Chapter 3
After this incident, both mother and son calmed down. Zhong Miao was like an outsider watching, and she folded several quilts and stuffed them into the cabinet.
Zhang Weilan looked at her daughter-in-law's gentle and well-behaved actions, and her anger subsided, leaving only heartache.
Pei Ze also felt a little regretful. Why did he get angry with a young girl and even pissed off his own mother?
"Second brother, the kang in your room isn't heating up. Go find some people to take down the kang boards and clean out the dust. If that doesn't work, just take down the bricks and rebuild it."
"good."
"While you're at home these few days, paint the walls and bring back some decent furniture. You can handle it by yourself, but don't be so sloppy in the future."
Zhang Weilan was cautious and worried that her daughter-in-law would feel a little traumatized when she entered the room after what happened last night.
"Okay, I'll do as you say. Come and live with me for the next few days."
"No, I'll go to Mrs. Zhu's in the front yard and take care of it for two days."
"That's not the case, Mom, what are you doing?"
"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here." Zhang Weilan glared at Pei Ze, and he immediately shut up.
After Pei Ze left, Zhang Weilan pulled Zhong Miao onto the kang and took out the key to unlock the small cabinet.
She took out two small wooden boxes, opened one of them, and pushed it in front of Zhong Miao.
"Miaomiao, the second brother is a careless person. He didn't buy you any jewelry when you got married. Just pick out a few pieces."
There were several pieces of gold and silver jewelry in the small box, some of which were inlaid with jewels and jade, and were very exquisite.
Zhang Weilan smiled kindly, but her eyes held a look of urgency, which was her compensation to her daughter-in-law.
Her second son is a careless person, and he has two burdens, one old and one young. He is not really a good match, but she will not lose out in life by following him.
"No need, mother-in-law. You can keep it. I don't usually wear it out, and I don't know where to put it. Just think of it as you keeping it for me."
Zhong Miao was a little surprised. These jewels were exquisitely crafted and were all old items. Although there were not many of them, they were extremely valuable.
Zhong Miao was a little confused. The original owner in the book didn't have such treatment. If she was living a good life in the Pei family, why would she look for someone else?
Why is the plot different?
"Haha, then the old ghost should rest assured. The second son has really found a good wife."
Zhang Weilan had an even better impression of Zhong Miao. If it were any other girl in the village, who could resist such temptation? She would have given the box to her.
People are poor these days, and many people become spineless as they become poorer. They take as much as they can, and when it comes to dividing the family property, they want to take away all the pots, pans, and everything else. She has seen a lot of this over the years.
She opened another box, which contained a lot of money, including ten-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, and some change.
She took out a dozen ten-yuan bills, which looked like about two or three hundred yuan, and handed them to Zhong Miao.
"Take these. It's your pocket money. Tomorrow I'll have my second child take you to the city to buy you some clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, and other things. Little girls like these."
Zhong Miao was a little flattered. The book said that in those days a worker in the city only earned thirty or forty yuan. Was her mother-in-law so generous?
"Thank you, mother-in-law. I have some money on me, so you should keep these. I'll ask you for them again when I'm done."
It is impossible for Zhong Miao to live with Pei Ze sincerely. She is not in the right state of mind at all. They will eventually get divorced. Even though her mother-in-law treats her well, she cannot cheat her.
Besides, she found fifty dollars in the coat pocket, which should have been given by the original owner's father when she got married.
"Don't listen to the nonsense that's spread outside. Our second child is also a busy man in the city. He earns enough money to support the family. We used to get by just fine, but now that you're married into our family, Mom won't treat you unfairly."
Zhang Weilan stuffed the money into Zhong Miao's hand and patted her hand.
Zhong Miao couldn't stuff it back in, so she could only accept it, thinking about returning it after the divorce. "Well, thank you, mother-in-law."
"We're family, so let me be honest. We're not as poor as people say, but we have just this much. It's not much. You can spend it if you need to, but you can't let outsiders know about our family's wealth. We have to be on guard against others."
"Well, don't worry, mother-in-law, I won't spend it recklessly." Zhong Miao nodded obediently.
"Haha, it's not that I don't let you spend money. Miaomiao, just buy whatever you like. It's not considered extravagant spending. I'll give you more when you spend it all. I'm just afraid that you'll be cheated out of your money."
It was impossible for Zhang Weilan to share her family fortune with her new daughter-in-law, but the more she looked at the child, the more beautiful she became. The more she looked at her, the more she liked her, so she couldn't help but be more generous than usual.
Before getting married, she had already decided that it would be best if her daughter-in-law was sensible. If not, she could teach her slowly. After all, they were still family.
This child used to be so noisy in the village, and she never realized that he was such a well-behaved and lovable child.
There is no farm work to do in winter, so most villagers play mahjong and chat, and then go to sleep after drinking. It can be said that they have a lot of free time.
Pei Ze called Erwa and Li Guodong to work, and Zhang Weilan also went to help.
Zhong Miao sat on the kang with her child, looking through the window into the side room. She saw pots of black ash being carried out of the new house, and she couldn't make out anything.
Just as she was about to take her child for a nap, she heard hawking outside, in dialect. She couldn't quite understand what was going on, and had to listen to it three times before she understood.
"The tofu pudding is hot, the tofu pudding is hot."
"The tofu pudding is hot, the tofu pudding is hot."
......
Listening to the hawking, Zhong Miao imagined the appearance of tofu pudding. It was almost noon and she was a little hungry. "An An, is the tofu pudding delicious?"
"It's delicious. It's so delicious."
"Then I'll go buy one and we can eat together."
"Okay, thanks, Mom." An An learned to say thank you under the influence of her new mother.
After going out, Zhong Miao saw an older woman carrying two wooden buckets and immediately stopped her.
"Big sister, do you want tofu pudding? Thirty cents a bowl."
"Yes, yes." Zhong Miao nodded immediately.
"Then go home and get a bowl, and I'll make you one."
Zhong Miao then remembered that there were no take-away boxes in those days, so she quickly ran back to the kitchen to get a bowl.
The bowls and chopsticks were all laid out in the open. As soon as she picked up the small bowl, she remembered that there were so many people at home, and it seemed impolite to eat alone, so she simply took a large bowl.
"Big sister, give me a few more."
When the older sister saw this, she was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. "Okay, I'll give you a few more spoonfuls."
The elder sister opened the lid, and the white tofu pudding was still steaming. She took an old-fashioned iron rice spoon and scooped the tofu pudding quickly.
The elder sister quickly packed the tofu pudding and opened the bucket at the back, which contained the brine.
The eldest sister was interrupted just as she was about to pour chopped green onions and chili oil on it.
"Sister, please wait a moment. I'll go get a bowl to put the chili peppers and onions in separately." Zhong Miao remembered that she had a child at home. She had heard before that children couldn't eat spicy food.
"Okay, then you can take this back first."
An An was shocked when he saw the big bowl of tofu pudding. When had his family ever been so rich? It must be that his mother was so generous and bought him a big bowl.
"Mom, this is too much."
"It's not much. Don't worry, call grandma and the others to eat together later."
"Yeah." An An nodded, already thinking about getting along well with this new mother and asking her to buy whatever she wanted to eat in the future.
Zhong Miao didn't know that she was being taken advantage of by this brat. She ran out with two small bowls filled with chopped green onions and chili oil.
"An An, go to the side room and tell grandma that mom bought tofu pudding and ask her to come back with dad and uncles for dinner."
"Okay." The kid ran away excitedly.
She took out bowls and chopsticks according to the number of people and placed them on the table, and just waited.
Zhang Weilan and Erwa brought An An into the house first.
"Oh, sister-in-law, you bought so much tofu pudding. Thank you for the meal, hahaha." Erwa greeted her generously. The more he looked at Zhong Miao, the more beautiful she seemed to him. He thought to himself that the most beautiful flower in the village was picked away by his brother Ze.
It took Zhong Miao a moment to realize that he was greeting her. "You're welcome."
Zhang Weilan was also relieved that her daughter-in-law was capable, otherwise lunch would have been delayed. Such a big pot would have cost at least two or three yuan. She shook her head. She didn't feel sorry for her daughter-in-law spending money, and girls should be raised in wealth.
"Grandma, when will my dad come back?"
"There's just some finishing touches left, it'll be done in a bit." Zhang Weilan first served a large bowl to Erwa, and then served another large bowl to Zhong Miao.
"Mother-in-law, give the big bowl to An An, I'll just use the small bowl." She couldn't finish the big bowl. She had just seen An An's eating skills in the morning, and she was really fast and could eat a lot.
"Okay, if it's not enough, serve more. You've eaten too little."
"Well, thank you, mother-in-law." Zhong Miao took the small bowl and added chili oil and chopped green onions herself.
She took a small bite and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. It was so delicious.
The tofu pudding is very tender and has a strong bean flavor. Although the stew is vegetarian, it also contains some scattered egg flowers, which tastes salty and delicious. The chili oil is also very fragrant.
After eating the hot tofu pudding, Zhong Miao felt much better.
Zhang Weilan watched her daughter-in-law eat. She didn't look like a country girl at all. She was even more refined than she was when she was young.
Pei Ze and Li Guodong finished their work and went into the house, just as Zhong Miao had finished eating and made room for them.
"Sister-in-law, please don't go. I'll eat while standing." Li Guodong saw Zhong Miao was about to stand up and hurriedly said politely.
"I just finished eating, mother-in-law, how do I wash these dishes?" Pei Ze pulled her into the house right after she finished eating in the morning, and she didn't know how to wash the dishes yet.
"Just put it here, I'll wash it together later."
"Well, thank you, mother-in-law." Zhong Miao put down the dishes and turned to go into the house.
After a busy day at home, Pei Ze finally had time to look for Erhunzi in the evening.
The second gangster wanted to run away when he saw him. The bandage on his head was still there and he didn't want to be beaten again, but he couldn't run faster than Pei Ze.
Pei Ze caught up with the second gangster, grabbed his clothes and punched him.
The second thug couldn't bear the force and fell to the ground. He was really scared. Pei Ze was tall and strong with muscles all over his body. He could beat ten of him at once.
"Ze, Brother Ze, I give in. I was wrong. I drank too much yesterday. I really didn't mean it." The second gangster smiled flatteringly.
"Drunk? Then you were also drunk when you harassed Zhong Miao before my wedding? If you were drunk, you could have spent the wedding night for me, right?"
Pei Ze pulled the second gangster's clothes, flexed his fingers with his other hand, and had a sneer on his face. He looked more like a gangster than the second gangster.
"Brother, why are you still bringing up the past? Didn't she marry you then?"
Pei Ze was already angry, and when he heard the shameless words from the second gangster, he raised his fist and started to fight.
The second hooligans were beaten so badly that they rolled and crawled. Pei Ze chased after him, pulling and tugging at him, and punched him in the flesh, especially in the face.
After struggling for a while, the second hooligans started bleeding from their nose and mouth, several of their teeth fell out, and their mouths were all broken.
"Brother, Dad, Grandpa Pei, ancestors, please, I was wrong, I was wrong, I won't do it again, I won't dare to do it again."
The second gangster cried for his parents, thinking that he would never dare to provoke the couple again, as they had beaten him up one by one.
Pei Ze was almost done. If he continued to fight, something bad would happen. He squatted down and patted the second idiot's dirty face. "I'll beat him up every time I see him. Remember?"
"Remember, remember, I promise not to appear in front of you."
The second gangster didn't know how evil Pei Ze was, and misunderstood the meaning of "beat him every time he met him". He could choose not to meet Pei Ze, but Pei Ze could come to him at any time, and it was not up to him to decide whether to meet him or not.
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