Chapter 17 Experiencing Life
Zhang Xiuying suddenly realized: "That makes sense. I heard from Lu Kai's mother that those two came to 'experience life.' I think they're just some rich young masters who came to the countryside to broaden their horizons."
Liu Xuejun disagreed: "What family would be willing to send their young master to the army to suffer? Our battalion commander's son has never worked in the fields, let alone a young master from the city."
Liu Zhixia said calmly, "That's not necessarily true. Truly farsighted families won't let their descendants sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They'll send them out to gain experience so they won't squander their wealth."
Zhang Xiuying nodded in agreement, saying, "My daughter is right. Just look at Lu Huaiyuan's useless appearance! His father still wants him to study more and become our brigade secretary in the future. This lazy bum who doesn't know anything about farming, the organization will definitely not arrange for him to be our grassroots cadre."
A hint of mockery flashed in Liu Zhixia's eyes: "I'm afraid their ambitions lie elsewhere."
In his past life, when the college entrance examination was reinstated the following year, Lu Huaiyuan lied to her and said that he had been admitted to university.
As a result, he went to the city with Gu Mansheng to live a carefree life.
Despite the short distance, he had never returned to his village in over a decade, desperately trying to shed his rural origins.
Mentioning Lu Huaiyuan, Zhang Xiuying waved her hand with disgust: "Alright, let's not talk about that unlucky thing. Daughter, hurry up and prepare, we're inviting Comrade Shen and Comrade Xu to our house for dinner tonight."
"Okay, I'll go prepare it right away."
I just got a basket of eggs today, so I'll cut some chives and make some chive and egg stir-fry.
I used the meat from my own farm to make stir-fried slices, and the meat Xu Zhigang gave me, I used to make braised pork.
Having eaten meat for two consecutive days, the Liu family members all had smiles on their faces, feeling that they had eaten even better than during the Spring Festival.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu returned from the city carrying large and small bags.
As soon as you enter the courtyard, an overwhelming aroma of meat fills your nostrils.
Liu Xiangyang's eyes lit up: "What a special day it is today? We're eating meat again!"
Sister-in-law Shen Hongmei swallowed hard.
After listening to Liu Xuejun's brief explanation, Liu Xiangyang immediately said, "Mother, I still have some money. Shall I go buy some wine to liven things up?"
Zhang Xiuying immediately decided, "Alright! We'll have wild boar meat tonight, it'll taste even better with our drinks! Bring back plenty!"
She happily took her grandson from him, and seeing the grease on the corner of his mouth, she quietly wiped it clean with a handkerchief.
Shen Hongmei put the things into the kitchen, and her face immediately darkened when she saw the glistening braised pork in the pot.
She walked up to Zhang Xiuying and said sourly, "Mother, I heard from Xiangyang that those two just came to eat yesterday? Why are they here again today? With meat and wine, even if it's free from the mountains, they shouldn't be wasted like this, right?"
Zhang Xiuying's face darkened: "This wild boar was hunted by our comrade himself, and it's a favor that he's willing to share it with us! You're eating a piece of meat for free, and you still have a problem with that?"
Shen Hongmei muttered indignantly, "That's not how you say it. The wild boars in the mountains should be handed over to the brigade; they have no right to keep them all to themselves."
“Mother, it’s not that I’m criticizing you. Our family is just too honest, which is why we’ve been bullied by the Lu family! Now that my younger sister’s engagement has been broken off, and we’ve lost the brigade leader as our in-law, life will only get harder. Why are you taking out all the meat to entertain outsiders? Everyone in the brigade gets a share of this meat, so why should our family be the only one to treat us?”
She wanted to say more, but Zhang Xiuying glared at her with a sharp look and silenced her instantly.
When Liu Xiangyang returned from getting the wine, he immediately sensed something was off as soon as he entered the courtyard.
Before he could speak, Zhang Xiuying had already stood in front of him and reached out her hand: "Where's the money? How much is left?"
Liu Xiangyang felt a pang of guilt and obediently took out the rest of the money.
Zhang Xiuying counted the money, then her face darkened: "You're wrong! Where did the money go?"
Liu Xiangyang stammered, "That's all! Meat and eggs have gone up in price, so I also bought rice, flour, and an old hen."
Zhang Xiuying frowned: "Buy chickens?"
Shen Hongmei quickly smoothed things over: "Mom, eggs are expensive, we're thinking it's more cost-effective to buy a chicken to lay eggs."
Zhang Xiuying sneered: "You just broke up with the brigade leader's family, and you bring back a chicken? Are you deliberately giving them something to use against you?"
The expressions on their faces changed.
Liu Xiangyang panicked: "Mom, what should we do with the chicken?"
Zhang Xiuying looked at Liu Shouren, who remained silent.
Liu Shouren sighed, "Take it to the kitchen and stew it for my daughter. It'll help the children get some nourishment."
The chicken she had just bought was about to be stewed, and Zhang Xiuying felt a pang of heartache, but it was better than Lu Jianping finding fault with it.
"Where's the chicken? Boss, take it a little further away, kill it, and bring it back."
Liu Xiangyang looked sullen but had no choice but to comply.
"Wait a moment!"
Zhang Xiuying snatched the chicken, grabbed its foot, and angrily said, "Look at these scales, they're deeper than my forehead wrinkles! This chicken hasn't laid eggs in ages! Tell me honestly, are you trying to fool me with money?"
Liu Xiangyang panicked instantly: "Mother, how could I dare to deceive you?"
He looked to Shen Hongmei for help, but Shen Hongmei was so frightened that she immediately backed away and dared not utter a sound.
Liu Zhixia was in the kitchen and could see everything that was happening outside.
Shen Hongmei is always shrewd; how could she not tell the quality of a chicken?
A hen that lays eggs can fetch two or three times the price. Most of that extra money probably ends up in the couple's pockets.
Normally, my mother would turn a blind eye to this little bit of money.
But today, this sister-in-law, having gotten a good deal, actually went and berated the guests.
He secretly pockets money, yet complains about wasting money when entertaining guests at home.
If these words were to reach Shen Yi and the others' ears, the Liu family would become a laughingstock for being two-faced.
Mother is making trouble today to teach Shen Hongmei a lesson, so she won't cause trouble in front of the guests tonight.
Unfortunately, Shen Hongmei was too anxious to understand and instead started to complain: "We just want to help the family, right? Is that wrong? The second son just abandoned the child and doesn't care about him. I'm the one taking care of him! The fourth son does nothing at home all day and just reads his books. What's the use of studying now? He might as well go out and learn a trade to earn some money to help support the family."
She got more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice became shrill: "What are our family's conditions? The worst in the whole village! We still serve meat to outsiders, trying to save face!"
Liu Zhixia walked out of the kitchen carrying dishes, interrupting her in a cold voice: "Sister-in-law, my second brother and sister-in-law work in the factory and don't eat at home, but they still send money home every month. My fourth brother does a lot of work at home, and he also does any clerical work for the brigade. It's just that he heard a few days ago that the college entrance examination was going to be reinstated, so he has been studying at home to prepare for the exam recently."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the dishes on the table: "As for the meat today, the stir-fried pork slices are from the batch allocated to our family by the brigade, and there's still more than half left to be marinated and stored. This braised pork is from the meat that Comrade Xu gave me from his own share, asking me to help him make it."
Each word was like a slap in the face to Shen Hongmei.
She was rendered speechless, her face turning pale and then flushed, and she could only force a defense: "My man risked his life to go to the black market, he deserves credit even if he didn't do anything great! He just bought the wrong chicken, is it really worth holding a grudge?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiuying let out a mocking sneer: "Fine. Since this job is both hard and dangerous, then you shouldn't touch it anymore!"
Her gaze shifted, and she made a decision immediately: "Third brother! Fourth brother! From now on, you two siblings will handle the grocery shopping! It'll save someone from doing all the work for nothing!"
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