"Oh, okay, Auntie."
After the meal, Rowan started cleaning up the dishes, but Cuilan came over and said, "You're injured, just rest. Give it to me, I'll do it."
"Mom, you knew I was hurt, but you still hit me so hard. Weren't you afraid you'd make it worse?"
Cuilan rolled her eyes at him. "You still look fine and full of energy to me."
"Mom, where's the love? Don't people say the youngest son and the first grandson are the treasures of the grandma's heart? Why do I feel like I was picked up from the street?"
"Yes, you were picked up." Cuilan took over the work and started cleaning. "Why didn't you write a letter to tell us?"
"Mom, it's really nothing serious. If it were, Sienna wouldn't have gone on a mission. We didn't tell you because we didn't want you and Dad to worry."
"Sienna's mental problem is gone?"
"Yeah, but she can't remember the past. Still, she's amazing now."
"That's good. But both you and Sienna are in the military doing missions. Have you ever thought, what if something happens to you? What will your father and I do then?"
"When you were away before, we were always afraid we'd get news that you were hurt or killed. Now both of you are in the same kind of dangerous work. What if something happens? How can we handle that?"
Hearing the sadness in her voice, Rowan said, "Mom, don't worry. Sienna and I will take care of ourselves. She even said she wants to go on more missions and earn more money to support you and Dad. Did you know she makes a hundred a month now?"
"Your dad and I can support ourselves. We don't need your money. We just want both of you to be safe. I used to think once you got married, you'd be more careful with your life. But now your wife is taking risks too."
"I'd rather you hadn't gotten married and dragged poor Sienna into this."
"Mom, if I didn't marry her, she wouldn't be your daughter-in-law," Rowan said quietly.
"She could've been my daughter without being your wife. I'm telling you, if Sienna comes back hurt, I'll break your legs."
Rowan looked down at his legs and suddenly felt cold. In his heart, he was praying—Sienna, please be safe.
Cuilan didn't wait for Rowan to respond and continued, "Tomorrow go buy a train ticket for your older brother. If there's a sleeper ticket, get that. The hard seats are too uncomfortable. I'll pay for it. Get one for the day after tomorrow or the day after that, after he rests for two days."
Rowan answered, "Mom, let him stay a few more days. After he rests, I'll take you all out for a walk. I've got money for the ticket."
"It's not that I don't want him to stay. It's just that the busy farming season is coming. The whole family depends on your brother."
"Oh, okay. I understand."
Meanwhile, in Leader Lu's house, he spoke to his wife, "When you have time, go visit Rowan's home. Spend more time with his wife and mother."
A gentle woman replied, "Okay, is something wrong?"
Leader Lu looked at his wife and said, "No, but your personality is too soft. People might take advantage of you. Spend more time with them, be a bit stronger."
The gentle woman smiled and said, "Your rank is already high. The wives of those higher than you won't care about me, but they're not unreasonable. They still care about appearances. Those below you try to please me, afraid I'll talk about them to you. Who would make things hard for me?"
Leader Lu patted her head and said, "Still, it's better if you can be a bit more firm."
"Alright, I'll go when I have time."
Leader Lu didn't say anything more. His wife was just too gentle. No matter what people said to her, she just smiled and didn't take it to heart. But as a man, he couldn't go argue with other women.
Feng's situation was completely different. He told Hazel, "Don't go near Rowan's family too often. That family never lets themselves suffer, and they're not afraid of offending anyone."
After listening to Feng explain what happened that afternoon, Hazel said, "Isn't that normal? What are you thinking? You were clearly siding with Jun."
"Don't blame me. I wasn't taking sides. I just didn't want things to get too ugly. We're all part of the same group. It's better to turn a big problem into a small one."
Hazel didn't care. "Rowan's mother is a good mother-in-law, not like yours. And I don't think she did anything wrong. Some people just need to be taught a lesson. Who goes around talking badly about someone else's daughter-in-law in front of her mother-in-law?"
"Except for a few really bad ones, most normal mothers-in-law with brains would support their daughter-in-law. After all, her reputation also affects her son."
Feng stayed quiet. He felt like his wife was insulting his mother, but he had no proof.
The next day, Rowan took a leave and went to the city to buy a train ticket for his older brother. He got one that was two days later.
When he got home, Rowan handed the ticket to Liwen. "Big Brother, here's the ticket. It's a sleeper train, two days from now."
Liwen quickly took the ticket and said, "Alright. How much was it? I'll pay you."
"Big Brother, what are you saying? It's just a train ticket. You brought Mom to the capital. I can at least pay for the ticket."
Liwen replied, "That's not what I meant."
Cuilan saw them and said, "Liwen, keep your money. You don't need to pay."
Seeing that his mother agreed, Liwen put away the money, then went to the kitchen to bring out the food. The family sat together to eat.
Rowan said, "Mom, Big Brother, tomorrow I'll take you out for a walk. You two rarely come here, especially Big Brother."
"You take your brother. I'll wait for your father. When he gets here, we'll go together."
"When will Dad arrive?"
"After the autumn harvest. Once things settle down, he'll come. We'll spend New Year here."
Rowan said, "Big Brother, when you bring Dad here, send a telegram ahead of time. I'll ask a comrade to help buy the ticket."
Liwen nodded. "Alright, I'll remember."
After the meal, Cuilan went to clean the dishes, but Liwen took over. Rowan said, "Mom, Big Brother, you two can go out and take a look around. Just don't go to the places guarded by soldiers. I need to work this afternoon."
Cuilan looked at Rowan and asked, "Didn't you get hurt? Shouldn't you rest?"
"I'm just going to handle some files. No training. The injury isn't serious."
Cuilan said, "Okay. Just take care of yourself."
In the afternoon, Cuilan took Liwen out to get familiar with the area. When they came back, they were carrying two hens and some eggs.
When he saw the chicken soup at dinner, Rowan was surprised. "Mom, where did the chicken come from?"
"We traded for it in a nearby village this afternoon. We also got some eggs. I'm keeping one chicken for later."
Rowan went to his room, took twenty yuan, and gave it to Cuilan. But she refused it and looked at Rowan. "Why are you doing this? I brought money."