Chapter 70.2

When Jiang Nian returned to the dormitory, Su Na and the others had already prepared to sleep.

Su Na asked curiously, “Where did you just go?”

Jiang Nian took off her scarf and hung it on the hook at the head of the bed. “I went outside to get some air.”

She took off her clothes and climbed into bed. Su Na said again: “Today, Sister Ge said that the city secretary will come the day after tomorrow, so I guess we’ll be busy tomorrow.”

Shu Xue said: “The main thing is to inspect the textile factory. There are few people in our embroidery shop and there is nothing to see.”

Several people said a few words and then rested.

The light went out in the dormitory. Jiang Nian opened her eyes and looked at the dark beams, thinking about what she had just said to Sun Ying. Actually, she had no intention of threatening Sun Ying at first, but suddenly remembered what happened between her and Lu Yu.

Among them, besides Ge Mei, the only people who knew that she and Lu Yu were brother and sister-in-law were Sun Ying and Wu Youshan. So she turned the topic around to leave herself a way out, so that there will be no trouble in the future.

In this way, Sun Ying and Wu Youshan also had concerns and wouldn’t speak carelessly.

After all, she and Lu Yu are not really brother and sister-in-law, so no matter how this spreads, at most people would gossip behind their backs. But if it were about Sun Ying and Wu Youshan, they would be drowned in a sea of spit.

Jiang Nian fell out of bed again in the middle of the night, this time hitting her head and feeling a bit of pain.

The bed in the dormitory was a single bed, unlike the large bed in the family quarters. Jiang Nian rubbed her forehead, got up, and climbed back under the covers. She had just fallen back into a daze when she heard Yu Xia’s voice talking outside the door.

“Dong Shu, open the door for me.”

After a few seconds, the sound of slippers dragging was heard next door. Dong Shu, still groggy from sleep, looked at the shivering Yu Xia outside the door and was momentarily stunned. “I thought you were staying at the guest house tonight.”

Yu Xia snorted coldly, “Where do I have extra money to stay at the guest house? Those two are living more comfortably than I am.”

Yu Xia was furious when she thought of her youngest son and his wife, but she couldn’t say anything.

She had to bear the consequences for her own child, so she just hoped that the two of them would go back early tomorrow morning and stop bothering her.

Dong Shu asked, “How much money did those two ask from you again?”

Yu Xia sat on the bed, fuming. “Last month, I mailed a piece of cloth to my daughter so she could make clothes for her children. But my daughter-in-law found out and came to cause trouble again, asking me to give her a hundred yuan. I must have owed her in my previous life, to be tormented by her like this in this life.”

As she spoke, Yu Xia started crying. “Do you think it’s easy to earn money from embroidery? Every month I save a little, and it all gets spent on the family. I don’t have much left. Where am I supposed to get a hundred yuan for her? Even if I had it, why should I give it to her? Just because she gave birth to two sons for our family? What’s so great about that? My eldest daughter-in-law also gave birth to twins, a boy, and a girl.”

Dong Shu sighed, “So what now?”

She looked at the tears in Yu Xia’s eyes. “If you don’t give her the money, will she keep coming to bother you every day?”

Hearing this, Yu Xia had a headache.

She didn’t know what to do. Her second son’s family was like leeches, wanting to squeeze every last bit of money out of her.

Dong Shu and Yu Xia talked for a long time, and Jiang Nian fell asleep while listening. The next day, Su Na woke her up, smiling and asking, “Did you fall out of bed again last night?”

Jiang Nian: …

She smiled awkwardly, got up, put on her clothes, and went to the bathroom. After having breakfast with Su Na and the others, she went to the embroidery shop. Upon entering the cubicle, she saw Yu Xia with red, swollen eyes, likely from crying half the night.

Yu Xia glanced at Jiang Nian but said nothing, lowering her head and continuing with her embroidery.

Because the city secretary was coming for an inspection the next day, Ge Mei stayed in the shop all day. Not long into the morning, Yu Xia’s younger son and his wife came to the shop again. Su Na blocked them from entering and called Yu Xia out. Knowing about Yu Xia’s family issues, Ge Mei frowned and reminded her, “The city secretary is coming for an inspection tomorrow. Make sure you handle your family matters and don’t let them affect our shop.”

Yu Xia said, “I understand.”

Jiang Nian turned to look out the window and saw Yu Xia standing under a telephone pole. The elderly lady, over fifty years old, had a hunched back, while the young couple next to her argued incessantly. Suddenly, Yu Xia’s daughter-in-law raised her hand and pushed Yu Xia. Seeing that Yu Xia and her daughter-in-law were about to start fighting, her son finally intervened to mediate.

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and looked away.

Yu Xia didn’t return until almost noon, looking both irritable and exhausted. She appeared more haggard than before. Dong Shu quietly asked, “Did you give them the money?”

Yu Xia shook her head. “No.”

Dong Shu frowned and hesitated before saying, “How about I lend you some money? You can gather enough to give them and send them away quickly. If the city secretary sees this tomorrow, you might get criticized or even disciplined.”

Yu Xia’s eyes reddened, and her back slumped even more.

At lunchtime, Yu Xia didn’t go to the cafeteria. Instead, Dong Shu brought her food.

After lunch, Jiang Nian saw Yu Xia slumped over the embroidery frame, her face buried in her arms. Yu Xia’s hair was streaked with white. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Jiang Nian. Yu Xia sat up and resumed her embroidery without acknowledging Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and said, “They’re like a bottomless pit. Once you give in to them, they’ll demand even more.”

She didn’t want to be a meddler, but she felt a bit sorry for Yu Xia, especially seeing her white hair, which reminded her of Sister Zhai.

Perhaps because Yu Xia and Sister Zhai were about the same age, Jiang Nian wanted to give her a bit more advice.

Yu Xia was taken aback, looking at Jiang Nian. She thought Jiang Nian would mock her after knowing about her situation, but instead, she offered kind advice. Yu Xia didn’t know what to say, the sarcastic words stuck in her throat, and the kind words wouldn’t come out either.

In the end, she lowered her head, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.

Jiang Nian: …

She walked past Yu Xia and sat down at her embroidery frame. As she picked up her needle, she couldn’t help but add, “You have two sons. You should know who treats you well and who doesn’t. Your second son’s family doesn’t have city residence permits. If the police officer finds out, they could be sent back to the countryside today.”

Having said this, Jiang Nian didn’t say more. If Yu Xia was smart, she should know what to do.

Yu Xia remained silent, sitting at the embroidery frame for a long time.

Others gradually arrived at the shop, and after a while, Ge Mei also came. Suddenly, Yu Xia stood up, startling Dong Shu, who asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Xia said, “I need to go out for a bit.”

She walked to the doorway, turned to look at Jiang Nian, who was engrossed in her embroidery, then lifted the curtain and went out. She told Ge Mei, “I want to take the afternoon off.”

Knowing about her family issues, Ge Mei nodded. “Okay.”

Shu Xue whispered to Jiang Nian, “I bet Sister Yu went to give money to her daughter-in-law.”

Jiang Nian passed her needle through the fabric, glanced out the window, and saw Yu Xia’s figure gradually disappearing.

Yu Xia didn’t return all afternoon. By the time work ended, Jiang Nian received a call from Lu Yu.

Holding the phone, she heard some noise on the other end and curiously asked, “Why is it so noisy over there?”

Lu Yu said, “The regiment is training outside today. People are passing by the police station, so it’s a bit noisy.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Nian bit her lip lightly.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yu’s deep voice came through the phone again, “The family quarters issue is almost resolved. The new place is an apartment building, not a single courtyard. There’s a stove in the apartment, so we won’t need to burn firewood anymore.”

His voice was very pleasant, with a hint of a smile, making Jiang Nian’s ears tingle.

She smiled. “Okay.”

“Lu Yu, it’s time to go.”

Gu Shizhou’s stern voice came from the other side, and Lu Yu said, “I have to go.”

Jiang Nian replied, “Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Nian took her lunchbox and went to the cafeteria with Su Na and the others. In the cafeteria, they ended up sitting next to Jia Yuan and Tong Gang.

Seeing Jiang Nian, Jia Yuan frowned.

Jiang Nian: …

If there had been any other seats, she wouldn’t have sat next to this couple.

Tong Gang, not noticing Jiang Nian and the others, focused on eating and said, “Don’t take my mom’s words to heart. She just wants a grandchild. Since you haven’t been pregnant, she gets mad and scolds you.”

“Enough!”

Jia Yuan quickly stopped Tong Gang, placing a piece of tofu in his bowl. “Eat your meal.”

Tong Gang looked at the tofu in his bowl, frowned, and asked, “I don’t like tofu. Why did you give it to me?”

Jia Yuan: …

“Give it to me if you won’t eat it.”

Jia Yuan looked embarrassed and took the tofu back from Tong Gang’s bowl.

Jiang Nian finished half her meal and left. She couldn’t stand sitting there any longer. She found Tong Gang disgusting. He had a mistress outside and acted as if nothing was wrong at home. When she left the cafeteria, she glanced at Jia Yuan. Tong Gang suddenly looked impatient, furrowing his brows and walking away with his bowl when Jia Yuan said something.

Jia Yuan sniffled and wiped away her tears before finishing her meal and leaving.

Jiang Nian left early and returned to her dormitory. As she passed by the first dorm room near the staircase, she unexpectedly ran into Wu Youshan.

Wu Youshan walked past her with a cold expression, while Sun Ying, who was inside, saw Jiang Nian and her face darkened. She walked over with her big belly and slammed the door shut.

Jiang Nian: …

That night, Jiang Nian surprisingly had a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, Su Na had already left by the time Jiang Nian woke up. Shu Xue said, “The city secretary and the director are coming for an inspection today, so Su Na went early to clean the shop again. She wants to make sure there are no mistakes and the leaders can’t find any problems.”

This made Jiang Nian a bit nervous. After washing up and having breakfast with Shu Xue, she went to the shop. As soon as she entered, she saw that Su Na had cleaned it spotless. Even though it was still cold, Su Na had worked up a sweat.

Shu Xue handed her a lunchbox. “I brought you some food. Eat up.”

Su Na smiled. “Thanks.”

Before long, everyone had arrived at the shop, with Yu Xia being the last to come in. When she entered, she glanced at Jiang Nian sitting by the window. Seeing Jiang Nian engrossed in her embroidery, she said nothing and sat down on a bench. Dong Shu whispered, “How did it go?”

Yu Xia had returned very late the previous night, immediately crying herself to sleep. She wasn’t sure what had happened.

Yu Xia’s eyes were still a bit red. Seeing her silence, Dong Shu reminded her, “The city secretary and the leaders are coming for an inspection today. We can’t let them run into your daughter-in-law and her husband.”

Yu Xia finally spoke, “They’ve already left.”

Dong Shu was taken aback. “Did you give them the money?”

Yu Xia shook her head and turned to Dong Shu. “I reported my younger son and his wife to the police officer. They were taken away last night. They cursed me the whole time as they left.”

At this, Yu Xia’s eyes reddened again, and she spoke in a particularly low voice, “They called me a widowed jinx who would never return home and wouldn’t be taken care of in my old age.”

Dong Shu snorted angrily. “These two are beasts!”

After a pause, she asked, “What will you do now?”

People often talk about returning to their roots. No matter what, when one gets old, they still need to go back to where they belong.

Yu Xia said, “I’ll leave more money to my eldest son. He and his wife are good to me.”

In truth, cutting ties with her second son’s family made Yu Xia feel relieved, as if a heavy stone had finally been lifted from her chest. She no longer had to worry about her second son’s family demanding money from her, always threatening to refuse to care for her in her old age.

Jiang Nian’s words from yesterday were correct. She should have long known who could be relied on and who couldn’t. Initially, she thought that as a widow, she would ultimately need both sons to take care of her, so she was more indulgent with her second son’s family. But this had only fed their greed.