Chapter 13: Thicker Skin Than a City Wall, Matchmaking Ye Qiu

One sentence made Widow Zhao’s expression subtly change. She couldn’t help but raise her voice. “Old Sister, I know you’re kind-hearted. Isn’t it because your Third’s Wife separated from the family that she now doesn’t respect you anymore?”

“A daughter-in-law should be obedient and well-behaved. Sure, Ye Qiu is good-looking—she’s famous for her beauty in the surrounding villages—but beauty can’t be eaten for meals.”

“I just said a few words and she beat me out the door. What if, when you get older, she refuses to take care of you? Won’t you be finished then?”

Widow Zhao spoke earnestly, trying to open her heart to Zhao Menglan, but Zhao Menglan let the words in one ear and out the other. She didn’t take in a single sentence. On the contrary, she felt like Widow Zhao was cursing her.

What did she mean, finished when older? A daughter-in-law wasn’t a real daughter. If she didn’t care for her mother-in-law, that was normal. Otherwise, why had she given birth to so many sons? If none of them supported her in old age, she might as well have birthed a slab of cured meat or roast pork.

Zhao Menglan had never believed that a daughter-in-law was supposed to be filial to her. Everyone had their own parents to be filial to—why should they be devoted to their mother-in-law? In contrast, if her sons weren’t filial, then she would be angry.

Seeing Widow Zhao still rambling on, Zhao Menglan didn’t want to chat any further. She forced a smile. “Chuanzi’s wife does have a bit of a temper, but a slap doesn’t make a sound with just one hand. Flies don’t land on eggs without cracks. I can’t control this matter either.”

“Hey—hey—Old Sister, listen to me.” Widow Zhao called out, trying to stop her. But Zhao Menglan didn’t even turn her head as she walked away, shutting the Lu family’s gate behind her.

Not only did she fail to borrow the clothes, she even got beaten up. Widow Zhao was so furious she was hopping mad. With nowhere to vent her anger, she turned and scolded her daughter.

“You and your picky taste! The cloth at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative wasn’t good enough, huh? Had to go after Ye Qiu’s clothes?”

Lu Xiaohuan felt even more wronged after being scolded. It was clearly her mother who didn’t want to buy new fabric for her, and now she was blaming her for having “high standards” and turning her nose up at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s cloth.

“If my standards are too high, fine—then without a new dress, I’m not getting married.” Lu Xiaohuan cried, wiping her tears before turning to leave.

A few days later, Zhao Menglan told Ye Qiu about the incident. Upon hearing Widow Zhao’s real intentions, Ye Qiu nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Never lend them. Once something’s lent out, it’s hard to get it back.”

Helping in an emergency was fine. Helping the poor long-term was not. Zhao Menglan didn’t believe for a second that Widow Zhao didn’t have enough savings to buy a few pieces of cloth. It was clearly just about taking advantage.

“Mom, is there anything you want to buy? I’m heading to Xiancheng again tomorrow.” Ye Qiu asked.

Zhao Menglan looked up. The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she still hesitated before saying: “We’re almost out of oil at home. Could you help buy some?” She even went home to fetch an oil coupon that was about to expire and handed it to Ye Qiu.

Just before heading out, Zhao Menglan noticed her eldest daughter-in-law eyeing the oil coupon in her hand. She sneered: “What, never seen an oil coupon before?”

“Mom, listen to yourself. Isn’t Third’s Wife spending money a little too freely? We’re one family, you know. Just a few days ago, Tianjie was whining for snacks and I didn’t buy him any.”

Why was her mother-in-law doting on someone else’s child instead of her own grandson? That was just against all principles. How could a daughter-in-law come before a grandson?

“Stop your passive-aggressive nonsense. Tianjie doesn’t give me any trouble. It’s you who only sees your tiny corner of the world. This oil is something I asked Chuanzi’s wife to help buy. Our oil jar’s been empty for days.”

Zhuang Meifeng grinned widely. “We’re all one family. Why so distant?”

“Get lost.” Zhao Menglan snapped with a roll of her eyes.

One family, was it? When they had asked Ye Qiu to return the grain, why didn’t they say we’re one family then? Zhao Menglan felt that Zhuang Meifeng’s skin was thicker than a city wall.

Ye Qiu took the oil coupon and went to the Xiancheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative. When Du Chunyu saw her, she quickly came over. “Sis, you’re here!”

“Get me two taels of oil, and some melon seeds and peanuts.” Ye Qiu said, pulling money and coupons from her pocket. But Du Chunyu didn’t take them.

“Sis, why are you being polite with me? Do you still have any of those Shanghai Milk Candies you brought last time?”

“Yeah, I do.” If it were anything else, Ye Qiu might not have had it. But candies—she had plenty, all kinds and brands.

“I’m getting engaged in a few days. Could you sell me five yuan’s worth of candy? If not five, even three yuan is fine.” Ye Qiu knew how hard it was to get candy nowadays. Her own parents had pulled strings and still hadn’t managed to get much.

But she really wanted her engagement to look good. The groom’s family had decent conditions, and they were well-matched. She liked him too. Her dress had already been tailored—only the fancy candy for show was missing.

On the market, each candy cost fifty cents. Du Chunyu didn’t want to put Ye Qiu in a tough spot. She just hoped to buy a few to decorate the candy tray.

Ye Qiu was overjoyed to hear that Du Chunyu was getting married and immediately agreed. She even used her cheap husband as an excuse. “No problem. My husband bought a lot earlier. I’ll share some with you.”

Du Chunyu thanked her repeatedly and reached into her pocket to pull out money, but Ye Qiu refused. They kept pushing the money back and forth, and in the end, Du Chunyu didn’t even charge Ye Qiu for the oil—she even scooped an extra two ladles on her own dime.

After returning home, Ye Qiu handed the oil to Zhao Menglan. Even though Zhao Menglan had never bought oil herself, she could tell by the weight in her hand that it was more than two taels. “This is more than two, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. One of the clerks at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative is my friend. She gave us a bit extra.” Ye Qiu replied casually. As for the unused oil coupon, Ye Qiu didn’t give it back to Zhao Menglan.

If she accidentally let something slip and her other sisters-in-law also started asking her to fetch things, what then? Go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative empty-handed to hunt for freebies?

Ye Qiu wasn’t about to make trouble for herself. She later traded the remaining oil coupon with an old lady by the roadside for a food coupon.

The old lady was thrilled. There was only one oil coupon per person per month. If they were calculating by value, Ye Qiu had actually taken a loss.

Zhao Menglan hadn’t expected Ye Qiu to have friends at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and she couldn’t help but look at her in a new light. But thinking about her character, she felt it made sense.

Ye Qiu was the type to love deeply or hate thoroughly. If she treated you as a friend, she would really help when needed. The Shanghai Milk Candy that Du Chunyu wanted—Ye Qiu delivered it to her the very next day.

Five yuan was only supposed to buy ten pieces. Ye Qiu handed her a whole big handful. Du Chunyu happily took it home, and when her parents saw that she had brought home milk candy, they were worried she’d been cheated, so they opened the bag and counted carefully.

Exactly sixty-six pieces. Even in Shanghai itself, five yuan couldn’t buy sixty-six pieces.

Du’s parents counted them over and over again and finally sighed in amazement. “Chunyu, this friend of yours is a real one. Don’t forget to invite her to your wedding meal.”

Someone who could casually hand over dozens of Shanghai Milk Candies wasn’t just anyone. Mother Du even began subtly inquiring about Ye Qiu’s family. If Ye Qiu wasn’t married yet, her nephew back home was just at the right age for matchmaking. Who knows, maybe something could be arranged.