Chapter 35.1

Translated by Aviana

No sooner than Lin Qingwan had entered the room, she was greeted by the sight of the Tripartite-Law-Court-Session-like scene inside.

He-shi was sitting on the kang, glaring at her; eldest sister Yang was sitting beside her, wiping her tears, and Yang Ermei was sitting behind her mother, He-shi. At the same time, standing by the door of the east room, Wang-shi was peeping here, having an appearance of taking joy in calamity and delight in disasters of other people, whilst continuously popping melon seeds into her mouth.

幸灾乐祸 (xìngzāilèhuò):(idiom) lit. to take joy in calamity and delight in disaster; fig. to rejoice in other people’s misfortune/ Schadenfreude

With a calm face, Lin Qingwan walked in.

“Mother, are you looking for me?”

Suddenly, He-shi slammed the table, “What did your father tell all of you at that time? He asked all of you saozi and dimei to yield to your sister Yang, yet what did you do?”

Saozi: one’s elder brother’s wife

Dimei: one’s younger brother’s wife

Lin Qingwan felt as if her temples were about to burst. She took a deep breath and tried her best to pace down her tone.

“Mother, may I ask what have I done?”

“You are still asking me what have you done?” He-shi pointed her finger at Lin Qingwan’s nose as her saliva flew everywhere. “Your eldest sister asked you to help her patch her clothes, yet why didn’t you do so?”

Sure enough!

Eldest sister Yang, can’t you be even a single day without stirring up troubles?

Lin Qingwan restrained her temper before saying: “Mother, these clothes can’t be patched anymore at all; the fabric underneath had already worn out and become rough. How can that be patched? Even the needle can’t go in.”

“Why can’t the needle go in? If you don’t want to do it, just say frankly! When you have the leisure to make clothes for yourself, why don’t you have time to help your elder sister mend her clothes?” Disregarding the situation, He-shi drowned her with criticism. “Is there any dimei like you? Outrightly disrespecting your sister-in-law!”

Yao-shi had followed her feeling uneasy and stood by the door as she looked in.

When she heard this, she couldn’t help interjecting, “Mother, I have also seen those clothes. They are truly beyond repair and couldn’t be patched up anymore. You also know what sort of person the second sao is. If she is truly capable of helping, why wouldn’t she lend a hand to eldest sister?!”

For Yao-shi to be able to help speak up for Lin Qingwan, it was truly hard to come by. Usually, in front of He-shi, she always played mute and made her presence invisible, just silently minding her business without any words.

He-shi rolled her triangle-shaped eyes and glared at her, “How does this concern you? Just go do your work. You have seen fa*t. If you are even a bit of awareness on the ways of the world, wouldn’t you have at least laid an egg by now?”

That was a direct hit to her sore spot. Yao-shi’s eyes at once became red, and her lips trembled, wanting to explain something. But she was unable to say anything, appearing extremely pitiful.

Lin Qingwan turned her head and signaled Yao-shi with her eyes, indicating to leave this matter to her, lest she was also ‘implicated’.

Yao-shi had no choice but to leave. She was so anxious that she wanted to look for someone for help, but Yang Tiezhu had gone along with her husband to chop the firewood first thing in the morning. Eventually, feeling uneasy in her heart, she dillydallied to the well to draw water so that she can also watch the happenings in the main room from

there conveniently.

After He-shi sorted out Yao-shi, she turned her head and once again continued to fix Lin Qingwan.

“You don’t go on saying that the clothes are worn out. Don’t think I have forgotten that you were the one who washed Dahu’s clothes till they had become worn out. That being the case, it’s a fair trade for you to compensate for it. What’s wrong in asking you to patch it up?” Saying so, she flung that cloth on Lin Qingwan’s face.

“You take this back and patch it up, if not compensate for it!”

That worn-out cloth slid along her face and directly fell on the floor. Lin Qingwan closed her eyes as she trembled all over from anger.

At this moment, eldest sister Yang’s voice came over,” Don’t have to, second dimei doesn’t have to compensate. Even that cloth became torn from the washing, we are all one family…” a little bit of sobbing tone was also present in that voice, “… it’s just that my family’s Dahu doesn’t have any clothes to wear…sniff sniff….”

“How can that be? If she was the one who washed it and spoiled it, she ought to make a new one for Dahu.” He-shi took the lead to say, as she waved her hand, “Let it be, you don’t have to patch it up, just directly make a new one. Currently, the weather is cold; you don’t have to make an unlined garment, just directly make cotton-padded clothes.”

Hearing these words, Lin Qingwan felt angry yet laughable.

They are truly exotic flowers everywhere, and there are unusually many in Yang jia.

奇葩 (qípā): exotic flower/weirdo

家 (jiā): home/family

Before she could even let a word out, they have already put a criminal charge on her. On one side, one has directly demanded to make a new one, rather than mending the clothes. While the other one had said, even if you have spoilt the cloth while washing, you don’t have to compensate, when she was the one who had made a mountain out of a molehill, clearly asking for compensation. He-shi is even more hilarious, asking she need not patch the clothes, just making a new one would suffice. And even went as far as to demand to make cotton-padded clothes instead of unlined garments, using upcoming winter as a pretext.

Hehe, so it turns out that this is the intention behind stirring up a fuss here…

However, however, why didn’t they ask, as a person involved in it what was her say on this?

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