Changzhi didn’t know what earth-shattering thing he had done. Anyway, his dasao never wanted to see him again after taking over the pen and ink. His parents were speechless every time they looked at him, not to mention his brothers. Even the third brother no longer spoke harshly, becoming a good brother. His nephews avoided him as well.

Every time he wanted to ask his little sister, she patted his shoulder with a sigh and said earnestly: “Brother, ignorance is a blessing.”

She was particularly happy that Sister Dong did not choose the younger brother, otherwise, her life would be miserable. She had begun to sympathize with the future fourth dasao daily and felt sorry for her.

Chang Zhi pursed his lips. He didn’t feel that he had done anything. Chang Zhi was also big-hearted. After struggling for two days, it was over and he went back to studying hard.

After the seventh-day ceremony for the Old Lady Li, Li Shi gradually recovered her strength. However, her resentment towards Chang Zhi ran deep. Every time she saw him, she reminded herself to expel him from the family register. Not doing so was an act of filial impiety, a betrayal to her late grandmother, and this weighed heavily on her conscience.

T/N

I am not very sure what the author means here. I think that every time Li Shi sees Chang Zhi, she is reminded that she didn’t copy the scriptures for her grandmother and so she is not filial enough to her. And so he resents him.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were elders. When their son and daughter-in-law were around, they could hold their own. But when they returned to the house, they were alone. They laughed, and sometimes they couldn’t hold back their laughter. Everyone heard it in the yard.

Then there was a chain reaction, causing laughter.

Li Shi was stupid for not copying the scriptures, knowing in her heart that it was all because of her. Just look at the head of the house laughing and rolling on the kang, you will know how happy she was for her family.

Li Shi gritted her teeth and wondered, “What does my xiǎo shūzi¹ hate the most?”

Time passed quickly, and it was already the middle of the seventh lunar month before she knew it. It was the hottest day of summer, and Li Shi both the elders and the younger ones, were reluctant to go outside.

Zhulan was particularly irritable. In ancient times, without air conditioning, people would store ice during the winter, but that was a luxury prepared by wealthy large families. Although she was a science major, ahem, she had forgotten the chemical principles of making ice. Back in high school, she only studied for exams, and after many years since the college entrance examination, it wasn’t something commonly used in daily life. She had long returned that knowledge to her teachers.

Zhulan was doubting life. Xuemei came with her children. Zhulan fanned lazily, “You haven’t been here for a long time. Why did you come on such a hot day today?”

Since my daughter’s mother-in-law came, Xuemei was no longer diligent about coming to her natal house. The last time she came was more than a week ago! Xuemei glanced at her son and daughter. The older son knew what words he could hear and what he could not. The younger daughter was at the age where she loved to talk. After hearing this, it was easy for her to go back and imitate her words. Xuemei lowered her head and said to her son: “Take your sister with you and go play with your xiǎoyí².”

Jiang Du took his sister’s hand, knowing that his mother wanted to say something to her waì pó, “Waì pó, I’m going to take my sister out to play.”

Zhulan said, “Go ahead and ask your xiǎoyí to bring you candy and biscuits to eat.”

The weather was too hot, and they had stopped buying many cakes at home since cakes didn’t withstand the heat without refrigeration. Now, the snacks at home were mostly biscuits. Zhulan occasionally indulged in a few pieces; she found them delicious when they were uncontaminated.

Xuemei waited for her son to leave, then said a little aggrievedly: “Mom, when do you think my mother-in-law will go back? They have been living here for a long time, why do I feel like they have no intention of going back?”

Zhulan counted the days and found that they had indeed stayed for a long time. Now, my daughter has tasted the sweetness of not having a mother-in-law. She had endured it to the extreme. No matter how Jiang Wang Shi changes, she was still a mother-in-law. It was inevitable that she would meddle in things. The fact that her daughter did not come back often proved it. “What did Jiang Sheng say?”

Xuemei was helpless. She said: “Jiang Sheng also wants his parents to go back, but he can’t say anything.”

Zhulan was curious, “What did your in-laws do this time? Even Jiang Sheng couldn’t bear it?”

Xuemei sighed and said, “My in-laws started off well, helping out around the house. It made things easier for Jiang Sheng and me. However, it didn’t last long. My father-in-law couldn’t help but nag about Jiang Sheng studying every day. Oddly, my mother-in-law doesn’t nag about Jiang Sheng but nags about me instead. She keeps urging me to persuade Jiang Sheng about the importance of studying. We thought my in-laws wouldn’t stay for long, so we endured it for a while. However, these days, it’s become unbearable. The old couple, seeing that we don’t comply, have started meddling even more.”

When her mother-in-law came to help her, the whole Zhou Village knew about it. Her mother-in-law had a pleasant demeanor and got along well with the women in the village. Xuemei was truly feeling aggrieved. Fortunately, her mother-in-law restrained herself because she knew Zhulan was not easy to deal with. Even if she was unhappy with Xuemei, she didn’t dare to gossip randomly in the village.

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. Younger brother of husband
2. Mother’s younger sister