Linxia

Chapter 53, Bad Neighbors

After sending Fu Hong away, Fang Lin returned to Xixiang Hutong. It was already dark at this time.

When I entered the room, Fang's father had just come back from work and was wiping his sweat. Fang's mother was sitting with a woman in her forties or fifties. There were banging sounds coming from the kitchen. It must be Tian Xuan cooking.

"Mom, there are guests coming to our house. What's this?" Fang Lin asked.

"This is our neighbor, your aunt from the Man family next door." Although Fang's mother was smiling when she spoke, for some reason, the smile seemed a little forced, as if accompanying Grandma Man was an extremely uncomfortable thing.

The family members understood each other very well, and Fang Lin could naturally feel it. He couldn't help but look at the grandmother. He saw that she was short and fat, with a face like half a watermelon, a slightly pointed chin, and some pockmarks on her face. She looked mean.

At this time, Grandma Man also looked at Fang Lin: "Oh, this is your Linzi, right? I heard from your mother that you work in a bookstore? That's really promising. I like educated people, just like my Gensheng."

"Okay, it's getting late. I'm going back today."

As she spoke, she put down the bowl, burped, and walked away swaying.

"My son, you're back! How was it in the store? Are you tired? Did you eat well? Did you sleep well?" After Grandma Man left, Fang's mother took Fang Lin and looked at him, asking with concern.

"Everything is fine." Fang Lin replied with a smile and asked about Grandma Man.

Speaking of Grandma Man, Fang's mother sighed and complained, "We moved here yesterday, and Grandma Man came to visit us this morning. I brought her some tea, but when she saw there were no beans or sesame seeds in the tea, she looked very unhappy and said, 'I've never seen such an unvirtuous guest. He can't even have a cup of good tea when he sits in the house.' She also said, 'I come to your house because I respect your family. Other families are not willing to go there and won't even look at you.'"

"When I said we didn't have beans or sesame seeds at home, she said, 'I don't believe you. You just don't want to give them to people. As a city dweller, you have to be respectable. You'd rather not eat. You have to buy beans and sesame seeds and store them. When guests come, you have to make tea. I've never seen such a guest before.'"

Fang Lin listened and frowned. This sounded like something a sarcastic person would say.

Fang's mother continued, "I went grocery shopping yesterday. I remember buying some sesame and beans. Today, Erman's grandmother came to visit again. I gave her tea and complained that there were not enough beans and sesame seeds. She ate bowl after bowl and would not leave unless she had to pee. She left at noon and came back in the afternoon."

As she spoke, she sighed deeply. Fang Lin had never seen Fang's mother so embarrassed and angry before.

"He is not an easy person to get along with." At this time, Mr. Fang next to him also said.

"Who says it's not?"

Fang's mother took over the conversation again and sighed, "It's etiquette and custom for people to offer tea when they visit. I can't say anything and show my displeasure, otherwise we will be in the wrong. There are so many rules in the city. It's better than in the countryside. If we can't get along, we can just have a fight. Whoever wins is right."

She doesn't have a good temper. When she gets angry, she can be aggressive and scold people. But she just moved here and is unfamiliar with the place, so she is afraid of ruining her reputation.

People of this era usually socialize in such a small place, and it is very scary to have a bad reputation. It is true that "people's words are scary" and "spitting can drown people".

"Before I rented the house, I asked around and found out that there was some gossip in the family."

Fang Lin paused and said, "Mom, you can also go to Man's house and have a visit." Since Grandma Man can come, then naturally Mother Fang can go as well. What's the worst that can happen if they hurt each other?
"If she goes, it won't be hard on Grandma Man, and Chuntao will still be the one who suffers. Oh, Chuntao is Grandma Man's daughter-in-law."

As Fang's mother spoke, her face became better. She gossiped to Fang Lin with great interest, "Linzi, you don't know that before Chuntao got married, her name was Tang Huilan. It was a good name, wasn't it? But after she got married, Grandma Man persuaded her to change her name.

You haven't seen Chuntao, she's so thin and pitiful. At home, Manpozi, the mother-in-law, does nothing. She has endless work to do from morning to night, such as washing clothes and cooking. When she goes out, she has a few acres of land outside the city, where she weeds, plants vegetables, and cultivates... There is no room for breathing. Being scolded is commonplace, and she is not even as good as other people's donkeys.

There was no one in her family. When Chuntao married, she didn’t have any stools, buckets, or foot basins as a dowry. Her family was poor. I heard that Chuntao’s family was originally good, but her brother visited brothels and spent money lavishly, which angered her mother to death. Her father was also useless.”

Fang's mother didn't spend the past two days in vain. She found out everything about the Man family. Perhaps she wanted to counterattack Grandma Man?

However, she was a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. It was one thing for her to dislike Grandma Man, but she would not take it out on Chuntao.

"You can't just swallow your anger like this, mom, what do you want to do?" Fang Lin asked.

"What can we do? The same thing applies. We can't scold her, we can't chase her away, and we can't close the door and ignore her. We are all neighbors. We see each other every day. If the news gets out, people will say that we don't know how to behave." When talking about Grandma Man, Fang's mother's gossiping mood disappeared and she became worried again.

Fang Lin thought for a moment and said, "Well, next time when Dad goes to work, Mom and Sister Xuan should just hide out and go to Geng's house or Sister Guihua's house. If Dad doesn't work and stays at home, then please invite Geng's wife and Sister Guihua to come over. We have guests at home, and if Grandma Man comes to sit, it would be inappropriate. We'll have something to say if they go out."

Indeed, if there are guests at home, neighbors are generally not allowed to visit. That is called lack of etiquette. Standing on the moral high ground, there is no need to worry about falling out with the whole family.

"Well, my son still has a way!"

Fang's mother clapped her hands, and her worries turned into joy. She was ready to give it a try tomorrow. But then she remembered something: "Oh, we were just talking. My son must be hungry. I'll go to the kitchen to help. The meal will be ready soon."

Fang Lin also went to the door and picked up some firewood that Fang's father had bought today.

Coincidentally, I happened to see the daughter-in-law of the grandmother next door, Man, who was called Chuntao by Fang's mother.

The other person was quite tall, very thin, and had a flat body. Her skin was quite white, but her long face was pale, and her two braids hung down to her shoulders, but they didn't make her look charming at all. She looked pitiful no matter how you looked at her.

"Chuntao, make me a cup of tea! Chuntao, you are so stupid and ignorant. Why don't you bring your father's pipe?" This was the voice of Grandma Man.

Chuntao was so busy that she made tea and handed it to Grandma Man, then handed the pipe to Grandpa Man and lit it. Her dim eyes seemed to be stained with a touch of gray by life.

Fang Lin frowned. He was not the kind of person who would judge others quickly, but what Grandma Man did in her home and how she behaved towards her daughter-in-law made him feel aversion to someone so quickly, which was rare.

……

(End of this chapter)