…
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!”