Blissful Days After Widowhood

After tasting the steamed bun, Mrs. Xu did not forget the serious business. She followed Mrs. Wang’s footsteps and asked, “What about Wu’an’s study?”

When asked about that, Mrs. Wang immediately stood up and smiled, “I would have refused. If his father and brother were here, he would have smashed the pot and sold the iron at home. If I dare to do that, wouldn’t I lose my heart?! But his sister-in-law thinks differently from me. She told me that I also contribute to the business, and the money is not earned by her alone. Now, we all have benefits… Anyway, that little mouth is sweet, and I couldn’t help it, I couldn’t refuse her request at all.”

Mrs. Xu was also happy for her when she heard it, “It’s only because you have raised her well that you can get such a lovely daughter-in-law.”

Mrs. Wang thought about it but felt that it was not the case. Gu Yin was indeed raised by her, but in the past, the child looked at her like a mouse looking at a cat. After she became seriously ill before the summer, she was reborn and changed. Only then did she get along with her better. If the girl hadn’t left her eyes for a day, Mrs. Wang would have felt that her daughter-in-law had been changed. 

She thought that it had something to do with the old immortal in her dreams.

It was hard to elaborate on that, so Mrs. Wang only vaguely said, “You don’t have a daughter-in-law, so you don’t understand.”

It was just a random sentence, but she didn’t know that Mr. Xu was stabbed, and suddenly raised her voice, “How come I don’t understand?! Wang Baoyun, don’t go too far!”

Mrs. Wang shouted back without any hesitation, “What are you yelling about? How am I going too far?!”

The two were talking at the door of the house, and Gu Yin came out and said with a smile, “Mother, the buns will get cold. It’s better to eat first and then talk to aunt slowly.”

“Who has something to say to her? I’ll go in.”

Mrs. Wang walked home with her hands behind her back while shaking her head.

Gu Yin stepped forward and touched her arm, and said softly, “Aunt just told us that Wu’an has talent, and you also sent buns over to their house. It is a good thing, so why did I just hear you two were going to fight again?”

Mrs. Wang hurriedly explained, “I didn’t argue with her, she was sour and started yelling.”

Gu Yin had no choice but to turn around and smile at Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu smiled slightly, accepting her kindness.

When Mrs. Xu returned to the house, Xu Qingchuan also persuaded her, “Mother, you and Aunt Wu are old friends. If you have something to say, don’t hurt the relationship between the two families.”

“Who has a relationship with her?” Mrs. Xu still hummed angrily. In fact, she also knew that Mrs. Wang’s sentence “no daughter-in-law” was just a casual remark, not deliberately stabbing her, but that matter was part of her worrying issue.

In the early years before the Xu family collapsed, many people rushed to make a match for the young Xu Qingchuan.

The second elder of the Xu family had been involved, and had settled on an engagement for Xu Qingchuan.

The girl’s family background was ordinary, but was from a scholar family, and the family style was clean.

Since then, the two families had become good friends, and with the help of the Xu family, they got better.

That marriage was very much to her taste, and she treated the girl as her own daughter.

But then something happened to the Xu family, the second elder was taken into prison, and her husband fell ill again. In a panic, she went to her in-law’s family for help, hoping that they could write a complaint for her and hand it over.

But they not only avoided her, but even asked the servant to throw out the betrothal token, saying, “It was just a joke made by the elders. Mrs. Xu should not call them anything like in-laws. It will make people laugh,” which made Mrs. Xu’s heart chill to this day.

It was not until later that Xu Qingchuan became a scholar at the age of thirteen, and he was in the limelight, and then another matchmaker came to the door to talk about his marriage.

But at that time, the statue of the family who came for the match was very low. After all, the Xu family’s family background was plummeting. Although Xu Qingchuan was a young talent, no one dared to guarantee the future.

Mrs. Xu’s heart was full of anger, thinking that she had to find a marriage for her son that was not inferior to that of the past, so she rejected all those people.

In a blink of an eye, Xu Qingchuan was already old, and Mrs. Xu still couldn’t choose a daughter-in-law that she liked.

“Son, it’s your mother who can’t help you.” Thinking of the old things, Mrs. Xu burst into tears, “Others have children at your age, but you…”

Xu Qingchuan hurriedly wiped her tears, “Mother, what are you talking about? I’m all into studying, and I don’t even want to start a family. If you really make me marry an unsuitable person, it’s not good for me.”

Mrs. Xu found it right when she thought about it. Her son had a great future, and he really wanted to marry a good person.

Her emotions came and went quickly, and when she was coaxed, she burst into laughter, urging Xu Qingchuan to go back to the room to study.

…………

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang slept early that day, and woke up again in the middle of the night.

Gu Yin started to cook vegetable porridge. She first fried the chopped green vegetables with an appropriate amount of lard, and then boiled it with water.

When the porridge were in the pot, she started making steamed buns.

There were one hundred pieces of vegetable stuffing and fifty pieces of vegetable and meat stuffing. Every now and then, she had to adjust the fire in the stove.

Seeing her busy running around in the small kitchen, Mrs Wang said distressedly, “You just have to take care of it. I’ll watch over the fire.”

It was not that Gu Yin didn’t believe her, but it was just that cooking porridge was simple, just boil it and keep it warm. But the porridge handed down by her family was different. What ingredients were used when and what kind of fire was very particular, and it was difficult.

Fortunately, after she finished wrapping the buns and the porridge was ready, Gu Yin finally sprinkled a handful of dried shrimp powder in the pot, and she was done.

After a busy day, the two of them arrived at the pier.

Lao Liutou arrived earlier than the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. When he saw Gu Yin, he smiled at her first, then lowered his voice and said to her, “I was worried that you won’t come today. How was yesterday? Your mother-in-law didn’t embarrass you, right?”

Although Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang were acting, Lao Liutou’s righteous help was not fake.

So Gu Yin smiled back, and while putting the table, chairs and benches, she replied, “Thank you for your concern. My mother is actually very good. Yesterday, she was impatient, so she got angry with me. After we went back, she didn’t embarrass me but apologized to me.”