country bumpkin

Chapter 396 Listening to the Neighbor's Story

Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and the holiday will soon be over. At home, Yunya spends her time either calling Zhang Haiyan to go online or just gossiping and eating melons.

Today's gossip focuses on the family across the street from Zhang Haiyan. The lady of the house is an elderly widow named Ji Xianhua.

Old Mrs. Ji became a widow when she was young and struggled to raise her two sons and one daughter.

They had finally waited for their children to grow up, for their two sons to get married, and for their daughter to get married. But now, instead of the bitterness ending, all that's left is heartbreak.

Zhang Haiyan continued telling the story of her neighbor at a leisurely pace, while Yun Ya listened attentively.

In order to help her son get married, Old Mrs. Ji traded her large house for a wealthy man named Su Pengcheng. The place she now lives in is a small apartment building that she received in exchange for the large tiled house.

Although the building is small, it is a ready-built house.

She kept the rooms on the right side of the first floor for herself, and gave the rooms on the left side to her eldest son. On the second floor, she gave the rooms on the left side to her second son, and rented out the rooms on the right side to earn some pocket money.

The second son and his wife went out to work after having a daughter, leaving the child in the care of Grandma Ji.

From the moment her granddaughter was born until the end of her postpartum period, the old lady took care of her second daughter-in-law day and night.

After the child was 100 days old, the couple went out to work, leaving the child to be cared for by Grandma Ji alone.

Because the eldest daughter-in-law had not gotten pregnant for a long time, the old lady had to take care of her second daughter-in-law's children first.

Just as the second son's daughter turned one year old, the eldest son's wife became pregnant.

Grandma Ji was very happy, and she wanted to take care of her eldest daughter-in-law. Every day, she would prepare breakfast and deliver it to her.

But her eldest daughter-in-law didn't appreciate it at all, and kept giving her cold and sarcastic remarks. Old Mrs. Ji didn't take it to heart, thinking that they would get to know each other better over time, and that her eldest daughter-in-law would eventually feel her goodwill.

On the day her eldest daughter-in-law gave birth, Old Mrs. Ji was extremely busy. She called her daughter back to help take care of her eldest daughter-in-law.

The eldest son took care of his eldest daughter-in-law during her postpartum period. When Old Mrs. Ji wanted to help, her eldest son chased her away, saying that one cannot do two things at once.

Since the old lady has chosen to dedicate herself to taking care of the second son's daughter, she shouldn't bother with their family. When the old lady gets old, the eldest son's family won't care whether she lives or dies.

Grandma Ji was heartbroken. She never expected that the child she had raised with such care would treat her this way, so heartlessly.

With no other option, Old Mrs. Ji could only place her hopes on her second son's family and her daughter.

But things often don't go as planned.

When their second son's daughter turned three, they took her away to live with them at the place where they worked.

The old lady felt empty after her granddaughter, whom she had relied on for companionship, was taken away. She suggested that she go with them to take care of the child and pick her up from school, and the second son's wife agreed.

Not only did they not receive a salary, but they also had to do their laundry, cook for them, and clean for them, treating them like maids.

Grandma Ji thought that she couldn't count on her eldest son. If she opened her heart to her second son's family, would she be able to win back her second daughter-in-law's conscience?

In the end, Grandma Ji was wrong. The year after she went to take care of her granddaughter, her second daughter-in-law gave birth to another boy. The second daughter-in-law became even more arrogant and didn't know her own limitations.

When it comes to ordering around, my mother-in-law is a piece of cake; she's always yelling at me and gesturing wildly.

Old Mrs. Ji was exhausted both physically and mentally, and her health was deteriorating. But her second daughter-in-law showed no concern for her and would verbally abuse her at the slightest provocation.

Once, Old Mrs. Ji accidentally broke a bowl, and her second daughter-in-law wouldn't let it go, saying she was too old and useless and demanding that she pay for it. Old Mrs. Ji had no money to pay for it, so she could only silently shed tears.

The daughter was very worried. When she came to visit her from afar and saw her mother in such a state, she was heartbroken and wanted to take her mother away.

Grandma Ke Ji refused, fearing she would trouble her daughter. Left with no other option, the daughter could only leave some money and tell her mother to take good care of herself.

In the daily torment, Old Mrs. Ji was ravaged until she was skin and bones. Finally, one day, she fell ill.

Her second daughter-in-law not only refused to take her to see a doctor, but also complained that she was taking up space in bed. She cruelly sent her back to her hometown.

After returning home, Grandma Ji was taken to the hospital by her daughter and son-in-law. After a series of examinations, it was found that Grandma Ji had a heart problem and needed to have surgery to insert a stent.

This will require a lot of money. The old lady informed her two sons that she needed surgery and asked them to help her. She said that the money would be a loan and she would pay them back later.

But people's hearts can't withstand the test. In the end, neither of her sons contributed a single penny, nor did they come to take care of her for even a single day.

It was her daughter and son-in-law who ran around borrowing money from relatives and friends to raise enough money for the surgery and get the surgery done for Grandma Ji.

Her life was saved, but Old Mrs. Ji's heart was broken. In the quiet of the night, she would often think back to her youth, wondering what mistakes she had made and why the sons she had raised with such hardship would treat her this way.

But no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't figure out what wrong she had done to the children.

Her husband was a full-time employee of a company. He had an accident at work, and the company gave him a sum of money and that was the end of it.

The old lady didn't spend the money; she saved it up for when her sons got married.

She used to be a factory worker and even had pension insurance. After her husband passed away unexpectedly, she had to work to earn money and take care of her children's food and clothing. She was busy like a spinning top all day long.

She's now very grateful that she persevered in working during her youth and didn't lose her job. She also receives a pension now, though it's not much, but it's enough for her to live on.

She couldn't understand what was wrong with the world. She, a widow, could raise three children to adulthood, but those three children couldn't support an old woman like her.

Although her daughter and son-in-law are good and filial, her daughter is not well-off and wants to help her but is unable to do so.

After the old lady was discharged from the hospital, she took out all the money she had saved over the years and gave it all to her daughter.

When her daughter refused, Old Mrs. Ji said, "I don't have any great abilities, but I can't be a burden to you. You and your son-in-law are both good children, but you also have two children to raise, and you need the money more than I do."

Take this money to pay off your debts, and keep the rest. Mom still has rent and a pension, so she won't starve. As long as you and your son-in-law are doing well, Mom has nothing to worry about.

The daughter accepted the money through tears; she couldn't refuse. She had to repay these debts to her relatives and friends, otherwise those who lent her the money would be very disappointed and heartbroken.

When she received the money from her mother, she made up her mind to stay with her mother and take care of her until her mother passed away and left her.

These stories spread throughout the village among the neighbors who knew about them, and everyone would tell them to others as if they were stories.

Some people have questioned why Old Mrs. Ji didn't take back her sons' houses and give them to her daughter.

Younger people can't understand it, but only elderly people who are parents understand that parents ultimately can't bring themselves to be so cruel.