Chapter 133 Resentment
Wang Yongzhu didn’t have time to think; she decisively stepped forward, inserting herself between Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongfu. She firmly grasped Old Granny Zhang’s hand while looking very dissatisfied at Wang Yongfu. "Eldest brother, sister-in-law, it’s really inappropriate for you to wrong our mother and us like this. You can’t just blame us without any clear distinction, simply based on a few unclear words from a child like Jinguan, can you? Jinguan is still a child; he doesn’t understand much, having heard just bits and pieces, and now his babbling has led to your misunderstanding."
"Mom is an elder and it’s not proper for her to argue with you, but I, as the youngest sister, can’t stand by and watch without defending Dad, Mom, and Fourth Brother. Eldest Brother, how did you get hurt? Wasn’t it because you and sister-in-law, despite Dad’s forbidding to go to the mountain, went secretly to dig yams in hopes of saving up some private money, and then were ambushed by Li Jinlong? Li Jinlong’s intentions were malicious; what does that have to do with Fourth Brother? Besides, when you were hurt, didn’t Fourth Brother and Song Chongjin carry you to Doctor Liu in the neighboring village without stopping to rest? Your injuries were so severe, Doctor Liu said he couldn’t save you, but Dad, Mom, and all of us didn’t give up and pleaded with Old Doctor Liu, who then directed us to take you to Doctor Ma in town."
"Dad, at his old age, followed the rugged mountain roads for dozens of miles, and together with Fourth Brother, took care of you without rest for an entire night. And what about sister-in-law? She was so scared that she only knew how to cry by the side! If it wasn’t for Dad and Fourth Brother, do you think you could have woken up? Do you know how much silver it costs to stay at Doctor Ma’s each day? Five taels of silver a day! Dad and Mom didn’t complain, they just said as long as you could be saved, no matter the cost, they would spend all they had, even if it meant bankrupting themselves! Now you’ve been in bed for three days, and the fifteen shiny taels of silver were all given out by Mom!"
"Do you know where that silver came from? It was from the compensation silver when Fourth Brother broke off his engagement, plus the money I made from selling yellow pine mushrooms! Just now, Mom paid another two days’ worth of medical bills, another ten taels! Did you think this silver fell from the sky? Are you not aware of how much our family has? This is Mom and Dad taking out their own burial savings for you, and you’re still not satisfied? What more do you want us to do? Mom and Dad have not wronged you and sister-in-law in the slightest! Yet, because of a few childish words from Jinguan, you harbor resentment toward us. Even if we are family, this is too disheartening! If you don’t believe it, these matters can be inquired about outside; you can ask Doctor Ma and see if I’ve said even half a lie?"
Upon these words, Wang Yongfu’s expression softened, showing a hint of hesitation and guilt.
Lady Lin, standing by, couldn’t help but defend Jinguan: "But you still shouldn’t bully Jinguan just because I and your eldest brother weren’t at home. How come kids from the other room get meat to eat, whereas our Jinguan doesn’t even get meat, let alone a meal? Your eldest brother and I can only settle for two pancakes a day in town and since he’s injured, he can only drink some rice soup. How come you are feasting on fat meat and eggs at home, even hosting guests with alcohol? Where is the justice in that? Even if I, as a daughter-in-law, am considered an outsider, your eldest brother is still one of your own and a patient at that. I’ve never heard of you sending any delicacies for him. After all, it’s just because you despise him for being useless now!"
Even with Wang Yongzhu’s best self-restraint, she couldn’t bear it anymore. She glared at Jinguan, who still didn’t realize the trouble he almost caused, and sneered. "Sister-in-law had better ask Jinguan carefully about what happened. Why were we eating fat meat, eggs, and entertaining guests with drinks at home? It was because we had to thank the Clan Leader for supporting our family; otherwise, how would we settle accounts with the Li Family? The Clan Leader and our clan members have greatly helped our family; how could we not even offer them a meal? I wasn’t aware, sister-in-law, that you didn’t even know such basic social manners and etiquette."
"Besides, who said Jinguan didn’t get to eat meat? Didn’t he go up to the table and ask Second Brother for some meat? It’s just that he wasn’t satisfied with one piece and then went to Fourth Brother, who didn’t give him any and said he wanted to give the meat to me for finding the real culprit behind your injury. Seeing that Jinguan had already eaten, and that Third Sister-in-law had been managing household chores diligently and without complaint these past few days, and the kids were running around helping out, so I gave the piece of meat to Jinhua and her two siblings to share. Has this been twisted into Jinguan not getting any meat to eat? Is it that in sister-in-law’s heart, only your Jinguan is worthy of eating meat?"
"With Eldest Brother’s incident, our entire family had no other concerns; everyone, young and old, was busy dealing with Eldest Brother’s matter, and even Second Brother from the county rushed back overnight to stand up for Eldest Brother. After all our hustle these days, just because of a piece of meat, such resentment is directed at us! If that’s the case, we won’t stay here and be disliked anymore! Mom, let’s go! We’ll take these pancakes with us too; I suppose Eldest Brother and sister-in-law would look down upon them anyway, to avoid further complaints."