Chapter 18 – Sisters-in-law

Although Chen Rou had quite a few opinions about Mother Han, when it came to something as significant as Han Guolin’s wedding, she didn’t object.

That afternoon, the man who mended pots arrived with his carrying pole. He had been brought over by Chen Rou’s mother from the neighboring village.

The last time Chen’s mother came over to deliver the wild chicken, she had learned that her daughter needed to fix a pot. Now that the pot mender was passing through the village today, she brought him along.

However, there wasn’t enough time today. He was only here to familiarize himself with the route and would return tomorrow morning. Besides, there were quite a few people in the village who needed pots repaired.

He would fix them all tomorrow, but of course, Chen Rou’s would be the first.

Since Han Guolin was getting married, Han Guobin didn’t go hunting and instead helped purchase quite a lot of things for the wedding.

Even the thermoses that the family had been desperately short of—Han Guolin’s wedding brought back two of them.

Looking at the new quilts, new table, new cupboard, and the thermoses and enamelware, Han Dasha (the eldest sister-in-law) couldn’t help feeling a turbulent mix of emotions despite having received fifty yuan.

Chen Rou also thought that the Han family’s old couple were really going overboard.

“So biased it’s ridiculous! We got nothing, and now that Third Uncle is getting married, everything is brand new!” Han Dasha said through gritted teeth.

Chen Rou replied, “Isn’t the third sister-in-law just marrying into a house full of blessings?”

Even though fifty yuan was given to both the first and second branches of the family, it couldn’t even compare to the value of a single bicycle—let alone all those new things.

Who knows when the thermoses were bought? She had gone twice—once with Zhou Zhen and the others, and once with her husband Guobin—and couldn’t get one either.

Clearly, those thermoses were incredibly hard to buy.

At home, they were still using regular kettles, which couldn’t keep water warm.

But it wasn’t just the two sisters-in-law who felt this way. Anyone who had taken a look at the new couple’s room couldn’t help but be extremely envious.

This kind of life was probably no different from that of city folks!

On November 23rd of the solar calendar, the 30th day of the 10th lunar month, Han Guolin got married.

Their third sister-in-law, Song Xiaoyu, was brought over in a brand-new bridal outfit.

Song Xiaoyu was quite good-looking and the same age as Han Guolin—both were twenty this year, a great age for marriage.

Moreover, since she was still working at the township’s supply and marketing cooperative, she had a legitimate job. Her parents were also salaried workers—respectable and proper. No other daughter-in-law in the entire village had such status.

“This is eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law,” Han Guolin said with a glowing face as he introduced Han Dasha and Chen Rou.

“Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, I’m young and inexperienced. If there’s anything I don’t do well in the future, please bear with me,” Song Xiaoyu said politely.

Han Dasha and Chen Rou naturally exchanged a few courteous words.

“What’s so great about her bookish speech? She’s just got a township household registration,” Han Dasha whispered to Chen Rou after they stepped outside.

“But she’s eating commercial grain and has a proper job, making over ten yuan a month. That’s more than a hundred yuan a year. How many years would it take us to save that much?” Chen Rou said.

There was no denying it—this third sister-in-law was truly impressive. Otherwise, why would their father- and mother-in-law be so doting on her?

Once grandchildren were born, there’d be in-laws who also ate commercial grain.

Han Dasha was momentarily speechless.

Chen Rou added, “But we don’t need to curry favor with her either—it’s not like we rely on her to eat.”

“That’s right. Guowu and I got a fair amount of grain this year. And don’t think eating commercial grain means it’s all easy—those folks still have to tighten their belts to get by. It’s not uncommon for them to skip meals!” said Han Dasha.

That was true. But even so, villagers still envied those who ate commercial grain.

Being able to eat commercial grain was considered a badge of honor.

“Auntie is so nice! The milk candy she gave us was so sweet and yummy!” Han Dasha’s two sons, Tiedan and Lüdan, came running over excitedly.

“If milk means a mother, why don’t you just go be her sons instead?” Han Dasha scolded them.

“Can we?” Her two sons’ eyes lit up with excitement, almost driving Han Dasha mad with anger.

Chen Rou laughed, “They’re still young. Why fuss with them? If you’re upset, just eat more later when we head home.”

But clearly, she underestimated her mother-in-law’s shamelessness. She had only called them over to work and serve food. There was no way the two sisters-in-law were going to get a seat at the table.

Han Guobin even came over to ask Chen Rou to eat a little while helping. But how could she eat much while working in the kitchen? She just snuck a few bites when Mother Han wasn’t looking.

She didn’t eat much, but at least she didn’t go hungry.

Only after everything was over did Mother Han stingily give her and Han Dasha two bowls of leftovers.

Chen Rou refused. It was all leftover food. Though there were still a couple of small pieces of meat in it, she still said, “Mother, keep it for yourself. We still have some at home, we don’t need this.”

Mother Han was only too glad to see her decline.

Walking out together, Han Dasha couldn’t help but say, “Are you dumb? That was meat!”

“Just think of it as showing filial piety to our elders,” Chen Rou replied.

She said the same thing to Han Guobin when they returned home and he had had a bit to drink.

Han Guobin didn’t say much in return. “Wife, you go rest. I’ll cook you some noodles.”

“We’ll eat together later. I’m not very hungry now,” Chen Rou replied.

“I’ll go into the mountains tomorrow,” Han Guobin then said.

Because of his younger brother’s wedding, he hadn’t gone for several days. The weather was turning very cold, and it might snow soon. He could still go into the mountains when it snowed, but it wouldn’t be easy.

He was hoping to try his luck and maybe run into a wild boar.

Chen Rou took out a sweater and said, “Then tomorrow, I’ll make some egg pancakes for you to take with you.”

Han Guobin nodded.

Chen Rou continued knitting the sweater—it was nearly finished, and she could complete it tonight so he could wear it.

Han Guobin lay on the heated brick bed watching his wife. When Chen Rou looked up and saw him watching her, she rolled her eyes playfully and said, “What are you staring at?”

“Wife, you’re really beautiful,” Han Guobin said contentedly.

“No matter how pretty I am, I still have to be your wife and give you children,” Chen Rou replied.

This body of hers truly was beautiful—it wasn’t an exaggeration to say she was the village flower. Especially after she came here and started taking better care of herself. Though they hadn’t eaten particularly well, it was far better than before.

She had put on some weight and looked much healthier now.

Hearing her words, Han Guobin couldn’t describe the warmth he felt inside.

He had drunk a little, and while lying there, he eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already around five in the evening.

Chen Rou had finished the sweater by then. That night, they had pumpkin gruel for dinner. She gave him two pieces of pickled vegetables as side dishes, and that was it.

She herself didn’t even have any side dishes—just drank the gruel.

Ever since the pot at home was fixed, everything had become much more convenient.

After the couple finished eating, Chen Rou began boiling water.

Once the water was ready, she called Han Guobin in to scoop some. She was going to go inside and wash herself up.

“I’ll check next time if there’s a large basin for sale. I’ll buy one for you to bathe in,” Han Guobin said.

There was only one basin at home, shared for both washing faces and feet. Typically, one would wash their face first, then their feet.

Chen Rou had lived through the apocalypse—what kind of harsh environment hadn’t she experienced? She wasn’t the type to fuss over such things. Besides, she always scrubbed the basin clean after washing her feet, so sharing it was just fine. Buying another one just to separate usage? Money wasn’t meant to be spent like that.

The heated brick bed in the house made the room warm and cozy, not cold at all. Chen Rou comfortably wiped herself clean.

Han Guobin waited outside. Once his wife was done, he came in to dump the used water, then washed her worn clothes and hung them under the eaves. After that, he fetched a basin of water for himself to wash his feet.

The weather was getting very cold now, so Chen Rou was already wearing her thermal underwear. Seeing her like that made Han Guobin’s eyes glaze over.

After washing his feet, he moved closer.

“Hmm?” Chen Rou looked at him, puzzled.

“Wifey,” Han Guobin said as he pulled her into his arms.

He just wanted to hold her. But with the fire in him burning so fiercely, seeing his wife wrapped snugly in thermal wear was driving him mad.

Chen Rou could clearly sense her man’s passion.

She looked at him, and Han Guobin’s face flushed slightly. He said, “I won’t touch you, just want to hold you.”

“Why not touch me?” Chen Rou knew the answer, but asked on purpose.

Ever since she got pregnant, he hadn’t touched her again. But when a couple lies together, how could she not notice what he’s going through?

She also understood that he was just worried. Although she hadn’t heard anything about pregnant women not being able to have marital relations, she still appreciated his concern.

“You’re not in a convenient condition right now,” Han Guobin said.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to touch his wife—he wasn’t a saint. But she was pregnant.

“I miss you,” Chen Rou said softly as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Wifey,” Han Guobin was missing her terribly too. Hearing her voice like that made his entire body go stiff.

“It’s okay,” Chen Rou said with a soft laugh.

There was no need to worry about whether he would be gentle—he always had been.

Once Han Guobin confirmed it was alright, he got very excited. Afterward, the two of them cuddled sweetly and fell asleep early.

The next morning, Chen Rou got up early to knead and rest the dough, planning to make egg pancakes for him to take with him.

Breakfast was still a simple porridge. After they ate, she packed up the egg pancakes for him to bring along.

At home by herself, Chen Rou didn’t have much to do anymore. She used to have sweaters to knit, but now there was no need. The fabric she had previously cut had already been made into clothes, now stored in the wardrobe for next year.

So, after thinking it over, Chen Rou headed to the backyard and decided to harvest the radishes and cabbage.

Zhou Zhen came over, munching on sunflower seeds as she said, “It’s so cold these days, I bet it’ll snow in a few days. Did your Guobin go into the mountains again?”

“Yeah,” Chen Rou replied.

It really was cold—she figured it must be only about five or six degrees Celsius. But she wasn’t worried. She had thermal underwear underneath, a sweater, and a thick jacket. She wouldn’t get cold. Neither would Han Guobin—he left the house bundled in a heavy coat, with a sweater underneath. He ran warm by nature and wouldn’t freeze.

There weren’t many radishes and cabbages in the private plot, so it didn’t take long to finish harvesting. They had to save them for winter. Even though it was just the two of them, they still had to be frugal.

While chatting with Chen Rou, Zhou Zhen said in a low voice, “Your sister-in-law is something else. I heard she’s got your in-laws wrapped around her finger. They treat her better than their own daughter—completely doting on her.”

“Well, their precious youngest son brought home a town girl with a proper job. Of course they’re like doting parents now. If she ever felt unhappy and wanted a divorce, it wouldn’t be the girl who lost face—it’d be them,” Chen Rou said calmly.