Deceiving the Breastfeeding Mother

Yang Wuni argued for her rights and wanted her sister-in-law, Yumi, to know.

She and Zhang Changyao's family is not a family she can control.

"Dad, listen to what Yang Wuni is saying."

I just want you to know that Guibao is the eldest grandson of your Zhang family.

You have to think about the children. You can't have no money to help them if something happens to them.

If it weren't for the fact that my father lives in your house, I wouldn't even bother coming to this shabby place.

All my efforts to persuade Changyao to marry her have been wasted.

"A dog bites Lü Dongbin but doesn't appreciate a kind heart; I think Yang Wuni is even worse than that dog that bit Lü Dongbin."

By showing no mercy to Yang Wuni, Yumi wanted Yang Wuni to know who the men in the family listened to.

"Changguang's wife, listen to your father and go home quickly."

I'll send the money to you after you, Brother Guan Shu, pay back the money in a few days.

Keep this money for yourself and use it to buy delicious food for your precious child.

No one in our family has contributed as much as you, and your father knows that.

Zhang Kaiju didn't care that his father-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn't have contact.

She pushed the corn cart to the gate.

Zhang Kaiju didn't want to argue with Yang Wuni about right and wrong anymore.

He didn't go inside; he just carried the manure basket and went to the village to collect manure.

"Zhang Changyao, did you hear what your father and sister-in-law were saying?"

All the money you earn will be sent by your father to your sister-in-law.

You can live like this with me now, but you can't do this if you marry someone else in the future.

What woman could stand a spineless man like you?

What woman wouldn't want to control the money her man earns?

Yang Wuni folded up the quilts on the kang (a heated brick bed) and left a mattress to cover Zhang Changyao's legs.

He kept talking, his voice filled with resentment and a sense of reluctance towards the future.

"Yang Wuni, what do you mean by that? Do you not want to be with me for long?"

I don't mind that you're pregnant, so why would you mind that I'm poor?

She's just like my sister-in-law; she'll turn her back on everyone for money.

Starting tomorrow, I'll go out and earn money like crazy.

"Bury all of you money-grubbing bastards with money and crush you to death!"

Zhang Changyao lifted the blanket that Yang Wuni had covered his legs with, put on his shoes, got out of the room, and left.

He squatted by the gate with his arms crossed, not wanting to talk to anyone.

"Zhang Changyao, it's not what you think. I'm not like your sister-in-law."

It's not that I look down on you because you're poor, nor that I don't want to be with you for long, it's because of the baby in my belly...

"Yang Wuni, you're not trying to tell me the father of your unborn child is coming to find you, are you?!"

Zhang Changyao slapped his thigh and stood up, thinking he had guessed correctly.

"Zhang Changyao, I can't explain it to you right now, but you'll find out what's going on later."

Yang Wuni wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down. She dared not disobey her father.

If the matter is exposed, not only will you be condemned for your conscience.

If she were sent back to her parents' home, her father would lose all face and be unable to stand in the village.

Waiting and enduring might be the best outcome for this situation.

"I knew you couldn't explain it clearly, yet you pretended to be a good person."

In my opinion, all women are the same; the prettier they are, the more wicked they are.

Zhang Changyao spoke softly, venting his anger.

Yang Wuni stopped responding to him and went inside to make her steamed buns.

Zhang Kaiju left, and without Su Ziye to use as a substitute, she had no choice but to go to the garden to pick out clean corn husks.

Bring corn husks into the house, cut them into palm-sized squares with scissors, and soak them in boiling water for a while.

Placed under the wrapped bean buns, they don't taste as good as perilla leaves after steaming, but they also don't stick to the bottom of the bean buns.

Two or three days later, Guan Shu's wife couldn't stay at the health center any longer and wanted to go home for the New Year.

Liu Guimei's once chubby, round face has now become thin and gaunt.

Her two big eyes were bulging, and her cherry-like mouth had become much larger.

Because I was still in my postpartum confinement period, I continued to lie in bed after returning home.

"Changyao's wife, your sister-in-law is back. Do you think we still need to help with breastfeeding?"

Zhang Kaiju had no money in his pocket, so he asked Yang Wuni for her opinion.

"Dad, I...I have five yuan and fifty-five cents, which was given to me by my brother Du Qiu from my mother's family."

Zhang Changyao came back from writing letters and couplets in the village yesterday, and his ears were red from the cold.

I'm thinking of going to town tomorrow to buy a pound of yarn to knit him a scarf.

"Chinese New Year is just around the corner, we'll need to buy a pound of meat and make dumplings, won't we?"

Yang Wuni sincerely took out the five yuan and fifty cents from the pocket of her inner clothes and showed it to Zhang Kaiju.

"Changyao's wife, it's winter now and wool is very expensive."

Woolen yarn will be cheaper next spring, right? Keep three yuan for the meat.

With the remaining two yuan, go to the convenience store and buy a pound of sugar and some fruit to take to your sister-in-law.

The money spent on breastfeeding isn't wasted; you get to return to the basin afterward.

"When you have a baby in the future, their family will have to come and help you produce breast milk."

Zhang Kai, a shrewd scholar, knew that Yang Wuni had a secret stash of money because she always slept with a cotton-padded jacket under her pillow.

Now that he knew he had guessed correctly, he was even more smug and wanted to spend all of Yang Wuni's money.

"Oh! Dad, I'll go buy some now, but what about Zhang Changyao's frozen ears?"

Yang Wuni was young and at a loss for what to do, clutching the money in her hand into a ball.

"Changyao's wife, don't worry about him, he's resistant to the cold!"

Zhang Kaiju brandished his pitchfork and went to collect manure, his expression a mixture of disdain and smugness.

Yang Wuni dared not disobey her father-in-law's orders, but she was not an obedient and docile girl either.

She went to the convenience store and bought half a pound of white sugar and half a pound of dried biscuits.

The two items together cost 1.2 yuan, saving half the money.

"Changyao's wife, your visit makes your sister-in-law so happy, why would you need to buy anything?"

When Liu Guimei saw Yang Wuni come in carrying things, she propped herself up and sat up.

He patted the edge of his mattress and helped her sit on it.

"Sister-in-law, we're out of money. This is money from my brother Du Qiu from my family, which I used to buy for you."

Dad said I shouldn't come to breastfeed empty-handed, just don't think my things are shabby.

Yang Wuni glanced at Guan Shu, who was holding a child, with a double meaning.

"Changyao's wife, I've spoken to your older brother and told him to go out and weigh things up."

I'll pay you back the money I owe you before the New Year.

After the New Year, when everyone is back to farming, it will be difficult to borrow money again.

"If my fifth uncle hadn't lent us the money in time, your sister-in-law would be on her seventh day after her death right now."

Liu Guimei was no pushover either; her words were filled with gratitude towards Zhang Kaiju.

It's as if Yang Wuni and Zhang Changyao had nothing to do with this at all.

"Sister-in-law, to be honest, I'm actually angry with Zhang Changyao for going out to earn money."

You know that my brother-in-law's wife, Zhang Changguang, is related to corn, right?

"Because my dad lent you the money Zhang Changyao earned, we almost smashed our pots and pans."