Chapter 95

In the village customs, men usually gather together while women gather separately.

Fan Jin accompanied the elderly men from the village outside, discussing how the rabbits and piglets were being raised.

The women were more interested in inspecting the rooms and houses.

Shuiqing was originally in the kitchen preparing the midday feast for the housewarming celebration when Xing returned and informed her that many village women had arrived to help. Auntie Li urged her to hurry and join the conversation.

This was typical in the village, where the presence of the hostess signified respect.

Upon arrival, Shuiqing overheard her sister-in-law complaining about preferring sons over daughters, as if afraid others didn’t know. She kept emphasizing how sons were better than daughters.

Shuiqing looked at Sun Jinhua and took a deep breath, saying, “Daughters are not inferior to sons. Jiang, He, and Hu’s rooms are located near the entrance because they are boys, making it convenient for them to come and go.”

Upon entering the courtyard with five rooms, it was spacious and impressive, not just for the convenience of Jiang, He, and Hu. In case of outsiders, they would take on the responsibility of protecting the entire family.

Yanqiu and Xinghui were girls; besides, it wasn’t very convenient for them to change clothes here and so on.

She considered the gender of each child as a priority and did not favor boys over girls or vice versa. But hearing Sun Jinhua constantly promoting sons as better than daughters still made her angry!

Sun Jinhua sneered and muttered, “Back then, when you insisted on dividing the family, you made sure the eldest and second daughters ate at the table. Now, as you build a new and large house, isn’t it just for your son to live in a big house? Saying daughters aren’t inferior to sons is just being polite! I bet the rooms of the eldest and second daughters are probably not as good as they were in my house.”

Shuiqing: … Is she acting arrogantly just because it’s a housewarming today and she wants good luck?

But it’s okay. Your time to embarrass yourself will come soon.

The small and thin Fan Zhaodi timidly tugged at her mother’s sleeve, softly reminding her, “Mom, we’re here to congratulate them.”

Sun Jinhua didn’t care about congratulating them; after all, it wasn’t her family building the house!

Even if Bald Zhang’s family built a new house in the village, she would be happier than seeing Shuiqing and her siblings build a house.

Today, she came to witness Shuiqing’s embarrassment and to cause trouble for her.

Sharp-eyed, she noticed the fabric on the bed and suddenly raised her voice, “Oh my, the bedding on this bed is made of fine cotton! Look everyone, this cotton weaving is really fine! The quilt is also very fluffy. Sister, could this be a newly padded quilt?”

“It’s normal to have new bedding in a new house,” Granny Xu intervened.

Most people knew Sun Jinhua’s character and didn’t like her causing trouble at happy occasions. They frowned.

Sun Jinhua raised an eyebrow and asked with a sideways glance, “Sister, are there new things in the rooms of the eldest and second daughters? Or are they still using old ones?”

“Why do I always end up speaking the truth?”

Shuiqing thought Sun Jinhua was annoying, and some families didn’t think having daughters was bad; they cherished their daughters. But with someone like Sun Jinhua constantly nagging in their ears, it was irritating and influential.

Shuiqing wouldn’t be affected, but she also didn’t want Sun Jinhua to continue influencing others negatively. She smiled and said to the crowded women and children in the room, “Come, let’s go take a look at Yanqiu and Xinghui’s rooms!”

“Good!” responded the people inside the room warmly.

They still didn’t believe Shuiqing would treat her daughter as Sun Jinhua claimed, letting her son live in a large house while her daughter lived in a corner. However, it was normal for daughters to have less than sons.

Not living in the same big house didn’t mean her daughter was being mistreated.

Sun Jinhua didn’t expect Hu Shuiqing to invite her to see it herself, so she followed along skeptically.

She followed with her steps, but deep down she couldn’t believe Hu Shuiqing would provide good houses even for her two girls!

After all, girls would eventually marry and move out. What was the point of giving them good, spacious houses? Wasn’t that wasting the house?

“Next to the main house are two ear rooms. Yanqiu, the eldest, lives in the eastern one, and Xinghui lives in the western one,” Shuiqing said with a bright smile. “My husband and I thought these two rooms are closer to us and closer to the latrine, making it convenient and safe for them at night.” She spoke in great detail.

She added, “We all grew up as daughters. Wouldn’t we know that when we were young, we wanted to be closer to our parents? It also gives us peace of mind having them nearby.”

Sun Jinhua refused to believe the rooms for her three nephews were better and pushed open the door first.

A wooden screen blocked everyone’s view.

In the village, with many people and few houses, the difference was having one room per family or, at best, one for each son and daughter.

With so many people in one room, who would think of needing to shield their view?

Everyone felt their eyes opened wide.

Then, following Sun Jinhua’s steps inside, they saw that the room where Jiang Helin had lived was not only more spacious than the ones by the rivers and lakes, but it was also thoughtfully divided into several areas.

Outside was a long wooden table, not with the needles and threads usual for a daughter’s household, but with writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs, and paper!

There was also a complete set of seats and wardrobes.

Further inside was a large bed, with a small green flower quilt they had never seen before, in a style they had never seen.

“The flowers on this quilt are so beautiful! They look so real. At my age, I have never seen flowers as beautiful as these,” said Grandma Xu, with her rough, dry hands gently caressing the fabric of the quilt, muttering softly.

Shuiqing: … Because this is something from Hua country. It’s normal if you haven’t seen it.

Indeed, Shuiqing bought this from the market. It’s both beautiful and convenient. She removed the zipper and sewed on a few ties to make it easier to wash.

“What fabric is this? Why does it feel even more comfortable than the fine cotton from earlier?” exclaimed Mrs. Wu repeatedly.

“Oh, the shopkeeper at the fabric store said it’s new goods from the capital city, a bit expensive. The husband couldn’t bear to buy too much, so he only got two for the girls; as for those three boys, tough as leather, fine cotton is enough. Daughters need finer things,” Shuiqing glanced at Sun Jinhua, her words carrying a pointed meaning.

Sun Jinhua pretended not to hear, stiffening her neck.

Ignoring wasn’t an option, with the surrounding women not allowing her to do so, reminding her one after another, “Jinhua, did you see? The girl’s room is not only spacious but also finely furnished.”

“It’s odd. They’re willing to buy new goods from the capital, who can still say you treat your daughters poorly!”

“Jinhua, learn from your sister-in-law and treat your little sister better!”

Sun Jinhua glared, about to argue, when Shuiqing calmly said, “Now that we’re mothers, we naturally want the best for our daughters, so they don’t have to endure the hardships we did as children and can make up for what we lacked.”

Everyone present, mostly women, was stunned by her words.

Even Sun Jinhua, ready to be angry, froze in place.