Free Web NovelChapter 405: Chapter 403: Wasteful Creature
They had dumplings on the morning of New Year’s Day. Afterward, Sun Jiaming and Dingzi took Lin Zheng, Sun Ting, and Aunt Zhao’s son and daughter downstairs to set off firecrackers.
Sun Jiaming had wanted to drag Gu’er along, but she wasn’t interested. She was a little afraid of the firecrackers, thinking it was a dangerous activity, so she didn’t go. She just told Sun Jiaming to be careful, to watch the kids and make sure they stayed far away from the firecrackers so they wouldn’t get hurt. She, meanwhile, stayed inside to chat with everyone.
It was the New Year, after all. There was nothing much to do besides eat and have fun. The women, however, had one extra task: cooking.
By now, Marina was quite used to Chinese food. Her chopstick skills had also improved greatly since she first arrived. She was particularly satisfied with the meals over the past two days, thinking Chinese food was absolutely delicious. This sparked her curiosity about cooking, and she clamored to help.
Gu’er had her start with something simple: preparing the vegetables.
"Oh, Gu’er, is this right?"
Marina handed the prepared celery to Gu’er.
Gu’er laughed the moment she saw it. Like many people who don’t know how to prepare celery, Marina had thrown away all the stalks and kept a pile of leaves.
"You wasteful little thing! Look what you’ve done to these vegetables," Cao Qiu exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"’Wasteful little thing?’ What does that mean? I’m not a thing."
Marina could speak simple Chinese now, but there were many phrases she didn’t understand, and her speech was still quite awkward.
"It means you’re a wasteful... uh... how do I say it? It just means you’re not frugal. It’s not calling you a ’thing.’ Oh, forget it. I can’t explain it clearly. Let Gu’er tell you."
Cao Qiu found it too exhausting to explain.
"Gu’er, I know how to be frugal! Of course I do! So why am I a ’wasteful little thing’?"
Marina asked Gu’er, looking very serious.
Seeing Marina’s earnest expression, Gu’er chuckled.
"Marina, go ask Dingzi. Let him tell you."
Gu’er tossed this hot potato to Dingzi.
"Oh, okay. I’ll go find Dingzi."
Marina nodded and went out to find Dingzi.
Gu’er smiled even more broadly, curious to see how Dingzi would explain it to Marina.
"Marrying a foreign wife... it’s exhausting trying to talk to her. And look at Dingzi. He’s usually so quiet and reserved, yet he managed to bring home a foreign wife. You really can’t predict a person’s fate."
Cao Qiu said this as she went to retrieve the celery stalks Marina had thrown away.
"That’s right. Even though the girl isn’t from around here, she’s a good person. Dingzi has even gotten more talkative since he’s been with her. A few days ago, she even bought Grandma Dingzi several new sets of clothes, from head to toe, and a set of gold jewelry, too! It made Grandma Dingzi so happy she talked our ears off about it for days. She just has one flaw: she can’t cook, and conversation is a bit of a struggle."
Aunt Zhao chimed in as she chopped vegetables.
"Really? In that case, she sounds like a decent girl. At least she’s not stingy. When it comes to daughters-in-law, I feel like I’ve seen it all now. It’s my good fortune that our Jia Ming married Gu’er. I was against it at the time, but if he’d married Zhou Mei, I wouldn’t be living such a good life today. Gu’er is so generous. She’s never let me or Jia Ming’s father go without food or clothing, and she takes care of Jiasheng too. Jia Ming is able to bring things to my place, and though I don’t say it out loud, I know in my heart that it’s not just because he’s a filial son—it’s also because Gu’er is so sensible. If she weren’t willing, Jia Ming wouldn’t be able to visit me so often. She’s nothing like my eldest son’s wife. All day long, all she thinks about is her own family. You have no idea—a few days ago, she moved a whole load of things to her parents’ house. She even gave the things Jia Ming and Gu’er bought for Tingting to her own niece! Tingting cried for a whole day. I gave her a real tongue-lashing for that. When she came over for the New Year this time, I warned her. I said if she dared to cause any trouble or say anything nasty, I’d send her packing to spend the holiday by herself. That finally got her to behave. Tell me, what did I ever see in a daughter-in-law like that in the first place?"
Cao Qiu was now full of complaints whenever she mentioned Wei Hong, but in contrast, she was thoroughly satisfied with Gu’er.
’What *did* she see in her back then? Back then, the Sun Family lived in the village, and Cao Qiu had shown off quite a bit after returning, all because her son had married a wife from the city. Now that their lives had improved, she naturally looked down on Wei Hong. But of course, Gu’er couldn’t say any of this out loud. Besides, Wei Hong really wasn’t a good person, so she had no intention of defending her.’
"Putting everything else aside, my Gu’er is a good person, no doubt about it. As long as you treat her well, she’ll be wonderful to you. You’re her mother-in-law, so she certainly won’t treat you poorly. I can guarantee that."
It was music to Chen Fengjiao’s ears to hear Cao Qiu praising her daughter.
"You have two daughters-in-law, so having one good one is enough. As for the one who’s always thinking about her own family, don’t let her make you angry. It’s New Year’s, it’s not good to get upset. So what if your eldest son’s wife is a disappointment? Don’t you have Gu’er? Gu’er is magnanimous. Look at us, we’re not even remotely related to her, but she still treats us so well. How could she possibly treat you poorly? Back when we were in the village, what kind of life did we have? We could barely afford to eat. If we managed to have a meal with meat, we’d savor the memory for six months. And now? We live in a big house, we eat fish and meat every day without fail, my eldest son is married, his father earns a decent monthly income, and my two little ones have never had to wear hand-me-downs. This is a life I couldn’t even have dreamed of before, and it’s all thanks to Gu’er and Jia Ming. We’ll be grateful to them for the rest of our lives."
Aunt Zhao added, and she spoke from the heart. Compared to the people still in the village, her life was simply wonderful.
"Yes, Gu’er is wonderful. It would be even better if she gave me a grandson."
As she listened, Cao Qiu’s thoughts inevitably turned back to the topic of children.
Gu’er was already feeling a bit embarrassed from all the praise. When she heard Cao Qiu’s remark, she wanted to facepalm. ’How did we get back on the topic of children again?’
"Don’t be in such a rush," Aunt Zhao advised. "They haven’t even been married a year. A child will come when the time is right. They’re so good together, I’m sure you’ll get to hold your grandson eventually."
"That’s right. It’ll happen."
Chen Fengjiao nodded in agreement. She, too, felt it would be wonderful if Gu’er and Sun Jiaming had a child.
Gu’er remained silent. ’Women love to gossip,’ she thought. ’Just let them talk. They’ll stop when they’ve had their fill.’ She simply focused on stir-frying the vegetables.
"Oh, listen to this! You know I went back home a while ago, right? Well, my sister-in-law told me something. She said in the village next to ours, a family took in a young new wife, and it turns out, that family..."
Sure enough, a moment later Cao Qiu launched into the latest gossip she had heard.
Aunt Zhao, her interest piqued, eagerly chimed in. Chen Fengjiao listened along, adding a comment here and there.
While stir-frying, Gu’er kept her ears pricked, a perfect embodiment of a woman’s love for gossip.
While the women chatted up a storm in the kitchen, loud laughter erupted from outside. The reason was Dingzi’s attempt to explain the phrase "wasteful little thing" to Marina. He couldn’t make it clear, and Marina only grew more confused. Grandma Dingzi jumped in to help, but the more they talked, the less Marina understood. By the end, she was completely lost, and Grandma Dingzi had to admit defeat, leaving everyone else roaring with laughter.
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