Chapter 66

Ye Qingshui froze for a moment when she heard Xie Tingyu say that. This dress… it was clearly the one he had insisted on giving to his younger sister. How could he have the nerve to ask for it back?

Ye Qingshui interjected softly: “You really did give it to Dongmei.”

But Xie Tingyu repeated patiently, “This was a gift for you. You can’t just give it away.”

He still remembered the first time Ye Qingshui wore this outfit. Her glossy black braid fell over the white fabric, her lips parted slightly, and her eyes shone brighter than ever. When she stood on stage with such calm confidence, everyone’s gaze had fallen on her. She was the most beautiful sight of all.

That image had taken root in his heart like a seed, growing deeper and stronger.

How could he allow anyone else to wear the exact same clothes and show off?

By this point, there was no room for further argument. No matter whether Ye Qingshui had given it to Xie Dongmei or not, Xie Tingyu insisted on taking it back.

Xie Dongmei’s face alternated between pale and green. She shot a hateful glare at Ye Qingshui, then, with tears streaming down her cheeks, rushed back to her room, took off the skirt, and changed into her own clothes.

As Xie Dongmei ran back crying, several of her friends who knew her stood around awkwardly. Xu Maofang had already understood what the old lady meant, and her face looked ashen.

Grandma Xie said, “We need to prepare for dinner now… so we won’t keep you all.”

Only then did the guests recover from the spectacle they had just witnessed. One after another, they took their leave.

He Fang’s face turned deathly pale. She quickly said, “I have something at home, I’ll head back first.”

Others also followed suit:

“Thank you, Auntie Xu, for your hospitality.”

“Much obliged for the meal.”

“Let’s catch up another time.”

Grandma Xie replied politely: “Sorry we couldn’t host you properly this time, we must have made you laugh.”

Even after they left the Xie household, as they walked down the road, they were still thinking about what had just happened. The new daughter-in-law of the Xie family really had the composure to endure.

From beginning to end, she had only said two sentences. Afterward, she had looked at them calmly—no arguing, no red-faced quarrels.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xie Dongmei was still sobbing uncontrollably.

Now that was the bearing of a true Xie family daughter-in-law.

“From now on we should keep our distance from Dongmei. Today she used us like tools.”

“Exactly.” The others nodded in agreement.

If the Xie family’s daughter-in-law had truly been as the rumors claimed—uncultured, ignorant, and scheming to trap Xie Tingyu into marriage—then after today, she wouldn’t have even been able to stay for New Year’s Eve dinner. She would’ve been sent straight back to the countryside.

The old matriarch of the Xie family was not known for her good temper. In her youth, she had been fiery and sharp, unable to tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye.

Inside the Xie household—

“Shui’er, are you alright?” Xie Tingyu asked.

That day he had gone to the tailor’s to pick up Ye Qingshui’s new clothes, then stopped to buy candied hawthorns, and so missed the entire episode. But the moment he returned, seeing the tense scene at home—the accusing looks at Ye Qingshui, his stepmother’s stiff face, and his grandmother’s disappointed expression—he immediately understood what must have happened.

He sighed and said earnestly, “Grandma, you’ve misunderstood Shui’er… She’s actually a very good person.”

The disappointment on Grandma Xie’s face had not yet faded.

She did feel let down, but only faintly. After all, Xie Dongmei was not truly part of the Xie family, nor had she raised her herself. For a time she had even been angry that her son Dajun, a proper man, was neglecting his own children while raising someone else’s daughter.

So this disappointment now was merely disappointment that her son’s painstaking efforts had gone to waste.

But her expression made Xie Tingyu misunderstand. He thought his grandmother had heard some gossip outside and was preparing to make things difficult for Ye Qingshui.

After he finished speaking, Grandma Xie glared at him. “How have I misunderstood Shui’er?”

She nearly wanted to grab a feather duster and give him two good whacks.

She had been doing her utmost to protect this brat’s wife, and here he was, being ungrateful, the first to accuse her. The day his wife had first arrived in the capital, he hadn’t even let her nag a few words, afraid she’d swallow the poor girl alive. Did she look like someone who would make things hard for her?

“Shui’er, tell him—did I ever make things difficult for you?”

Ye Qingshui shook her head. “No, Grandma has been very good to me.”

She hadn’t really involved herself much in what had just happened. To her, it was just a farce she’d watched, and afterward she simply went to put away the New Year’s goods one by one, tidying them neatly.

The little drama that had played out at the Xie household today slid off her like water off a duck’s back. Once she had sorted the food and supplies, she took out pen and paper to begin drafting the menu for New Year’s Eve dinner.

From the main hall, lively voices could still be heard:

Grandma Xie complained, “Tingyu, where have you been today? Out since early morning without a trace. All these New Year’s goods were carried back by your seventy-three-year-old grandmother and your skinny little wife…”

“You’re a married man now—you can’t be so neglectful of your wife. Your grandma is still counting on you, hoping I can hold a great-grandchild in my lifetime!”

Xie Tingyu choked on his water at that. He said seriously, “That’s not something that depends on me alone.”

He lifted his chin and glanced toward Ye Qingshui, who was sitting on the other side.

The bright light of the incandescent lamp fell on her, illuminating the half of her face that was visible—smooth as jade. She was focused intently on writing her list, calm and composed, in sharp contrast to his own irritation at being nagged.

Was it that he didn’t want children?

Grandma Xie turned to her granddaughter-in-law and said: “Shui’er, don’t worry yourself. Next year, just give Grandma a great-grandchild, and I’ll help you raise the baby, alright?”

Ye Qingshui didn’t know how to respond.

He wanted a child?

She was still planning to divorce! In this life, Xie Tingyu had treated her well enough, but in the last one he certainly hadn’t.

Seeing her grandmother-in-law’s eager gaze, in the end she lowered her head and pretended to be shy to get through it.

…

On New Year’s Eve, Ye Qingshui rose early to wash and prepare for the feast.

She put on a new padded jacket she had made herself—rosy-red with a floral silk pattern. With her two braids tied neatly, she looked fresh and bright as she bustled into the kitchen.

Xie Tingyu had already slaughtered the chickens he’d been fattening up for days, their feathers now filling a whole basin.

Neighbors passing by were astonished. In their lifetime, who would have thought they’d ever see the elegant, refined eldest young master of the Xie family butchering chickens? What a rare spectacle!

With one hand gripping the bird and the other cutting to bleed it, Xie Tingyu’s motions were smooth and efficient, without wasting a drop of blood into the waiting bowl. The neighbors watched his fluid, orderly movements—hardly like someone inexperienced. Clearly he had suffered enough in the countryside to learn these rough chores thoroughly.

One neighbor couldn’t resist teasing: “What, no one else in your family to do this, so you’re the one stuck with the dirty work?”

Without turning his head, Xie Tingyu replied: “My wife is in the kitchen cooking for New Year’s Eve dinner. My grandmother is cleaning the house.”

In past years, these chores were always done by the Xie family’s maid. But this year, with no maid…

They even saw Mrs. Xu crouched by the coal stove, fanning desperately. She piled the briquettes high, and soon thick smoke billowed out.

“You can’t light a fire like that. You need to borrow a lit briquette, leave some space, and let it catch slowly,” someone called out.

The people in the courtyard spread the story around as if watching a joke. Nobody knew what had gotten into the Xie family this year—why they had dismissed their maid so early.

That whole household had never done any real chores—could they even manage a proper New Year’s Eve dinner? What if, when friends and relatives arrived, all they had was raw radish dipped in scallion paste?

Only the neighbors living closest to the Xies stayed calm, watching the scene with knowing smiles. They thought: You’re all celebrating too early—

Madam Xie, Xie Dongmei, and even Old Madam Xie were all useless in the kitchen. But the new daughter-in-law? She was capable. The cooking smells drifting out were simply torture…

Meanwhile, Xie Tingyu calmly brought in the strings of cured meat. By noon, the fragrance of dishes slowly wafted out of the Xie family’s kitchen.

On Ye Qingshui’s New Year’s Eve dinner menu, the foods were the same as in past years, but the methods and names were completely different.

For example, instead of the usual stir-fried winter melon with sliced pork, she minced the pork and shaped it into “Four Happiness Meatballs.” The winter melon she hollowed out and used as a tureen for soup.

Instead of simple scrambled eggs with chives, she made egg dumplings, stuffing them with minced pork, shrimp, and mushrooms—three treasures—shaped into golden little dumplings, named “Wealth Flowing In.”

Instead of stir-fried fish slices, she prepared hotpot-style fish for dipping at the table, bubbling red and spicy, to be eaten while warming by the fire, ensuring the food never went cold—called “Abundance Year After Year.”

Instead of plain chicken stewed with mushrooms, a northern staple, she roasted chicken with chestnuts, calling it “Auspicious and As-You-Wish.”

…

At noon, Grandma Xie, greedy for a taste, tried sneaking into the kitchen.

Ye Qingshui served out small portions of each dish, making a simple lunch. It was so delicious that Grandma Xie and Grandpa Xie ate happily, heads bent over their bowls, with no mind for conversation at all.

Just a light, belly-filling lunch left them stuffed.

Grandma Xie gave a huff. “Hmph, all those soldier brats are the lucky ones.”

So many good dishes—if they were frozen and rationed out, they could last until the end of the month. After all, once her grandson and granddaughter-in-law went back to the countryside after the New Year, where would she find food like this again?

“Shuiya, once you’re able to transfer back to the city, you must come live with Grandma,” she said.

Mouth full of food, Ye Qingshui just mumbled vaguely in response.

Suddenly, Grandma Xie remembered something. “Tonight, set an extra pair of chopsticks. Tingyu’s mother is coming too. Probably to see our Shui’ya.”

Ye Qingshui only nodded, not caring much.

After lunch, she happily set about preparing desserts for the New Year’s feast—using flour, glutinous rice, milk, and fruits to bake fragrant cakes. The smell drew the neighbor’s children to the Xie home, drooling.

Unable to resist their pleading, Xie Tingyu gave them two fresh honeycomb cakes.

One neighbor’s six-year-old daughter was especially adorable—bright black eyes, dressed in a New Year’s dress, looking like a little fairy from a New Year’s painting, with rosy cheeks that made everyone like her.

Warmed by her sweetness, Ye Qingshui couldn’t help but scoop her up and give her a kiss.

The little girl patted her belly and grinned. “Touch, touch—hurry and give Uncle Xie a baby!”

Ye Qingshui pinched her dimples and whispered into her ear, “Your uncle’s so bad, I won’t give him one.”

Then she set her down and went back to arranging tables, chairs, and dishes.

By five o’clock, guests for the Xie family’s New Year’s celebration began arriving one after another.

Xie Tingyu’s uncle, Xie Zheng, had even rushed back from the far south. When he stepped inside and saw the table full of rich dishes, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong house.

Other soldiers who hadn’t returned home also arrived on time. They had heard that the Xies’ maid had been dismissed, and that this dinner was cooked by the family themselves. The rough men had worried especially about the standard of the meal.

Some had even sneaked bread from the canteen to fill their stomachs beforehand.

But once they stepped into the Xie home and sat at the table, they were stunned. This New Year’s dinner was unexpectedly abundant and refined.

Xie Tingyu took out a bottle of liquor and began pouring. The white porcelain cup touched his lips, and he just barely sipped.

Just then, a surprised voice came from Grandma Xie. “Ahua—what brings you here?”

Following the sound, Ye Qingshui looked up and saw a well-kept woman, face lit with joy, walking in.

This was Xie Tingyu’s mother, Wen Zhihua.

Her gaze shifted slightly—and froze.

Behind her stood a tall young man in a sharply tailored gray overcoat, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, smiling faintly as he looked their way.

In that instant, Ye Qingshui instinctively turned to glance at Xie Tingyu by her side, then back at the young man standing next to Wen Zhihua.

The two of them… too, too alike!

The winecup tilted suddenly in Xie Tingyu’s hand, liquor running down his chin and dripping into his collar.

Sansukini: See you again next week.

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