Sun Xiaowan felt speechless, but her expression remained calm.
"Auntie, do you have any other requests? Just say them all at once," she suggested.
It was better to get it all out of the way to avoid her saying something disgusting later.
Tang Jing, believing Sun Xiaowan had finally succumbed to her intimidation as a mother-in-law, was quite pleased and adopted an even more authoritative tone.
"Becoming a daughter-in-law of the Song family is no easy feat, and you still have much to learn. Since you've asked sincerely today, I'll teach you well."
Sun Xiaowan smiled and nodded, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
Tang Jing then spoke with a stern face, "I remember Jing Tang gave your family eight hundred yuan as a betrothal gift. If your parents were sensible, they should have returned it. Did you bring it back?"
Sun Xiaowan nodded, "I did. My parents even added two hundred yuan, making it a thousand."
Song Jing Tang had earned his money through business. While Sun Xiaowan's family had savings, their financial situation was not as good as his. It was already generous of the Sun family to return the entire betrothal gift and even contribute extra money.
Tang Jing's expression was somewhat forced, "Consider yourself sensible. Give me this thousand yuan now, and I'll keep it for you."
Sun Xiaowan didn't immediately agree or disagree. "Anything else?"
"Of course! If you were to go to school in the future, that would be one thing. But if not, you should come to the compound. Now that we have a daughter-in-law, it's unreasonable for me, the mother-in-law, to do all the housework."
Sun Xiaowan said, "Oh. Anything else?"
Tang Jing cleared her throat, racking her brain for more demands.
It wasn't until Tang Yu tugged on her sleeve that she remembered.
"This house was bought by Jing Tang, so it's our Song family's house. Tang Yu wants to stay here for a few days. Is that unreasonable?" The intention was to have Tang Yu keep an eye on Sun Xiaowan.
"Also, postpone your schooling. Your priority is to give me a grandson as soon as possible."
Sun Xiaowan chuckled. Where had this feudal remnant come from?
Just as she was contemplating how to retort, the door was kicked open.
Sun mother's face, pale with anger, was revealed. The people beside her also looked incredulous.
Sun mother let out a cold laugh, "This is the first time I've met someone like you. The daughter-in-law has barely entered the house, and you're already impatient to take back the betrothal gift, and even covet the daughter-in-law's dowry! So, your family gets married off a daughter and expects the other party to pay extra? The reason we agreed to this marriage was because of Jing Tang. As for other relatives in his family, we agreed beforehand that it doesn't matter whether we keep in touch or not!"
"What kind of mother-in-law are you? Our Sun family doesn't acknowledge your family as in-laws at all! If Jing Tang had been even a little less, we wouldn't have married into your family!"
"Let me tell you, this house is in my daughter's name. She can let anyone she wants live here, and you have no right to interfere! Today is a happy occasion, don't force me to slap you!"
Sun mother was furious and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Tang Jing, like an artillery barrage. Even Cheng You would have praised her ferocity.
Sun Xiaowan hadn't expected that the prepared speech in her mind would be rendered useless.
"Xiaowan, quickly change into your reception dress. We're heading to Dong Shun Lou."
With that, she pushed Tang Jing and Tang Yu out. Cheng You and Duan Liping exchanged glances and followed them out.
The reception dress Sun Xiaowan chose was a long skirt that reached her calves, with flesh-colored leggings underneath. It was said that Song Jing Tang bought it for her from Guangdong province. It was a bit cold, but it was her wedding day, and she only wanted to look beautiful.
As she came out of the room, she saw Song Jing Tang and Tang Jing talking, seemingly in an argument.
"Jing Tang, let's go!"
Song Jing Tang cast a warning glance at Tang Jing and then walked towards her with a smile.
"Let's go."
Tang Jing stared intently at their retreating figures. Today was her son's wedding, and she should have been happy, but she couldn't smile. This wasn't a wedding; it was like marrying off her son.
"Aunt, are we still going?" Tang Yu asked timidly.
"Why wouldn't we? If I don't attend my son's wedding, people in the compound will laugh at me!" Although Tang Jing had a sour expression throughout, she stayed for the wedding banquet out of consideration for Song Jing Tang.
Sun Xiaowan didn't care if she was happy or not. If Tang Jing made her unhappy, she would make Tang Jing even more unhappy.
Cheng You left after the wedding banquet, carrying a bag of wedding candy. She distributed it to the children in the compound. When a military wife saw her, she thought of Qi Chengyan, who was still on the battlefield.
"Cheng You, are you going back to your maiden home for the New Year, or will you be with your in-laws?"
Cheng You had initially planned to spend it alone, but hearing this reminded her of another option: spending it with Song Qinglan.
"I'll probably be here at the compound. I'm not going back to my hometown."
Before the military wife could say anything, Cheng You heard Tang Yu's voice.
"Of course, you have to stay here. The countryside can't compare to the city, right, Cheng You?"
Cheng You glanced at her. "In terms of living conditions, the countryside is indeed not as good as the city."
"That's why I truly envy you for having such good taste in choosing Yan Ge as your partner. If something were to happen to Yan Ge on the battlefield this time, you'd get a house for free, and then you could remarry a soldier and elevate your social status."
Tang Yu still thought she was making a valid point, with a proud smile on her face, completely oblivious to the disapproving expressions of those around her.
Cheng You walked up to her, her dark eyes unreadable.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly."
Tang Yu snorted, "I said, if Yan Ge were to die on the battlefield..."
"Tang Yu!"
"Slap!"
Tang Jing's scolding and the sound of a slap occurred simultaneously. Cheng You had used considerable force, her palm throbbing, and she wondered if she should hit her again.
Tang Jing rushed over to shield her niece. No matter how muddled Tang Jing was, she wouldn't dare to pick a fight with Cheng You.
"Cheng You, she's young and foolish. Please don't hold it against her."
The military wife, who had witnessed the entire scene, let out a cold laugh.
"She's young? Cheng You is not even 22 years old, so how much younger can your Tang Yu be?"
Tang Jing's face darkened. Tang Yu was the same age as Cheng You, so she couldn't be that much younger.
Cheng You couldn't be bothered to watch them any longer and turned to leave. She didn't want to argue about such pointless matters; it would be better to report the incident directly. Tang Yu's mindset needed considerable re-education.
The matter of how Tang Yu was disciplined by the political department is not mentioned here, as Lunar New Year's Eve was approaching.
Song Qinglan wanted Cheng You to spend the New Year with her, so Cheng You wouldn't have to cook for herself. However, Cheng You declined, thinking that this was her first New Year at the compound and she should spend it at home. What if Qi Chengyan returned?
She went alone to buy New Year's goods and couplets. She also bought a pair of small lanterns to hang, which looked very festive. Taking advantage of the free time in the past few days, she cleaned the entire house from top to bottom.
On Lunar New Year's Eve, she cooked a table full of dishes by herself and made dumplings with various fillings. Sitting alone under the light, she set out two pairs of bowls and chopsticks.
"I wonder if you had dumplings this year," she murmured to the empty seat.