Chapter 6: Hair Pulling and Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law Dynamics

Sun Hongmei was fuming. Although she didn’t care much for her grandchildren, it was still a joyous occasion for the family. This morning, she had dressed herself up meticulously, sitting at home waiting for neighbors to visit.

However, she waited from dawn till midday, moving from the inner room to the courtyard entrance, and only a few people came by.

Upon inquiry, she learned that they had all gone to Lin Yue’s place.

She was furious! In the past, no matter what happened, she was the one who took the lead. Whenever someone had an issue, she was the one who went to offer help. Why were these people now giving gifts to her family, but they were delivered to Lin Yue’s place instead?

The more Sun Hongmei thought about it, the angrier she became. She wanted to go to Lin Yue’s house right then and there to confront those people. What kind of logic was that?

However, she also knew that she had acted disgracefully during the family division, fearing that the group of people would bring it up if they were together today, so she held back and didn’t cause a scene.

Who knew that in the afternoon, Liu Zhishu’s wife, Miao Lanfang, came to tell her that yesterday afternoon, Principal Xu had gone to Liu Zhishu to ask about Lin Yue’s situation in the village. He also mentioned that she was a military family member, and if anything happened, the higher-ups would investigate.

Liu Zhishu, after hearing Principal Xu’s advice, was terrified. He knew all too well the kind of life this young daughter-in-law had been living since her arrival.

Knowing that his wife was close to Sun Hongmei, he specifically instructed her to remind Sun Hongmei not to make things too ugly.

Miao Lanfang was afraid that it wouldn’t be appropriate for people to hear this in the morning when Sun Hongmei’s house was full of people, so she delayed until the afternoon to tell her.

It was meant to be a kind gesture, but Sun Hongmei couldn’t stand Xu Enyuan saying bad things about her. After barely managing to restrain her temper and send Miao Lanfang away, she immediately stormed over to Lin Yue’s house, determined to get to the bottom of things.

Lin Yue, hearing her harsh words, was unwilling to tolerate it. “What are you saying? Don’t spread rumors here!”

Sun Hongmei didn’t want to be overheard by others, and she originally planned to go inside and question Lin Yue. Now, she didn’t care anymore. She blurted out, “Tell me clearly, what’s your relationship with Xu Enyuan? You’ve already married into my family, why is he still running over to protect you? Tell me the truth!”

Lin Yue was amused. Was she accusing her of having feelings for Principal Xu? She immediately retorted, “What do you mean by involving Principal Xu for no reason? He’s old enough to be my father. It’s just a coincidence that he came to see me. Why are you making it sound so dirty?”

Sun Hongmei didn’t care about her explanations. She just kept scolding, “You’re trying to become a capitalist’s daughter, I spit on you! I tell you, you’re just a cheap life. I could trade you for half a sack of grain, and you still want to be a lady? Don’t you know if you have the life for it?”

Her insults were too harsh, and Lin Yue’s anger couldn’t be contained. She had no reverence for her mother-in-law like the original owner did, and she reached out to push her away.

Seeing her reach out, Sun Hongmei thought she was going to hit her. The original owner’s weak and submissive personality was deeply ingrained, and she couldn’t believe that Lin Yue would dare to fight back. She angrily grabbed Lin Yue’s hair and raised her hand to slap her, continuing to curse, “You little slut, you dare to fight with me? You’ve gone too far! I’m going to beat you to death, you dog!”

Lin Yue wouldn’t let her get away with it. She grabbed her arm and twisted it.

Sun Hongmei, in pain, was forced to let go of her hair. Her other hand still wanted to slap Lin Yue’s face.

Sun Hongmei was short, almost a head shorter than Lin Yue.

Lin Yue grabbed both her hands, taking advantage of her height to hold her firmly half a meter away, and said angrily, “If you keep this up, don’t blame me for fighting back!”

When Wang Xiuxiang arrived, she saw this scene: Lin Yue was holding her mother-in-law’s hands, pushing her hard, and there was a bystander outside the fence, Liu Guafu.

She quickly stepped in to separate them and pulled Lin Yue behind her. She then turned to Sun Hongmei and persuaded her, “Third Aunt, what are you doing? Your daughter-in-law just gave birth. No matter what the reason, you shouldn’t be fighting with her at this time!”

Sun Hongmei’s hair, originally slicked back, was now disheveled. Her face was flushed red, and she was panting heavily.

Seeing that someone had come, she sat down on the ground and started crying, “My son, come back quickly! Your wife is trying to beat me to death. This is truly unjust!”

Wang Xiuxiang quickly went over to pull her up. “Third Aunt, what are you doing? Get up. If you have something to say, let’s talk about it inside.”

Suddenly, a female voice came from behind, “What’s there to talk about? She just wanted to slander someone, and then she was pushed out by her daughter-in-law, right?”

Then, she said disdainfully, “I say, Hongmei, do you think your daughter-in-law is some kind of celestial being? Don’t you dare to pee on yourself and take a good look. She’s skinny and dark, with no flesh on her bones. Principal Xu must be blind to even look at her!”

The speaker was Liu Guafu. After she finished speaking, she puffed out her chest, her face full of disdain.

Lin Yue was stunned by Sun Hongmei’s sudden change of tactics. She had originally wanted Wang Xiuxiang to leave her alone, but now, seeing the drama unfold, she didn’t mind Liu Guafu’s insults. She pulled Wang Xiuxiang over and stood at the door, watching the show.

Seeing Liu Guafu laughing at her, Sun Hongmei pointed her finger at her nose and cursed, “You shameless hussy, always trying to get into men’s pants! What business is it of yours? Stop your nonsense!”

Liu Guafu didn’t get angry. She covered her mouth and laughed, “What’s wrong with me getting into men’s pants? I only do it with men I find worthy. Some good-for-nothings try to butter me up, but I don’t even bother with them. You, on the other hand, hold onto your man like a precious treasure!”

Sun Hongmei lunged at her, wanting to repeat her previous tactic and tear her hair out, cursing, “Who are you saying is buttering you up? Tell me clearly! You stink from five miles away; your own husband wouldn’t even look at you!”

Seeing that they were about to fight, people started gathering around. Lin Yue and Wang Xiuxiang exchanged glances and quickly stepped forward to intervene.

Both women were quite strong. Wang Xiuxiang, afraid of hurting Lin Yue, pushed her back and, along with Wang Sanshen who had just arrived, pulled the two women apart.

Sun Hongmei was still furious and struggled to get back to Liu Guafu.

Liu Guafu’s reputation was terrible. Wang Xiuxiang and Wang Sanshen didn’t want to have too much physical contact with her, so they both held Sun Hongmei back.

At this point, Liu Guafu’s hair was also loose, and two buttons on her padded jacket had come undone.

She had seen a lot of drama in her life. Seeing that Sun Hongmei was being held back, she didn’t take advantage of the situation and instead took a few steps back.

She reached out to smooth her hair, which had been messed up by Sun Hongmei, her voice soft and weak, but loud enough for everyone watching to hear. “I say, Hongmei, it’s your own business to discipline your daughter-in-law, and I wouldn’t say anything. But spreading rumors about Principal Xu is not good. Principal Xu is a young intellectual who came to support rural construction in response to the call. He’s a good man. You shouldn’t ruin his reputation like this!”

Sun Hongmei cursed, “I spit on him! Xu Enyuan is a capitalist bad element! He should be sent to the cowshed with the rest of the black elements!”

Liu Guafu continued to be sarcastic, “Oh, I say, you haven’t even spoken to Principal Xu. Your two sons don’t even go to his school. I say, Hongmei, what grudge do you have against Principal Xu that makes you hate him so much? Oh, I know. Didn’t you always brag about being a maid in a wealthy family and having seen the world? Could it be that you were in Principal Xu’s house? Did you try to climb into bed with him and get kicked out? Oh, Zhiwei, your son’s real father has been found!”

The last sentence was sung with a twist and excitement, angering Sun Hongmei so much that she wanted to rush over and tear her face off. However, her arms were being held, so she could only kick her legs wildly.

Those watching the spectacle heard Liu Guafu’s words and many started to cheer, as excited as if they were watching a play.

An older woman scolded, “Enough, enough. What’s there to cheer about? I say, Liu Jinfeng, gossiping is one thing, but you can’t joke about things like this. You should at least have some decency for your son!”

Liu Guafu hated it most when people mentioned her son. She muttered a few obscenities and twisted her body as she walked away.

Lin Yue was enjoying the show, but then Liu Guafu blurted out that sentence, leaving her speechless. This woman was ruthless. She was trying to make her lover and brother become siblings!

Seeing Liu Guafu leave, the onlookers gradually dispersed. Zhang Zhiwei, who had been hiding in the crowd, was discovered. Some uncles and older brothers walked up to him, deliberately jostling him and teasing him.

They thought it was a joke, but Zhang Zhiwei didn’t think so. His face turned red with embarrassment. After everyone had left, he rushed over to Sun Hongmei, grabbed her, and dragged her home.

Seeing her husband, Sun Hongmei lost her previous arrogance. She glared fiercely at Lin Yue before obediently following Zhang Zhiwei.

Wang Xiuxiang was the eldest daughter-in-law of Su Dashen’s family. She had come to deliver dinner to Lin Yue. Now that everyone had left, she pushed Lin Yue towards the house. “You’re still in confinement. It’s so cold outside, and you’re only wearing this little bit of clothing. You’re standing in the wind. What if you get sick? Come inside quickly!”

Su Dashen had indeed cooked a whole chicken for Lin Yue. Wang Xiuxiang brought out a full bowl of chicken soup noodles, with a layer of yellow oil floating on top.

Lin Yue thought she would find it greasy and wouldn’t be able to drink it, but perhaps this body was too lacking in oil and water, because she didn’t feel disgusted at all. She ate almost the entire bowl, soup and noodles.

Wang Sanshen also followed them into the house. Seeing Lin Yue eating so deliciously, she swallowed hard.

Fearing that she would make a fool of herself, she hurriedly asked, “What was your mother-in-law making a fuss about just now? How did it involve Principal Xu from your village?”

Lin Yue felt there was nothing to hide and told her the whole story.

Wang Xiuxiang was exasperated, “How could you fight with your mother-in-law? People will laugh at you if they hear about this!”

Wang Sanshen also said, “That’s right. Even if your mother-in-law is wrong in a thousand ways, you, as a daughter-in-law, can’t do that. As a daughter-in-law, you can’t talk bad about your mother-in-law. You should be filial to your in-laws!”

Lin Yue: … Are you serious?

Wang Xiuxiang glanced at Wang Sanshen. She had a lot to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She just poked Lin Yue’s forehead repeatedly with her finger.