The dirt road from the side gate of the armed forces' family compound to the entrance of Zuojiazhuang village is lined with stalls on both sides. Villagers nearby bring the things they saved during the Chinese New Year to exchange for money. The heavy snow blocked the road to the county town, and the family members became the best purchasing power.
Zuo Mei is a married girl from Zuojia Village. Whenever she comes across a stall of villagers from Zuojia Village, she will chat with them and try to get the best price for her sisters-in-law.
Su Jin and Yun Feng were also big buyers. Su Jin not only bought a lot of meat, but also bought nearly 5 kilograms of beef and a lot of eggs, vegetables and other items.
Many sisters-in-law from the compound came to the fair, and a few gossipy military wives were muttering not far away.
"Sister-in-law, are those people from our courtyard?" Su Jin pointed at three women in their 40s who were about 2 meters away. They looked sarcastic and mean, and their words implied that Su Jin was a spendthrift.
"Yes!" Yun Feng nodded. "Those people live in the family quarters and have a good relationship with Aunt Hu."
When Su Jin heard Aunt Hu, her eyes instantly turned cold. She had just arrived and had not yet obtained a marriage certificate with Lu Shiyi, so she didn't want to lose her temper. They were just in a good mood.
"Ayi is happy to pamper me, and my parents-in-law don't ask for any household expenses. I'll also be going back to work in the spring. Of course, two salaries will feed two people." Su Jin shouldered the bamboo basket and stood up, taking a few steps forward to confront the women. "Auntie Hu occupied the house allocated to my family by the government. Is her action good? Do you think undermining socialism is right?"
"Don't scare people. If you have the guts, say it in front of Aunt Hu. Why are you trying to show off in front of us?" Several sisters-in-law were jealous of Su Jin's lavish purchases at the market, and they all wanted to send half of their husbands' allowances to their husbands' families.
"Even if she were here, I wouldn't dare say that my son's position takes up too much space. It's because the military wives around you are too soft-hearted. They dare not resist when she rides on their shoulders." Su Jin sneered, "You sisters-in-law live by the sea, don't you? The women in the village know not to interfere in the affairs of their sisters-in-law. And I don't know you..."
As soon as Su Jin finished speaking, the stall owners expressed their agreement. If a sister-in-law interfered in their family affairs, they would be kind enough to agree.
"I'll go back and tell Aunt Hu, you wait!" After hearing Su Jin's exaggerated words, several sisters-in-law hurriedly looked around, fearing that the patrol team would appear.
Yunfeng watched those people leave and gave Su Jin a thumbs up.
"Zitao is helpless against those people, and he has no reason to explain it." Yunfeng suppressed her temper and spoke to those people because of Lin Zitao. "It's right that the Lu Department didn't want that house. No one can leave with the Hu family."
"Didn't Hu Teng say he would send her back?" Wang Dahua, who lived in the family housing area, heard Aunt Hu's curses every day. "She hasn't cursed in the past few days. I thought she had gone back."
"No, Aunt Hu spent the New Year here because she was trying to be pitiful, and then the roads were blocked by heavy snow, so we have to wait until spring." Yunfeng heard Lin Zitao mention this.
"Xiao Jin, were you just trying to scare me with what you said, or can you really sue me?" Zuo Mei lived very close to the Hu family and was tortured by Aunt Hu's scolding every day.
"The patrol team will definitely investigate once they hear about it." Su Jin saw someone selling vegetable seedlings not far away, so he immediately walked over and took all the vegetable seedlings from the old man.
Zuo Mei was very excited and was thinking about how to spread the news.
"Don't do it yourself, it will affect unity." Su Jin looked at Zuo Mei and reminded her.
Men are all comrades-in-arms, and wives should not hold them back.
Zuo Mei instantly wilted, and while the others were strolling around, she complained to them about Aunt Hu's weird behavior.
"The patrol team will find this out," Su Jin reassured them. "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Does my sister-in-law want to see my elder sister?"
Several military wives were distracted by Su Jin and started to persuade Wang Dahua.
"Let's meet in the county town when the road is clear." Wang Dahua was heartbroken by her family. She didn't know if her sister, whom she hadn't seen for many years, was the same as at home. "Xiao Jin, please don't tell Dahong about my true situation."
Su Jin agreed and walked towards the family compound while chatting with the military wives.
When the group was heading towards the family compound quickly, they saw from a distance that a lot of people had gathered at the gate of the compound. They thought they were people going to the market and did not pay much attention to them.
However, Su Jin found the voice in the crowd very familiar. When they passed by the crowd, they saw Aunt Hu beating and scolding Ruan Tao through the gaps in the crowd.
There were family members trying to mediate among the crowd, and they all stood on Ruan Tao's side.
"Aunt Hu, you should go back in the spring. Ruan Tao should be the head of the family. What do you want money for now?" The military wives said to Aunt Hu angrily.
Ruan Tao held his daughter tightly and refused to let Aunt Hu touch her again.
"Sisters-in-law, please help me. I will start looking for a job after the New Year so that I can take care of my daughter by myself." Ruan Tao was wronged at home, and his daughter suffered as well.
Aunt Hu favors her youngest son, and Hu Teng also helps his younger brother support the family.
"You little rascals, all you do is bully old ladies like me." Aunt Hu sat on the ground and started howling.
"Auntie Hu, everyone knows that you have occupied too much house. Your daughter is a human being, but Ruan Tao's daughter is not a human being?" Several neighbors couldn't stand it and spoke up to support her.
All the military wives knew that Lu Shiyi had to move to the small courtyard because Aunt Hu occupied the house.
"Mrs. Lu, this matter has something to do with you." Several neighbors saw Su Jin standing not far away and hurriedly pulled her over.
"Occupying more houses is digging into socialism. Everyone lives in a house according to the level of their husband's official position. Why is your Hu family an exception?" Zuo Mei sneered.
Zuo Mei understood what Su Jin had just said, but asking about it in public was just a quarrel between women.
"Old lady, this isn't the village. You can't act like a fool. This is the military. Your son is serving here and must strictly abide by the county regulations." Su Jin stepped forward and spoke. The family members noticed that her slow and steady speech was in stark contrast to Aunt Hu's foul language. "In front of the village station brother, you might cry and make a scene, and you could get your family two mu of land. But you can't do that here."
After she finished speaking, the family members followed Su Jin's words and thought, the same behavior of Aunt Hu in the courtyard to take advantage of others must have happened in the village as well, right?
"You don't want your son to make progress, so you're messing around." Ruan Tao was grateful to Su Jin for speaking his truth. "Since Hu Teng joined the barracks, have you and Dad ever cared about his safety? Every time you write, it's to ask for money from your brother-in-law. Hu Teng earns all the money, not only to support his parents and his unmarried sister-in-law, but also to support his brother-in-law's family."
Ruan Tao felt sorry for Hu Teng. With Su Jin around, she blurted out everything that was in her heart.
"Mrs. Lin, please ask you and the political commissar to take care of my family affairs!" Ruan Tao hugged his daughter and cried, talking about family affairs in a sad voice.
Hu Teng and Ruan Tao considered each other and hid their family scandal. Now, their family of three is forced into a dead end.
"My mother-in-law brought Xiaoya here today because she was planning to sell her to her nephew to pay for his tuition." Ruan Tao said directly.
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