Widow Remarries in Sixties - Chapter 34.1

After Jiang Mingchuan and his family left, Liu Jingzhi helped her mother wash the dishes. Song Xiaoru then told her eldest daughter to take a nap.

Liu Jingzhi nodded, dried her hands, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she walked to her room. Upon entering, she saw her younger sister holding two hats, seemingly torn between them.

Seeing her sister approach, Liu Aihua unhappily threw one hat onto the table and walked to the mirror with the other, admiring herself.

Liu Qin quickly picked up the hat from the table and handed it to his eldest daughter, smiling, “Both of you have one.”

However, Liu Jingzhi knew that if the hats were different, they would both belong to her sister. Her parents were good to her, but whenever her sister cried, they would look at her with pleading eyes, silently asking her to give in.

Liu Jingzhi took the hat to her room, caressing it lovingly before carefully putting it on. Without a mirror in her room, she couldn’t see how she looked, so she could only feel it with her hands, a slight smile forming on her face.

Suddenly, she remembered something and took off the hat. She then took out the red envelope from her pocket, expecting it to contain the usual ten yuan. To her surprise, she found ten ten-yuan bills inside, her mouth dropping open in astonishment.

How could there be so much money? Her heart pounded.

Hearing her sister’s footsteps approaching, Liu Jingzhi instinctively shoved the money back into her pocket, her emotions still in turmoil. She wondered if her aunt had made a mistake.

Before she could think further, her sister entered the room, casually holding the hat. Her face showed displeasure. She threw the hat onto the table and sat on the bed, sulking. Seeing the identical hat on her sister’s lap worsened her mood. She didn’t look good in this hat, and if they went out wearing the same hat, she would be laughed at.

Turning to her sister, she saw the sunlight from the window illuminating her sister, making her look even fairer and more delicate, with visible peach fuzz on her face, white skin, and red lips—unlike herself, who had inherited their parents’ less appealing features.

Her sister’s name even sounded better than hers. Her parents agreed to everything she wanted, except for her sister’s name. Their parents just wouldn’t let her have it, though all it took was a trip to the registration office. She couldn’t understand why her parents were so partial.

Feeling aggrieved, she took out the red envelope again, then asked abruptly, “How much money is in your red envelope?”

Liu Jingzhi, fearing her sister’s misunderstanding, replied, “Not much.”

Liu Aihua’s tone was harsh, “Not much? How much is that? One yuan?”

Liu Jingzhi hesitated but nodded.

Feeling relieved, Liu Aihua said disdainfully, “That uncle and aunt are getting stingier. Only three yuan in total. What can you buy with three yuan?”

Liu Jingzhi was speechless. Three yuan was half a month’s living expenses for her. After starting college, her parents gave her thirty yuan for half a year’s expenses.

Her sister had thrown a tantrum upon learning this, accusing their parents of favoritism. To ease her parents’ discomfort, Liu Jingzhi had only taken twenty-five yuan, yet her sister was still dissatisfied.

Liu Aihua continued to complain as she kicked off her shoes and lay down to sleep. Liu Jingzhi glanced at her sister, who had taken up most of the bed, and longed for the new school term to start soon.

She sat at the desk, opened a book, and tried to read, but her thoughts kept returning to the red envelope in her pocket, stirring conflicting feelings.

Her sister only received two yuan, while she got a hundred. Was this really a mistake?

She recalled what her aunt had said, “Before, he didn’t know how to treat you well. From now on, we will treat you well.”

Why did they want to be good to her?

Her parents were good to her, though they favored her sister. Her uncle had always seemed to favor her and had even secretly watched over her at school. She remembered he once helped her scare off a stray dog, and after that, she never saw the big black dog that used to bark at her again.

Now, it wasn’t just her uncle who liked her, but her aunt too.

Something flashed through Liu Jingzhi’s mind, but she didn’t dwell on it, perhaps afraid of where those thoughts might lead.

In the next room, Liu Qin and his wife lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Liu Qin tossed and turned, letting the warmth escape the bed, irritating Song Xiaoru. She smacked him lightly, “Are you going to sleep or not?”

Liu Qin sighed, “I can’t stop thinking about Jiang Mingchuan wanting to take back our eldest daughter. We’ve raised her for so many years, and even if she were a dog, there would be feelings.”

Back then, he and his wife had been married for many years without having children. His father had brought a woman carrying a baby to them. He recognized this woman from his childhood visits to the Bai family, where the servants called her “Miss.”

She was a true noble lady, incredibly elegant, from a family with a huge estate where he would often get lost. This woman gave them a lot of money, asking them to move to S Province with the child.

Their household registration was already arranged, and they were provided with a small house. The only requirement was to treat the child well. She also said that from now on, the child would take their surname and be named Liu Jingzhi.

This was a great fortune they had never dared to dream of. He knew the Bai family had been very kind to them, so he always treated Jingzhi as his own daughter.

Unfortunately, his wife’s brother was unreliable. They had managed to get him into a machinery factory, but he had caused a fatal accident, using up their house and money for compensation. He himself became a temporary worker, and if not for spending some money, he might have lost his job entirely.

He admitted that after having their younger daughter, he couldn’t help but favor her more. The younger daughter resembled him, not very good-looking and not smart either. In contrast to the older daughter, she seemed inferior in every way. Every time he saw her cry, he couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted.

But he hadn’t mistreated his elder daughter either. Knowing she loved to study, he worked hard to please his superiors and secretly gave gifts to secure a recommendation for her to attend university. Fortunately, she was capable and passed the entrance exams with top marks.

Upon hearing this, Song Xiaoru sighed and said, “Why not match Jingzhi with my nephew?”

Liu Qin frowned, “That’s not appropriate. Your nephew is younger than our daughter.”

Song Xiaoru replied, “So what if he’s younger? An older woman marrying a younger man is a blessing.”

Liu Qin was displeased. His elder daughter was outstanding, and his wife’s nephew was no match for her. He knew exactly what his wife was plotting.

Song Xiaoru, hearing no response from her husband, turned over. She was just thinking aloud anyway.

***

After returning to the guesthouse, the family of four first went to a public bathhouse.

The bathhouse in S Province wasn’t as lively as those in the capital. Each shower stall was separated by wooden partitions. Jin Xiuzhu felt less uncomfortable this time and quickly finished her shower.

As she came out, Jiang Mingchuan also emerged with He Yan, and on the way back, he asked Jin Xiuzhu what she wanted for dinner.

Jin Xiuzhu thought for a moment, “I feel like having your braised pork with radish.”

Jiang Mingchuan’s cooking was delicious, especially his braised pork with radish cooked in a clay pot, which was incredibly tasty, better than any refined food she had eaten before.

The rich sauce mixed with rice was so good that she could eat two bowls in one go.

Thinking about it made her hungry. She hadn’t eaten much at Liu Qin’s house at noon because the food wasn’t good.

Jiang Mingchuan had intended to ask if she wanted noodles or rice for dinner, but her request for his cooking surprised him. “I’ll check if we can cook in the guesthouse.”

Jin Xiuzhu smiled.

He Yan took the chance to say, “Dad, I want to eat your dumplings too.”

Jiang Mingchuan gave him a stern look, “I don’t have time to make dumplings for you.”

He Yan pouted and whispered to his sister, “Dad is biased.”

Fu Yanyan ignored him, thinking she wouldn’t make dumplings for him either. He was too troublesome.

Back at the guesthouse, Jin Xiuzhu sat on the bed drying her hair. Once it was almost dry, she called her daughter over. Fu Yanyan, seeing the towel in her mother’s hand, walked over in confusion.

Jin Xiuzhu sat her down on her lap and started drying her hair.

Her daughter’s hair was fine and dried quickly.

Fu Yanyan felt a bit stiff at first but gradually relaxed. At home, she had her own towel and usually washed her hair in the morning sun. Jin Xiuzhu had never dried her hair like this.

The sensation on her scalp felt tingly and soothing, spreading down her back. Resting her face on Jin Xiuzhu’s soft lap, Fu Yanyan seemed to smell a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Jin Xiuzhu suddenly spoke, “We visited your aunt today. What do you think of her situation?”

He Yan immediately shook his head, “Not good. Aunt’s clothes had patches and weren’t as nice as her sister’s.”

Fu Yanyan had a different perspective. Although her aunt’s clothes weren’t as good as Liu Aihua’s, she was graceful and poised, with clear eyes. She might have suffered, but the Liu couple didn’t treat her too badly.

At least it was better than her past life. If the unfortunate events hadn’t happened later in her previous life, her situation would have been tolerable.

Jin Xiuzhu’s thoughts aligned with her daughter’s, “The Liu couple are honest people and didn’t mistreat your aunt, but their biological daughter is troublesome. With someone like her around, that family will eventually face problems. Either your aunt will suffer, or the couple will have bad luck.”

She sighed, “Truly siblings, both willing to suffer losses themselves.”

Fu Yanyan was surprised and wanted to look up at Jin Xiuzhu. She had predicted everything correctly.

Jin Xiuzhu pressed her head back down, “Not done drying yet.”

Then she added, “I’m telling you this to teach you that it’s okay to suffer minor losses sometimes, but you can’t keep enduring grievances. Otherwise, people will continue to bully you. When someone makes unreasonable demands or requests, you must refuse from the start. Understand?”