Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 60

But “A Qing’s wife” was from southern Henan!

People from that area believe in the saying, “Eating donkey meat will bring on old illnesses.” This “old illness” refers to old injuries or chronic conditions. It is said that even if old injuries have healed many years ago, it’s best not to eat donkey meat, as it could easily trigger those old ailments. The locals believe that donkey meat is a “trigger food.”

This belief is recorded in the famous Qing Dynasty medical work ‘Suixi Ju Diet Prescription’ by the renowned physician Wang Shixiong: “Donkey meat is sour and neutral with toxins, it stirs wind. It contradicts schizonepeta and can cause death when consumed.”

A highly praised, filial daughter-in-law who makes her mother-in-law eat donkey meat every month—this suggests she harbors deep resentment toward her mother-in-law.

Back in the records room, Wu Sufen was stitching shoe soles. This kind of work is typically done when the weather is cooler.

But Wu Sufen had a large family, with her husband and four children all waiting for shoes! Plus, she kept her children at her parents’ house to help look after them. Every year, in addition to buying shoes, she would also make two pairs by hand for her parents. The shoes she bought were uncomfortable for the elderly to wear.

She still had to work, so she only had time to stitch shoes whenever she could. In this hot weather, her hands were soon covered in sweat, so she would wipe them on her clothes and continue working.

” Sister Sufen,” Xu Jing’an said, pushing a tea cup filled with mung bean soup toward Wu Sufen.

“Hurry and drink some, take a rest for a while.”

Wu Sufen took the mung bean soup and drank several sips.

“Ah~” she sighed contentedly.

“It really saved my life,” Wu Sufen said as she leaned back in her chair, shaking her hands.

“Is today your turn to go to the workshop?”

“Isn’t it? I went to the second workshop, and A Qing’s wife even sang a piece from *Hua Mulan*. You wouldn’t believe it, she was actually quite good!”

“Of course! A person like that, yet her mother-in-law can’t appreciate her.”

“You mean A Qing’s wife buys donkey meat for her mother-in-law? How long has her mother-in-law been eating it?”

“For a few years now.”

Xu Jing’an asked, “After all these years of eating donkey meat, her mother-in-law hasn’t said anything good about it?”

“Well, that’s why I say, A Qing’s wife is wasting her efforts!”

After chatting for a few more minutes, Xu Jing’an turned back to her own work.

It was already 1977, and she was still hesitating about whether or not to take the college entrance exam.

Now that she had an urban household registration, a good job, and a smooth family life, she felt she didn’t really need to go to college for four more years before starting her career.

Though she hadn’t made a final decision yet, it didn’t stop her from continuing to study. She hadn’t put down her textbooks in the past few years, and whenever she had a free moment, she would flip through them. She had already learned the high school material solidly, so now, she just needed to maintain her knowledge and consolidate what she had learned.

By the time October rolled around, she heard that A Qing’s wife’s mother-in-law had fallen ill.

Xu Jing’an thought to herself, “As expected.”

…

Liu Qing listened to the sounds of her mother-in-law groaning from the room and lowered her head in silence.

When Chen’s mother was young, she was quite beautiful. She had fled from the famine to Chen Village, where she married her husband.

But one day, her husband was taken by the Japanese to build a watchtower, and he never returned.

She was left to raise two sons on her own, enduring hardship and swallowing her bitterness. Every time she watered the fields, she was always the last one to finish; at night, before going to bed, she always placed a kitchen knife under her pillow.

She didn’t let her sons argue with others when they went out because they, being from a poor family, couldn’t stand up for themselves.

As she grew older, whenever her body ached, she would think back and feel that her body had been ruined when she was young.

After hearing from a neighbor that donkey meat was good for nourishment, in recent years, she had been forcing her daughter-in-law to buy donkey meat for her to eat.

Liu Qing took the donkey meat she had gotten through someone, went to the kitchen, and began heating the fire, stewing the meat, and adding some rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms.

Her movements were quick and practiced.

“I say, sister-in-law, mom is sick, and you still aren’t taking care of her? How can you say you’re filial to mom?” Qian Shanxing, leaning against the doorframe, scolded Liu Qing.

In the Chen family, Liu Qing had always been at the bottom.

“Is the meat ready? Are you deliberately waiting for me to die?” Chen’s mother, growing impatient, asked.

Just as the meat finished cooking, Qian Shanxing came in with her only son, Chen Qingshan, and they crowded around the pot.

Liu Qing quickly scooped out a bowl and took it to her mother-in-law.

As soon as the eldest daughter-in-law left, Qian Shanxing, Chen Xia, and Chen Qingshan—her whole family—swooped in and took the remaining meat.

“Mom, shouldn’t we take you to the hospital? You can’t just eat meat every time you feel uncomfortable, that’s not good for you!” Liu Qing tried to persuade her mother-in-law.

“What? You’re too stingy to spend money on the meat?” Chen’s mother snapped, instantly understanding that the eldest daughter-in-law didn’t want to spend the money. She glared at her.

Hearing her mother-in-law’s complaint, Liu Qing quickly explained, “Mom, that’s not what I meant!”

“That’s not what you meant? I think it is! What’s going on? Do you want to take over my household now?”

“Mom, I wouldn’t dare. Whatever you say goes!” Liu Qing lowered her head, wiped away her tears, and left the room. She grabbed two corn buns and went back to her room with her daughter to eat.

The neighbors, curious, were eavesdropping on the conversation from over the wall.

Liu Qing hadn’t seen her daughter all day, so the first thing she did when she got home was to check on her. “Xiangxiu, have you done your homework?”

“Mom, I finished it at school. Don’t worry about me, you should rest!” Xiangxiu quickly responded.

Her mother had worked all day, and when she came back, the whole family did nothing but wait to be served. Xiangxiu felt deeply pained by it.

“Mom, how about I help you with the laundry, clean the house, and cook? I’m grown up now, I can handle it!”

“No need, Xiangxiu, listen to mom. You can learn to do the housework when you’re older. For now, just focus on studying, don’t stretch yourself too thin. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.” Seeing that her mother was serious, Xiangxiu quickly nodded.

“I understand, Mom. I’m just worried about you.”

“I know, my daughter is filial. But you need to understand, people like them will take advantage. Your dad has only you left now.”

“Did you not eat enough dinner? Have some more.” Liu Qing pulled two boiled eggs from her waist.

“Mom, you eat too.”

“I can’t eat them, I’m allergic to eggs. You eat them!”

That evening, despite having eaten meat, Chen’s mother continued to moan, “Oh, oh…”

Liu Qing lay in bed listening to the sounds from the next room, yet she found them strangely pleasant!

Liu Qing was originally from southern Henan. Back then, Chen Dong and Chen Xia, the two brothers, had come to work for her family as farmhands, seeking a living.

The Liu family had a good reputation locally. They were known for being righteous—whenever someone was in need, Liu’s father would offer a helping hand; kind-hearted—across generations, they only ever took a third of the rent. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken pity on the Chen brothers and taken them in, considering they were from another place.

But after two years, these two brothers came back with bandits and took over the Liu family’s home. The fire they set that night burned everything to the ground.

The fire blazed all night. After all the kindness Liu’s family had shown over the years, not a single person came to help. No one tried to save the house, not even shouting for help! Nothing!

The entire night was eerily quiet.

That afternoon, Liu Qing had sneaked off to the mountains to play, but she accidentally sprained her ankle. By the time she managed to hobble back with a walking stick, it was already completely dark.