Before we knew it, it was early January 1991. The school had just finished its final exams, and the winter vacation had officially begun.
With only half a month left until Lunar New Year's Eve, Chen's Pastry Shop suddenly became very popular, selling two pots of osmanthus cake and two pots of water chestnut cake every day. This was mainly because after three or four months of operation, the taste was authentic, and it had become quite famous in Gaoyang County.
Another major reason was that one weekend, when Li Yumei was making osmanthus cake, she found that she had run out of glutinous rice flour. She rushed home and used the leftover glutinous rice flour that had been stored for a long time. Chen Xihua, who happened to be strolling in the shop, found out about this.
Although the taste hadn't changed much, Chen Xihua firmly disagreed with Chen Lao Er selling the osmanthus cake from that day!
Just then, a few customers came in wanting to buy osmanthus cake. Although the shop clearly had osmanthus cake in stock, the shop refused to sell it to them.
Chen Xihua stopped Chen Lao Er and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. It was made with expired glutinous rice flour by accident, so I can't sell it to you. I'm very sorry. Today, if you want to buy water chestnut cake, it's only 40 cents each!"
"Young lady, your shop is nice. Please buy us some water chestnut cakes!"
Because of this, the news gradually spread throughout the county, and many people knew that the pastries from Chen's Pastry Shop on South Street were delicious and of high quality!
Moreover, at this time, many people visiting relatives liked to come to Chen's Pastry Shop to buy some osmanthus cakes to take home. It was also the time to prepare for the New Year at the end of the year, and as soon as the reputation of the pastry shop improved, business boomed.
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Chen's pastry shop was still open for business and business was still very good. Originally, they planned to close for the holiday after selling out today, but Li Yumei was reluctant to do so. She said she would sell until the 28th of the lunar year. Chen Lao Er didn't care about her; he had things to do!
After dinner, Chen Lao Er pulled Li Yumei back to her room, saying, "Baohua's mother, give me ten thousand yuan tomorrow!"
"Ten thousand...ten thousand yuan?" Li Yumei was a little panicked. "Why do you need so much? We don't have that much! The pastry shop has only earned a little over five thousand yuan in the past few months!"
"I know how much money we have at home. I'm going to do something big, so don't hold me back. Take out another five thousand from what we've saved!" Chen Lao Er said in a serious and unquestionable voice.
"Big things, big things, just say it! Take out 10,000, and we'll have less than 2,000 left!" Li Yumei was almost crying with anger. This was such a huge sum of money!
Chen Lao Er lowered his voice and said, "I've already agreed with the landlord to buy the shop we're renting for 10,000 yuan. The landlord thinks the location is too small and we can't do much business there. He also happens to be short of money before the New Year, otherwise he wouldn't have sold it!"
"A shop? You really want to buy it? Ten thousand yuan is so expensive, we don't have any money left!" Li Yumei breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, thinking something had happened, but she was still a little reluctant. After buying the shop, there really wouldn't be much money left in the family!
"The money's gone, but we can earn it back next year. You're all talk and no action. These days, an 80-90 square meter apartment in the county costs 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. Our shop is located almost in the county center, so it's in high demand! Remember to go to the bank tomorrow and withdraw the money for me!"
Li Yumei reluctantly agreed.
Chen Xihua, who had just come out of the room to go to the bathroom, overheard their conversation and said to the room, "Dad, tomorrow go to the family quarters and borrow money from everyone you can. Go to Uncle's house too, and try to borrow from several places, no matter if you can get the money or not!"
"Why are you borrowing money again?" Li Yumei realized that this fifth girl was really troublesome!
After a while, Chen Lao Er understood what Xiao Wu meant and said to the door, "Okay, Xiao Wu, I'll go borrow the money tomorrow morning!" Then he turned to Li Yumei.
"You say you have long hair but short wits, and you won't admit it. You shouldn't flaunt your wealth!"
The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Chen went out together, one to withdraw money and the other to borrow money from various places.
Everyone in the textile factory's residential area knew that Chen Lao Er's family was short of money, and they suspected that his pastry shop had lost money and they wouldn't have enough to celebrate the New Year! But it didn't seem like it, as the business was quite booming!
Chen Lao Er spent the entire day of the 27th of the twelfth lunar month running around trying to borrow money, but he didn't know if he had succeeded.
On the morning of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, I went to the landlord to complete the transfer of ownership. Luckily, it was just in time for the last day of the housing management bureau's holiday before the Lunar New Year!
When Chen Lao Er returned home with the property certificate for the shop, he stood up straight, slowed his pace, and raised his forehead slightly, exuding the air of an older brother, except he was missing a pair of sunglasses!
Chen Xihua couldn't bear to look; sure enough, they'd become arrogant and extravagant once they had a little money!
On New Year's Eve, the Chen family got up early to prepare various ingredients and put up couplets. The couplets were written by Chen Xihua. Since returning to the county, although she rarely wrote calligraphy, she would practice from time to time to avoid becoming rusty.
The main problem was that the Chen family didn't have a desk for practicing calligraphy; the only suitable height option was a round dining table, which was inconvenient.
The Chen family reunion dinner was more lively and the food was more plentiful than in previous years, as if it were a new beginning. The bonds between the Chen family members were also more natural. Although Li Yumei still cursed whenever she wanted, the Chen sisters were able to face it calmly and were not too self-conscious or bothered by it.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, they played around until eight or nine o'clock. Chen Baohua couldn't stay up any longer and said she wanted to stay up with her fifth sister to celebrate the New Year. The little one leaned her head to the side and fell asleep in Chen Xihua's arms. Chen Xihua didn't plan to stay up any longer either, because children don't grow tall if they stay up late!
I heard firecrackers in my sleep; it must have been midnight, the new year had arrived!
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, all six siblings in the Chen family received two yuan in lucky money. It was given by Chen Lao Er. Li Yumei thought that giving him fifty cents would be too much!
After breakfast, Chen Lao Er took his family to Chen Da Bo's house and wished Grandpa Chen, Grandma Chen, Uncle Chen, and Aunt Chen a Happy New Year!
Chen Xihua also met Grandpa Chen and his two cousins from his uncle's family. The eldest cousin, Chen Penghua, was in the third year of junior high school at the No. 2 Middle School in the county, and the second cousin, Chen Jianhua, was in the first year of junior high school at the No. 3 Middle School in the county!
"Second son, did you manage to borrow money to buy a shop before the New Year? If you don't have enough money, then let Chunhua and the others drop out of school. What's the use of girls going to school?" Grandpa Chen was a tall, thin old man with a stern face, speaking with an air of authority that did not allow anyone to question him.
Chen Lao Er: "Dad, I've bought it, it's really expensive!"
Uncle Chen: "Second brother, how's business at your pastry shop? Is it good? Now, after both Zhou factory managers left the textile factory, the new factory manager is very difficult to deal with, the factory's performance is getting worse and worse, and it's harder to do a job!"
"It's alright, I can make a few dozen yuan a day!"
When Chen Lao Er was talking to his parents and older brother, he held his head high, looking a little smug, his vanity satisfied!
When Li Yumei was talking to her sister-in-law, she deliberately mentioned the pastry shop business, and how it was going!
The Chen sisters sat for a quarter of an hour before Chen Xihua pulled her siblings away. Hearing too much of the old men and women's patriarchal ideas not only affected their mood but also made the sisters feel inferior.
On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, Li Yumei asked Chen Lao Er if he wanted to go back to Shanghe Village to visit his biological parents, Uncle Li.
In previous years, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, it was just her and Chen Lao Er going back to see their mother and their biological parents. Now that their mother has passed away, they're unsure whether to go to their biological parents' place or not. After all, it takes two or three hours to get back from the county town, which is quite a hassle!
Ignoring Li Yumei's dilemma, Chen Lao Er said, "If you want to go back, you go back, I'm not going back!" In his eyes, his mother-in-law's family was his wife's family. Since she had been adopted, that family was his uncle's family. Moreover, she had been adopted right after birth, so there was no affection between them!
Hearing Chen Lao Er's refusal, Li Yumei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She herself didn't really want to go back! But she couldn't say it directly, after all, they were her biological parents. With Chen Lao Er's opposition, she found herself an excuse!
It's said that children look forward to the New Year, while adults look forward to having money!
Chen Xihua, an adult with a childlike heart, didn't experience much fun during the Spring Festival; in fact, she found it quite boring. There was no TV or cell phone, and she just ate and drank until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
Chen's Pastry Shop is preparing to open tomorrow, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. It's all about family members working for each other, so the sooner we open, the sooner we can make money!
At that moment, the Chen family was having lunch when Li Yumei's biological mother and younger brother, Li Dashun, arrived!
“You’re eating? Perfect timing! Yumei, quickly bring over two bowls of rice. Your brother and I are starving! We set off from the village early this morning and asked many people in the county before finally finding you here! Why didn’t you go back to your parents’ home on the second day of the Lunar New Year?” Old Mrs. Li kept talking, her eyes fixed on the dishes on the Chen family’s table!
Chen Xihua had almost finished eating, so she called out to Grandma Li and pulled Xiao Liu into the room. She was glad that she was still a child, otherwise it would have been very impolite to hide in the room when there were guests. But what could she do? She was still a child and didn't know any better, so she shouldn't be bothered!
"Fifth Sister has only been in the county for half a year, but she's changed so much! The county is great, Xiao Bao, I'm your grandma. The other four must be the eldest sisters..."
First came Chen Xihua and Chen Baohua, then one by one the others entered the room; all six siblings hid inside.
Amidst the occasional sound of firecrackers in the family quarters, conversations could be faintly heard coming from the dining hall.
"Yu Mei, this time you have to help your brother... build a new house for the old one..."
"No need for much... take three thousand... my dear brother, your older sister... one thousand, you're a shop owner now, three thousand isn't much..."
"Not three thousand?... You're disowning your brother after being adopted... Even though you were adopted, I'm still your mother... Heartless... Unfilial... May you be struck by lightning..."
Inside the room, the four Chen sisters looked at Chen Xihua with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation: Fifth sister, is Grandma Li going to ask our family for money? You need to think of a solution quickly!
Chen Baohua stood by, watching her intently: the money belonged to the family, and no one could take it from them!
How come Chen Xihua didn't realize that her four older sisters and one younger brother all treated her like a traitor, rushing to her aid whenever trouble arose?
"Don't worry, we don't have any money at home. You'll see when you go out and see for yourselves!" Chen Xihua knew that with Li Yumei's stinginess, she would definitely hold onto the less than two thousand yuan that the family had.
Chen Jinhua and Chen Meihua actually went out, and Chen Baohua also pulled her fifth sister to go see, and Chen Chunhua and Chen Xiuhua could only follow along!
"Aunt, when you said you'd give us three thousand, are you giving it to us directly or lending it to us? But even if you were lending it to us, we don't have three thousand to lend you!" Old Chen hadn't said a word until Old Lady Li kept nagging him, and he finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Li Dashun's brother-in-law is a lazy bum who lives off his sisters. Ten years ago, he asked his sisters for money to open a small village store at home. He let his wife run the store while he idled away his time, was lazy and didn't care about his children. When he ran out of money to buy goods, he told his mother to go and make a scene at his sisters' house.
When Chen Lao Er was young, he was also unreliable and reckless, but he would never do such a despicable thing!
"Aunt... Aunt? Third son-in-law, what did you call me? I'm your mother-in-law..."
"Aunt, I only have one mother-in-law, Zhang Shuyun, who passed away last year. Are you sure you are her?"
"You...you damned woman, you cursed your own mother-in-law, Li Yumei! You don't even recognize your own mother anymore? Ah, I am your own mother, say it!"
“Mother…Aunt, our family really doesn’t have any money to lend you!” Li Yumei also stood on Chen Lao Er’s side.
"What loan? Just give your brother three thousand. I gave birth to you, so you're obligated to live with this debt forever!" Old Mrs. Li was furious and stopped trying to hide anything!
"I told you, I don't have any!" There's less than two thousand yuan left at home, and they want three thousand? Why don't they just rob someone? Even my own mother doesn't have any.
Li Yumei has always kept her distance from her biological parents; she has never been close to them since she was a child.
It was also during the New Year holidays that her mother said she would take her to visit her uncle's family.
Later, when she grew up and got married, even though she knew they were her biological parents, she still only called them "Uncle" and "Aunt."
After her mother passed away, she had considered whether to reunite with her, but now, considering the attitude of the men in her family, she no longer needs to make things difficult.
Li Yumei looked at the six siblings who were walking out with some anticipation, especially Chen Xihua: Isn't Fifth Sister usually very fierce? She can roast her so well.
The two grown men beside him, Chen Lao Er and Li Dashun, were also a little excited, looking at their fifth daughter. Li Dashun, on the other hand, was waiting for his mother to make her move; he just needed to provide the money, just like when they went to his eldest and second eldest sisters' houses!
Chen Xihua: What kind of code has she unlocked in the Chen family? They all think she's a sucker! But hey!
"Little Six, your Fifth Sister told you the story of 'the crow feeding its parents' the day before yesterday. Today, I'll tell you another story: 'The kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth.' If you give birth but don't raise your child, you can repay it by cutting off a finger. But if you raise your child before you give birth, you will never forget it!"
She couldn't directly confront a woman in her sixties or seventies; basic manners were still necessary. So she decided to tell a story, with proper intonation. However, it seemed Chen Xiaoliu was too young for this kind of story; she probably wouldn't understand it anyway. Oh well!
Chen Baohua: "Fifth Sister, yay! Yay!" As soon as he heard about the story, he stopped paying attention to the adults' affairs!
Chen Xihua: "The grace of giving birth is..."
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Li's face turned frightening and cruel, her eyes filled with venom!
"Li Yumei, has your family lost all manners? Since when did a brat like you dare to interrupt adults' affairs?"
“Aunt, my cousin Dashun wants money to build a new house, but our family will definitely not give it to him. There’s no such thing as a married daughter supporting her cousin. However, you are indeed Yumei’s biological mother, so it’s only right that we give you two a hundred or two during the holidays. You have four children, and if each of them gives you two two hundred, that’s eight hundred a year, which is enough for you two to eat and drink!”
Chen Lao Er was also angry. He had many daughters, but he didn't treat them well and favored his youngest son. However, that didn't mean that others could call his daughters "bastards" or his fifth son "little son".
He realized that Xiao Wu was no ordinary girl; her mother-in-law had done a good job teaching her. Being born into a wealthy family made all the difference!
"Yumei, give your aunt a red envelope with two hundred yuan. It's a holiday, and your aunt and cousin have come all this way to pay their respects. They really think highly of our family!"
Old Mrs. Li also felt powerless. The Chen family really wouldn't give her any more money, and besides, this was a county town, which she wasn't familiar with. Once inside, the door was closed, unlike in the countryside where her eldest and second daughters' homes would be bustling with activity if she made a scene.
She snatched the red envelope Li Yumei handed her—two hundred yuan is still money—and walked away cursing, "Dashun, let's go, we're not welcome here!"
Old Mrs. Li was filled with resentment and indignation. Reaching the entrance to the residential area on the first floor, she shouted curses all the way: "This is outrageous! I'm just an old woman, kicked out by my daughter and son-in-law! That unfilial daughter, Li Yumei, doesn't acknowledge her family! Her brother needs two or three thousand yuan to build a house, how can she not give it to him? He's her only brother, and she still needs their support. Shouldn't she? She's a boss, but she doesn't care about her family's well-being. She's heartless, she deserves to die a horrible death..."
In the family quarters, several women who usually loved to gossip and spread rumors gradually gathered!
"Didn't Li Yumei's mother pass away last year? She even went back to attend the funeral!"
"She was adopted, so this old woman should be her biological mother!"
"I see. It really shouldn't have happened. Even if she's adopted, her own mother is still her own mother. To kick her out during a holiday, tsk tsk...!"
"Three thousand! This old lady really dares to ask for three thousand in one go! Who would be willing to pay three thousand in one go!"
"Probably, her family's pastry shop is quite profitable, isn't it?"
"Even if we had it, we wouldn't give it. Would Chen Lao Er be willing? What man would agree to that? A few thousand yuan to help his wife's family?"
"That's not right. Two years ago, Old Chen was borrowing money everywhere. He even came to my house and asked my husband for money. How could my family have money to lend him?"
"Why didn't that old lady Chen come out today? If the two of them run into each other, there'll be quite a show!"
"Yes, where is Aunt Chen?"
"Who knows..."
In less than half a day, rumors spread like wildfire that Li Yumei’s biological mother had come to ask for money and had been kicked out!
The Chen family had quieted down by now. Although they could hear Old Lady Li cursing outside from afar, no one paid any attention to it!
The Chen couple knew what kind of person Old Lady Li was; they couldn't control her. She wouldn't stop until she made a huge scene and everyone knew about it!
Fortunately, I borrowed money from everyone before the New Year, otherwise the rumors from the neighbors would have been even more outrageous!
The Chen siblings breathed a sigh of relief; the man was finally gone!
Apart from Chen Xihua, the other five siblings who lived in Shanghe Village before had never met Old Lady Li. It was terrifying, even more terrifying than when their mother scolded them!
The Chen siblings looked at Chen Xihua with admiration: Fifth sister (fifth older sister) is really amazing, we'll go to her when we have a fight in the future!
Chen Xihua: She doesn't need it, okay! This isn't praise!
Chen Baohua: He doesn't know how amazing she is, but anyway, Fifth Sister is the most amazing!
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