Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 206 Bank Run

So Yang PeiMin was also considering whether to rent a room over there.

When she had finished tidying up and went out to prepare dinner, she found that Huang Tao hadn’t left yet. Chen Guizhi was there with her two older sons and the two granddaughters, Xiao Fang and Xiao Fang, playing and chasing each other around like in a kindergarten. Even Huang Tao’s slightly over one-year-old son, who couldn’t walk steadily, was clapping his hands and joining in the commotion with his shrill screams.

The boy’s voice was loud, and it was hard to believe such a strong energy could come from his small body. Yang PeiMin felt her scalp tingle from a distance and thought Chen Guizhi must be fed up as well. As a result, Chen Guizhi took out some fruit candies from the house to placate them, which brought some peace to her ears.

However, Huang Tao was holding her month-old baby son and smiling on the side, scolding Chen Guizhi, "Auntie, look at you, bringing out sweets again. Don’t let the kids get used to it. If they keep coming over and bothering you for treats, that will be a hassle."

Chen Guizhi laughed, "That won’t happen. They are sensible children, and the older ones are so sweet, calling me ’grandma’ and melting my heart."

Huang Tao sneaked a smile and said, "Then, Auntie, you’d better hurry and urge your daughter-in-law to have a grandson." She was also sharp-eyed and upon spotting Yang PeiMin walking across the yard, raised her voice, "Sister-in-law, Auntie is calling you."

Yang PeiMin had come out to draw water for cooking. She hadn’t joined in earlier because of the noise from the playing children and Huang Tao being there.

Now being called out by Huang Tao, she really thought Chen Guizhi was calling her. So she entered the house and, seeing Chen Guizhi feeding Huang Tao’s son candy, asked, "Mom, were you calling me?"

Before Chen Guizhi could speak, Huang Tao interjected, "Yes, Auntie is fond of seeing how lovable these little monkeys in my family are and thought you could also have one to cuddle. You know, sister-in-law, you’ve been married for over half a year now. If there’s nothing wrong with your health, you should be pregnant by now. Have you been to see a doctor?"

Yang PeiMin’s face turned cold immediately. She despised Huang Tao’s blatant provocation, "Li family daughter-in-law, what do you mean by this? What business is it of yours whether I have children or not? Do you need to come over to remind me? Who do you think you are?"

She then turned to Chen Guizhi and said, "Look at her, Mom, sowing discord with such clear malicious intent, trying to play us mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for fools. I haven’t been married into your family for long and don’t know of any grudges between us and the Li family that would allow her to come and make fools of us, asking for candy and bicycles, and then stirring up our family affairs. Mom, think about it, did our family ever offend the Li family?"

Most of the time, Yang PeiMin wore a smile on her face. Even when Xiao Fen and the others poured out all of her skincare products and ruined them, she didn’t get angry. She even worried that Xiao Fen and the others would be scared, and instead spoke to them with a kind and soothing voice. Chen Guizhi had always thought her daughter-in-law was someone without a temper.

Now she realized it wasn’t that she had no temper; she simply hadn’t encountered anything worth getting angry about.

Huang Tao’s face turned red and then pale, and soon her eyes reddened as she looked at Chen Guizhi, appearing very aggrieved, "I’m sorry, Auntie. I misspoke. Sister-in-law, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean that."

Chen Guizhi listened as Yang PeiMin spoke in such a way that she felt a bit of anger towards Huang Tao in her heart, angry at her for speaking without a filter just now. But now seeing her sincerely apologizing, she wondered if perhaps she was too sensitive. Her mouth corners twitched, wanting to say something, but seeing her daughter-in-law’s cold face, she ultimately sighed. "Xiao Er’s wife, look, it’s almost time for dinner, and the child must be hungry too. Why don’t you take the child home to feed him?"

When she said this, Huang Tao’s tears fell even more fiercely. She wiped her hands and nodded her head obligingly. "I understand, Auntie. I’ve caused you trouble. I’ll head home now. Could you help me carry Little Two on my back..."

Chen Guizhi then deftly set Little Two onto her back and used a cloth to secure him. Huang Tao called over her older son and started to walk out. As she passed by Yang PeiMin, she said, "Sister-in-law, I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn, but don’t worry, there are plenty of hospitals nowadays. If there’s something wrong with your body, get it treated quickly. Don’t delay. You should know that I... got pregnant with my oldest... in the second month..."

Yang PeiMin sneered. "Li Family’s daughter-in-law really likes to meddle in other families’ pregnancy affairs, huh? No wonder you look so worn out; it must all be from this kind of worry. I heard you just got married the year before last, you should only be in your twenties, but you look like you’re nearly forty? Look at the crow’s feet by your eyes, they could squash a mosquito, and your skin is as rough as old bark. I wonder if your man is disappointed?" She could turn a venomous tongue upon herself as well.

Huang Tao subconsciously reached to touch her cheek but remembered she was holding a child. No longer able to feign grievance, her eyes blazed as she glared at Yang PeiMin. Her face was as colorful as a painter’s palette, too angry to speak.

Yang PeiMin wasn’t angry anymore; she watched cheerfully, then moved her gaze to the child held against her chest and the one by her side. "Oh, I forgot. No wonder you look so old. Just look, you’re already a mother of three. Next time we meet, don’t call me sister-in-law. I’m afraid of getting old from that. Moreover, being called sister-in-law by someone who looks forty makes me feel like it’s shortening my life."

Huang Tao didn’t just glare at Yang PeiMin; she also gave Chen Guizhi a look. This old woman’s words were so pleasant to the ear, but now her own daughter-in-law was bullying her to this extent, and she didn’t say a word in her defense. All her previous goodwill was wasted!

Finally, she stared down Yang PeiMin fiercely, and in a fit of rage, she managed to squeeze out a few words: "With a mouth as poisonous as that, you deserve not to have children!"

She dragged her older son out of the Shen Family gate, still shouting curses that echoed from afar.

Only then did Yang PeiMin turn back to Chen Guizhi. "Mother, you see? That’s the kind of person she is."

Chen Guizhi’s face turned red with shame, and she sighed. "I didn’t expect her to be like that, sigh..." She seemed to think of something else, shook her head, and sighed again.

After a while, watching Yang PeiMin silently cleaning up the mess made by the children on the floor and the kang, not sure whether it was because the air was getting heavy or in an attempt to break the silence, she wanted to say something to her daughter-in-law to lighten the atmosphere, but as soon as Chen Guizhi spoke, "Daughter-in-law, those words you said just now...," she realized what she had said and hurriedly braked to a stop.

Yang PeiMin lifted her head slightly and asked calmly, "Mother, do you think I went too far with my words just now?"

Chen Guizhi fumbled with her words. In fact, she did think it was somewhat excessive. Which woman could stand to be spoken to like that? The Li Family’s daughter-in-law was just a bit calculating—there was no need to respond to her cruelly.

"Mother, and with that Li Family’s daughter-in-law clearly pushing me like that, can’t mother see it?"