Chen Lemin's face was gloomy, and he seemed to be angry. He looked up and saw Zhang Cuicao, which surprised him. He was stunned for a moment, and wanted to say something, but then he remembered what had happened before, and his face instantly turned red with embarrassment.
Then she saw Li Weidong and quickly greeted him: "Weidong, what brings you back today? Have you eaten? Why don't you come over for a meal?"
Li Weidong politely replied, "No need, I have other things to do."
To be fair, he and Zhang Cuicao were also victims.
Chen Lemin had his eye on Zhang Cuicao before.
After saying that, he turned to look at Zhang Cuicao and said, "Comrade Zhang, how are you going to get home after you've eaten? How about I come and pick you up later and take you to town?"
Zhang Cuicao shook her head: "No need, no need. There are buses here, it's very convenient. Besides, it's broad daylight, why bother delivering anything?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Lemin, who was standing to the side, turned pale, but still tried to remain calm and said, "Comrade Zhang, did you go to see Ershuanzi's chickens?"
"Um."
"That's good. You guys keep busy, we'll head back now."
Zhang Lemin could be considered to have fled in disarray, but thinking back to what had happened before, and looking at his wife behind him, he felt uneasy. If it weren't for Zhang Aiying, Zhang Cuicao might be the one by his side right now.
He works at the animal husbandry research institute now; that's a secure job.
She's gentle and has a good job.
Thinking about this made him angry, and he turned to look at Zhang Aiying and said, "Can't you walk faster and get some water when you get home? What have you been doing all day?"
Zhang Aiying wasn't the type to passively accept things, and she retorted directly: "You talk as if this family can't survive without you, how capable you are."
Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You're probably comparing me to Zhang Cuicao in your heart, aren't you? Ha, too bad, you're not destined for that. You can only marry someone like me in this lifetime.
Don't think too highly of yourself. Things are different now. Our dad is the team leader, and you're the scorekeeper. You're the most powerful people in the village, and everyone gives you face.
Now is the real era of hard reality, where good and bad are truly distinguished. Look at Li Weidong, Ershuanzi, and Li Erniu, they are all people you look down on.
So what? Everyone else is better than you now.
You're the only one who can manage to do all that work, just tending to your little plot of land, and still not amount to anything.
"If it weren't for my salary from elementary school, we wouldn't even be able to afford Yaowu School."
Zhang Aiying's words struck a nerve with Chen Lemin, who remained silent and sullen the entire way.
When they got home, he closed the door, grabbed Zhang Aiying, and silently punched her several times.
Zhang Aiying was no pushover either; she shouted back and forth while fighting back.
Captain Chen and Aunt Chen saw the couple fighting again.
He scolded her a few times, but she looked helpless.
Captain Chen said, "If you fight again, we'll split up. Your mother and I will go with the second son."
At this point, Chen Lemin stopped, and Zhang Aiying, who was standing to the side, said, "Divide it up, divide it up quickly. Your son is incompetent, and you have two children who can hardly afford to go to school. It would be best if you went to your parents' house."
Zhang Aiying's words infuriated the elderly couple. Captain Chen pointed at his daughter-in-law, his face turned green, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to catch his breath.
"father."
"Honey, alas, what a misfortune for our family, to have married such a spendthrift wife."
Seeing that his wife had angered his father so much, Chen Lemin got up, grabbed Zhang Aiying by the hair, and slammed her head against the wall.
Aunt Chen, supporting her husband as they stood in line, said, "Lemin, stop hitting him! Quickly take your father to the hospital."
Zhang Cuicao was tending the fire for Aunt Juhua.
A man from the village outside hurriedly came over and called out to Uncle Chrysanthemum.
"What's wrong?"
"The old captain is sick and needs to be taken to the hospital. He asked my uncle to go and help out."
Aunt Chrysanthemum hurriedly instructed her husband, "Go quickly."
Uncle Chrysanthemum left in a hurry, and Zhang Cuicao asked, "What illness does Captain Chen have?"
Aunt Chrysanthemum sighed and said, "What kind of illness could it be? It was all caused by Lemin's anger."
They argued every two days, a minor fight every three days, a major fight every three days. Whenever the Chen family saw their daughter being bullied, they'd also cause trouble. In recent years, the old team leader's family has been the subject of the most gossip in the village.
Zhang Cuicao sighed inwardly, but felt no sympathy for Chen Lemin whatsoever; he deserved it.
Zhang Cuicao and Shen Xiaomi didn't see the old team leader return after they finished eating.
Before leaving, he made a special trip to Ershuanzi's place to buy a few pounds of eggs and two chickens, asking Ershuanzi to help deliver them to the old team leader's house.
She took her daughter back to the city.
"Mom, if I get into high school this summer, could you take me to see Aunt He? She called me last time and asked me to come over for a visit."
Zhang Cuicao glanced at her daughter and said, "Your Aunt Su also said you should go to Beijing to play. Can you manage to have all that fun?"
“I visited Aunt Su’s place when I was in elementary school. I was going to go last year too, but you and Dad wouldn’t let me.”
“Your Aunt Su’s child is still young, and she won’t be able to take care of him if you go. Let’s go in a couple of years.”
"In two years, I'll be too busy with high school and won't have any time at all."
"Then you should apply to that school. Your dad and I both support you. Good luck!"
"Tch, getting into Beijing isn't that easy. You two failed your exams, and now you're making empty promises to your daughter, expecting us to work hard to fulfill your dreams. The worst part is, you didn't give me a good brain, Mom."
"Stop being cheeky. The reason your dad and I chose a university in the province was mainly because we had you at the time and didn't want to go too far away."
If you go far away, how can we see you once a month? Ultimately, it's all for your sake.
"You're criticizing me again. I think it's because you guys didn't do well on the test. I'll ask my dad how many points you got when we get back."
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