A Good Country Wife

After Lin Yue changed her clothes and came out, Zhao Erhu kept glancing at her with a smile. His gaze had become more straightforward, with no sign of hesitation. Lin Yue felt somewhat annoyed by Zhao Erhu’s laughter, "Zhao Erhu, if you keep this up, I’ll really get angry."

"My good wife, please don’t be angry," Zhao Erhu, sensing that his little wife was a bit serious, restrained himself and started discussing a matter with Lin Yue, "Yueyue, I want to talk to you about something. The Zhao Family’s parents, that is, Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents, want to take them to Xiaoxi Village to stay for a while."

Zhao Erhu said this warily, watching his little wife’s expression, afraid that she would be displeased. He never felt this anxiety and guilt before when he mentioned this to the Li Family, but since he cherished his little wife so dearly, he cared so much about her feelings.

"Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents?" Lin Yue looked at Zhao Erhu in surprise. Xiaoxi Village was a small village over twenty miles from where they lived. Since she had come to this place, she hadn’t had any contact with Dalang’s relatives, apart from a few relatives from Zhao Erhu’s side, and she was unfamiliar with the situation at Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents’ home and with the relationship they had with Dalang and Erhu.

"You know, Zhao Family’s daughter was my first wife. She fell ill after giving birth to Erhu and passed away a few years later. But Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents are still alive and well, living in Xiaoxi Village. My in-laws sent word yesterday, saying that the day after tomorrow they would have the children’s uncle come over to pick them up," Zhao Erhu explained. When mentioning the words ’my in-laws,’ he also felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable, after all, referring to someone else’s parents as one’s in-laws in front of his own little wife was always a strange feeling.

Moreover, according to customs, a stepwife is considered to be lower in status than the first wife. If one were to be particular, a stepwife would need to bow to the first wife as a sign of respect when she enters the family, and offer incense during the Qingming festival every year as a tribute. However, such customs were not followed in their rural areas.

When Lin Yue joined the family, there hadn’t even been a wedding banquet; she was simply brought over in a very straightforward way. Thinking about this, Zhao Erhu felt somewhat sorry for his little wife, and of course, he wouldn’t expect Lin Yue to offer tributes to the first wife. To him, his little wife was the most important person now. However, he feared that she might overthink these matters in her heart.

Actually, Zhao Erhu did feel some guilt and respect for his first wife’s parents. Unlike the parents of the Li Family, who were difficult and calculating, they were two honest and simple elders who only wished their children well. Unfortunately, their daughter left them prematurely, a heart-wrenching sorrow of white-haired people sending off a black-haired person.