"There’s no need to buy groceries; I already picked so up on my way back," Hu Yong dangled the bag of vegetables in his hand, smiling, "Hurry to the kitchen and get things ready. Bring out so liquor later; I’ll have a few drinks with my buddy."
"Sure thing, you guys have a seat, I’ll take care of it! Old Hu, make sure to treat your friend well." The woman cheerfully took the vegetables and scurried to the kitchen to get busy.
Hu Yong invited Su Yang to sit and poured him a cup of tea before he headed to the kitchen.
Sitting outside, Su Yang overhead Hu Yong quietly asking if the eldest sister-in-law wasn’t ho. However, upon receiving a negative response, his tone noticeably dropped.
It was clear that Hu Yong was very intimidated by this elder sister-in-law.
Su Yang didn’t pry into other people’s family matters. He sat by the table, slowly sipping his tea.
Hu Yong’s apartnt was quite small, a two-bedroom unit of just over sixty square ters. It was just barely adequate for a couple with a kid, but clearly not enough if there were more people living there.
The fixtures in the ho were rather old, much of it being furniture from over a decade ago. An antiquated, large CRT television sat atop a table against the wall, the kind of thing that would fetch only a couple hundred yuan if sold as scrap.
It was evident that Hu Yong’s life was quite strained.
Just then, a door that had been tightly closed suddenly opened, and a woman with average looks but heavily applied makeup walked out.
The woman bore a resemblance to Hu Yong’s wife but fell short in terms of appearance.
Her clothes seed to be of decent quality, but in reality, they were just high-quality fakes.
Still, the woman bore an exceedingly haughty expression, her eyelids turned up, hardly deigning to look directly at others.
This woman was none other than Hu Yong’s elder sister-in-law, Zhang Aiqin.
Upon seeing Su Yang seated in the living room, she first froze, then frowned and said, "Old Third, whose kid is this? How co he’s just sitting around in soone else’s house?"
Just as Hu Yong stepped out from the kitchen door, he heard her and imdiately forced an awkward smile, "Eldest sister, this is my comrade-in-arms. He’s co over for dinner!"
"Comrade-in-arms?" Zhang Aiqin scrutinized Su Yang, curling her lip, "Who are you fooling? He’s so young, probably hasn’t even grown a full set of facial hair, and he’s already enlisted? Could it be that this is so illegitimate child your dad had on the side, and you’re bringing him ho to take care of?"
Su Yang’s eyebrows knitted together. Although Hu Yong had ntioned this woman’s coarse way of speaking, he hadn’t expected it to be this appalling. This was no longer just mockery or disdain; this was outright insult.
Hu Yong’s face was a picture of embarrassnt: "Eldest sister, stop joking around. He really is my comrade-in-arms. He enlisted while I was just getting discharged. He just joined the army a bit earlier, that’s all."
Zhang Aiqin shot a glance at Su Yang, "When you were discharged from the military, he enlisted, which ans you two actually haven’t spent much ti together. Hmph, what kind of comrades are you? Just coming over to freeload als and drinks, aren’t you?"
"Big sister, you can’t say that..." Hu Yong hurriedly spoke up.
"If not that, then what?" Zhang Aiqin shouted angrily, "Hu Yong, I’m not trying to insult you, but my sister marrying you has been her downfall for eight lifetis. All these years, has my sister ever enjoyed a single day of happiness with you? You can’t earn money, but you sure know how to spend it. You can’t even take care of your own household, yet you bring your fair-weather friends over to freeload all the ti. Are you even a man anymore?"
Hu Yong was clearly annoyed, his face red with anger, gasping for breath, yet he didn’t dare to say anything. Ever since he married his wife, her family had looked down on him, and he had suffered many such humiliations and scoldings over the years.
He had fought back before, but in the end, his wife was forcefully taken away by her family, and ultimately, he had no choice but to go and apologize obediently. So even now, despite being humiliated like this, he didn’t dare to utter a word.
At this mont, Hu Yong’s wife ca out from the kitchen and said with an awkward smile, "Sister, don’t be angry at Hu, we are doing quite well. Hu is very good to . His comrade is just here for a al, it’s not a big deal, don’t take it to heart."
Zhang Aiqin rolled her eyes, and as she walked to the kitchen, she retorted, "All you do is defend him, I really can’t understand it. What kind of love potion has this man fed you? Look at him, he’s got no money, no power, not even above average in height or looks. What in the world do you see in him? If you had listened to and married Director Lin’s son back then, you would be a wealthy lady spending your days in beauty salons by now. Did you really need to live so shabbily in this slum?"
Zhang Aiqin’s voice wasn’t loud but was just enough for the two in the living room to hear. Frankly, she was saying it for Hu Yong to hear.
Hu Yong’s face was filled with embarrassnt, but in the end, he didn’t dare to contradict her, rely sitting next to Su Yang quietly peeling garlic. After a while, he looked up and gave an embarrassed smile, "Su Yang, don’t take it to heart, she talks like this..."
Su Yang nodded slowly, not speaking again. Seeing Hu Yong’s resigned deanor revealed how he had been living all these years.
Before long, the al was ready, and everyone took their seats at the table.
While Hu Yong’s wife was very cordial, Zhang Aiqin remained cold throughout, not even deigning to look properly at Su Yang and Hu Yong. During the al, she kept talking about how great Director Lin’s son was, ntioning his wealth and power, which made Hu Yong even more uncomfortable.
If it wasn’t for Hu Yong’s wife interrupting a few tis, Zhang Aiqin might have said even more outrageous things.
"Third sister, I really don’t know what to tell you!" Zhang Aiqin fud, "You always speak up for him no matter what. Look at him, he’s mud that can’t be helped up the wall. Do you know why mom and dad have never once visited your house? They’re embarrassed. How many years has it been, and you’re still living in this run-down old house. You’ve thoroughly shad our parents with the way you’re living!"
Finally, Hu Yong’s wife couldn’t hold back any longer, putting down her bowl and saying softly, "Sister, how I live is my own business. We may live in this old house, but we’re happy, and that’s enough. If mom and dad are old and don’t want to co see , I can go visit them. Why do you always have to ddle in our lives?"
"Third sister, what are you saying?" Zhang Aiqin beca enraged at once, "What do you an ddling in your lives? Am I not doing this for your own good? I say all this because I want you to have a better life. Who am I doing this for, what do I have to gain from it?"
"Sister, thank you, but I’m really fine, you don’t have to worry about !" Hu Yong’s wife replied helplessly.
Zhang Aiqin slamd the table, "Fine, think of my good intentions as ddling if you will. I’m not going to care about your affairs anymore, you could beg , and I still won’t interfere!"
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