Page 284 - updated on July

Yu Jihui: “A Stinking Old Ninth – A Tale of the Coal Capital” (updated on July 2020)

beautiful but had delicate eyes as well as fair and

clean skin. She looked clean as a pin. I was happy

with her at first glance. She seemed happy with me

too. But I wondered why she was “left”. She was a

good woman. She was a clever mathematics teacher.

She had a good reputation among both the teachers

and students. She was quite good looking. She could

be married off easily. But she was left. Why? With

this question in my mind, I continued talking to her.

She asked many questions about my family. She

asked how old my mother was, whether she was very

hypercritical about her daughter-in-law and whether

she had a bad temper. She asked me whether my

mother had any particular habits. She asked me what

food she liked best. I became impatient. I wondered

why she was asking so many questions about my

mother. All of a sudden, she screamed, “Oh my God,

don’t you know that a mother-in-law is a daughter-

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