Chapter 35.2

Translated by Aviana

Lin Qingwan expressionlessly flung the cloth on the table before saying, “Mother, if there isn’t any problem, I will go back to my room. As for Dahu’s clothes, since Dahu is eldest sister’s son, it had be much better for her to do by herself.”

“That’s also doable. You can get the fabric and give it to your elder sister.” Thinking that Lin Qingwan had acquiesced, and her goal was achieved, He-shi spoke nicely.

He-shi was also reluctant to confront this daughter-in-law. One, because she was afraid of stirring Yang Tiezhu’s ire, and second because her confrontation with this daughter-in-law never went well. She often fails to find fault in her, leaving her with a bellyful of anger. This time, if it weren’t for her daughter running to her and tearfully recounting that Lin Qingwan had spoilt her family’s Dahu’s clothes when washing and refused to patch it up, not giving her daughter a good face, she wouldn’t have looked for Lin Qingwan.

Casting a glance at them, Lin Qingwan thought for a bit with an unusually serious face.

“I also don’t have much of fabric and cotton. I think it is better to go to town and buy by herself.”

“That’s also doable, you can give her silver.” He-shi felt that she was very good at understanding others. She had gone very much easy on Lin Qingwan with her words; if it was Yao-shi in her place, she would have already drowned her with criticism.

“Silver?” Lin Qingwan asked, puzzled, “Why are you asking me for silver? If it is for Dahu’s clothes, shouldn’t elder sister be the one to pay?”

He-shi finally grasped out the meaning behind Lin Qingwan’s words. Elder sister Yang once again started to cry with melancholy.

“Hey, are you playing games with this old mother!”

You realized this only now?

Lin Qingwan pretended to be aggrieved, “Mother, you must by all means not say like that. That wasn’t this daughter-in-law’s intention.”

“This wasn’t your intention. Then for whom to hear you are saying all these for? I asked you to make clothes, yet you have to stir this much trouble.” He-shi slammed the table in anger and felt disinclined to speak superfluous words with her anymore. “Forget it. You don’t have to explain yourself. Just tell me directly, I am asking you to make new clothes for Dahu, will you do or not?

“Why ask me to make new clothes for Dahu?”

“When you were the one who carelessly spoiled Dahu’s clothes while washing, shouldn’t you also be the one to compensate?” He-shi, in the manner of not minding taking all the troubles, asked her.

不厌其烦 (bùyànqífán): not to mind taking all the trouble (idiom) / to take great pains / to be very patient

“When did I spoil Dahu’s clothes when washing?” Contrary to their expectations, Lin Qingwan was very calm at the moment. Just a moment ago, she was seething with rage, but unexpectedly she wasn’t angry anymore.

“Did you not wash Dahu’s clothes two days ago?”

“Who said I did them?”

“You don’t remember your elder sister asking you to help her wash clothes two days ago?”

Lin Qingwan nodded, “Oh that, yeah, I washed them.”

He-shi showed a smile full of satisfaction and finally explained to her daughter-in-law, whose head doesn’t seem to be working a bit properly.

“It was indeed me who washed them. But I didn’t wash them badly.” Lin Qingwan calmly stated.

As soon as He-shi heard this, she went ballistic by this shameless daughter-in-law. Once again, a desolate cry reverberated in the room…

Wang-shi, who had been watching the play all along from the sidelines, immediately broke out into laughter while slapping her thigh as the melon seeds sprayed out of her mouth.

Lin Qingwan felt disinclined to pay attention to her; she dusted her clothes indifferently.

“First, I didn’t wash the clothes badly. At that time, this was what elder sister said to me…” Imitating eldest sister Yang’s tone, she said, “Second dimei, it’s okay. You can just wash it. Anyway, it is already torn.”

“Second, I didn’t do it, so don’t put a pot of sh*t on my head.” Lin Qingwan looked at the people sitting on the kang with clear and bright eyes.

He-shi looked at her second daughter-in-law, finding herself on the spot, and immediately flew in rage out of humiliation and began to unreasonably make a din.

“…which daughter-in-law scolds her own mother-in-law, and sister-in-law… you will surely suffer the wrath of heaven…” Lin Qingwan ignored He-shi’s act of unreasonably creating a din. She continued to say where she left off, “Third, there is something I don’t understand; I have a question for eldest sister to clarify my doubt….”

At this, eldest sister stopped weeping, raised her head, and blankly looked at Lin Qingwan.

Lin Qingwan nodded her head in satisfaction, her ears automatically screening out He-shi’s unreasonable words.

“Eldest sister, are you a married woman?”

Eldest sister Yang suddenly had a bad feeling and didn’t utter a sound. He-shi also stopped her unreasonable fuss. Both of them looked at Lin Qingwan, waiting to see what wants to say. But why did their heart gave birth to a feeling of bad premonition?

“It’s fine to not answer.” It’s not like you people are the only ones with the ability to speak with themselves. As a woman born in the modern era in the 21st century as an orphan from a young age and growing to 28 years old, her belief was to never hit back or retort; rather, it was to seek revenge over dirty looks. Quarreling, making an unreasonable scene, swearing obscenities all around were never her forte. Rather she preferred jabbing where it hurts, jabbing till the other person is drenched with blood, making them dumbstruck and unable to reply.

睚眦必报 (yázìbìbào): lit. to seek revenge over a dirty look (idiom) / fig. small-minded / vindictive

Since you all don’t want me to have a comfortable time, even going as far as to making her scapegoat and extorting under false pretenses in broad daylight, then apologies…

“This dimei is of humble talent and shallow learning and lack awareness on ways of the world. However, I also know a little bit…” Her face was full of smiles, appearing cordial and gentle. However, the words she spoke were like a slap to the person’s face, “…that, when you go to other people’s house as a guest you must stay within your bounds. By all means, one must not be ungrateful and dissatisfied with the host, who had provided you with food and shelter. Alas, I am unable to understand how such an intelligent person like elder sister cannot comprehend these principles? I believe that elder sister surely understands these principles, right?”

It’s not that eldest sister Yang cannot understand these principles. Rather she had always firmly believed that she can always have her few saozi and dimei in her grasp. And, even if she was unable to have them in her grasp, there was still her mother, He-shi. But, who would have imagined that she would run into a person who doesn’t play by the rules, and would expose her as such in front of everyone?

Elder sister Yang didn’t speak. Her entire face was reddened, a seldom occurrence; never knew her face could be reddened too. But don’t know whether the cause was embarrassment or anger.

Disregarding the unsightly complexions of elder sister Yang and He-shi, Lin Qingwan continued to speak with a smile, “Elder sister can surely return to your parental home. We sisters-in-law would warmly welcome you and would wait upon you with good food and drinks. Also, we would never let elder sister do any work in the house; after all, when a married woman returns to her natal family, how can they be allowed to do work? Isn’t that so, eldest sao? “Saying so, she turned her head to look at Wang.

Since you want to watch the show, you must also be prepared to be pulled into the water.

Wang-shi was watching cheerfully with glee but was left dumbfounded by Lin Qingwan’s sudden question to her.

Nevertheless, she still nodded her head sincerely and shamelessly said, “Naturally, we sisters-in-law are always there to help.”

Lin Qingwan was very much satisfied with Wang-shi’s ‘sensibility’, and continued: “Even if there is no reason for us sisters-in-law to help with elder sister’s and our nephews’ and niece’s laundries since elder sister asked us to do, we also never refused on elder sister’s face. After all, you(formal) are still our elder sister….” Her tone changed a bit, “But the clothes were originally torn, yet for you to put the blame on other person’s head. This kind of act, isn’t it a bit bad?”

您 (nín): you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你 (nǐ)

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