CH 5

Author: Yin Ya

Proofreader: lonelycauliflower

Early in the morning, Wang Cheng heard his second aunt’s voice came through as she was showing off toward others. Her loud voice was clear enough to even reach their house. He sluggishly woke up from his hard-to-come-by sleep because of the noise.

His second uncle’s house and small yard added up to 100 to 120 square meters. In the Wangs’ Village, it was already considered big. The other households were mostly 70 or 80 square meters. No wonder his second aunt was so happy like that. She faced people and said words like, “My house is really small. If only I had a bigger place, that would be better.” This really drew in a lot of hatred toward herself.

His eldest aunt was sitting beside his second aunt. Although she would not talk much, it could be seen by anyone that she had long been bursting with joy in her heart. His second uncle’s side of the family was also extremely happy. Their house was even bigger than his eldest uncle’s house, showing off that they had a bigger source of income than the other. Anyone would be happy thinking that there would be a lot of money going into their pockets.

Wang Cheng saw from the window his eldest aunt, pretending to be reserved as she shook her head. As a matter of fact, his eldest and second aunt were jackals of the same lair [1]. It was just that one was smart, while the other one was a fool, and nothing more.

([1]「一丘之貉」figuratively, they are all just as bad as each other.)

The distance of their house to his eldest and second uncle’s houses were not very close. Originally, when Papa Wang was hurt by his grandparents, his father did not want to see them, so his father chose renting a house that was quite far away from their house, and slowly was able to buy the present sixty-square-meter house. Now, his eldest aunt and second aunt deliberately went off to their house to show off. They obviously wanted to annoy them.

Wang Cheng was not annoyed. What others think was their business.

“Don’t mind your eldest and second aunt. They just have loose tongues. They wouldn’t feel comfortable in their hearts unless they win over in a conversation.” Mama Wang had long been aware of those two’s shamelessness. Back in the days, she personally experienced it quite a few times. If it was not because she was concerned that it would affect the children, she would not want fussing about them too much, and their relationship would probably be even worse.

“Ma, I know. Don’t worry. I won’t bother with them, and is there anyone else who doesn’t know how annoying they are?” Wang Cheng hugged Mama Wang’s shoulders and laughed, somehow he was also an adult. After these few years he had followed the old monk and had cultivated himself through meditation, how could it be possible for others to provoke him with just a word or two.

Mama Wang did not pay attention to the profound meaning behind his last sentence, “Mama prepared you a bowl of noodles. I left it in the kitchen, so remember to eat it. If it’s cold, it won’t be delicious.”

“Thank you, Ma.” Wang Cheng suddenly moved closer to Mama Wang’s face, made a ‘bo’ sound [2], turned around and ran.

([2]「啵」onomatopoeia for bubbling sound. Gives the impression that Wang Cheng kissed his mother on her cheek.)

Mama Wang was stunned for a moment. After a while, it was only then that she was able to react. All of a sudden, she did not know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. No matter how old a person was, her heart was still very touched. This was the first time her son made such an intimate move on her. After her feelings had calmed down, she went out.

Wang Cheng had finished the breakfast that Mama Wang left for him. He was just passing through the yard when he heard someone shouting from the outside. With just a look at the source of the noise, sure enough, one could tell it was still his eldest and second aunt who was behind all of this. The two were mostly unwilling to not show off in front of their house, so they caught Mama Wang and did not stop talking. 

But his eldest and second aunt did not expect that, because of them, Mama Wang had already enchained diamonds all over her body [3] so that she was unscathed. No matter how much they talked about flowers cascading from the sky [4], a smile was smeared on her face. She remained unperturbed, and still occasionally said a few words to her neighboring elder sisters. She seemed to be quite relaxed.

([3] Mama Wang had already developed some sort of tolerance over them.)

([4]「天花乱坠」exaggerating tale)

Wang Cheng finally felt relieved. It seemed that his mother’s tolerance level was still relatively high.

Mrs. Zhang talked till her mouth was parched and her tongue was scorched [5], only to find out that Mama Wang was unconcerned. In her heart, she still did not believe that Mama Wang was not jealous. She suddenly glimpsed at Wang Cheng, who was at the doorway, then her surprise suddenly became enigmatical.

([5]「口干舌燥」talked too much)

“Oh, isn’t this Cheng Cheng? That old monk had died so you came back to rely on your mother? What a coincidence, could it be because you’ve heard about the rumors, so you wanted to take a share of the profits?” 

After she finished her sentence, she shot a glance at Mama Wang. As expected, she saw her complexion changed. She could not help but be pleased with herself in her heart.

“Second aunt, you already said everything to my mom. Is it not natural for a son to take refuge in his own mother? As for the rumors, you don’t have to tell me about them as I’ve clearly heard a few. I heard that a few days ago, second aunt was shouting abuse in the street like a fishwife because someone poured a bucket of cold water at you. You didn’t have heatstroke, right?” Wang Cheng deliberately twisted and recalled past events. Mrs. Zhang’s face suddenly turned livid. He found out it when he heard people in the streets talking about this matter two days ago. This valiant second aunt had done a lot of deeds like this. Unfortunately, his second uncle was not assertive, so at home, everything was decided on by Mrs. Zhang. Their reputation was not so good wherever they go in the Wangs’ Village. 

“Cheng Cheng, didn’t you say yesterday that you have something to do today, yet you’re still not in a hurry?” Mama Wang suddenly started talking to drive him out.

Wang Cheng was rather surprised; yet, he listened to his mom’s words. Although a few days ago he promised his mother that he would live with them at home, his stuff was still kept in the temple on the mountain, so today, he intended to go back to pack up his things.

When he arrived at the entrance of the village, he turned around and saw that Mama Wang’s big willow tree had already obscured with several people’s faces. The sound of their voices was far from being heard.

“I hope that second sister-in-law can keep in mind what to say and what shouldn’t be said. If I’ll find out one day that you said anything that shouldn’t be said in front of Cheng Cheng, then don’t blame me for being hard on you. I mean it!” Mama Wang’s expression became cold. People who usually do not get angry throughout their lifetime get angry in an instant and would easily shock everyone. 

[PREVIOUS PAGE]  TABLE OF CONTENTS  [NEXT PAGE]