Chapter 66: The couple discussed the birthday party beforehand. Afterwards...
Firstly, the celebration was to celebrate the children's escape from death and their return to good fortune; secondly, it was also a way to thank the residents of Zhangshu Lane. After all, the entire neighborhood had braved the torrential rain to search for the children the day they disappeared.
Although the child was finally found in the police station, everyone’s efforts cannot be ignored.
It just so happened that a family in Zhangshu Lane ran a mobile restaurant, fully stocked with tables, chairs, pots, pans, and other essential kitchen utensils. Everyone unanimously decided to cook in the courtyard where Xu Heye and her family lived.
Seven families pooled their money together and cooked a meal filled with meat and vegetables.
The living conditions of urban residents in 1989 could be described as neither good nor bad, but generally speaking, they were not good enough to allow people to eat meat to their heart's content.
Therefore, everyone's stomach is lacking in oil and water.
In order to ensure that everyone could have enough food, several families unanimously decided to only cook meat dishes, and large amounts of meat without any vegetables.
After the meat dishes were served, each household could send a representative to order two large bowls of meat. They would then stir-fry some vegetables and steam a pot of rice, and the whole family would have a good and filling meal.
The chefs were Yin Meng and Lao Zeng, who had previously invited Dong Fuyun to dinner.
Dong Taohua and Xu Hui were helping out. After all, it was her daughter's birthday party. How could it be that her own parents did nothing but watch others work?
The adults were busy working, while Lian Jiashu and the other children were running around in the crowd, looking very happy.
At around eleven o'clock, the meat and vegetables were cooked one after another.
Neighbors came in groups of three or four, carrying bowls and plates to get food. When Dong Xinghua came over with her two children, carrying a cream cake, she saw this bustling scene.
Dong Taohua was delighted to see the three of them. "You've come just in time. We can just stir-fry a few more vegetables and we'll be ready to eat."
Not seeing Pang Li, Dong Taohua asked again, "Where's my brother-in-law?"
Dong Xinghua said, "I ran into the youngest at the entrance of the alley. He was carrying some wine."
Dong Taohua nodded, she was the one who ordered the wine.
Originally, their family prepared a birthday party for He Ye, but it was contracted by the parents of those children. The good fish and meat were not cheap. Dong Taohua wanted to pay, but they refused to accept it.
It is said that He Ye and Fu Yun saved several children, and this banquet is to thank them.
Dong Taohua couldn't refuse, so she thought it was hot and bought some beer for everyone, which was also a token of their family's kindness.
Dong Xinghua nodded when she heard this and said, "Sister, you are right. People will be willing to get along with us only if there is a give-and-take between them." After all, her niece will live here for several more years!
"That's what I thought," Dong Taohua thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, and there's a jar of sweet rice wine. I originally brought it for my brother-in-law, but now that things are going on, I thought I'd give it to everyone. It's not too strong, and it's sweet, so women can drink it too." Beer isn't strong either, but not all women like its slightly bitter, bubbly taste. On the contrary, their Jiangzhou sweet rice wine is rich and sweet, suitable for all ages.
Dong Xinghua: "No need to keep it. He Ye bought him some wine last time. How shameless! Everyone should bring him some wine!"
Dong Xinghua was upset. She had recently had a huge fight with Pang Li, all about drinking. She was usually a decent person, but after a few drinks, she lost her mind. She had lent out her newly-paid salary before it even warmed up.
"Sister, tell me, how can I be kind to him?"
Pang Li carried a box of beer into the yard. Hearing this, he sighed, "Xinghua, I didn't lend the money to others because I was drunk." He could drink quite a lot, and two or three glasses of wine really couldn't make him drunk.
"My colleague has been really struggling lately. He's an only child, and his father recently fell seriously ill, spending all the family savings. And then the kid broke his leg and needs surgery. With lives at stake, how could I refuse to lend him money?"
Dong Xinghua puffed up her cheeks and said, "Okay, okay, you're the good guy. You're the good guy, and I'm the unforgivable villain, just waiting to see others suffer!"
Was she angry about the loan? Could it be that Dong Xinghua had no sense of the overall situation? She was angry that Pang Li had lent the money without even saying a word.
When she asked about it, the man had a ready-made excuse: his child had broken his leg and needed to borrow money for surgery. He made it sound as if she would stop him from lending the money if she knew the reason, trying to make her look like a greedy and vicious old woman.
Dong Taohua listened to the couple's bickering and quickly figured out the crux of the matter between them.
She sighed and said to Dong Xinghua first: "Xinghua, you need to talk nicely. Losing your temper won't solve the problem, it will only affect your relationship as husband and wife."
"Who cares." Dong Xinghua said unhappily.
Dong Taohua glared at her.
Dong Xinghua pursed her lips and fell silent. She actually still admired this elder sister.
Dong Taohua then said to Pang Li, "Brother-in-law, I'm being too generous and want to tell you something about this matter. Do you want to listen?"
Pang Li hurriedly said, "Sister, you talk and I'll listen." Like Dong Xinghua, Pang Li also admired his wife's eldest sister.
Dong Taohua supports the right side, not her relatives.
Dong Taohua: "About this matter, to say you're wrong is kind, but to say you're not wrong is also wrong. Your colleague's child needs surgery, and lending him money for emergency treatment is the right thing to do. Anyone with a conscience would do that."
"I don't think your wife is the kind of vicious person who would hold on to the money and refuse to lend it to save someone's life, and would just watch someone's child become lame?"
Pang Li quickly shook his head: "Of course not." He fell in love with Dong Xinghua because she was generous and kind.
Dong Xinghua has a bad temper, but she has a kind heart.
"If that's not the case, how can she stop you if you tell her about this?" Dong Taohua asked Dong Xinghua again, "If you knew he wanted to lend money to a colleague for emergency, would you agree?"
Dong Xinghua immediately said, "Of course I agreed. They're lending money for their child's surgery, not spending it on drinking, gambling, whoring, or other frivolous things. Why would I stop them?"
Dong Taohua looked at Pang Li again, silence was more powerful than words.
Pang Li moved his mouth for a long time before he said, "I didn't think too much about it. I just felt it was unnecessary—"
"Not necessary? Why not?" Dong Taohua's face darkened. "Pang Li, you are husband and wife, living together for more than ten years, and raising children together. Although your salary is earned by you, Xinghua also gets a share. Is that okay with you?"
Pang Li quickly shook his head. Dong Taohua said, "Since she owns half of it, doesn't she have the right to know in advance where you use the money?"
"You think it's unnecessary. Is it really unnecessary, or do you really disrespect your wife from the bottom of your heart?"
Pang Li was speechless.
"More importantly, your behavior of disrespecting your wife has affected your colleagues.
Normal people who ask for money would formally go to the couple's house and discuss it with them. But what did your colleague do? He ignored the apricot blossoms, secretly treated you to a drink, and then asked you to borrow money!
I believe the reason why Xinghua was angry was not because you lent the money to your colleague, but because of your sneaky behavior in bypassing her.
Telling her beforehand is called a discussion between husband and wife. Telling her afterward is called a notification. You don't want your wife to do something without telling you, and then when you find out later, she'll just casually give you a notification, right?
Dong Xinghua cried her heart out and hugged Dong Taohua: "Sister, you are really my dear sister. You have touched my heart."
That's what she thought.
Pang Li's behavior of secretly lending money to his colleagues made her very uncomfortable. But she couldn't explain why. They had legitimate reasons for borrowing money and had returned it on time. Her fuss only made her look petty and lacking a sense of the overall situation.
Pang Li looked at Dong Xinghua, thoughtfully.
He hugged Dong Xinghua and wiped her tears. "Don't cry. I didn't think it through. I will discuss everything with you in the future."
"Okay then, I'm telling you, you're not allowed to act on your own in the future."
The couple finally reconciled.
Pang Qiao watched this and couldn't help but admire Dong Taohua, "Aunt is really awesome." Her parents had been in a cold war for quite a long time, and as soon as her aunt showed up, she made the problem between them clear.
Xu Heye nodded, very proud: "Of course, my mother is an excellent Women's Federation officer."
Dong Taohua was very good at mediating family conflicts. In the third year after going to the countryside, she became the women's director of the local brigade.
Later, due to her good work, she was transferred to work in the county Women's Federation. Over the years, Dong Taohua still insists on going to the countryside to mediate family conflicts or revisit families she has mediated.
More importantly, she is not the kind of person who asks women to be tolerant. She will mediate if it can be mediated. If it is a matter of principle that cannot be mediated, such as infidelity, domestic violence, etc., if the parties insist on divorce, she will also support them and help them fight for the benefits they deserve.
Compared with some people who like to smooth things over and pursue a happy ending, Xu Heye feels that her mother's thinking is so advanced that she doesn't seem like someone from the 1950s.
The cousins chatted idly, and someone nearby looked at Dong Taohua thoughtfully. Speaking of which, her eldest sister-in-law had been arguing about divorce recently, and her eldest brother was extremely annoyed. Dong Taohua was so capable, if she could be asked to mediate, maybe she could change her sister-in-law's mind.
After the small talk, the meal was ready.
There were nine families sitting at three tables in total. The Lian family and Xu Heye and others sat at one table.
Xu Hui was immediately interested when he learned that Lian Yushu was a high school student, and the two engaged in a lively discussion about high school math. Lian Yushu even agreed to give Xu Hui a copy of the math materials their school distributed.
But Xu Hui was very happy.
Regardless of the era, the education level in big cities is always better than in small cities. If he could get the exercise materials that all the high school students in Hucheng had done, perhaps it would help his students broaden their horizons and even better, get a few more points on the college entrance examination.
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