Chapter 27: Yan Meihua

Yuan-shi still wouldn’t give up. Seeing her former son-in-law looking so despondent, she secretly spat, “That vixen! That shameless old woman!” At such an age, she was still flirting around, charming men until they lost their minds. Disgusting!

But no matter how skilled that vixen Yan-shi was, didn’t she still have to pack up and take her two children and leave?

When Yuan-shi first found out that Yan Fengru had taken thirty taels of silver from the family savings, she nearly exploded. But now that she’d calmed down, her former son-in-law was still staying with her biological grandson. Wasn’t she counting on Qingshan to take care of her in old age? Gu Dapeng was still young. He could still work and earn for ten, maybe even dozens of years.

Wasn’t that silver essentially her grandson’s?

Now that the families had split, Qingshan would be taking care of Gu Dapeng in his old age. Shouldn’t she win Gu Dapeng over?

Besides, with that vixen Yan-shi gone, her former son-in-law was still under forty, in the prime of his life. How could a man like him bear to live without a woman? So, Yuan-shi leaned in close to Gu Dapeng and said, “They’re gone now, don’t look anymore. Dapeng, you’re still young. How can you live without someone to care for you? Qiuxia is Chunyan’s biological younger sister. When Chunyan was alive, she loved her sister the most. Why don’t you show her a little love? Even if she marries in as a concubine, with her running the household, I can feel at ease, can’t I?”

“Look at Changwen—he’s still small. And Li-shi is pregnant. When that baby is born, as a man, won’t you be in a mess trying to handle everything on your own?”

The more Yuan-shi spoke, the brighter her eyes shone.

It was as if she hadn’t noticed Gu Dapeng’s darkened expression at all. Gu Dapeng was truly fed up. The Gu family wasn’t particularly wealthy or noble, so he couldn’t understand why his former mother-in-law was clinging to him so tightly.

“Mother, let’s drop this. Qiuxia is Chunyan’s sister—her real sister. You know that. If, right after Chunyan passed, you brought this up, and I ended up making do with Qiuxia, that would’ve been understandable. But now? What is this? People will laugh!”

Hearing this, Yuan-shi’s eyes sparkled even more.

“Why would people laugh? It’s a matter of mutual consent—who dares to laugh?”

Her eyes widened in a fierce glare, as if ready to tear anyone’s mouth apart if they did laugh.

Gu Dapeng: “…”

Gu Dapeng thought her whole idea was ridiculous. Back then, Yan Fengru—with better conditions—was available, and being the schemer he was, he locked things down with her quickly. Yuan-shi didn’t even have time to act before it was all too late, left only to sigh in regret.

Now he made it sound like Jiang Qiuxia might’ve had a chance back then.

Of course Yuan-shi regretted it! She was just that one step too late!

“Enough. Don’t say any more about this. For the sake of my sister-in-law’s reputation, I can’t do this. Shui Lian still needs to get married in the future! Qiuxia is still young. If she really wants to remarry, she should do it while she’s still young. She shouldn’t tie herself to someone like me.”

Yuan-shi was choked into silence. But Gu Dapeng had reminded her—she had gotten too fixated. She had been thinking about pairing her second daughter with her former son-in-law, but did that mean her Qiuxia wasn’t desirable?

Nowadays, it wasn’t unusual for widows in the countryside to remarry. If there were widows, there were also widowers, or men who, for various reasons—poverty or age—couldn’t find wives.

Such men didn’t care if the woman was still a virgin. As long as she could have children and build a life with them, that was enough. Jiang Qiuxia’s circumstances weren’t outstanding, but they weren’t bad either. Her son was already grown, and her young daughter wouldn’t be a problem.

Even if she had to bring the kids along, it’d just be like bringing a dowry along to the husband’s house.

…

After finally brushing off his former mother-in-law, Gu Dapeng fell into gloom again…

The Yan family lived in the same village, but actually a bit farther off. The residents of Qingshan Village were scattered in clumps, east and west. These clumps were sometimes separated by small hills, but with regular visits back and forth, the hills had been paved with stone, turning into village paths.

The Yan family lived on the other side of a small hill. Yan Fengru and her two children were temporarily staying at her eldest brother’s home.

The three Yan brothers still lived in the old house, but after some renovations, it had become spacious and grand. It looked like an ordinary farmhouse, but the walls were much higher than average, with sharp stones embedded at the top. When Gu Yuzhu saw it, she was quite surprised—but her eyes quickly lit up.

Such high walls, about two meters tall, and they even had sharp stones at the top—was this a martial arts world where people flew through the sky?

Ah, who hasn’t dreamed of martial arts? Gu Yuzhu had one too! Ever since she started watching TV dramas as a child, she had fantasized. Back then, the old Taoist priest used to laugh at her.

“Zhu Zhu cousin, what’s wrong with you? Did you fall from a tree and knock your brains out?”

Just then, Gu Yuzhu suddenly heard such a voice. Her delicate nose wrinkled instinctively. Damn brat, clearly an unruly kid. Is that how you talk? You’re the dumb one, your whole family’s dumb!

Funny thing: aside from her mother Yan Fengru, the rest of her three uncles and one aunt hadn’t given birth to any girls. The Yan family was severely male-heavy.

The one speaking was her second cousin Yan Boxue. His nickname was very interesting—Meihua (Plum Blossom).

Apparently, when her second aunt Lin-shi was pregnant, she dreamed of plum blossoms—not once, but many times—so she was convinced the baby in her belly would be a beautiful girl, as lovely as her sister-in-law Yan Fengjiao.

The Yan family’s current good fortune could largely be attributed to eldest sister Yan Fengru’s efforts. And the fiery-tempered Yan Fengjiao was also quite a strong presence, so the Yan family had never favored sons over daughters—if anything, they favored daughters more.

Yan Xingye (the father) was so thrilled that he suggested, “Let’s call the baby ‘Meihua’ then. Plum blossoms bloom in the cold, are beautiful, and fragrant. A good omen.”

But ten months later, when the baby was born—it was a boy.

Yan Xingye and Lin-shi were both stunned.

But the nickname had already stuck after a few months, and the mischievous parents didn’t change it. They just kept calling him “Meihua.”

Around the time little Meihua—Yan Boxue—turned five and started gaining self-awareness, he realized that “Meihua” was a girl’s name and demanded that everyone—his parents, uncles, and aunts—not call him that anymore. But to tease him, the whole family still used the name regularly.

“Yan Meihua, you’re the one with a dumb brain!”

Gu Yuzhu fired back without hesitation.

Yan Meihua: “…” So mad!

“Meihua, don’t bully your cousin!” said Second Aunt Lin-shi with a smile, even though she was already six months pregnant. She gently reminded her son to take his little cousins outside to play, but not to wander too far. Meihua immediately brightened and took Gu Yuzhu’s hand, dragging her outside.

Gu Qingbai held the hand of four-year-old Yan Borong—nicknamed Iron Head—who followed behind with a solemn little face. From the third house, two-year-old Xiaoshitou saw his siblings heading out to play and burst into tears out of frustration.

Third Uncle Yan Xinghe scooped him up and put him on his shoulders, and the little guy immediately burst into giggles.