Chapter 352: Chapter 186: Proper Discipline
Laishou, being a year older, was starting to understand things. Seeing how fiercely Juhua scolded his older brother, he grew a little scared and quickly nodded. "Laishou will be good. I won’t splash in the water."
As he spoke, he looked down at the mud splatters on his clothes, puffing out his cheeks and furrowing his brow.
The sight of the mud splatters on Laishou’s red outfit made Juhua’s temper flare. She shouted at Laicai, "Stop following me! Go on, get home!"
Of course, Laicai refused to go home. It was no fun being alone, and everyone else was going to their eldest uncle’s house. He wanted to go too, so he dragged his feet, trailing behind Juhua.
When Juhua saw that he wouldn’t leave, she spotted a dead branch under a locust tree by the path. She picked it up and raised it at Laicai, threatening to strike him.
Terrified, Laicai turned and ran, letting out a stream of yelps and shrieks. He kept looking back as he fled, terrified that Juhua would catch up and thrash him.
An old man passing by was so startled by Juhua’s actions that his mouth fell open, his beard bristling in surprise. He stared at her, dumbfounded, for a long moment before remarking, "Anyone who can scare Laicai that badly has some real talent, young lady."
Juhua gave a resigned smile, then turned and led Laishou away by the hand.
Upon reaching her eldest uncle’s house, she heard the laughing voice of her second uncle, Yang Dezhi, before she even stepped into the courtyard. "...See? I told you. After all that running around, we still ended up as in-laws with Liu Fugui. I bumped into him earlier, and he was so chummy it felt strange. Now I get it—his daughter is about to start calling me ’uncle’..."
She stepped into the courtyard and called out, "Second Uncle!"
Yang Dezhi’s face lit up when he saw Juhua. "Hey! Juhua, if I’d known you were coming, I wouldn’t have stepped out."
Juhua replied bluntly, "It’s better that you weren’t home, Second Uncle. If you had been, Laicai would’ve driven me nuts. Look, he just got mud all over Laishou."
Yang Dezhi saw that his younger son was indeed covered in mud splatters and grew furious. "That little rascal! Just you wait, I’ll give him a good thrashing tonight. Juhua, if Laicai doesn’t behave, you go right ahead and discipline him. Don’t tell me you’re so fed up with Laicai that you’re starting to resent your uncle, too."
Her eldest uncle, Yang Defa, asked with a laugh, "So where’s Laicai?"
Laishou piped up in his little-kid voice, "Juhua chased him home."
His words made everyone laugh.
Juhua led Laishou to her second uncle’s side and asked, "What was all that about, Second Uncle? I could hear you from way down the road."
Yang Dezhi scooped up his younger son, hoisted him into the air, and said with a hearty laugh, "What else? We were just talking about your new sister-in-law..."
After some good-natured banter, Juhua and Qingmu prepared to head back with Yang Dezhi for a meal. They invited Juhua’s eldest uncle as well, but he waved them off, saying there was no need for such formalities among family.
On the way, Yang Dezhi set Laishou on his shoulders and bounced him continuously, making the little boy shriek with laughter.
Juhua then asked him why he had come back on the fourth day. Her second aunt’s family had so many relatives; shouldn’t they have stayed for a few more days?
Yang Dezhi glanced at Juhua and teased, "What’s wrong? Are you really disappointed your uncle is back early? That hurts my feelings, you know."
Juhua shook her head with a smile. "I was just curious. Grandma said you wouldn’t be back until the sixth day."
Yang Dezhi sighed. "Ah, it was your second aunt. She got into a snit with someone. Juhua, Qingmu, do you two really dislike your second aunt?"
Qingmu hadn’t expected his uncle to be so blunt. He didn’t know how to respond—there were some things you just couldn’t say, not even to your own uncle.
So he looked to Juhua. It seemed their uncle preferred to hear from her. She said whatever was on her mind, and for some reason, he never got angry.
And just as he’d expected, Juhua spoke up. "Second Uncle, even if we didn’t like her, we’d have to like her for your sake. She is your wife, after all! Your wife gets into a snit with someone, and you don’t do anything about it?"
"You know what she’s like," Yang Dezhi said. "That’s just her temperament. It’s hard to change..."
"Second Uncle—" Juhua cut him off, drawing out the title. "She’s your wife. If she can’t change for the better, you have to be the one to manage her. Otherwise, aren’t you the one who loses face? When people talk about her, they won’t say, ’That woman from the Lin Family is this and that’; they’ll say, ’Yang Dezhi’s wife is this and that.’ It’s the same with Laicai. If he misbehaves, people will say, ’Yang Dezhi’s son is such a handful.’ Who’s going to bother saying ’Yang Laicai’?"
Yang Dezhi’s expression soured, and he fell silent, his face grim.
Juhua said, "You say we don’t like our second aunt, but if we truly disliked her, we would just ignore her. We’re family, so we should be able to speak plainly. It’s much worse to see something you don’t agree with and just hide it. Family can have a big argument and still be family afterward. An outsider wouldn’t say anything to your face. They’d just hold a grudge, ignore you next time, and maybe even bad-mouth you behind your back."
Yang Dezhi nodded. "That’s true. I’m always telling her to listen to my eldest brother, his wife, and my sister, but the words go in one ear and out the other. It’s a real headache."
Qingmu was filled with admiration for Juhua. ’She’s basically telling on Second Aunt right to Second Uncle’s face, and he’s just nodding in agreement.’ His own mother had tried to advise his uncle before, but it had never been this effective.
Juhua continued, "Then you need to keep a close eye on her. If she does something petty or says something to offend someone, wait until you’re alone and give her a good, stern talking-to. Even if she can’t change, it’ll make her remember. If we, her own family, don’t watch over her, are you really expecting outsiders to do it for you? You should just be grateful they aren’t laughing at you."
"I started keeping a tighter rein on her last year," Yang Dezhi said. "She’s been much better this year."
Juhua was speechless. ’She certainly hadn’t seen where the Lin Family woman had gotten "much better."’
She continued to urge her uncle to control his wife, vowing to drag the Lin Family woman out of her leisurely life and into the fire. "I think Second Aunt just has too much time on her hands. If she were so busy her feet never touched the ground, where would she find the spare energy to scheme and take advantage of people? She’d have even less time for idle gossip. Grandma’s getting on in years; you should have Second Aunt take over more of the household chores so Grandma can rest and enjoy her days. My mom wants to have Grandma over for a visit anyway. It’s the perfect opportunity for her to bring Laishou along. My brother can teach him to recognize a few words—Laishou is really smart. Once Grandma’s gone, you can really work on tempering your wife’s disposition and discipline Laicai at the same time. Wouldn’t that be perfect?"
Yang Dezhi was delighted by Juhua’s words and readily agreed. "When your mother comes, I’ll have your grandmother go with her. You have to teach Laishou plenty, you hear? My Laishou is a very well-behaved boy. And I guarantee I will keep a close watch on your second aunt at home."
