Chapter 49.2

Translated by Aviana

By the time Lin Qingwan finished washing all the cutlery and dishes, her hands were frozen and red.

Back in the room, Yang Tiezhu was distressed upon seeing her and wanted to look for He-shi to argue with her, but Lin Qingwan stopped him in time.

At this moment, Yang Tiezhu no longer harbored any dread over the callousness of his family. The only thought running in his mind was that his mother was bullying his wife and suppressing her all day long.

If that person wasn’t his mother but a mere outsider, Yang Tiezhu would have simply swallowed the person long ago.

On normal days, he doesn’t let his wife carry heavy things, feeling distressed. Even when he was heavily injured, he wished to lend her a hand. But now, she was being insulted by the other person in such a way. Even if the other person is his mother, he couldn’t bear it.

Lin Qingwan placated Yang Tiezhu for half a day, coaxing and amusing him before cautioning him to not stir up any ruckus this while, lest a new branch grows out of a knot. Anyways, He-shi would not be able to sit calmly for a long while, and soon she would give birth to the idea of expelling them.

节外生枝 (jiéwàishēngzhī ): new problems crop up unexpectedly.; bring up unnecessary ramifications; cause complications; complicate matters

Now, when Yang Tiezhu again went through his wife’s and eldest gu’s plans, he felt they made sense.

Nevertheless, it’s better for them to separate from the family, or his mother would keep pestering his wife all day long. Since his wife requested him to endure, he would endure for a better future.

However, He-shi seemed to want to challenge the endurance levels of the second branch’s husband and wife. The next day, she threw a heap of clothes to Lin Qingwan before ordering her to cleanly wash them.

Additionally, she even asked Wang-shi and Yao-shi to give all their clothes to Lin Qingwan for washing, saying that as her saozi and dimei had helped her cook meals in the past few days, she would help them wash their clothes as a token of gratitude.

嫂子 (sǎozi): older brother’s wife / eldest sister-in-law

弟妹 (dìmèi): younger brother’s wife/ youngest sister-in-law

Yao-shi anxiously evaded saying that all of her clothes had been washed long back, while Wang-shi excitedly went in and brought another huge heap of clothes and threw them in front of Lin Qingwan.

Wang-shi was inherently lazy, and as the clothes worn at home don’t get dirty to the point they are unwearable, she never took the initiative to wash them, not to mention those unwashed cotton-padded clothes from the last year. They were merely flipped inside and out and were directly worn without even sun-drying them.

This time she was truly fortunate to get free labor at their expense. Apart from the clothes they were currently wearing, Wang-shi simply brought all the clothes from their room.

Glancing at the big basin of the clothes in front of her and another huge pile of clothes Wang-shi dumped at the side, Lin Qingwan’s face turned dark.

But without any utterances, she continued to endure.

Yang laoyezi, perceiving that his old woman has been tossing lao’er’s wife here and there since the past few days, dragged her to reprimand.

The old couple had a dispute in the main room, but in the end, it was unknown what He-shi said to Yang laoyezi; there weren’t any more movements from the main room.

By the evening, the entire family got to know that Yang Tiezhu’s arm was crippled.

Wang-shi even specially made a trip to their room to express her ‘heartfelt consolations’. Yao-shi also came to their door with worry all over her face. Even Yang laoyezi came to take a look at Yang Tiezhu. Eventually, the husband and wife couldn’t conceal the matter anymore and had to reveal the ‘truth’.

Yang Tiezhu stated that the doctor in the town had surmised that his injury was too serious and was furthermore delayed too long. As such, in the future, his left shoulder and left arm might be unfit for heavy work.

Nonetheless, no one paid attention to ‘might’. Wang-shi’s face gleamed with brightness for a short movement before she masked up the joy on her face. Yao-shi appeared to be a bit panicked, while Yang laoyezi’s face lost color and became dull.

The number of the blows he had been receiving in the past few days had been too big.

In the end, Yang laoyezi didn’t say anything before turning around to the main room with a sorrowful face.

In order to execute the plan unimpeded and smoothly, Lin Qingwan concealed the truth from Yao-shi as well.

Yao-shi frantically returned to her room; chaos ensued in her heart. She couldn’t help but feel apprehensive; the second brother’s arm had been crippled; how could her second sao lead her days in the future. No wonder mother-in-law had been tossing the second sao for the past few days; this was the cause. Second sao’s body is weak, unlike her sturdy body. If mother-in-law continued to toss her like this, how could her body be able to bear it?

Yao-shi stabilized her mind and first decided to send someone to pass her letter to her husband and have him quickly return. Yang Tiegen had taken up a job with free food and lodging in the town and hadn’t returned home for several days.

Although his return might not be of much help, good-hearted Yao-shi felt when her husband returned, they could come up with some plan.

The days passed by. For the past few days, He-shi continued to toss Lin Qingwan from here to there. Not only does she have to wash clothes, cook for the family, feed livestock every day, but now she also wash the chamber pots of the elderly couple.

Suppressing the nauseous feeling, Lin Qingwan went to clean the He-shi’s chamber pot. Perhaps, this chamber pot hadn’t been cleaned for a long while now; there was a tinge of bad stench coming from it. The walls of the chamber pot also seemed to be covered with yellow-colored grime.

Lin Qingwan thought she could endure it, but she never expected the smell to be this pungent, making her retch.

She couldn’t control herself anymore and vomited out everything. Even after emptying her stomach completely, the feeling of nausea didn’t stop, and she continued throwing up sour liquid.

(I think this sour liquid is bile.)

Hearing the sounds from here, Yao-shi and He-shi sprinted to the backyard. Yao-shi swiftly helped Lin Qingwan up while He-shi began spewing curses one after the other as soon as she dashed in.

“I asked you to clean the chamber pot, yet you threw up for this old lady to see. You did it deliberately, right….. “More and obscenities continued to pour out of her mouth.

While vomiting the sour liquid, Lin Qingwan kept glaring at He-shi.

While growing up in all these years, she had never detested anyone. She had intended to tolerate He-shi till she got impatient of them. But she couldn’t control herself any longer…..

On the one hand, Lin Qingwan was beside herself with rage, while on another, she was feeling uneasy in her stomach, unable to stop retching. Unable to endure anymore, hit by a wave of dizziness, she lost consciousness.

Yao-shi shrieked in horror ——

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