Without changing his expression, Ya Ping replied calmly, "Nothing, just getting my hands wet makes it easier to turn the pages."
"Ugh! You're so annoying!..."
Lights out.
In a good mood, Lijuan, wanting to reward herself for finally making it through the day, excitedly went out the next day to buy a fashionable summer outfit. As soon as Lijuan entered the house carrying the pretty plastic bag, she noticed her mother-in-law's brow was furrowed and her expression was displeased. Whenever Lijuan returned home with more household items than she had left, her mother-in-law's face would invariably turn from gloomy to sunny.
"You just bought these clothes, and you're buying more?!" The mother-in-law persisted, asking again and again. "How much did they cost?"
“3…” Lijuan suddenly remembered Yaping’s instructions and quickly corrected herself, saying, “Thirty-six. On sale.” Lijuan noticed that her husband Yaping, standing behind her mother-in-law, had an indescribably strange expression. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape as if he had chewed a bitter melon, and his brows were furrowed. Her mother-in-law, on the other hand, was all smiles, touching the clothes and examining them closely. “These clothes are really nice, they look good and are cheap. I reckon even a size larger would fit Guanhua. Here’s thirty-six yuan, go buy one for Guanhua tomorrow. I’ll bring her something from Shanghai.” Lijuan was dumbfounded, her expression becoming just as strange as Yaping’s. She stared at Yaping, blinking very slowly in response. Yaping smiled bitterly, as if he had expected this.
"Mom, how could I take your money! I originally bought this dress as a gift for Guanhua. Didn't I just buy clothes for myself?"
"Guanhua's size might be a bit tight; she needs at least a large. In my opinion, you should buy more clothes that are both good-looking and affordable, and buy fewer of the expensive ones."
"It's okay, it's okay, I'll go get a different one tomorrow."
Yaping and Lijuan entered the bedroom one after the other. As soon as the door closed, Lijuan burst into laughter, much to Yaping's surprise, laughing so hard she rolled around on the bed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Laugh! Laugh! You lost 360 yuan and you're happy now? Your lie was completely unbelievable. You said 136 yuan, but you can't say 36 yuan. The packaging box alone is worth that much."
"Boss, don't be unreasonable! You're the one who asked me to remove a zero. I really didn't expect your mom to react so quickly. I didn't even dare to say 136. In your mom's eyes, anything over three digits is considered a heinous crime, like Liu Wencai reincarnated. Luckily, I reacted quickly and didn't accept 36, otherwise I would have lost money again and been accused of accepting even thirty-six yuan from her."
"The problem is, she only feels sorry for you because of the 36 yuan. Does she know that the dress is worth 360 yuan?"
“Isn’t that a gift for your sister? She’s not an outsider. My gratitude to your sister is like a never-ending river, just for saving me from my misery. I don’t think 360 is too much! In your family, I think your sister is closer than anyone else, closer than you. I’m willing.” “No, I have to call my sister tomorrow and tell her about this, so she doesn’t wear the clothes like they’re from a street stall.”
"You're so stingy! And you call yourself my sister? You'll be just like your mom, a real miser, haha!"
Early Saturday morning, the whole family set off in a large group to take the cheapest public bus into town. This trip was only possible after Yaping and Lijuan had pleaded with each other all night, and Yaping's father finally made the decision. Yaping had already instructed Lijuan at home: "Go along with Mom today. She's leaving next week, so agree to whatever she says! Otherwise, I'll make sure she stays." Lijuan nodded her head rapidly, like a chicken pecking at rice. On this point, both sides easily reached a consensus.
The long, rickety train swayed and rattled along, taking over an hour to reach the city center. Knowing her mother-in-law well, Lijuan lowered her expectations for shopping to the Yongxin or Hualian malls (around 200 yuan per square meter), making sure to pass by stores like Parkson or Printemps without even glancing at them. Along the way, the old lady was quite happy, looking up at the skyscrapers and exclaiming, "So many tall buildings, so many shops, how can they sell all that stuff? How much inventory must be piling up?"
Lijuan, unusually good-natured, patiently explained: "Shanghai has a large population, a city of 20 million people. If even one percent of them can afford it, that's still a significant number."
"This store is so spacious, it's many times bigger than the department stores in our area, and it has so much stock! The cosmetics counters alone take up an entire floor! With so many brands, how can they possibly sell them all!"
"Everyone's selling very well. The more expensive the brand, the better it sells. Nowadays, people try to buy brand names. Brand names have been around for a long time, so they have a wide variety of products and a more detailed market segmentation. You can basically find what you need, and they also have a good reputation. Think about it! If the products weren't good, how could they have existed for decades or even centuries?" "I don't think so. Expensive products are all about advertising. They're on TV every day, hiring celebrities. That costs money, doesn't it? I think the products are all pretty much the same. It's just a face cream, right? In the past, people didn't use this brand or that brand. They just had a bottle of face cream and clam oil, and they were perfectly fine."
"Mom, that's so different. People used to not pay attention to skincare. Haven't you seen how celebrities on TV who take care of their appearance look so young? If I told you Liu Xiaoqing is over 50, would you believe me? The cosmetics she uses are so expensive that you can't even buy them in China; she flies abroad to buy them."
“I believe it! I think she’s well over 50. Don’t think that just by putting on a few pounds of powder, turning on more lights, and blinking a few more times, she can look like a young girl. Look at her waist, look at how long the flabby arms are? That’s what an old person looks like.”
"Pshaw! Mom, you're just jealous!"
"Why would I be jealous of her? I don't act, and I'm not competing with her for a position. I'm just telling the truth."
"Mom, to be honest, you can buy cheap clothes and daily necessities, but you must buy good quality food and skincare products, because they are related to your life."
"Those scammers prey on people like you, specifically targeting your money. Those lychees that look so red and big are soaked in formaldehyde, they have no taste; those peaches that look bright red and juicy are dyed. We don't fall for that, but you young people who want to be trendy and high-class, we'll sell them all to you..." Yaping's mother, rarely having so much time to have a heart-to-heart talk with Lijuan, was speaking at length when she suddenly stopped in front of a cosmetics counter, staring intently at the glass. Her face immediately changed. Just moments ago, the cosmetics were as vibrant and red as blooming flowers, but now they were covered in frost.
Lijuan stood beside her, saying nothing.
Yaping urged her mother to go upstairs to buy clothes again, but the old lady stood there motionless, refusing to move an inch.
"I feel dizzy and nauseous. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to go home."
Yaping was terrified; she didn't know why her mother was feeling unwell. "Did your blood pressure suddenly spike? Did you bring your nitroglycerin pills? What's wrong?" Yaping paced around her mother. "What's wrong? Should we go see a doctor?"
Yaping's mother didn't respond at all and walked straight towards the nearest gate. Yaping's father didn't know what had happened either; they had been having a great time just a moment ago, and suddenly everything changed.
Only Lijuan, who was standing to the side, knew the truth.
"Mom, look at this! Lijuan said she wanted to buy you a dress, what are we going to do now?!"
"No need to buy. Save the money and spend it yourselves! Just take care of yourselves, we don't need anything."
"Are you feeling better? Should we go to the hospital? There are Huashan Hospital and Ruijin Hospital nearby."
"No need. I just need to get some fresh air."
"Then, Lijuan, go buy Mom a bottle of water."
"No need, I'm not thirsty. I'm fine." Lijuan had no intention of moving an inch.
The family stood there dumbfounded by the roadside, watching the cars come and go. Even when Yaping's father suggested going to the nearby park, Yaping's mother unusually snapped at him: "What's there to see in a lousy park? Everywhere you go, there are just a few trees and a few blades of grass. There's one right downstairs from our house, let's not go."
It was Yaping's dad's first time in Shanghai, and he felt it would be a waste of the train ticket money if they didn't go anywhere, so he insisted: "Just stroll around the park, take a couple of pictures, and that'll count as us having been to Shanghai. Look at you! We're already here, why don't we go and have some fun?"
"Play? They're letting you play for free? There are no tickets! It's five yuan per person, 20 yuan for four people. And you're not bringing any kids, what's there for a bunch of adults to do?"
As a final compromise, the family took a group photo in front of the park entrance sign and walked around the park fence, taking full advantage of the wide view and expanding their imagination. "There's a children's playground behind that tree, with lots of facilities," Yaping explained, pointing out areas where the view was obscured by trees. "They even charged us five yuan for the playground for the little kids!"
"There are places for adults to play over there. Many elderly people go to the square inside early in the morning to dance with fans."
"That's really extravagant, spending five yuan just to do morning exercises."
"It's free if you have a senior citizen card."
"Then I'll come back after I turn sixty."
“You are considered a tourist from out of town, not a local resident, so we still have to charge you.”
"As long as it's closed for even one day, I won't care to even look at it until I die!"
Lijuan was so angry she wanted to turn away and leave, not wanting to embarrass herself by following this old woman who was even more miserly than Grandet. Lijuan couldn't understand what pleasure this old woman had in life. Every single moment of her life was spent calculating money, money, money. Living was just a way to torture herself, with no entertainment, no consumption, and a defiance of enjoyment. Lijuan didn't know what kind of torment Yaping's mother had suffered in her past life to have such a sense of urgency about survival in this life. If it were just the old woman suffering alone, that would be one thing, but she insisted on infecting everyone around her with this constraint and fear of life. For example, while others ate meat, she ate plain rice; while others ate watermelon, she ate the rind; while others laughed and watched TV, she meticulously did needlework. In short, being around this old woman was always tense. Even when enjoying herself, she felt guilty and unhappy. You never knew which of your words would touch a nerve and send her back to the 1960s, and you never knew what you could do to make her happy. Obviously, the best way to show filial piety is to eat watermelon rinds with her or pick up vegetable scraps with her. However, it seems too unwise to sacrifice one's own life for this.
Lijuan checked her watch; lunchtime was approaching. She needed to go to the station that afternoon to buy train tickets for the elderly couple, and they would definitely have to eat out for lunch. Lijuan had made up her mind. Originally, she had planned to please the old lady and make her happy, but because the old lady hadn't made her happy for a single second that morning, Lijuan decided that even on the last day, she would go against her to the very end!