Wishful Thinking

Chen Hu, Chen Ji's brother, was a farmer. He learned how to do business from others a few years ago and earned a small sum of money. He opened a small store in the town.

Before Chen Ji joined the army, under Chen Hu's mother's guidance, the two brothers divided up the family property. Chen Hu's mother lived with Chen Hu and helped them take care of their children while managing the business at the convenience store. Without the old lady's help, the family would not know what to do.

Initially, everything was fine. However, three months ago, when the Old Madam woke up, she could no longer see anything. Chen Hu spared no expense. He brought the Old Madam all the way from the provincial city to the capital. He spent a lot of money and suffered a lot. The cause of her illness was not found.

Not only did the old lady lose her ability to work, she also had to burden Chen Hu's family to take care of her. After serving her for a few days, the eldest sister-in-law insisted on sending the old lady to Chu Wei, but the eldest brother, Chen Hu, remained silent. It could be said that he had tacitly agreed.

There were no filial children when it came to chronically ill parents. Chu Wei had witnessed it with her own eyes!

After knowing that Chen Ji had sent a telegram to ask Chu Wei to follow him to the army, the eldest sister-in-law, Zhao Jinli, could not sit still anymore. She would come over every day and try to find ways to slander Chen Ji. She wanted Chu Wei to stay in the town and take care of the old lady. It was wishful thinking on her end.

Chu Wei pretended not to see through it. Her sister-in-law, Zhao Jinli, could not do anything to her. She could not say such unfilial thoughts to her face.

Coincidentally, Zhao Jinli came to find her yesterday with an evening newspaper. "Chu Wei, look at this. Your Chen Ji is famous now. He even dares to show off in the army. It says that Chen Ji is the best soldier. Do you understand what a soldier is? He is an executioner who kills people with a sharp knife. How scary is that!"

Chu Wei didn't say a word and let Zhao Jinli talk until her mouth was dry. Zhao Jinli then ran to the town and said to everyone, "Hey, everyone, please talk to Chu Wei when you have nothing to do. Don't let her go with the army. Twelve years ago, I married into the Chen family. Chen Ji was only 14 years old at that time. At such a young age, he dared to pick a fight with an adult. There were several bloody holes on his body. Not only was he not afraid of running away, he even cut off the adult's artery with a sickle. The two of them were sent to the hospital together. Luckily, their lives were not in danger. Guess what happened? Once Chen Ji woke up, he asked the doctor where the sickle was and said that he wanted to kill the adult alive. Isn't Chu Wei tired of living to follow such a person to the army?

A woman who had a good relationship with her echoed, "I was scared to death. It is right not to let Chu Wei follow him to the army. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to live a day with such a man."

"That's right. I heard that she still has to go to the capital. She's not familiar with the place. If Chu Wei goes there, Chen Ji will be unhappy and beat her to death. By then, there won't even be anyone to collect her corpse," another woman who joined in the gossip.

With everyone's support, the eldest sister-in-law, Zhao Jinli, beamed with joy. "That's right. I just feel sorry for her. That's why I kept persuading her to stay. This way, she can stay away from Chen Ji and not get beaten up. She can also help to take care of her mother-in-law. Although her mother-in-law is blind, she can still look after the house. In addition, Chen Ji sends an allowance to the family every month. It's enough for them to live on."

"I don't agree with what you are saying. Everyone knows how Chu Wei has been living these past few years. She has two children on her own and has to rely on herself to support the family. On the other hand, your mother-in-law takes care of your two sons. She even helped your family manage the business of the convenience store. She has done so much for your family and worked so hard for so many years. Now that she has lost her eyesight, your family should take care of her. As for whether Chu Wei goes with Chen Ji to the army or not, that is the couple's business. Let's not worry for nothing," Aunt Gu interrupted.

There was one good thing about doing business, which was that one would come into contact with all kinds of people. After seeing a lot of people, one would naturally be experienced. Aunt Gu could see through Zhao Jinli's intentions very clearly.

"Aunt Gu, look at what you're saying. It's as if the two of us are unfilial. Let me make this clear today. Even if my Chen Hu doesn't provide for my mother-in-law, I will still provide for her until she dies." Zhao Jinli said with a smile.

Everyone fell silent. Anyone would say that, but whether they could do it or not was the key. Perhaps only time could prove everything.

Zhao Jinli changed the topic. "There's nothing we can do. My mother-in-law has always missed Chu Wei. She keeps asking Chu Wei to take care of her and provide for her when she's old. She says that she trusts Chu Wei. What do you think?"

Everyone looked at one another and dispersed. No one was stupid. They understood what kind of person Zhao Jinli was with just those few words. Many people pitied Chu Wei. It was bad enough that she married Chen Ji. Now that she had such a heartless sister-in-law like Zhao Jinli, it was no wonder she could not live well.

Aunt Gu came to Chu Wei's house and knew that the girl was unhappy. She wanted to talk to her alone and give her a place to express her emotions. However, when she reached the door, she realized that the door was closed and smoke was rising from the kitchen. She knew that Chu Wei was cooking, so she hung two bags of hot soy milk on the door.