Chapter 16: Going to the Village Chief’s House

Because of the arrival of Elder Aunt Sun, the midday meal was particularly lavish, and everyone ate until their mouths were dripping with grease.

He Shuyu exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Grandmother, Auntie’s cooking is absolutely delicious.” After speaking, he licked his lips and, greedily, added, “I ate three big bowls!”

Madam Su, Madam Jiang, and Madam Zheng, upon hearing Yuge’s praise, smiled broadly, their eyes crinkling with delight.

Aunt Sun San laughed heartily in response, “Yuge, you better save some room; dinner will be even better.”

Laughter erupted around them.

Elder Aunt Sun shot Madam Zheng a sharp glance but remained silent.

After all, Madam Zheng was no saint; she was married to Third Uncle Sun because he was infatuated with her beauty.

At first, the marriage seemed fine; during the first year, she was gentle, sensible, and dutiful. But after the birth of Dingguang the following year, she grew arrogant and self-assured.

She began barking orders at her mother-in-law, Madam Huang, forcing her to do laundry and care for the children.

She often brought up sensitive issues, mocking the first branch family for having no sons and calling the second branch’s son simple-minded and foolish.

Madam Huang, timid by nature and unwilling to quarrel, endured silently.

As for the eldest sister-in-law, Madam Su, having given birth to a string of daughters, she had long lost her spirit.

Second sister-in-law Madam Jiang and Second Uncle, both honest and straightforward, had no way to argue with Madam Zheng and bore it quietly.

The more the Sun family tolerated, the more brazen and domineering Madam Zheng became.

Once, Elder Aunt Sun returned to the village unexpectedly and, upon entering the house, witnessed Madam Zheng pointing her finger at Madam Huang’s forehead, berating her with biting cruelty.

Even worse, Madam Zheng spat at her mother-in-law, spouting nonsense about favoritism, hiding money for the first branch, cursing her to die old and rotten, and planning to take the silver into the coffin.

Elder Aunt Sun was shocked, staring at the “gentle, respectful, and humble” Madam Zheng, unable to believe she was such a person.

Furious, she summoned the village chief and clan elders, then called Madam Zheng’s parents, scolding them harshly for failing to educate their daughter, cursing the mother-in-law, and condemning such filial impiety.

She even threatened to divorce Madam Zheng.

Naturally terrified, Madam Zheng knew that while the mother-in-law was the apparent head of the household, the entire family depended on Elder Aunt Sun’s favor.

Elder Aunt Sun’s words carried great weight; if she truly divorced Madam Zheng, the Sun family would comply without hesitation.

Even if Madam Zheng’s parents came knocking, the village would side only with Elder Aunt Sun.

Desperate, Madam Zheng kowtowed repeatedly, clutching Dingguang to plead for sympathy.

Dingguang, only one year old, understood nothing but cried whenever his mother wept.

Third Uncle Sun, seeing the pair’s pitiful sobbing, panicked deeply.

Truly enamored by Madam Zheng’s beauty, he also kowtowed fervently, begging his eldest sister not to divorce her, tearfully insisting that little Dingguang could not be without a mother.

He threw himself at Elder Aunt Sun’s knees, even injuring his head in his earnest pleas on Madam Zheng’s behalf.

Madam Zheng’s parents knelt as well, begging the Sun village.

This act placed Elder Aunt Sun and the Sun family on a moral pedestal, making it impossible to dismiss Madam Zheng.

Still simmering with anger, Elder Aunt Sun finally decided to split the family, telling Third Uncle and Madam Zheng to go as far away as possible.

The separation was fair, following village customs, and Madam Zheng’s parents dared not object.

As for the house, they had no complaints either.

The old Sun family home belonged to the first branch.

For the second and third branches, Elder Aunt Sun invested silver to build two identical six-room brick-and-tile houses.

After moving out, Madam Zheng was initially pleased to be free from the large family, no longer sharing with the first and second branches, enjoying newfound freedom.

But after living there for a while, having to handle everything personally, she realized her hardships were unspeakable.

Even more despairing was that the annual seasonal gifts from Elder Aunt Sun to the third branch were half of those given to the first and second branches, and nothing was given individually to Madam Zheng.

Madam Zheng’s parents scolded her fiercely.

Elder Aunt Sun’s omission, which could have fed them for three months, was a grievous offense against the wealthiest member of the family.

They wondered how such a foolish mind was ever born.

Madam Zheng regretted it deeply as well, but it was too late; regret was useless.

So every time Elder Aunt Sun returned, Madam Zheng would grovel and flatter her servilely.

Yet Elder Aunt Sun ignored her entirely, showing disdain even toward Third Uncle.

She treated Madam Zheng’s three sons impartially—if they belonged to the Sun family, so did her children.

After lunch, Sun Bomin and his wife Sun Zhongli busied themselves preparing for dinner.

They went next door to the mud house to catch geese, chickens, and ducks to slaughter, then bought lotus roots from a villager to make a hearty pork bone and lotus root soup.

Elder Aunt Sun took out Yuniang’s New Year gifts and the New Year gifts she had given to the village chief, placed them in a large basket, and arranged for He Erlang to carry the load.

With Yuge in tow, they prepared to visit the village chief’s home.

She glanced at Sun Shan, who was bored and squatting beneath the eaves, and pulled him along as well.

Yuge, fourteen years old and a young man, said to cousin Shan, “Cousin Shan, you walk too slowly. I’ll carry you.”

Before Sun Shan could refuse, Yuge lifted him onto his back.

Elder Aunt Sun patted He Shuyu’s shoulder and laughed with mock severity, “Be careful, don’t let Shanzi fall.”

He Shuyu chuckled, puffed out his chest confidently, and said, “Mother, don’t worry; I’m very strong.”

The three crossed the village path, and Elder Aunt Sun greeted the villagers one by one, occasionally stopping to chat briefly.

He Shuyu whispered, “Mother talks so much, chatting all the way; it’s still not dark, and we haven’t even reached Grandfather the village chief’s house.”

Sun Shan giggled softly, resting on his cousin’s back.

Among the four He brothers, cousin Yuge was the liveliest and resembled Uncle He the most.

Elder Aunt Sun said he had already stopped going to school, instead following Uncle He to learn cooking.

The He family was neither poor nor lacking opportunity to educate him, but he shared the family’s lack of literary talent.

Whenever the topic of study arose, both Uncle He and cousin Yuge would grow weary and drowsy, dozing off after reading just a few words.

The village chief’s home was very close to Sun Shan’s house, less than two hundred meters away, but Elder Aunt Sun took the time of a full incense stick to reach it.

Uncle He, good-natured, followed patiently behind her, smiling and nodding to the villagers without a trace of the haughtiness typical of city folk.

Just as they entered the village chief’s domain, the chief’s wife, sitting at the door chatting, exclaimed joyfully, “Oh, Chunlan is here!”

Her words caused a stir.

Within seconds, a large crowd poured out, curious and delighted to see the four Suns.

The village chief hurried over, smiling warmly, “Chunlan, you’re here! Come inside.”

To his eldest daughter-in-law, he said, “Go pour some tea quickly.”

Elder Aunt Sun walked into the courtyard gracefully and followed the village chief into the main hall.

He Erlang set down the two large baskets of gifts.

They immediately caught the attention of everyone present, who all glanced simultaneously at the contents.

Silently, they thought, “Married into the city is truly different; even the gifts surpass others.”

Seeing the crowd’s fixed gaze on the baskets, the village chief cleared his throat and said, “If you have things to do, go on. I’ll talk with Chunlan.”

His meaning was clear: whether busy or not, the crowd should disperse; lingering was unsightly.

No one dared to disobey the head of the family, and soon the hall emptied, leaving only the village chief, his wife, and their three sons.

Upon entering, He Shuyu, faced with a group of strangers, heard his eldest uncle and aunt calling his name repeatedly.

Feeling a bit thirsty, he took a sip of tea, but it was too hot, burning his tongue numb.

The village chief’s wife rushed over anxiously, “Oh dear, Yuge has scalded himself!”

She quickly went outside to fetch a cup of cooled water.

He Shuyu stuck out his tongue bashfully, wanting to stop her, but was powerless.

Smiling, he accepted the cool water, thanked her, and drank it down.

Sun Shan sat beside Elder Aunt Sun, who waved her hand and said, “Uncle, Auntie, don’t mind him; he’s impatient and even rushes when drinking water.”

Her words sparked hearty laughter from everyone.