She'd already been given the cold shoulder during the day, and now she was supposed to go and deliver food to someone else? She wasn't going.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, the daughter-in-law didn't dare to continue trying to convince her.
He told his son about it overnight, and today he still insists that he has to do things for people once he takes the money.
She reluctantly picked out a few for Mingzhao.
I never expected Li Xiaocao to lecture me like that. Even though she was wrong, Gou Yurong has lived all these years; she's not here to be lectured by a young woman in her early twenties. Who does she think she is?
Take it or leave it.
She tossed the things directly into Mingzhao's arms. Then she turned and left, her departing figure exuding an air of arrogance, as if she were in the right and owed no one anything.
Li Xiaocao looked at the two meager steamed buns and squeezed them with her hands.
He spat in anger.
"How dare she send you something like this? How can Aunt Gou be so shameless? It's outrageous! I wonder how much money Commander Huo paid her..."
Li Xiaocao suddenly remembered something: "Mingzhao, let me ask you something. If you don't want to say, you don't have to. Has Commander Huo given you his salary?"
Mingzhao thought for a moment and shook her head. All she had was the money that Huo Hua gave her later, which was supposedly from Minglang.
Because Huang Weiguo and Li Hongmei were involved in espionage, their family property was confiscated. Mingzhao had nothing but her few clothes.
Howard's own money... he didn't give it to her.
Li Xiaocao's eyes instantly filled with heartache as she looked at Mingzhao.
I never expected that Commander Huo, who usually seems so generous, would be so reluctant to give money to his wife. Mingzhao probably doesn't have much money on her, which is why she doesn't eat in the canteen.
I had to cook porridge all by myself at home, and the house almost caught fire...
Her affection for Mingzhao only intensified!
"Mingzhao, from now on I'll treat you like my own sister. I'll be good to you. Come on, let's go to my house for dinner. I'll make you some scrambled eggs."
Mingzhao couldn't understand where Li Xiaocao's sudden change came from.
After putting everything back home, he obediently went to Li Xiaocao's house. Before leaving, he thought for a moment and brought Li Xiaocao a few pieces of leftover sponge cake.
Miss Li looked at the valuable item and repeatedly urged Mingzhao to put it back. Mingzhao refused, hiding her hands behind her back and stubbornly refusing to take it.
Finally, Li Xiaocao reluctantly accepted it. She picked up a piece and took a small bite; it was sweet…
Wang Xiufen used to be very strict. Even if the good things in the house went bad, she wouldn't let Li Xiaocao taste them. Once, Li Xiaocao took a bite of the snacks that Wang Xiufen had just bought, and was immediately scolded by Wang Xiufen in a fit of rage.
All she remembered about the taste of that snack was the bitterness mixed with tears. In the end, Wang Aiguo had no choice but to give his mother five yuan to calm her down.
She was reluctant to spend money, so after Wang Xiufen left, she never thought of buying any to eat.
In her long life of being bullied, good things were meant to be kept, not eaten or enjoyed.
Men train and go on missions in the military, working hard to earn money, so they can eat. But she stays at home doing housework, farming, carrying water, washing clothes, and cooking; she enjoys herself at home and cannot eat.
Li Xiaocao, oh Li Xiaocao, this was one of the few luxurious moments in her short life.
Mingzhao didn't know why Li Xiaocao was so moved. After having dinner at Li Xiaocao's house, she thanked her and left.
Looking at the few pieces of sponge cake, Wang Aiguo became quite interested: "Oh, you're buying such good stuff!"
After saying that, he picked up a piece to try it, but Li Xiaocao snatched it away.
She wrapped the sponge cake in clean parchment paper and carefully placed it in the cupboard.
With a smug look on her face, she said, "Mingzhao gave this to me, you're not allowed to eat it."
Wang Aiguo was stunned for a moment. He rarely saw his wife like this and found it somewhat novel: "We still distinguish between yours and mine? Aren't they all ours? If it's yours, then why can't I have a bite?"
Li Xiaocao said seriously, "No, what's mine is mine, not yours."
Despite Wang Aiguo's repeated attempts to persuade her, Li Xiaocao refused.
Finally, with tears welling up in her eyes, Li Xiaocao said, "This is mine, don't try to take it from me."
Even Wang Aiguo, who was as tough as steel, became as soft as silk.
After returning home, Mingzhao immediately began tinkering and hammering away. Holding a capacitor and staring intently at the pile of scrap metal, she attempted to assemble her first prototype of an "automatic ventilation fan," designed to improve the problem of thick smoke when cooking in the kitchen.
——
Three days later, in a dilapidated farmhouse thousands of miles away.
A thin, old woman wearing a faded, patched blue cotton jacket was sitting on the doorstep, cursing at an equally thin old man.
"You old fool! I told you to go and ask Old Liu's stupid son in the east of the village if he's still getting married. We've raised that good-for-nothing for so many years, it's time to exchange some money for a dowry to build a house for our eldest grandson. And you, you come back without saying a word."
The old man was rolling a cigarette in his old pipe. He took out a match, lit the cigarette with a "snap," took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick, pungent cloud of smoke.
His voice was slow and deliberate, low and hoarse from the nicotine inhalation, as he mumbled, "The Liu family... thinks it's too expensive, saying they'll only give us 20 yuan, and at most 50 jin of corn..."
"Only fifty catties of corn?" The eldest brother slapped his thigh, his voice so shrill it sounded like it could lift the roof off. "Are you trying to fob us off like this? This Sanya isn't very pretty, but she's hardworking and reliable. She should be worth at least a hundred catties of fine grain plus 50 yuan..."
Sanya, whose name had been called, stood to the side, wielding a cleaver larger than her two hands, skillfully chopping pig feed. Her face was expressionless, her eyes numb, as if she weren't the one about to marry a fool.
The old lady got angry just looking at her. She never smiled, no wonder no one wanted her. If she were even a little more likable, she could have gotten fifty yuan. She wasn't good-looking either, skinny and frail, clearly not someone who could bear children easily.
The old lady walked straight over, reached out and pinched the soft flesh under Sanya's ribs hard. Seeing her curl up in pain, she got even angrier!
"You're still trying to hide? I'll teach you to hide! I'll teach you to hide..." The old lady pinched Sanya repeatedly.
Sanya dared not hide, nor dared to cry or make a fuss; the expression on her face involuntarily twisted more bitter than a bitter melon.
The old lady finally felt better, and seeing her deadpan expression, she kicked her again, still dissatisfied.
"You brat, you can't even smile...you're so useless..."
The old man sat there smoking, not daring to say a word. At times like this, it was best to let his wife vent; arguing with her would only make his own life worse.
Not deaf or mute, but incapable of making decisions or taking charge...
This is the old man's rule.
Just then, the postman's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Wang Caifeng! There's a letter for you! It's from the military region in the north!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
