This time, all the people with different surnames had left, and the only people left in the yard were those with the surname Zheng.
Zheng Lanping looked at this and that, stamping her feet in anger, feeling a little overwhelmed. She asked her mother to control her two sisters-in-law, but it seemed that the two sisters-in-law were not so obedient.
Boss Zheng wrinkled his face and scratched his head, "No, what's going on? I'm hungry, and I don't know whether I'm going to eat or not."
Zheng Laoer asked Zheng Lanping, "What's going on? I just asked why the child was crying. Our mother wouldn't be so angry. Did something happen before we came back?"
Zheng Lanping: “…”
What happened? She couldn't say that it was her who instigated her mother to punish her daughter-in-law, which ultimately led to this result, right?
"It's nothing. Mom was changing the baby's diaper and patted his bottom. One child started crying, and the others started crying too. That's it. I think the sisters-in-law suspected Mom of beating the children, and that made her angry."
Zheng Laoda said, "Then my wife asked casually, why is our mother so angry?"
Zheng Laoer didn't say anything, thinking that his younger sister must not have told the whole truth. His mother's behavior seemed like she was taking the opportunity to cause trouble, and also seemed like she was guilty.
He looked at Zheng Lanping suspiciously and said, "Is there anything else?"
Zheng Lanping shook her head: "No more."
Old Man Zheng said to her, "You go cook lunch today. What everyone said makes sense. We've been busy all morning, and you're the only one who's free. Go cook. We have to go work this afternoon."
Zheng Lanping: "...I don't know how to cook. Today it's my eldest sister-in-law's turn! She and my second sister-in-law each have a day. My second sister-in-law cooked yesterday. Big brother, go get my eldest sister-in-law to come out and cook."
Brother Zheng said, "Why don't you give it a try? It's okay at other times, but it's the busy farming season right now, and your sister-in-law is really tired. After the autumn harvest, she'll be a little more relaxed and won't need you anymore."
Zheng Lanping refused and returned to her room.
Old Man Zheng said to his eldest son, "Go and call your wife out to cook."
Boss Zheng: “…”
He returned to the house and saw his wife lying on the kang, playing with the child. His daughter Xiaomei also got on the kang, eating a biscuit in her hand.
"Hey, your dad is hungry here. You eat first, give me a bite."
Zheng Xiaomei looked at her father with innocent eyes, then at her mother, unsure whether she should give it to him. He was her father, so he should give it to her, but her mother said she should eat it herself and not give it to anyone else. Didn't you see she ate secretly in the house?
Mrs. Zheng said to him, "How shameless of you to snatch a little food from the child?"
Boss Zheng said, "I was just joking with her. How could I take her cookie? Where did the cookies come from?"
"I went back to my parents' home last month. My mother gave me this, but I couldn't bear to eat a single bite. I gave it all to the children. There's one piece left, which I'm saving for Xiaojun. Don't touch it."
"I know, I know. I say, go and make dinner. I'm starving."
"No. Go hungry! Why should I come back to cook after working all day? What have I done less than you? Why don't you go?"
"How can I cook?"
"If you can't do it, go learn. From now on, don't think about going home and being a hands-off boss. Our mother only loves her daughters and not her daughter-in-law. I have no objection, because I didn't crawl out of her belly after all. But I'm curious, do you think she will feel sorry for you as a son?"
Boss Zheng: "...No, what are you doing? Stop fighting. How can we live like this?"
Mrs. Zheng sneered, "Whether she loves or not, you won't find a girl as lazy as your sister in the whole brigade. She's 15 years old and she's idle at home instead of working in the fields. She doesn't eat or drink my food, and all she eats is from the third child. I can't control whether she works in the fields or not, but we're a family, doesn't she know how to care for us? We have to cook when we come back from the fields, and she waits for ready-made food. Why? I won't do it."
Mrs. Zheng wiped her face and tears started to flow again.
"I didn't say anything, why are you crying?"
Zheng Xiaomei squeezed next to her mother and handed the biscuit in her hand to her mother's mouth, "Mom, eat it."
Mrs. Zheng pulled the corners of her mouth, forced a smile, and said, "Mom is not hungry, you eat, be good."
Boss Zheng asked, "What do you want?"
Mrs. Zheng said, "How would I know what I want? I want to split up and live on my own, but can I? If we split up, who will take care of the children? Can the work points you earn alone support our family? No way!"
So I can't split up the family. Not only do I have to rely on my mother-in-law to help take care of the children, I also want to rely on the third child to live a good life in the future, and let the children go to school and make a name for themselves. I have to bow my head under the eaves, and I can't stand up straight. Who made me incompetent and the man I married also incompetent?
If I had the ability to support myself and my children, I would have separated long ago! We are all family, why should I have to work so hard and have to look after my mother-in-law and sister-in-law? Why? It’s because I’m useless, I’m a coward, I’m a loser.
Boss Zheng: “…”
Did he really think he couldn't hear this indirect criticism? He was openly criticizing himself, but in reality, he was actually criticizing him.
"No, if you really feel that life is unbearable, then we can separate. Life will be a little harder if we separate, but at worst we can just owe the team some money. We won't starve to death anyway. After a few years, when the children are older, you won't have to worry about them anymore. By then, we can earn work points together, and the children will earn a little too, so we can pay back the overspending sooner or later. That way, we won't have to worry about how Lan Ping lives."
Mrs. Zheng: "...After we split up the family business, will you take care of the children, cook, do the laundry, and feed the pigs and chickens?"
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