At that point, Mo Wu wiped the corners of her eyes, paying no mind to how awful Mrs. Hong’s expression had turned as she continued, "Tie Tou now has a decent job, and in another year or two, he would have saved enough to afford a wife. But not long ago, the little aunt got hurt, and all the silver Coin he’d earned went to her dical expenses. Right now, the little aunt can’t even get out of bed, and the cost of her dicine is like a bottomless pit; the bits he earns are just enough to cover her dication. It’s precisely because we have no other choice that we’re out working, with the hope of saving up even a little, to make it easier for him to find a wife in the future. If even now you think heartless for not providing you with silver coins, Mother, there’s nothing I can say. If it cos to it, I might as well stop earning money, and Tie Tou can remain unmarried for life..."
After hearing these words, everyone present was moved and began to feel sympathy for Mo Wu. Doesn’t every family have sons and daughters? Don’t all parents toil their whole lives for the sake of their children? Mo Wu’s wages were saved not for her own ho but for her child. What was wrong with that? Should we really let the child remain unmarried, lonely and unsupported for life, with no one to care for him in his old age?
At this mont, no one accused Mo Wu of being unfilial or unkind anymore. Instead, they felt a great deal of antipathy towards the overbearing Mrs. Hong: the daughter-in-law was already quite generous for using her money to treat the little aunt, yet the mother-in-law, instead of being grateful, even forced her daughter-in-law to hand over the hard-earned wages. It was simply too much, reminiscent of a wicked mother-in-law tornting her daughter-in-law heard about in town gossips!
Being labeled as a "wicked mother-in-law," Mrs. Hong despised Mo Wu to death, but at this point, she had no way to turn the unfavorable situation around, let alone profit from Mo Wu any longer. Finally, under the strange looks from the bystanders, she left, supported by Mrs. Niu, with a strong scent of fleeing the scene.
"Yan girl, it’s all Aunt’s fault for troubling you again,"
On the way back, Mo Wu kept apologizing to Mo Yan, feeling extrely guilty.
The stand’s business was blooming so well that it had attracted the envy of many fellow vendors, who would occasionally stir up trouble with the custors. Had her mother-in-law and sister-in-law indeed managed to sully her reputation today, it would have likely spelled the end of her ability to continue with the stand.
She should have foreseen this day coming; her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had been pressing her about the market stall for days, and no amount of explanation seed to suffice. But she had never imagined that they would take the fight to the streets. It was utterly infuriating.
"Aunt, don’t say that. They are them, and you are you. They were bent on picking a fight and causing trouble; you couldn’t have stopped them."
Mo Yan was angry with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, obviously not blaming Mo Wu, but their sches hadn’t worked out today. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t resort to dirty tricks in the future, and she certainly didn’t have the spare energy to be consud by such ssy affairs.
Now that the two families had severed ties and the mother-daughter pair were wary of her, they likely wouldn’t dare to make a scene in front of her again. But it was different for Aunt; as long as she remained a daughter-in-law of Lao Mo’s House, as long as she couldn’t satisfy the greed of Mrs. Hong and the others, there would never co a day of peace.
There were so things she couldn’t overstep as an outsider, so she could only beat around the bush and asked, "Aunt, when you’ve saved up enough for Brother Tie Tou’s marriage, are you planning to build him a separate house, or a big one for the whole family to live together?"
Mo Wu didn’t know why she had suddenly brought up this topic but answered anyway, "Of course, I plan to build him a separate house. There’s no room to add on to the house we’re living in now, and I don’t want him to still be all cramd together with the whole family after he’s married."
Mo Yan imdiately followed up with, "But Brother Tie Tou is your eldest son, and by custom, he’s ant to provide for you in your old age. If he lives separately, won’t people accuse him of being unfilial?"
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