Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 187

On the other side, Cheng Jinxiang looked at the giggling baby in her arms and couldn't help but smile warmly. This was her daughter, Zhao Xiaojuan, whom she had carried for ten months.

"Little Juan, little Juan, Mommy's here."

Cheng Jinxiang was holding the baby, trying to lull it to sleep. Footsteps came from outside the door, and a middle-aged woman who looked similar to Cheng Jinxiang walked in carrying a thermos. The woman was Cheng Jinxiang's older sister, Cheng Jinxi.

Seeing Cheng Jinxiang's good complexion, Cheng Jinxi couldn't help but tease her, "Oh my, girl, you're really living a good life. Without that stinky man of yours getting in your way, you're getting more and more beautiful."

Cheng Jinxiang laughed, "Big sister, you're just making fun of me. How am I pretty? I'm still in my postpartum period, taking care of Xiaojuan all day. I'm all disheveled and haven't had a chance to dress myself up properly. There's no way I'm getting prettier as I get older. But you're right about one thing: not living at my mother-in-law's house makes me feel so much better. It's better to be away from her."

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) next to her was an old woman, Wang, Cheng Jinxiang's mother. Wang had been paralyzed for many years, and her health had deteriorated in recent years. She used to be able to turn over, but now she needed help to sit up for a short while. She always felt that her days were numbered. Hearing Cheng Jinxiang say this, she sighed and said, "Then we won't go back. There has to be a home for Mom to feel at ease."

Cheng Jinxi put the thermos aside. "Mom, look at what you're saying. What era are we living in? If you're not happy, just get a divorce. It's not a big deal..."

Wang rolled her eyes: "Then why don't you get a divorce? You're always nagging your sister to get a divorce. If she gets a divorce, she'll come to your house for dinner."

Cheng Jinxiang glanced back and knew her mother meant well, so she comforted her, saying, "Mom, my eldest sister just wants me to have a few more days of peace and quiet. If I go back now, we'll end up arguing. Besides, I just want to take care of you for a few more days."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I meant. Girl, you look much better now than before. I always saw you looking haggard, but now you look so energetic. Your skin has improved a lot since having the baby, and you don't have those annoying mother-in-law/sister-in-law problems or that irritating husband anymore. You're in a much better mood, and you're a completely different person. You don't look as haggard as I used to." Cheng Jinxi was genuinely happy to see Cheng Jinxiang's improved complexion.

Unlike Cheng Jinxiang, Cheng Jinxi's father-in-law had already died when she got married, leaving only her mother-in-law. Moreover, her mother-in-law was paralyzed and passed away a few years later. Therefore, there weren't many troublesome matters in her family.

There are basically no issues with mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships.

In addition, Zhou Yuren married relatively late and was the second son, while his eldest son had already married long ago. Therefore, the two brothers had a good relationship.

Most importantly, Zhou Yuren and his brother were truly poor. Their parents left them nothing, nor did they leave behind any trace of famine or anything like that.

Life was relatively peaceful.

Of course, back then, when there was no money during holidays, Zhou Yuren loved to go out gambling, sometimes not returning for days. If he won, he would be overjoyed; if he lost, he would come back to beat Cheng Jinxi.

However, that's all in the past now.

In those days, there were too many men who beat their wives. Cheng Jinxi didn't know how she survived it, but she just endured it.

Cheng Jinxiang sighed, feeling uneasy. The thought of all the grievances she had suffered at Old Zhao's house over the years made her feel terrible.

Cheng Jinxiang was inherently weak-willed and had little formal education. Her mother was now paralyzed, and her father had passed away long ago; no one could stand up for her.

Moreover, her elder brother's health wasn't good; he suffered from asthma. Although it wasn't life-threatening, he was always sickly. Her sister-in-law was quite dissatisfied, and Cheng Jinxiang didn't want her elder brother to worry, so she didn't want her family to cause trouble at Old Zhao's house anymore.

Thinking back, when she was at Old Zhao's house, she had to serve the whole family, from her parents-in-law to her brother-in-law's family. Every day she had to listen to her mother-in-law's scolding. At home, she was either washing clothes, cooking, or cleaning. Outside, she had to do farm work. She was busy with this and that every day, but the money never came back into her pocket. Her parents-in-law had squandered it somewhere. And that dead man would just stand by weakly, never saying a word to help her. He listened to his mother in everything and never cared about Cheng Jinxiang's feelings as his wife.

So Cheng Jinxiang sometimes felt that having him as a man was the same as not having him at all.

But what can be done?

Ugh……

When Cheng Jinxiang gave birth to Zhao Xiaojuan, her mother-in-law actually rushed out and wanted to give her child away, just because Cheng Jinxiang gave birth to a girl and didn't give birth to a boy for the Zhao family.

Cheng Jinxiang was illiterate and didn't know whose fault it was. Anyway, in the village, if a family couldn't raise a son, it was always the wife's fault…

So Cheng Jinxiang initially blamed herself. However, it wasn't that she didn't want to have a son. Cheng Jinxiang also thought that if she had a son, she would have someone to take care of her in her old age and see her off in her final days.

Later, Cheng Jinxiang heard from Zhao Da'e that whether a woman gives birth to a boy or a girl is a matter of probability. Moreover, the village had also popularized the idea that having a boy or a girl is the same, and that it's better to have fewer children and plant more trees.

But the Zhao family is incredibly superstitious. Wang Guixiang blames the fact that she can't give birth to a boy, but judging from the Zhao family's behavior, it's all God's blessing that they have daughters.

Recalling the past, Cheng Jinxiang felt extremely angry. Looking at her sweet and fragrant little daughter in her arms, she also felt guilty. So she couldn't help but lower her head and gently kiss her daughter. She felt that her daughter was really sweet and soft all over.

Cheng Jinxi didn't have a good impression of the Zhao family either, and spat out a "pui" in annoyance, continuing, "There's not a single good person in the Zhao family. Sister, it's a good thing you moved out of the Zhao family, otherwise you would have to go back and suffer again. You and Tiesheng worked hard for the Zhao family, endured a lot of hardship, and gave your parents-in-law a lot of money, but you were not treated well by them. On the contrary, you lived in the storeroom. How can anyone live in a storeroom? It's neither warm in the east nor cool in the summer. I feel uncomfortable just looking at it, not to mention that it leaks all the time."

On the contrary, Zhao Laosan and his wife Zhang Cuilan live in a tile-roofed house. Look at this! Zhao Laosan is always drunk, just lounging around at home doing nothing. And Zhang Cuilan is just like her husband, doing no work. They're both waiting for you and Tiesheng to support them. Anyone who didn't know better would think you two were their parents. What kind of nonsense is this?!

Cheng Jinxi felt uneasy about her sister's situation. Moreover, since she had been the matchmaker, she felt even more guilty.

Cheng Jinxi initially thought Zhao Tiesheng was a capable and decent young man. However, she never expected the Zhao family to be in such a chaotic situation; frankly, Cheng Jinxi had initially misjudged him.

Cheng Jinxiang grew increasingly irritated as she listened, and lowered her head, remaining silent.

Cheng Jinxiang had just been discharged from the hospital and should have been taking good care of herself, but they still made her live in the storage room.

Zhao Tiesheng would just pretend not to see it and let Cheng Jinxiang be bullied. If it weren't for her sister-in-law taking a stand this time and bringing Cheng Jinxiang away from the Zhao family, Cheng Jinxiang would probably still be doing laundry, cooking and housework for the Zhao family.

“Sister, I’ve finally figured it out. My body is my own, and who else will truly care for me from the bottom of their heart? When I gave birth to our little goose, I didn’t take proper care of myself during my postpartum period. My mother-in-law kept urging me to do housework and such, even washing clothes in the dead of winter. Now my back still hurts, and it aches every time the weather gets cold. This time I’ve learned my lesson. I’m determined to take good care of myself and have a proper postpartum period. After all, health is the foundation, and only when I’m healthy can I do more things.”

Seeing her younger sister Cheng Jinxiang's awareness, Cheng Jinxi felt quite comforted. She opened the thermos, revealing the chicken soup inside. "Little sister, it's good that you think this way. We women need to take good care of our bodies. Health is our lifeblood. Only by taking good care of our bodies can we take care of everything else. Here, try the chicken soup I made for you. It tastes really good. Drink it while it's hot."

Cheng Jinxi took the chicken soup, scooped out a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to Cheng Jinxiang.

Cheng Jinxiang obediently drank the chicken soup, feeling a little guilty, and said, "Sister, I feel really bad for you. I'm so old, and you still have to take care of me."

Cheng Jinxi exclaimed "Oh!" and quickly said, "Little sister, why are you being so polite with me? You're my own sister. If I don't take good care of you, do you expect your good-for-nothing husband to take care of you? I wouldn't feel at ease with that. As your older sister, what I want most is for you to be well and recover. Everything will be alright. Your health was really too weak before, and you worked too hard. As a result, the money you earned didn't go into your own pocket, but was taken by your in-laws. You don't even know if you can get the money back. Oh, my poor little sister, how could you have met such a family? You should stay home and rest and recover during this time. Getting better is the most important thing."

Cheng Jinxiang felt a warmth in her heart after hearing this, but she was unsure whether to say something. Seeing that Zhao Xiaojuan was almost asleep in her arms, she patted her little girl's chest, then put her aside and covered her with a blanket, as it wouldn't be good if she caught a cold.

After finishing this task, Cheng Jinxiang placed the chicken soup on the table next to her and hesitated, "Sister, but Mom's health isn't good either..."

Cheng Jinxiang fell silent towards the end, looking complicated and disappointed.

Although she is currently at her parents' home, her mother has some reservations about her returning.

My mother still holds onto some old-fashioned ideas, such as "men are a woman's heaven," "a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup," "a woman should listen to her husband," and "in her husband's family, as long as she is hardworking and capable, she will be liked by her mother-in-law."

From a young age, Cheng Jinxiang's mother liked to nag her about these things. In her eyes, a married daughter was an outsider and shouldn't have to come back to her parents' home, as it was bad for her to be gossiped about.

As a result, Cheng Jinxiang not only returned, but also brought her newborn baby who was less than a month old. She also had a big fight with her in-laws, which angered Cheng Jinxiang's mother. She scolded Cheng Jinxiang for being so impulsive and even wanted to send her back.

However, Cheng Jinxiang's mother rarely spoke to her daughter after that. Every time she saw Cheng Jinxiang, she looked worried and seemed to want to talk but didn't know what to say. She tried to persuade Cheng Jinxiang to go back home several times, but Cheng Jinxiang would cry and refuse to go back. Her mother could only give up, but she would ask Cheng Jinxi to go home more often and try to comfort her younger sister, Cheng Jinxiang.

Cheng Jinxiang thought it was a good thing Wang Guixiang had gotten herself into trouble. Why did she have to give away her youngest daughter, Xiaojuan? If it weren't for her eldest daughter, Dage, who had the quick thinking to tell everyone at the hospital that Wang Guixiang was a child trafficker, and passersby stopping Wang Guixiang, she wouldn't have been able to snatch her child back from Wang Guixiang after ten months of pregnancy and a painful birth. If Xiaojuan had really been given away and never found again, Cheng Jinxiang would have truly died of depression, filled with lifelong guilt.

When Cheng Jinxiang returned to Old Zhao's house, she thought about it for a long time. She realized that during the ten years she had been a daughter-in-law in Old Zhao's family, what had she done wrong? She cultivated and managed the fields and did all the farm work. She was almost never allowed to rest. When her parents-in-law asked her to hand over the money for safekeeping, even though she was somewhat dissatisfied, she couldn't refuse since her husband, Zhao Tiesheng, had agreed. She cooked all the meals every day, and even washed all the clothes. Washing her parents-in-law's clothes wasn't a big deal, but she also had to wash the clothes of her brother-in-law and his wife's entire family. Cheng Jinxiang felt uncomfortable, but she could endure it. She persevered for several years, and her hands developed calluses from washing clothes, while Wang Guixiang seemed to be living a more and more comfortable life.

Zhao Laosan and his wife Zhang Cuilan were also raised to live a leisurely life at home, without having to do any work and with food to eat.

The more Cheng Jinxiang thought about it, the more upset she felt. She didn't have to be so tired. If Tiesheng had separated from the family earlier and not lived with his parents-in-law and brother-in-law, she wouldn't have had to take care of so many people or do so much work.

Cheng Jinxi was also in a dilemma. The two sisters chatted for a while, but their mother kept interrupting with her own words. Finally, Cheng Jinxi tentatively asked, "Sister, if you really can't make it work, don't force yourself. If it really doesn't work out, divorce is an option."

Cheng Jinxiang hesitated and said, "Sister, what you said makes a lot of sense. Even if I get a divorce, I will get those tens of thousands of yuan back. I absolutely cannot let my in-laws get away with it. This marriage cannot be dissolved right now."

The mother chimed in, dissatisfied, "Let's think this through more carefully. Don't be so impulsive. This isn't a joke. Don't keep changing your mind. Besides, you're divorced, but your sister-in-law is still at home. What, do you think you can live at your parents' house forever? I'm not doing well anymore. If I'm not doing well, will your older brother tolerate you? Will your sister-in-law tolerate you?"