Chapter 18.2

Translated by Aviana

Yang Tiezhu finally couldn’t bear this time. ‘Bang’, he slammed the bowl on the table, stood up, turned around, and walk out. When he got up, the stool that his sitting on flipped over and fell on the ground because of his sudden movement.

This time the room was very quiet, even the kids at the other table saw the movement at this side and no longer dared to utter a word, and each and every one of them bowed their heads, having their meal.

He-shi slammed the table and stood up.

“He even turned against me and went and dared get angry at me.”

Old father Yang’s head ached as he pulled He-shi’s clothes, and dragged her to let her sit down.

“Alright, can you not make trouble? For the child’s marriage, you need not pay. The child is earning it by himself, yet when he comes back, you ask for money from the other person. Is there a mother such as you?”

“What’s wrong with me? When you earn money outside, you have to hand over half of it to public funds. Did I say something wrong?” Actually, He-shi was not stupid. She knew how to use ‘conventions’ to suppress people.

“Yes, yes, what you said is all reasonable, reasonable alright? How much money the second son handed over to the family in the past few years, don’t you know in your heart? Buying those few acres for the family and also building a 5-room roof-tiled house, were you the one who earned all the money for it? Why are you unclear in these affairs?”

These words, Old father Yang didn’t know how many times he had said it to He-shi, however after listening to him, she would always say one sentence….

“I am his mother. I gave birth to him, shouldn’t he show filial piety to me?”

Yes, this is the sentence. He-shi would always speak so as if it ought to be as such, asserting eloquently.

“Right, you are his mother, and I am his father. He ought to be filial to us, but I have never heard of anyone being “filial” to their brothers and nephews in the family! In this family, apart from the second son, third son and his wife, who else can work?” Old father Yang was so angry that his beard straightened up, and he stopped eating too. He might as well say everything now that situation had arisen, so as to avoid his wife going to the second child and trouble him, making the entire family restless.

“Is it the eldest child or the fourth child or you?”

“These two years, my health wasn’t good. The work in the fields was entirely done by the second child, fourth child, and his wife.” Old father Yang wiped his face and sighed.

“Eldest son…” pointing at Yang Tieshuan, “He is happy to partake but is not prepared to do any work. When it comes to doing work, he will stealthily run away…” As he criticized him, he couldn’t stop his tears from coming out.

It’s for these mess in the family, and also for this incorrigible wife of his.

Yang Tieshuan stared and stared, wishing to refute, but he didn’t dare to utter a word when he saw tears in Old father Yang’ eyes.

He once again pointed at Wang-shi but moved away from his finger at the speed of lightning.

“How the eldest daughter-in-law is, you know in your heart clearly.”

As a father, he can scold his sons, but he cannot comment on his daughter-in-law.

“Needless to say, the third son and his wife are both honest. Also, fourth child—your darling son. You said that the fourth son was clever and eager to send him to a private school. I believed as long as the child can study, I could sacrifice everything I had to provide for him, and shouldn’t be like first, second, and third sons, without knowing how to read and write any characters, doing only farm work entire life to feed themselves…”. Old father Yang did his best to patiently explain, “You said that child had to study and working would delay his homework, and didn’t let him do any work. I didn’t object you…In the family, how you want the things to be done, you do as you please, in the end, the boy would be 18-years old, yet he would be unable to carry heavy loads on shoulders or by hand…

unable carry heavy loads on shoulders or by hand: Describe people who lack labor and exercise

Old father Yang also didn’t know what to do with this youngest child. To reprimand him, he, himself, was reluctant; to not to reprimand him, he had been studying for a long time, yet hadn’t even passed an entrance exam to become a scholar. To not let him study, Old father Yang was also reluctant; to let him study, the family’s silver was being spent like a splashed water. Usually, he couldn’t say Yang Xuezhang a word. If he even said a word, a He-shi would start arguing with him as if her life depended on it.

Fortunately, at this moment, Yang Xuezhang was not at home but in the academy. If he heard these words at home, don’t know what he would think.

“Such a big family, so many people…” Old father Yang ran his hand across his head with grief and lament.

“How were we able to feed and support them? Not even a single person was starved, nor was frozen. These two years, hadn’t the days in our life also gotten better? Also, the fourth son’s tuition fees for the tutor, year after year, we had to bribe with silver to take the exam…Why are you still not content even with all these? I know you are biased, people all tend to be biased, but your bias is too obvious!”

“If you keep on going on like this, sooner or later, this family would be separated because of you, leaving only the old behind. Then I will watch as every day you go around asking money to let your precious son take exams…”

Old father Yang stopped eating. With his hands clasped behind his back and his waist hunched, he lifted the door curtain and walked out.

Everyone in the room remained silent, including He-shi.

Don’t know if she was frightened by always-taciturn-Old father Yang’s fury, which was hard to come by, or it was something else. However, it’s easier to change mountains and rivers than altering a person’s character, hoping for the overbearing He-shi to change in this lifetime; perhaps it’s a little difficult.

………………

Yang Tiezhu remained sullen and angry all the way to the Yang-shi’s house. His complexion didn’t look good until he entered the house.

As soon as Yang-shi saw him, she immediately reminded him that he had forgotten to take the hares and pheasants he had brought yesterday and asked him to immediately take them home.

Yang Tiezhu suddenly felt even more upset. He just told Yang-shi that he need not take them back home and would leave them here for her and Wanwan to improve their health.

Yang Tiezhu was unable to understand why was his mother couldn’t be tolerant of him? This one question he wasn’t able to understand since his childhood. It wasn’t as if he had been picked up from outside.

Yang-shi thought that Lin Qingwan’s complexion was indeed not good and needed to be improved. Thus she didn’t say anything else.

As Lin Qingwan had nothing to do, after having a meal, she went to take a nap. Thus, at this moment, only Yang-shi was sitting alone on the kang in the main room doing her needlework.

Yang-shi called Yang Tiezhu to sit down, and upon looking at his complexion, “What happened? Your mother got angry at you again?”

Yang Tiezhu sat at the edge of the kang and lowered his head, “She asked me for the silver I got from hunting.”

As for ‘filial piety’ and whatnot she had said before, he didn’t say anything, fearing Yang-shi would feel uncomfortable in her heart upon hearing it.

Yang-shi immediately closed his eyes as anger filled her heart.

“I really don’t know what He Xiuzhu’s thinking?! How does her thinking work?”

Yang Tiezhu didn’t utter a word.

Yang-shi’s face became distressed as tears rolled down.

“Child, it’s all because of your aunt, that you…”

At that time, if she hadn’t become soft-hearted and promised her younger brother to breastfeed little Tiezhu, it was unlikely for all these incidents to happen afterward.

She was broken-hearted at that time as the daughter she had given birth to had died prematurely. When Old father Yang requested her to come, she had agreed because: for one, she became soft-hearted, and second, she also wanted to breastfeed the child to get solace and to get over those gloomy days of her life. Thus she agreed right away.

Who would have imagined that He-shi would be this narrow-minded? Just because she and He-shi didn’t get along when she was in her parent’s house, she took all her anger on the child. The child was very small and ignorant; thus, whenever He-shi was angry with him, little Teizhu would run to her. She loved the child dearly, so she also didn’t stop him. Who would have imagined it to gradually become as such…

“Aunt, it has nothing to do with you. My mother is just like that.” Yang Tiezhu sighed and consoled her. He also didn’t know how to assess his mother, regarding the issue between his mother and Yang-shi, he knew it too. These matters he really cannot blame his aunt…

He can only say…he can only say that his mother’s way of thinking was different when compared with ordinary people.

No matter how He-shi treated Yang Tiezhu, he couldn’t talk unpleasantly about her in his heart.

Yang-shi’s heart was full of worries. He-shi was like that, and also Yang Tiezhu’s brothers weren’t worry-free. In the future, after both of them married, how would their days be, ah!

It would be fine if the Yang family was to be separated, with each of them living on their own. Then Yang Tiezhu also wouldn’t have to see He-shi’s face every day, and need not bother with such a mess…

Such an idea appeared in Yang-shi’s mind, but she didn’t tell Yang Tiezhu about this idea in his heart.

Now wasn’t a good time to talk about the separation of the family. Better wait till both of them got married, then see how the future situation will be.

After all, one should not separate from the family. If one wants to separate, there’s still sharpening to be done!

Thinking as such, Yang-shi’s spirit arose and started discussing with Yang Tiezhu about his marriage with Lin Qingwan.

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