Chapter 50

When Mrs. Zhou finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment. Meihua was the first to recover. "No, I came out to look for the silver. How did this turn into something else?"
"Since we're on the subject, I have one more question!" Mrs. Zhou shot her a look. "Since you two married, who has been keeping the money you've earned?"
Meihua lowered her head. Chengkang frowned slightly. "Mother, don't..."
Mrs. Zhou said bluntly, "I'm your mother, am I not allowed to ask?"
"I kept it. What's wrong with that? I needed the money to buy beans, and I was afraid it might get lost. Now look, it's gone," Granny Liu said as if that settled it.
Mrs. Zhou snorted. "To be honest, I never liked Meihua. If she'd had any sense at all, I wouldn't have agreed to the match."
Meihua's face went pale. Mrs. Zhou glanced at her. "It's not because you remarried that I dislike you. Women have no easy life, I've been faithful for years, but that doesn't make me look down on someone who marries again. I dislike you because you can't tell what's what. You insist on mixing things up with your former mother-in-law, how do you expect to make a life like that?"
"What do you mean by that?" Granny Liu protested. "When we arranged the marriage it was agreed: if Meihua remarried, you'd look after me in my old age."
"I'll agree to look after you," Mrs. Zhou said. "But taking all the money they earn, that's unreasonable, isn't it? You're in my son's house; did you ever ask me, his own mother? What if one day I'm bedridden and my son needs money for a doctor, does he have to beg you for it?"
Chengkang lowered his head.
Meihua's expression shifted. She'd never thought of it that way, when would a son have to ask someone else for money to pay for his mother's doctor?
"If it were Meihua's own mother, fine, I could accept that. But you're a former mother-in-law; what right do you have to keep my son's earnings?"
Granny Liu sneered, "Now I see, there's no thief at all. Clearly you took Meihua's money yourself and set us against each other. That's what you're after, isn't it?"
"I'm poor, but I'm not a thief," Mrs. Zhou replied earnestly. "Besides, it's my son's money, if I ask him for it, will he refuse? Why would I steal!"
The tone sounded reasonable; on reflection, she had a point. If Mrs. Zhou wanted a tael or two from Chengkang, could he really refuse?
"Here in front of the whole family I'll say it again: if you want to move back, I won't stop you. But taking my son and daughter-in-law with you, no way!"
Granny Liu's face went sour; she opened her mouth, but Mrs. Zhou raised a hand to stop her. "Don't talk about coming back in a couple years to build a house, I don't buy it. I know what you're up to. You have your eye on my eldest because he's poor. You treat him like a laborer who will work for nothing. Even if he agrees, I won't!"
"Mother, it's not like that," The Eldest hurried to say.
"Then what is it?" Mrs. Zhou looked at him. "You're already in your twenties, Meihua isn't young either, and she hasn't borne any children. Why did you go a year without having a child?"
"Children are a matter of fate," he muttered, sounding uneasy.
Mrs. Zhou snapped, "What fate? Were you too busy earning money?"
The room fell silent. Li Qinghe, who'd at first assumed they were arguing over the missing money, hadn't expected Mrs. Zhou to be holding so many grievances.
Granny Liu usually blended into the background at the Zhou household; Li Qinghe had moved into a separate house as soon as she arrived and they didn't even share meals sometimes, one could easily forget she lived there at all.
Taking and keeping all the money a married couple earns was a bit much. Still, it was their private business; apart from Mrs. Zhou, who was anyone to complain?
Granny Liu frowned. "We're talking about the money, we're here to look for it."
"You won't find it," Mrs. Zhou said sternly. "No room except mine holds that little amount, if you search every room you still won't find so many coins. You'll say it's buried in the yard, or claim they've already taken it. That money won't be found. I know what you want, you just want to move away, don't you?"
"I'm looking for the money," Granny Liu ground out. "If I can't find it, I'll move. It's your Zhou family's house, unless you pay it back."
Mrs. Zhou scoffed. "Pay it back? What fantasy is that? Look for the money if you must, what is this talk of moving away? Move yourself then. And if you keep taking everything the eldest and his wife earn, I'll have the villagers arbitrate. They've been married a year, and my son works from dawn till dusk, he couldn't even help his brother build a house and ended up with nothing."
Granny Liu's face flickered green and white with anger. Mrs. Zhou looked at Meihua. "You know how we've treated you this past year. If you want to leave, you're not our daughter-in-law anymore, go back to Liu Village with your mother-in-law."
"Mother, I don't want to go back to Liu Village." Meihua burst into tears.
Mrs. Zhou glanced at the dim light outside. "Then stop this. I'll say it again: keep your money safe, if it's lost that's on you. Don't start accusing thieves and making a scene, it's embarrassing."
The argument dragged on until dawn. Zhang Haiyao yawned. "There's no thief in this house, who'd bother stealing a tael or two? You're keeping me from sleeping." With that, she doubled over and left.
She was right, who would steal such a small sum? Frankly, if someone was going to steal, they'd target Zhang Haiyao or Li Qinghe, either of them had more money than Meihua.
Li Qinghe and the other didn't go back to bed either; they went straight to the pond to feed the fish. It was autumn and chilly in the mornings and evenings. Standing in the new house's yard, Zhou Chengkang suggested, "Why don't we move out?"
They planned to move in eventually, and truthfully Li Qinghe had wanted to move for some time. "In a few days," she said. "These next few days are too sensitive."
After feeding the fish, the two headed up the mountain to chop wood and hunt. They returned early and, just as they reached the village entrance, saw Yu Yan running toward them. "Qinghe, I heard you went up the mountain, good you're back. Quick, your father is fighting with your Aunt Qian."
Would Li Fu really have the heart to strike Madam Qian?
By the time Li Qinghe rushed back home and saw the scene in the yard she was speechless. Madam Qian was unharmed, sitting at the table under the big tree and crying, while Li Fu squatted by the kitchen door holding his head; a large bump on his forehead was just visible, making him look rather pitiful.
Seeing that, Yu Yan felt awkward. “When I went to find you they two were struggling. I was afraid it would turn into something ugly.”
Li Qinghe thanked her, opened the gate, and went into the yard. Madam Qian was still crying; she looked up when she saw her. “You meddler, what nonsense are you spouting? Is it wrong for Wanwan’s father to come back and ask after her? Do I have to fight with your father for you to be satisfied? You just can’t stand to see me do well.”
What on earth was going on?
“I already said, if Father asks, I won’t hide it from him.” Li Qinghe frowned. “Besides, Father didn’t hear it from me.”
“If not you, then who?” Madam Qian snapped, furious, her voice loud.
“Do you think the neighbors are blind?” Li Qinghe shot back, looking at the enraged Madam Qian. “If you’re accusing me of sowing discord, I can’t just stand here and take that false charge.”
She turned toward the kitchen doorway where Li Fu was crouched. “Father, when Wanwan and the Hu family were discussing the match, one day I went to return a shoe sample and saw her talking with Wanwan’s father on the lane down to the little river…”
“You’re talking nonsense.” Madam Qian screamed.
Li Fu looked up, his eyes rimmed with red. “So this isn’t the first time you’ve met him, is it?”
“I didn’t.” Madam Qian’s tone was decisive. “She can’t stand to see me do well, she’s making it up!”
Li Fu studied his daughter, searching her face.
Of course it would come to this. Between Madam Qian and his daughter, Li Fu tended to believe Madam Qian. Li Qinghe held up her hands. “If you really want to know, there are so many people in the village, someone must have seen. Why not ask?”
What a thing to say.
Li Fu’s face darkened. If he went asking about when his wife had been seeing Zhao Tianfu, even if nothing had happened it would only stir trouble.
Madam Qian glared at her viciously. “You saw it?”
Meeting her gaze, Li Qinghe shrugged. “I did see it with my own eyes. I didn’t even know him then. Didn’t you always say I couldn’t stand to see you do well? I genuinely wanted you and my father to live peacefully together, I didn’t bring this up.”
Madam Qian lowered her head and wiped her eyes, her voice trembling. “Fu Li, my dealings with him were all for Wanwan. He had ways of handling things, if not for him, if the Hu family had wanted to swap brides, Wanwan’s marriage wouldn’t have gone through so smoothly.”
At that Li Fu frowned. “I’ve told you before, if the match with the Hu family didn’t work out then fine, the Yanxi family head isn’t reliable, the match wouldn’t have been that good anyway. Don’t force it. So why did you…” His face darkened as a thought struck him. “Are you saying the Hu family’s five taels of dowry wasn’t really necessary?”
Madam Qian mumbled, “You didn’t give the full five taels either, did you?”
“So that’s why the Hu family never mentioned it, turns out you two mother and daughter teamed up to deceive me?”
Another memory surfaced and his expression soured. “Qinghe and the others helped our family with the autumn harvest. I told you to go buy meat and you said the money was lost, was that money truly lost?”
The yard fell silent. After a long pause, Madam Qian spoke in a low voice, “Wanwan went to the county and we hadn’t heard from her for a long time. I was worried, but I didn’t dare go myself, so I wanted her father to go and look. But he had no travel money, so…”
“So you gave him the money?” Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.
“Fine!” Li Fu nodded. “Weren’t you worried about your father living alone this morning? Go back and keep him company.”
At that, Madam Qian’s face changed. “What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.” Li Fu rose, his back bent noticeably. “I want to be left alone.”
After he went inside, Madam Qian turned to the gate where Li Qinghe stood and sneered, “Happy now?”
“What am I supposed to be happy about?” Li Qinghe spread her hands. “I didn’t falsely accuse you. When you did all these things you should have thought about whether my father could accept it if he found out.”
“There was nothing between me and Wanwan’s father. But we did have a child, is it impossible that we would keep in touch?” Madam Qian’s tears fell in heavy drops. “I always knew remarrying would be hard and easy to misinterpret. I never imagined your father would be like other men in this world, he doesn’t trust his own wife, he trusts outside gossip!”
She didn’t lower her voice; in fact she deliberately raised it. Not only Li Qinghe in the yard, but the neighbors and Li Fu inside the house surely heard.
Li Fu reappeared and stood beneath the eaves, looking at her with a grim face.