When the house was smashed back then, it was because they didn't have enough money, but the couple had already made big promises, so the family could only build a house with one side of brick.
The house with one side of brick only had bricks on the front; the back was still rammed earth. It looked nice, but it wasn't as grand as a house entirely made of red bricks.
Building a house that was neither here nor there left the couple feeling stifled. Not only did they resent Chen Man Tun and his wife, but they also hated Chen Li Shu to the bone.
"Mom, Chinese New Year is almost here. Your eldest grandson even knows to buy you a piece of cloth to make a new outfit. What about the second son's family?" Chen Man Cang asked, looking up.
Old Mrs. Chen pursed her lips, "Who can compare to my eldest grandson? If that little beast really bought me clothes, I wouldn't dare wear them. I'd be afraid of losing years off my life."
Although she said this, Old Mrs. Chen felt uneasy. They were willing to spend money on a child with no blood relation to her, yet she, as the grandmother, didn't want to spend a single cent. Moreover, ever since she got married, she hadn't visited her even once during festivals.
With a heavy heart, Old Mrs. Chen went to Chen Man Tun's house after dinner.
During the off-season, to save grain, most people reduced their three meals to two, eating breakfast later and dinner earlier.
Chen Man Tun's family had just finished dinner and hadn't cleared the table yet. Upon seeing Old Mrs. Chen enter, Chen Man Tun quickly stood up, "Mom, you're here. Have you eaten? Why don't you eat something at home?"
Old Mrs. Chen glanced at the coarse grain porridge and pickled vegetables on the table and dismissively said, "There's not even a vegetable. What do you expect me to eat!"
Seeing her attitude, Wu Chun Mei cautiously stood up, "Mom, why don't you sit down first? We still have some dried vegetables from autumn. I'll go stew them for you."
"Second son, listen to your wife. Your mother comes all this way, and you want me to eat dried vegetables? If you don't want me here, I'll leave right now!"
Hearing Old Mrs. Chen's accusation, Wu Chun Mei's eyes immediately reddened.
"Mom, Chun Mei didn't mean it that way. What do you want to eat? I'll go buy it right now."
Old Mrs. Chen's face darkened, "What do I want to eat? Look at your pathetic state, what can you buy? If I wanted delicacies, could you go buy them?"
Chen Li Yuan, seeing Old Mrs. Chen's behavior, became furious. She stood up from her seat, "Grandma, you're not here to eat, are you? I think you're just here to pick a fight."
As soon as Chen Li Yuan spoke, Old Mrs. Chen finally found an outlet for her anger. She pointed at her nose and cursed, "You damned brat, you've studied your books only to stuff them into a dog's belly! They say girls are money-losers. I haven't even settled my chin on your family's stove yet, and you're talking to me like this. Your elder brother Bao Zhu still knows that Chinese New Year is coming and will get me a piece of cloth for an outfit. What filial piety have you few damned girls shown me?"
Old Mrs. Chen, still not appeased after her tirade, pointed at Wu Chun Mei and cursed again, "You spendthrift woman, you're all smiles to my face and backstabbing behind my back. I bet you're badmouthing me to the children when I'm not around."
Wu Chun Mei was at a loss for what to do and could only shed tears of grievance with reddened eyes.
"Cry, cry, cry, you unlucky star who cries all day! I was blind to marry such a thing. You're not capable of giving birth to a son, and the money-losing daughters you have are even more viciously minded..."
Seeing that Old Mrs. Chen's scolding was becoming increasingly unpleasant, Chen Man Tun stepped forward two paces and said with difficulty, "Mom, it's my fault as the son for not managing this household well. Your daughter-in-law was planning to send you money before the New Year."
Old Mrs. Chen's expression improved slightly upon hearing about the money, and her scolding lessened, "At least you have some conscience."
Saying this, Old Mrs. Chen pulled over a stool and sat down, looking at Chen Man Tun. "How much were you planning to give?"
Chen Man Tun and his wife exchanged glances, knowing that if they gave too little, the old lady would certainly not be satisfied. Furthermore, judging by her words, Bao Zhu, a junior, had already shown filial piety, so they couldn't give less.
"Mom, here's twenty yuan." Wu Chun Mei wiped her tears and took out the twenty yuan that Chen Li Shu had given her from her inner pocket.
When Old Mrs. Chen saw it was only twenty yuan, she snatched it, stuffed it into her pocket, and began to scold, "Do you think this is for beggars? What can twenty yuan do? Bao Zhu spent more than ten yuan on an outfit. You two have no conscience, trying to placate me with just twenty yuan!"
Wu Chun Mei hadn't expected Old Mrs. Chen to scold her even after taking the money. She was both anxious and wronged, and cried, "Mom, we didn't have much money to begin with. We only gave the filial piety money not long ago. The younger ones don't even have money for new clothes for the New Year."
These words struck a nerve with Old Mrs. Chen, "You only think of your brats. Man Tun is my son, you shameless slut. I said..."
"You're not allowed to scold my mom!" Chen Li Yuan couldn't take it anymore. She stepped forward and shoved Old Mrs. Chen, causing her to stagger.
"Oh, I can't live anymore! Man Tun, you thunderstruck idiot, the daughters you bore are all wild things. The elder one doesn't respect me, and now the second one dares to lay hands on me." Old Mrs. Chen promptly sat down on the stool and began to wail.
Seeing this turn of events, Chen Man Tun was both anxious and angry. He raised his hand to slap Chen Li Yuan, but as soon as he did, his legs went weak, and his vision went black.
"Dad!"
"Husband..."
Chen Li Yuan, seeing his body sway as he was about to fall, was terrified. She quickly reached out to steady him.
"Dad, are you alright? Dad, I was wrong. I won't hit Grandma again. Please don't be angry." Chen Li Yuan, scared, her eyes reddened, and she started to cry.
"Husband, how are you? Has your illness flared up again? I'll get you some painkillers?" Wu Chun Mei said, then quickly went to the cabinet to get painkillers.
Old Mrs. Chen, witnessing the incident, initially thought Chen Man Tun was faking it to deceive her. But when Wu Chun Mei actually came back with medicine, she stopped wailing, though her expression remained displeased. "What's wrong with the second son?"
"Mom, your son has been having stomachaches recently. His appetite is poor, and sometimes he has a fever. He also gets dizzy from time to time."
The couple had gone to the clinic, but no problem was detected. They thought it wasn't a big deal, just taking some analgesics, and painkillers when the pain was unbearable.
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen's drooping eyelids suddenly twitched. "Stomachache? And dizzy? Could it be that he's been offended?"
"Offended?" Wu Chun Mei asked, somewhat confused. "Husband was fine before. Who could have offended him?"
Old Mrs. Chen's cloudy eyes moved. "Who else could it be? It must be Man Tun's father. When he was reclaiming land with others, didn't he get gored in the stomach by a startled cow and die?"
"Mom, my father has been gone for so many years. Why would he suddenly come looking for me?" Chen Man Tun was astonished by Old Mrs. Chen's words. He had just taken painkillers and sat on the stool to recover for a while. He felt a little better now.
Old Mrs. Chen pursed her lips, "Having a disobedient son like you who doesn't show filial piety to the living. As for the dead, there's no need to mention it. Have you burned paper for your father? He must be running out of money down there and has come looking for you."