Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 73

Zhao Tingming said what he could: "I'm not hiding anything. In your family's current situation, even a thief would leave empty-handed. Your third son and his wife are lazy and irresponsible; one of them drinks all day, and the other is sick."

"You've seen how formidable your eldest son's wife is. Don't you two old folks realize that it's only because your second son's wife is honest that she's been dumped? If it were anyone else, you two old men would have been kicked out long ago. You don't even have a place to live, you're so poor, I really don't know how you manage to survive. I'm not trying to be mean, but with the way you two are living, your life is doomed sooner or later."

Wang Guixiang didn't like hearing this: "What's wrong with my family's life? Have we ever gone hungry? We didn't eat at your house. Aren't we living a pretty good life? My youngest daughter is in college and has a good job, and her husband is doing well. My eldest daughter's family is doing well, and my eldest son is doing well too."

Hearing Wang Guixiang's words, Zhao Tingming sneered, "If that's how you put it, then I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want. Zhao Tingxu, you come up with a plan, how exactly to handle this. If you say you don't want this wife anymore, and you two are capable enough to find another wife for your second son, then I, as the elder, have nothing to say. If no one takes care of the goose then, I will."

If you don't have the ability but still insist on talking back, then I can't interfere. They say you can't hit a smiling face, and with your argumentative attitude, nobody dares to get involved. I'm only doing this because I feel sorry for the goose. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with your mess. What's in it for me?

Zhao Tingxu squinted, puffing on his pipe, and after a while said, "Brother, are we just going to go and call Big Goose's mother back like this? Where will we put our faces?"

"You have no shame? You shouldn't have made your wife fake illness when she was in postpartum confinement. Now that you're suffering, you still have any shame?" Zhao Tingming scoffed. "Your third son's wife said she wouldn't let the second son's wife have her postpartum confinement in this room. Are you shameless in-laws, making her have to go to that little storage room? If it weren't for Da'e spending money to buy two bags of coal, the baby would have frozen to death. And you're still spouting nonsense about saving face?"

Zhao Tingxu was also confused. Cheng Jinxiang wasn't coming back, and it was already the end of November, almost December; this timeframe was really tight.

In the North, there's a custom that says the Lunar New Year is just around the corner after the Laba Festival. It's only ten days or so until Laba, and when you go out, everyone in the neighborhood will ask, "Old Zhao, has your daughter-in-law come back yet?"

What are you going to say then? Are you going to say, "This year's over, we're getting a divorce?"

Wouldn't that make people laugh their heads off?

Zhao Tingxu has now admitted his mistake and his attitude has improved a lot, so he asked, "Then what should we do? Let's send someone to call Big Goose's mother back."

Seeing that Zhao Tingxu's attitude had changed, Zhao Tingming said, "That's right. We should have gone to call him home a long time ago."

But if you go calling her back empty-handed, it'll be embarrassing for her, won't it? You need to give her a way out, a way to make her come back gracefully.

Wang Guixiang complained, "We were already planning to send someone to call Cheng Jinxiang back. What else does she want? Does she want us to tear down our house and sell our land to marry her again? Going to call her back is already low enough. Do you expect me, this old woman, to go over there and kowtow to her, begging Cheng Jinxiang: 'Come on, you be the mother-in-law and I'll be the grandson'?"