Aunt May, caught mid-departure at the gate, froze awkwardly. After all, May Lin also sold vegetables in the same market. Partnering with Jade felt like taking advantage.
Jade, however, remained unfazed. Standing calmly in the courtyard entrance as May Lin fumed, red-faced and sputtering, she replied evenly, "Exactly what you see. Money's tight. Aunt May and I started a little side business."
"Little side business?" May Lin exploded. "Go see the market! The crowds! Who knows how much they rake in every day! Such a good deal, and you give it to them? Not me? Do you know how hard I work selling greens? The Wangs sell meat, they make plenty already! And you shovel money their way? Biting the hand that feeds you! Turning your back on family! You don't even know you're being cheated!" She raged, convinced her daughter-in-law was both stupid and malicious. A profitable venture, handed to outsiders instead of family!
She thought of her own daily grind, hauling vegetables, barely covering household expenses. The envy she felt watching the Wangs' bustling stall gnawed at her. Learning Jade was behind it felt like a knife to the heart.
"Hey! That's uncalled for!" Aunt May interjected, offended. "Cheated? When did I ever cheat Jade? Our business is clear as day, accounted for in a ledger! Don't go throwing accusations!"
Fueled by rage, May Lin snapped at her, "I wasn't talking to you!" She turned her fury back on Jade, jabbing a finger. "You ungrateful little wretch! My son must be cursed to have married you! After all the food I brought you! Wasted! If you don't hand this business over to me, you spit out every bite I ever gave you…" Her voice rose, eyes welling, stepping closer as if ready to physically lash out.
Jade watched her, exasperated. Time for a reality check. She cut her off sharply. "You really don't know why I chose Aunt May over you?"
"Nigel's been gone, I'm heavily pregnant. Have you cared for me for a single day? I've wanted to ask: Who's your real son, Nigel or Howard He? The moment Howard comes home, it's meat, fish, the works! And Nigel? When he's home, you don't even show your face. Grabbing a piece of meat from your basket the other day, you acted like I was carving flesh! Anyone would think you were Howard's birth mother!"
"Even if I partnered with you, any profit would just vanish into that father-son pit! Would Nigel or I see a penny? You accuse me of being cheated? Of turning my back? Seems to me you're the one treating me like a fool! With Aunt Wang, my costs are low. What do you bring? Would I even have a stake left in this business?"
"You want to be their pack mule? Fine. That's your choice. But don't come trying to bleed Nigel and me dry!" Jade rested her hands on her belly, delivering the verbal volley without pause. Years of sparring with her brother had honed her tongue.
"You…!" May Lin sputtered, momentarily speechless, her face cycling through shades of anger and shame. Finally, she choked out, "How can you say such things? When haven't I treated him like a son? You're so petty! I gave you meat!"
It was early. Neighbors, not yet off to work, emerged drawn by the commotion. Children lingered with breakfast bowls. Seeing the audience, Jade raised her voice. "You treated him like a son? Alright! Let's settle this right here, right now!"
"Did you ever truly care for Nigel? Ever? Everyone says he turned bad young, ran with street kids. Was he born that way? When other kids stray, parents try to pull them back – even with a stick! You? You just echoed everyone: 'He was always bad.' Tell me: After his father died, how many breakfasts did you make him? How many times did you bring him an umbrella in the rain? What were his grades like? Who was his homeroom teacher? What class was he in?" Nigel might be used to his reputation, but Jade had a child to raise here. She refused to live under judgmental stares, refused to let her child face whispers or blame if bullied.
As for May Lin, if she could act this way, she could face the truth. May Lin flushed crimson under the barrage, unable to answer a single question. She blustered weakly, "Stop twisting things! We're talking about your braised offal!"
Jade scoffed, refusing to be sidetracked. "You don't know? I'll tell you! None! He went to middle school hungry every morning. He has a touch of gastritis because of it. His grades were always top five in the school. He got into Ninth High as the top scorer! Middle school homeroom teacher: Liang Meili. High school: Class Three, homeroom teacher Wang Ying."
"You know nothing. You only know Howard He. You only worry if he's hungry, cold, thin. Howard failed the college exam three times, and you still scrape and bow to fund him! When Nigel was falsely accused and forced out of school, you didn't even go to see!"
"What kind of mother are you? When Aunt Wang's daughter was in her final year, she brought her meals every day, rain or shine. Her daughter got into university, and Aunt Wang didn't stop working – she's saving for her dowry! What have you done?"
"I don't know about others. But I know Nigel becoming the 'bad seed' in everyone's eyes? You bear a huge responsibility. You ignored him as a child. When he was bullied as a teen, you didn't protect him – you joined the chorus! The men you picked? Worse each time. Remember? When that second husband beat you? Who stood up for you? Who brought you back from that village? Was it Howard? Your current husband? No! It was Nigel! At thirteen!"
"He saw you as his mother. Did you ever see him as your son?" These were thoughts Jade had harbored since reading Nigel's file. His father died young. If May Lin hadn't clung to worthless men and focused on raising her son, everything could have been different. A little care, looking after his daughter while he struggled south… maybe she'd have spotted the signs of bullying. Maybe that bright little girl would still be alive. Maybe Nigel wouldn't have ended as he did.
May Lin faced Jade's fierce onslaught, head bowed. She wanted to deny every word, but her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. The weight of the neighbors' stares felt like being stripped naked. Shame burned her cheeks. Her earlier righteous fury evaporated, replaced by profound humiliation.
Aunt May seized the moment, calling out loudly to the onlookers, "It's true! Raising kids is delicate work. Food and clothes aren't enough! You have to guide them! My girl was wild too! Her dad and I didn't spare the rod! She learned! Once she started school, we watched her grades. Not bragging, but half her getting into university? That's our doing!"
"Nigel… what a waste. That boy was sharp as a tack. If he'd stayed in school? University, long ago."
A few neighbors murmured agreement. "My boy started hanging with rough kids in third grade. I chased him down with a stick every day! Now he's top ten in every exam!"
"Exactly! Didn't the ancients say, 'A child untaught is the father's shame'? Nigel had no father, and Lin didn't step up. Going off track isn't surprising. Glad he seems better now, working to support his family. Not completely lost. Probably just young and dumb back then. With proper guidance? Could've been a good kid."
Someone directed their ire at May Lin: "Your daughter-in-law's about to pop, and you come here to harass her? Not helping the young couple is bad enough! Nigel's out earning money, and you bully his wife? Are you human?"
"Always been this way! Ditching your own son to play stepmom! That desperate for a man? Ignored him then, now he's trying to build a life, you come stirring the pot! What's wrong with you? Jealous he might do well?"
"Remarried and still meddling? Shameless! Your daughter-in-law's got more sense!"
May Lin stared, bewildered. The neighbors who'd once sympathized with her tales of abuse and Nigel's failings… how could they turn on her after Jade's words? They used to soothe her, tell her to endure. Now they blamed her? But she hadn't done anything! How could Nigel's path be her fault? He took after his father! She admitted favoring Howard He, but only because he was grateful, appreciative! Nigel was blood, but in her old age, who would care for her? Only her stepson! The injustice of it, the misunderstanding, washed over her in a wave of self-pity. These busybodies didn't know her struggles!
Finally, eyes red, she spat at Jade, "Fine! I can't out-talk you! I won't come bothering you again! Consider me without a daughter-in-law!"
Jade cradled her belly, expression serene. "As you wish."
"..." May Lin shot her a venomous look, then scurried away, tail between her legs.
The crowd dispersed slowly. A few stopped to offer Jade brief, awkward condolences: "Don't take it too hard." "Just live well with Nigel." They didn't pry further.
Aunt May lingered. "Maybe… you should cook at our place? Avoid attracting trouble." She glanced meaningfully at the departing neighbors.
Jade looked at her, silent.
Aunt May flushed. "Don't misunderstand. No harm meant. Alright, I'm off. Take care. Need anything, come find me."
Jade offered a thin smile. "Take care, Auntie."
Once Aunt May was out of earshot, Uncle Wang, who had come to meet her, muttered, "Foolish. She holds the recipe. She could partner with anyone. Don't get greedy. Pushing her away helps no one. She's good-natured. If it were Nigel, you think he'd smile?"
Aunt May looked uncomfortable. "I meant well! Worried her mother-in-law would sweet-talk her." The truth was, their stall's success had spawned imitators selling braised offal, but none matched the taste. Jade and May Lin were family; fights happened, but bonds remained. If Jade cooked at their house… she might learn the secret.
Uncle Wang snorted. "Even if she is sweet-talked, that's their business. We earn a little less. You really think Nigel Shaw is a pushover? If he comes back and finds out you schemed against his pregnant wife? Think he won't come knocking?"
Aunt May fell silent. She wasn't eager to cross Nigel.
Uncle Wang kept another thought to himself: Jade wasn't as soft as she seemed. This morning's drama, regardless of how it started, had shifted the neighborhood's perception of Nigel. Permanently. If he stayed straight now, people would welcome the young couple.
---
The morning's confrontation didn't weigh on Jade. If anything, venting lifted her spirits. Later that day, she went to South Street to collect the baby clothes and quilts she'd ordered. Her partnership with Aunt May had netted nearly two thousand yuan over the past month, averaging over a hundred a day.
Flush with cash, she'd sketched more designs, chosen fine cotton for tiny hats, mittens, and booties, and even ordered two new outfits for herself. Back home, she washed the baby's innerwear and Nigel's new shirts, hanging them to dry. The quilts and larger items could wait for Nigel's return – he could wash them.
Perhaps her words that morning had resonated, because that afternoon, several elderly grandmothers visited, bearing gifts: fresh vegetables, sweets, even bundles of their own grandchildren's outgrown baby clothes. "Wash them well," they advised kindly.
Jade welcomed them warmly into the courtyard, offering homemade brown sugar sticky rice cakes to the children tagging along. The grandmothers, concerned she lacked guidance, eagerly shared wisdom on pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.
One remarked, "You and Nigel are both fine-looking. Your baby will be beautiful! Raise it well. Don't be like your mother-in-law – bringing a child into the world only to ruin its life. Nigel… he ran wild, yes, but we watched him grow. Never did anything truly evil."
"Boys will be boys!" another chimed in. "All that Hong Kong movie nonsense – fighting, playing gangster. Doesn't mean he was rotten to the core. Now that Zhang boy up on North Street? That's rotten. Following some 'big brother,' gambling, whoring… no hope for him."
"Your mother-in-law," a third tutted, "always been muddle-headed. Bullies the weak, kowtows to the strong. If she comes back causing trouble, you just holler! We'll come running! Remarried and still throwing her weight around? Ridiculous! Abandoning her own flesh and blood for that smiling snake! Poor Nigel, when you think about it…" Their voices softened with sympathy. The morning's revelations had reshaped their view: Nigel might have been wild, but he hadn't been monstrous. In fact, compared to many, his childhood – father dead, mother absent – was heartbreakingly bleak. That he'd turned out as well as he had was a minor miracle.
Jade proved an engaging conversationalist, knowledgeable and receptive. She shared simple health tips, and the afternoon flew by. The grandmothers lingered until dusk, reluctant to leave for their own dinners, warmly inviting Jade to visit them soon.
After seeing them off, Jade cooked her own meal. As usual, before bed, she prepared the next day's batch of braised intestines. The day's events left her unusually tired, and she fell asleep almost the moment her head touched the pillow.
Deep in the night, a persistent knocking at the courtyard gate failed to rouse her.
Finally, a sharp rapping sound came from the bedroom window. Jade stirred, rubbing her eyes drowsily. "Who is it?" she called out, her voice thick with sleep.
A familiar, weary voice answered from the darkness beyond the glass: "It's me. Open up."