Chapter 59: The Farmer and the Snake
Li Nuanchun ran over with a scared look on her face, patting her thigh emotionally, "Oh dear! Thank god Tong Yao caught it, or Baodan would have had a bad fall." She had just been sitting in the hallway chatting with Chen Yanmei while snapping beans, and had overlooked Baodan for a moment. She hadn’t imagined that such negligence could have led to a serious accident.
If he had rolled down the stairs, even a severe head injury would have been minor in comparison. She had a distant cousin, who was a very clever and handsome child, much like a generous child god. But he became mentally disabled after falling from a tree.
Chen Yanmei didn’t show any gratitude at all, she gave Tong Yao a sidelong glance and grumbled, "Baodan was playing just fine, how could he suddenly fall? Maybe someone scared him on purpose."
She had been living in this residential compound for many years, and no matter who came, they always showed her deference and flattery. However, Tong Yao, despite being here for some time, never tried to please her, and every time they met, she would stare at her with disdain.
Therefore, Chen Yanmei had a resentment towards Tong Yao. She didn’t like seeing a woman like Tong Yao who enjoyed a comfortable life without doing any work. This increased her dislike of Tong Yao. She always feared that if her son married a woman like her, she would never be able to rest in peace.
Hence, no matter what Tong Yao did, Chen Yanmei always made sarcastic comments and refused to acknowledge Tong Yao’s kind acts, unless Tong Yao acted sensibly and took the initiative to befriend her like Li Meiyu did when she first arrived in the residential compound, by giving Baodan some candies to eat.
Tong Yao, who was about to head back to her room, heard these comments and sneered, "Then you better take care of your child. This time he got scared and nearly fell, maybe next time he will be scared out of his mind."
"Hey! What kind of talk is that?" Chen Yanmei’s face stiffened and she questioned Tong Yao accusingly, "Is that how you talk?"
"If you can talk nonsense, why can’t I?" Tong Yao was not afraid of Chen Yanmei at all and countered back boldly, "Its my mouth, I’ll say what I want. If you’re not keen on hearing it, then you should block your ears."
Chen Yanmei’s eyes bulged like a bronze lion head at the entrance of a yamen (historical government office), she was so agitated that spit sprayed onto Baodan’s face, "Why should I block my ears? Just because you tell me to? Who do you think you are? I’ve been living in this compound for so many years, no one has ever dared ask me to block my ears, are you really that incredible?"