Chapter 17: A Woman Should Naturally Be Strong

By evening, Liang Jin had eaten another meal of roasted pork before rising to take his leave.

Madam Wu told him he should stay the night at her house and suggested he head back first to spend some time with his eldest sister and brother-in-law.

Liang Jin nodded in agreement and left, feeling reluctant to part after the meal.

Once he had gone, Madam Wu picked up the child and returned to her room.

That night, Mother Wu slept in the same room as her two daughters, while the four boys went to sleep in the side room.

At this moment, the mother and daughters were sitting together on the *kang*, chatting and cracking melon seeds.

Little Ying-er was also on the *kang*, wriggling around in her short sleeves and shorts.

Since they burned stoves for the *kang* in the countryside, the room was warm and cozy.

While handing out sweet potato strips to the two girls, Mother Wu said, "Your sister-in-law isn't coming back tonight; we don't know when she'll return."

Madam Wu took a bite of a sweet potato strip and said, "She'll probably be back in a few days. Her maiden family can't afford to support idle people anymore."

The Wang family hadn't been poor originally, but now that their family assets had been squandered by their son, they had long since become penniless.

The Wang family had always favored boys over girls, so it was expected that Wang-shi wouldn't stay there for long.

Mother Wu cracked a melon seed and said, "I'm just afraid that when she comes back, she'll start quarreling with your eldest brother again, and the house will be in an uproar once more."

The eldest Wu brother was a stubborn man; as the eldest son and the pillar of the family, he naturally had a temper.

If Wang-shi picked a fight with him, he wouldn't use soft words either. The two of them would just remain in a deadlock, making the atmosphere in the house unpleasant.

The second sister also cracked a melon seed and said, "Sister-in-law is just being senseless. If she had married into my rogue in-laws' house, she'd be crying with joy. To marry into such a good family like ours, she should be happy she didn't lose out, but instead, she spends all day thinking of ways to dig out silver to throw at that bastard brother of hers. Truly muddled."

Madam Wu replied, "Isn't that the truth? It's no wonder Eldest Brother is so angry."

"But you can't blame her entirely. Her parents are just senseless themselves. Instead of teaching their child when she goes astray, they only know how to eye their sons-in-law's purses. *Sigh*."

Mother Wu added, "Indeed. Your eldest sister-in-law simply failed to see her parents' true character. Otherwise, with a maiden family like that, she would have stopped wanting to return long ago."

Like the other daughters and sons-in-law of the Wang family, most basically never returned to their father-in-law's house, fearing they would be asked for money the moment they stepped through the door.

No one was wealthy, and money didn't grow on trees; no one could keep subsidizing a gambling brother-in-law indefinitely.

With elders to support and children to raise, who had the capacity to constantly provide for a scoundrel of an uncle?

The second sister also sighed, "Then when Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law argue later, what will you and Father do? Will you try to persuade them or scold them?"

Mother Wu said, "If it's just minor bickering, we won't interfere; after all, it's their business as a married couple. But if it turns into a major scene, your father will definitely be furious."

The old couple were considered the most enlightened parents-in-law in the entire village.

Normally, they basically wouldn't interfere with the young couple, nor would they lecture them during an argument.

Unlike some parents-in-law who would gang up on a daughter-in-law the moment she dared to talk back, their family wouldn't do that; they would try their best to mediate.

The second sister couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking to herself why she didn't have the good fortune to marry into such a good family.

Mother Wu was also worried about her second daughter's situation.

She asked, "Are you going directly to your sister's shop tomorrow? That shop is freezing in the winter; if you sleep there, you'll catch a chill."

The daytime in Ningxi Town was alright during winter with the bright sun, but once night fell, it became exceptionally cold, and the wind would howl.

There was no fear if there was a *dilong* (underfloor heating) at home, but the shop didn't have one; sleeping there at night would surely be freezing.

The second sister sighed, "What else can I do? I have nowhere else to go."

Madam Wu said, "Second Sister, why don't you come stay at my place? There's an empty room in the front courtyard with a side gate, so it would be very convenient for you to come and go."

The second sister shook her head. "Forget it. Given your mother-in-law's temperament, I'd rather not cause you trouble and give her another reason to nag you."

She pulled out a small abacus from her bosom and said to her mother and sister, "This is what I'm thinking: I'll earn money for one more year, and after that, I'll open my own branch shop elsewhere. I'll still get the pork from our family. Once the shop is established elsewhere, I won't have to go back to the Huang family to suffer their abuse."

This was something she had thought about for a long time.

In her two years of managing the shop, she had seen many people, gained a lot of knowledge, and knew that some women nowadays could rely on themselves to buy a house and move out.

Although she wanted a divorce, the Huang family would certainly refuse.

Therefore, she wanted to distance herself from the Huang family by opening a shop in a far-off place, and once the business was stable, she would bring her two sons over.

Listening from the side, little Ying-er found it quite interesting, thinking to herself that Second Aunt's idea was actually quite good.

If a divorce wasn't possible, then leaving a miserable in-law's house was the best choice.

However, the Huang family was a bunch of lazybones; once they ran out of money, they would probably try to demand more from Second Aunt.

The second sister wasn't afraid of that. She said to them, "Even if I refuse to give them anything, what can they do?"

In this day and age, one never heard of men demanding money from women.

But the Huang family was so unscrupulous that they might actually try it, so she had to move far away—ideally so far that they couldn't find her at all.

Although Mother Wu felt this idea might be difficult to realize, she didn't oppose it.

The only concern was, "Business is hard to do right now, especially since you're an outsider trying to open a shop elsewhere. I'm afraid you might face exclusion."

Their own family sold pork, ham, and smoked meat, so they knew that business required connections and specific ways of doing things.

Furthermore, social graces required money to smooth things over; it wasn't as simple as one might think.

The second sister was not afraid of the hardships of business and was determined to try.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wu was very supportive.

"Go ahead and try, Second Sister. If you run short on money, just come tell me, and I'll help you scrape some together."

After all, they were biological sisters; when help was needed, it should be given.

The second sister was moved and said, "Alright. I will always remember how good you've been to me, Sister."

If her business went well in the future, she would certainly remember her sister's help.

Mother Wu also said, "Don't worry. If you truly need money, Mother will set some aside for you too."

At that moment, little Ying-er also stretched out her short little fists and let out a few "ya-ya" sounds, indicating that she was in on it too.

Seeing her like this, the three of them all laughed.

The mother and daughters chatted for a long time, only falling asleep when the night grew deep and silent.

***

On the other side.

After Liang Jin returned by himself, Old Lady Liang saw him coming back alone and frowned. "Where is your wife?"

Liang Jin explained, "She's staying at her mother's house for a night. She wanted me to come back and spend some time with Eldest Sister and Brother-in-law."

The words sounded perfectly fine, but Old Lady Liang was still unhappy.

"Your eldest sister and brother-in-law finally came back for a visit, and she didn't even think to come back and talk to your sister."

Liang Jin felt embarrassed and explained on his wife's behalf, "Her father also misses Ning'er very much, so it's better to let her stay the night."

Seeing him defend Madam Wu again, Old Lady Liang immediately huffed, "It's all because you spoil her!"

What wife would dare instruct her husband to return alone while she stayed at her maiden home to enjoy herself? It was simply improper!

But Liang Jin didn't feel that way, so he didn't take his mother's anger to heart.

Seeing her brother return, Eldest Sister Liang waved to him. "Second Brother, you're back?"

Liang Jin nodded. "Yes. Eldest Sister, are you staying at home tonight?"

Eldest Sister Liang nodded. "I am. Tonight I'll sleep in the same room as Mother, and your sister-in-law and the children will sleep in the guest room."

(End of Chapter)