"No, heās just pretending," Yang Chuxia knew Ms.Wangās intentions and stepped forward to pull her arm, "Mother, donāt worry. Brother An and I are doing great, he treats me even better than before. Letās have a chat tonight, just the two of us."
"Thatās good to hear, now I can rest easy. After all, heās a high-ranking official, our little village has never produced a high-ranking official before." Ms.Wang said, laughing, "You donāt know, but every time your father goes to town and runs into some people from the Zhang or Liu Families, they always praise Brother An and invite your father for a drink. However, your father has always declined."
"Why does dad refuse?" Yang Chuxia casually asked.
"Why else, but for Brother An." Ms.Wang tapped her forehead, "Your father said, now that Brother An is an official, one has to be more careful. There are people in town who want to curry favor, and who knows what some of them are after? What if someone has ill intentions? Your dad said one shouldnāt drink carelessly outside; what if they see him drunk and set him up, and then it ends up implicating Brother An? That would not be good."
After a pause, she continued, "Even your Fourth Uncle, your dad has spoken, heās forbidden from loafing around drinking outside, or else he will no longer acknowledge him as a brother. As for your Big Uncle, heās timid but honest."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia chuckled, "Mother, dad is really becoming more insightful."
"Isnāt that so? Heās always talking in such an organized manner these days, and when Qingrui and Qingtong come home, he even catches them to ask about their studies. He also reads books when he has time." Ms.Wangās face lit up when she talked about Yang Dachuan.
"Mother, how are things on grandmaās side?" Yang Chuxia then inquired.
When it came to her maternal family, Ms.Wangās mood soured, "Itās just as it is. Your big uncle and second uncleās families have completely split. Your grandma is living with your big uncleās family now. Your second aunt has become even more shrewish with age, and sheās always arguing at home with her daughter-in-law. Your second aunt really is excessive, no wonder your cousin has arguments with her."
"What happened? What outrageous thing has she done this time?" Yang Chuxia was full of interest when it came to her second aunt.
Ms.Wang gave her a look, thinking her daughter seemed a bit too interested.
In fact, she wasnāt wrong, Yang Chuxia was indeed very interested.
"You remember Qian Xiaoqing, donāt you?"
"I do, I do! Iāve even hit her before."
Talking about this, Ms.Wang tapped her on the head, "You and your temper. That Qian Xiaoqing, in the end, was married off by her brother, but it wasnāt long before her husband fell ill and died. It really broke your second auntās heart, and now sheās thinking of divorcing your cousinās wife to marry him off to Qian Xiaoqing."
"No way?" Yang Chuxia wiped sweat from her forehead, but then thought that this did indeed sound like something her second aunt would do.
"Cousin surely wouldnāt agree to that, right?"
"Of course he wouldnāt agree, they already have kids, how could he? Your second aunt made a fuss because he didnāt agree, and then your cousinās wife joined in, all leading to a family uproar. When we went there during the New Year, they started making a scene right on the Chinese New Yearās Day," Ms.Wang said with frustration.
What Ms.Wang didnāt mention was the way her sister-in-law looked at Qingrui during the New Year; it still gave her chills.
"My second uncle, he didnāt do anything?" Yang Chuxia thought her second uncle wasnāt that passive.
"He did, of course he did. It just became too much on the third day of the New Year, and your second uncle said if it didnāt stop, heād divorce your second aunt, and thatās when she quieted down."