A Good Country Wife
Chapter 207 Attitude of Relatives_1

Chapter 207: Chapter 207 Attitude of Relatives_1

After Lin Yue changed her clothes and came out, Zhao Erhu kept glancing at her with a smile. His gaze had become more straightforward, with no sign of hesitation. Lin Yue felt somewhat annoyed by Zhao Erhu’s laughter, "Zhao Erhu, if you keep this up, I’ll really get angry."

"My good wife, please don’t be angry," Zhao Erhu, sensing that his little wife was a bit serious, restrained himself and started discussing a matter with Lin Yue, "Yueyue, I want to talk to you about something. The Zhao Family’s parents, that is, Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents, want to take them to Xiaoxi Village to stay for a while."

Zhao Erhu said this warily, watching his little wife’s expression, afraid that she would be displeased. He never felt this anxiety and guilt before when he mentioned this to the Li Family, but since he cherished his little wife so dearly, he cared so much about her feelings.

"Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents?" Lin Yue looked at Zhao Erhu in surprise. Xiaoxi Village was a small village over twenty miles from where they lived. Since she had come to this place, she hadn’t had any contact with Dalang’s relatives, apart from a few relatives from Zhao Erhu’s side, and she was unfamiliar with the situation at Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents’ home and with the relationship they had with Dalang and Erhu.

"You know, Zhao Family’s daughter was my first wife. She fell ill after giving birth to Erhu and passed away a few years later. But Dalang and Erhu’s maternal grandparents are still alive and well, living in Xiaoxi Village. My in-laws sent word yesterday, saying that the day after tomorrow they would have the children’s uncle come over to pick them up," Zhao Erhu explained. When mentioning the words ’my in-laws,’ he also felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable, after all, referring to someone else’s parents as one’s in-laws in front of his own little wife was always a strange feeling.

Moreover, according to customs, a stepwife is considered to be lower in status than the first wife. If one were to be particular, a stepwife would need to bow to the first wife as a sign of respect when she enters the family, and offer incense during the Qingming festival every year as a tribute. However, such customs were not followed in their rural areas.

When Lin Yue joined the family, there hadn’t even been a wedding banquet; she was simply brought over in a very straightforward way. Thinking about this, Zhao Erhu felt somewhat sorry for his little wife, and of course, he wouldn’t expect Lin Yue to offer tributes to the first wife. To him, his little wife was the most important person now. However, he feared that she might overthink these matters in her heart.

Actually, Zhao Erhu did feel some guilt and respect for his first wife’s parents. Unlike the parents of the Li Family, who were difficult and calculating, they were two honest and simple elders who only wished their children well. Unfortunately, their daughter left them prematurely, a heart-wrenching sorrow of white-haired people sending off a black-haired person.

Every year, during festivals, Zhao Erhu would visit the two elders and send them food and clothing. This year at Dragon Boat Festival, Zhao Erhu did not visit, but he still sent some festival gifts – zongzi and Silver for Erhu – through someone else. He did all of this without letting Lin Yue know, not wanting to burden her with these matters; he preferred to do them silently as a way to make amends to the two elders. Yet there were times when he couldn’t keep things hidden, like now, when the first wife’s elder brother would come to pick up the two children. He simply couldn’t keep it from his little wife – after all, two living people couldn’t just vanish without explanation.

"Oh, why do they suddenly want to take Dalang and Erhu over?" Lin Yue’s face maintained a calm expression, her hands crossed in front of her, and she played with her fingers while looking down. Her voice seemed somewhat subdued, almost as if she was casually asking without much concern, yet her heart was truly filled with a sense of loss, unease, and discomfort.

Before this, aside from Zhao Erhu’s few top-grade relatives, Lin Yue always felt that she, Zhao Erhu, and the four children were a loving family, impervious to intrusion by anyone. Now, suddenly, other people cropped up—relatives from Zhao Erhu’s ex-wife’s family—taking the children away under the guise of kinship, completely ignoring her presence.

"My parents miss their grandson and take Dalang and Erhu to stay with them every year at this time. Since you’ve only joined our family recently, you wouldn’t know. Anyway, you needn’t bother; let them pack their things, and when the time comes, their uncle will come to take them." Zhao Erhu said this not wanting Lin Yue to feel uncomfortable about it, but what he said sounded completely different to Lin Yue’s ears.

So that was it. No wonder there was no discussion with her. A mere notification to have someone pick them up was enough. They were never her children anyway, what right did she have to express an opinion? Otherwise, she would be accused of having ulterior motives. Growing even colder, she responded, "You decide. After all, I’ve nothing to say about it. You’ve all agreed already. Whether you tell me or not makes no difference. After all, they are Dalang and Erhu’s real relatives. I, as an unrelated stepmother, shouldn’t interfere."

Upon hearing these words from Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu frowned, thinking that Lin Yue was unwilling to let Dalang and Erhu go to Xiaoxi Village, hence her deliberate remarks. He felt Lin Yue was being unreasonable. After all, the Zhao family’s relatives had been there before she married into the family, and making an issue out of it was unnecessary. Moreover, they were Dalang and Erhu’s genuine grandparents. What’s wrong with them missing their grandchildren? They couldn’t cut off Dalang and Erhu from their elderly relatives just because of her presence.

"Niuniu, those are the Zhao family’s parents, Erhu’s maternal grandparents. Before you married me, they were already my legitimate in-laws. They’ve always been good to me and the children. I, Zhao Erhu, am a man who acknowledges kindness. I can’t just sever ties with them because of you. I hope you can understand this and not quarrel with me over it in the future because they haven’t done anything wrong."

Zhao Erhu said this believing that, although his young wife was young, she was reasonable and understood the big picture. He thought that by explaining things clearly to her, she wouldn’t hold any grudges against him over this matter. However, he really didn’t understand a woman’s mindset. There was already too much complexity between Zhao and Lin Yue, and his words could be interpreted in many ambiguous ways.

As expected, after Zhao Erhu’s speech, Lin Yue couldn’t even keep up a façade of calm and immediately showed a change in complexion. "Zhao Erhu, what do you mean by that, how ridiculous! Have I ever denied your relationship with them, or Dalang and Erhu’s relationship with them? When have I not been clear about it? I know they’re your legitimate in-laws. It’s not like my parents who can’t show their faces in public. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bothered to buy out my relationship with them with a written contract to avoid trouble."

Sure, Lin Yue wouldn’t take sides for in-laws she had never met. It was just a woman’s sourness and jealousy talking, especially since Zhao Erhu’s words were a real thorn in her heart.

Zhao Erhu rubbed his forehead, somewhat helplessly feeling things were getting more and more chaotic. "Niuniu, can’t you stop being so unreasonable? The circumstances were different back then; you can’t generalize them like this." Marrying the Zhao family and marrying Lin Yue were done under completely different personal circumstances and states of mind.