On Saturday, Sun’s mother went to the countryside to attend a full-month celebration, so the family gathering was moved to Sunday.
Early in the morning, after the three children finished practicing broadcast exercises with Sun Youping, they scattered in all directions, completely ignoring the adults calling them to do their homework.
Homework—should be left until the last moment to be done properly.
In Sun’s mother’s words: studying depends on aptitude. Some children are just made for it—they stay home studying and you can’t chase them out. Others, even if you tie them to a chair, they still won’t study if they don’t want to.
Sun’s mother had her own set of theories: if you force children to study when they should be playing, when they actually need to study, they’ll be sick of it.
Like the youngest son—when he was little, she thought he was gifted material. She made him practice piano and study every day. Back then his grades were always at the top, and he even won District Outstanding Student. Who knew—hmph—after middle school, he studied this and that, played here and there, his academic performance plummeted, he abandoned the piano, and in the end, besides knowing how to play, he knew nothing else.
“Mom, besides knowing how to play, he also knows how to eat!” Sun Jingfei added fuel to the fire.
“Go away,” Sun’s mother shooed her. “At least he got into college. You? You couldn’t even pass the entrance exam!”
“I didn’t get in, but the year I was top salesperson I made 1.2 million! God closed a door on me, but I broke in! As for your fourth son…” Sun Jingfei lowered her voice as she spoke. “Mom, let me tell you something.”
“If you’re going to say it, say it. Don’t look so shifty,” Sun’s mother disliked her scheming manner.
“Fourth Brother last year earned…” Sun Jingfei couldn’t continue, crouching there laughing endlessly, barely managing to hold up a number. “Earned… eighty thousand…”
The sister-in-law was also shocked and confirmed, “Earned eighty thousand in a year?”
Sun Jingfei was about to respond when she caught sight of the person at the door and smoothly slipped away to the kitchen balcony to keep busy.
Sun Jingcheng grabbed a pastry from the dining table to eat, stood for a moment, then went downstairs.
The sister-in-law quietly stuck out her tongue and hurriedly continued preparing the vegetables in her hands.
Sun’s mother felt sorry for her son and glared at Sun Jingfei. “Lacking upbringing! Is this how an older sister should behave? Who makes fun of their younger brother like this?”
“I was just joking.”
“Don’t talk to me anymore!” Sun’s mother was annoyed with her. “Zhou Yu hasn’t even said anything, yet you’re the first to poke at your brother?”
“Mom, why are you getting involved? It’s such a small matter.” Sun Jingfei was exasperated. “We siblings have always joked like this. Neither of us thinks anything of it, but the way you’re reacting makes it seem so serious…”
“Looking for trouble when there is none!”
Sun Jingfei went to the bathroom to wash her hands, feeling uncomfortable inside. What had been a non-issue had turned into something! Thinking about it, she went downstairs to find Sun Jingcheng. He was wearing a white coat, holding a notebook and pen, recording the medicinal materials drawer by drawer in front of the medicine cabinet. She went over and tapped him. “Hey, little brother.”
Sun Jingcheng ignored her.
“Little brother, you look really handsome in that white coat!”
…
“Little brother, you have such a great body!”
…
“Little brother, if we weren’t biological siblings, I would definitely marry you!”
Sun Jingcheng felt like throwing up.
Sun Jingfei hugged his waist. “My dear little brother is the best!”
…
While Sun Jingfei was being affectionate with him, a patient saw them and praised what a good relationship the married couple had, and how they even resembled each other!
Sun Jingfei laughed heartily. Sun Youping heard the commotion and chased her out. The pharmacy was restricted—no idle people allowed.
Sun Jingfei curtsied to Sun Youping like a princess. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty Father. This subject will take her leave now.” She retreated all the way back upstairs.
…
No sense of propriety, lacking upbringing.
Sun Youping, taking advantage of the lull, took off his coat and called Sun Jingcheng to go to the warehouse. The bulk of the medicinal materials were in the warehouse, with the most complete variety. Those requiring special storage were generally only retrieved when needed.
Since Sun Jingcheng had been studying with him, he handled everything personally, carefully instructing him on the name and function of each medicinal material. Although Sun Jingcheng already knew most of them by heart.
The warehouse wasn’t far, three to five hundred meters from the clinic. The plane trees on one side of the road were already lush with foliage, with dappled light falling on Sun Youping. Sun Jingcheng looked at his father’s back, racking his brain for something to say—anything would do, like the stupid question of what month cicadas start singing.
Sun Youping stopped and slowly looked up at the plane trees, saying, “Soon, probably late June.”
Sun Jingcheng nodded and continued searching for topics.
Before he could find one, Sun Youping spoke again: “Summer vacation will be noisy.”
“What do you mean?” Sun Jingcheng took two steps forward to walk alongside him.
“During summer vacation when the children are off school, they’ll go catch cicada shells to sell to me for pocket money.”
Sun Jingcheng had heard about it. Last year, Sun Jiarui had instigated Yuyan to sell three cicada shells to Sun Youping. Sun Youping had offered two yuan, but they refused to sell, taking the shells to another pharmacy, only to be chased out. In the end, they had to return to Sun Youping to bargain up to five yuan.
After Sun Youping finished speaking, there was nothing more. Sun Jingcheng didn’t search for topics either. The father and son slowly walked to the warehouse along the tree-shaded street.
Summer was good—there were cicada songs, the sound of mahjong tiles shuffling under the shade, and clear voices on the street selling pea jelly.
Zhou Yu didn’t think summer was good at all—it was scorching. Every day she had to run back and forth countless times between the teaching building, office building, and cafeteria under the blazing sun. It was only early summer now, and just getting out of the car to buy shoes for Grandma was enough to make her break a light sweat.
She was in the new district cleaning and tidying when she received a message from Feng Yiqun saying the shoes she had bought for Grandma last time fit very well, asking her to buy two more pairs for summer. After Ke Yu finished his homework, she drove him to the clinic and bought the shoes along the way.
She parked in a roadside spot and got out. From a distance, she saw the father and son returning from somewhere. Sun Youping walked in front with his hands behind his back, while Sun Jingcheng followed behind carrying a package. Zhou Yu stood there waiting for them to come over, following them back to the clinic. Then she took out the cloth shoes she had bought for Sun Youping. Sun Youping nodded without making any other acknowledgment, put on his coat, and began seeing patients.
Zhou Yu was about to go upstairs with her things when Sun Jingcheng called her over, asking her to help pour a cup of tea. He was so tired from carrying such a big package that his hands had red marks from the straps.
…
Upstairs, the second sister-in-law had also arrived. She happened to be handling business nearby and came over when she finished. She handed the sister-in-law a set of bracelet and necklace, saying they were leftover from a May Day promotion at the medical aesthetics center. Now that summer was here, she suggested letting Yuyi wear them for fun.
The sister-in-law glanced at the logo on the jewelry box and asked her, “They’re not especially expensive, are they?”
“Promotional items—how expensive could they be?” The second sister-in-law said while looking around for the air conditioner remote. It was too hot.
Sun’s mother had hidden the remote one step ahead of her. It was only 34 degrees—how could she be hot already?
Sun Jingfei and Zhou Yu tried on the jewelry, asking if she had more.
The second sister-in-law responded to them, “Where would there be so many? This is the only set left. And it doesn’t suit you two—it’s too youthful.”
“I don’t like that comment. What’s wrong with youthful?” Sun Jingfei said. “Don’t I deserve to wear youthful things?”
“You deserve it, you deserve it.”
The sister-in-law also felt this bracelet was suitable for Yuyi. She carefully put it away and casually said, “Last time you gave me a four-leaf clover one. I couldn’t bear to wear it and saved it for Yuyi. In the end, your eldest brother gave me an earful.”
“What did eldest brother scold you about?” The second sister-in-law was puzzled.
“He thought I was encouraging her vanity.” The sister-in-law said, “He said that wasn’t something a student should wear. He was afraid that in the future she would only value expensive things, and when she didn’t have the ability to get them, it would harm her instead.”
“Eldest brother wasn’t wrong. It’s normal for young girls to be vain, but if they always look at things hanging in the sky, it will harm them instead.” Sun Jingfei said bluntly, “Children from ordinary families aren’t suited to wearing luxury goods.”
“Of course I know children from ordinary families don’t deserve to wear luxury goods.” The sister-in-law laughed and replied, “But Yuyi is very sensible—she’s never asked for these things. I just wanted to save them for her, that’s all.”
“At the time I told your eldest brother, look at Jingfei—she casually buys Ke Yu a pair of limited edition sneakers for ten or twenty thousand, yet your daughter wearing a necklace her second aunt gave her gets blown out of proportion?” The sister-in-law cut decorative patterns into the mushrooms, speaking slowly. “Later, thinking about it, your eldest brother was right. If you don’t have the ability to buy things for your child yourself, it’s best not to accept what others give either, to avoid giving her wrong ideas.”
“When fourth brother earned eighty thousand in a year, you laughed so hard you couldn’t straighten up. You’ve made it now, but do you know how many college graduates today don’t even earn eighty thousand a year?” The sister-in-law gave her a few pointed comments, neither soft nor hard.
When her husband was alive, it didn’t matter—if these sisters-in-law couldn’t speak properly, she wouldn’t stoop to their level. Now her circumstances were different. If she didn’t speak up, she would be increasingly looked down upon and bullied.
Sun Jingfei was first stunned, then hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Oh, big sister-in-law! Aren’t we all family just chatting nonsense together? If I dared to be this casual in front of leaders and clients, I’d have been secretly destroyed long ago!” She said while feeding her a cherry tomato.
The sister-in-law ate it and laughed at her, saying she didn’t know how she used to lead a team.
Zhou Yu was on the side peeling loofah skin, not joining their conversation. Usually she also listened more and spoke less.
The second sister-in-law, feeling hot, said to them, “I suspect Mom hid the air conditioner remote.”
“Why would I hide that?” Sun’s mother heard from the balcony with her sharp ears. After hanging up the laundry, she also pretended to search everywhere.
“To save electricity!”
“How much is electricity worth?” Sun’s mother’s mouth was stubborn.
“My mom at home is also reluctant to turn on the air conditioner. I say how much is one kilowatt-hour of electricity? She won’t listen. She insists there have to be three to five people in the living room before she’ll turn it on. If it’s just the two of them, they won’t turn it on even if they’re dying of heat.” The second sister-in-law said with a laugh.
“I’m not being stingy. I just can’t find the remote… hey—found it.” Sun’s mother showed them. “Found it, I’ll turn it on for you right now!”
The kitchen erupted in laughter.
Sun’s mother performed this trick every summer.
At the dining table, everyone gradually ignored Sun Youping and began chatting while eating. Sun’s mother said that yesterday when she went to the countryside for the full-month celebration, she heard that a distant relative’s child had passed away. “Only about ten years old. Because she snored at night, the hospital operated on her neck somewhere. The surgery failed and she was gone.”
“They said it was a very minor surgery, but the doctor made a mistake during the operation and she died. When they took her to a major hospital here, the doctors said even if they saved her, she’d be a vegetable. So the family took the child back to the hospital where the accident happened to negotiate compensation.”
“They’re not saving the child?” The sister-in-law was astonished.
“They said even if saved, she’d be a vegetable, so the family decided not to save her.”
“This isn’t a failed surgery—it’s medical malpractice,” Sun Jingcheng concluded.
“Anyway, regardless of what it is, the child is gone just like that.” Sun’s mother sighed, her eyes brimming with tears as she picked up food.
“Let me tell you, our mom told people at the banquet that I’m divorced, and immediately someone wanted to set me up… Mom, what does that man’s family do?” Sun Jingfei looked at Sun’s mother.
“His parents are in the sanitary ware business, I think?” Sun’s mother thought and said, “Like making toilets and bathroom cabinets?”
“And then? Did you meet him?” The second sister-in-law asked.
Sun Jingfei put down her chopsticks. “I met him right then and there! The man was sitting at the table next to mine… and we even added each other on WeChat in the end.”
…
“That fast?”
“One thing led to another!” Sun Jingfei was very excited, waving her arms. “His appearance wasn’t bad, but you could tell at a glance he wasn’t proper material…” She was interrupted by Sun Youping clearing his throat.
Sun Jingfei knew better and restrained herself. “He doesn’t look like someone who lives a proper life.”
“How doesn’t he look proper?” Sun’s mother scolded her. “I think you’re the one who doesn’t look like someone who lives a proper life.”
“And then?” The second sister-in-law was very anxious, urging them to get to the point.
“So our mom gave the matchmaker my WeChat, and on the drive home, he added me.”
“Did you chat?”
“I was driving at the time and didn’t respond.” Sun Jingfei said, “It’s impossible between us. Never mind that I haven’t gotten my divorce certificate yet—I’m a provincial capital young woman, marrying down to… Mom, that’s a rural eighteenth-tier town, right?”
“Look how arrogant you are!” Sun’s mother disapproved of her. “That town is famously wealthy—it can’t accommodate you? Besides, this man opened a… what do you call it when a hospital and nursing home are combined together here?”
“A medical care integrated nursing home?”
“Right, right! It seems quite large in scale!”
“Impressive. Without connections, you can’t even get approval for a nursing home!” The second sister-in-law sat up straight.
“It’s not his alone—several people invested together.”
“That’s still very impressive! How old is he?”
“About 36? Two years younger than me,” Sun Jingfei said.
“Divorced?”
“Divorced several years ago, no children, quite clean.” Sun’s mother said.
“That works!” The second sister-in-law exclaimed again.
“Forget it.” Sun Jingfei pursed her lips.
The children weren’t home—they had gone to the second brother’s restaurant. Seeing that Ke Yu wasn’t there, Sun’s mother spoke freely to her. “You keep picking at others, but at your age with a fifteen-year-old son, what kind of man do you think you can find?”
“Is it illegal that I have a fifteen-year-old son at my age?”
“Not illegal, but hard to marry off!”
“I have no plans to remarry!”
“Marry or don’t marry as you please. I’m just telling you, don’t always look down on everyone, making fun of this person and that person.” Sun’s mother still held a grudge about her making fun of Sun Jingcheng that morning. She was also dissatisfied with what she had said to the sister-in-law in the kitchen. She had heard it all from the balcony, just pretended not to hear.
“You’re always looking for trouble!” Sun Jingfei was exasperated. She had been trying to liven up the atmosphere all along, to make everyone happy, but with one word Sun’s mother had ruined it.
“Say less during meals.” Sun Youping put down his chopsticks, rinsed his mouth, and went downstairs.
At the dining table, the sister-in-law, Zhou Yu, and Sun Jingcheng hadn’t said much.
The sister-in-law was uncomfortable because of what Sun Jingfei had said. Although the two still laughed and talked, she was still somewhat unhappy inside. Zhou Yu had just learned that Sun Jingcheng had earned eighty thousand last year, and hearing this from the sister-in-law and Sun Jingfei didn’t sit well with her. Sun Jingcheng was simply tired and didn’t feel like talking.
If Sun Jingfei had known one sentence would make so many people uncomfortable, she would have kept quiet even if it killed her. Everyone had so many thoughts—she was just chatting casually with family and happened to mention it.
Out of guilt for speaking wrongly, after the meal Sun Jingfei took on all the washing work by herself. Stack after stack of dishes and bowls, she stood there washing each one. Sun’s mother wanted to help, but she chased her out, saying she would do it herself and they should all rest.
Sun’s mother lightly tapped her forehead. “Think before you speak. The family situation isn’t what it used to be.”
“Alright, alright, I know.”
In the bedroom, the sister-in-law was writing a letter to Sun Yuyi, writing that everything was fine with her, her brother was well, and grandpa and grandma were healthy too. She wrote some private words, and finally instructed her to send a WeChat thank you message to her second aunt after receiving the jewelry.
She knew clearly in her heart that this wasn’t some promotional gift—the second brother had specially bought it. During the family gathering before New Year’s, Yuyi had mentioned this brand, saying their jewelry was beautiful. She had originally planned to buy it for her birthday—it wasn’t very expensive, a bracelet cost three or four thousand.
After finishing the letter, she packaged it together with the jewelry and sent it out. She and her daughter were both emotionally reserved people who weren’t comfortable saying things face-to-face or through WeChat. Some words were more appropriate written on letter paper, not requiring immediate feedback from the recipient—just receiving it was enough.
On the way back from sending the package, she thought of Sun Jingyue, the husband who had promised her countless family trips but left without fulfilling them even once. She slowly sat down on a bench in a secluded spot, tears streaming down her face.