Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 208: Face to Face

Yang Peimin looked at Shen Yiyue with suspicion.

Shen Yiyue suddenly became somewhat hesitant.

Yang Peimin wouldn’t let her take the bowls and chopsticks anymore and held her hand, "Yiyue, are you hiding something from me? And is it about me?"

"You don’t know, today that ’Li family’s second daughter-in-law’ you mentioned, the one called Huang Tao, came to our house. She actually told me that it’s not normal for me to not be pregnant after being married for so long and suggested I see a doctor. Can you believe her? What’s it to her if someone else doesn’t have children?"

Shen Yiyue’s eyes widened, and she turned her head to spit disdainfully, "The nerve of her! Who does she think she is? She thinks she’s so great because she has three sons? Sister-in-law, just ignore her; she’s just jealous of you."

Yang Peimin savored her words, "Jealous of me?"

Shen Yiyue nodded and pulled her to sit down, "Sister-in-law, I’ve indeed been hiding something from you. Actually, this Huang Tao had been considered as a potential match for my big brother before, but my brother, with his keen eyes, saw right through her underlying sarcasm and snark. He didn’t take a liking to her. Who would have thought she’d end up marrying into the Li family next door, and without any sense of shame..."

Yang Peimin’s face showed utter surprise and, interrupting her sister-in-law’s speech in a hurry, said, "If that’s the case, why still interact with her, and why does Mother treat her so warmly?"

Shen Yiyue abruptly stopped speaking with a disdainful tone, turned her face away, and suddenly her cheeks flushed red—not because of anything else but because of Chen Guizhi’s foolish act. Who would thoughtlessly invite their son’s former prospect to their home? No wonder her sister-in-law was angry; she would be angry too.

She quickly said, "Sister-in-law, Mother, she was just being thoughtless. We’d already told her before, and she did listen. Since you and big brother got married, she hasn’t been visiting, has she? I thought she cared about face and knew better than to come by now that we have you. But who knew that, during the few days you went to visit your relatives, she would come over again and even managed to sweet-talk Mother into lending her your bicycle... Sister-in-law, I also think Mother was being thoughtless. This matter, we need to talk to her about it, so it doesn’t happen again. She’s just too soft-hearted and can’t resist flattery. It’s not that she has anything against you..."

Shen Yiyue carefully glanced at Yang Peimin, understanding her mother well; even though she was eager for grandchildren, she wouldn’t have any ill will toward a daughter-in-law who had just joined the family less than half a year ago. But Shen Yiyue was worried that her sister-in-law might get the wrong idea, so she hastily started to defend Chen Guizhi.

Finally, she added urgently, "Sister-in-law, if that Huang Tao dares to come over again next time, you just chase her out with a broom. Actually, you were too soft on her today. Later, I’m going to her house and give her a piece of my mind, let her in-laws see if their daughter-in-law has any other ideas."

Shen Yiyue was genuinely upset for her sister-in-law, whom she liked very much. Even if it wasn’t for her brother’s sake, she had to eliminate any factor that could destabilize their marriage; Huang Tao needed a lesson.

Yang Peimin hadn’t expected such drama and stumbled upon it.

Moreover, her mother-in-law inviting trouble into their home made her feel like she was dreaming.

But Shen Yiyue was good in this situation, and she could only say, "Yiyue, you don’t have to deal with this yourself. I’ll find a way to teach her a lesson. You’re not married and can’t argue with those shameless, bottomless married women. As for Mother, I’ll talk to them—the elders—about it."

After a whole day of walking around, Yang PeiMin hadn’t yet brought up the matter of borrowing the bicycle with her mother-in-law, and now she mentioned it along with what Shen Yiyue had said about Chen Guizhi being clueless regarding the Huang Tao issue. Aside from the pregnancy rumor, it was completely unlike Chen Guizhi to disregard her own wellbeing when dealing with outsiders; it was just that sometimes, out of soft-heartedness or for the sake of face, she would let others take the initiative.

Seeing that the dishes that had been prepared were about to get cold, Yang PeiMin also told Shen Yiyue to bring out the food so everyone could fill their stomachs before discussing anything else.

Shen Yixiang had already come in to hurry them, "Why the rush? Everyone’s hungry." While she spoke, she ladled the rice into a large bowl and carried it out.

When it was time for dinner, everyone was sitting together, making the gathering complete.

Chen Guizhi couldn’t help but say as she looked at the dishes on the table, "Pei Min, why didn’t you fry a couple more eggs? You must not have eaten well in the military. Now that you’re home, you need to take good care of yourself. That old hen that’s been laying eggs for a long time at home is not laying anymore. I’ll slaughter it tomorrow and make some nourishing soup for you to eat."

Her amiable and affectionate words surprised everyone; they had seen this side of her before, but as far as Yang PeiMin was concerned, it was as if their roles had been reversed, as though Yang PeiMin was the mother-in-law and Chen Guizhi was the daughter-in-law.

But after Yang PeiMin and Shen Yiyue exchanged a stunned glance, they understood why.

Yang PeiMin shook her head, "Mother, there’s no need. I don’t need any tonic. I’ll eat an extra bowl of rice just as long as that second daughter-in-law from the Li Family comes by less. That’s better than any tonic."

Chen Guizhi’s face turned red.

Shen Yiyue, however, looked at Yang PeiMin in surprised disbelief. To say such a thing in front of everyone, pointing directly at Chen Guizhi, was her sister-in-law pushed to the limit?

Even though Chen Guizhi was both gentle and could be considered weak, she was also temperate, soft-spoken, and easily persuaded, or to put it harshly, useless as a lump of mud, but despite all this, she was still the mother-in-law, the elder. It wasn’t that Shen Yiyue was dissatisfied with Yang PeiMin, but she feared her father and Shen Yixiang would disapprove of them causing Chen Guizhi to lose face like this.

Shen Erniu’s chopsticks paused, and he asked curiously, "What’s up with that second daughter-in-law from the Li Family?"

Yang PeiMin then explained the earlier incident and observed Shen Erniu’s reaction.

He had been slowly picking up his food, but his movements suddenly stopped, and he turned to look at Chen Guizhi with a hint of disappointment, "Wife, didn’t I tell you to stop inviting that young second daughter-in-law over? Look at this, not knowing people’s true colors. Who does such a thing, coming over to stir trouble in someone else’s mother-daughter-in-law relationship? Does she think everyone’s a fool?"

Chen Guizhi’s face became even more flushed, she nodded and said softly, "I was wrong, I’ll listen to you, I won’t let her come over again. Sigh, I didn’t expect she would..." She glanced at Yang PeiMin and quickly stifled whatever she was about to say next.

Yang PeiMin knew that she was worried about her finding out that Huang Tao had once had a blind date with Shen Yiguang.

Shen Yixiang, however, seemed unable to watch silently any longer and spoke up for Chen Guizhi, "It was all Huang Tao’s fault, always so good at fooling people. Mother was just charmed momentarily, and that woman is good at pretending, not everyone can see through her. Mother didn’t expect her to be that kind of person, so you can’t blame her for this. Sister-in-law, it’s not right for you to press Mother to admit fault like this."