Chapter Twenty-Three: The Beated Wife, the Kneaded Dough
Seeing his mother stop him, and the maids all clinging to Ma Daya, looking at him timidly and trembling, he was furious. He kicked the stool away, snorted coldly, and turned to walk outside.
Granny Zhang looked at Ma Daya with teary eyes, feeling heartbroken and not knowing what to do.
When Zhang Li's father was young, he also liked to beat his wife. She couldn't resist. Unexpectedly, his son learned his father's ways perfectly and was even more ruthless when it came to beating his wife.
"My son, my poor son!"
"Mom, I'm fine, I'm fine."
Zhang Jie and the other girls didn't dare to cry. They stood trembling to one side, their eyes never leaving their mother.
Granny Zhang wiped away her tears and helped Ma Daya sit up. She was too old to do anything but cook something nice for her daughter-in-law and children.
When will this ever end?
Ma Daya couldn't answer her. She felt that this was how her life was going to be, but thinking about her child who wasn't by her side, she still felt a pang of sadness.
Qiao Wangshu has a knack for cooking. Today, he bought two pounds of meat, and Shen Yuzhu exchanged some vegetables with a fellow villager. They cooked it all together in a big pot, serving the soup and vegetables with multigrain pancakes. The aroma was so enticing that it made people dizzy.
They used a borrowed iron pot from the brigade to cook. Qiao Wangshu added a lot of water when cooking, and the people repairing the house couldn't finish it. Shen Yuzhu filled a large bowl and asked Qiao Wangshu to deliver it to Captain Lü's house.
One small sand basin was given to Wang Jinxing so he could distribute it among the male educated youth, and another small sand basin was given to Wang Liping so she could distribute it among the female educated youth.
In the educated youth settlement, Qiao Wangshu had already taken turns cooking once, and everyone knew about her cooking skills.
Seeing how generous Shen Yuzhu was, even serving them dishes, they showered her with compliments.
Of course, there were also dissenting voices. Wang Yanhong was a little unhappy when she saw that there was only a small sand basin. "What about such a big iron pot? How can it be enough for so little?"
While she was looking unhappy, Zhang Shujuan had already washed the lunchbox and was preparing to serve the food.
"If you're so greedy, go buy some meat yourself! There's so little food to share with us, how can anyone get a bite? You're such a cheapskate!"
"If you don't want to eat, then don't. We won't force you. It's just a token of appreciation from the educated youth. Besides, the villagers helped build the house and did all the hard work. You didn't help at all, and all you do is talk nonsense. You want to eat something good? Go eat your farts!"
"You, you're a female educated youth, how can you speak so rudely? I really misjudged you."
Wang Liping rolled her eyes, took a spoon and distributed a spoonful to everyone. There was a lot of soup, and the dishes contained meat. Soaking the multigrain pancakes in it made it incredibly delicious.
When she was serving the food, her spoon lingered on Wang Yanhong's lunchbox for a moment before skipping over the next dish.
"I suppose Wang, being such a generous person, wouldn't be interested in Shen's food. So let's not share. We don't mind that it's a small portion, we'll eat it!"
Lin Wanwan received a large bowl, and her eyes reddened with excitement. Before anyone could say anything, she turned around and took it to her bedside, where she soaked a leftover multigrain pancake in the soup.
Wang Yanhong's face turned red with anger. No one in the room paid any attention to her. She snorted coldly, slammed her lunchbox down with a clatter, and stormed up to her bunk without even washing her feet.
"How disgusting!"
Liang Manxiu muttered something, but her voice was quite loud, and the educated youth who were on good terms with her burst out laughing. Wang Yanhong, who was hiding under the covers, was so angry that she burst into tears.
No one had time to comfort her; everyone was eating heartily and chatting as they ate.
"This is the best meal I've had since I came to Xiangyang Production Team."
"Me too, me too. Oh, if only Shen Zhiqing could give us food every day."
"Dream on. You didn't do anything, yet you want to eat other people's food."
"Hehehe... I was just saying!"
........
Today's meal is stewed vegetables, tomorrow's will be vegetarian meatball soup, then it'll be multigrain noodles... every meal is different, it's so tempting!
Some people even went to find Lü Guangzhi, wanting to help repair the house, but unfortunately Captain Lü didn't agree. He himself wanted to go, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
"Dad, this new educated youth is quite the troublemaker! In just a few days, everyone in our production team is talking about her!"
"Mind your own business. You won't get anything anyway. Ancestor, can't you do something worthwhile? Because of you, your father can't even hold his head up high."
Lu Jianshe glanced at his father, rolled his eyes, and strolled away.
Ignoring Lu Guangzhi's angry rant behind him, he saw Zhang Li and several men squatting at the village entrance, boasting about their experience of spending a few days in the commune. He cursed under his breath, "What bad luck!"
He had only taken a few steps toward the roadside when his eyes narrowed, then lit up again.
There stood a girl with braided pigtails, red lips and white teeth, big eyes and double eyelids, tall and long-legged, a graceful and slender girl. He clutched his chest.
Turning to look at my father, who was still cursing in the yard, I really wanted to say something to him.
Dad, I'm in love!!!
Shen Yuzhu was unaware that someone was watching her. She stared at Zhang Li, who was spitting as he spoke, and clenched her fists tightly.
"Hehehehe... There was nothing in that room except an iron bar lying across the wall. My handcuffs were on tight, so I couldn't squat down or straighten up. It was so uncomfortable."
"You deserve to feel bad. A wife is meant to be cherished. Why do you always beat her, Zhang Li? Aren't you afraid she'll run away again?"
"She dares? If she dares to run away, I'll give away all the maids in my house. Let's see if she dares to run away then."
"You bastard, you despicable scoundrel!"
"Ha ha ha ha......."
Zhang Li didn't care about the people who were criticizing him; he just rolled his eyes at the person who was speaking.
"A wife who's been beaten is like dough that's been kneaded. If you beat her, she'll listen. You old coward, you're just a coward. That's why your wife has been riding on your head and pooping on you her whole life. You're a good-for-nothing."
Old Guaitou was known in the village for being afraid of his wife, but his family lived a very harmonious life. His son was filial, and his daughter-in-law was not troublesome. They were very happy together.
"If you can't see eye to eye, there's no point in talking to each other." Seeing that they couldn't agree, he sighed, picked up his old cigarette, and left.
After observing for a period of time, Shen Yuzhu discovered that most of the villagers actually disapproved of Zhang Li's behavior. However, since it was a matter between husband and wife, outsiders could offer some advice on the surface, but they certainly couldn't control it.
She was preoccupied with her own thoughts and didn't notice the person in front of her. By the time she realized it, she almost bumped into them.
"Hello, are you a new educated youth? What's your name? It's so dark, shall I take you home?"
Shen Yuzhu stared coldly at Lü Jianshe. She remembered that this man had not had a good ending in his previous life. Because he went to the black market to buy and sell, he implicated his family and was taken to a farm. It seemed that he was sentenced to... thirty years.
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