Chapter 80: Conflict Between In-Laws

Su Yue pointed to her room. “Auntie is here. She came to borrow the sewing machine to mend clothes.”

Ma Cuiyun’s face suddenly turned ugly. Su Yue had only gotten the sewing machine yesterday, and her mother-in-law had come early this morning with a pile of tattered clothes. Those clothes only needed to be sewn with a simple needle and thread so why did she need to use a sewing machine? It wasn’t as if she were making new garments.

Thinking of her mother-in-law’s tendency to take advantage and meddle, Ma Cuiyun felt a headache coming on.

Facing Su Yue, she felt extremely guilty. Pulling her toward the door, she whispered an apology. “I’m really sorry, sister. I didn’t know my mother-in-law came here so early in the morning. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let her come. Please don’t take it to heart if she said anything unpleasant.”

Su Yue waved her hand lightly. “Don’t be like this. She’s just borrowing the sewing machine, it’s nothing.”

Ma Cuiyun sighed, sadness clouding her eyes.

Su Yue asked quietly, “Are you not getting along well with your mother-in-law? I noticed you’ve been in a bad mood since you came back from the New Year.”

Since she had a good relationship with Su Yue, Ma Cuiyun didn’t bother to hide her troubles. In fact, she had been holding it in for so long that she desperately needed someone to confide in.

“I don’t know what my mother-in-law was thinking this time. She insisted on coming here with us, and we couldn’t object, so we brought her. But she likes to interfere in everything. Now, no matter what it is, she insists on making the decisions; even down to what we eat at every meal.”

She sighed heavily and continued, “Forget it, I could put up with that. But she looks down on me for giving birth to two daughters. Not only is she unkind to me, but she also treats Dani and Taozi badly. She orders them around and scolds them at every turn. As their mother, I’ve never spoken so harshly to them, but she doesn’t show any mercy. As a daughter-in-law, I can suffer, but my children are still so young, it breaks my heart to see them treated that way.”

Su Yue frowned, surprised to hear that Old Madam Sun behaved like this.

Ma Cuiyun’s eyes grew red as she added, “What’s worse, she constantly urges me to have another child; a son. She even threatens that if I can’t give birth to a son, she’ll force a divorce so my husband can remarry. She thinks that because her son is an officer with a high allowance, it’ll be easy to find a new wife. She looks down on me so much, as if I can’t live without her son.”

Su Yue hugged her gently and patted her shoulder in comfort, though she didn’t know what else to say. After all, this was someone else’s family matter. She couldn’t control Ma Cuiyun’s mother-in-law, nor was she in any position to interfere.

“When faced with such a mother-in-law,” she thought, “the only solution is to rely on yourself. No one else can solve it for you.”

She suggested softly, “You should talk to Company Commander Sun about this. After all, he’s her biological son. She should at least listen to him. Maybe he can persuade her.”

Ma Cuiyun shook her head bitterly. “Do you think I haven’t tried? My husband already knows, and he’s told her countless times. But every time he speaks, it only makes things worse. She gets angrier and accuses me of driving a wedge between mother and son. Even when she agrees to behave in front of him, her attitude changes behind his back. I’ve lost all hope. At this point, I just pray I can conceive a son, so maybe then she’ll change her attitude a little.”

“This…” Su Yue was completely speechless. She had never experienced such difficulties. Old Lady Han had always been kind, fair, and sensible toward her. She truly had no experience in dealing with such an unreasonable mother-in-law.

Seeing Su Yue at a loss, Ma Cuiyun wiped her eyes and forced a smile. “Okay, I’m just venting. There’s really nothing you can do, and I don’t expect you to. The best you can do for me is to let me complain once in a while.”

Su Yue smiled gently and patted her shoulder. “Of course. If you ever feel like talking, come over anytime and bring your two girls. I’ll make delicious food for them.”

That finally drew a genuine smile from Ma Cuiyun. “Those two little girls are lucky. They love coming to your house as there’s always something tasty waiting for them.”

Just then, Old Madam Sun came out carrying the mended clothes. She spotted them talking by the door and eyed them suspiciously, as if guessing they had been discussing her.

Seeing her, Ma Cuiyun immediately urged, “Mother, let’s go home quickly. It’s almost time to prepare lunch.”

Old Madam Sun smiled and turned to Su Yue. “Xiao Su, thank you. Your sewing machine is really easy to use. Look at this dress, it looks much better than hand stitching. If I need to sew again in the future, can I come to you?”

Ma Cuiyun’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Mother, if your clothes are torn, I’ll sew them. My hands are quick.”

Old Madam Sun’s smile faltered slightly, but she insisted, “How can hand sewing compare to a machine? A sewing machine finishes in no time and looks better too. Besides, you and Xiao Su are on such good terms so borrowing it now and then shouldn’t be a problem, right, Xiao Su?”

Su Yue found Old Madam Sun’s words hard to refute. Smiling politely, she nodded. “Of course, Auntie, it’s no problem.”

Ma Cuiyun nearly exploded with anger, but she couldn’t argue with her elder in front of others over such a trivial matter as it would only make her look unfilial. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure it.

Su Yue noticed her discomfort and discreetly patted her back to reassure her. “It’s okay,” she thought. “At most, she’ll borrow it once in a while. It’s not like she has endless clothes to mend.”

Suppressing her frustration, Ma Cuiyun forced a smile and led her mother-in-law home.

Su Yue shook her head and didn’t dwell on it. She turned back inside and got to work on a cake. Two days ago, someone had placed a special order for a large cake for an elderly person’s birthday. The price offered was very generous and more than double her usual rate. She had to make sure it turned out perfectly and didn’t disappoint.

After the cake was ready, Su Yue had specially decorated it with a smiling birthday boy on the surface. The peach design looked festive and was especially suitable for elderly birthday celebrations. Even Old Lady Han couldn’t resist and booked one in advance, saying she wanted the exact same design for her sixtieth birthday.

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were chatting, Old Madam Sun came in through the door again. The moment she stepped inside, she sniffed the air and exclaimed, “Why does it smell so good? I could smell it from afar. What are you making at home?”

Su Yue and Old Lady Han exchanged a glance, their eyes saying the same thing: Here we go again.
Although Old Madam Sun didn’t come to sew clothes every single day, she still found an excuse to show up daily. By now, she had practically become a regular at their home, often coming twice a day.

Su Yue had no choice but to explain. “I’m making a cake for a friend’s elderly relative who’s celebrating a birthday.”

The moment Old Madam Sun spotted the cake, her eyes lit up with excitement. Staring intently, she asked, “What is this called? A cake? I’ve never eaten one of these in all my years. It smells wonderful and looks even better. It must be delicious.”

Su Yue smiled politely. “This is for birthdays. I have to deliver it now. Auntie, please sit, while I send it off.”

After packing up the cake, she quickly carried it out and went to find Xu Can, leaving Old Madam Sun in Old Lady Han’s care.

As she stepped outside, Su Yue overheard Old Madam Sun saying, “Your daughter-in-law is really talented. You’re so fortunate. Unlike me, I’ve never even tasted this kind of thing.”

Old Lady Han quickly replied, “Oh, no. That cake is very expensive to make. We can’t usually afford it. I’ve only eaten it once.”

Su Yue didn’t hear what was said after that.

When she delivered the cake to Xu Can, she found the regiment commander at home. Not daring to speak openly, she secretly called Xu Can outside, making sure no one was around. Lowering her voice, she whispered, “I need to ask you something.”

Xu Can was puzzled by her sneaky behavior. “What is it? Why can’t you just say it at home?”

“Oh, it’s not convenient there.” Su Yue chuckled nervously, then leaned closer and asked quietly, “Does your hospital have… um… contraceptives?”

She didn’t know why her face grew hot as she asked. It was perfectly ordinary in the 21st century, but here she felt embarrassed. Maybe she had been influenced by the simplicity and shyness of this era. Even she, once so open-minded, now felt like she had become innocent.

Xu Can blinked at her, stunned. Thinking she hadn’t made herself clear, Su Yue explained further, “I mean condoms, the kind a man wears to prevent a woman from getting pregnant. Do you understand? Condoms.”

Xu Can’s dazed expression instantly turned into shock. “How do you know about contraception?”

Su Yue quickly found an excuse. “I overheard someone talking about it. They said it prevents pregnancy, so I came to ask you. You know I just gave birth to two children, and my mother-in-law and I are already so busy. We really can’t afford to have another baby now.”

Xu Can considered her situation. It was indeed unsuitable for her to get pregnant again so soon. “Nowadays, many women who don’t want more children go to the hospital for an IUD. If they want to have kids later, they can have it removed and still conceive. Why don’t you get an IUD? It’s more convenient and saves you the worry.”

Su Yue had thought of that before, but she’d also heard that IUDs often caused gynaecological problems, and the risk was quite high. So she shook her head and said, “I heard IUDs can cause issues, so I’m worried. If there are condoms, I’d rather use those for now.”

As a gynecologist, Xu Can had indeed seen cases where women suffered because the IUD had been in place for too long and even grown into the flesh, causing serious discomfort.

So she nodded. “Alright, I’ll bring you some. It’s good you asked me. Our hospital just received a batch, and they want doctors to be the first to try them. But many aren’t used to it, so hardly anyone knows. That’s why I was surprised when you mentioned it.”

Hearing they were available at the hospital, Su Yue breathed a sigh of relief. “Great! Could you bring me thirty for now? Tell me how much they cost.”

“Thirty?!” Xu Can was stunned. “Why do you need so many? I think three will be enough.”

Su Yue: … Three? Three wouldn’t even last one night!

Seeing Su Yue’s shocked look, Xu Can assumed she didn’t understand. Patiently, she explained, “You can wash these, dry them, and reuse them. One can last a long time. There’s no need to buy so many.”

Su Yue: … Reusable?!

Just imagining that made her break into a sweat. She quickly waved her hands. “No, that sounds unhygienic. Just bring me more. I’d rather pay than reuse them.”

Since she insisted, Xu Can dropped the matter and agreed.

The very next night, Xu Can acted quickly. She secretly delivered a large bag to Su Yue, and the two of them parted ways in a hurry like secret agents.

Su Yue was too embarrassed to let Old Lady Han see. While the older woman was out, she sneaked back into the room and hid the bag under her pillow. Then she reconsidered that it wasn’t safe there. Finally, she stuffed it beneath the cotton padding under the pillow, thinking no one would find it.

But she had only thought of hiding it from Old Lady Han. She completely forgot about the two little mischief-makers in the family, which soon led to an embarrassing incident.

Han Aiguo came home late that evening. Su Yue warmed his food and fetched hot water for his bath. The two of them stayed in the bathroom for quite a while, leaving the children in Old Lady Han’s care.

Old Lady Han placed the two babies on the bed to play. Recently, they had grown livelier and no longer liked being held. They preferred moving on their own. Especially Xiaobao; ever since he learned to crawl, he loved nothing more than exercising and crawling everywhere. If anyone tried to hold him back, he would wail dramatically until allowed to continue.

Old Lady Han had no choice but to let the two children play on the bed. Still, she worried that without constant supervision; they might tumble off and get hurt. So she and Su Yue had come up with an idea: they cut up old, worn-out clothes, sewed them into a long strip half a meter wide, and wrapped it around the bed to form a guardrail. With this fence, the children could play safely without risk of falling.

This made things much easier for Old Lady Han. She could knit sweaters and make shoes while keeping an eye on them, instead of watching them every second.

When Han Aiguo came out after his bath, Old Lady Han was just about to head back to her room to sleep.

But unexpectedly, Xiaobao pulled out a large plastic-wrapped package from under the bed. Curious, he bit into it, found no taste, and then waved it proudly at the adults, babbling loudly to show off his “treasure.”

Old Lady Han stepped over, puzzled. “What’s Xiaobao holding?”

Su Yue had been drying Han Aiguo’s hair. Glancing over absentmindedly, she caught sight of what Xiaobao was holding and nearly jumped out of her skin. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest as she shouted, “Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it!”

She rushed over, snatched the bag from Xiaobao’s hand, and quickly hid it behind her back.

Old Lady Han looked at her in surprise. Xiaobao, staring at his empty hands, then turned to his mother, blinking his big eyes. Realizing his prize had been taken; he reached out and babbled sweetly, “Uh! Uh!”

Dabao also stared curiously at the bag hidden behind his mother.

Han Aiguo, however, fixed his gaze squarely on what Su Yue was hiding, his expression thoughtful.

Under the stares of her entire family, Su Yue broke into a nervous sweat. She forced a laugh. “Haha, it’s nothing, nothing at all. Haha…”

Sensible as always, Old Lady Han saw her embarrassment and chose not to ask. She simply returned to her room to rest.

Su Yue breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly stuffed the bag into the closet. Then she handed Xiaobao a small rattle and coaxed him gently. “Look, Mommy got you a rattle. Play with this instead.”

Xiaobao gave his mother a doubtful look, and then glanced at the rattle. Something didn’t feel right, but after checking behind her and finding nothing, he reluctantly accepted the toy. Soon, he was absorbed in playing and forgot about the package.

Su Yue quickly gave Dabao another toy as well, successfully defusing the awkwardness.

Fortunately, the bag had been tied tightly, and no one had seen what was inside.

Still, Su Yue thought in frustration, this little rascal is getting too clever. Even when I hide things so deeply, he still manages to find them! I’ll have to be more careful next time, or Xiaobao will dig them out again in no time.

The children were easy to fool, but adults were another matter. After they had fallen asleep, Han Aiguo pressed Su Yue beneath him and asked in a low voice, “What was that just now?”

Su Yue’s face flushed crimson in embarrassment.