Chapter 72: Joking Around

Lin Lishan straightened her clothes and shot her daughter a look—this child, if someone overheard what she said, what would they think? Still, she was secretly pleased that her daughter cared about her. As she stepped out of the room, she saw Zhang Guoqing, Fang Fei, and Xiao Zhou at the gate, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, laughing and joking as they came into the courtyard. Once again, she felt proud of her son-in-law—he really knew how to do things right.

Fang Fei, sharp-eyed, spotted her first. “Auntie Shan, how does it feel seeing your precious daughter and grandson? You must be over the moon! You’re one impressive grandma—so young, you’re the first in the whole compound.” As he spoke, he gave her a big thumbs-up.

“That’s right, I am impressive. When you get home, tell your mom about my little Ping’an and see if she doesn’t drag you off to meet girls. You’re not getting any younger, you know. Look at Guoqing—he already has a kid. If you have someone in mind, just let Auntie Shan know. There are plenty of girls in my art troupe. And Xiao Zhou, don’t laugh at Fang Fei—you’ll have to look for a wife when you get home this time, too.”

“Oh, please don’t! If you tell my mom about Ping’an, I’ll never hear the end of it. These days, she’s desperate to bring home any girl she sees as a daughter-in-law.” Fang Fei gave Zhang Guoqing a light kick—this guy was always raising the bar.

Watching the three of them horsing around, Lin Lishan couldn’t help but laugh. “Where have you all been? Why are you only just getting back?”

Xiao Zhou grinned at the other two still goofing off. “We took Xiao Wu out to park the car. Turns out he’s a quick learner—after watching us drive and trying a few times, he was already driving smoothly in less than half an hour.”

“That’s because he has good teachers like you two. Go on inside. I’ll go see if I can help out in the kitchen.” With that, she headed toward the kitchen.

From a distance, the aroma of freshly cooked rice, spicy stir-fried pork, and mushroom chicken stew wafted out, making her even hungrier. A few children were obediently standing nearby, sniffing the air, but not making a fuss. When they saw her, they greeted her sweetly as “Grandma,” and she praised them with a smile, handing out candies from her pocket.

The kitchen was bustling, everyone busy with something, steam rising everywhere. As she walked in, she saw that dinner was nearly ready. Inside were Zhang’s mother, Jiao Jiao, two sisters-in-law, and two other women who must be Zhang Guoqing’s aunts, all helping out.

“Big sister, you’re all so busy, and everything looks so delicious—I’m in for a treat. Is there anything I can help with? These must be Xiao Wu’s aunts, right? Sorry to trouble you all. Your Zhang family really gets along well,” Lin Lishan said as she walked over to Zhang’s mother, who was plating food.

Zhang’s mother put down the plate and, seeing her in-law come in, grinned widely and gestured to the two women. “Sister, why did you come in? It’s messy in here. There’s nothing left to help with—everything’s cooked, and the tables are set in the main room. We’ll just serve the food soon. These are Xiao Wu’s aunts. If I need anything, I just ask them—after all, we’re all family, aren’t we? Big sister-in-law, little sister-in-law, this is my in-law, Jiao Jiao’s mother.”

The elder aunt was a straightforward woman, probably in her fifties or sixties, thin but energetic. Her patched clothes were spotlessly clean, her hair neatly combed, and even her fingers were clean. She always greeted people with a smile and was known as a lucky woman to invite to weddings in the area.

She looked at Jiao Jiao’s mother and smiled before speaking. “We all remember you. When you got married, so many people came to see the new bride—you were so beautiful, and you haven’t aged a bit. Now that you’re back, spend some time with Jiao Jiao—she’s such a sweet, sensible girl, grew up right under our noses, and in the blink of an eye, she’s all grown up.” The younger aunt nodded in agreement, remembering how she’d gone to see the bride herself back then.

Lin Lishan laughed heartily. “We’re all old now. I was only eighteen then, still a flower, and now I’m a grandma. My Jiao Jiao always tells me how much you aunts care for her. Especially her mother-in-law—my big sister here is wonderful, treats her like her own daughter. I told her she must be filial. It’s not easy for a woman to have a good mother-in-law, and her sisters-in-law treat her like a real sister, too. I used to worry before coming, but now I’m completely at ease and happy.”

The younger aunt agreed. Her second sister-in-law really was a good mother-in-law, never picking on her daughters-in-law. “Our mother-in-law used to say, ‘No matter how good things are, nothing beats a good mother-in-law; and no matter how good a son is, a good daughter-in-law is even better.’ My second sister-in-law is a good mother-in-law, has good sons, and good daughters-in-law—she’s truly blessed. Look at these two daughters-in-law, married in for years, never a fight or argument. The three brothers have always been close, and everyone in the village says my second sister-in-law knows how to run a household. Life is really comfortable. I’m so envious.”

Zhang’s mother laughed at the praise. “Which of your daughters-in-law ever argued with you? Don’t tease me. I know my own temper—impatient as anything. But these kids are all good. My eldest daughter-in-law has been here ten years, always helping me take care of the younger siblings, never a complaint. The second one, I scold the most, but she never holds it against me, never keeps things bottled up. If she were like some of those village daughters-in-law, stomping their feet and making a fuss, we’d be fighting all the time. As for Jiao Jiao, she’s been sensible since she was little, never made me angry. It’s true—good daughters-in-law make good mothers-in-law. I’m perfectly content with them.”

Lin Lishan was genuinely envious. She’d rarely seen such a harmonious family, especially compared to her own troublesome father-in-law. Even with a good mother-in-law, it was no use—just like Jiao Jiao said, even she had to watch people’s moods.

“That’s right, you should be content. If you’re not, the rest of us will have something to say. What should satisfy you most is that your old man always puts you first—just don’t let anger get to you. Haha, we’ll be off now. If you need help, just call for Xi Zi or one of the others. Jiao Jiao’s mother, stay a while longer and come chat at our place when you have time,” the elder aunt joked, pulling the younger aunt out with her.

Zhang’s mother hurriedly grabbed their arms, not letting them go. “Leaving right after we’re done? What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on me? You’re eating here tonight. I’ll have the old man call your husbands over to drink with Jiao Jiao’s grandpa.”

The younger aunt looked helplessly at her arm. “Today’s your in-laws’ meeting. If you don’t let us come for the baby’s third-day celebration tomorrow, we’ll bring the kids over then. Let us go now, or the kids will laugh at us. We’ve already made dinner at home and have a pile of chores to do.”

“Well, you can’t go home empty-handed. I know you’re being polite, so I won’t send you home with meat dishes, but at least take some buns for the kids to try.” Zhang’s mother saw they really didn’t want to stay, so she gave up and went to pack some buns, but before she could, the two sisters-in-law hurried out.

She told the eldest daughter-in-law, Huang Cuilan, to pack up twenty meat buns to send over. In these times, meat buns were a real treat, and the ones they made at home were stuffed full.

Lin Lishan watched all the pulling and tugging from the side, not quite knowing what to make of it—she’d never seen anything like this before."