Chapter Eighteen: Confrontation with Her Mother

On May 7th, she returned with her mother. Her mother seemed to suspect that I might have heard or noticed something, and wasn’t at ease—perhaps she worried that if Xiao Juan came back, I might harm her. That’s why she came along too, saying she’d stay for a few days. I vowed silently to go head-to-head with her, just to see whose will was stronger! Besides, things hadn’t yet reached an irreparable point—had they?

I acted as if nothing was amiss: I greeted them, took the bus, came home, went out to eat hotpot, wandered the streets together, all appearing harmonious and happy. The old lady probably felt some guilt and bought me quite a few things. I bought some household goods as well. That evening, around six or seven, we returned to Xiao Juan’s rental apartment. The old lady seemed to have something to say, and I figured it was time to probe, to see what this sly fox really wanted.

I asked, “Auntie, is there something on your mind?”

She replied, “Since you call me auntie, and I’m your elder, I suppose I should speak my mind, shouldn’t I?”

Inwardly, I cursed her, thinking, “To hell with you, you wretched creature!”

But I said, “Of course. Please, go ahead—I’m listening.”

She made herself quite at home, stripping down to her bra and exposing her belly, sitting on the bed in her big shorts as she began to discuss our marriage. Her main concern was laying out her terms and seeing how I would respond.

She said, “Since you two want to be together, and you’re planning to get married, right?”

I said, “Yes, that’s right.”

She continued, “Then I support it too. But there are some conditions I need to lay out—these are my minimum requirements.”

I said, “I’ll do my best!”

She said, “According to our customs in Hebei, marriage is done in three steps: engagement, wedding, and the formal bride pick-up. We need to hold all three ceremonies.”

I asked, “What do you mean, three steps?”

She replied, “Yes—engagement involves the betrothal gifts, which should be sixty-six thousand, or eighty-eight thousand, depending. Then comes the wedding: banquet, jewelry, various expenses, wedding photos, and appliances—altogether about fifty or sixty thousand. But after the wedding, you can’t live together yet; you have to choose an auspicious day to bring the bride home. For that, you must give the parents at least thirty-three thousand as a return gift—think of it as support for their old age. Can you accept that?”

I said, “Altogether that’s a bit over a hundred thousand. That’s fine, I can accept it. It’s not excessive.”

She went on, “That’s just the wedding expenses. The car doesn’t matter, but the house is a must. The down payment for a house in Shijiazhuang is over three hundred thousand, with annual mortgage payments of about forty thousand. You’ll need to cover the down payment and the mortgage. The house should be in both your names. Is that a problem?”

I said, “The two of us only make about six thousand a month in total. After the mortgage is paid, there’s barely anything left for food—maybe not even enough.”

She said, “That’s your problem. Do you think it’s doable or not?”

I said, “It’s doable. I can accept it.”

She added, “She won’t be able to have children in the future, so don’t even think about it. Her hand isn’t well, and we can’t help with a child. As a man, with no parents of your own, you certainly couldn’t take care of one either. So you’d better think carefully!”

Hearing this, I was so angry my teeth nearly cracked. I thought, “You really are a calculating old fox!”

Still, I said, “Not a big issue. I can accept it. It’s just not having kids.”

She said, “Honestly, as someone from out of town, you’re not really an ideal son-in-law. But since you have no parents anymore, I won’t hold it against you. I’m just worried that if you leave my daughter one day, she’ll be alone, older, with a disability and a child—remarrying would be nearly impossible. I have to think of her.”

I replied, “It’s only right for parents to look out for their children. I understand.”

She then went on at length about Xiao Juan’s childhood—how her hand became disabled due to her mother’s carelessness during pregnancy, how she’s faced discrimination in school, in life, in seeking work. If she hadn’t once tried to take her own life and been saved, even her teacher’s qualification certificate would have been revoked. Out of pity, she was eventually allowed to keep it, but she could only find work at private schools; no public school would ever accept her.

I had my own plan: let her say whatever she wanted, I would agree to everything. Next, I’d show her what it meant to be a cunning, black-hearted man, to let her taste the true dangers and deviousness of the world!