Xia Xiaolan felt she had no luck with sisterly bonds in her previous life, and the same was true in this one.
In her previous life, her aunt’s daughter disliked her. In this life, the two Xia sisters were already a lost cause, and today, her cousin Liang Huan’s attitude was equally frustrating.
Facing Liang Huan’s ill-intentioned questioning, Xia Xiaolan responded frankly, “Yes, I’m living at Uncle’s house now. I’m grateful that Uncle could take in my mother and me.”
Upon confirming that Xia Xiaolan was indeed dependent on others, Liang Huan felt pleased but also developed new suspicions: How could someone living under others’ roof dress so well? Was Uncle’s family too wealthy, or was this cousin truly problematic as rumors suggested?
Liang Huan leaned towards the latter possibility.
After all, Uncle Liu Yong was just a rural person, and this cousin wasn’t even his biological daughter. One look at this household showed it was poor – how could they afford her fashionable clothes?
Liang Huan envied Xia Xiaolan’s attire. Never mind the clothes and pants, but those boots on her feet were genuine leather.
A pair of winter leather boots would cost at least several dozen yuan!
The Liang family could afford such boots for Liang Huan, but how could this rural cousin compare to her status?
“Cousin, I heard…”
“Liang Huan, if you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak at all. You’re still young, yet your mouth runs like a mill. Where’s your proper upbringing as a young lady?”
When Liang Bing’an got angry, Liang Huan’s tears immediately welled up.
Liu Fang felt distressed and kept consoling the already 16-year-old Liang Huan.
Xia Xiaolan seized the opportunity to make an excuse, “Uncle, let me bring you another plate of snacks.”
Liang Bing’an, who was feeling embarrassed by his daughter’s behavior, saw Xia Xiaolan’s tactfulness and felt relieved. He said pleasantly, “Go help out then. I see we have quite a few people dining today. I’ll ask your aunt to help later too.”
Xia Xiaolan closed the main hall door.
What’s there to cry about? It’s New Year’s Day – isn’t this bringing bad luck? Besides, there were villagers present. Xia Xiaolan didn’t want others gossiping about the drama, and she had no interest in arguing with a young girl. She hadn’t seen Liang Huan for six or seven years, and Liang Huan’s hostility seemed to come from nowhere.
Surely Liang Huan couldn’t be jealous just because Uncle Liang Bing’an had spoken a few extra words with her?
In that case, Xia Xiaolan’s only option was to keep her distance from this family.
Liu Yong was smoking under the eaves. He cared about Liu Fang, but whenever the siblings spent time alone, they would argue. His brother-in-law Liang Bing’an always acted superior, so Liu Yong, as the rural brother-in-law, was tactful enough to avoid offending.
“Why did you come out?”
During the New Year, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t sigh.
“I seem to have upset my little cousin. These city girls are hard to please.”
“What’s there to please? You’re only two years older than Liang Huan. Your aunt has spoiled her rotten – just ignore her.”
Liu Fang was different from most people. While others favored sons over daughters, she favored daughters over sons. Though she cared for her son Liang Yu, it wasn’t as much as she cared for Liang Huan. Unlike Zhang Cui and Xia Changzheng, who doted on Xia Ziyu because their daughter brought glory and benefits, Liu Fang felt that since she had nothing growing up but married well to Liang Bing’an, she wanted to give Liang Huan all the material comforts she never had.
Being so pampered, Liang Huan had grown up like a proud little princess, which Liu Yong couldn’t stand.
Liu Yong was quite biased too. When the previous “Xia Xiaolan” was thoughtless, he didn’t mind, after all, they rarely saw Liang Huan, while this niece Xia Xiaolan had grown up under his watch.
“Wonder why your aunt suddenly came back.”
“I don’t know, but Aunt wasn’t surprised at all about my mom’s divorce. Their family probably knew about it already.”
Liu Yong nodded, “That’s not surprising. Your aunt’s family lives in the neighboring county, they might have heard the news from someone.”
Liu Yong grew angry as he spoke.
It was fine if they didn’t keep in touch, but Liu Fang hadn’t even returned to tend to their parents’ graves in these past few years, which greatly displeased Liu Yong. Among Liu Fang’s family, only 11-year-old Liang Yu, who was running wild outside with Taotao, seemed down-to-earth.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Chen was saying the same thing to Li Fengmei:
“Why did Liu Fang come back? I thought she meant to cut ties with you all… Oh, my mouth, they’re still siblings after all, blood is thicker than water, let’s not dwell on past unpleasantness.”
Li Fengmei had her concerns but wouldn’t let outsiders gossip. She smiled and said:
“Well, it was Taotao’s father who was quite troublesome before, so it wasn’t wrong for Xiaofang to argue with him. I’ve been thinking about my sister-in-law, and this New Year’s feast only feels complete with her here.”
Just then, Liu Fang, repeatedly urged by her husband, reluctantly came to help in the kitchen and heard her sister-in-law’s words, which made her feel somewhat better.
“I was just anxious back then. Everyone else’s maiden family was prospering, while my brother spent his days idling… Well, let’s not talk about the past. Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help with?”
My, this was rare indeed.
When Liu Fang used to visit home, she was always treated as an honored guest. She wouldn’t even touch a broom, let alone help with cooking.
Since Li Fengmei was Liu Yong’s second wife, Liu Fang had never shown much respect for her as a sister-in-law. Today was truly unprecedented. With the villagers mediating, Li Fengmei and Liu Fang seemed to have “buried the hatchet,” neither mentioning their past conflicts.
Liu Fen was always quiet, peeling potatoes in her corner. Liu Fang went over to her, “Second Sister, let’s have a good talk after dinner.”
She rather pitied her second sister, who had married a scoundrel and suffered constantly at her in-laws’.
Though they had managed to get by before, now she was divorced from Xia Dajun and living at her maiden home with her daughter. Liu Fen and Li Fengmei were working today, and since the kitchen was so greasy, neither wore new clothes while cooking. Liu Yong needed to slaughter chickens and prepare fish, afraid of blood stains, so only Xia Xiaolan and Taotao were wearing new clothes. Liu Fang hadn’t noticed how different her siblings’ lives had become and viewed Liu Fen with condescending sympathy.
Her husband Liang Bing’an insisted that her brother’s family conditions had improved, but Liu Fang didn’t believe it.
Maybe life was better than a few years ago since they said land had been distributed to households, so rural life must have changed.
Unlike previous years when they had to borrow a chicken from neighbors to serve guests, today’s dishes were quite abundant. Could they be putting on a show, spending all their savings on this New Year’s feast?
The kitchen table was piled with cooked dishes.
Several plates of fish, a large bowl of lamb noodles, several large pork knuckles, and carrots stewed with beef. A basin of fried meat, another of flour-coated small fish, and steamed buns in large steamers… Liu Fang estimated there was enough for four or five tables.
When had her maiden family ever hosted guests on such a scale?
They were dirt poor, and having one meat dish during New Year’s was considered good, yet now they could host four or five tables.
A feast for several dozen people with mostly meat dishes would cost at least one or two hundred yuan. Liu Fang’s expression turned peculiar as she thought of Xia Xiaolan in her new clothes, and she had a guess:
“Second Sister, surely today isn’t Xiaolan’s engagement party?”
Everyone in the room looked at her in bewilderment. Liu Fang tucked her hair behind her ear, her face notably better maintained than Liu Fen’s.
“As her aunt, I don’t even know about my niece’s engagement. Second Sister, you don’t take me seriously…”
Liu Fang’s face showed accusation while Liu Fen looked confused.
What engagement? This was nonsense.
Mrs. Chen also grew anxious, “Your Xiaolan is getting engaged today? Who’s the groom?”