Chapter 9: I Don't Despise You

Da Niu looked displeased.

Sister-in-law Douhua delivered a resounding slap straight to his face. "I told you to kowtow, so kowtow! What are you 'ah-ing' and 'ya-ing' about?"

She hit him again, tsk! With a sour face, Da Niu reluctantly and unwillingly kowtowed to his mother, but Sister-in-law Douhua was not satisfied and even scolded her son for being stupid. "You stupid son, I'm not even dead yet, why are you kowtowing to me?"

"You're the one who told me to kowtow!" Now she was blaming him for being stupid; his mother was truly difficult to serve!

"I told you to kowtow to Miss Alin."

"Miss Alin?!" Da Niu gave Alin a strange look.

Alin herself was startled. Why was Sister-in-law Douhua telling her son to kowtow to her!

Da Niu frowned and turned to ask his mother, "Is she dead?"

"Ah! You dead child, you dead child!" Getting angry, Sister-in-law Douhua gave her son two more resounding slaps. "You're cursing Miss Alin for no reason! If the Heavens hear you, they'll surely send the God of Thunder to strike your big, reckless mouth!" While Sister-in-law Douhua scolded her son, she also clarified things to the Heavens, saying: "Pui, pui, pui, children's words are innocent, children's words are innocent."

What do you mean, children's words are innocent! He was six years old, a little adult! Da Niu grumbled inwardly, but said aloud, "You're the one who told me to kowtow to her!"

"I only told you to kowtow, did I tell you to curse her?"

"Then when I was kowtowing to you just now, you said something about how you aren't dead yet and why I was kowtowing to you. Well, Miss Alin isn't dead either! So why should I kowtow to her?" That's right, he was so smart, so wise, and so good at drawing inferences. His mother was still dissatisfied even though she had given birth to such a genius!

"You dead child, I told you to kowtow to Miss Alin because I want you to accept her as your godmother!" Sister-in-law Douhua explained to her foolish son.

"Ah!" Da Niu was startled.

"What?" Alin was nearly choked by the tofu in her mouth.

"Godmother?!" The two of them questioned Sister-in-law Douhua in unison.

"Why should I accept her as my godmother?" Da Niu protested. Please, having one mother managing him was already enough of a loss of freedom; why would he take on another mother and look for trouble! His brow slumped; he clearly disliked his mother's arrangement.

"I won't accept him as my godson either." Alin also did not agree to this.

She was a young, unmarried maiden, yet to suddenly have such a grown son would be quite strange, wouldn't it? And yet, Sister-in-law Douhua had misunderstood her meaning.

Nervously, Sister-in-law Douhua pulled Alin aside and asked, "Miss Alin, do you think this boy is stupid? Oh! I know this boy isn't very clever, but my Da Niu is just like his name—he has great strength. If you take him as your godson, in the future, anything like chopping wood, carrying water, washing clothes, or sweeping the floor! You can leave it all to this boy. He is very reliable, Miss Alin, don't you worry." Sister-in-law Douhua continued to pitch her son.

"No, no, no, of course I don't think Da Niu is stupid, it's just—" Before Alin could even finish her sentence, Sister-in-law Douhua hurriedly nodded and said, "As long as you don't." Turning around, Sister-in-law Douhua commanded her son, "Hurry up and kowtow to your godmother! She is your life-saver."

"Huh?" Alin looked bewildered.

Da Niu also had an objection. "The person who saved me was Brother Jiu Jin!" Then why should he accept this woman as his godmother! If he were to accept anyone, it would be Brother Jiu Jin as his godfather!

"You really are a stupid boy!" Sister-in-law Douhua gave her son another resounding slap.

Alin really wanted to tell her to stop hitting him; even if her son wasn't stupid, she was going to hit him into being stupid.

"...If you accept Miss Alin as your godmother, doesn't that mean you're accepting Jiu Jin as your godfather?"

"What kind of logic is that?" Da Niu said unyieldingly.

Exactly! What kind of logic was that? Alin wanted to ask the same thing, but before she could even get the words out, she saw Sister-in-law Douhua forcefully pressing down on Da Niu's head to make him kowtow.

"Sister-in-law Douhua, don't be like this." Alin hurriedly set down the bowl of tofu and stood up urgently to pull Da Niu up; she couldn't bear such a grand gesture!

However, Sister-in-law Douhua said bluntly, "Don't be polite, Miss Alin. This silly boy's life was saved by your man. From now on, he is part of your family. You see, whether you want him to clean, wash clothes, or plow fields and tend crops, in short, let him do it all. This silly boy has no virtues, but he has plenty of brute strength."

As if to prove her words to Alin, Sister-in-law Douhua even slapped Da Niu's chest hard to demonstrate that her son was indeed very useful.

Da Niu coughed twice from being hit.