Chapter Ninety-Nine: Zhang Li was brought back.
As soon as Zhou Congsheng came out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, he was all smiles, holding both marriage certificates in his hands as if he couldn't get enough of looking at them, glancing at one after the other.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and put it away, or people will laugh at you."
"So what? I got married! I'm happy! Let them laugh at me!"
Shen Yuzhu glanced at him and smiled slightly. After going down the stairs, the two of them slowly walked along the road, pushing their bicycles.
Where to?
"Let's go to the state-run restaurant. We'll buy some groceries and eat with my sister and the kids. Let's have some fun. Spend some quality time with them during this period. Once we get married, we won't be able to see them every day."
Shen Yuzhu smiled but didn't say anything. On her way to the restaurant, she detoured to the post office and asked several times, but still didn't receive her letter.
She couldn't help but frown. Had she miscalculated?
"What's wrong, Yuzhu?"
"It's alright, I'll just mail the manuscript."
Shen Yuzhu took out the manuscript she had written during this period from her bag, put it in an envelope, and put it in the mailbox.
The novel serialization that I promised Ren Baobei last time, this is the twenty to thirty chapters she wrote. After the novel was published, the response was quite good. After all, she has seen the prosperity of modern times. People nowadays are in dire need of enrichment, both materially and intellectually. Novel themes that are refreshing and not overly exaggerated are easy to become popular.
Of course, she was well aware that similar novels would appear soon after the novel was published.
She just focused on doing her own thing and didn't think much about anything else.
The two bought four dishes at the state-run restaurant. Shen Yuzhu saw that there was beef noodles, so she also ordered a few servings of noodles. The soup base was served in a thermos, and the other ingredients were packed in lunch boxes. The two rode their bicycles back to the village with a clanging sound.
Zhou Congsheng was preparing food at home when Shen Yuzhu went to call Shen Yuming.
From afar, I could hear a noisy commotion, along with bursts of wailing.
"My son, my poor son, sob sob sob... How could you just leave like that? Don't you even think about your old mother? My dear child, sob sob sob..."
"Why didn't you take me with you? You had to take my poor son with you. What's the point of me living at my age? Heavens, why did you leave before your mother?!"
Granny Zhang kept clinging to the door frame and crying, while Changshan supported her shoulders, his face also full of grief.
Shen Yuzhu saw that white paper had been pasted on her sister's door, and there were some paper offerings on both sides of the door. She knew that Zhang Li had been sent back.
That's true, it's getting hotter and hotter, and if it's not delivered soon, the person will start to stink.
Fortunately, Shen Yuming had received the news early on, and the coffin and other things had already been arranged. Shen Yuming wanted to leave, but she didn't want to see Zhang Li. However, she was also worried that Shen Yuming would be harassed.
Just then, she saw Guo Rou pulling Sun Fenglan over, so she quickly went over and stopped them.
"Sister Guo, Sister Sun, wait a moment."
"Yuming, oh dear, come with me quickly and see what's going on, lest your sister get bullied."
"I'm going over there, sister. Please help me get Zhang Jie to bring my younger siblings out later. I'll wait for them here. I can't let the children go hungry in the middle of the day."
Guo Rou and Sun Fenglan stared wide-eyed. They had witnessed firsthand how she treated Shen Yuming. It was strange that she wasn't worried at all about Zhang Li's return home for his funeral, nor did she seem to care about Yuming's future.
"You really aren't going?"
“No, I’ll take care of the kids. Sister Guo, you don’t know, I’m getting married soon and I’ll be going to live with my husband after the wedding. If my sister can’t even handle this, what will happen if she gets bullied after I’m gone? Anyway, all the Zhang family and the Chang family want is the house. Please tell my sister that I still stand by what I said before. After I get married, my house will be left for her to live in. She shouldn’t get involved in the Zhang family’s affairs anymore. It’ll be easier if they buy it.”
Guo Rou and Sun Fenglan exchanged a shocked glance, then nodded in unison.
Shen Yuming is an orphan and widow, and she has such a large courtyard in her hands. There are bound to be people who covet it. After Shen Yuzhu gets married, I wonder if some shameless person will try to climb over Shen Yuming's wall.
These are all uncertain things. Shen Yuzhu lives in a youth settlement, which is said to be safer there.
"Okay, we're coming right now, you wait here!"
Having made up their minds, the two women were much calmer than before. They had both witnessed Shen Yuming's hardships and genuinely hoped that she would have a better life in the future.
Five or six minutes later, Zhang Jie came out with her younger siblings. The house was a mess, and Shen Yuzhu didn't want them in the house. They would have to keep vigil that night, and it would be too annoying for them.
Zhou Congsheng prepared the meal at home, including the beef noodles. Each person had a big bowl, sprinkled with side dishes and seasonings, and it smelled amazing.
"Auntie, I'm scared!"
"Don't be afraid, Xiaojie. Everyone has to die eventually. Your dad was a scoundrel. It's good that he's dead. The sooner he dies, the sooner he'll be reborn. You two eat well. Your uncle bought the food from the state-run restaurant. It smells delicious."
Panpan pouted. She wasn't sad or scared at all; she was angry, really angry.
Since her father passed away, their family has been living a very good life. They have meat and white flour to eat, and they can eat eggs every day. The villagers often bring them some extra vegetables from their homes, sometimes pumpkin, sometimes gourd, and sometimes old eggplant.
My aunt is even better; she buys them clothes and new shoes, and they can still go to school.
She wished it could go on like this forever. Her father was dead, and people were carrying him into their house to scare them. It was so cruel, so cruel.
Ya Ya didn't feel anything. She just felt angry watching her mother being harassed. She hadn't wanted to come in the first place because she was afraid her mother would be bullied.
Having been separated from her parents since childhood, when she learned that it wasn't her mother who abandoned her, but rather her father and grandmother who had sold her, she didn't even glance at her father lying on the broken bed.
Qiancheng was crying. He was scared. Although he was a boy and Zhang Li had insisted on having him, he was not treated well after he was born. On the contrary, he was sometimes beaten more severely than his sisters.
When she saw Zhang Li being carried back, she was so frightened that she clung to her mother's leg and trembled.
Upon hearing Shen Yuzhu's words, Zhou Congsheng quickly picked up the child and came over to comfort him, and also served them food.
"Eat more, have you lost weight again? Eat more, so you can join the army in the future. Your uncle will take care of you, okay?"
"Is...is that okay?"
"Of course you can. A real man should be a soldier. Eat more meat. Look how delicious this braised pork is. Have a few more pieces."
There was meat, vegetables, and noodles on the table. The children ate with increasing relish, quickly forgetting their troubles at home, and ate like little hamsters.
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