ARC 2: Stepmother in the Seventies ✦ c71~116 (46)
✦ 32
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
“I don’t have the strength to carry both you and the meat. It’s not that far for you to walk back on your own…” Li Dan Yang spoke gently, attempting to reason with Zhou Jian Fang.
“I refuse to walk! Don’t even think about leaving me behind. If you do, I’ll tell Grandma you’ve been bullying me…” Zhou Jian Fang stood defiantly, hands on her hips and chin raised, as she addressed Li Dan Yang.
“Stepmother, are you planning to slack off again? If you don’t carry my sister, I’ll make sure Grandma punishes you!” Zhou Jian Zhan chimed in, his childish voice filled with vicious determination.
“I’m telling Grandma!”
Li Dan Yang winced. It wasn’t an empty threat. Those little rascals knew exactly how to push her buttons.
She tried a compromise, hefting Zhou Jian Fang first, then the basket – no way could she manage both. Seventy jin of squirming toddlers and another hefty seven or eight for the meat was simply too much. But reason fell on deaf ears. The tantrum escalated, tiny fists and feet flailing wildly.
Three-year-olds were deceptively strong, especially children raised on a rural diet of fresh air and endless mountain trails. Their tantrums weren’t a mere performance; they packed a surprising punch.
Moreover, there’s a saying, “a flurry of punches can overwhelm a master.”
- (乱拳打死老师傅: This idiom implies that even a skilled master can be overwhelmed by a chaotic and relentless attack, highlighting the power of persistence and unpredictability.)
Li Dan Yang was being beaten by the siblings and didn’t dare to fight back, just dodging, not knowing how many punches and kicks she endured, a silent victim of their miniature fury.
A witnessing neighbour, unable to stomach the scene any longer, intervened. “Enough, you two! Such arrogance! Regardless of stepmother or not, she’s still an elder. How dare you lay hands on her?”
But Zhou Jianzhan, emboldened by a misplaced sense of power, sneered back. “Mind your own business, old hag! Stepmothers deserve a beating! If I don’t beat her, she’ll beat me instead!”
The old woman’s face contorted in anger. “Such venomous words from a child barely out of diapers! Clearly, a lack of proper upbringing. You’ll be a petty thief and a scoundrel by ten, mark my words!” With that scathing prediction, she stormed off in a huff.
Another aunt from the Zhou family weighed in, her voice laced with disapproval. “Even if you’re a stepmother, you’re still a mother figure. How can you let them run wild like this? Discipline is crucial. A decent child wouldn’t dream of hitting their own mother! A few spanks go a long way, wouldn’t you agree? Why, with two little ones you can’t even manage, I wouldn’t call you much of a mother at all!”
Li Dan Yang swallowed the lump in her throat, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I can’t discipline them,” she choked out. “Every time I try, they throw a tantrum and run to their grandmother, accusing me of being cruel. Then she scolds me for being heartless, for trying to ‘grind them down’ with nonexistent cruelty.”
The Zhou family aunt’s scowl softened into a grimace of sympathy. Everyone knew Mother Zhou’s fiery temper. Li Dan Yang was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“Still,” the aunt sighed, “you can’t let them just walk all over you either. Spoiled children become ruined adults.”
Suddenly, Li Dan Yang’s elder brother appeared, drawn by the commotion. His eyes widened in horror as he saw his younger sister overwhelmed by the two kicking, screaming children. Bystanders stood idly by, watching the spectacle unfold.
“What in the world?” Big Brother Li roared, his voice booming through the afternoon air. In two swift strides, he was beside his sister, scooping up the surprised toddlers with surprising ease and threw them aside
Turning on them, his face a mask of fury, he thundered, “You two little brats! How dare you hit my sister? Do you have a death wish?” Then, with a well-aimed slap on each backside, he finished, “Don’t you ever lay a hand on her again, or I’ll give you something to cry about!”
The previously boisterous duo, used to bullying those who wouldn’t retaliate, wilted under Big Brother Li’s imposing presence. Tears welled up in their eyes as the sting of the slaps settled in. Big Brother Li ignored their whimpers, his gaze fixed on his distraught sister.
“Li Dan Yang,” he said, his voice laced with frustration, “What’s happening? You weren’t a pushover back home. Why are you letting these two terrors walk all over you?”
Li Dan Yang opened her mouth to answer, but words failed her. She had let herself be swayed by the Zhou family’s perceived prestige, allowing them to whittle down her sense of self.
The confident girl she once was had been worn down by the years, transformed into a resigned woman. How could she fight the Zhou family when all she’d ever wanted was to be a part of their perceived glory? Shame kept her silent, the weight of her situation heavier than the basket of meat she longed to put down.
“Brother! How could you hit them?” she exclaimed, ignoring his initial question. “They’re just children, and you’re a grown man! Now they’ll cry, and Mother Zhou will blame me again!”
Big Brother Li stared, dumbfounded. He’d only intervened to protect her, yet she was worried about the little tyrants?
Still, she was his sister. Taking a deep breath, he explained, “Those two were completely out of line. It’s ridiculous if your mother-in-law blames you! I’ll have a talk with her, see how they’re raising these little monsters! You shouldn’t live like this after marriage…”
“Brother, please,” Li Dan Yang pleaded, eager to defuse the situation. “They’re just kids who don’t understand.”
“Did you see how they were treating you? This is probably their usual behaviour, isn’t it? No, I can’t let them walk all over you. If things are truly terrible, we can always end this marriage. After all, you haven’t had children yet. You deserve better than this!” Her brother wouldn’t back down.
The word “remarry” struck a chord of fear in Li Dan Yang. She frantically argued against confronting Mother Zhou. Her brother, ever the protective sibling, wouldn’t stand for her suffering. He decided the whole family would return and demand answers from the Zhous.
Li Dan Yang, unable to stop him, hurried back to prepare. Thankfully, the beatings had subdued the children’s desire for piggyback rides, so the three walked home slowly.
True to her brother’s word, the entire Li family descended upon the Zhou household, demanding justice for Li Dan Yang. When Mother Li learned of her daughter’s plight, a fierce argument erupted with Mother Zhou. Big Brother Li and Second Brother Li each delivered a well-deserved beating to Zhou Wei Guo’s older and younger sons, respectively. Unfortunately, Zhou Wei Guo himself was absent, escaping the immediate punishment.
Eventually, a tense agreement was reached: The Zhous were forbidden from laying hands on Li Dan Yang, including the children and Mother Zhou herself. Similarly, Li Dan Yang was expected to treat the children fairly (though mistreatment wasn’t an issue before).
Life for Li Dan Yang improved somewhat. At least the Zhous didn’t dare physically abuse her anymore. Though grumbling persisted, she found a sliver of satisfaction.
A new worry, however, gnawed at her – would the children grow distant? Could she still benefit from their supposed future fortune? Li Dan Yang found herself caught in a web of conflicting emotions.
- (TN: Little nugget of thought: For those who think, “How stupid is she to stay? She should divorce and yada yada now that this is happening,” it is important to understand the context of this novel. It is set in China in the 70s, where divorce would result in her being considered “broken goods” – a non-virgin that nobody wants. The only potential suitors would be drunks, wife beaters, or other divorcees with children. Unfortunately, not marrying is not an option society would allow her since she does not have any children of her own. In her previous life, she probably did not marry for this reason as there were no good men willing to marry an abandoned woman.
- Furthermore, in China and many other countries, women are always blamed for divorce. Imagine the feeling of your high school bullies talking about you behind your back. Now, imagine the entire town doing it for the rest of your life. Additionally, you saw how almost everyone just watched her being abused. This is because in that society, making the daughter-in-law work hard is seen as a way to prevent her from “eating for free.” They are treated as second-class citizens in their own homes, where a good life is determined by the husband and mother-in-law, and never an expected outcome.
- Therefore, LDY cannot see divorce as a better option for her life. Instead, she hopes that things will improve if she endures. Naive as she may be, given her current situation and point of view, this is the most logical thinking for her.
- In a way, all ARCs for this novel advocate marrying only when you are 100% sure and not hoping for a better life if it isn’t already good while being single, otherwise in chinese and similar societies, your only solution would be this: “一哭，二闹，三上吊: a traditional Chinese saying states that there are three solutions to women’s problems: “one – to cry; two – to scream; and three – to hang herself”.)
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
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(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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