuan’s brain injury, he had developed a strong fondness for peach cakes. Every time his mother bought him some, he always felt it wasn’t enough. But now that he had a wife, he was willing to give half of his portion to Jiang Sui, it showed just how much he liked her.

Jiang Sui knew how much he loved peach cakes, which is why she wanted to give him half of hers, too.

She had tasted all kinds of fine pastries in modern times. This gesture… it was what people call “spoiling your loved one,” right?

“I already ate before I came back, so I can’t eat anymore. Please help me share it!” Jiang Sui made up an excuse to brush it off, gently pushed away the peach pastry Xiao Hechuan had handed her, and gave him her own piece instead.

As soon as Liu heard this, she was immediately displeased and looked over at Mother Xiao.

“Mom, you’re playing favorites! You’re being especially nice to Fourth Brother’s wife.”

This fool, couldn’t she see that it was just to coax a child? Yet she actually took it seriously.

Mother Xiao gave her a speechless look. Liu hadn’t even swallowed the peach cake in her mouth yet,  she was still chewing with puffed cheeks and looking disgruntled.

So, Mother Xiao handed the remaining pieces to her, Zhou, Lanlan, and Goudan.

Now, the whole bag of peach cakes was gone, and Liu walked off, satisfied with her haul.

In her heart, she thought, ‘I won’t stand for any favoritism.’

Later that evening, once the sun had set, Father Xiao and the sons returned. After dinner, Mother Xiao gave each of them two pieces of peach cake and, at the same time, quietly told her husband about their trip to the county earlier that day.

Only then did Father Xiao realize that the mother and daughter-in-law had quietly accomplished something huge and earned so much money.

“Well, well, you two are really something! You kept such a big deal to yourselves and didn’t tell anyone.” But honestly, Father Xiao hadn’t suspected a thing the night before that Mother Xiao had hidden something so significant.

“Can we tell you? Listen to me, don’t you dare let this slip. That silver belongs to Suisui. She’s the one who brought back the ganoderma and the ginseng. We have no right to touch it. How she chooses to spend it is her business. If she wants to share it with us, we’ll gladly accept it but only if she decides to.”

“You have to keep your mouth shut. Don’t let the second and third branches hear about this. If they find out and want a cut, what are you going to do, split it? If you do, that’s unfair to Suisui. After all, they didn’t do a thing to help.”

“I got it, old woman. Do you think I’m that clueless? I won’t say a word. Besides, it wasn’t easy for Jiang Sui to end up married to our Hechuan. She doesn’t mind, so why would we have any complaints? If you ask me, she’s the least troublesome one of the three daughters-in-law. Maybe you’re right, maybe she really is our family’s lucky star. Since she came, everything seems to be looking up.”

Father Xiao hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that he looked back, things did seem to be improving.

“Exactly. Suisui is well-behaved, smart, and capable. She can handle things both inside and outside the home. From now on, I’ve got an extra helping hand.” Mother Xiao beamed with pride.

But then she suddenly remembered something and said quickly, “By the way, I still have half of the silver with me. I need to give it to Suisui let you take a look, too. It’s beautiful, all that bright white silver.” She took out the money pouch like it was a treasure and opened it for Father Xiao to see.

Inside were small silver coins that jingled pleasantly when shaken, a sound that was comforting just to hear.

Father Xiao chuckled, eyes crinkling with amusement. ‘This old woman… You’d think she was money-hungry, but she doesn’t even want to touch her daughter-in-law’s money. But then again, look how happy she is just seeing the silver…*

Just as Mother Xiao was preparing to go find Jiang Sui, she bumped into her outside the door. Jiang Sui had come to give her the other half of the silver.

Mother Xiao immediately pulled her into the room and shut the door. Seeing this, Father Xiao quickly got off the kang bed, put on his shoes, and went to his eldest son’s room to play with his eldest grandson, just to avoid any suspicion.

Inside, Jiang Sui explained why she had come, she wanted to leave the rest of the money with Mother Xiao.

“Child, this money is all yours. You earned it, mother doesn’t want it,” Mother Xiao said, waving her hands repeatedly.

“I said I’d give you half,” Jiang Sui insisted with a gentle smile, then shook her head.

“Mom, I’m serious. I want to leave this money with you. Use it to help the family when needed. Honestly, I’m grateful to you for taking me out of the Jiang family, for helping me escape that nightmare. You’ve been kind to me and treated me with dignity. If it weren’t for you, I might have been sold off to some rich landlord in town as a concubine.”

“I remember everything you’ve done for me. I won’t forget it. I see you as my real mother. I trust you, and I want to treat you well. Leaving the money with you makes me feel at ease. Besides, my room is always so full of people, what if I lost it?”