Receiving a murderous glare from his cousin, Zhao Honghui was both amused and exasperated. "I'll ride my bike home first and come over in a bit."

Zhao Jianbin wanted to have a good talk with his older cousin, but now was not the time. He could only watch helplessly as Zhao Honghui rode away on his bicycle.

Back at the youth compound, Xie Yuyao took out all the things she had bought. "The consignment shop doesn't have any meat. Does anyone have a live chicken they can trade?"

“It’s difficult. They raise chickens for eggs and are reluctant to kill them.” As Zhao Jianbin was speaking, he suddenly realized, “I have chickens at home. I’ll go back and catch some.”

At that moment, all he wanted was to get more delicious food for Yang Shumei, completely forgetting whether his mother agreed or not.

This move was naturally stopped by Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei.

What the two of them didn't know was that not long after, on the other side of Qingshan Village, Zhao Honghui sharpened his knife and headed towards the chicken coop in the backyard.

*

When Zhao Honghui got home, he parked his bicycle and went next door to tell his second aunt, Wang Qiufen, "Second aunt, the educated youth center is inviting Jianbin to dinner. I'll be there in a bit."

His vague words concealed his relationship with Yang Shumei.

Wang Qiufen assumed it was a male educated youth treating her to a meal, so she asked him to bring over a bottle of Zhuyeqing liquor.

Zhao Honghui took the bottle and went home.

At that time, Yang Chunhua was picking green beans in the vegetable garden behind the house when Zhao Honghui found her and said, "Mom, I'm going to have dinner at the educated youth compound. I want to slaughter an old hen and send it over."

Yang Chunhua paused, then immediately objected: "Your third brother's wife is about to give birth, and she needs to save up a lot of eggs..."

Before his mother could finish speaking, Zhao Honghui interrupted, saying, "I'll buy more eggs tomorrow."

"Why insist on an old hen? There are some fine grains in the cupboard; you can bring them with you. Last time we ate crocodile meat, we brought rice too."

Yang Chunhua thought it was Li Weidong inviting her to dinner. They had been running fruit business together recently, so they must be quite familiar with each other.

“They’ve already bought some refined grains.” Zhao Honghui saw that there were quite a few things in the basket on Yang Shumei’s back, and given her family’s financial situation, she must have bought a lot of refined grains.

“Then you can bring something else with you. Oh, by the way, there’s still a bottle of Fenjiu that you brought back before. That should be enough.”

Yang Chunhua had already heard about the factory preparations from Aunt Tian. Judging from Li Weidong's performance these days, he would definitely get a place in the factory.

His hosting this time seems to be a deliberate attempt to cultivate a relationship with his eldest son, and the fact that his eldest son brought wine to the house is definitely a generous gesture.

"......"

How could Zhao Honghui possibly give liquor to a young woman? He paused for a few seconds, then said firmly, "I only want an old hen."

At this point, Yang Chunhua finally realized something was wrong. Who would bring an old hen to someone's door when friends visit each other?!

It's no wonder she didn't think much of it at first. The strict separation of men and women here is not just lip service. What girl would invite an unmarried man to dinner?

Her face darkened, and she stopped picking the green beans. "Which female educated youth wants to eat chicken?"

"No, Jianbin is coming too tonight. I just wanted to add some dishes." Seeing his mother showing signs of anger, Zhao Honghui quickly gave a plausible reason.

"I'm going to the backyard to catch chickens." Without waiting for his mother's reply, he strode away.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chunhua didn't have time to think it over carefully and hurriedly chased after him, saying, "Wait! I'll tell you which one to catch."

In the backyard, next to the chicken coop, Yang Chunhua's third daughter-in-law, Huang Qiufang, was heavily pregnant and feeding the chickens with mashed sweet potatoes.

When she saw her mother-in-law and brother-in-law coming over, she smiled and greeted them. But when she learned that her brother-in-law was going to kill a hen and send it to the educated youth compound, she immediately frowned and refused.

"Mother-in-law! I'm carrying your precious grandson in my belly, and I haven't even had a bite of meat. How can she, a girl who hasn't even married into the family yet, be so pampered?"

Huang Qiufang knew immediately from the conversation that her brother-in-law had killed the chicken for a woman. Her own husband, who shared the same mother, also often secretly prepared delicious food for her.

She had already figured out from her mother-in-law's recent mood swings that her brother-in-law was having an affair with a female educated youth. She was the one who raised these chickens; why should she give them away?

Zhao Honghui composed himself and said coldly, "I'll buy one from another store tomorrow to make up for it."

Yang Chunhua wouldn't allow anyone to embarrass her eldest son. "Third son's wife, haven't you eaten enough of the meat Honghui buys every day? Besides, I'm still the head of this household, who gave you the right to speak!"

Huang Qiufang was furious. "These chickens are mine!"

"So what? Did you go to work? You did some housework, and that's all it is?"

Huang Qiufen was filled with grievances, and tears streamed down her face. She choked out, "Second sister-in-law didn't go to work either, so why is it just me who's being blamed?"

"I think you're just bored. From now on, you should switch jobs with your second sister-in-law. She can feed the chickens and you can cook."

Huang Qiufen's eyes widened. Seeing that her mother-in-law was serious, she bent over and covered her big belly. "Oh dear, my stomach hurts. I can't take it anymore. I need to go back to my room and lie down for a while."

She's not stupid; why would she give up an easy job to take care of three meals a day for the whole family?

Watching her stagger back into the house, pretending to be something she'd never do, Yang Chunhua snorted coldly, "Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Thinking of her eldest son beside her, she turned her head and said, "Son, don't mind her. This family hasn't been divided yet. Besides, the money you give me every month is enough to buy so many chickens."

"But is it really for that female educated youth?" Before Zhao Honghui could speak, Yang Chunhua continued, "Mom won't stop you, but you can't keep me in the dark anymore. What's that person's name?"

"Mom, I haven't mentioned it to her yet. I'll definitely tell you once our relationship is official."

Yang Chunhua noticed a hint of difficulty on her eldest son's face. Was it because the female educated youth was unwilling?

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