The next morning, when Zhao Honghui finished washing his face and hung up the towel, he revealed the exquisite watch on his wrist.
The sharp-eyed second brother, Zhao Hongfei, saw it and asked with envy, "Big brother, did you get a new watch?"
"It was a gift from Yao Yao." Zhao Honghui's lips curled up slightly, a hint of pride in his expression.
Zhao Hongfei was extremely jealous. He wished he had a wealthy wife. He had seen this watch at the department store in the county town; it was one of the most expensive models, costing several hundred yuan.
That Xie educated youth was really generous!
“Big brother, now that you have a new watch, you don’t need the old one anymore. Why don’t you give it to me?” Zhao Hongfei said shamelessly.
Zhao Honghui replied, "I only have one watch, but I have three brothers. How can I give it to them?"
"Of course, it's first come, first served!" Zhao Hongfei, oblivious to his elder brother's underlying meaning, boasted shamelessly.
Zhao Honghui smirked at these words, dismissing them with disdain.
"Brother, please have mercy on me. I've wanted a watch for a long time, but I have nowhere to make money. Otherwise, I would have bought it myself." Zhao Hongfei followed Zhao Honghui everywhere like a fly, as if he wouldn't leave until he got the watch.
Zhao Honghui ignored him and let him buzz around, refusing to budge.
He knew all too well the dangers of inequality rather than scarcity. It was because of this that Yao Yao never considered giving the defective products to the educated youth; with so many people, it would only cause trouble.
If he were to give a watch, it would be to his younger brother who is in high school in the county town. The others live in the countryside and have bells to ring when they go to and from work, so they don't really need watches.
Seeing that his efforts had been ineffective, Zhao Hongfei became enraged and said, "Big brother! Don't you even consider me your younger brother anymore?"
Hearing this, Zhao Honghui laughed angrily, "I didn't hold the tractor driver incident against you last time, so you don't respect me anymore?"
"How dare you say that! Who would be like you, not siding with their own family! I'll tell Xie Zhiqing, and see if she still dares to marry someone like you." Zhao Hongfei had indeed become very bold, daring to say anything.
Originally, Zhao Honghui had a stern and imposing demeanor after joining the army, and Zhao dared not disrespect him. But after Zhao returned home seriously injured and witnessed his pain and weakness, the awe he felt suddenly vanished.
But he forgot that a tiger is still a tiger, and even if it is injured or sick, it is not something that anyone can bully.
"Come with me." Zhao Honghui, whose sore spot had been touched, gave a cold smile and took the lead in leaving the house.
Zhao Hongfei was secretly delighted, feeling that he had his older brother's weakness in his grasp. He was going to secretly give him the watch. "Fine, I'll go!"
So the two brothers left home before even having breakfast.
When they reached the foot of the remote, deserted mountain, Zhao Honghui picked up a stick and drew a circle on the ground. "Let's have a contest. If you can force me out of this circle, the watch is yours."
Zhao Hongfei: ......
He knew he was no match for his elder brother, but he was unwilling to retreat without a fight. A fierce look appeared on his face as he clenched his fists and charged forward...
*
When Xie Yuyao woke up, she didn't see Zhao Honghui. After she finished washing up and doing her laundry, he was still nowhere to be seen.
When Yang Chunhua returned from watering the vegetable garden and saw Yao Yao, her smile was as bright as the sunshine. "Yao Yao, you're awake? Did you sleep well last night?"
"It's fine." Xie Yuyao skillfully hung the clothes to dry. "By the way, Aunt Yang, do you know where Zhao Honghui went?"
"He went out with his second brother, they'll be back soon." Yang Chunhua saw them leave, and since they didn't leave any message, they couldn't have gone far.
"By the way, Yao Yao, the brigade has already started distributing sweet potato fields. We harvested some sweet potatoes yesterday, and this morning we steamed them and served them with white rice porridge. Do you want to try some? These fresh sweet potatoes are delicious."
Yang Chunhua received so many gifts last night that she already felt a bit indebted to them. Just now, she heard that she had given Honghui an expensive watch, and she was so happy that she didn't know how to express it. So she told Wen Xiumei to steam more sweet potatoes.
Maybe Yao Yao doesn't eat much in the city and just likes this kind of food.
“Okay, Aunt Yang, I ate steamed sweet potatoes a few times when I first arrived, and they were really delicious,” Xie Yuyao said with a smile.
She was telling the truth. When she first arrived in the countryside and there was no separate cooking system, one of the most acceptable meals she could eat from the communal pot was steamed sweet potatoes.
She had also heard about the production team distributing sweet potatoes.
The sweet potatoes planted by the production team were divided equally among the people at harvest time, with the team calculating how many rows each person would be allocated. Then, each family would measure out their own plot and harvest their own.
Sweet potatoes make up most of our food supply throughout the year, because this crop has a high yield!
Other crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans had to be handed over as public grain, leaving very little for the production team.
I didn't hear Li Weidong mention it yesterday afternoon, so she probably hasn't been assigned to the educated youth team yet. Once she's assigned, she'll be harvesting sweet potatoes in the fields.
Today, she wants to go to the county town again.
Just as Xie Yuyao sat down to eat breakfast, Zhao Honghui and his brother finally returned.
Zhao Honghui washed his hands with a calm expression, sat down next to Xie Yuyao, and asked softly, "Would you like some sweet potatoes?"
Xie Yuyao, wincing from the burn, nodded and mumbled, "Delicious."
Zhao Honghui smiled and picked up a sweet potato to eat.
After being scolded, Zhao Hongfei dawdled into the main room, sat down next to his wife, and asked Huang Qiufang to make him some porridge.
Normally, Huang Qiufang would give him the call, but in her late pregnancy, she was suffering from nighttime cramps and felt lethargic and unable to move, so she said, "It's inconvenient for me with this big belly, you go and give it to him yourself."
Snap!
Zhao Hongfei slammed his fist on the table, venting all the anger he had taken from his older brother on his wife: "Just go when I tell you to. So what if you're pregnant? What's wrong with getting some porridge?"
These words stirred up a hornet's nest. Huang Qiufang, who was already sensitive during her pregnancy, started crying and making a scene, "Zhao Hongfei, what do you mean 'it's just a pregnancy'? Do you have no conscience? I'm not giving birth to my child!"
"Qiufang, don't get agitated, Mom will teach him a lesson." Yang Chunhua quickly comforted the agitated Huang Qiufen, then turned to scold Zhao Hongfei, "What's wrong with you? Pregnancy is so hard for a daughter, and you still expect her to take care of you? Are your hands or feet broken? Can't you hit yourself?!"
Zhao Hongfei was both angry and ashamed. He was indeed in sore all over from being beaten by his older brother that he didn't want to move. He had inadvertently angered the two tigresses in the family.
If he had known that his brother was as formidable as ever, he would never have accepted the challenge.
The old lady sitting in the seat of honor, who favored sons over daughters, objected, "Mother of the child, please stop scolding Hongfei. As a daughter-in-law, it is her duty to serve her husband. So what if she is pregnant? Who can stop doing nothing just because they are pregnant? Being a good wife and mother is a woman's duty."
Yang Chunhua, who had been a daughter-in-law for many years, finally became a mother-in-law. She raised an eyebrow and said firmly, "Mom, if you're full, go down from the table and digest your food. There's nothing for you to do here."
Unable to bear seeing her beloved grandmother being mistreated, Zhao Chunling retorted, "Sister-in-law, Hongfei is also Grandma's grandson. It's only natural for her to discipline him. Shouldn't you show Grandma some respect?"
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