Eldest Sister
The young lady had a kind heart. She couldn’t bear to see the Lin family become a laughingstock, so she took the initiative to marry Lin Chuan, resolving their crisis. There was nothing wrong with that.
Besides, Lin Chuan had grown up in the village and had been a soldier for many years. His values were shaped by the military, and he was a very upright person, not someone who would lie.
For a moment, everyone believed him. It also solidified the notion that Qin Yueyue had called off the engagement solely to focus on her college studies. Not only that, but she had dragged Lin Chuan along. Everyone knew that for someone Lin Chuan’s age, getting married now was already considered late. Waiting a few more years would be even worse.
As a result, some people subtly distanced themselves from Qin Yueyue.
Qin Yueyue also sensed the change in attitude and grew even more aggrieved, bursting into tears on the spot.
Su Su, who had been feeling sweet and content, suddenly heard the sound of sobbing. She couldn’t help but glance at Qin Yueyue, who stood not far away. Unable to resist, Su Su spoke up: “Comrade Qin, please adjust your attitude. No matter how wronged or upset you feel, this is someone else’s wedding. You can’t just cry like this and make it seem as if my husband has wronged you. If there’s something you want to say, speak up—Secretary is here, and he can resolve it for you.” Su Su shot a quick glance at the secretary, adding a pitiful expression of her own.
Su Su might not be as skilled at appearing pitiable as the female lead, but her demeanour—”I’m also wronged, but I’m holding back my tears”—was truly endearing. The secretary’s heart softened slightly as he turned to Qin Yueyue and said, “That’s right. If you’re upset about something, it’s better to say it.”
Qin Yueyue didn’t dare to speak, so she shook her head and said, “I-I’m not upset.” She glanced at Lin Chuan, only to find him staring straight ahead, not sparing her a glance. She hadn’t expected him to be so heartless. After all, they had exchanged letters for a whole year. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and finally, she covered her face and ran away.
Su Su nearly rolled her eyes to the sky. She was utterly disgusted. However, her husband was great—far from the wooden type—and even had a bit of a devious streak.
No, she couldn’t get too happy. What if she got blindsided later?
While she was deep in thought, Lin Chuan picked her up and placed her on the heated brick bed, which was covered with brand-new bedding, warm and cozy.
The new bride’s room wouldn’t have dining tables; they were all set up in the main hall. After the meal began, everyone left her room. Just as Su Su leaned back on the bed to rest, the door suddenly opened.
Lin Chuan’s mother entered with a woman who looked about 26 or 27 and introduced her, “This is your eldest sister.”
“Hello, Big Sister.” Su Su recognized her. She had heard that this eldest sister was originally the child of Lin Chuan’s third uncle. After the uncle got into trouble and was sent to a labour camp, she had been raised by Lin Chuan’s family until she married and left, rarely returning since.
“Hmm.” The woman uttered only one word and then sat on a stool, silently inspecting the room.
Lin Chuan’s mother said, “Stay here and chat with your sister for a bit. I’ll ask your aunt to bring some food for the two of you shortly.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?” Su Su asked.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. You’ll be heading back soon, won’t you?” Lin Chuan’s mother replied.
“Alright then.”
The eldest sister didn’t say much. She only glanced at Su Su, then touched the bedding she was sitting on and said, “It’s new, isn’t it? Very thick.”
“Yes, Mother made it.”
“Mother’s needlework is precise, and she’s fast with her hands.” The eldest sister placed her hands back on her lap. Su Su noticed that her hands were rough and appeared to have chilblains.
“I’m Su Su. What’s your name, Big Sister?” Having been here for several days, Su Su’s tone was starting to resemble the local dialect.
“I’m Lin Xiumei.” She seemed a bit shy or perhaps self-conscious, keeping her head down the whole time.
“It looks like your hands are frostbitten. The chilblains must hurt.”
“Yes, I got them while carrying firewood to the stove early in the morning,” Lin Xiumei said as she rubbed her hands. The frostbitten areas were cracked and even oozing a bit of blood.
Su Su reached for a jar of petroleum jelly from the cabinet and handed it to Lin Xiumei. “I heard this might help. Try applying some, Big Sister.”
“I can’t use this. It’s new, meant for your wedding,” Lin Xiumei said, pushing it away.
Su Su smiled and said, “This isn’t for the wedding. I bought it at the supply store a few days ago. I’ve already used it.”
“Well, I’ll use a little then.” Hearing that it wasn’t new, Lin Xiumei finally applied some to her hands. She glanced at the items on the cabinet and remarked, “Your husband’s been good to you. He bought everything, even face cream.”
“Yes,” Su Su replied. She wasn’t particularly impressed with these things, but to women of this era, they were luxuries.
“Mother said you have a ration book, right? That’s impressive,” Lin Xiumei said.
“It’s nothing, really.”
Lin Xiumei looked at Su Su again, her face flushing slightly as she asked softly, “Sister-in-law, do you have twenty yuan to spare? I’ll definitely pay it back in the fall. It’s just that my husband got injured, and we need money for a doctor.”
“What?” Su Su thought she had misheard. Was it normal to casually ask for money on someone’s wedding day? Why wasn’t this a tradition when she got married? And shouldn’t she ask Lin Chuan’s mother instead?
“It’s just twenty yuan. Mother spent all her money arranging your wedding, so she doesn’t have any left,” Lin Xiumei said awkwardly. But she had come back specifically to borrow money. If she didn’t get it, her in-laws wouldn’t let her off easily.
Su Su wasn’t particularly concerned about twenty yuan—she had over a thousand saved up and hadn’t dared to spend it all. But she was still new here, and suddenly being asked for money by a sister she’d just met left her feeling stunned.
Not knowing how to respond, she saw Lin Chuan’s mother and aunt bringing in food. Su Su got off the bed and said, “I’ll grab some chopsticks,” taking the opportunity to step outside. She pulled Lin Chuan’s mother aside and said, “Mother, Big Sister asked me to lend her money. Should I do it?” A good daughter-in-law listens to her elders, so she deferred to her mother-in-law.
“What?” Lin Chuan’s mother, who had been in good spirits, frowned upon hearing this and said, “Don’t worry about her. I’ll go in and talk to her. You can go back in afterward.”
“Alright.” Su Su trusted that her mother-in-law would handle it and waited outside.
Soon, Lin Chuan’s mother came out and told Su Su to return to the room to eat while she and the aunt went to attend to the guests.
Inside, Lin Xiumei seemed unchanged, though there was a hint of grievance in her eyes. She spoke earnestly, “It was wrong of me to ask for money at a time like this. I’ll bring it up again another day.” She then picked up her bowl and began eating quickly.
Su Su widened her eyes. She suddenly wondered if this eldest sister was a bit thick-headed. But she didn’t dare say anything, so she quietly picked up her bowl and ate as well. There were ten dishes in total today. For this time of year, it was no small feat to prepare so many dishes. It had taken nearly half a year of planning. For an ordinary family, even six dishes would have been impressive.
**Nomad: Hi everyone, many of you may have noticed that some novels haven’t been updated for a while. I struggled to regain access to my account after my site went down, which took some time to resolve. I’m also in the process of moving the website to a different hosting plan, which I’ve been handling manually in the background. This has taken up a lot of my time, but I’m almost done. You might notice the website going down for a few hours now and then while everything gets sorted. Sorry about that!**
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