"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like I haven’t been beaten before." Jie Jingchen tossed so coal into the stove and filled the pot with water. He then stood, patting the dust from his clothes and pants before walking out of the kitchen.
Mr. Xie stood under the eaves, his eyes fixed on the kitchen doorway, blazing with rage.
Jie Jingchen paid him no mind and walked into the house.
In the other kitchen, Grandpa was boiling water while Granny sat beside him. Xu Chunyan was washing dishes. When Aunt Zhang had been around, she would occasionally help out. But now that Aunt Zhang had been sent back to her hotown, the chore seed to have fallen to her.
She had even helped Grandpa cook when she got ho from work today—or rather, she had done the cooking herself. Her plan for tomorrow was to bring Xiao You ho a little later, after Grandpa had the al ready.
"Old man, did you really tell our eldest?" Granny asked.
"Granny, what did Grandpa say to Father?" Xu Chunyan asked, her curiosity piqued.
"This is none of your business. Get back to your dishes," Granny snapped, glaring at Xu Chunyan.
Xu Chunyan bit her lip. ’This old woman is like a thousand-year-old demoness,’ she thought. ’No matter how I try to suck up to her, it’s useless. She seems approachable, but she’s actually so distant.’
The old woman had disliked the previous daughter-in-law, and by extension, she couldn’t be bothered with the children she’d borne. Neither Jing Er nor Jing San could get into her good graces, let alone a granddaughter-in-law like her. The strange thing was, the old woman was particularly fond of Xiao You.
"I told him. Our eldest told Jing Si, too," Grandpa said in a low voice.
"He did? That can’t be right! Our eldest didn’t fly into a rage, and Jing Si didn’t react at all. I saw the Fourth Wife of Jing carrying on as usual, looking perfectly happy. Don’t tell Jing Si didn’t scold her when they got back to their room?" Granny asked, baffled.
"I wouldn’t know about that." Grandpa shook his head. He had told their eldest son not because he wanted to stir up trouble in his family, but because he felt the Fourth Wife of Jing’s actions were wrong. He’d hoped their son would step in and have a word with Jing Si’s wife.
"Then where did things go wrong?" Granny wondered, completely baffled.
"Enough. Stop dwelling on it. Things are fine this way. A peaceful family is a prosperous one," Grandpa urged.
"Does a peaceful family an *I* have to be the one who gets wronged?" Granny retorted angrily.
Xu Chunyan didn’t say a word, but she perked up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"SIGH!" Grandpa heaved a sigh. "We’re getting on in years. As long as our children and grandchildren are well, it doesn’t matter if we get wronged a little."
Granny disagreed. She would rather wrong others than be wronged herself. ’So what if I’m old? Does that an I have to yield?’ "No way. I can’t just swallow this insult."
"Woman," Grandpa said, grabbing her arm. "Stop making trouble. They already don’t care much for us. If you keep making a fuss, you’ll just put our eldest in a very difficult position."
"Let go." Granny glared at Grandpa. She was the type to make a scene even when she was in the wrong; now that she had a valid reason, she wasn’t about to hold back.
"Woman, Jing Si is ho, and he’s very protective of that wife of his. You’ll only be asking for a snub if you go now. He’ll just end up infuriating you," Grandpa said.
"Don’t worry. I’m not going to have a head-on confrontation this ti, and I won’t just make an unreasonable scene. I’m going to outsmart her," Granny said.
"Outsmart her?" Grandpa thought he must have misheard.
Granny gave a mysterious smile and nodded. "That’s right. Outsmart her."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Grandpa’s head was starting to ache.
"She thinks I’m dirty, does she? And she loves to wash bedsheets? Well, I’ll give her her fill of washing." Granny snatched her hand back from Grandpa’s and strode triumphantly toward Jie Jingchen and Qin i’s room.
"Grandpa, I’m a little confused. What’s going on?" Xu Chunyan asked, deliberately playing dumb.
Grandpa had lived through hard tis and weathered many a storm; of course he could see right through Xu Chunyan’s little act. "It’s nothing. Finish up the dishes. Xiao You is waiting for you to help with his howork."
"His dad is helping him with his howork. Once he’s done, I’ll give him his bath. It’s fine, Grandpa. I don’t an anything by it, I’m just worried about Granny. That wife Jing Si married is a real piece of work. I’m afraid Granny will lose out," Xu Chunyan said.
"Xiao You is eight years old and you’re still bathing him? Second Daughter-in-law Jing, it’s not my place to say, but you need to be strict with a son. Criticize when he needs criticism, encourage when he needs encouragent, and know when to let go. Otherwise, you’ll spoil him rotten," Grandpa lectured.
Xu Chunyan raised an eyebrow. ’We were talking about Granny, how did the conversation shift to Xiao You?’ she thought. But she didn’t dare argue with Grandpa. If he went and complained to her father-in-law, it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. "Haha... Grandpa, Xiao You is still little."
"Eight is not little," Grandpa said. "When we were raising children... take his father, for example. He knew how to cook by the ti he was six! Not only did he have to do chores, but he also had to help take care of his younger brothers and sisters. Now look at Xiao You. He’s eight and can’t do a single thing. That’s not acceptable. Second Daughter-in-law Jing, bring Xiao You ho early tomorrow. I’ll teach him how to cook."
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