The spoon in Zhou Mingli's hand stopped in mid-air. She looked at Zhang Chunxue with a mixture of respect and fear. For a moment, she even forgot to drink the soup.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, leaving only the sound of the fish soup bubbling in the kitchen, which was particularly harsh in the silence.
Life went on as usual, but the atmosphere in the whole yard became quieter and more orderly than ever before.
But Zhong Chengfa always made excuses and did not get a divorce.
Zhang Chunxue knew everything in her heart, but she didn't care.
If he doesn't want to leave, then don't leave! Anyway, Li Honghong can't enter the Zhong family's door again.
Zhang Chunxue still remembers how Li Hongjuan treated her in her previous life!
In the next few days, Zhang Chunxue used different ways to nourish Zhou Mingli every day, as if by magic.
Egg custard, pork liver porridge, millet paste, and crucian carp stewed with tofu are served on the table one after another. Sometimes, even two fresh carrots are shredded and cooked into a sweet soup, filling the house with fragrance and making the children next door cry for food.
Every time she cooked a hospital meal, she would personally bring it to Zhou Mingli, and would not stop until she finished eating. She would also remind her: "Don't save! You are a porcelain doll now. Eat as much as you need. If you don't have enough, come to me for it."
As for the others, they all relied on their own efforts to have enough food and clothing, and no one dared to join in the fun at the sick people's table.
Even if someone occasionally stole a glance at them, Zhang Chunxue would immediately glare back at them. No matter how greedy they were, they could only hold back the saliva in their throats and pretend to be calm while chewing on the steamed bread with soy sauce.
Zhong Xiaoxiao benefited from this and was given special treatment by Zhang Chunxue.
Sometimes it’s a dish of scrambled eggs, sometimes it’s a bowl of soft and tender pork ribs noodles, in short, it has a lot more good things than others.
Xiaoxiao cheerfully helped wash vegetables and pick onions. Every time she secretly stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, she would smile and give Zhang Chunxue a thumbs-up: "Mom is so awesome!"
After all this commotion, everyone in the hospital realized that whoever dared to take advantage of patient meals would end up ten times worse off than Li Hongjuan!
With such good care and nourishment, Zhou Mingli, who had originally had a sallow complexion and was thin and frail, actually recovered gradually in just a few days.
Zhou Mingli was almost recovered from her illness and could no longer lie in bed.
Now that she had strength again, she thought about finding some work to do so that her mother-in-law wouldn't have to do all the hard work alone.
She took out all the dirty clothes of the whole family, young and old, put them in a wooden basin, and moved step by step to the river.
As she rubbed the clothes, she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.
Now that her mother-in-law treats her so well, she finally has hope for the future.
Yuanyuan is growing up day by day, and she must be filial to her mother-in-law in the future.
Just as she was scrubbing Zhong Chengren's mud-stained pants, her hand touched the pocket and it was hard and prickly.
She took it out in confusion and saw that it was a neatly folded piece of paper.
When he unfolded it, he found that it was a receipt from a gold shop in the county. It clearly stated that a gold necklace worth 150 yuan was purchased a few days ago, and the buyer was Zhong Chengren.
Gold necklace?
Zhou Mingli's head buzzed, as if she had been hit by a club.
This gold necklace is not for her.
She has been married for so long, but she has never seen a gold or even a silver hairpin.
She had never seen her mother-in-law wear any new jewelry, and she still wore the same simple clothes.
Then...who is this gold necklace bought for?
A terrible thought, like a poisonous snake, suddenly darted into her mind.
She recalled Zhong Chengren's long face after she gave birth to Yuanyuan, and the words "money-losing thing" still pierced her heart like needles.
During that period, he went out early and came back late every day. When asked where he had been, he stammered and could not explain clearly, only saying that he had gone to the town to find a job.
But how can I find a job that still has enough spare money to buy a gold necklace?
Could it be... Could it be that he has someone else outside? !
Once this idea came up, it was like a wildfire that could no longer be suppressed.
Zhou Mingli felt cold all over, her hands and feet were cold, and she didn't even have the strength to rub clothes.
It felt like a huge rock was blocking her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
She wanted to talk to her mother-in-law, but when the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back.
Would the mother-in-law believe her? After all, he was her own son.
What if her mother-in-law thought she was being unreasonable and stirring up trouble...
The more Zhou Mingli thought about it, the more frightened she became, and the more aggrieved she felt. Tears fell unconsciously, dripping onto the freshly washed clothes, leaving a small stain.
She returned home in a daze, holding a basin of washed clothes, rushed into her room, covered herself with the quilt and started crying.
The suppressed crying still alarmed Zhong Xiaoxiao who was helping Zhang Chunxue pick vegetables in the yard.
Xiaoxiao peeked inside through the crack in the door and saw her second sister-in-law crying with her shoulders shaking. She was immediately frightened.
She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed Zhang Chunxue's sleeve: "Mom! Mom! My second sister-in-law is crying! She's crying so sadly!"
Zhang Chunxue was cutting fish on the chopping board. He frowned when he heard this, and chopped the kitchen knife in his hand on the chopping board with a "clang".
"Why are you crying? Who is so blind that has offended her again?"
She wiped the fishy smell off her hands and strode towards Zhou Mingli's room.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw Zhou Mingli lying on the kang, with the quilt wet with tears.
"Mingli, what's going on? Tell mom, did that little bastard Zhong Chengren bully you again?" Zhang Chunxue's voice was filled with a rare urgency and unquestionable majesty.
Zhou Mingli raised her head and looked at Zhang Chunxue with tears in her eyes. Her lips trembled, and she wanted to say something but didn't dare.
She held the receipt tightly in her hand, her palms sweating.
After all, Zhong Chengren is my mother-in-law's biological son. Blood is thicker than water. Will my mother-in-law...will she protect him?
But on second thought, the kindness her mother-in-law has shown her these days is real.
For her, her mother-in-law even drove away her elder sister-in-law Li Hongjuan, and cooked special meals for her every day. She couldn't ignore this kindness.
If she doesn't say it, this thorn will always be in her heart. How will she live her life from now on?
She took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision, took out the crumpled receipt from under her pillow, and handed it over tremblingly.
"Mom... look... this... this is what I found in Chengren's trouser pocket..."
Zhang Chunxue took the receipt, glanced at it, and the color on his face faded little by little.
"Mom..." Zhou Mingli cried, tears falling like beads from a broken string, "Is it... is it because I can't give birth to a son... that's why Chengren... he found another woman outside..."
"He despises me and thinks Yuanyuan is a money-loser..."
"Wuwuwu... Mom, I'm useless... I'm sorry for the Zhong family..."
Zhou Mingli became more and more sad as she spoke. She threw herself into Zhang Chunxue's arms and cried her heart out.
(End of this chapter)
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