Chapter 10: She Really Is of Grandmother's Generation

“She finished the porridge, but only took a couple of bites of the vegetables, saying she was sleepy and wanted to rest for a while.”

Mrs. Du glanced back at the main room and spoke in a low voice,

“Second sister-in-law, do you think Mother is… different somehow?”

“What do you mean, Eldest sister-in-law?”

Mrs. Li shifted her gaze away from the half-bowl of stewed cabbage, her face full of confusion.

“I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s just that ever since Mother bumped her head, she hasn’t been the same.”

Mrs. Du shook her head, only then noticing that Mrs. Li had been staring at the half-bowl of leftovers.

“Are you still hungry, Second sister-in-law?”

“Hehe… you know how it is, Eldest sister-in-law. I’ve got a big appetite and a fast metabolism; I get hungry quickly.” Mrs. Li gave a silly grin, looking far less sharp-witted than Mrs. Du.

“Here, take it.”

In any case, ever since she married into the Bai family, she had never seen her mother-in-law eat leftovers.

“Thank you, Eldest sister-in-law. You’re always the best to me.”

Mrs. Li took the stewed cabbage and shoveled it into her mouth in a few quick bites. Ever since her father-in-law’s accident, she hadn’t had a full meal.

“Eldest sister-in-law, I’ll go wash the bowls… Oh, right, what were you saying about Mother?”

Watching her wolf down the food, the corner of Mrs. Du’s mouth twitched.

“It’s nothing. If you’re free, Second sister-in-law, go help tidy up at the edge of the village. We’re moving in three days; it’ll be more comfortable if we get things organized.”

The kitchen was her territory; she couldn’t let anyone easily encroach upon it.

“Eldest sister-in-law, do you really think we’re moving in three days?”

Mrs. Li looked at the grey-brick tiled house before her, her eyes filled with reluctance. Having grown accustomed to living in a large house, the thought of suddenly moving to a shack—drafty, filled with mosquitoes, insects, and rodents—was certainly unpleasant.

It wasn’t just Mrs. Li who was unwilling; who would want to live in a shack where it rained inside whenever it poured outside, a place that was damp, stuffy, and reeked of mold on rainy days?

There were quite a few families in their village living in such shacks; they were the ones so poor they couldn’t even afford a pot of rice, wearing clothes patched layer upon layer, looking truly pitiful.

Thinking that she might become one of those women, her heart resisted it with everything she had. But what choice did she have? They owed too much debt, and there was no way to pay it back.

Her father-in-law had died and left them with nothing, but how was their whole family supposed to survive?

Sigh!

Bai Yunxi woke up to find the sky already darkening. An oil lamp was burning on the bedside table, with a bowl turned upside down beside it.

Staring at the dim, yellow light for a moment, Bai Yunxi sighed silently. Just as she propped herself up against the headboard, she noticed a fuzzy head resting at the foot of the bed.

A little girl was blinking her large eyes at her, looking as if she wanted to approach but was afraid.

Bai Yunxi was stunned. She raised a hand to rub her brow. This little girl was her eldest granddaughter, Yaya. Mrs. Du had suffered through two days and two nights of labor to give birth to her, damaging her health and failing to recover properly during her confinement. Even after three and a half years, she was still sickly.

Mrs. Du had married at fifteen and given birth at sixteen. The original owner had gone through the same thing and thought nothing of it.

But in Bai Yunxi’s eyes, a sixteen-year-old girl’s bones were still developing; she was still a child herself. How could it not be dangerous?

Perhaps because of the suffering she endured, Mrs. Du was indifferent, even a bit neglectful, toward the daughter she had worked so hard to bring into the world.

Look at her—the little girl was three and a half, yet her hair was sparse and yellow, not even thick enough to tie into a proper bun.

“Yaya, come here.” To think that at thirty-six, she was already a grandmother—what an old title!

“Grandma, you’re awake! I’ll go tell Mother.” With that, the little girl scurried away.

Grandma had bled from a bump on her head today; she had seen it while peeking through the window.

A moment later, Mrs. Du walked in quickly. Seeing her mother-in-law leaning against the headboard, she adjusted the lamp wick.

(End of chapter)