When Sienna got out of bed, Cuilan had already finished breakfast and was cleaning the house, wiping the table.
When she heard someone moving, Cuilan looked up and saw her. She quickly put down her work and walked over. "Sienna, go wash your face. I'll make breakfast for you."
"Mom, it's okay. I'll make it myself later. You can take a break."
But Cuilan didn't listen. She had already gone into the kitchen to start cooking.
Sienna had just finished washing up when Cuilan came out holding food. "Sienna, come eat."
"Okay. Thanks, Mom."
As Sienna began to eat, Cuilan started cleaning again—wiping chairs and windows. She didn't stop moving.
When Sienna paused with her chopsticks, Cuilan hurried over. "Sienna, is it enough? Do you want more?"
Sienna reached out and gently pulled Cuilan's hand. "Mom, it's enough. Don't keep working. Rowan and I can do things ourselves."
"Oh, I'm just used to staying busy. If I sit still, I feel restless. Don't worry about me. Just rest when you're tired."
After saying that, she started clearing the dishes. To Cuilan, this was just like home. She usually did housework and went to work, but now that she was here, she had nothing to do and felt bored.
Her son and daughter-in-law were training every day, so she wanted to help where she could. She hoped to make their rest days easier.
"Mom, don't clean up. I'll do it. Go change your clothes. Let's go to the city and walk around."
"There's nothing good in the city. You've just come back, rest a bit more."
Sienna held onto Cuilan's hand and looked up at her. "But Mom, I really want to go take a look."
As soon as she heard this, Cuilan said, "Alright, let's go."
She quickly went to change clothes, and the two of them left soon after. They didn't even think to tell Rowan. When he came home at noon and saw the door locked, he could only sigh and go back to the cafeteria to eat with everyone else.
When Sienna and Cuilan arrived in the city, Sienna brought her to shop for clothes. At the counter, they looked in different directions and pointed to two different pieces. "Excuse me, can you please take that one down so I can have a look?"
The shop assistant smiled as she looked at the clothes they pointed at. "You both have great taste. These two are new arrivals."
Sienna saw the one Cuilan pointed at. It was clearly something for her to wear. Sienna quickly said, "Excuse me, please take this one down first. Thank you."
"Alright, please wait a moment." The worker handed the clothing to Sienna, who held it up to Cuilan and said, "Mom, this one looks good on you."
"I already have clothes, no need. Sienna, put it back. Let's look at this one. You'll look beautiful in it. A young girl should look pretty."
Cuilan asked the worker to take down the other piece and held it up in front of Sienna. She thought it looked very nice. Then she turned and asked, "How much is this one?"
"Auntie, this one is a bit expensive. It's 38 yuan."
When she heard that, Cuilan thought it was too much. They couldn't even save 38 yuan in a year.
She wanted to buy it for Sienna but couldn't afford it. Sienna glanced at the outfit and said, "Mom, I already have a lot of clothes. Rowan bought them for me. And I wear a military uniform during training. I don't need new ones."
Then she pointed to the one Cuilan liked and said to the worker, "Please wrap this one up for me."
"Okay. That one is 41 yuan."
When she heard the price, Cuilan quickly said, "No need to wrap it up. We don't want it. It's too expensive."
"Sienna, if you want to buy me that outfit, you might as well get something nice for yourself. I'm just an old woman, I don't need anything that fancy. I already have clothes."
The staff member nearby watched and said, "Ma'am, your daughter-in-law is so thoughtful. You should accept it. Most people can only dream of having someone like her."
Sienna heard that and looked at the staff member. "Comrade, I'm her daughter-in-law, not her daughter."
The staff member was surprised. These days, it was rare to see a mother-in-law who let her daughter-in-law buy clothes but didn't buy anything for herself. If her own mother-in-law was half as good as this woman, she would be so grateful.
She had a job and earned money, but every time she bought something, her mother-in-law acted like it was her son's money. She always gave her a bad look.
Thinking about that, she said, "Comrade, if it's within your budget, why not buy both pieces? That way, each of you can have something. Of course, you can also look at other options."
"Most of our clothes here are affordable, not all are that expensive."
After hearing that, Cuilan said, "Let's look at other options." If something was cheaper, she could buy something for Sienna too.
But Sienna had already made up her mind after hearing the staff member say, "Buy both."
She said, "Then please wrap both of them for me."
She quickly took out the money and paid. Cuilan wanted to stop her, but Sienna said, "Mom, I like it."
Cuilan didn't say anything more. If she liked it, she could buy it. After all, she had a salary and could spend her money however she wanted.
The staff member quickly finished packing and handed it to Sienna. "Comrade, here you go."
Then Sienna took Cuilan to buy cold cream, soap, and more. Whatever Rowan had bought for her, she also bought a set for Cuilan.
Cuilan watched how easily Sienna bought things and started to worry if her son could even afford to take care of a wife like this. She and her husband needed to work harder and stop being lazy.
After shopping, they went to a state-run restaurant. Sienna looked at the menu on the board and said, "Comrade, two bowls of rice, one braised pork, one chicken with mushrooms, and also—"
Cuilan quickly cut in, "Sienna, that's enough. We can't eat that much."
"And one order of sour and spicy shredded potatoes. Mom, if we can't finish, we'll just take it home."
Cuilan said no more. After eating, they went home. Once they were back, Sienna took out her own clothes and gave everything else to Cuilan.
"Mom, all of this is for you. When you run out, I'll buy more for you."
"Sienna, I don't need these. You should use them. These are things for young girls."
"I already have plenty. Rowan bought me a lot. You use these. I'll go to my room to put away my things."
Just as Sienna got back to her room, Rowan came in. He saw the pile of things and asked, "Mom, did you and Sienna go shopping?"
Cuilan looked at him and felt annoyed. He was just useless. Daughters were better. She had been here for so long, and her son hadn't bought her anything. Her daughter-in-law had only come back for one day, and she already bought her so many things. She really didn't know what use her son had, except to make her angry.