Chapter 11: Understanding and Well-Informed

Wei'an was not being alarmist. From her memories, she knew that in their alley, it was common for men to beat or verbally abuse their wives, and for the neighbors, it seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Ye Aihua’s father was one of those domestic abusers, and her mother would often hobble out of the house with visible injuries. Yet, whether it was neighbors or relatives, the most common advice they gave her mother was to endure it, as it would eventually pass.

Wei'an completely disagreed and could not fathom such a mindset. In her view, if a husband dared to lay a hand on her—or even just dared to curse at her—she would fight back immediately if she could. If she couldn't win then, she would find the right opportunity later to settle the score. At worst, the marriage would simply end; domestic violence and infidelity were, to her, unforgivable issues of principle.

Now, she was curious about Su Yuping’s thoughts: would she choose to endure, or would she choose to part ways if such a problem arose?

"He wouldn't dare!" Su Yuping gave a cold snort. "If he ever dared to lay a hand on you, you grab whatever is within reach and beat him back. If you can't fight back in the moment, you wait for your chance and make sure you get even later. However..."

Wei'an was just feeling satisfied with her answer when the word "however" made her heart skip a beat.

"When a man hits a woman, there is always a first time and a second. Don't listen to any excuses about whether he was drinking or not. Personally, I think if it really reaches that point and you don't want to tolerate it, then divorce is fine. It’s just that others surely won't see it that way."

"For a woman, divorce carries a bad reputation. So, when it truly reaches the point of no return, your own decision is what matters most. It only depends on the kind of life you want to live; other people’s opinions aren't actually important."

At this point, Su Yuping stepped back and shook her head with a laugh as she looked at Wei'an’s stature. "It’s really strange. Our mother is the shortest in the family, but she’s still 1.61 meters tall. My older sister and I, it goes without saying, are both taller than Mom. And Dad, along with our older brothers, they are all tall men over 1.76 meters."

"How is it that when it comes to you, you aren't even 1.6 meters?"

Furthermore, everyone in their family had a large frame, but Wei'an did not, which made her look even more petite.

Wei'an, who had just been looking at Su Yuping with newfound respect: "..."

*One shouldn't expose another's shortcomings.* She knew she was short, yet she had to say it out loud on purpose.

However, Su Yuping’s words also touched upon something that puzzled Wei'an. It wasn't just their immediate family; her uncle, her aunt, and their children rarely had such a petite build as hers.

"Do you think maybe Mom picked up the wrong baby when she gave birth to me?" Being an unmarried young woman, she should have been shy, so Wei'an set aside the talk about marital relations and made this joke to change the subject.

Upon hearing this, Su Yuping’s willow-leaf brows shot up, and she gave her a playful swat. "You really are something! If Mom hears you say that, watch out for your hide!"

Wei'an was delivered with their aunt present, so how could there have been any mix-up? "Do you really think the doctors and nurses at the hospital were incompetent?"

The topic ended there, and neither sister took it to heart.

***

Wei'an kept her hands moving, heating the pan and adding oil. The oil was a mix of lard and rapeseed oil. Once hot, she added pickled ginger, pickled peppers, pickled greens, and scallions, stir-frying until the pickles began to bubble slightly. Only then did she add water along with the fish head and bones.

Seasonings were not very complete in this era, but the Su family was well-off and had things like MSG and soy sauce. Wei'an added MSG and a little salt, brought it to a boil over high heat, then turned it down to a simmer. A few minutes later, the fish was cooked through. She scooped the fish and pickles into a prepared basin, then slid the fish fillets into the remaining broth, bringing it to a boil over medium heat before immediately turning off the heat and pouring it into the basin.

To avoid Qu Xiurong complaining about her being wasteful, she skipped the final step of drizzling hot oil over the top. Even so, Su Yuping, who had watched the whole process, clicked her tongue and shook her head. "You’d better stay out of the kitchen from now on. The amount of oil you used for this one dish is enough for Mom to last more than a week."

Wei'an ignored her. "Taste it before you say that."

The flavor was, naturally, excellent. The family ate without pause. Wei'an, not entirely satisfied with the freshness of the fish, waved her hand. "I’ll handle the cooking from now on." Rather than eating the mediocre dishes Qu Xiurong made, she would rather do it herself, which would also allow her to quietly introduce some ingredients from her personal space.

"You can take over the cooking, but I’ll still do the stir-frying," Qu Xiurong said, predictably disapproving. "We only get so much oil every month. I’m worried we’ll run out by the end of the month."

Su Yuping looked at Wei'an, laughing as if to say, "I knew it."

...

Outside, the rain was still drizzling. Qu Xiurong wanted her daughter and son-in-law to stay the night. Su Yuping looked out the window. "I’ll stay, but Haibo has to go back. He has to drive at four tomorrow morning."

Du Haibo clearly felt the same. He gave Su Yuping a few reminders to be careful at home alone and then prepared to head out.

Wei'an picked up an umbrella. "Brother-in-law, I'll go with you."

"Why are you going out in such heavy rain?" Su Yuping thought Wei'an was going to see Ye Aihua and highly disapproved. "Didn't we just agree not to mention that? How much time has even passed?"

She didn't even notice the jealousy in her own tone. Wei'an paused for a moment before realizing Su Yuping was talking about Ye Aihua. She leaned close to Su Yuping’s ear. "I’m going to buy sanitary napkins."

How could she possibly care about Ye Aihua anymore? Her period was due in the next couple of days, and since they were out of napkins, what a perfect excuse to go out.

Su Yuping finally understood. She nodded and said to Du Haibo, "Wei'an needs to pick up some things. Take her back after you drop her off."

What kind of things would a girl go out to buy in the rain? The understanding Du Haibo rubbed his nose and gave a simple "Mhm."

Wei'an grinned, opened her umbrella, and stepped out first. The two walked one after the other out of the alley and across the street at the corner. Wei'an walked very slowly, keeping her eyes on the alley not far away, but until she got closer, she didn't hear a sound.

The convenience store was still a bit further away. Wei'an hesitated: Should she hurry to buy the napkins first, in case she happened to run into something on the way back?

While she was wavering, a faint, stifled groan came from the alley, followed by the sound of someone falling and being dragged. Wei'an stopped in her tracks, pretending to peer inside out of curiosity. There were no streetlights in the alley; it was pitch black.

"What is it?" Du Haibo had been keeping seven or eight paces behind her. He hadn't wanted to rush her, but seeing her stop and peer into the alley, he walked up to join her.

"It sounds like there's some movement inside."

Du Haibo: "..." *Why is this young girl so curious about everything?* "What movement? It's late. Hurry up and buy what you need so I can take you back; your sister will be worried soon."

The "worldly" Du Haibo had actually heard the rustling sounds too, but his first instinct was that this was not something Wei'an should see.