Chapter 32: Though Unable to Win the Argument

Chapter 32: Though She Can't Out-Argue

The next day, He Jin brought Yan Fuqiu and Tao'er to visit her parents' home, while Wen Xi dropped off the things he had bought the day before at Shen Yun's place.

With the New Year approaching, Shen Liang would be busier than usual, so when Wen Xi arrived, only Shen Yun and his mother were there.

Wen Xi wasn't sure exactly what illness Shen Yun's mother suffered from; he only knew she had been sickly and weak for years and couldn't do any heavy work. The family of three relied on Shen Liang to earn money outside while Shen Yun stayed home to care for her.

Since he was already there, it would be impolite not to go in and check on her. Wen Xi handed the gifts and sweets to Shen Yun, glanced toward the inner room, and asked softly, "How is Auntie today?"

"Same as always—she's just low-energy and blah. She's only comfortable lying down. She just fell asleep a moment ago."

Wen Xi didn't know what to say to comfort her, so he changed the subject. "I bought you a gift in town yesterday. Do you want to open it and take a look?"

"Really? What did you buy?" Shen Yun asked while his hands eagerly unwrapped the small cloth bundle.

"These are all things I love—Xiao Xi, you're the best." He ran the wooden comb through his hair a few times, then picked up the mirror and examined himself from left to right. "This is clearer than the one my brother bought me, and I can carry it around. It's really nice."

The red hair ribbon was even more eye-catching. Shen Yun tied it in his hair in a few quick motions and turned to Wen Xi. "Does it look good?"

Shen Yun and Wen Xi had similar temperaments—both were gentle and refined young men. The red ribbon was a bit bold, but it gave him a whole different vibe.

Wen Xi praised him. "It looks great. When I bought it, I thought the color would suit you."

Shen Yun looked a little shy, but he was grinning from ear to ear. "When my brother comes back, I'll definitely show him. You have no idea how tacky the things he buys me are. And he has the audacity to claim that's what all the city boys wear."

Wen Xi didn't say much, just smiled softly. Then he opened the oil paper containing the crispy candy. "I saw people in town buying these. Try one and see if they're good."

Shen Yun picked up a piece of crispy candy and took a bite. The sweet taste spread across his tongue. He nodded without stopping and, beaming, grabbed Wen Xi's hand. "Delicious, delicious! Xiao Xi, you have one too."

"Alright."

Wen Xi had never tried crispy candy before, so he took the opportunity to taste one.

With Wen Xi, Shen Yun didn't bother with formalities. He flipped through the other items and said, "You don't earn much pocket money yourself. Don't buy these things for us anymore."

"It wasn't all my money. My two sisters-in-law covered most of it. Your brother hooked us up with so much work—we owe you guys a thank-you."

Shen Yun bit into the candy and mumbled, "It's nothing. You're my best friend—it's only right that I help you find work."

There's no such thing as "deserved" or not. Wen Xi wasn't the type to take people's kindness for granted. Since Shen Yun treated him sincerely, he would return the same sincerity.

"But speaking of which, your two sisters-in-law are pretty decent people. You have no idea..." Shen Yun lowered his voice. "That neighbor Auntie Liu's daughter-in-law used to come to our house all the time to run her mouth, saying your Brother Jin has a bad temper, is small-minded and calculating, and very sharp-tongued. When I first heard you married into the Yan family as a substitute, I was sweating bullets for you."

Wen Xi got along well with both of his sisters-in-law, so he shook his head at this. "Brother Jin isn't like that."

He Jin wore his heart on his sleeve—where would he find any scheming? As long as you stroke his fur the right way and butter him up a little when you talk to him, he'd give you the shirt off his back. Wen Xi was the first to disagree with calling him mean.

"I was just misled by rumors! Li Xinghua projected her own flaws onto others—she's the petty one, yet she has the nerve to talk about others."

Shen Yun had a lot on his chest and was waiting to tell Wen Xi.

"Look at how much work my brother has introduced to their family over the years. She and Auntie Liu earned more from my brother than their men did hauling sacks in town. And still they don't show any gratitude. Ever since my brother stopped giving them work, the whole family looks at us like we're dirt. They're always making veiled insults, saying our family has no conscience."

Wen Xi frowned. "They're the ones whose craft is shoddy, and they even cheated on the embroidery workshop's orders. How can they blame you?"

The workshop owner had explicitly told them not to use those two anymore. Was Shen Liang supposed to shoot himself in the foot financially just to accommodate them?

He didn't understand how there could be so many people in the world who were so shamelessly ungrateful.

Shen Yun pursed his lips. "And yet they still blame us. If we had faces like theirs and got caught doing something shameful, we'd hide at home and not dare show our faces. But her? She blames everyone and everything but herself. Sometimes when I run into her outside, she even gives me the stink eye."

The whole family were a bunch of ungrateful snakes. Of course he was angry, but Shen Yun was an unmarried young man—he couldn't just make a scene and ruin his reputation like the married men could.

Shen Liang was also caught between a rock and a hard place. With a sick mother at home and a younger brother still young, even with all his skills, there was nothing he could do.

Wen Xi felt frustrated too. If only the Yan family lived closer to the Shen family, they could look out for each other.

As things stood, they really could only keep the peace and grit their teeth.

Wen Xi looked worried, but Shen Yun forced a smile and tried to comfort him instead. "It's fine. They only dare to throw their weight around in front of me. If my brother were home, they wouldn't dare make a peep."

Wen Xi squeezed his hand sympathetically.

A few coughs came from the inner room. Wen Xi didn't want to disturb Shen Yun's mother's rest, so he pointed at the things on the table. "There are candied fruits in here too. After your mother takes her medicine, give her one to eat. I still have things to do at home, so I won't stay long."

Shen Yun didn't try to keep him. "I'll walk you out."

He linked arms with Wen Xi all the way to the courtyard gate before letting go. "When you get back, thank your eldest sister-in-law and Brother Jin for me. When my brother comes home, I'll definitely have him find more work for you."

Wen Xi hummed in acknowledgment. He was about to say something else when the door of the neighboring house suddenly swung open, and a basin of water came splashing toward the two of them.

Fortunately, Wen Xi and Shen Yun reacted quickly—the water didn't hit them, only just barely splashing the tops of Wen Xi's shoes.

The shoes on Wen Xi's feet were made by Chen Lanfang, and he was very careful with them. Even a few drops of water on them made him uncomfortable.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there."

Auntie Liu stood at her doorstep, holding an empty basin with both hands, her face full of apology.

Wen Xi couldn't tell whether she had done it on purpose, but since she had apologized, he couldn't very well get angry. He only said flatly, "It's fine. Just be more careful next time."

That should have been the end of it, but for some reason, something Wen Xi said set her off. Auntie Liu suddenly said, "Oh my, well, aren't you something, being a scholar's husband—you sure know how to act all high and mighty more than us common folk. Don't worry, I'll be more careful next time, so I don't offend you and bring trouble from Scholar Yan."

Yan Fengan was just a scholar—he had no power to cause anyone trouble. Wen Xi had no idea what this old woman was being so sarcastic and snide about.

Wen Xi didn't want to trade barbs with her. Seeing that Shen Yun was about to speak, he gently pushed him back toward the house. "I'm leaving. Go on inside and close the door properly since your brother isn't home."

Shen Yun was a stand-up person. If he himself were insulted, he might not say a word, but seeing Wen Xi being harassed right in front of him, he couldn't turn a blind eye. Wen Xi knew his temperament well and didn't want Shen Yun, who had already endured so much, to get into a conflict with Auntie Liu and her family because of him.

Shen Yun bit his lip and held back, then under Wen Xi's persuasion, returned to his own courtyard.

Once the door was shut, Wen Xi glanced at Auntie Liu again. "You seem so concerned about my husband—I'll be sure to pass along your regards when I get home."

Auntie Liu's face stiffened, but then she sneered. "Oh, so you're going to run home and tattle? Don't try to threaten me with your husband. I didn't say anything wrong. I don't believe that Yan Sanlang is so overbearing. If you're so tough, have him come raise hell—let everyone see how the Yan family uses their power to push people around."

Wen Xi nodded in agreement. "You're right. I am going to tattle. When I get home, I'll tell not just my husband, but also my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and my brothers and sisters-in-law too. I'll tell every single one of them."

Auntie Liu's mouth twitched, and a lump caught in her throat—she couldn't swallow it, couldn't spit it out.

If this damned young man had just argued with her properly, that would have been one thing. But what was this talk of tattling? Like a child playing house—losing an argument and running home to get the adults. At his age, he should be ashamed of himself.

"Crazy. Go ahead and tattle all you want. I already said it wasn't on purpose. You're so young and you don't know how to respect your elders—if your mother and the others dare come, I'll give them a piece of my mind."

She shot Wen Xi a dirty look, then slammed the courtyard door shut with a bang.

A moment later, she cracked the door open again. Seeing that Wen Xi was already gone, she spat viciously. "Who does she think she is? A girl who couldn't even get a hot bowl of soup at home before, and now that she's married, she's getting all high and mighty! She should take a good look at herself in a puddle of piss—what is she to act tough in front of me? Why didn't her parents beat her to death back then?"

Hearing her curses, Li Xinghua also ground her teeth. "Those three daughters-in-law of the Yan family, each one worse than the last. The worst is the one in the second son's household. Back then, she didn't even ask for a betrothal gift to marry into the Yan family. After all these years, her sister-in-law at her parents' home still holds a grudge. And the Yan family—with all the good girls out there, they had to pick these shuāng'ér who can't bear sons. With such a high bar, how did they let these broken goods get their foot in the door?"

Aunt Liu didn't pick up on the sourness in her voice and snapped, "One's a substitute bride, the other's a moocher—two shameless types stuck together, and they actually think they're hot stuff."

After cursing, she seemed to remember something, her face turning pale as she hurriedly ran toward the backyard.

A bunch of livestock startled and kicked up a fuss for a while. Li Xinghua frowned and went to check it out, seeing her hustling the animals into the pen. Even after locking the gate, she wasn't done and fetched some fence planks and farm tools to barricade it.

Li Xinghua couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"

Aunt Liu kept working without stopping: "You don't understand—if the Yan family really shows up looking for trouble later, with these things blocking the way, they won't be able to get their hands on our chickens."

Everyone in the village knew about the fight between the Yan family and the Zhao family. Three men from the Zhao household had been beaten to a pulp, and two of their chickens got taken. With only one man in her house, wouldn't she be completely helpless to fight back? Getting beaten was one thing, but the chickens she couldn't even bring herself to eat—those absolutely couldn't fall into their hands.

Li Xinghua panicked too, helping block the gate while complaining, "Honestly, you're something else. Can't you talk trash behind their backs? You know the Yan family won't take a loss, yet you just had to go and provoke them. You've got no brains at all."

Aunt Liu was embarrassed, but she wouldn't back down: "Enough, enough. I just couldn't hold it in, alright? And you—a daughter-in-law—how dare you speak to your mother-in-law that way? If the Yan family dares to come, let them come. I don't believe there's no justice in this village."

She talked a big game, but inside she was scared stiff. Her son went to town every day to do hard labor, earning money so painfully, and here she was causing trouble at home—wasn't she dragging him down?

Aunt Liu deeply regretted it. She was distracted all day at work, ears constantly perked up, afraid someone might knock on the door. Any slight stir outside nearly scared her to death. She held on until dark, only breathing a sigh of relief when things went completely quiet outside.

That night lying in bed, Aunt Liu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, feeling both aggrieved and furious, wanting to curse. She never imagined that at her age, she'd be outwitted by such a young shuang'er.

Truly, the dogs that bite don't bark.

It was normal for neighbors in the countryside to have spats. Such a small matter—why would Wen Xi have to make it known to everyone?

But even if he didn't tell others, he'd surely tell Yan Fengan. Listening to his detailed chatter, Yan Fengan felt an indescribable satisfaction.

Now Wen Xi no longer hid things when problems arose, nor would he foolishly take abuse without talking back.

Wen Xi had never been one to meekly endure anyway. It was only under the pressure of Wen Shishan and Li Qiaozhen that he'd had to suppress his true nature. Now, free and easy in the Yan family with a group of people protecting him, his temperament naturally grew firmer.

That Aunt Liu was a coward. Neither Wen Xi nor Yan Fengan took her to heart. It was the silent Li Xinghua who piqued Wen Xi's curiosity.

"I heard from Shen Yun that Li Xinghua has always resented Brother Jin. Do you know why?"

Yan Fengan wasn't too clear on this either. He only knew that He Jin and Li Xinghua were from the same place and had both married into Daoxiang Village the same year.

They rarely interacted in the village. In Yan Fengan's memory, He Jin and Li Xinghua had never had any direct conflict.

Li Xinghua's deep resentment toward He Jin was truly puzzling.

Yan Fengan yawned, drowsy, and said, "Tomorrow when Second Brother and the others come back, we'll ask and find out."