Chapter 65 I hit you so hard that it hurts, so I can make you laugh
When Sheng Jiahao heard Zhao Jiaojiao call him uncle, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and he was very happy. Future uncle-in-law, the "future" can be ignored, that is, uncle-in-law.
"Aunt, what are you doing?" Zhao Jiaojiao asked in confusion.
"Making lanterns." Jiang Moli said.
"What a beautiful little rabbit." Zhao Jiaojiao looked at the lantern.
The rabbit is a pattern on the lantern paper, not something they pasted into the shape of a rabbit.
Making a rabbit-shaped lantern yourself is a bit challenging. When choosing materials, Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao opted for simpler shapes, such as cylindrical ones. These are simpler and less complex. More complex ones are difficult to affix. Even cylindrical ones have different spacing between patterns, and the thin paper makes them difficult to affix.
"Beautiful?" Jiang Moli immediately understood what Zhao Jiaojiao meant. She turned her eyes and saw Zhao Guodong and the others behind Zhao Jiaojiao.
Zhao Guodong and his wife brought Niu's mother and others over and watched TV here for a while.
"Brother, come here, come here, make lanterns for your son and daughter. Now is your family time," Jiang Moli said quickly. She reached out and poked Sheng Jiahao, "Let my brother and the others play with Jiaojiao."
Sheng Jiahao immediately understood. If the lanterns they made didn't look good, that wouldn't be a good idea. It would be better to let Zhao Jiaojiao and the others go play, and Sheng Jiahao and Jiang Moli would buy ready-made ones.
"Come on." Sheng Jiahao stood up.
"You guys play." Zhao Guodong felt a little embarrassed.
"You guys come here," Sheng Jiahao said, "Jasmine and I are going out for a walk."
When Sheng Jiahao looked at Niu's mother, he nodded with a smile and called out, "Hello, Auntie."
"Okay, all is well, all is well." said Niu's mother.
"Have fun," Jiang Moli said. "When we come back, we'll see if you've finished making lanterns."
Jiang Moli pushed Sheng Jiahao out and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, let her brother and the others make lanterns, then they don't have to." Jiang Moli really didn't want to make lanterns. These lanterns were not easy to make and looked ugly.
Before Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao had gone far, Niu's mother said, "In our village, many of us make our own lanterns. A few who don't know how to make them ask the village elders to do it. During the temple fair on the fifth day of the second lunar month in our area, families with newborns have to make lanterns and dance with them."
During the Special Period, the temple fair was suspended for a few years. After the Special Period ended, the temple fair was held again and the temple was renovated.
The village where Niu's mother lives and many nearby villages basically have temples. Some villages have not only one temple, but two or three temples, one in the village and the others on the mountain. Some temples are even far away from the village, taking thirty to forty minutes to walk, and they are surrounded by mountains.
"Moli and the others don't know how to make it. They spent a long time trying to make only one. When they saw you, they wanted you to do it." Jiang's mother immediately saw through her daughter and the others' little tricks. Her daughter simply didn't want to do it. "This child, when she encounters something difficult, she just gives up. They always say that nothing is difficult in the world as long as you are willing to give up."
Jiang's mother laughed when she said this. Her daughter is really different.
Mother Niu could hear the tenderness in Mother Jiang's words. Mother Jiang really felt sorry for Jiang Moli.
"That's not a bad thing," said Niu's mother. "They're just small things. As long as they don't cause any major problems, there's nothing wrong with it."
"If she heard what you said, she would definitely be very happy." Jiang's mother said, "That's just her personality."
"That's great." Niu's mother said, "I don't think you need to worry too much about her. She's such a good girl."
"Grandma, grandma." Zhao Jiaojiao called Niu's mother, "Let's make lanterns."
Zhao Jiaojiao wanted a lantern. She looked at her father, then at her mother, and then at Niu's mother. Her parents said that grandma was coming and they had to take better care of her.
"Okay, do it." Mother Niu nodded, "Do it, do it."
Niu's mother walked over to Zhao Jiaojiao and sat on the sofa. She held the materials for the lantern and looked at the blueprint next to her. Niu's mother was quite skilled at making lanterns, and she quickly got to work with the materials. Zhao Jiaojiao and her brother were younger, so they just watched Niu's mother make them, as they couldn't do the same.
Zhao Guodong is also doing it, but he is not as fast as Niu Mu. Niu Mu is fast and good at it.
"Your craftsmanship is quite good." Jiang's mother sighed.
"People in the country have to do a lot of things themselves," said Niu's mother. "If we don't make them ourselves, it would cost a lot of money to buy them, and we can't bear to spend it. We also make bamboo baskets and weave baskets ourselves. The basket I brought this time was made by us."
"I have a good skill." Jiang's mother said.
"When we go to market, we sell our handmade items, sometimes brooms, sometimes bamboo baskets," said Niu's mother. "Almost every household in our area makes brooms. Brooms don't sell as well as baskets, but people don't buy baskets that often. We just sell what we can and take the rest home for our own use."
"It's not easy." Jiang's mother had been to the countryside and knew that people there were indeed much poorer. Niu's mother probably wouldn't make much from selling those things.
"It's not easy for you in the city either," said Niu's mother. "Everything costs money in the city. We are in the countryside. If we really have no money or food, we can go to the mountains to find something to eat. At least we can still have something to eat."
"Mom, I saw some people go to the vegetable market and pick up discarded vegetable leaves. We can eat them too," Niu Cuihua said. "We have a few chickens at home, and we also pick up rotten vegetable leaves for them to eat, and we also feed them some tofu dregs."
Niu Cuihua built a chicken coop next to a road. This road is rarely used by large vehicles, only small cars. In fact, cars rarely come here; people mostly just walk. Niu Cuihua wasn't the only one who built a chicken coop next to the road; other families did too, all to save money and still have eggs.
"Cuihua is hardworking." Jiang's mother said.
"That's nothing." Niu's mother said, "In our countryside, there are many people who are more hardworking than her."
Jiang's mother chatted and laughed with Niu's mother, and Niu's mother was able to make lanterns.
On the street, Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao were walking together. There were many people playing on the roadside. Some were blowing bubbles, some were playing shuttlecock. The children were having a lot of fun, and some were running around the adults.
A little kid almost bumped into Jiang Moli, but Sheng Jiahao stood in front of Jiang Moli, so the kid didn't bump into her.
"Be careful." Jiang Moli said to the child, "If you fall, you will cry."
The child ran away quickly, but Jiang Moli didn't like running like that.
"When I was little, someone fell while running and broke their front teeth," Jiang Moli said. "I didn't break my front teeth, but the thought of it scares me. I'm afraid I might break my front teeth if I'm not careful. Without front teeth, and since teeth don't grow back, it would be very ugly. I'd have to get dentures."
At that time, Jiang Moli often dreamed that her teeth were loose and that her teeth were no longer effective. Jiang Moli woke up from the dream and thought: Fortunately, fortunately, my teeth are still fine.
Jiang Moli would reach out and touch her teeth to make sure they were in good condition and that they hadn't really fallen out. Recently, Jiang Moli still had dreams like that. She told herself in her dreams that they were all fake, but she was still afraid.
"It's okay to be able to get dentures, at least it still looks better on the face." Sheng Jiahao said.
"They're not your own teeth. Teeth are organs of the body. Even if you just lose one, you'll feel very uncomfortable." Jiang Moli said, "It's just that those children don't understand anything yet. When their teeth are broken, they don't know anything and don't feel scared."
The older you get, the more you understand, and the more easily you become afraid.
Children are ignorant and follow the crowd, and they believe whatever adults say.
"When I see these kids running around on the street, I like to stay away from them," Jiang Moli said. "The impact of two people colliding is very strong, especially for children whose teeth haven't grown in yet. They're not strong enough, so a slight bump could ruin their teeth."
"Don't be so scared, teeth are also bones." Sheng Jiahao said.
"As opera actors, we need good, straight teeth," Jiang Moli said. "This is our image."
"Your appearance is very good." Sheng Jiahao said, "Have you had your teeth adjusted?"
"No." Jiang Moli said, "My teeth are naturally formed like this."
Jiang Moli was glad that her teeth were straight and she didn't need to get them fixed.
"Aren't your teeth pretty good?" Jiang Moli said, "Actually, everyone's teeth are a little crooked, so there's no need to make them too straight.
"It's okay." Sheng Jiahao said.
"Let's go buy lanterns." Jiang Moli said.
"If you buy it now, someone might see it," said Sheng Jiahao.
"It's okay. Didn't we let Jiaojiao and the others play the lantern-making game together?" Jiang Moli chuckled. It was not that they didn't make the lanterns well, but that they cared about the children and let Zhao Jiaojiao and the others play together.
Sheng Jiahao accompanied Jiang Moli to buy lanterns. The Lantern Festival hadn't started yet, and it wasn't even the Lantern Festival itself, but there were already many places selling lanterns. Jiang Moli quickly found a shop selling lanterns. They needed to buy something with a nice shape, ready-made lanterns, so they could buy something more complex, not something too simple.
"Little rabbit, this is a real little rabbit, not just a pattern." Jiang Moli picked up the little rabbit lantern. Next to it were lotus-shaped lanterns. There were all kinds of lanterns. "Is it okay?"
"It looks good." Sheng Jiahao saw Jiang Moli put the little rabbit lantern next to her face. He felt that Jiang Moli's face looked even better. "It looks very good."
"Then buy one." Jiang Moli said.
The two of them didn't buy too many lanterns, just two ready-made ones. They also lit candles to take a look, but they blew them out after walking a few steps.
Jiang Moli felt that since the candle was always lit, they would have to pay more attention to it when walking. It would be better to just put out the candle first and light it up when they wanted to play later.
"Mom, Mom, I want this."
"No, no, I want this one."
"Just this, just this."
…
Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao had just blown out their candles on the side of the road when they heard a child's voice, who was pointing at a lantern in front of a shop.
"Mom, I want this big dragon, I want it." It was a boy, who was clamoring to buy a lantern, and the child's mother took out some money from her wallet, but it was not enough.
"I'll buy it next time." The child's mother was in a dilemma. It wasn't that she didn't want to buy it for her child, but she simply didn't have enough money. She said she would buy it next time, but she didn't know for sure what she would buy next time.
"This lantern is for the child," said the shop owner.
The shop owner knew the child's mother, and her family was indeed relatively poor. Children don't understand whether their family is well off or not; they just want what they like.
"No, you can't." said the child's mother.
"This lantern isn't quite finished; the edges are a bit peeling," the shop owner said. "It's been sitting here for a while, but no one's buying. So I'm giving it to you. Go take your things to the side and don't interrupt my sales."
The shop owner said that on purpose. After handing the lantern to the little boy, he waved his hand.
"Thank you." The child's mother hurriedly expressed her gratitude.
The little boy was very happy after he got the lantern.
Jiang Moli looked at the happy little boy. The shop owner was a nice guy. No wonder his business was so good. "What's wrong with the edges? Can't I just glue them back on?" The owner didn't say anything, so no one else knew. Besides, some of the lanterns were made by the owner himself.
"There are still many good people in this world." Jiang Moli said.
"Of course." Sheng Jiahao also saw that scene. The little boy was about to cry.
"I don't remember much about my childhood, and I don't know if I was like him." Jiang Moli said, "Maybe. Children always want something, but if they don't have money to buy it, they can only act like a spoiled brat and ask their parents to buy it for them."
"They are just small things." Sheng Jiahao said.
"Were you like this when you were a child?" Jiang Moli tilted her head and looked at Sheng Jiahao.
"No?" Sheng Jiahao said, "I don't remember."
"But your family is well-off, so it should be much better." Jiang Moli said.
"Not necessarily." Sheng Jiahao said, "When I was a kid, my parents were reluctant to buy us more things. It wasn't really because they were reluctant, but because of the environment around us."
At that time, everyone had to be more careful. If you casually spend money on so many things, you will easily be criticized by others. Others will think that your family is very rich, and others will target them, and your family may have problems.
To reduce trouble, Mr. and Mrs. Lu paid close attention to their children's food, clothing, and daily expenses. They didn't let their children dress too well, so that others wouldn't think their children were enjoying too much, and they wanted to appear more ordinary. After the special period passed, Mr. and Mrs. Lu's life became slightly better, but their years of habit made them still relatively frugal.
"Our family is lucky. We don't have much money, so there's no need to worry about whether we can spend money or not." Jiang Moli said, "In the early days, my brother, Jiang Yuqin, and I all had to spend a lot of money. We can't grow up just by breathing air. We still have to eat. To buy a new piece of clothing, we have to buy it for all three of us. My mother gave me old clothes to alter, but Jiang Yuqin said they were new clothes and insisted on having new clothes. She would even make a fuss."
Jiang Moli can't forget some things from her childhood. "Once, my mother punished my brother and me by making us hold basins of water on our heads, and Jiang Yuqin was laughing at us."
Jiang's mother couldn't punish Jiang Yuqin too much, so she punished Jiang Moli and Zhao Guodong. Jiang's mother wanted her children to grow up well and not go astray. As for how Jiang Yuqin grew up, Jiang's mother didn't care. She wasn't her biological daughter, so even if Jiang's mother was doing it for Jiang Yuqin's good, those outsiders would think she was a vicious stepmother.
"Now that I think about it, it's because Mom loves us and wants to teach us in the right direction," Jiang Moli said.
Look at Jiang Yuqin. She's always been arrogant, disregarding her mother and the others, and only listening to what the Jin family says. The Jin family told her to fight for things within the family, and she did. The Jin family didn't teach her well. Her mother barely taught her, and her father, a grown man, didn't even consider whether Jiang Yuqin's temper might be strained.
"Is there anything you want to eat? Let's buy some to take back." Sheng Jiahao said, "Do you want some snacks?"
"You can eat some, but I don't eat roasted sweet potatoes." Jiang Moli saw Miao Guifeng who was selling roasted sweet potatoes.
In recent days, Miao Guifeng hasn't been selling roasted sweet potatoes at the train station. Instead, she's selling them right here on the street. She has to look after her child, who's finally recovered from a cold, and it's hard for her to carry him far away, so she's just selling them right here, taking whatever she can.
Jiang Moli and Miao Guifeng's relationship was not very good, and Jiang Moli had no intention of patronizing Miao Guifeng's business. When Miao Guifeng saw Jiang Moli, she naturally couldn't ask Jiang Moli to buy roasted sweet potatoes.
Some people have been eating very greasy food for many years, so they want to eat something light, so they buy some roasted sweet potatoes.
Jiang Moli thought that eating some fruit or something would be fine, and she didn't have to eat roasted sweet potatoes.
When Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao returned, they brought back some snacks, all of which were things that children liked to eat. The Jiang family already had fruit, so Jiang Moli and Sheng Jiahao didn't buy any.
Niu Mu and others have already made the lanterns. Those lanterns are pasted very beautifully and are no worse than those made by the shop owner.
"Why did you buy another lantern?" Jiang's mother looked at the lantern in Jiang Moli's hand.
"I didn't buy a lot." Jiang Moli said, "Just two."
Jiang Moli was thinking about buying one at the time, but after thinking about it, she decided to buy two. Sheng Jiahao is also a human being, and Sheng Jiahao can also play with lanterns. Jiang Moli can't be the only one playing with them.
"We can all play." Jiang Moli emphasized.
"I think you want to play yourself," Jiang's mother said, "don't make excuses."
"This is not an excuse, it's the truth." Jiang Moli said.
Jiang Moli put the lantern on the table and looked at the lantern pasted by Niu's mother. She really couldn't tell that it was pasted by her own family.
"You can all make lanterns and sell them." Jiang Moli sighed.
"It's really well made." Sheng Jiahao picked up one of the lanterns and examined it carefully. It looked much better than the lanterns he made. Sheng Jiahao had to admit that he was not as good as these people in making lanterns. He really was not as good as them. "I'm not good at it."
"We make them quite often," said Niu's mother. "We make them almost every year. The kids at home want to play with them, so we make them for them. Sometimes other families ask us to make them, and we help out. My craftsmanship isn't that great, but there's a guy in our village who makes even better looking lanterns, and people from other villages like to ask him to make them for them."
"It's enough as long as it's enough." Sheng Jiahao said.
Jiang Moli put snacks and pastries on the table, and they also bought some egg cakes.
"Eat something." Jiang Moli said.
"Why buy again?" Mother Niu felt embarrassed when she saw the food. She had made people spend a lot of extra money.
"I bought it this way when you weren't here," Jiang Moli said. "The food is good and doesn't cost a lot of money. Isn't the purpose of making money to eat?"
"I'll go back first." Sheng Jiahao said. He had to go back and rest.
"Okay, you go back first." Jiang Moli sent Sheng Jiahao to the door and then went back after seeing Sheng Jiahao off.
When Jiang Moli returned, her mother was handing Niu's mother an egg cake. The cake was on the coffee table, and Niu's mother was embarrassed to take it, so Jiang's mother gave it to her.
"You guys sit down, I'll go wash up." Jiang Moli said.
"Don't you want to eat?" asked the cow's mother.
"You guys eat, you guys eat." Jiang Moli said, "I'll change my clothes first and eat later."
Mother Niu ate the egg cake, which tasted good. She felt that it was even better than the egg cakes in their hometown. In fact, it was not that the egg cakes in South City were better than the egg cakes in the countryside, but that Mother Niu rarely ate these things. When she ate them once, she thought they were delicious.
At the Yang family, Miao Guifeng had just returned from takeout. She had sold some of the roasted sweet potatoes she had made today, so she didn't continue roasting them. Instead, she chose to come back. Miao Guifeng saw Niu's mother and the others still at the Jiang family. It seemed like it was the same in her previous life. When the Niu family came to Nancheng, the Jiang family would always warmly entertain them.
Miao Guifeng thought again about her own mother's visit. Her mother wasn't treated well when she came, and Yang's mother didn't even offer to cook a good meal for her. In this life, Yang's mother and Miao Guifeng had a bad relationship, so it made sense for Yang's mother not to invite Miao's mother to dinner. But in her past life, Miao Guifeng did so much work at home, and when Miao's mother came to the Yang family, Yang's mother looked unhappy.
The two sides formed a sharp contrast. In her previous life, Miao Guifeng did not think it was Mother Yang's fault. She only thought that she had not given birth to a son, so Mother Yang treated her like this. Niu Cuihua and the Niu family received better treatment because they took care of Zhao Guodong when he was in the countryside, and Niu Cuihua even gave birth to a child for Zhao Guodong.
"This is delicious, eat this."
"Eating, eating."
"You're welcome, eat more."
…
Miao Guifeng heard the noises coming from the Jiang family. The doors of the Jiang family were not completely closed, but ajar, so Miao Guifeng could see something.
"Look at others, then look at your mother." Miao Guifeng said.
"What?" Yang Bingrong didn't understand what Miao Guifeng was saying for a moment.
"I'm talking about Niu Cuihua's biological mother. When her mother came, you saw how her mother-in-law treated her." Miao Guifeng said, "Look at your mother. When my mother came, your mother didn't even look at her, let alone cook something delicious for her. Niu Cuihua's in-laws were so willing to spend money to treat her and make her feel comfortable."
"..." What could Yang Bingrong say? He couldn't care less about this matter. "Mom is here. Didn't you make something delicious?"
"How can what I do be the same as what your mother does?" Miao Guifeng asked, "When Niu Cuihua's in-laws did this, her family felt relieved and thought that Niu Cuihua was living a good life in the city, so they didn't have to worry so much. But if my mother comes, will you treat her well? My mother will just think that no one in your family is easy to get along with."
"Our family... our family doesn't have that much money," Yang Bingrong explained.
"Is this a money issue? If you don't have money, won't you borrow it?" Miao Guifeng rolled her eyes. "You just don't value my family. Your mom does, and neither do you. We even asked my mom to help us take care of the children, and you don't even know how to treat her better."
"Aren't you going to send money to Mom?" Yang Bingrong asked, "Have you sent it yet?"
"Is that for my mom? That's for our daughter," Miao Guifeng said. "Children need food, clothing, and shelter when they grow up. That's going to cost a lot of money."
"Yes, yes." Yang Bingrong did not dare to refute Miao Guifeng.
Miao Guifeng really wanted to yell at Yang's mother, but she was afraid that if she did, the Jiang family next door would hear her and come over to criticize her. The more Miao Guifeng thought about it, the sadder she felt. Niu Cuihua was still doing pretty well.
Even though he had initially encouraged Niu Cuihua to fight for the house and had let Niu Cuihua trouble Jiang Moli, the Jiang family was still so kind to Niu Cuihua.
Miao Guifeng wished she could switch places with Niu Cuihua. She didn't want to be the daughter-in-law of the Yang family at all. She wanted to be Jiang's mother's daughter-in-law even more.
The Jiang family didn’t know what Miao Guifeng was thinking. Even if they knew, they wouldn’t care about her.
It was a new day, and Niu's mother was still at Niu Cuihua's place. She had to wait until after the Lantern Festival to go back. Niu's mother had originally thought that after borrowing the money, she would go back quickly. Niu Cuihua and Jiang's mother had asked her to spend the Lantern Festival here, so she did.
The day before the Lantern Festival, Third Aunt Zhao came to see Zhao Guodong again. Old Mrs. Zhao had broken her leg and was in the hospital. The Zhao family was arguing over Old Mrs. Zhao's medical expenses, and Third Aunt Zhao felt that Zhao Guodong should pay a penny.
"Your grandma is in the hospital, and you didn't even go and see her." Aunt Zhao San said.
Aunt Zhao went to Zhao Guodong's workplace to look for him and insisted that he pay. She did not go to Zhao Guodong's residence because she was afraid of being seen by Jiang's mother.
"Come on, follow me to the hospital." Aunt Zhao San pulled Zhao Guodong to go to the hospital. She deliberately chose to come when Zhao Guodong got off work.
If Zhao Guodong hadn't finished get off work, even if Aunt Zhao San asked the doorman to call Zhao Guodong, Zhao Guodong would not have come out.
Zhao Guodong directly shook off Aunt Zhao San's hand and said, "I'm not going."
"You're not going?" Aunt Zhao San didn't expect Zhao Guodong to answer like this.
"That's right, I'm not going." Zhao Guodong said, "You're here to ask me to pay, that's impossible."
"If your father were alive..."
"Don't talk about my dad," Zhao Guodong said. "Last year, I went to visit my dad's grave during the Qingming Festival, but you blocked my way."
Zhao Guodong remembered that these people would do anything for money. Then, Zhao Guodong didn't visit his father's grave on Qingming Festival, but on another day. The Zhao family couldn't stay there forever, and Zhao Guodong didn't have to wait until that day.
"You're all still alive, so it's you who should be paying for her medical treatment. It's not my turn as a grandson kicked out of the house," Zhao Guodong said. "Even if they take you to the police station or the court, I'm not afraid."
Aunt Zhao San didn't dare to make a scene at Zhao Guodong's workplace, and even if she did, Zhao Guodong wouldn't be afraid. Old Mrs. Zhao had so many children around, and they were unwilling to pay, so they asked Zhao Guodong to pay. What kind of logic was that?
"You..." Aunt Zhao San felt like she was going to be pissed off by Zhao Guodong. "It must be your mother who taught you that. Your mother is so vicious."
"It's not her who is vicious, it's you who are vicious." Zhao Guodong didn't want to say more to Aunt Zhao San, so he went back.
On the Lantern Festival, Aunt Zhao San went to look for Niu Cuihua again early in the morning. Niu's mother happened to be at home. Niu's mother had long known that Zhao Guodong and the Zhao family were not on good terms, and Niu Cuihua had already told her everything.
"Mother-in-law." When Aunt Zhao San learned that Mother Niu was Niu Cuihua's biological mother, she started talking about how Old Mrs. Zhao had fallen and was hospitalized, acting as if her own mother had suffered a great injustice. "Guodong is my mother's grandson after all. His father is gone, so he should show his filial piety, right? We..."
"You are looking for my son to pay." Jiang's mother came over to help Niu Cuihua, and she saw Aunt Zhao San.
Aunt Zhao San was a little scared when she saw Jiang's mother, but she thought that Zhao Guodong's mother-in-law was here, so she had to say a few more words.
"Everyone should pay together. It's not just Guodong who pays." Aunt Zhao San said.
"How should he pay?" Jiang's mother sneered, "Guodong doesn't spend more time with your old lady, so he has to pay more?"
"That's how it is." Aunt Zhao San blurted out, and then added, "He doesn't have to pay more. He pays the same as my brother and the others. It's considered that he paid on behalf of his father. He..."
"No way!" Jiang's mother said, "Even if your old lady dies, don't expect Guodong to give you a penny. When you kicked us out, you said you wouldn't have to rely on Guodong anymore. Now, you still have the nerve to ask Guodong for money. Are all the Zhao family members dead? No one else is coming, and you, a married woman from outside, are coming? Who do you think you are?"
Niu's mother hadn't said much yet. When she heard what Jiang's mother said, she naturally stood on Jiang's side. Niu's mother certainly didn't want her son-in-law to be forced to pay. Her daughter and son-in-law had lent her the money, so where did her daughter and son-in-law get the money from?
"That's because you insisted on staying at our house and refused to leave. If you had left earlier, we wouldn't have said those things." Aunt Zhao San said, "It's clearly your fault."
"If you have the guts, go sue Guodong. Otherwise, you won't get a penny," Jiang's mother said. "Go ahead and sue him. It'll let everyone know what terrible things you did in the past. You've even thrown your grandparents' reputation to shame. And your brother stole the job Guodong's father left him. Don't you deserve an explanation for that, too?"
"You...you..." Aunt Zhao San's fighting ability is not good. She is just incompetent and likes to meddle in other people's affairs. She always wants her family to think that she is very good and that she has done a lot of things for her family.
"We don't have a penny," Jiang's mother said. "Without this money, you don't want to treat your old lady's illness, right? Then don't treat her. Just carry her home and let her die!"
"After you die, my eldest brother will definitely not want to see you." Aunt Zhao San said.
"Do I still want to see him?" Jiang's mother sneered, "He left behind such a huge mess. He wants to see me, but I don't want to see him!"
Jiang's mother had resented Zhao Guodong's father, but what good was that? Zhao's father had left them an orphan and a widow, subjecting them to the abuse of Zhao's lover. Jiang's mother had no choice but to remarry and work hard to raise Zhao Guodong.
Aunt Zhao couldn't convince Mother Jiang, so she could only look at Mother Xing Niu again and say, "Mother-in-law, you have to persuade your son-in-law. He's so unfilial to his own grandmother, and he'll be criticized by others."
"If you were in our country, you shouldn't have come looking for Guodong," Niu's mother said. "You kicked him out, so you don't recognize them. You didn't raise him, so you shouldn't come asking him for money. Even if you were begging outside, you shouldn't come looking for Guodong."
Jiang's mother had said those words, so Niu's mother naturally couldn't still think of smoothing things over. If Zhao Guodong paid this time, those people would continue to ask Zhao Guodong to pay. They would think that Zhao Guodong was easy to control and they could manipulate Zhao Guodong at will.
"There was nothing we could do back then. His mother was so young, she would have to remarry sooner or later. That house belongs to our Zhao family..."
"No, Guodong is a man, so the house should belong to him," Niu's mother said. "You didn't give Guodong the house and kicked him out. You can't come to see him. If you say this out loud, aren't you afraid of being laughed at by others? I'm ashamed for you."
Jiang's mother was quite satisfied when she heard Niu's mother's words. She was afraid that Niu's mother was an ignorant person and would think that Zhao Guodong was ignorant. No matter what happened to Old Lady Zhao, she still had other children. The Zhao family had not given Zhao Guodong any property, so there was no need for Zhao Guodong to care about Old Lady Zhao.
Whenever Jiang's mother thought of the Zhao family's ugly faces, she would still feel a little angry, but not as angry as before. The Zhao family did not regard Zhao Guodong as their family at all. They all regarded Zhao Guodong as a burden.
"Mother-in-law, you were very good to your previous man and didn't even let your son change his surname." Mother Niu said, "Your current man is also very good to Guodong."
"If it were true, Zhao Guodong shouldn't have been the one who went to the countryside." Aunt Zhao San was furious. What did Mother Niu know?!
"That was due to the policy environment at the time," Niu's mother said. "You can't blame them."
Zhao Guodong is not Jiang's father's biological son, so Niu's mother can still understand.
"Why didn't his mother give the job to Guodong?" Aunt Zhao San asked, "You just know how to say that we Zhao family members didn't do a good job, but she did?"
"She's a thousand times better than you. A widow remarried and raised your brother's child. You should be grateful to her," said Niu's mother. "In our countryside, some people would just abandon their children and remarry. But your mother-in-law helped you raise Guodong. She's just too kind-hearted."
This time, Jiang's mother did not hit Aunt Zhao San, not because she didn't want to, but because Niu's mother was here, so Jiang's mother still had some concerns.
At this time, Niu Cuihua took a broom and went straight to hit Aunt Zhao San. Aunt Zhao San quickly hid, and Niu Cuihua chased her and beat her.
“…” Mother Niu opened her eyes wide. She didn’t expect Niu Cuihua to be like this.
"She learned it from me." Jiang's mother coughed lightly. "Before, when this person came, I did the same thing. I also told Cuihua not to give those people face. They don't even know what face is."
"Yes, that's right." Mother Niu nodded. She was worried that Mother Jiang would be unhappy, but when she heard Mother Jiang say that, she felt relieved.
"Guodong is back in the city, has a job, and is making a little money, so someone is keeping an eye on him." Jiang's mother said this, then quickly explained, "I'm not talking about you. Guodong has lived in your house for many years, and you've helped them a lot. If you need help, just ask Guodong. Don't worry about us getting upset. This is what Guodong should do. People should have a conscience. They can't give without always expecting something in return."
"Those people are really good-for-nothings." Mother Niu spat.
"I'm sorry to show you a joke," Jiang's mother said. "Every time Guodong comes back to the city, they make trouble two or three times a year, hoping to squeeze some money out of him. Every bit counts, and once Guodong gives them money, they'll keep asking for more."
"Only this person came, no one else came?" asked Niu's mother.
"Yeah." Jiang's mother nodded. "Those people have to save face, so how could they come here? Only this idiot would come here."
When Zhao's father was still alive, Jiang's mother thought Third Aunt Zhao was stupid, and she is still stupid now. Jiang's mother thinks Third Aunt Zhao may understand what others want her to do, but she still does it. This kind of behavior is self-satisfaction.
When Jiang's mother talked about Jiang Yuqin to Jiang Moli, she said that Jiang Yuqin was moved by the so-called love.
"When facing such an idiot, if you can't reason with her, just beat her up. Don't worry about whether she's an elder or not. People like her can't be considered elders!" Jiang's mother said, "To put it bluntly, it's not an exaggeration to say that she is Guodong's enemy."
"That's right, that's the truth." said Niu's mother.
Niu Cuihua chased Aunt Zhao for a while, hit her twice, and then returned. Aunt Zhao was out of breath from the chase, but Niu Cuihua was still able to run. It was because Niu Cuihua was too lazy to chase Aunt Zhao and showed some mercy, which allowed Aunt Zhao to escape a little.
"What the hell, how dare you come to our side?" Niu Cuihua said.
"Cuihua, aren't you going to sell tofu?" Jiang's mother said, "Sell it quickly and come back soon. Today is the Lantern Festival. You don't have to cook tonight. Come to our place for dinner. I bought some vegetables this morning."
"I also bought some vegetables," said Niu Cuihua.
"It's cold, so we'll save those dishes for tomorrow. It's settled. You guys go over for dinner tonight," Jiang's mother said. "If you're too embarrassed, come over earlier and help me."
"Okay." Niu Cuihua asked, "Mom, will my little sister come back to celebrate the Lantern Festival today?"
"No," Jiang's mother said, "She went to perform again. That's how it is at their workplace. They're busy during holidays, but they're more relaxed on weekdays."
After Jiang's mother finished speaking, she went back first. With Niu's mother around, there was no need for Jiang's mother to do anything else.
Before Jiang's mother had gone far, Niu's mother looked at Niu Cuihua and said, "Did you hit anyone? Don't come back if you didn't hit anyone. If you didn't hit anyone, they wouldn't feel the pain."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
