Chapter 45 – Tang-shi’s Thoughts

Back when the Yan family was first proposed as in-laws, Tang-shi had actually been reluctant to marry her daughter into them. There were no proper elders in the household, too many brothers—it was essentially a “den of bachelors.”

And in those difficult times, without the protection of parents, it was uncertain whether such a household of children could even survive.

But what could she do? The years weren’t good, and every household was struggling. The Yan family didn’t have any reliable close relatives either.

Who could’ve predicted that the eldest daughter of the Yan family would be so capable? She had actually sold herself into servitude and used the money to raise the younger siblings.

Looking now at the row of neatly built brick-tile houses, even Tang-shi herself felt that she had a good eye—for finding such a solid match for her daughter.

No parents-in-law to manage her, and she could be the mistress of the household the moment she entered. What’s not to like?

Even if there was an older sister acting like a maternal figure, Yan Fengru was truly capable. To avoid being a burden on her younger brothers, she had actually gone out and gotten married.

As Lin-shi’s birth mother, Tang-shi was certainly pleased—because she knew clearly that this so-called “eldest sister” was basically no different from a mother.

This eldest sister-in-law had sacrificed so much for her younger siblings that if she decided not to marry for life, she’d become a “Buddha” in the household—her word would carry the same weight as a mother-in-law’s.

If Yan-shi had been difficult to get along with, then with her daughter’s level of shrewdness, she’d be the one to suffer. And this wasn’t Tang-shi overthinking it.

It’s natural for parents to raise their children, but for an older sister to sell herself to raise her siblings—well, that kind of kindness was immeasurable. It carried significant weight.

Because of her sacrifices, Yan Fengru’s word in that household likely carried more authority than anything else.

As long as the Yan brothers had a shred of conscience, they’d feel indebted to their sister for life—always one head lower than her.

Thankfully, Yan Fengru got married.

But when word came that she had split from Gu Dapeng and moved back in with the Yan family, Tang-shi had been nervous for days, tossing and turning at night.

That’s why she started coming to the Yan house every few days.

Now that she heard Yan Fengru was set on building a new house and moving out, Tang-shi finally felt at ease.

Because this matter wasn’t simple.

If Yan Fengru and her two children didn’t build their own home and continued living in the Yan household, no one would say anything. After all, this was her family, and she had done so much for her brothers. Her return would be seen as seeking refuge and perhaps even due recompense.

But if something were to happen to her or her children while living there, the Yan brothers would be entirely responsible. It would be like having three living ancestors in the house.

But if she built her own house, things were different. Even though they’d still be living nearby, Yan Fengru and her children were still members of the Gu family. Gu Dapeng couldn’t just wash his hands of them.

Sure, the Yan brothers might still stay close with their sister and niece and help out when needed, but that would be regular kinship interaction—within the bounds of normal family duties.

Tang-shi had lived most of her life; these twists and turns in reasoning weren’t something Lin-shi could figure out in a day.

Fortunately, Tang-shi didn’t explain it in detail either.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuzhu had obediently washed her hands and face.

Afterward, she even applied the jasmine balm and milk cream that her aunt had bought for her.

These ancient skincare products were actually pretty good—made purely from plants. Especially the custom-made milk cream her aunt had ordered for her, which had a faint milky fragrance mixed with herbal notes.

It was Gu Yuzhu’s favorite face cream.

She smelled the light scent, patted her soft little cheeks, and thought, Mmm, comfy and pretty!

Tang-shi had still been mulling over her daughter’s situation, but seeing the little girl so neat and tidy, even remembering to apply her balm, she couldn’t help but smile.

Her own granddaughter was about the same age—four or five years old—but what did she know? Eating and dressing herself was one thing, but being able to apply cream with such efficiency was rare.

She had to admit, Yan Fengru really did have a way of raising children.

“Oh my! Who’s this little fairy? Just look at this child!”

Tang-shi grinned like a chrysanthemum, sincerely praising Gu Yuzhu.

As an adult in a child’s body, Gu Yuzhu naturally understood everything. But since their positions were different, she didn’t say anything. All in all, her aunts and their families weren’t bad people.

“Good morning, Aunt Tang. Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Ohhh!” Tang-shi was instantly thrilled. “Listen to that clever little mouth! If only our kids had half this wit—I’d be laughing in my sleep! Yes, Auntie already ate.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her two grandsons who were playing in the dirt turned their heads—one glanced over briefly and then looked down again, while the other gave her a silly smile with a big toothy grin…

Tang-shi: “…”

At that moment, she truly saw the difference between boys and girls.

In Lin-shi’s generation, their family had mostly girls. Tang-shi herself had only one son. When her mother-in-law was still alive, she had suffered a lot—mocked by her sisters-in-law who had given birth to sons.

So Tang-shi had always believed that boys were better.

Wasn’t that how it was in every village? Boys were the family’s labor force, the future backbone. Of course, boys were preferred.

When Lin-shi got married, Tang-shi, as her mother and a woman who had been through it all, had reminded her daughter to bear plenty of sons for Yan Xingye! She had to “strive for success.”

Because Tang-shi only had one son and the rest were daughters, her daughters had a harder time finding suitors.

There was even a local superstition: they believed that a mother’s fertility would pass down to her daughter. So if someone had only daughters, people would say, “Look, that woman gave birth to nothing but girls. Don’t marry her daughters—what if they can’t bear sons?”

This kind of village gossip was completely unreasonable.

As a mother, Tang-shi naturally hoped her daughter would “do well.” And Lin-shi really had lived up to expectations. After marrying into the Yan family, she gave birth to two sons in a row.

And now, with a third on the way, by old folk wisdom, this one should be a boy too.

She had been rather proud of that… until she looked at Gu Yuzhu.

She remembered her daughter telling her that in the entire Yan household, Gu Yuzhu was the only girl. Maybe because of all that Yan Fengru had done in the past, everyone in the family adored the girl.

In that moment, Tang-shi thought: if her daughter’s unborn baby turned out to be a girl… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad after all.

After all, her daughter was luckier than she had been—already with two sons. Having a daughter now would be quite nice, too.

…

After eating her noodles, Gu Yuzhu told her second aunt Lin-shi and went back to squatting in the backyard. With her older brother and mother both gone, the day really did feel a bit dull.

Gu Yuzhu had to find something to do. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the scallions she’d planted seemed a little sturdier today?

She quickly went back into the house, locked the door from the inside, and entered her space.