Chapter 23: Granny Wang Gets Angry

This time when Xiaomei came home, her grandmother was—as usual—waiting for her in the backyard.

At home, both her parents were cooking, but her mother looked visibly upset.

These past few days, her mother-in-law not only refused to do housework or cook, but also started pulling weeds and picking vegetables in the backyard, almost ruining her crops.

She couldn’t say anything about it, and she couldn’t complain to her husband either, because he would take his mother’s side. Coupled with her own mother’s illness, her mood was already at rock bottom. Gu Hua’e’s face was stiff with tension, and she slammed things around in the kitchen loudly.

Wang Peigen sat near the stove, sneaking glances at his wife. He knew she wasn’t happy with his mother’s recent strange behavior. To be honest, he was also starting to have issues with it.

His mother used to keep the house spotless and cook three orderly meals a day. But lately, she just stayed in the backyard all day.

And she wasn’t even the type to farm. Why the sudden obsession with weeding and picking vegetables? Even if she was into it, couldn’t she consider the priorities? He and his wife were already exhausted from going to work and caring for his mother-in-law. Now with his mother completely dropping the household duties, they had to come back after a long day of work and still cook meals.

It was just too much.

Just as he was about to comfort his wife, he heard footsteps. His mother walked in carrying two bags, followed by their daughter, Xiaomei.

Unable to hold back, he snapped at Xiaomei: “Xiaomei, you’re a girl. You’ve been out running wild all morning. Other kids your age are already helping out at home. You could at least help with the cooking. Stop playing outside all day.”

“Xiaomei, go help your dad with the fire. Peigen, take over the cooking. Hua’e, come with me,” Granny Wang ordered, face stern.

Xiaomei leaned in and whispered to her grandmother, “Grandma, there’s sausage in the bag. The lady said to slice it thin, steam it on top of the rice, and drizzle a little soy sauce. It tastes amazing.”

Granny Wang smiled, “Alright, let’s have that for lunch.” She pulled out the sausage from the bag. “Two kinds, right? Which one?”

Xiaomei took out the Cantonese-style one: “This one. The other’s spicy.”

Granny Wang took half a piece of the Cantonese sausage, handed it to her daughter-in-law, and sternly said, “Slice this half, rinse it, cut it thin, steam it with the rice, and add soy sauce before eating. Don’t get the other half wet. Bring it to me later—I have something to talk to you about.”

Everyone fell silent. Granny Wang’s stern demeanor still commanded respect in the household.

Xiaomei went to her dad. “Dad, I’ll handle the fire.”

Wang Peigen stood up, patted the dust off, gave her the spot, and went to his wife. He patted her and said, “Since Mom wants to talk to you, just go. I’ll take care of the sausage and bring the rest to her later.”

He winked at his wife—his way of trying to save her from his mother.

Gu Hua’e understood what he meant and quietly left to join her mother-in-law in her room.

The kitchen fell silent. Xiaomei felt a little wronged. She had carried a dozen pounds of goods back home and was exhausted. She’d been up early and hadn’t stopped all morning. Only Grandma cared about her—her dad scolded her, and her mom didn’t even give her a kind word.

Thinking about it, tears welled up and fell. She sniffled uncontrollably.

Wang Peigen immediately regretted lashing out. His daughter had always been smart and sensible, helping since she was little, even taking care of her younger brother. He loved her dearly and never thought less of her just because she was a girl.

If she had come home earlier—or later—he wouldn’t have taken his frustrations out on her.

Just as he was thinking about how to ease the tension, he suddenly heard her cry and immediately felt both guilty and heartbroken. He quickly put down the knife and went to her.

“Xiaomei, I didn’t mean to blame you. Everyone’s been on edge lately with your grandma’s situation…”

“Dad, I wasn’t out playing…” she burst into tears, unable to even explain.

Granny Wang heard her crying and stormed out of her room, throwing the bags to the floor. “These are the things your ungrateful daughter brought back early this morning! Take a look yourselves!”

“And,” she turned to her daughter-in-law, “your mom’s eel, bananas, preserved plums, water chestnuts—those were all brought back by your ungrateful girl! The steamed buns, pancakes you’ve been eating these past few days—did you ask who brought them? I’ll tell you, it wasn’t me—I’m not capable of that. It was this girl!”

She paused, then added, “There’s no more sensible child than this one. She saw you couldn’t get pethidine for your mom, so she went out trying to find a way. She’s out at the crack of dawn and back late, working herself thin. She won’t even eat the good things she brings home—she saves them for her elders and her brother. Never once does she think for herself. And you still aren’t satisfied?”

“I know you’re mad at me for not helping more around the house. But have you ever thought about it? She’s so little, going out to survive on her own, and I can’t help at all. I’m so anxious I can’t even stay inside. All I can do is pull weeds out back.”

Granny Wang’s eyes were now brimming with tears.

Wang Peigen and Gu Hua’e were both stunned.

One couldn’t believe how much their daughter had done without them knowing—and they even scolded her. It made their hearts ache with guilt.

The other was worried about Granny Wang’s health. After all, she was in her sixties, and although strong, her behavior had changed so drastically due to worry. What if she had some illness?

Their thoughts ran wild as they looked her over with concern.

Granny Wang rolled her eyes. “I’m not crazy. I’m perfectly fine. Aren’t you going to cook? Go! Hua’e, come with me.”

Once they went inside, Wang Peigen bent down, picked up the bacon and sausage, and continued slicing.

Xiaomei peeked in and almost giggled. She’d been worried the cookies would get crushed when Granny slammed the bag, but thankfully, Granny had already taken them out.

“Xiaomei,” her dad asked as he worked, “was Grandma telling the truth? You really brought all that back?”

“Mhm.” Xiaomei nodded.

“Where’d you get it all?” he asked again.

“Ask Grandma,” she dodged the question, not knowing how to answer.

“You kid…” Wang Peigen sighed. Clearly, she didn’t want him to know.

While father and daughter played verbal dodgeball, Granny Wang led Gu Hua’e into her room.

She handed her a half-pound bag of cookies. “Take these to your mom when you visit Hebei later.”

Gu Hua’e declined. “My mom has plenty of food, and she doesn’t eat much. There are still cookies left.”

“Then you keep them. I’m selling the rest, and if they stay here, I might sell these by mistake. What if your mom wants some later? Take them and store them safely.”

She stuffed the bag into her daughter-in-law’s hands.

Then she pulled out four more packets. “These are seeds Xiaomei got—new varieties.”

The seeds were wrapped in paper with labels. Granny Wang had already removed the original packaging.

“This is called kuai cai (quick vegetable), ready in about twenty days. Plant it soon.”

“This is willow-leaf amaranth—basically amaranth. Grows big and fast; the more you pick, the more it grows. Plant it too.”

“This is okra. I think it’s like sunflowers, but it’s edible and expensive. Make sure to space the seeds out.”

“This is a new corn variety—very tasty and expensive. Plant it along the backyard fence.”

“Our front yard’s pretty big. I’m thinking of fencing part of it off for the chickens and using the rest for vegetables,” she suggested.

Gu Hua’e took the seeds. “Mom, I’ll go see where we can plant these in the backyard. As for the front yard, you decide the fenced area for the chickens, and I’ll handle the rest.”

Granny Wang quickly said, “Don’t touch the four rose bushes on the west side behind the house, alright?”

“Got it,” Gu Hua’e said as she left—forgetting the cookies.

Granny Wang shook her head. Her daughter-in-law was a top-notch farmer—she’d get the highest work points in the team. If there were no limit, she’d score 15–16 points easily. But for everything else, she was just a bit slow on the uptake.