Han Dongchen let out a huge sigh of relief. Playing the mediator between his wife and mother was no easy task. He never thought there would be a day when he'd have to tread so carefully. This was the kind of task better suited for the steward. However, once was more than enough.
He was a straightforward man, a highly regarded captain, his subordinates obeyed him with no question, yet here he was negotiating between two women. As he thought about it, he felt it was ridiculous. The little girl, looking on all the while with a mischievous smile, was really a troublemaker.
Su Xiaowan had no idea what he was thinking. While she was chatting with her mother-in-law, two more people appeared in the restaurant: a woman in her mid-twenties with two thick braids. She was sturdy looking, with a broad face and large eyes. She was rather pleasant to look at.
Before Su Xiaowan could finish her inspection, the woman opened her mouth in an exaggerated way, "This must be the new sister-in-law, just look at her, she's so pretty. Such big eyes, such a delicate nose and lips. Mom, you sure know how to pick them." She continued, "Brother, Mom picked you such a young wife, you're really robbing the cradle."
Su Xiaowan, not wanting to offend, graciously replied, "Hello, Sister-in-law, you're very beautiful too. And your two sons are handsome. You're truly blessed."
On the other hand, Han Dongchen only glanced at his sister-in-law before looking away.
As soon as Su Xiaowan finished speaking, the sister-in-law responded, "What blessing? My life is all work. I need to feed the chickens and ducks and make meals and feed the pigs. You are the fortunate one who can sleep in till late, wake up, and have your meal ready. That's the life of a lady."
After she finished speaking, Su Xiaowan almost burst out laughing. Why didn't she mention feeding the pigs before cooking? Everyone was eager for their meal. Su Xiaowan glanced over to Han Dongchen, whose face had darkened, as had his father's and eldest brother's. The mother-in-laws' responded tersely, "You can't say anything nice, can you? Are you the one cooking the food? Are you the one feeding the pigs? The chicken and duck food are prepared by Chuxia and Xia Hua. What have you got to show off about? You lazy creature."
Mom had just finished scolding when the eldest brother immediately shouted, "If you can't say anything nice, then don't speak at all. Hurry into the kitchen and help Xia Hua serve the meal. It's late and we haven't yet had breakfast."
The scolded sister-in-law didn't seem bothered. She went to the kitchen cheerfully to serve the meal.
Su Xiaowan wiped some non-existent sweat off her forehead, thinking to herself, "This family really is something. They often talk as if they're fighting. Relax, relax."
As Su Xiaowan was still in a daze, the young boy she saw yesterday came over, arrogantly saying, "Hello sister-in-law, I'm the third brother, Han Chuxia."
Su Xiaowan looked at him. He shared a resemblance with Han Dongchen, but Han Chuxia had double eyelid while Han Dongchen had phoenix eyes. However, Han Chuxia was thin. Despite his arrogance, he was polite in greeting. Han Dongchen told her that his younger brother and sister, Han Xiaohua, were twins.
Su Xiaowan nodded at Han Chuxia and said, "Hello, third brother. I'm Su Xiaowan." After the greetings, he sat down, and so did I and Han Dongchen, waiting for the meal to start.
The two children were competing to see who could make more noise with their bowls and chopsticks, interspersed with the sound of grandma's laughter and scolding.
This third brother seemed gentle and cultured, but his arrogance didn't sit well with Su Xiaowan. It may have had something to do with these folks standing by, watching her get beat up yesterday without lifting a finger to help. Their indifference and acceptance of this kind of life was difficult for her to stomach.
After sitting down, Han Dongchen told her that they had another elderly sister, Han Chunhua who was married and wasn't at home, but he'd introduce her when she had the chance.
Interestingly, the way this family named their children was quite unique, it couldn't be what she was thinking, could it? She'd ask Han Dongchen about it when she had the chance.
Soon the eldest sister-in-law and a young girl brought out the meal. Once everyone was seated, the young girl served everyone porridge. This must have been the Xia Hua mentioned by the mother-in-law.
The young girl stood about 1.6 meters tall with two big twists in front (this was a fashion trend for the younger women with long hair parted in the middle with two braids in front. Only the elderly women tied their hair into a bun at the back). She was rather lean, to the point that she didn't look much healthier than Su Xiaowan, but her face was pretty and delicate. With her big double-lidded eyes, she shared a resemblance with her twin brother Han Chuxia. She seemed quite pleasant as she sweetly greeted Su Xiaowan, "Hello, second sister-in-law. I'm the younger sister, Han Xiaohua."
Su Xiaowan also responded naturally, "Hello, younger sister. I'm Su Xiaowan." Taking the porridge from her, she thanked her. She admired the girl — she was a diligent and gentle girl.
For breakfast, there was coarse grain porridge, cornbread, pickles, and dipping sauces. Everyone ate heartily. Su Xiaowan, despite being hungry, barely managed to eat half a bowl of porridge and half a cornbread. After years of fine dining, this coarse cornbread was a struggle. Even swallowing each bite took effort. She managed to force down half a bowl of porridge and half a cornbread.
Just as Su Xiaowan finished her meal, and the others were still joyfully battling their breakfast, Han Dongchen told her coldly, "Hurry up and get ready. We need to go to town later and get our pictures taken. We also need to visit your family. If we leave early, we can get back early."
After looking at Han Dongchen, Su Xiaowan agreed and went back to her room. She was puzzled about the photo. Was it for their wedding picture? That wouldn't be bad.
She was overjoyed. She found a small mirror somewhere and kept looking at her reflection, although she really didn't know why. She would ask him when he came back. However, the thought of going into town excited her. She was looking forward to seeing what a small town looked like in the 80's.
About ten minutes later, Han Dongchen came to call her. Su Xiaowan cheerfully went out the door, thinking they might have to walk there... He had managed to find a bicycle.
Su Xiaowan laughed as soon as she saw it. She imagined a tender and charming little beauty (Su Xiaowan) sitting at the back, arms around a man in military attire (Han Dongchen), riding the bicycle along a country road. The dew-kissed grass on both sides of the road, birds chirping from the woods, and morning sun shining on them. It was such a romantic scene. She had never experienced this kind of close-to-nature romance in all her years. Her heart bubbled up with happiness.
Meanwhile, Han Dongchen frowned as Su Xiaowan was still lost in her blissful smile.
At that moment, the eldest sister-in-law came over and said loudly, "Ah, little sister-in-law, I heard you used to be a city girl. I have seen bicycles before. Why are you so fascinated by it? Tsk, you're quite taken aback, even I have seen more than you." Smirking, she sashayed away.