Fortunately, the Liang family’s grandmother had passed away early; otherwise, Liu Fang’s life wouldn’t have been so comfortable.
Grandmother Liang had actively opposed Liu Fang’s marriage into the family. Liang Bing’an had even wavered at the time – if Liu Fang hadn’t made a desperate final move, she certainly wouldn’t have married him.
Seeing Grandmother Yu reminded Liu Fang of Liang Bing’an’s grandmother. Even after more than a decade, the impression of Grandmother Liang’s difficult nature hadn’t faded. Upon seeing Grandmother Yu, those memories resurfaced.
It wasn’t that they looked particularly alike, but rather their similar aura. Without cursing or hitting you, their eyes would scan you from head to toe, making you feel like a thief, someone who shouldn’t be in their presence.
Intimidated by Grandmother Yu’s presence, Liu Fang spoke cautiously:
“Auntie, does Liu Fen live here? I’m her younger sister. We spoke on the phone yesterday, and I’ve come to visit her today.”
She maintained a pleasant smile and dressed neatly – how could she not appear docile? Liu Fang was certainly obedient – how else could she have married into the Liang family initially? But her docility varied depending on whom she was dealing with.
Grandmother Yu wasn’t fooled by her act. From her eyes to her appearance, Grandmother Yu could roughly gauge what kind of person Liu Fang was. If not for her recently developed peculiar relationship with Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan, she would have left Liu Fang outside.
“Your sister went to work. Come in and wait,” Grandmother Yu said, opening the door with her chin slightly raised, appearing rather haughty.
Liu Fang tiptoed inside.
Grandmother Yu’s courtyard looked different from when Xia Xiaolan first rented the place. Though spacious, it had lacked vitality then, with Grandmother Yu leaving the large courtyard untended. After a few months of Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen living there, the courtyard had transformed. Liu Fen wasn’t a refined person – it would have been impossible for her to create an elegant garden of birdsong and flowers.
But Liu Fen was incredibly hardworking and skilled at farming. She had naturally planted some vegetables in the courtyard. She hadn’t dug up Grandmother Yu’s yard haphazardly but had planted essential seasonings like green onions, ginger, and garlic along the wall, along with a patch of Chinese chives. As winter turned to spring, these vegetables grew quickly, creating a pleasing ring of green along the wall corners.
Liu Fen, worried about her daughter getting tired from studying, had bought many orchid plants for a few maos each to lift her spirits. She had initially planned to plant them in the yard, but Grandmother Yu, unable to bear the sight, had somehow found many old clay pots. Once Grandmother Yu took charge, those cheap orchids suddenly looked elegant, arranged in a row on the windowsill outside Xia Xiaolan’s room.
The orchids’ subtle fragrance invigorated Liu Fang.
Grandmother Yu carried herself with authority, and though Liu Fang couldn’t discern her background, she knew she had to remain docile. When Grandmother Yu gave her a stool, she sat obediently waiting. After a while, though, her true nature emerged.
“Auntie, what kind of work does my second sister do? She never mentioned it.”
Grandmother Yu glanced at her. Since Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen had come to rent in Shang Du, this relative was visiting for the first time. Since Liu Fen hadn’t mentioned it, why would Grandmother Yu say anything? With such obvious intentions written on her face, how dare she try to probe for information?
Grandmother Yu made a casual conversation with Liu Fang but ended up extracting information from her instead. Liu Fang claimed she was worried about her divorced sister and niece living in the provincial capital and had come specifically to check on them. Throughout the conversation, she kept asking Grandmother Yu whether Xia Xiaolan had a boyfriend and where he was from.
She seemed more concerned about her niece’s marriage prospects than her divorced sister’s welfare.
Grandmother Yu thought of Xia Xiaolan’s face and understood the situation.
“A boyfriend? I think he’s suitable, very well-matched with your niece.”
Grandmother Yu hadn’t met Zhou Cheng, though his appearance was decent enough. Besides, Xia Xiaolan was as clever as a fox – how could she be easily fooled by a man? Grandmother Yu thought that whoever Xia Xiaolan chose herself would certainly be better than anyone this calculating aunt could introduce.
But Liu Fang’s thoughts had wandered far.
Well-matched with Xia Xiaolan?
Xia Xiaolan only had her looks going for her – a rural household registration, no education, no job. Anyone matching her would probably just be some good-looking young man, possibly without even proper employment, maybe even a good-for-nothing layabout. Liu Fang felt confident that the marriage she was arranging was comparatively better for Xia Xiaolan.
Near noon, Liu Fen returned.
She hurried back, surprised to find her sister and Grandmother Yu getting along well.
Since when had Grandmother Yu become such a warm and hospitable old lady? Liu Fen was touched, thinking Grandmother Yu was being nice because she cared about her.
Grandmother Yu could guess Liu Fen’s thoughts just by looking at her.
Indeed, they were blood sisters, both equally foolish. One was foolishly honest and straightforward to the point of causing headaches, while the other was foolishly calculating to the point of being laughable. But after living with Grandmother Yu for several months, always greeting her with smiles, helping her sweep the streets, and cooking for her, it was the headache-inducing honest one she’d grown fond of. She might bully Liu Fen herself, but how could she let others come and bully her?
“Now that you’re back, I’ll go sweep the streets,” Grandmother Yu said, pulling out her broom.
Liu Fang was stunned for a moment before asking her second sister, “A street sweeper?”
When Liu Fen confirmed this, Liu Fang nearly died of anger.
A street-sweeping old woman – why had she been so carefully respectful? While Liang Bing’an’s grandmother had looked down on her, at least the Liang family had real status. How dare a street-sweeping old woman put on airs before her!
Liu Fang wanted to say something harsh but remembered her real purpose for coming.
She peered behind Liu Fen, “Where’s Xiaolan?”
“She went out and hasn’t returned yet.”
Liu Fen meant Xiaolan had gone to Beijing, but Liu Fang interpreted it as going out for business.
Suppressing her eagerness, she handed over the things she’d brought to Liu Fen. “These snacks were gifts from others – I couldn’t bear to eat them myself, so I brought them for you and Xiaolan to try. The meat is for Big Brother’s family – aren’t the three of them living here? As for these clothes…”
Liu Fang had meant to say the clothes were for her, but suddenly realized her second sister wasn’t dressed as poorly as she’d imagined.
She wasn’t wearing patched-up old clothes, and her outfit was different from New Year’s. While not exactly fashionable, the fabric and workmanship were certainly no worse than Liu Fang’s usual attire.
They were better than the two pieces she’d brought.
Liu Fang swallowed her words and said instead, “I heard from that street-sweeping auntie that you’re working. Where do you work?”
If someone had told her Xia Xiaolan had lucked into a factory job through an exam, Liu Fang might have believed it. But what kind of work could a rural woman of Liu Fen’s age, with only literacy class education and getting on in years, possibly find?
If city jobs were so easy to get, there wouldn’t be so many unemployed young people.
Liu Fen wasn’t skilled at lying. Li Fengmei had repeatedly instructed her not to say that “Lan Feng Huang” was their own business, but rather to say they were helping others mind the store, at least in front of the Liang family.
“I help sell clothes, handle money, move things around.”
Helping sell clothes?
Liu Fang suddenly understood – no wonder her sister dressed differently. Department store salespeople all dressed well; if Liu Fen dressed poorly, wouldn’t it affect the store’s image?
Liu Fen, unaccustomed to lying, felt nervous and rushed toward the kitchen:
“Ah Fang, let me cook something for you. You must be hungry after waiting so long?”
Liu Fang replied impatiently, “Don’t bother cooking, I’ll treat you to eat outside. After lunch, we still need to go to Lan Feng Huang to buy clothes for Liang Huan.”