Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth

When the mother and son arrived at Uncle Song’s house, the family was just about to start their meal.

Old Lady Song stormed straight into the hall, and because of the way the two of them looked, the Song family fell into such a silence that not a single person spoke, even the young Dabao and Erbao had learned to read the atmosphere.

Seeing this, Aunt Song dropped the bowls and chopsticks she was holding in her arms, took off her apron, and hurriedly followed after them.

“What’s going on?” Song Tiesheng glanced towards the hall a few times and came over to Song Ci, asking. He had never seen his mother-in-law so angry before.

“Brother Ergou, what have you done to upset her so much?” Song Sheng also chimed in, with two little followers, Dabao and Erbao, behind him.

“Ah, it’s my fault again. I’ve upset Mother. Brother Tiesheng, when you see my brother-in-law, please tell him to talk to Aunt Song and persuade her properly. Anger is harmful to one’s health. It’s fine if she gets mad at me, but she mustn’t hurt herself.”

“You know anger is harmful to health, yet you still upset your mother. What were you thinking?” Song Sheng was quite dissatisfied with Song Ci’s response. People who knowingly break the rules like this are the most detestable.

“I will talk to him. Haven’t you eaten yet? Sit down and have some,” Song Tiesheng glared at Song Sheng and invited Song Ci to sit.

“Uncle Ergou, have a meal with us,” Dabao and Erbao echoed, mimicking their elders. Uncle Ergou had bought them delicious pastries just a few days ago, and they hadn’t finished them yet. They should at least insist that Uncle Ergou stay for a meal.

“Alright, Dabao and Erbao are really well-behaved. Uncle Ergou hasn’t spoiled you for nothing,” Song Ci ruffled Dabao and Erbao’s heads and sat down with them.

“Ergou, your mother has been busy with you all these years, both at home and outside. You should be more considerate of her. Even if she’s wrong, it’s not shameful for a man to give in to his mother. Don’t keep upsetting her,” Uncle Song advised without asking what had happened.

“Uncle, I understand. I will be filial to my mother.”

“Among all your brothers, you are the most promising, and Uncle is also the most worried about you. You must be careful in everything you do and never go astray again,” Uncle Song said, thinking of Ergou as a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, not knowing who held the reins and could control this rascal.

It was time to find him a wife soon to settle his heart.

Yes, Uncle Song didn’t ask for the reason because he had already made up his mind about Song Ergou. He was kind to him but still kept a clear head.

Song Ci, however, was surprised. Any clear-eyed person would see that the most promising in the Song family was Song Tiesheng, wasn’t it? How did it become him? Uncle, which eye of yours is blurred to see that Song Ergou is promising? Maybe it’s time to ask Doctor Wang to treat it.

Song Sheng sneered. In his father’s heart, Song Ergou was always better than them in every way. If it weren’t for his mother’s ability to bear children, he would really think that Song Ergou was also his father’s biological son.

The whole family ate the meal without much flavor. After Song Ci left the table, he left, while Old Lady Song stayed at Uncle Song’s house.

Song Ci was too embarrassed to say that he had upset his mother so much just to marry a wife. He would wait until the next day when everyone knew more or less what had happened and then face the judgment again.

“Auntie, are you hungry? I’ll go to the kitchen and make you something to eat,” Song Tiesheng’s wife said after hearing Old Lady Song’s account of what had happened and feeling the cold food on the table.

“Auntie, don’t trouble yourself. I’m not hungry.”

“That won’t do. Auntie rarely comes to our house as a guest. We can’t let you go to bed on an empty stomach,” she said, taking the dishes from the table and heading to the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Song Tiesheng asked as his wife came out.

“It’s about Ergou wanting to marry Lin Xiaohe from the Lin family. I’m going to make more food for Auntie. If you want to know the details, let’s go to the kitchen and talk,” she said.

Song Tiesheng followed his wife towards the kitchen. Two curious younger brothers, whose ears had caught the conversation, also followed closely behind.

“Don’t be too upset, Auntie. Ergou still cares about you,” Aunt Song comforted.

“Listen to what he said. If I don’t let him marry Lin Xiaohe, he’ll never get married in his life, acting as if I’m the wicked mother-in-law breaking up a couple. He doesn’t even think about it. It’s not just about adopting a grandson. Marrying Lin Xiaohe is like bringing home two big burdens. He even says he’ll take care of their parents in their old age. He’s not even that filial to his own mother, and he’s already planning to be a filial son to someone else’s parents,” Old Lady Song felt wronged. She thought her son had only just started to be filial to her, and she hadn’t had enough time to enjoy it before he was planning to bring home two big figures to be filial to instead.

“He hasn’t even married yet, and he’s already forgotten about his mother. How dare I let him bring Lin Xiaohe home? Who knows how they’ll treat me then.”

“It hasn’t come to that yet. Ergou grew up under our watchful eyes. He’s a filial child and wouldn’t do such unfilial things. Besides, this matter is far from certain. Ergou is the one eager to marry, but it’s not certain that Lin Xiaohe would accept him,” Aunt Song reasoned.

“If he doesn’t accept, then he’s blind. My Ergou is smart and capable. Any Ge’er or woman would want to marry into our family,” Old Lady Song defended her son. It was one thing to praise her own son, but if someone else didn’t see his worth, she wouldn’t stand for it. She thought they were just lacking in judgment.

“And with the conditions he’s put forward, if their whole family isn’t foolish, they wouldn’t refuse.”

“Auntie, that’s just the way the men in the Song family are,” Aunt Song patted Old Lady Song’s hand, her words a mix of lament and reminiscence.

“Grandpa was like that, Uncle is like that, and Tiesheng is the same. Whatever their husbands say, that’s what they do. I didn’t expect Ergou to be the same kind of person. The men in the Song family, each and every one of them, are true to their partners. Marrying into such a family is our fortune. Although we may not be extremely wealthy, this kind of life is what every Ge’er and woman longs for.”

Listening to Aunt Song’s words, Old Lady Song also remembered that her mother-in-law had not originally chosen her. It was because her husband insisted on her that she entered the Song family. In the first few years of her marriage, she had not been able to have children, and her mother-in-law had been quite dissatisfied with her, often making her do many dirty and tiring tasks. It was her husband who protected and helped her, preventing her from suffering too much.

That man was truly silly, always thinking of her first. The best food and clothing were always given to her first. Except for the early years when the family finances were handed over to her mother-in-law, everything later on was given to her, without a single coin of private savings kept for himself.

The younger siblings in front of her were the same. At that time, because the eldest son had married a daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law was reluctant to spend money to hire a wife for the younger brother. In order to save enough money for the dowry, the younger brother worked day and night, digging wild vegetables and herbs in the mountains to exchange for money. The husband felt guilty towards his brother and also worked non-stop day and night to make wooden items, only daring to gather enough silver before the dowry was presented.

At that time, the husband had just finished his apprenticeship and couldn’t take on too many jobs. Their life was poor, but she felt very satisfied and happy.

However, neither of them had the same trouble as Lin Xiaohe.

“What benefits has Song Ergou given you that you speak so highly of him?” Old Lady Song reproached Aunt Song with a hint of annoyance.

“What benefits could Ergou give me? I just don’t want to see you and Ergou have a falling out. You’re only thinking about how Lin’s parents are a burden. Have you considered that the estate they’ve built up isn’t it for your grandson? Many people are envious of those five acres of land.”

“Am I that kind of person?”

“Of course not, Auntie. I’m just speaking the truth. There were quite a few people who came to propose to Lin Xiaohe, but how many were truly interested in a marriage? They were all thinking about the land’s ownership after Lin’s parents passed away. But no one is a fool; they can see through others’ intentions.”

“To say the least, Lin Xiaohe has had a tough life,” Old Lady Song sighed in agreement.

“Brother, do you think Ergou went up the mountain the other day just to see Lin Xiaohe?” In the deep night, the two brothers, unable to sleep, lay on the kang talking.

Neither of them had gotten married yet and were temporarily sharing a room.

When they heard from their eldest brother that Ergou wanted to marry Lin Xiaohe from the Lin family, and even planned to adopt a child for them and take care of Lin’s parents in their old age, they were both shocked.

Ergou, you’re really good at finding trouble. Why don’t you just go to heaven? That was the unanimous feeling of the two brothers at the time.

Instead of living a smooth and easy life, he chose to make trouble for himself. Only Song Ergou would do such a thing. Wasn’t he just stabbing their mother-in-law in the heart?

Their mother-in-law was almost forty and still hadn’t held a grandson. And now, she was expected to give up the chance to have one.

Was this even something a human would do?

Moreover, once a Ge’er is married, she’s like water that has been splashed out. With the privileges Ergou offered, it was almost as if Lin Xiaohe was marrying with her parents.

In their family, with many sons, if the two brothers dared to do such a thing, they would surely have been kicked out of the house by their parents long ago and sent to someone else’s family to be a son. It wouldn’t be as simple as just making their mother-in-law angry.

“I think it’s probably the case. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so angry last time. He was worried that we would see and ruin Lin Xiaohe’s reputation,” Tongsheng thought for a while and replied, “We can talk about this between us, but don’t go spreading it around.”

“I know that. If Lin Xiaohe’s reputation really gets ruined, with Ergou’s hot temper, he would probably eat us alive.”

“What do you think Ergou is really thinking?” Sheng, still unable to sleep, bothered his elder brother again. The things Song Ci did today had quite an impact on him.

“How should I know? If you knew what he was thinking, you would be Song Ergou. Maybe he just likes the way the Ge’er looks,” Tongsheng said, half-asleep.

“Come on, who wants to be Song Ergou. But Lin Xiaohe is really unlucky. Such a delicate flower, and she’s been taken a liking to by Song Ergou.”

“Go to sleep. If you have time to worry about others, you might as well take care of yourself,” Tongsheng threw a pillow at Sheng, but he didn’t agree with Sheng’s words in his heart. With the way Song Ergou was so devoted, he didn’t think Lin Xiaohe was unlucky at all. She seemed more like someone with skill, and he didn’t know how she had tamed Song Ergou.

“Alright, alright,” Sheng pouted, still thinking that Song Ergou was not decent, Lin Xiaohe was unlucky, and their mother-in-law was pitiable.