Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Jinjiang Solo
"Your father exchanged two of them for your sister's wedding. Now there are eight left. I give them all to you."
Knowing that their son was going to do great things and worried that he didn't have enough money, Zhang's mother and father decided to give all the remaining gold bars to their son.
They believe that their son will not forget his sisters even when he becomes successful.
"Mom, I can't. This is what they left for you, keep it for yourself!"
How could Zhang Mengzhi take her mother's gold bars? It was something left by her biological parents, so she should at least keep it as a souvenir!
"My fate with them ended when they left me behind. What good were the gold bars? There were wars everywhere, and people were short of food and clothing. I was raised by the rice paste my parents saved. When I learned about my life story as an adult, I only hated that I was not their biological daughter."
Mother Zhang said lightly.
If the boss really loved his daughter, he would not have left her to the housekeeper and walked away. Although she left behind ten gold bars, compared with the boss's entire fortune, they were not even a fraction of the total.
Apart from the housekeeper, he didn't even have anyone to protect him. He used the small building as money to support his daughter, and he had always intended to cut it off completely.
Therefore, Mother Zhang has no feelings for her biological parents. On the contrary, she hopes that they will never come back, otherwise revealing the truth will only make her feel uncomfortable.
"Mom, I understand."
Zhang Mengzhi took the small gold bar, but he didn't plan to use it. Gold bars were very valuable in later generations, and once sold for thousands of yuan per gram.
"Don't tell your sister about this. She's a girl, she just wants to be happy all her life."
Mother Zhang reminded her son that if it wasn't for her son, she would have kept this matter buried in her heart for the rest of her life and never mentioned it to her children.
"Mom, I know."
Zhang Mengzhi nodded.
Even if his mother didn't say it, he wouldn't tell Mengyu.
The Zhang family was so miserable in the previous life, and the boss's family disappeared. No matter what the reason, they have nothing to do with the Zhang family.
Returning to his room, Zhang Mengzhi smiled bitterly at his nephew lying on the bed.
No wonder every time he went to his grandparents' house, they always said they wanted to leave the small building to him. His sister was obviously their granddaughter, but they left the family property to their grandson, which made Zhang Mengzhi think that they also favored boys over girls.
Later, I found out that it was not the case, and I thought that it was because my parents adopted my cousin that my grandparents made this decision to compensate their daughter. Now it seems that they are planning to return the property to its original owner.
After all, Zhang Mengzhi is the big boss's grandson, and they have been taking advantage of the situation by living here for decades.
Thinking of this, Zhang Mengxiao felt more and more that her grandparents were kind people. No wonder the big boss would entrust his daughter to them.
At this point, Zhang Mengzhi has to thank the big boss. He did not just find someone to throw his daughter to, but also left the house and gold bars as living capital.
"uncle."
Xiaoyu rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Uncle is here."
Zhang Mengzhi patted Xiaoyu's shoulder gently.
"Uncle, I need to pee."
Xiaoyu drank a lot of water at night and was woken up by the urge to urinate.
"Okay, uncle will carry you."
Zhang Mengzhi carried his nephew to the toilet and never put him down from beginning to end. After a while, he came back with him. The uncle and nephew lay on the bed and fell asleep soon.
No matter how big a boss you are, sleep is not as important as it.
"Mom and Dad, we're here to pick you up!"
Early in the morning, Zhang Mengyao pushed open the door and came to Zhang's house to pick someone up. Before she could see him, her voice spread throughout the yard.
"Ayao is here. Is everyone ready? We should go out."
Mother Zhang changed into clean clothes and came out, shouting into the house.
"alright."
"Here I come, Mom."
"Grandma, we're fine too!"
"Okay."
"Let's go!"
Everyone came out of the room. Except for Mr. Zhang who had nothing in his hands, everyone else had one or two things in their hands.
There are washbasins, thermoses, kettles, fruits, etc.
"Everyone is dressed so formally today. Are you wearing your New Year clothes?"
Zhang Mengyao was stunned when she saw everyone wearing new clothes.
"Grandma, Mom and Dad, there's no need to be so cautious about just having a meal, right?"
Xia Dayong swallowed his saliva. He wasn't going to any banquet, so there was no need to dress like that, right?
"Why not? This is a new housewarming, we must be careful."
Mr. Zhang refuted his son-in-law's words.
Not only did everyone wear new clothes, they also held various items in their hands, all in order to pray for good luck and for Zhang Mengyao to have a prosperous future.
"Yes, yes, Dad is right."
Xia Dayong didn't dare to object to his father-in-law's words and immediately became timid.
"Let's go!"
Mother Zhang mentioned a string of firecrackers placed by the door. Qiao Xi’s celebration was a big happy event, so of course they had to set off firecrackers.
"Do you want to set off more firecrackers?"
Zhang Mengyao asked doubtfully.
"Of course we have to set off firecrackers! How can we celebrate moving into a new home without setting off firecrackers?"
Mother Zhang didn't even think about refutating her daughter's words and glared at her.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to prepare, so your dad and I prepared it for you."
I have already bought the house, so I don’t need that little money for firecrackers.
"Thank you, Mom and Dad."
Zhang Mengyao hugged her mother's arms, not knowing how happy she was. As expected, it was good to be close to her parents, as her parents had planned everything for her in advance.
After Zhang's father locked the door, a group of people carried their things and walked towards Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong's new home.
The new house is not far from Zhang’s house, separated by two alleys, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.
"Welcome to the Xia family, everyone please come in."
Zhang Mengyao pushed open the door of her new home and gestured for someone to come in.
"Not bad. Although there are not enough rooms, the yard is quite big."
Zhou Guilan was the first to walk in and saw the jujube tree in the middle of the yard. All its leaves had fallen off. But in spring, the leaves would grow again, and in autumn, there would be jujubes to eat.
What’s even more rare is that there is actually a well in this yard.
"Your father and I decided to buy this house because there is a well in the yard, and the water in the well is very clean."
Mother Zhang walked over, opened the manhole cover, looked at the clear water inside and said with a smile.
There are frequent water outages in the city, especially in the summer, so every home has to have a lot of water buckets, which is not only troublesome but also takes up a lot of space.
It's different if you have well water. You can use well water when the water is cut off. Why is this yard two hundred more expensive than other houses? It's because of the well.
Even if there are fewer rooms, Zhang's mother is willing to sell. Only people who live in the city know how troublesome it is when the water is cut off.
Eating, bathing, washing clothes, and cleaning the house, which of these things can be done without water?
"And this washing table, it was made by the owner himself, it's no worse than the one we have here."
Mother Zhang pointed to the washing table by the wall, which was three or four meters away from the well. The sewer was built directly outside the wall and would not affect the well water.
"There are clay stoves and furnaces. If you want to burn wood, you can burn wood. If you want to burn coal, you can burn coal."
Mother Zhang went to the kitchen again, where the vegetables that Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong bought at the market early in the morning were already laid out.
"I heard that those big cities have already started using gas. Maybe it won't be long before we can use gas here too."
Zhang Mengyao thought that burning gas was more convenient than burning wood or coal, and it wouldn't result in a mess.
"But the food cooked in a clay stove is more delicious!"
Zhang Mengzhi put his hands behind his back and looked at the house carefully.
People in the city basically have to buy firewood, or go a little further out to the mountains outside the city to collect firewood.
The Zhang family has to buy a lot of firewood every year. The other party has been selling firewood for decades. The Zhang family was introduced by my grandfather, and the other party has been supplying firewood to the Zhang family.
My grandparents are old and rarely burn firewood. They just buy honeycomb coal. They only burn firewood occasionally when their daughter comes back to her parents' home.
"Since my brother has said so, let's try to use firewood when cooking!"
Zhang Mengyao never doubted what her brother said.
"Okay, we can still afford the money for firewood, so I'll have to trouble Dad to introduce the firewood seller to me."
Xia Dayong always took his wife as the standard, so he agreed without saying a word.
"Okay. When I wait for him to bring the firewood, I'll take him here to show him the way."
Mr. Zhang agreed.
Next, the Zhang family sat in the yard and played, and Zhang Mengyao took Xia Dayong to the kitchen to cook.
Today is such an important and festive day, so as the hosts of course they have to cook for the guests themselves.
Although the guests are all family members, we still have to show proper etiquette on such an important day and try not to take over the role of host.
"Uncle, will we have dates to eat next year?"
The two children stood under the tree, looking at the dates that had not fallen off the treetops and asked, "Yes, there will be dates to eat next year, and you can eat as many as you want then."
Zhang Mengzhi held one in each hand and said the same thing while looking at the dates on the top of the tree.
“Then I eat that much.”
Xiaoshuang used her little hands to gesture, demonstrating with her actions how much she wanted to eat.
"Sure, as long as you can eat it."
Zhang Mengzhi didn't take the childish words seriously at all because she couldn't eat so many dates.
"Then, that's all I'll eat."
Xiaoyu unconvincedly made a gesture that was slightly bigger than her sister's.
“Then I’m going to eat this much.”
Xiaoshuang refused to comply and made a bigger gesture.
"I have more than you."
The two children started arguing, and the adults nearby just watched them quarrel.
As long as they don’t fight, let the children quarrel. The relationship will get better the more they quarrel.
Zhang Mengzhi didn't care, he walked to the well, opened the cover and drew a bucket of water. No matter how cold it was, he just scooped some water from the small bucket to wash his hands.
"Hiss~ The quality of this well water is not as good as ours."
In fact, Zhang Mengzhi found out as soon as he opened the well. The water in his well was warm in winter and cool in summer, unlike the well in his sister's house which was cold when opened.
"It's also luck. The master who dug the well for us said that we were lucky and the water we dug was of very good quality and sweet."
Father Zhang stood beside his son and said, "The water from this well is OK, not bitter."
"Dad, don't drink raw water."
Zhang Mengzhi saw his father scooping well water and drinking it directly with his hands, and hurriedly stopped him.
"Don't worry, I only drank a little."
Father Zhang said immediately when he saw his son was nervous.
"I can't be too worried. There are many bugs and bacteria in raw water. Drinking it will give you a stomachache."
Zhang Mengzhi knew that people nowadays had not yet formed the habit of drinking boiled water. Sometimes when they were tired from work, they would just scoop up some water with their hands and drink it, without caring whether the water was drinkable or not.
"Don't worry, I've drunk water from the river before, and it's fine, right?"
Father Zhang said disapprovingly.
"Dad, the past was the past, and the present is the present. We didn't have the conditions before, but now we have the conditions and we are only allowed to drink boiled water at home."
Zhang Mengzhi said with a sullen face, and was visibly angry.
"Okay, okay, I won't drink raw water anymore. I'll only drink boiled water, okay?"
As soon as his son got angry, Mr. Zhang immediately admitted his mistake.
"Mr. Zhang, my son is right. You need to change this bad habit."
Mother Zhang was taught by her great-grandparents since she was a child, so she received a higher level of education than Father Zhang. Naturally, she knew that drinking raw water was bad for the body.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you and change it."
How could Zhang Dad disobey his wife's orders? He never drank raw water again. Even if he was thirsty, he would rather endure it and drink boiled water at home.
"Big Wife, look at my dad. He has no manliness at all. He is scary for my mom and brother."
Zhang Mengyu and Zhou Guilan were whispering to each other, and the daughter was asking about her father.
"Nonsense, your father is just showing his love for his wife and children. He is very manly."
Zhou Guilan patted her niece's hand gently, disagreeing with what she said.
"Yeah?"
Zhang Mengyu's mind was full of questions. Why did the first wife say something different from what others said? When she was out playing, she often heard many people say that men who were afraid of their wives were henpecked and had no manliness.
But what the eldest wife said was completely opposite to what those people said. Who should she listen to?
"Xiao Yu, let me tell you. Only men with no future will act like husbands in front of their wives. Men who beat their wives to prove that they are not useless and even vent their anger to show their masculinity are the worst. You should stay away from them."
Zhou Guilan hated this kind of man the most, so when she was teaching Zhang Mengyu, she couldn't help but bring in her own emotions.
"Oh, so that's how it is! Then I will definitely not marry a man like that in the future. He is so useless."
Zhang Mengyu nodded with sudden realization.
"Yes, we must not marry such a useless person."
Zhou Guilan looked at her niece's outstanding appearance. She and Meng Zhi were indeed siblings, both were equally beautiful. In addition, the Zhang family took good care of her, so Meng Yu's skin was better than most girls of this era. After all, not all families were willing to buy a box of vanishing cream for their daughters.
If you are exposed to the sun frequently and don’t take care of your skin, even if you are a child, your skin will not be good over the years. At least the color will be much worse than Zhang Mengyu’s.
"I definitely won't marry her. I'm not sure. And there's my brother! I listen to my brother. If he doesn't allow me to marry someone, I definitely won't marry him."
Zhang Mengyu, like her elder sister, has extraordinary confidence in her brother. She thinks her brother is the last person in the world who would harm her. If her brother doesn't let her marry that person, it's definitely not her brother's problem, but the other person's problem.
Not to mention that Zhang Mengyu's idea saved her a lot of trouble later, at least Zhang Mengzhi never cheated her in this regard. But any boy who brought him to meet but didn't get his consent turned out to be a bad person in the end.
Therefore, Zhang Mengyu trusted her brother more and finally married the man he agreed to and lived a happy and healthy life.
"That's right."
After hearing her words, Zhou Guilan happily hugged her in her arms and smiled.
"Auntie, what are you and Xiaoyu talking about?"
Mother Zhang came over and sat with them.
It's a rare good day today. Not only is it not raining, but the sun is out. A group of people are sitting in the yard, basking in the sun and eating peanuts and sunflower seeds.
"Besides, when Xiaoyu gets married, she has to marry someone that my brother agrees with."
Zhang Mengyu said without any shyness.
"That's good, Xiaoyu, you must remember what you said today."
After hearing this, Mother Zhang immediately said that she believed in her son's vision and that her daughter was still a little naive in comparison. She was afraid that Xiaoyu would be cheated.
"Yes." Zhang Mengyu agreed without thinking. It didn't matter that she agreed so quickly now, but it would make it difficult for any man who wanted to pursue her in the future.
Because every man who pursues her will be brought to Zhang Mengzhi for her to see. Only when Zhang Mengzhi thinks it's okay can the two start dating. If she finds anything wrong in the middle, she will break up immediately.
It's not that Zhang Mengzhi can't judge people accurately, but people can change! When they know that the Zhang family is rich, few people can keep a normal mind. Often, people change from the moment they know it.
So Zhang Mengyu had many relationships that ended in failure. Although the final result was good, the process was actually quite infuriating.
Why, after knowing her family background, don’t those men think about working hard, but instead want to be Phoenix men?
People in later generations often talk about "Lao Nu". A meal of milk tea and a bottle of water is called "Lao Shui". What do you call a Phoenix man who does nothing? Lao Nan?
Humph, how could Zhang Mengzhi, this stranger, let his sister continue talking to them? Of course, the only way out in the end is to break up.
Zhang Mengzhi was playing with his nephews not far away, but he kept his ears perked up and quietly listened to the conversation between his sister and his eldest mother-in-law. He was very satisfied with his sister's choice.
That’s right, before they start dating, he has to bring the person to himself to see, and only then will he feel at ease letting his sister come into contact with that person!
"It's time for dinner."
At twelve o'clock in the afternoon, as Zhang Mengyao said it was time for dinner, the whole yard became lively.
The sound of firecrackers rang out outside the courtyard gate. The flaming firecrackers spread out, adding a touch of fireworks to the entire alley.
The people nearby didn't even bother to eat and came out to watch the fun.
"Hello everyone, we are the newly moved Xia family. This is my parents, my younger brother and sister, my eldest wife, and my two children. This is my husband Xia Dayong. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to contact me."
Zhang Mengyao came out with a bowl of fruit candies and distributed them to the people who were watching the fun.
When she met children, Zhang Mengyao even grabbed a few more, which made the neighbors become much more enthusiastic.
"Congratulations, my house is next door to yours, and we can visit each other often in the future."
The neighbor went home and brought a basket of vegetables and two eggs to Zhang Mengyao as a return gift of candy. But she saw that her son not only grabbed a handful of candy, but also grabbed a second and third handful, and the new neighbor did not make a fuss about it.
As a mother, the neighbor felt a little embarrassed, so she went home and got vegetables and eggs as a return gift.
The others smiled when they saw this, and were very satisfied with their children's behavior.
Indeed, in those days when people were short of food and clothing, which child would not be tempted by such a large plate of fruit candies? But everyone was very disciplined and only grabbed a handful of candies, unlike the neighbor's child who grabbed three handfuls and was stopped by her mother when she wanted to grab a fourth handful.
The child's behavior also indirectly proves the quality of a family's education. The child grabbed three handfuls but still wanted to grab the fourth handful, which proves that she is also undisciplined at home. Her parents don't know how to educate her to let her develop such a bad habit.
In any case, the new neighbor still had some dignity, and Zhang Mengyao was relieved to see this.
In their family, apart from her younger brother who is quite good at talking, Zhang Mengyao is the only one who is better at quarreling. If she encounters an unreasonable neighbor, Zhang Mengyao will have a headache.
Fortunately, it was not the case. The unpleasantness disappeared immediately with the vegetables and eggs sent by the neighbors.
She didn't care how much candy there was. The other party was just a child, and she wouldn't argue with the child. But she wouldn't let her child play with the other child in the future because she was afraid that her child would be bullied by such a child.
During lunch, Zhang Mengyao told everyone about this.
"Your neighbor is pretty good, much better than your mother-in-law."
After listening to this, Mother Zhang expressed her opinion.
"That's right. There are relatively few people in this world who are as shameless as my mother-in-law."
Zhang Mengyao agreed. How much dignity does a person have to ask his eldest daughter-in-law to give the house her parents bought for her to his younger uncle for marriage?
Fortunately, Zhang Mengyao was not stupid. She did not agree to her request and moved out of the Xia family in a swagger.
As long as that room is there, no one in the world will say anything unfilial about Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong.
Some even speculated whether Zhang Mengyao and her husband were forced to move out by old lady Xia. After all, the youngest son of the Xia family had never married. Either the conditions were too good for him, or the other party disliked him and was unwilling to let their daughter marry into the Xia family.
In order to get the younger son married, the older son was forced to leave.
After all, the Xia family's yard was not big, and there was no room for expansion unless the room allocated to the eldest son was taken away. Moreover, the house was not a brick house, but a mud brick house.
The mud brick house looks better than the thatched house, but it is much worse than the proper red brick and tile house.
Do you know how high Zhang Mengyao's new house is? The height is more than four meters, and it is entirely possible to build a loft on top.
This is also one of the reasons why Zhang's mother and her family chose this house. If they don't want to expand it, they can just build a attic where people can live.
"You moved out, and your mother-in-law didn't make a fuss?"
Zhang's mother knew her mother-in-law well enough. She was a troublemaker. She would definitely make trouble when she saw her daughter and son-in-law moving away.
"She's making a fuss, but what can she do? You bought the house for me, and my name is on it. It has nothing to do with Dayong, and even less with the Xia family. This is the dowry you gave me. My mother-in-law didn't even dare to ask me to transfer the house to my brother-in-law, but said she was lending it to me."
When Zhang Mengyao mentioned Old Lady Xia, a smile appeared on her face.
"She dared to ask you to borrow your house? She really has no shame at all!"
Mother Zhang frowned, obviously not expecting Mrs. Xia to say such a thing.
"That's right, but I rejected her, and she could only watch me and Dayong leave."
Zhang Mengyao is not stupid, so how could she agree to such an excessive request from her mother-in-law?
"Dayong, what do you think about this?"
Zhang's father also heard what his daughter said, and he went straight to Xia Dayong. As a man, it is his responsibility and obligation to protect his wife and children. He cannot let his wife take the lead in everything, otherwise what is the point of him as a husband?
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