novelraw Chapter 200 - 110: The Smitten Liu Sanshun
Chapter 200 - 110: The Smitten Liu Sanshun
Li Gengtian said his piece. Seeing Qiufeng open her mouth to retort, he waved a hand and said, "Let me finish. I heard what you said just now—that this is all the meat you have at home. Truthfully, even if you hadn’t brought any, Dashun’s father wouldn’t have blamed you. But since Dashun already brought it over, taking it back now... how would that look? Just let Dashun’s parents have the meat; you won’t be losing out. You brought one cut of meat today, but when they butcher their pig, they might send you two cuts in return. And since the old couple knows you’re pregnant, they might send even more than that. Dashun came to help his parents this time, so when you need a hand at your place, all three of his brothers will go help. When you have the baby, Dashun’s mother and Mei will help you look after it, too. You refuse to be close to anyone, not even your husband’s own brothers. Aren’t you just turning your back on all your kin? What good will that do you? Do you really think you’ll never need anyone’s help with anything ever again?"
He stepped back, pulled Zheng Changhe forward, and said to Qiufeng, "Forget about everyone else, just look at your Uncle Zheng. He had the bad luck to break his leg while hunting last year. Weren’t Zhao San and Huai Zi’s father the ones who bustled about helping him pull through? Everyone in our village went to visit him, too. He’s all alone. If he had three brothers like Dashun, I can’t imagine how happy he’d be."
Zheng Changhe nodded repeatedly. "That’s right. I’ve always been at a disadvantage for not having any brothers. But Huai Zi’s father and I are as close as brothers."
Li Gengtian continued, "Your Uncle Zheng is a good, honest man. Those acorns, that acorn tofu—aren’t those wonderful things? And didn’t he share how to make them with the whole village? According to your way of thinking, wouldn’t that have been a huge loss for him? But look, the whole village is grateful to him. Whenever someone butchers a pig, they send meat his way. When his family was clearing new land, a crowd of people went to help, and they refused any payment when they were done. It was only because your Uncle Zheng absolutely insisted that they reluctantly took a little. You shouldn’t draw such a clear line with your parents-in-law. You won’t be the one losing out! By acting this way, you gain nothing and only give people reason to talk behind your back. What’s the point? In a remote village like ours, far from the Emperor’s reach, we rely on helping each other. No one can make it completely on their own."
After Li Gengtian’s long speech, Qiufeng kept her head down without a word. It was impossible to tell if she had taken any of it to heart, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore.
Fatty Liu saw that the village chief’s speech was reasonable and well-founded, and felt that he had said what was on his own mind. His own failing was that even when he had something to say, he never knew how to put it into words, so he could only resort to yelling at his son the moment he opened his mouth.
He saw his daughter-in-law still sitting on the ground and, remembering she was pregnant, worried something might happen to her. He coughed, then said to Dashun, "Help your wife home. Dad doesn’t want the meat. As long as you two are doing well, my heart is at ease. But what you did today was wrong, too. Even if you were trying to be a filial son, you should have discussed it with Qiufeng first. Did you think you could just bring the meat over without a word and that would be the end of it?"
Zhao San said with a gentle smile, "Qiufeng, your parents-in-law aren’t angry about the meat. They’re upset about their son. They raised this big son of theirs, helped him marry, and now he treats them like this over a single cut of meat. It makes them sad."
Mei’s mother wiped her tears and said, "Third Brother, you’ve said exactly what’s in my heart. If I’d known she was pregnant, I would have added some things for her to take back, not taken her cured meat."
Liu Sanshun snorted. "It’s not about the meat. She’s just afraid that if she gets too involved with our family, she’ll be expected to help when her three brothers-in-law get married, and we’ll come asking for money! Fine, we won’t have anything to do with her. I’d rather be so poor I die a bachelor than go knocking on her door to borrow money."
Just when Fatty Liu thought things had finally been smoothed over, his third son had to add a few more tactless remarks, infuriating him so much that he rushed forward and kicked him.
Sanshun craned his neck, neither dodging nor flinching, and took the full force of the kick.
Li Gengtian laughed. "You boy, you’re a stubborn mule yourself. You really live up to the name ’San Jiangzi.’" There was a saying in the countryside that the third child was always the most headstrong, and this Liu Sanshun was a famous ’San Jiangzi’.
Hearing Sanshun’s words, Liu Dashun was overcome with grief. Without saying a word, he angrily helped Qiufeng to her feet and started for home.
Liu Sixun picked up the cut of meat, hurried after them, and pressed it into Dashun’s hand, saying with a smile, "Big Brother, don’t be angry. You know what Third Brother’s temper is like. Just take this meat and cook it for Sister-in-law. Besides, our family is going to butcher our own pig soon."
Dashun forced a smile. "How could I be angry with him?" With that, he supported Qiufeng as they walked back home.
After the commotion, the workers returned to the fields.
Liu Sanshun, still feeling resentful, lagged a step behind to help his mother clear the bowls and chopsticks and take them to the kitchen.
He saw Juhua in the kitchen with Mei, washing the bowls and chopsticks. She listened intently as Mei spoke, chiming in occasionally. Her movements were deft, her expression gentle. He then thought of his eldest sister-in-law’s behavior just now, and of the second sister-in-law they had spent a few taels of silver on but had yet to officially marry into the family. A sudden realization struck him, and he froze on the spot.