Free Web NovelChapter 21: Chapter 21: A Resolute Refusal
"I didn’t buy any," Su Li replied again. Her expression was so strange, so resistant, that Mrs. Tang couldn’t even pretend she was joking.
"Why didn’t you buy any for Tangyuan?" Mrs. Tang’s face fell as she asked, her voice suddenly rising.
"It slipped my mind," Su Li replied nonchalantly. "I don’t know how to knit men’s sweaters. If you want to send him one, Mother-in-law, you can ask someone to buy one in Shanghai, or you can buy the yarn and hire someone to knit it."
’Either way, don’t ask me. There’s no way I’m knitting Tang Yuanxiao a sweater.’
Mrs. Tang’s mouth opened and closed. She was fuming, but she couldn’t get a word out or vent her anger, as Su Li’s words weren’t technically wrong.
She was just so disappointed. Looking at Little Tang Mo’s sweater, she had thought Su Li could knit anything.
Su Li got up to wash her face, but Mrs. Tang, unwilling to give up, stopped her. "Su Li, then... then could you learn how? It’s all just knitting, it shouldn’t be that hard. The difference between men’s and women’s sweaters isn’t that big."
"Mother-in-law, that’s not really possible. First, I don’t have the time. Second, I’m a slow learner, so I doubt I could pick it up quickly. And third, there’s nowhere to learn," Su Li replied casually without turning her head.
Su Li thought that was the end of it, but when she came out from washing her face, Mrs. Tang grabbed her again. She still hadn’t given up, still fixated on getting a sweater knitted for her dear Tangyuan.
"Su Li, tomorrow happens to be market day in town. I can ask someone to buy some yarn. Could you just knit one for Tangyuan based on Momo’s sweater? Just make it bigger." Mrs. Tang really adored Little Tang Mo’s little sweater.
Su Li stared grimly at Mrs. Tang without a word.
Mrs. Tang lowered her head, avoiding her gaze, and explained in a low voice, "We never had anything nice to send Tangyuan before. Now that we finally have something good... Momo has one, so Tangyuan can’t go without. Su Li, you can just knit a simple one. Tangyuan will definitely love it."
’Is she really trying to force me to say outright that I don’t want to knit it?!’
Su Li’s expression was grim. She took a deep breath and replied with her last ounce of patience, "Mother-in-law, Tang... He’s in the city. He usually wears his work uniform and doesn’t have time to wear anything else. Sending it would be a waste."
This was also the truth. She had never seen Tang Yuanxiao wear one! freewёbnoνel.com
But Mrs. Tang disagreed. "How could it be a waste? It’s very cold where Tangyuan is. I’m always worried he isn’t warm enough. It’s freezing there now, wouldn’t it be wonderful to send him a sweater to wear underneath his clothes to stay toasty! He’d be so happy to receive it. How could he not have time to wear it? He’ll definitely have time."
No matter what Mrs. Tang said, Su Li had only one answer: "I really don’t know how."
"Just give it a try. I believe you can do it," Mrs. Tang said stubbornly, refusing to accept her answer. She turned to look at the little sweater on Little Tang Mo and cheered up again.
"I’ll go ask if anyone is going to the market tomorrow." Mrs. Tang was impetuous. As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed outside, with Little Tang Mo trotting happily behind her like a little tail.
When they get new clothes, kids always want to run all over the village to show everyone, especially to show off to their friends.
Children love seeing looks of envy from others, and Little Tang Mo was no exception.
Mrs. Tang knew exactly what Little Tang Mo was thinking, but she firmly stopped him and bent down to take off his sweater. "I almost forgot, we have to take off the new clothes. Be a good boy, Momo. These are for the New Year. We won’t wear them just yet, okay?"
She hesitated for a moment about the hat but didn’t take it off. "You can keep the hat on."
Su Li and Little Tang Mo were both stunned. Little Tang Mo’s face fell. "Grandma, I want to wear it! Just for a little while! I promise I won’t get it dirty. I’ll take it off as soon as I get back."
He wanted to show his friends.
"No. New clothes are new clothes. You’ll wear them at the New Year," Mrs. Tang insisted, determined to take it off.
Seeing Little Tang Mo on the verge of tears, Su Li frowned and spoke up. "Since Little Mo likes it so much, just let him wear it. It’s only a piece of clothing. I can knit him another one for the New Year."
Little Tang Mo’s eyes lit up, and he looked pleadingly at Mrs. Tang.
Mrs. Tang shook her head, unmoved. "No. Where would we get that much money? Be good, Momo. How about you wear it with Grandma and Mommy during the New Year?"
Any other child would have been crying and throwing a tantrum by now, but because Little Tang Mo was so obedient, he held back his tears and didn’t make a fuss. Painfully holding back his sobs, he lifted his little arms to let Mrs. Tang pull off the sweater. After it was off, his eyes remained fixed on it, the very picture of reluctance.
Su Li felt Mrs. Tang truly had a heart of stone. She frowned from where she stood, about to speak, but then she had another thought. She was going to get a divorce and leave, sooner or later. In the end, Little Tang Mo would still be with Mrs. Tang. So, she kept her mouth shut.
"Grandma will put the sweater away for you. Wear the hat properly, and don’t rip or dirty it. This hat is really special and pretty." Mrs. Tang helped him into his old clothes and adjusted his hat.
Little Tang Mo touched the hat on his head and perked up, nodding eagerly like a chick pecking at rice. "Okay, I’ll be careful."
Then, the grandmother and grandson left hand in hand, happy once more. Little Tang Mo got his wish, earning a great deal of envious gazes from his friends. He returned with his little face flushed with excitement, his back held especially straight.
Mrs. Tang, who returned with him, looked a little disappointed. She had asked around half the village and found that no one was going to the market, so she couldn’t ask anyone to buy yarn for her.
Hearing this, Su Li’s lips twitched, but she said nothing.
After lunch, Mrs. Tang went up the mountain to herd the cattle.
Su Li had herded cattle plenty of times before. While doing so, she often did other chores, like carrying a large basket to gather leaves or going to chop firewood. It was a tiring day’s work.
Mrs. Tang, however, just herded the cattle. She usually took Little Tang Mo with her for company and to look after him at the same time.
Su Li hadn’t been reborn to be a virtuous daughter-in-law. She wanted a divorce and to go to school. Her urgent tasks were to study and get divorced. She had originally thought it would be a good idea to take her books with her while herding cattle and study then, but Mrs. Tang felt guilty and wanted her to rest at home, so Su Li didn’t argue.
For the next two days, Mrs. Tang took Little Tang Mo to herd the cattle every day, while Su Li stayed at home.
Su Li was a fast knitter. In two days, she finished her own sweater.
It was a long, loose-fitting green sweater. Su Li tried it on and thought it looked quite good on her.
Su Li was very pleased. She folded it up, put it away, and planned to wear it for the New Year.
With the sweater finished and time to spare, Su Li took the opportunity to study for a while. She had been cramming for the past two days, wanting to find Teacher Fan as soon as possible to take a test and settle the matter of continuing her education and taking the college entrance exam.
Once she got past Teacher Fan, the next few months would be even more critical. She would need a lot of time to study and prepare for the exam.
This time, for the college entrance exam, she had to succeed. Failure was not an option.
After studying like this for two days, it was Su Li’s turn to herd the cattle on the mountain.
The Little New Year was fast approaching, and Mrs. Tang was preoccupied with sending things to Tang Yuanxiao. She scoured her home, the yard, and the entire village, packing up every edible item she could find to mail to him.
While Mrs. Tang was busy with this, Su Li took over the chore of herding the cattle, taking her books to the mountain to study.
The Tang family’s ox had been with them for several years. It was good at plowing and well-behaved when being herded. Su Li would drive the ox to its spot, check on it every hour or two, and use the rest of the time to study to her heart’s content. She went alone, and the quiet mountain, with no one else to disturb her, was even more efficient for studying than being at home.
After two days of this, Su Li had actually grown to like herding the ox and studying on the mountain.
After Mrs. Tang finished her fussing and sent the package to Tang Yuanxiao, Su Li didn’t hand the herding chore back to her, and Mrs. Tang, naturally, had no objections.
Perhaps because she was happy about sending the package to Tang Yuanxiao, Mrs. Tang had been in a good mood for the past two days. She would beam whenever she saw Su Li and brought up Tang Yuanxiao even more frequently.
She rambled on and on about Tang Yuanxiao’s childhood and his life growing up. Su Li was impatient but had no choice but to listen.
The more Mrs. Tang rambled, the stronger the impulse grew in Su Li: she should write a letter to Tang Yuanxiao to bring up the divorce, instead of insisting on telling him face-to-face!
