Ten days or so passed like this. The innocent and artless izi didn’t find married life difficult at all. On the contrary, she felt very happy. Her parents’ ho was so close that whenever she felt hosick, she would run back for a al. At her in-laws’ house, she was just as frank and outspoken as she had always been.
Although her mother had repeatedly drilled advice into her before the wedding, izi was an open book by nature, incapable of holding anything back. As a result, she hadn’t changed one bit.
This made Li Changming worry endlessly. ’If I go out to work,’ he thought, ’can she and Mom really get along?’
Whether they could get along or not, Li Laoda had already warned Granny Hua. "Changming won’t be living at ho for much longer, and izi is a good girl. For the ti they’re staying here, you’d better behave yourself. If you keep running your mouth like you always do and make our daughter-in-law angry, don’t bla for dealing with you."
Granny Hua replied hurriedly, "What could I possibly do? I’m a grown woman. Am I going to bicker with a little girl like her?"
Li Laoda snorted. He looked at the strip of cloth wrapped horizontally across the bridge of her nose and the gaping, toothless hole in her mouth. The sight of her, looking neither human nor ghost, made his chest tighten. He turned and left, figuring it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.
That night, Li Changming thought about how he had to go to the wheat fields to weed the next day. He would probably be spending more ti in the fields from now on, so he wanted to give izi a few words of caution—he just couldn’t shake his unease.
He leaned against the headboard with one arm around izi’s shoulders, his large hand gently twirling a strand of her hair. "izi," he said, "I have to go work in the fields tomorrow. While you’re at ho..."
He trailed off. ’Am I supposed to say I’m worried about my own mom?’
In truth, it was izi he was worried about. He recalled how his mother had a way of talking that could make a person jump up in fury, and he absolutely did not want to leave izi at ho alone to face her.
’What if Mom makes izi cry? What then?’
’It’s highly likely. His mother’s way of thinking was always different from everyone else’s, and you could never reason with her. izi, on the other hand, is straightforward, always speaking her mind and never beating around the bush. Putting those two together... they’d be talking completely past each other. It would be total chaos.’
He finally understood. When izi’s mother had initially suggested they live separately from the family, it wasn’t because she wanted the young couple to have a comfortable life, but because izi’s naive personality was simply incompatible with this household.
He sighed and warned izi with great concern, "My mom... sotis she says things without thinking. If she says sothing hurtful, don’t get angry with her. Just wait until I get ho and tell ."
It wasn’t that he was afraid of izi offending his mother. He was afraid that if izi argued with her, his mother would undoubtedly make her cry. That was why he told her to just ignore her and leave it all for him, as the son, to deal with.
In the darkness, izi blinked her large eyes and nodded. "I know. My mom already told everything."
Hearing this, Li Changming couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ’This just makes even more worried. How can she be so artless? You can’t just tell other people what your mother told you in private. He could just imagine that Gou Dan’s mother had taught izi plenty of tricks for handling his own mother, but that was certainly not sothing she should be telling him, the son.’
Thinking of his mother’s pregnancy and her recent fall, he added, "Just focus on making the als. Don’t worry about the other chores. We’ll sort them out when we get back."
’These things weren’t sothing you could explain in a sentence or two. His mother’s personality hadn’t changed in decades, so he’d given up hope on that front. In any case, they’d be moving out in a few months. There was no point in saying too much to izi. She was used to an easy life and just wouldn’t understand.’
But izi was ntally prepared. She had her own set of ideas that she planned to put into action now that she was married. She couldn’t be as carefree as she had been at her parents’ house; she had to learn from Liu Xiaoi and Juhua.
So, after hearing Li Changming, she leaned closer against him and said thoughtfully, "Don’t you worry, Changming. I know how to manage a household now. I definitely won’t let you worry about things at ho."
Li Changming was touched and couldn’t help but smile. ’This little wife of his is just so endearing,’ he thought. ’But she completely missed the point.’
Sigh. ’One step at a ti, I guess.’
The next day, after Li Changming left, full of unease and reluctance, only izi and Granny Hua remained at ho. izi imdiately got busy, just like a proper young wife. No, that wasn’t right. She *was* a proper young wife now.
As she started tidying up the house, she said to Granny Hua, "Mom, after you wash the dishes, go feed the pigs. Be sparing with the acorns, or we won’t have enough to last until autumn."
Granny Hua froze. ’? Wash the dishes and feed the pigs? Didn’t I just take a fall?’
She said to izi hesitantly, "izi, my nose isn’t feeling too good." With the gap in her teeth, her words ca out slurred and off-key.
izi didn’t even glance at her. Spinning like a whirlwind as she sorted through the clutter, she replied nonchalantly, "Mom, a sore nose will heal in a few days. What’s there to be anxious about? Hurry up and wash the dishes and feed the pigs. If you keep busy, you’ll forget all about the pain."
Resigned, Granny Hua had no choice but to go wash the dishes and feed the pigs. She had no excuse not to. After all, the girl was busy cleaning the house.
But she had always been a dawdler. Before izi joined the family, this house was her kingdom. There was only so much to do anyway, and she used to do the laundry and cooking at her own slow, deliberate pace. As for the pigs, Changming would always rush to feed them as soon as he got ho.
But that all changed today.
She was puttering around slowly in the kitchen for what felt like an eternity when izi rushed in, aghast. "Heavens! Mom, what are you doing? You’ve been washing dishes all this ti and you’re still not done? Hurry up and finish so you can feed the pigs and then make lunch! Otherwise, what are Dad and Changming going to eat when they get ho?"
That look of disbelief and shock on her face left Granny Hua stunned. ’She’d been doing her chores this way for decades. Why, all of a sudden, was it no longer acceptable?’
She could only agree out loud, while cautiously asking, "izi, if I do the cooking, what will you be doing?"
’Could it be that Gou Dan’s mother taught her daughter to handle this way?’ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welco to visit qidian to vote and leave a monthly pass. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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