Chapter 181: They Owe You

Gu Zhang smiled and nodded. "Go on, wear it. You’ve been with me all these years and haven’t had an easy life. Now that we have something nice, don’t let it go to waste."

Mrs. Chen still refused. "I really don’t need it. I don’t go out anyway, so don’t waste such a fine thing."

’In truth, she really wanted to wear it.’

’But if I wear it, what would Grandmother do?’

’A daughter-in-law can’t be wearing silk while the grandmother is still in homespun cloth, can she?’

’People would point and gossip behind my back.’

’Should I have an outfit made for Grandmother, too?’

’Better not. Grandmother wouldn’t appreciate it even if I did. She’d probably just scold me for being a spendthrift. Besides, I couldn’t bear to part with it.’

’This brocade was money. It would be better to exchange it for silver; it felt safer to have the cash in hand.’

Mrs. Chen waved her hand. "Alright, that’s enough. All of you can go. Get back to what you were doing. Little Fei, you stay behind."

The others reluctantly filed out of the main room. Mrs. Chen looked at the items on the table. "You take all of this for now. Lately, I feel that no matter where I hide things, they aren’t as safe as they are with you."

Gu Fei smiled. "Alright, I’ll put it all away."

······

Over at the village, every household had received New Year’s goods delivered by Mrs. Chen’s children, and everyone was in high spirits.

As Ms. Qian watched her sister-in-law hang a cured chicken and a cured fish under the eaves, she suddenly felt something wasn’t right.

Gu Qing had brought over a suckling pig and a cured fish, saying the pig was for Grandmother.

’Doesn’t that mean her family only got one fish?’

’Her sister-in-law is a daughter who married out, and even she got that much. Why should their family get less than her?’

Ms. Qian could not let this injustice stand.

Gritting her teeth, she went into the house to find Gu Zhong and said bluntly, "Your second brother has less and less respect for you as the eldest."

"He sent a chicken and a fish to Eldest Sister’s family, and the third brother’s family got the same. But our family only got one fish! We’re all siblings, so why do we get less than them?"

Gu Zhong didn’t even look up. "Didn’t he also send a suckling pig? A suckling pig is worth much more than a chicken."

Ms. Qian grew frantic. "That doesn’t count! Gu Qing himself said that was for Mother. So that means we only got one fish? How is that fair!"

Gu Zhong looked up, frowning at Ms. Qian. "Then let me ask you, what did you give Gu the Second’s family?"

For a moment, Ms. Qian didn’t understand what Gu Zhong meant. "Give them what? We have nothing in this house! And even if we did, I wouldn’t give it to him!"

Gu Zhong suddenly shot to his feet and slapped Ms. Qian across the face. "You have the nerve to say that!"

"You know perfectly well that it was a gift!"

"They were kind enough to give us something, and not only did you not give them anything in return, but you have the nerve to complain they didn’t give enough?"

"What, does Gu the Second owe you something?"

Ms. Qian clutched her face, stunned. Gu Zhong roared, "Haven’t I told you to stop coveting what belongs to other people?"

"If Eldest Sister hadn’t stopped you today, you would’ve goaded Mother into going to make a scene at Gu the Second’s place. How many times do I have to tell you? You never listen! Are you just tired of living, is that it?"

Ms. Qian secretly resented her sister-in-law for tattling. Clutching her face, she sobbed, "What choice do I have? This family has nothing—no house, no land! If I don’t scheme and scrape for every little thing, how are we supposed to go on?"

This only made Gu Zhong more furious. He kicked a chair hard. "This is all I’m good for! I didn’t raise a daughter who could make something of herself, so we can’t afford fine flour and we can’t afford meat! We sure as hell can’t afford a house and land!"

"If you don’t want to be poor with me, then get the hell out! All you do day in and day out is bring shame on us!"

Ms. Qian collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "When did I ever blame you? When did I ever blame you—"