Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Chu Wei, there are two bags of soy milk left for the children to drink in the morning. I’m hanging them at the door.” Aunt Gu shook her head and left.
Chu Wei opened the door and brought the soybean milk back into the house. She continued to wash the mushrooms and two vegetables. She left a pile of mushrooms that were of good quality for sale and kept the ones with bad quality for herself to eat.
After washing the crucian carp, she grabbed a handful of noodles and prepared to stir-fry them.
Peach Blossom Town was adjacent to the capital and belonged to the northern region. Initially, the northerners did not eat noodles, but her mother-in-law was from the southern region and had brought her cooking skills from the south. When she was young, she always made all types of noodles. They were smooth and had a great taste.
After marinating the carp, she made a few cuts on it. Then, she boiled the oil in the pot and turned up the heat. After that, she put the carp into the pot and added mushrooms and condiments, as well as a large spoonful of chicken soup from yesterday. Instantly, a fragrant aroma spread out.
When she was cooking, she did not notice that someone was coming. Hence, she did not open the door for Aunt Gu. She would pour the two bags of soy milk into a bowl for the children to drink later.
Looking at the fish in the pot, Chu Wei was thinking about following Chen Ji to the army. The people in the town were worried sick about her being in the army. Everyone had their own opinions and said all sorts of things. They thought that she was just a housewife and did not have a mind of her own.
Actually, that was not the case. Chu Wei knew very well in her heart that she did not want to follow Chen Ji to the army in the past. After all, her daughters were already of school-going age and the school was right outside her house. When the time came, she would open a shop in the town and do some small business. Her days would be considered long. The children would grow up day by day and become more and more sensible. She would have less to worry about. Most importantly, she did not live her life under the whims and fancies of Chen Ji. She would be more carefree.
But these few days, she suddenly changed her mind. She had to follow him into the army. Ever since they separated from the family, the old lady had been living with Chen Hu. This meant that she had long set her heart on his family and wanted them to send her off in her old age.
In the past, her sister-in-law, Zhao Jinli, had put on a pretence. She was good with words and couldn’t be any better with their mother-in-law. She was also very caring towards Chu Wei.
However, after her mother-in-law lost her sight, her eldest sister-in-law changed her tune. She said she wanted to treat the old lady well, but when she heard that this illness required a craniotomy and a large sum of money, her expression changed immediately. She kept saying that it was unfair to their family to have divided the family that way.
If it weren’t for the neighbors watching, with Zhao Jinli’s current attitude towards the old lady, she would have thrown her to Chu Wei even if she didn’t starve the old lady to death. Being filial to her mother-in-law was something that should be done. Her mother-in-law had sacrificed so much for Chen Hu’s for so many years. Now that she was of no value, Zhao Jinli wanted to push her to Chu Wei to provide for her. There was no such logic in this world.
Also, the strange dream she had recently made her even more determined to follow Chen Ji to the army.
Although it was a dream, she could clearly remember everything that happened in the dream. In the dream, because she didn’t give birth to a son for Chen Ji, she received a lot of cold treatment and was often talked about by others. As time passed, she felt inferior. In order to give birth to a son, she almost bled to death on the operating table.
So far, Chu Wei had no intention of giving birth to three children. After all, giving birth was easy, but raising children was tough. Whether it was the cost of living, energy, or physical strength, her two daughters had already pushed her to her limits. However, everyone was persuading her to continue giving birth. They said that she would only be considered a successful woman if she gave birth to a boy.
In the past, she might have hesitated, but after this dream, she completely gave up on the idea of giving birth to a third child. She was still so young and did not want to die so early.
In the dream, in order to take care of her mother-in-law and repay her kindness to her, she only went to the army two years later. Waiting for another two years didn’t matter to her. After all, it had been so many years. However, in her dream, her daughters didn’t attend preschool and were studying at Peach Blossom Town Primary School for two years. With this delay, the children fell behind by a lot. Later on, they were transferred to the capital to study, but they couldn’t keep up at all. In the end, the daughters gave up on themselves and left the world early.
To Chu Wei, her two daughters were her life. As long as they were living well, she was willing to sacrifice her life, not to mention following Chen Ji to the army.
The field toads chirped and the sun was bright. Chu Wei cleaned up the kitchen while Chen Yan was called back to watch the pot. The flames were running wild and steam was rising from the pot. The carps in the big black pot were emitting fragrance in the boiling soup. She wished she could have a spoonful of it.
“Mom, do we still need to add water?” Chen Yan gulped and asked.
Chu Wei took out a few pieces of firewood that were half-burned and turned the stove down. She picked up a bottle of white vinegar and poured some on the side of the pot. She then grabbed a bunch of onions and sprinkled them into the pot before covering the pot to let the soup stew..