Chapter 122 This is called a secret recipe
"You bitch! I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Shen Hongmei roared angrily and lunged at Lu Xiaohui with bared teeth and claws.
Seeing that things were not going well, Lu Xiaohui ran home as fast as she could and slammed the door shut.
Shen Hongmei stomped her feet and cursed for a while at the door before leaving in a huff.
Hearing the commotion, Li Xuemei came out and glared at her daughter, saying irritably, "Why did you provoke her? She's a madwoman now! She couldn't stay at the Liu family properly and had to cause trouble to get divorced. The Shen family's patriarchal attitude shows they don't treat their daughter like a human being."
Lu Xiaohui sneered, looking at her mother with a mocking gaze.
It's as if the Lu family treats their daughter like a human being.
Feeling uneasy under her daughter's gaze, Li Xuemei said awkwardly, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I ever let you go hungry in the Lu family? The Shen family are the kind of people who would sell their daughters for food!"
Lu Xiaohui was too lazy to argue with her about the pot calling the kettle black, and instead asked, "Mom, will this pickled vegetable really work? I feel like the steps are so different from what I usually do."
Li Xuemei's heart was pounding, but she still forced a smile and said, "Nonsense! If Liu Zhixia made it the same way as us, could it sell for such a high price? This is called a secret recipe!"
Her eyes lit up: "Perfect timing! The Liu family is hosting a dinner tonight, let's go and join in the fun! We can also try their pickled vegetables and see what they taste like, so we'll have a better idea!"
Lu Xiaohui nodded: "Okay. This time it cost my sister-in-law a lot of money. If we mess it up, we'll be even less able to hold our heads up in front of Gu Mansheng."
Li Xuemei also sighed. The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both feeling uneasy.
Meanwhile, Shen Hongmei returned home cursing and swearing, and sensed something was wrong as soon as she entered the door. The whole family had gloomy faces.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Hongmei leaned close to her younger brother's wife, Zhang, and asked a question.
Zhang said irritably, "Primary school is about to start, and your parents are worried about who to send to school. Big Dog is old enough, and Little Dog is also clamoring to go. But we don't have enough money; we can only afford to support one."
Shen Hongmei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Da Bao is with the Liu family, where he has food, drink, and can go to school. Liu Xuejun is a teacher and can give him extra tutoring. He will definitely be better off than these two dogs in the future.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile slightly.
This smile was seen by Chen's mother as she came out, and she raised her hand and slapped her!
"Smack!"
"You still have the nerve to laugh? It's all your fault, you jinx! If it weren't for your troublemaking in the Liu family, both of our grandsons could be going to school! Now look what's happened, Liu Laosi has become a teacher, we've offended him terribly, if we send the kids there we'll be punished!"
Shen Hongmei covered her face and whispered in defense, "Old Liu is a blockhead, he doesn't have such a bad heart..."
"You dare talk back?!"
Shen's father walked over with a dark face and kicked her in the calf, causing Shen Hongmei to stagger and almost kneel on the ground.
"If you hadn't taken the eldest and second eldest to stop people from taking the exam, would we be worried about this?"
Shen Hongmei shrank her neck, instantly turning back into a quail.
Seeing her pathetic state, Shen's father became even angrier: "If you had even a little bit of honesty in the Liu family, would our family have fallen to this state? Now look what's happened, we've lost our money and food, and we're even struggling to get our children into school!"
Seeing that her father was about to take action again, Shen Hongmei quickly changed the subject: "Father, Mother, who are you planning to send?"
The elderly couple exchanged a glance, their faces showing reluctance.
Mother Shen sighed, "Logically speaking, Da Gou is the eldest grandson and is getting old, so he should go. But Er Gou is definitely smarter than Da Gou, and if this is delayed..."
"Then let's send Er Gou there," Shen Hongmei interjected.
"No way!" Zhang screamed. "Big Dog is the eldest grandson! If he doesn't go to school soon, he won't even be able to get a wife! Second Dog is just clever by half; studying requires steadiness! Look at Liu Xuejun, that dullard, he still passed the exam!"
The elderly couple thought it made sense.
The second brother's wife, Chen, couldn't stand it anymore and rushed out shouting, "Sister-in-law, how dare you compare Big Dog to Liu Laosi? He's wise in his foolishness, but your Big Dog is truly stupid! What kind of seven or eight-year-old child would use firecrackers to blow up a latrine? Parents, tuition fees aren't cheap; you can't just throw them in the water to make a noise!"
Seeing that her two daughters-in-law were about to start fighting, Shen Hongmei gloated and tried to slip away.
At this moment, the eldest son of the Shen family spoke up: "Father and Mother, why don't we send both of them? Anyway, the pickled vegetable business is about to make a lot of money, so it won't make a difference."
Mother Shen frowned: "The tuition fee is due now, and all our savings have been used to buy jars. Where are we going to get cash? It will take time before the pickled vegetables are sold."
Shen Lao Er scratched his head: "Then how about borrowing some from relatives?"
Father Shen gave a bitter smile: "Borrow? The Liu family made such a scene at our doorstep, everyone knows we've broken ties with them, and they might demand repayment at any time. Who would dare lend us money now?"
The whole family fell silent instantly; the air was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Father Shen gritted his teeth and declared, "Draw lots! Let fate decide!"
Tears streamed down Chen's mother's face: "Why is our family living such a hard life?"
She grew angrier the more she thought about it, and turned to vent her anger on Shen Hongmei, only to find that she had already slipped back into the house and locked the door.
The Liu family courtyard was bustling with activity as villagers rushed over to help with the preparations.
There were many young people at the educated youth settlement, and the young men and women were full of energy, with laughter constantly filling the air.
Seeing Xu Zhihong mingling with everyone, even the usually taciturn Liu Xuejun joining in the conversation, Aunt Zhou couldn't help but wink at Zhang Xiuying:
Is your fourth child's good news coming soon?
Zhang Xiuying shook her head with a smile: "This kid? He's still a long way off! With his stubborn nature, expecting him to take the initiative? That's difficult! We'll have to give him a push. But I'm not in a hurry. Let's see how things go. Getting a wife is something he has to figure out for himself. We can't always rely on our help."
Aunt Zhou nodded in deep agreement.
She glanced regretfully at Liu Zhixia, who was busy in the kitchen. If her silly son had been more perceptive sooner, he wouldn't have missed out on such a wonderful daughter-in-law.
However, when she turned her head and saw Zhao Dongmei next to Liu Zhixia, she felt relieved.
Fortunately, God was kind to the Lu family, sending them such a good girl as Zhao Zhiqing, who was also devoted to her son. She was extremely satisfied.
The Liu family was filled with laughter and joy when two uninvited guests arrived at the door.
When Zhang Xiuying and Aunt Zhou saw Lu Xiaohui and Li Xuemei standing at the door carrying things, their smiles instantly froze.
What are you two doing here?
Zhang Xiuying's face fell, and her tone became unfriendly.
Li Xuemei, however, acted as if she hadn't seen him, her face beaming with smiles: "Oh, we're here to offer our congratulations! We brought our own gifts to congratulate Lao Si on passing the teacher's exam! Our brigade is also benefiting from this, isn't it?"
Zhang Xiuying sneered and looked at Lu Xiaohui with a mocking gaze.
Benefiting from it?
If it weren't for this brat interfering, Fourth Brother almost wouldn't have even been able to get into the exam hall! And now he has the nerve to come and congratulate us? His skin is thicker than a city wall!
Lu Xiaohui forced a fawning smile and took Zhang Xiuying's arm in a familiar manner: "Auntie, we just came to share in the joy. You're so kind, you won't look down on us, will you?"
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