Chapter 37: Unable to Manage Life

Li Xihua pouted. “Mother, now that you have a daughter-in-law, you don’t want your own daughter anymore? How could you try to send me away? Can’t I have a few private words with my sister-in-law?”

Tang Xin, however, simply took out two large apples from her prepared basket and handed them to Li Xihua. “Elder Sister, please, go on.”

When someone gives you something, it’s hard to stay mad. Li Xihua had originally prepared a long lecture, but faced with those tempting apples, she couldn’t utter a single word. Earlier she’d seen her sister-in-law handing apples to her two younger brothers. Well, they were children—it made sense for them to eat more. She hadn’t expected she’d get some too, and Li Xiyue’s face immediately soured in embarrassment.

Inwardly, she was thinking that her sister-in-law seemed generous, but also rather wasteful. Such fine apples, given out so casually—she really didn’t know how to manage a household.

To be fair, Tang Xin was wronged. If only they knew, her apples were piled so high in her space farm’s warehouse that she could hardly fit any more. And she wasn’t stingy by nature; since she had plenty herself and liked the Li family, of course she’d share them.

With that thought, Li Xihua decided to stick to her original plan. She addressed Tang Xin earnestly, “Sister-in-law, as someone with experience, let me give you a few words of advice from the heart.”

Tang Xin was thoroughly tired of apples by now. With her space farm, she couldn’t cook, so whenever she was hungry, all she could do was eat fruit. In these times, everyone’s meals were lean, and hunger was a frequent companion; she’d had her fill of apples long ago.

She didn’t want to eat any herself. After giving two apples to her two elder sisters, Tang Xin took out two more, washed and sliced them, and shared them out—herself, Mother Li, and the just-arrived Li Kai and Li Xiyue each got a piece.

Holding a small piece of apple, Tang Xin smiled at Li Xihua. “Sister, please go ahead.”

Li Xihua sighed before saying, “Once a woman is married, life is bound to change. You should serve your mother-in-law and husband well, and have children early—”

Before she could finish, Mother Li cut her off. “Enough, enough. When you married, I never taught you that. How is it you’ve learned all your mother-in-law’s ways now?”

Serve your mother-in-law and husband? As women, why make things difficult for each other? People always say mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies, but Fang never believed that.

She thought, when you’re a girl, your parents dote on you at home—why should marriage mean suffering and hardship? In her view, mothers-in-law should treat their daughters-in-law kindly. Even if you can’t love them as your own, there’s no need to torment them deliberately.

It was a pity about her eldest daughter’s marriage; only after the wedding did she realize her mother-in-law was all honeyed words and hidden knives, making her daughter’s life miserable. Fang had felt sorry for Li Xihua, but listening to her lecture her sister-in-law now, she thought: you reap what you sow. Her daughter’s troubles were often of her own making.

Fang waved her hand. “Alright now, take your things and go. Next time, bring your husband along for a visit.”

Li Xihua had claimed her mother-in-law was unwell, so only she had come back for her brother’s wedding, not her husband. Fang didn’t believe a word of it—clearly, her in-laws looked down on their family and didn’t want much contact.

Li Xihua paused, feeling wronged. “Mother, this is too much. You’ve always favored your sons, and now you think your daughter-in-law is better than your own daughter?”

Fang laughed and scolded her. “Yes, I think Tang Xin is better than you—anyone is better than you. You do the most, but your mouth gets you in trouble every time. Always doing thankless tasks and making everyone angry.”

Li Xihua pouted but didn’t retort. She began to pack her things to leave.

Though she’d said it was just a small basin of meat and vegetables, there was actually quite a lot. Li Xihua felt reluctant to take it home. Her petty, snobbish mother-in-law had only given five yuan as a wedding gift for her husband’s younger brother. Her mother wanted her to return the favor in full, afraid she’d get scolded otherwise. The meat and vegetables would make another good meal tomorrow, so instead, Li Xihua just took two freshly steamed wheat buns—the wedding cakes—to share with her mother-in-law and husband.

Even the two apples in her hand, Li Xihua didn’t really want to take home; she wouldn’t get any of them anyway. But when her sister-in-law was slicing the apples, she’d given her a generous piece, so now Li Xihua wanted to bring them back as proof of Tang Xin’s consideration.

Knowing her eldest sister was only hard on the outside and soft within, Tang Xin walked over, smiling. “Sister, you’ve worked hard these past days. Come visit your parents often when you have time.”

Somehow, these words seemed to provoke her. Li Xihua snapped, “This is my parents’ home—do I need you to tell me that?” Then she turned and left.

Tang Xin was left speechless, but didn’t forget to call out toward the yard, “Brother Li Sheng, Sister is leaving—see her off, will you?”

Li Xihua stumbled a little. Since meeting this sister-in-law only recently, she hadn’t realized how sentimental she could be with her brother. “It’s just a few steps, I can manage on my own,” she said, waving her hand and hurrying away.

Tang Xin watched her go in silence. Her eldest sister’s temperament was truly difficult to like.

Even Fang was shaking her head and calling out, “Alright, off you go. No one’s keen to see you off, anyway.”

Yet still, she worried that her daughter-in-law might not like her eldest daughter, so she quickly explained, “That’s just how your sister is. She’s a good person, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.”

Tang Xin replied, “I know, she really is a good person. By the way, Mother, is Elder Sister not doing well with her in-laws?”

With another new daughter-in-law, a mother-in-law might be cautious, but Fang appreciated Tang Xin’s candor—she had her little moods but never lashed out unfairly. City girls were bound to be a bit delicate, but at least she never took advantage.

So Fang chatted away with Tang Xin, telling her about family matters and her worries and pains regarding her eldest daughter. Usually, Fang kept these things bottled up, but today she felt in the mood to share.

As she warmed to her topic, Fang even said, “Daughter-in-law, shall we share a cup together?”

“Mother, I can’t drink. May I toast you with tea instead?”

If only Tang Xin could cook, she thought, she’d be able to show off a bit now.

“When I was at home, my grandparents, parents, and everyone spoiled me. Here, I’ve been eating from the communal pot at the educated youth camp,” Tang Xin said with an awkward smile. “Truth be told, I can’t cook at all.”