Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 202

A daughter-in-law’s visit to her parental home concerns her personal freedom, but she must still inform her family members, even if she had mentioned it the night before, she must repeat it in the morning; this is a sign of respect for the head of the household and is also a matter of courtesy.

Chen Guizhi had requested that she bring some gifts, and Yang PeiMin reassured her that she had already prepared them.

She let Yang PeiGuo ride her bicycle and rode on the back herself. When they had just left the house, she noticed that her brand-new bicycle looked much older—not just from accumulated dust, but also from the scrapes it had gotten from falling over.

Before she left, the bicycle had been in good condition. The elderly Shen couple probably wouldn’t ride it since they seldom went out—if they did go to town, they mostly chose to walk or use a cart. The Shen Yiyue sisters shared a bicycle, so it was unlikely that either of them would have ridden hers. freewebnoveℓ.com

Considering this, Yang PeiMin didn’t take it to heart, as it was normal for a family not to fuss over such things. However, Yang PeiGuo looked at it and, with surprise and concern, said, "Sister, how come your bicycle is so beaten up? Don’t you take good care of it normally?"

Hearing this, Shen Yiyue looked embarrassed and explained to Yang PeiMin, "Sister-in-law, it’s my fault for not stopping it sooner. Mom ended up lending it to the Li family’s daughter-in-law next door. She can’t ride at all. I had thought she wanted to use it to run errands or something urgent, only to find out she was using our bicycle to learn how to ride. The scrapes are all from her falls. Once I knew she couldn’t ride, I rushed to take it back. As you know, our mom is always too kind-hearted." As she finished, she sighed.

Hearing Shen Yiyue say this, Yang PeiGuo didn’t know what to say.

Yang PeiMin nodded. This was indeed typical of Chen Guizhi’s behavior, a reflection of her nature. Some people took advantage of her nature, and while it was alright for the time when she had lent things out in the past, it wouldn’t be easy for those opportunists now that she was back.

After some idle chat, Yang PeiMin was ready to leave.

Shen Yiyue saw them to the door. Breakfast had been early today. Now, it was just past seven o’clock, not yet the start of the workday, and many people liked to hold a large bowl with their breakfast, chatting about this and that with neighbors at the doorstep.

Therefore, when Yang PeiMin and her group stepped out, there were already quite a few people gathered at the doorsteps of both her house and the neighbors’. Their place, with stone benches and a large tree for shade, along with a talkative neighbor’s wife present, served as an excellent spot for gossip.

Seeing Yang PeiMin coming out, they greeted her warmly, "Yiguang’s wife, where are you headed?"

"Visiting my parent’s home."

"Oh, you’re so dutiful, visiting your parental home right after coming back."

"I can’t chat now; my brother is waiting for me to start the journey. He needs to hurry back to work too."

Yang PeiMin knew this wasn’t a place to linger; these young women, with their enthusiasm, could keep you talking until it turned dark.

"Sister-in-law, what nice things did you bring back to your parents’ house?" A young wife holding a baby walked over and asked, looking at the bag of stuff she was holding.

Yang PeiMin smiled but did not reply.

Yang Peiguo had already sat on the bicycle, one foot on the ground waiting for her to get on.

Yang PeiMin sat sideways on the back seat of his bike and waved to Shen Yiyue behind her.

Seeing Yang PeiMin leave, the people chatting at the door turned their gossip towards Shen Yiyue, "Yiyue, what did your sister-in-law bring back for you guys from her husband’s place?"

Yang PeiMin had been married for so long and hadn’t taken up a job; housework, they say, was not really her forte, and she didn’t hang out or visit like these other women did. Before Shen Yiguang married, he was highly sought after across all the villages around, and even though he was now married, they were still very curious about what kind of wife he had chosen—whether she was as efficient, diligent, good-looking, fertile, and eloquent as they imagined.

So, they were exceptionally curious about Yang PeiMin, clearly meeting one of their expectations with her looks; in all the neighboring villages, you couldn’t find such a beautiful girl. However, when they craned their necks to listen, they heard no rumors of Yiguang’s wife being capable, nor any good news about a pregnancy, and they couldn’t help but compare her to the other girls Shen Yiguang had been introduced to in the past—who were also from local villages, and just asking around a bit, they’d know who they were. The most common comparison made was with Li Xiaoer’s wife, Huang Tao, who had married a neighbor of Shen Yiguang and lived right next door, they said it would be wrong not to compare the two given such a coincidence.

As it happened, Li Xiaoer’s wife was present, the young wife holding the baby.

The auntie asking Shen Yiyue pulled her eyes towards Li Xiaoer’s wife, Huang Tao.

Shen Yiyue had grown up here, how could she not know what they meant? So she replied indifferently, "Who goes back to their parents’ house empty-handed? Of course, they bring gifts."

Aunt Zhao moved closer with a cordial expression, "I’m telling you, Yiyue, your sister-in-law is lucky to have married your brother, no need to work, doesn’t have to farm, and gets to bring stuff back home every now and then. I wonder if your parents have no objections?"

Huang Tao shook her head and said, "How could that be okay? Yiyue, you need to talk to your parents properly. Your elder brother works hard outside to support the family; don’t let her send everything back to her parents’ home. If it were my family, my parents would be pulling ears and lecturing. Once married to the in-laws, she becomes part of them; how could she do this?"

Several wives and aunties listening in nodded in agreement. Hearing the support, Huang Tao got even more excited, "She is taking advantage of your parents’ kind nature and willingness to talk nicely. As a younger sister-in-law, you should keep an eye on that."

Shen Yiyue found this amusing, as she hadn’t realized her so harsh before, but then again, considering that bike incident, she wasn’t exactly a good Samaritan. Thus, she scoffed, "Exactly, my parents are too soft-hearted, lend out a brand-new bike after a few sweet words, and look at it now—after being borrowed, it’s all battered up, looks like it’s been ridden for five or six years. Aunt, how should one deal with such people then?"

Huang Tao’s face turned cold, "Yiyue, how can you, an unmarried girl, be so harsh? You were not like this before."

"Then let everyone judge for me, how am I being harsh? I haven’t meddled too much, nor have I stirred up discord among the family relations. About my sister-in-law’s wedding gift, that new bike, everyone has seen it. When my sister-in-law went visiting, my mother, out of kindness, let Li Xiaoer’s sister-in-law borrow it saying there was an urgent matter, but she only wanted to learn to ride. If it was just for learning, why didn’t she make it clear? Even if she needed to borrow, shouldn’t she have borrowed an old one instead of a new one? Now, isn’t it all damaged?"

Huang Tao did not expect Shen Yiyue to be so sharp-tongued, and her expression immediately turned ugly.