Yue Meifen

Biodata

Background / History

Yue Meifen received very little formal education. She and her husband, Chi Yongliang, raised Chi Qing under difficult financial circumstances: his disability restricted his earnings, and paying for their daughter’s university education strained the family’s resources. Nevertheless, Yue Meifen consistently praised Chi Qing’s intelligence and beauty and presented their household as comfortably provided for. This helped Chi Qing grow up confident rather than ashamed of their poverty 8 9.

A week before Chi Qing’s college entrance examinations, Yue Meifen nearly died in a car accident. The family concealed its severity from Chi Qing, telling her that it was nothing serious. Yue Meifen eventually recovered enough to run and jump, although her legs continued to ache occasionally 11.

After years away, Yue Meifen and Chi Yongliang moved back to the village. Their health improved over the following year, and Yue Meifen cultivated a vegetable garden. By the time Chi Qing returned with expensive gifts, the couple could no longer work and were living on a monthly pension of just under 1,000 yuan, supplemented by money from their daughter 10 35.

Appearance

Yue Meifen has a plain, weathered face and a wheat-colored complexion. Chi Qing inherited both her skin tone and curvaceous figure 8 15 32.

• Everyday clothing: Wears an apron while attending to household tasks 8.
• Jewelry: Wears a new gold chain bracelet while keeping her heavier bangle put away in an attempt to remain discreet 14.

Personality

Yue Meifen is brisk, cheerful, and deeply proud of her daughter. Her outlook emphasizes having enough rather than comparing the family unfavorably with wealthier households. Although financial pressure gradually wore down her vitality, news of Chi Qing’s supposed lottery win quickly restored much of her energy 8 11.

Her frugality is rooted in concern for the family’s security. She initially responds to expensive gifts with worry, advises Chi Qing to repay her mortgage and save the remainder, and resists purchases she considers unnecessary. She is not opposed to enjoyment itself: once reassured, she enthusiastically tries on clothes and jewelry and delights in the new villa 10 11 12 39.

She supports Chi Qing’s independence, defending her unmarried status by saying that her daughter’s happiness matters more than other people’s expectations. She also recognizes when parental concern becomes burdensome and agrees to let Chi Qing manage her own finances 14 39.

Despite usually speaking straightforwardly, Yue Meifen can be tactful and calculating in family disputes. She distinguishes an older relative’s past generosity from that relative’s daughter-in-law’s petty behavior, refusing to create discord between them 15.

Abilities & Skills

Gardening

Yue Meifen grows vegetables at the village home and regularly sends produce back with Chi Qing 15 35.

• Cultivates radishes and napa cabbages among other vegetables 15.
• Considers her homegrown produce more trustworthy than purchased vegetables, which she believes contain hormones and pesticides 15.

Managing Family Relations

Yue Meifen handles uncomfortable exchanges without openly embarrassing visitors 14 15.

• Accepts visibly poor vegetables without confronting the person delivering them 14.
• Calls the intended recipient of a return gift, both explaining its preparation and making sure its delivery is known 15.
• Helps Chi Qing navigate unfamiliar village elders by supplying their forms of address and arranging a tactful departure 37.

Equipment / Items

• Gold bangle: A gift from Chi Qing. Yue Meifen admits that she had claimed to prefer bracelets only because bangles were expensive 12.
• Other jewelry and clothing: Receives bracelets, necklaces, pearls, a ring, and new clothes; spends an enthusiastic evening coordinating them with both new and old outfits 12 14.
• Household appliances: Chi Qing buys new appliances for the village home, including a refrigerator, washing machine, television, and air conditioners 13 34.
• New phone: Accepts a replacement from Chi Qing after acknowledging that her old phone is slow 49.

Relationships

• Chi Qing — Daughter. Yue Meifen’s daily encouragement shaped her confidence; Chi Qing later uses her newfound wealth to support her parents and improve their retirement 8 11 39.
• Chi Yongliang — Husband. They share concern for their daughter’s financial security and exchange affectionate teasing, including joking about who deserves credit for Yue Meifen’s new bangle 11 12.
• Second Sister-in-law — Her cousin’s wife. This older relative’s household lent the family money and supplied vegetables during difficult times. Yue Meifen remembers that support and sends sea cucumbers for her health 14 15.
• Third Sister-in-law / Shuyuan — Second Sister-in-law’s daughter-in-law, who addresses Yue Meifen as Fifth Aunt. Yue Meifen considers her prone to gossip and petty advantage-taking, but not fundamentally bad 13 15.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Chi Qing’s Return to the Village

• Welcomes Chi Qing home, helps carry her purchases inside, and urges her to warm herself on the heated kang 8 9.
• Initially worries about the expensive jewelry. After Chi Qing claims to have won five million yuan, Yue Meifen rushes to secure the costly abalone and sea cucumbers left in the main room 10.
• Questions the safety and secrecy of the prize collection, then urges Chi Qing to avoid reckless spending 11.
• Enjoys the gifts and shares a happy family evening, while remaining concerned about Chi Qing’s breakup with Zhao Feng 12.

The Visit from Third Sister-in-law

• Defends Chi Qing when the visitor questions why she remains unmarried 14.
• Sends expensive sea cucumbers to the visitor’s mother-in-law and takes visible pride in the jewelry Chi Qing bought her 14.
• Explains afterward that repaying the older woman’s kindness matters more than retaliating over the inferior vegetables. Her follow-up call avoids accusing the daughter-in-law while making the return gift difficult to conceal 15.

Preparing for Life in the Villas

• Challenges Chi Qing over her expensive Porsche. Chi Qing responds by revising her claimed lottery winnings to twenty million yuan and describing the car as a secondhand bargain 38.
• Is overwhelmed by the new villa, particularly its sunroom, garden, kitchen, elevator, and decor. She and Chi Yongliang agree to stop letting their financial worries interfere with their daughter’s plans 39.
• Celebrates with the family after Chi Qing also buys the neighboring house, intending to place it in her parents’ names 40.
• Briefly objects to moving because the village appliances are almost new. She accepts keeping both homes and returning to the village for visits, then helps supervise the villas’ cleaning 41.
• Praises the professional cleaning and accepts a new phone without her usual objections. However, she postpones moving until the family can choose an auspicious day 49.

Notable Quotes

“We may not have as much as some, but we have more than others. We don't have money, but we have enough to eat.” 8

“As long as she's happy, anything's fine.” 14

“We'll remember my cousin's wife's kindness in sending vegetables, and we'll also remember her daughter-in-law's ‘kindness’ in sending rotten leaves. We'll keep the two separate.” 15

Trivia

• Firmly believes that all three members of her family have auspicious birth charts and are blessed. Chi Qing later uses this belief to make her explanation of sudden good fortune more convincing 34 38.
• Usually sits in the front passenger seat because of a history of carsickness. During the villa trip, excitement over the supposed twenty-million-yuan win keeps her talking without feeling sick 38.