My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 183 Conversation
"If you ask me, let's call it a day. Qingwen went to see her before, and his daughter is doing quite well now. You've seen the photos she sent back the last two times."

Wang Cunye smacked his pipe, glanced up at his wife, and said, "You always have to wear such a long face, making Susu unhappy and your son-in-law unhappy too. It's our daughter's first time visiting her parents, don't let it end up with you, the mother-in-law, being disliked by everyone..."

"Ha, am I caught in the middle? Who chose this son-in-law?"

Gao Xiulan became agitated upon hearing this: "Wasn't it you who chose him? Now you're bringing it up again. Before the marriage, your father-in-law treated him so well, and I, his mother-in-law, treated him like my own son. But after marrying our daughter off, what has become of this guy?"

"If Qingwen hadn't asked around, we wouldn't have known that our daughter was being bullied."

Indeed, Wang Susu's situation was actually learned by her eldest son, Wang Qingwen, through an old classmate from Changle Township.

Wang Qingwen is a middle school teacher, and he also has a classmate who teaches at a school in Changle Township. Seeing that his younger sister didn't write home much, he asked someone to go to Chenwangzhuang to inquire. It was through this inquiry that he learned that Wang Susu was not doing well.

When the elderly couple found out, they couldn't sleep all night. In the end, they were so angry that they had their eldest son come over and cause a scene.

We have to make a scene. Our daughter is married far away, and if her family doesn't stand up for her, the hard times are yet to come.

Even now, this is the same for the first time returning home after the wedding.

We have to say a few words about him.

There's no way around this; the mother-in-law has to play the bad guy and throw a tantrum.

The girl suffered mistreatment at her husband's family home.

Why can't your family say a few words?
Wang Cunye understood this principle, and after hearing his wife say this, he remained silent.

After a brief silence, she sighed softly, "Sigh, Jun Cai is such a good person, who knew his son would be so disappointing..."

"However, Qingwen also said that the child's temperament has started to change. He knows how to take care of the family and is good to Susu, which is actually good enough."

Then, he looked at his eldest son and asked, "Right, Qingwen?"

Wang Qingwen nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Dad, your judgment is good. This kid is indeed capable, smart, and quick-witted. He used to be full of ideas but never used them properly, always fooling around. He was spoiled by Uncle Juncai. Now he has just corrected himself, and in less than half a year, life has become much better."

“Dad, Mom, didn’t I tell you last time I came back? When they were building the new house, a lot of people from their village went to help, and they also made friends with leaders in the county and city. Also, when I was about to come back, Susu didn’t say anything, but he asked Zhenzhen to stay, saying it would be more convenient for her to go to school in the county town. Otherwise, since schools in our town are always closed, two or three months will pass in the blink of an eye, and the child will miss out on school.”

"Tell me, based on this alone, which son-in-law in our area can compare?"

After he finished speaking, Su Ligai followed up, saying, "Father, Mother, Awen and I have been through this before. You can tell whether a family is doing well or not just by looking at their faces. You can't hide it from people. Look at Susu now. She's gotten fatter and fairer. Look at her radiant face. She's even younger and prettier than when she got married. I wouldn't say Susu is living a very happy life, but she's definitely not suffering anymore."

"This son-in-law knows his mistakes and can correct them. He is ambitious and takes care of his family. We should be satisfied with him."

"Sigh, I know, I know everything..."

"I was actually quite satisfied with what Qingwen said before. I just felt sorry for your girls and wanted to put on a show and support them, right?"

The old lady wiped away her tears and sighed again.

"After all, they'll be living their own lives from now on. I'm just worried that if this brat goes back to his old ways in a couple of years, you girls will be the ones suffering then."

“I can also see that this rascal has the potential to become something great, but he lacks discipline. We can’t just praise him all the time; we need to keep him in check so he doesn’t go astray in the future.”

Gao Xiulan kept talking, and Wang Qingwen and his wife nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Wang Zhenzhen glanced at the group of people, then at her own father, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, she grinned mischievously, ran outside, and called out.

“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, Mother said she doesn’t blame you at all. She’s actually quite satisfied with you. She’s just worried that you’ll treat my sister badly in the future, so she’s pretending to scold you.”

Good guy.

Is this something that can be explicitly stated?
The old lady never expected her youngest daughter to pull this stunt. She was stunned when she heard it, her face turned pale, and she was so embarrassed that her face turned bright red.

"You little troublemaker..."

"Did I tell you to speak up? You think you're so great?"

Gao Xiulan raised her hand, wanting to slap her but unable to bring herself to do so. She just glared fiercely at her youngest daughter, who was running back into the house triumphantly.

That's it, I'm done for. This little girl exposed me, and all my anger has dissipated.

That crazy girl, we haven't hit her enough.

Seeing his mother's anger and embarrassment, Wang Qingwen and his wife Su Ligai tried their best to suppress their laughter.

They never expected that, despite their repeated attempts to persuade her, they couldn't resist their little sister's innocent and unfiltered words.

"Hmph, who told you to ignore me? I haven't been back for three months, don't you miss me?"

The little girl sat on the threshold, shaking her head and swinging her braids, muttering softly.

Wang Cunye, with a pipe dangling from his lips, glanced at her sideways and said, "Miss you? Your mother wants to beat you."

As they were talking, Chen Ling and Wang Susu walked into the house.

Although Chen Ling had overheard the conversation inside the room, his sister-in-law had just interrupted him.

But facing the two elderly people, I still felt a little awkward and uncomfortable.

He then took Wang Susu's hand and walked up to the two elders, earnestly promising, "Father, Mother, don't worry, no matter what happens in the future, I will never let Susu suffer again..."

Wang Cunye had also been a son-in-law before, and he knew that such things shouldn't be taken too far, as excess is as bad as deficiency. So he quickly said, "Alright, Lingzi, that's enough."

“The past is the past, let’s not talk about it. You’ve come all this way back, let’s talk about something happy. Your mother and I have been looking forward to your return. We’ve left the east room empty for you, and we clean it spotless every month. We’ll take you to see it in a bit.”

As for Gao Xiulan, she wasn't actually angry, but she was still a little embarrassed, so she glanced at her daughter and son-in-law and didn't say anything.

Upon seeing this, Wang Zhenzhen ran to the kitchen in the yard and brought back a broom.

He handed it to Gao Xiulan, saying, "Mother, here you go."

"What are you doing?"

"Use this to hit."

"What?"

“Hit your brother-in-law! If you’re still angry with him, hit him with a broom.”

The little girl looked very serious, then pointed to herself, and then to Wang Qingwen and Su Ligai: "If you can't fight, there's me, my brother and sister-in-law. When my second brother and sister-in-law come back, we'll take over for you, along with the two of them."

"When you and Dad get old and no longer have the strength, we will discipline him for you."

Gao Xiulan looked at her youngest daughter, and could no longer maintain her composure. Her face twitched, and she burst out laughing.

Having lost her authority in front of her children and son-in-law, she couldn't muster any anger. She pinched her youngest daughter's cheek and said irritably, "You think you're so capable, huh?"

Wang Zhenzhen grinned and proudly raised her head: "We're all on my sister's side. If my brother-in-law treats my sister badly in the future and makes her suffer, all of us will gang up on him and see if he dares to bully people again."

Chen Ling couldn't help but laugh as he listened: "You guys are so powerful, from now on only your sister will be the one bullying me, how could I dare to make her angry again?"

Wang Susu, standing nearby, found it both funny and touching.

This girl always manages to break the ice between adults with a laugh. She's really something.

"Don't listen to her nonsense. She's so immature. Your mother and I have spoiled her rotten."

Wang Cunye stood up, pulled Chen Ling outside, and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go get some wine. It's five o'clock, getting late. Come back and have a couple of drinks with your brother."

"Hey."

Chen Ling quickly agreed and happily followed.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The father-in-law is actually a soft-hearted and very kind-hearted person. Chen Ling's father once said that he made the right choice in befriending this old friend, as he understands Chen Ling's temperament.

However, he is too honest and kind, lacking in tact and never playing tricks on others. He always adheres to old principles, saying things like "If others are unkind, I cannot be unjust." Sometimes he would rather suffer a loss himself than not do his best to help this person or that person, emphasizing loyalty.

Now that he's older, he's much better. As soon as he left the house, he pointed out each household in the village to Chen Ling, introducing them to people like his second uncle and old man. He even asked Chen Ling if he remembered where Wang Qingwen's house was since he hadn't visited for two years, and then pulled him up the hill to show him.

The father and son walked around the village and came back with some wine.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law still live in the old house from many years ago. The main house is also a blue stone tile house, but it looks dilapidated after many years. The kitchen is a woodshed, and the storage room and woodshed are all thatched houses.

The courtyard was an earthen courtyard, built on a flat area with mud piled up and rolled very evenly.

There are two or three old trees in the yard, as well as a chicken coop and a pigsty.

At this moment, the little white calf was tied to a tree on the south side. Wang Susu, along with Gao Xiulan, her younger sister and sister-in-law, untied the bundle next to the tree.

"This is my bundle, this is my sister's and brother-in-law's bundle, this white bag contains chickens and ducks, and these two yellow bags contain baby wild boars. Mom, look, I hit them a couple of times, and they're still squealing..."

Wang Zhenzhen stood in front with her little nephew, pointing and gesturing. Then she patted the small wild boar in the yellow snakeskin bag. After the little wild boar struggled and squealed inside, she immediately beamed and showed it off to Gao Xiulan.

"This was raised by my brother-in-law. Such a tiny wild boar piglet, no one else in the village could raise it, only my brother-in-law could. He's amazing, he can even raise baby rabbits that haven't even opened their eyes yet. Liu Ni'er said he can feed baby rabbits cat milk, which no one else can do..."

"Right, sister?"

Wang Susu nodded with a light laugh, "Yes, your brother-in-law can support anything. He's loved tinkering with these things since he was a child."

Listening to her two daughters, Gao Xiulan was satisfied that her son-in-law had brought so many things, but looking at the huge pile of stuff, she also felt sorry for her eldest daughter: "The road is difficult to travel, why bring so much stuff? It's too much trouble. We have enough food and clothes at home, we've prepared everything for you."

"It's alright, Mother, no trouble at all. My ox is very sturdy; it can carry even a lot of things up."

Wang Susu squatted down and took out two pieces of clothing from her bundle. "Mom, look, these are clothes I brought for you and Dad. A-Ling specially asked a friend to buy them from the city. Your and Dad's birthdays are coming up soon, so they'll be perfect for you..."

The two outfits were bought by Liang Hongyu at Chen Ling's request. One was more festive, and the other was more casual. But regardless of the fabric or the style, you could tell at a glance that they were not cheap.

Gao Xiulan glanced at the clothes and couldn't help but scold, "Why buy clothes? We have enough clothes at home. Why buy more from the city? You're just wasting money."

Seeing her daughter bring it to her, she touched the fabric and said, "This dress is really nice, but it's too fashionable. Your father and I can't wear it."

“Mom, clothes are meant to be worn, not fashionable or not. This is just a token of our affection. We haven’t been back for two years, and we just wanted to get closer to you and Dad.”

Wang Susu spoke from the heart.

But Gao Xiulan pursed her lips and laughed, "Mother has seen through you. You only know how to speak well of that rascal."

She turned her head to look at her youngest daughter and glared at her: "You too, always calling your brother-in-law this and that. You've only been three months old and you're already like a puppy. Your brother-in-law has spoiled you so much that when you go home you don't know how to stand on your parents' side, you just speak up for your brother-in-law."

While saying this, she was secretly sighing. This son-in-law is really good now. Not to mention the eldest daughter, he has also raised the youngest daughter to be healthy and chubby. He has even taken care of her schooling. What more could one ask for?

Just then, Chen Ling followed his father-in-law into the courtyard carrying wine.

The father-in-law came in and shouted, "Mother, go catch a chicken and kill it. Tonight, Lingzi, Qingwen, and I will have a few drinks."

Gao Xiulan was about to get up when Wang Susu quickly stopped her, saying, "No need, no need, Dad. We brought chickens and ducks with us when we came. We were just talking to Mom about that..."

"Oh? You even brought chickens and ducks. No wonder you have so many bags and packages."

Wang Cunye stepped forward and looked at it: "Don't bring so much stuff in the future. As long as you and Ling Zichang come back to see us, your mother and I will be happy. Bringing so much stuff is troublesome, the road is difficult to travel, and it's dangerous in bad weather, do you hear me?"

Chen Ling and Wang Susu exchanged a glance, smiled, and nodded in agreement.

Seeing the young couple like this, Gao Xiulan also put aside her airs and said to her old man, "I forgot as soon as I heard you call out. Your son-in-law brought you not only chickens and ducks, but also pigs. Look, it's a half-grown wild boar. Zhenzhen said that his sister and brother-in-law were planning to raise it and send it to you so you could eat meat."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenzhen immediately raised her little hand and exclaimed, "My brother-in-law also said on the way that he would make more trips in the future to bring the remaining three little pigs to our parents as well."

Then he rummaged through the bundle again, showing his father other things.

"Good heavens, what have you done..."

Wang Cunye looked up at Chen Ling in surprise. He had brought so much stuff—food, clothes, chickens, ducks, wild boar—that he was momentarily speechless. But he truly felt his son-in-law's thoughtfulness and was deeply moved.

"Dad, Ah Ling, stop standing there! Pick a couple of fat chickens and ducks and kill them. It's getting late."

Wang Susu untied the snakeskin bag and let the chickens and ducks out.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling released the little wild boar as well, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law also came over to help.

It's the same whether you kill one thing or two. This little wild boar has been raised for two months and weighs less than fifty pounds. It's the perfect time for tender meat. It's my daughter's first meal back at her parents' home after her wedding, so of course it's better to have a more sumptuous meal.

At this point, no one was complaining about the high price of meat. The point was to be happy, to eat and drink well, and to let our daughter stay happily for a few days.

"Lingzi is quite capable. The yellow stripes on this pig haven't faded yet, it's definitely the perfect time to eat it. You really managed to raise it from a young age."

Wang Cunye saw two wild boars with their hooves and mouths tied, struggling and grunting, and exclaimed in admiration.

Wang Qingwen picked out a chicken or duck. "Yes, Dad, you don't know, Lingzi is now the veterinarian in their village. He's been interested in this since he was a child."

The father-in-law was very surprised to hear this; it turned out that his son-in-law really did have some real skills.

The three men chatted and laughed as they slaughtered the chickens and ducks, then proceeded to slaughter the pig.

Wang Zhenzhen ran around with her little nephew, feeding the dog scraps of meat and offal.

They were laughing and frolicking happily.

The adults were also very happy, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere quickly became lively. This scene made Gao Xiulan rub her red eyes and sigh, saying that the house hadn't been this lively in a long time, and that they should come back more often if they didn't have anything to do.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu both agreed.

In the end, one wild boar was kept, and several chickens and ducks were kept and put into the pen.

When Wang Susu's second brother and sister-in-law return, they can cook another meal.

As darkness fell completely, the rich aroma of meat wafted out.

My mother-in-law cooked a local specialty called "Nine Bowls" for me.

The nine dishes consist of three braised dishes, three steamed dishes, and three cold dishes. The ingredients are different, but the preparation methods are similar.

Most of the meat used is chicken, duck, pork, mutton, and offal. Beef and donkey meat are not served at the banquet because large livestock are considered precious and are rarely eaten here.

However, what Gao Xiulan made today was also quite unique, including braised pork belly, steamed chicken with mushrooms, and braised pork liver and lungs.

Since it was getting late, and marinating and steaming required time, the dishes wouldn't taste good if not done properly. Chen Ling asked his mother-in-law for her recipe and then went into the kitchen to help prepare a few dishes.

Gao Xiulan initially refused, thinking it was unacceptable for a daughter to be asked to cook as soon as she returned home.

As a result, Chen Ling tried making one, and she stopped complaining. Only then did she realize that her eldest son and two daughters hadn't lied; their son-in-law's cooking skills were indeed excellent.

The father-in-law was very satisfied and praised him wholeheartedly.

Especially the pig's stomach and large intestine, I don't know how they were cooked, they smelled so good.

The food smelled so good that I felt energetic while drinking. I kept clinking glasses with Chen Ling, and I was in a better mood than ever before.

The adults were fine, but little Tongtong was only four or five years old and had never eaten such delicious food before. He ate to his heart's content, devouring two duck legs and a few slices of juicy braised pork.

Even so, she kept grabbing food from Wang Zhenzhen with her chopsticks, startling Gao Xiulan and Su Ligai, who quickly snatched the chopsticks away and stopped her from eating anymore.

The two elders were overjoyed when their daughter, Wang Susu, returned home after two years. They were especially delighted to learn that she was two months pregnant, and the mother-in-law even drank several glasses of wine.

(End of this chapter)