Chapter Twenty-Seven: Ma Daya's Past
Sister Guo was a very efficient person. When Shen Yuzhu and Qiao Wangshu arrived with their things, she had already washed, chopped, and set the vegetables aside. Even the seasonings on the stove were neatly arranged.
"Oh dear, why did you bring so much stuff? Didn't you say you could just eat whatever you wanted?"
Guo Rou strongly disagreed, saying that this would cost a lot of money and that this was not how she was going to live. She worried that if she did not do her farm work well and earned few work points, the grain she was allotted would not be enough to feed herself. What would she do if she ran out of money?
"Sister Guo, I promised to treat you, so I can't just leave without buying anything. Besides, I can't just use your stove and firewood for nothing."
"Why can't we use it for free? Our Ershun helped you repair your house during this time. He didn't lose weight, he actually gained a lot of weight and made a lot of money. We're so grateful to you. Oh, by the way, Zhang Shuai and his family brought some eggs today. Take them all back!"
Shen Yuzhu responded with an "Eh." This kind of relationship is about give and take. If she always keeps giving without giving anything back, some sensitive people might think she's hard to get along with and looks down on them.
Seeing her smile and agree, Guo Rou felt happy too.
With the vegetables almost ready, she figured the two young girls probably wouldn't be used to cooking on the old earthen stove, so she took over the task of cooking the pot.
The group chatted casually while cooking.
I don't know how we ended up talking about Zhang Li's family.
"Da Ya is a pitiful person. She didn't come to our Xiangyang production team voluntarily. There were a lot of things going on in between. She's a person with a really hard life."
"What happened?"
Shen Yuzhu tried her best to control her hands and keep her voice as calm as possible.
Guo Rou looked around and lowered her voice.
"I heard that she was married, but the man was no good. She gave birth to a daughter, but the man disliked her. So Da Ya's father sold her and married her younger sister to the man she had married before."
"ah?"
"Well, after she was sold, she wanted to escape like a daughter, but unfortunately she didn't know the way and somehow ended up here. Before she married Zhang Li, she was taken in by an old man. That old man was a good man. He thought he didn't have many years left to live, so he adopted her as his daughter. He also had a nephew. He thought his family was poor, so after he passed away, he entrusted everything to Daya and told her to marry his nephew. Let me tell you, if it had really worked out, Daya would definitely be living a good life now. Oh dear, the food is going to burn!"
Qiao Wangshu listened attentively and forgot to wield the spatula. When Guo Rou called out to her, she quickly added half a bowl of water to the pot to reduce the sauce before serving a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes.
"Oh dear, what a waste of such good food. Never mind, let's get back to cooking. It's making me feel really bad."
Guo Rou truly felt sorry for Ma Daya, and wiped away a tear as she spoke.
"No, Sister Guo, we're listening so intently! Tell us quickly, and I promise I'll cook a good meal."
"Well, it was originally possible for Daya and Xie Laosan's nephew to get together, and they were both interested. Unfortunately, Xie Laosan's wife's family objected. They were thinking that once Xie Laosan died, all the things would belong to their family. But then Ma Daya came along, and they couldn't swallow that insult. Later, Xie Laosan's nephew had to go out on some business, and when he came back, Daya had already been brought to our side."
"She was originally a refugee who had fled famine. She recognized the Xie family as the head of the family, and Xie Laotou's family arranged a marriage for her with Zhang Li. They even accepted the betrothal gifts. When Xie Laosan's nephew came back, the two of them slept together. Tell me, how could the two of them have a good relationship? Sigh. But Xie Wanli is a good person. Over the years, he has sometimes asked people to secretly send things to Daya, just in case she is not doing well."
Shen Yuzhu lowered her head, and tears suddenly streamed down her face. Did her sister still have such a close chance to get closer to happiness?
I knew my sister had a hard life, but I never imagined it would be this bad!
"Shen Zhiqing, Shen Zhiqing, what's wrong?"
"I just felt that Sister Daya's experience was so heartbreaking that I couldn't control myself."
Guo Rou could understand, of course. Everyone in their village felt sorry for Daya, but now she and Zhang Li were a couple. How could they help with something that was going on between a couple?
They could only secretly give the children some food, or try to break up the fight when she was being beaten.
Of course, these were everyone's initial thoughts. As time went on, she gradually realized that the villagers seemed to have gotten used to it.
"It's all my fault for nagging you about these things, making you all feel bad too. But don't worry too much. Although Zhang Li isn't a very good person, his mother is quite nice. Over the years, she has never let Daya lift a finger to do laundry or cook. Granny Zhang is very skillful; she can make delicious food from coarse grains. She never eats the good food herself and saves eggs and other things for Daya and the children."
Shen Yuzhu's face was expressionless. Her son had done a terrible job, but she, as his mother, knew how to win people over. If she really had good intentions, why didn't she let her son divorce his sister and let her leave this place?
The thought vanished in an instant. Some people are powerless to change their own circumstances, and she had already done her best to help her sister. She couldn't think so extremely.
After hearing this, Qiao Wangshu seemed to change completely, becoming much brighter. It was as if many things that had been weighing on her mind had suddenly become clear after hearing about Ma Daya's story.
One dish after another was prepared, and finally a pot of stew was made. Shen Yuzhu asked her to put the previously steamed noodles on top of the stew, and then the pot was brought to a boil.
Qiao Wangshu was very generous with the oil and salt in today's meal; the aroma wafted far and wide, and many people were mesmerized by the smell.
Zhang Li, who was lounging on the kang (a heated brick bed) behind Er Shun's house, suddenly sat up. Not only did he smell the aroma of food, but he also seemed to smell the fragrance of wine. Good heavens, that woman surnamed Chen is really rich! Buying meat and wine like that, she's really generous.
After much deliberation, he called Zhang Qiancheng to his side.
"Son, your second brother Shun's family has some delicious food. Why don't you go over to their house? Maybe your second sister-in-law will bring you some treats!"
Although his future was small, he knew he shouldn't go to someone's house during mealtimes, so he boldly shook his head, which angered Zhang Li so much that he took off his shoe and slapped his buttocks a few times.
"You useless thing, just like your mother!"
The little guy was yelled at and fell to the ground, and couldn't control himself and peed.
Zhang Li was extremely disgusted. He snorted and decided to just go. He wanted to ask that educated youth, Shen, why she had to go to the county town to buy furniture when she had such a good carpenter like him.
Using this as an excuse, you might just be able to get a free meal.
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