mesbooks Chapter 215 Another incident before leaving
Chapter 215 Another incident before leaving
After putting away all the things Zhang Youtie had prepared, Liu took out a few pieces of cloth from a basket. The black cloth was for her father, the blue cloth for her eldest brother and two nephews, and the floral cloth was for her sister-in-law and niece. She had calculated the size so that each person could have at least one set of clothes made. All of them were made of the finest fine cotton cloth.
Sister-in-law Liu touched the floral fabric her sister-in-law had given her, her delight evident in her expression.
"Sister, this fine cotton floral fabric isn't cheap. Even though the family is making money now, we still need to be frugal with our spending. We have a long life ahead of us. Besides, Changyun is now in school, which is very expensive. You need to plan everything carefully."
"Sister-in-law, I know, I've remembered what you said." Knowing that her sister-in-law was doing it for her family's good, Liu didn't argue and gently agreed to her sister-in-law's words. As she spoke, Liu took her sister-in-law's hand and led her into the inner room.
"Sister-in-law, this is what I picked out for you. Do you like it?" Madam Liu pulled a long, narrow brocade box from her sleeve and presented it to her sister-in-law.
Looking at the exquisite box in front of her, Sister Liu hesitated to accept it. "Sister, what did you buy this time?"
"Why don't you open it and take a look!"
Sister-in-law Liu took the box and carefully opened it. Inside, a silver hairpin shaped like a lily lay quietly.
She certainly liked it; no woman dislikes jewelry. However, after glancing at it a few times, Sister-in-law Liu resolutely closed the lid of the brocade box and then stuffed it back into Liu's arms.
"I can't accept this; it's too expensive."
"Sister-in-law, you're being disrespectful to me."
“It’s not that I’m being unreasonable. I can accept food and materials from you, but not silver. I’m your sister-in-law, and I can’t take advantage of my sister-in-law. It’s enough that you think of me. But you can take this hairpin back. You can give it to Xiaxia or Changyun’s wife later, but I can’t accept it.”
"Sister-in-law, how can this be considered taking advantage of me? Putting aside your status as my sister-in-law, just considering our relationship, is it too much for me to give you a silver hairpin?"
"Our relationship is certainly good, but I can't accept your things."
"You can't take my things? Sister-in-law, have you forgotten that when I was little, on my birthday, my mother boiled an egg for me, and you took a big bite out of it?"
"Oh dear, you silly girl, why are you bringing up that old story again? Didn't I steal two eggs from home to make up for it?" Sister-in-law Liu slapped her sister-in-law on the shoulder, feeling a little embarrassed, when she heard her sister-in-law bring up the embarrassing incident from her childhood.
"Hmph, you stole two eggs, but didn't you eat one after cooking them? You said you'd compensate me with two eggs, but I only ate one."
"Then I'll just take a bite, and I'll give you one in return, okay?"
When they reminisced about the embarrassing things they did as children, they couldn't help but burst into laughter. The men talking in the outer room heard the commotion and came in to ask, "What are you talking about? Why are you so happy?"
"Brother, do you think the silver hairpin I bought for my sister-in-law is pretty? My sister-in-law doesn't like it!" Liu Shi lied directly to her sister-in-law's face.
"It's beautiful, how can it not be beautiful? My sister picked out such a beautiful gift for you, don't make such a fuss!" Brother Liu couldn't help but gently scold Sister Liu when he heard his sister say that his wife didn't like the gift she bought.
"You're such a fool, get out of here and don't keep me from talking to my sister." Sister-in-law Liu chased him out.
Because of Brother Liu's incident, Sister-in-law Liu still accepted the hairpin. The two talked for a while in the house, but they both tacitly avoided mentioning their little sister. She had been missing for four years. They had searched for her immediately, with the help of the whole village, but they still couldn't find her. Now, their little sister was a scar in everyone's heart; it was better not to touch it, because touching it would only cause pain.
That evening, the meal was very lavish. Sister-in-law Liu brought out all the good things in the house and laid them out to fill the table. The meal lasted very late, and Zhang Youtie, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law all drank quite a bit. Zhang Youtie spoke very tactfully, knowing what to say and what not to say, and the meal was enjoyed by both host and guests.
The next morning, Sister-in-law Liu got up early to prepare breakfast for everyone. Liu wanted to get up too, but Sister-in-law Liu made her sit back down on the kang (a heated brick bed).
“Now that you’re back at your parents’ home, you’re a young lady again. So rest on the kang (heated brick bed).”
Upon hearing her sister-in-law's words, Liu lay down comfortably. Since her sister-in-law had said so, she wouldn't stand on ceremony.
However, being used to being hardworking, I felt uncomfortable no matter how I lay down after waking up.
"Mother, what are you tossing and turning about?" Xia Yu, who shared a bed with Liu Shi, was woken up by her mother's constant tossing and turning, and mumbled something.
"It's alright, go back to sleep." Madam Liu patted her daughter twice, and only after Xia Yu fell asleep again did she quietly put on her clothes and get up.
"Why didn't you sleep a little longer?" Sister-in-law Liu, who was heating up steamed buns in the kitchen, asked when she saw her sister-in-law get up.
"Sigh, I couldn't sleep, and I almost woke Xiaxia up. I might as well get up," Liu said helplessly.
"..."
After breakfast, Liu planned to go back home, as she still had relatives to visit. Although she was reluctant to see them go, she knew they had other things to do back home, so Liu's sister-in-law didn't try to stop them and went to prepare return gifts for her sister-in-law.
Liu pulled her elder brother aside and slipped two fifty-tael silver notes into his hand. At first, the elder brother didn't know what his sister was giving him. When he opened it, he was so startled that his hand trembled and the silver notes fell to the ground.
He couldn't read, but he had seen banknotes before.
"Is this a silver note?" Brother Liu asked his sister in a low voice after glancing at Zhang Youtie outside.
"Yes, each one is fifty taels, from Huitongbao Bank. Go exchange them for silver when you have time."
"One note is fifty taels? Then these two are a hundred taels? Where did you get so much money? You should take them back quickly, or your brother-in-law will be angry." As he spoke, Brother Liu stuffed the silver notes into Liu's hand.
"You Tie, come here for a moment." Madam Liu took two steps back, refusing to take the silver note from her brother's hand, and instead called out to Zhang You Tie outside.
Hearing his wife call him, Zhang Youtie quickly walked to their side.
"What's the matter?"
"Our elder brother doesn't want it. He's afraid we'll get angry, so he insists on returning the silver note to me." Madam Liu briefly explained the situation to Zhang Youtie.
"Brother, take this money. We've discussed this before." After saying this simply, he went out to chat with Old Man Liu.
“Brother, the reason I pulled you in here to tell you this secretly is because I don’t want our father to know. That Wang woman might come back again sometime. If she cries, our father might soften his heart and let her back in. At that point, no amount of money will be enough for her to take out.”
Even so, Brother Liu was still unwilling to take so much money from his sister. Just as the two siblings were arguing, they heard a cheerful voice coming from outside.
"Oh dear, my daughter is back! Why didn't you stay another day? It's a good thing I came back today, otherwise we would have missed each other again."
Hearing the noise outside, Liu felt like she was going to throw up her breakfast. Sure enough, what she felt disgusted with came to pass.
"Brother, you saw that? Put the money away and stop arguing." After saying that, he left the house first.
A woman around fifty years old was wearing a brand-new indigo-blue jacket, her hair neatly combed and adorned with a plain silver hairpin. She was holding the hand of a boy of about eight or nine, and two men in their thirties followed behind her.
"What brings you here?" Sister-in-law Liu asked without any politeness.
"What are you saying? When can't I go back to my own home?" she said, then looked at Liu, who had just come out of the house.