"Aunt Sun, I don’t know the rules of your Sun Family, but in the Jie Family, we believe in eating heartily. Tongtong, this is for you." Thinking of Jie Jingling, Jie Jingjue held back from saying anything too harsh and placed the other chicken wing into Sun Tong’s bowl.
The drumstick was gone, and now the wing was gone too. Sun Dexiang wanted to rush over and snatch the chicken wing from Sun Tong’s bowl, but her mother was quick to react, grabbing her arm.
Sun Dexiang whined, "Mom, look at this..."
Sun’s mother’s face went rigid. She gave Sun Dexiang a hard pinch and shot her a look, reminding her that this was the Jie residence, not the Sun’s.
Seeing them arrive, Jie Jingchen picked up his chopsticks and placed the duck head in Qin Mei’s bowl.
"Eldest Sister, come and sit," Qin Mei said, gesturing to Jie Jingling.
Jie Jingling looked embarrassed. ’Her mother-in-law loves to put on airs, acting like this is her own home where everyone has to walk on eggshells around her. At the Sun’s, Tongtong can only eat what’s left over. But here, in the Jie Family, everyone dotes on her.’ The contrast between how her in-laws and her own family treated Tongtong was stark. Qin Mei’s words echoed in her mind.
After lunch, Jie Jingling moved to clear the table, but Jie Jingchen stopped her. "Eldest Sister, I’ll get it."
"Let your sister do it. At our home, she’s the one who always does the dishes." Having eaten and drunk her fill of chicken, duck, and meat, Sun’s mother was extremely satisfied, even though they were all cold dishes.
"This is the Jie home," Jie Jingjue said, annoyed.
"What’s the difference?" Sun’s mother asked.
"Of course there’s a difference! In our Jie Family, my eldest sister..."
"Jing Jue," Jie Jingling interrupted.
Jie Jingjue was fuming, but not wanting to make things difficult for his sister, he bit his tongue and held back.
Qin Mei led Jie Jingling back to her room, Jing Qi took Sun Tong to hers, and Sun’s mother pulled Sun Dexiang back to their room, leaving Jie Jingchen and Jie Jingjue to clean up in the kitchen.
"Jing Chen, what kind of life has Eldest Sister been living with the Sun Family?" Jie Jingjue asked. His sister was younger than their mother, yet she looked older. In his memory, Jie Jingling had possessed the proud spirit of a plum blossom and the quiet grace of an orchid. But ever since she’d gone to the countryside as an educated youth, the years had worn her down and left their mark. It was hard to see the girl he remembered in the woman she had become.
Jie Jingchen remained silent. ’They always say rural life is rough, but Meimei is also from the countryside, and her family took wonderful care of her. Then look at Eldest Sister... It’s a good thing she’s the village’s ’barefoot doctor.’ Otherwise, she would have been worn down even more.’
Jie Jingjue sighed heavily. "Jing Chen, I think I’m starting to understand why Mom wanted to leave the north-facing rooms to Eldest Sister. All these years, she’s only ever told us the good news, never the bad. I really thought she was doing well, but looking at her now... she’s clearly not."
"Don’t let her mother-in-law or sister-in-law find out about Mom leaving the north-facing rooms to her," Jie Jingchen warned.
"Why not?" Jie Jingjue asked, confused. "If they know Mom left the north-facing rooms to her, they’ll know she has a place to fall back on. Then they won’t be able to bully her anymore. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?"
Jie Jingchen looked at Jie Jingjue like he was an idiot. "Jing Jue, never underestimate the twisted and greedy nature of people."
Jie Jingjue looked stunned for a second. "What do you mean?" he asked, bewildered. "You’re not saying they’d actually try to steal it from her outright, are you?"
A chill flashed in Jie Jingchen’s eyes, and a cold sneer touched his lips. "Just don’t make trouble for her," he warned.
"Hah! They’d really dare to try and steal it?" Jie Jingjue cracked his knuckles. "With my temper..." But he didn’t give in to the impulse to confront Sun’s mother and give her a piece of his mind. His sister visited less and less often, and she lived so far away. If anything happened at her in-laws’ home, her family was too far to be of any immediate help.
After finishing the dishes, Jie Jingchen told Jie Jingjue to clean up the rest of the kitchen. He then returned to his room, but this time, instead of eavesdropping outside the door, he went straight in.
Qin Mei was chatting with Jie Jingling when she saw Jie Jingchen enter. She frowned at him. ’What does he think he’s doing? How am I supposed to talk with Eldest Sister with him just standing there?’
’The man is completely clueless. He should know to make himself scarce right now.’
"Eldest Sister has been on the train for a long time. She must be exhausted and needs to rest," Jie Jingchen said thoughtfully.
’No matter how he said it, that sounded like a polite way of telling her to leave.’
’Exhausted, my foot!’
Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingling. "Eldest Sister, are you tired?"
Jie Jingling was put in an awkward position. She glanced at Jie Jingchen, then back at Qin Mei. She understood what her brother meant. With a gentle smile, Jie Jingling stood up. "I am a little tired."
"Eldest Sister, let’s nap together." The implication was clear: she wanted to sleep in the same room as Jie Jingling.
"Meimei." Jie Jingchen’s face darkened, his eyes filled with deep, mournful reproach. "I’m tired too. Where am I supposed to nap?"
"Wherever." Qin Mei had been about to say there were plenty of empty rooms he could use, but then she remembered. They had already divided the family property. Their west wing only had three rooms, none of which were spare. She had no say over the other parts of the house.