Xie Tingyu got a basin of water for his wife and wiped her face and hands.
Zhang Hongying looked at the couple from the side and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, then turned her head away.
Although her husband treated her well and paid her salary on time every month, he was not as gentle as Xie Tingyu. This young couple lived like honey and oil, which made her feel embarrassed.
…
Xu Maofang took the seasoning he "brought" from home to Zhou's house and gave it to Zhou Dongmei.
She came to Zhou's door, but didn't go in. She just knocked on the door.
Xu Maofang's former sister-in-law, the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, opened the door and took a look. "Oh, Mrs. Xu, are you free to come to the Zhou family?"
There were three families living in the huge courtyard, each occupying one row. The Zhou family had more than twenty people in total, all squeezed into these four rooms.
This place used to be Xu Maofang's nightmare. He could hear noisy noises before he even walked in. The husband in the east slapped his wife in the face, the mother-in-law in the west was scolding her son, and the child's screaming was extremely annoying.
After Zhou Dongmei came to the Zhou family, she still wanted a separate room. After realizing the reality of the Zhou family, she held her nose and squeezed into a room with several other girls in the Zhou family.
Xu Maofang handed the seasoning to his daughter.
Zhou Dongmei was extremely surprised when she took the packet of seasoning.
Xu Maofang said: "Take it and check what's inside. That damn girl used it to make bacon. She earned at least this much this month..."
She extended a slap.
Five hundred yuan, Zhou Dongmei's heart began to beat fast, and she felt nervous. If she had five hundred yuan... no, fifty yuan, she wouldn't have to live in such a terrible environment.
Zhou Dongmei took the spices, and Xu Maofang took her daughter to the pharmacy to find an experienced Chinese doctor to identify the flavors.
The old Chinese doctor separated out a few spices, took out the rest and tasted them, then shook his head.
"There are several types that have been ground, fried, and boiled. They are so mixed that I can't recognize them."
Zhou Dongmei felt a little lost.
Xu Maofang accepted the spices and cursed a few times: "This damn girl is still on guard! Dongmei, don't be afraid, mom is here."
A few days later, Xu Maofang got a large bag of spices and gave it to his daughter.
Xu Maofang said happily: "Just take it and use it. Mom will give it to you when you are done."
Zhou Dongmei didn't ask her mother how she got it, she just said thank you sweetly.
With the spices, it was much easier for Zhou Dongmei to make Chinese sausage. She took out all the five yuan living expenses she got from her mother, bought sausage casings and pork, and spent a whole day making 20 kilograms of Chinese sausage.
The Zhou family's child hadn't eaten meat for several days, and his mouth was watering as he looked at the pork drying in the yard.
Zhou Dongmei also knew that the Zhou family was greedy for small profits, so she picked the sausages when she went to school and took them to the school dormitory to dry. After drying them for a week, she secretly sold them.
Although it doesn't taste as good as Ye Qingshui's, people still buy it at two yuan per pound.
After earning 40 yuan, Zhou Dongmei tasted the sweetness and never mentioned her dislike for such filthy food again. Xu Maofang also gave her spices intermittently several times.
With a steady supply, Zhou Dongmei was able to make a lot of money.
…
Zhou Dongmei earned some money and out of filial piety gave ten yuan to Xu Maofang.
"Mom, I'll give you the flowers and a piece of cloth to make you some new clothes."
Xu Maofang had never taken money from his daughter in all these years. He held the ten yuan in his hand and was so moved that his eyes almost turned red.
Zhou Dongmei asked worriedly, "Mom, this business is really profitable. But now the seasoning is all used up. Can I ask my sister-in-law to give me some more?"
Yes, why not?
Xu Maofang thought of the full spice jars in her kitchen. Zhang Hongying poured the spices in every day without any scruples. She estimated that she couldn't even remember how much spices she had used.
Zhang Hongying is indeed a forgetful person. If Xu Maofang mixed some spices every day, she really would not remember.
But Ye Qingshui had been on guard against Xu Maofang, and even if a grain of spice was missing, it would not escape her eyes.
However, Xu Maofang frowned. He had taken it too frequently this month. If he took it again, it would be too conspicuous.
She asked, “Isn’t there enough money?”
Zhou Dongmei has made money several times by selling these spices. During these trips, she has sold at least hundreds of kilograms of sausages.
Originally, Zhou Dongmei only planned to solve the current dilemma, but after making money easily several times, the huge sense of satisfaction brought by the money, how could anyone stop?
She also knew in her heart that Xu Maofang definitely did not get the spices in a fair way, but compared to making money, what was wrong with stealing some of the spices from Ye Qingshui?
Zhou Dongmei was also very angry. She had gone to Xie's house to help Ye Qingshui for so long in vain, but the old lady in the Xie family didn't even mention a word about asking her to come back.
"I've been helping her with the work for so long, it's okay to use some of her spices, right?" Zhou Dongmei grabbed her mother's hand and murmured.
Xu Maofang nodded.
It's just a worthless spice, what's the harm in borrowing it? When Dongmei has money, she can pay it back tenfold. Besides, Xu Maofang doesn't feel guilty at all, this is what Ye Qingshui owes her daughter. If it weren't for her, Dongmei wouldn't have to suffer so much.
Xie Tingyu won the first place in the English speaking competition jointly organized by Capital University.
Grandma Xie was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Her eyes narrowed with laughter, and she patted her grandson on the shoulder and said, "Tingyu, you did a good job this time."
Grandma Xie said: "You should prepare well and practice speaking more in the next few months. There may be a visiting delegation from the United States coming to China at the end of this year, and you must entertain them well then..."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been preparing for this for a long time. This year, a college student oral competition was held, and this opportunity fell to her grandson.
Grandma Xie's serious tone made Xie Tingyu laugh.
But she looked like she must not reveal such a confidential matter and refused to say what was going on. Xie Tingyu had no choice but to agree and promised her to practice speaking well.
Grandma Xie asked her grandson again: "Can you play table tennis?"
Ye Qingshui was eating grapes and almost choked on his throat.
No wonder all the universities actively held table tennis competitions this year, urging students to exercise after studying. It turns out that the real purpose is not to drink. This also reminded Ye Qingshui that China and the United States did formally establish diplomatic relations at the end of this year!
Xie Tingyu nodded implicitly, "A little bit."
There is a reason why table tennis is called the national sport. It is easy to play in a small venue. A table tennis ball costs less than ten cents. Looking around, which Chinese child has not played table tennis?
Combined with Grandma Xie’s words, Ye Qingshui suddenly became a little excited.
Is Xie Tingyu going to translate for the leader?
Ye Qingshui ate up the remaining grapes and said happily, "It's a big responsibility to receive the American delegation. Brother Yu, you have to make the most of your time to practice speaking."
Grandma Xie was very pleased that her grandson was doing so well.
She went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few pounds of pork for the first time, planning to cook a meal to celebrate for her grandson. Not only that, she also invited her husband to come and eat together.
When Grandpa Xie knew about this, his face looked indifferent, as if he was not very happy.
But he greeted his friend privately, "Are you free today? Come and have a meal."
…
At the end of every month, Ye Qingshui would make several kilograms of spices.
Although not all of the spices can be used up, the spices will be exposed to the air for a long time and will not have the fragrance of fresh ones, so the taste of the sausages made with them will be slightly different.
This day happened to be the day she was making new spices, and she put the dried spices into jars. She happily followed Grandma Xie to cut pork and add vegetables.
Xie Tingyu also left with his wife.
Xu Maofang walked out of the house and looked around. She went to the kitchen and took out the woven bag that had been prepared long ago.
Xu Maofang originally wanted to take only one pack, but when she saw there were so many left on the shelf, she greedily grabbed a few more.
Not only were the old spices scraped clean, but a lot of new ones were also poured out.
At this time, Grandpa Xie suddenly opened the door and came to the Xie family with his old friend.
The old man walked lightly and without making any sound. When Xu Maofang, with a sly look in his eyes, secretly grabbed a handful of sausage spices and another handful of braised meat spices, stuffed the woven bag full, and turned around...
Grandpa Xie put his hands behind his back and asked sternly, "What are you doing?"
Xu Maofang was startled, and one of his three souls was scared out of his wits. His hands shook so much that he almost couldn't hold the mouth of the woven bag tightly.
Grandpa Xie has lived for so many years, how could he not see the panic in her eyes?
Zhang Hongying rushed out, pointed at Xu Maofang and yelled: "I was wondering why the spices were becoming less and less, it turns out there's a thief in the house."
Didn’t Zhang Hongying go back?
Why is she everywhere? Xu Maofang felt very unlucky. She came to get the spices only after Zhang Hongying left.
Xu Maofang said with a smile, "I'm thinking of borrowing some spices from Shuiya to make some sausages and bring some to my family. Shuiya's sausages are delicious, and she is in a heavy body, so I don't mind her making sausages for me."
Zhang Hongying was shocked when she heard this.
Make some sausages? Shame on you, the spices she held in her arms could be used to make more than just sausages.
"Your family is going to eat hundreds of kilograms of sausages, huh?"
Grandpa Xie gently asked a few old friends to leave, "Sorry, I can't treat you to dinner tonight."
His old friends shook their heads knowingly, "Next time, we'll definitely come next time."
The combined age of these old men is several hundred years old, and it is hard to tell that they can still eat today's meal? The Xie family is trying to hide their shame behind closed doors.
Grandma Xie also came back at this time, holding a fish in one hand and a pound of pork in the other.
Seeing the old man looking at Xu Maofang sharply, Zhang Hongying wanted to rush up and eat him, while Xu Maofang was holding a bag of spices, and said with a pale face:
"I'm Shuiya's mother-in-law. What's wrong with borrowing some spices from her?"
What's wrong? Grandma Xie's face darkened completely.
She was wondering why her granddaughter-in-law kept making spices over and over again this month, and it turned out that it was this shameless guy who stole the spices.
Isn’t it hard to make spices?
Shui Ya is the only one who knows how to do this, and she is the only one who can do it herself. The coarse ingredients are ground into something finer than sand, and the water needs to be boiled several times after grinding.
Grandma Xie also saw her with a seven-month-old belly that she couldn't even bend, so she put her belly on her legs and rubbed it for an entire afternoon.
What's wrong with using some spices? Pah, Grandma Xie has seen shameless people, but she has never seen anyone as shameless as this.
"He who takes without asking is a thief."
This is not just stealing once or twice, this is stealing several times.
Grandma Xie put down the fish and pork heavily. If pork wasn’t expensive, she would have wanted to throw the piece of meat in Xu Maofang’s face.
Xie Jun was also off work at this time. When he entered the door, he saw several people crowded together. The atmosphere was very tense. He couldn't help asking, "What's going on?"
Xu Maofang shed tears. "I have been in the Xie family for more than ten years and have worked hard to run this family. Even if I have not made any contributions, I have worked hard over the years. For such a small amount of spices, you are going to force me to death..."
She showed a chilling expression: "I am not taking it for free without paying. You didn't listen to a word I said. One or two of you teamed up with outsiders and couldn't wait to put a accusation on me and falsely accused me of stealing. Am I still the daughter-in-law of the Xie family? I'm afraid I'm not even as good as a passerby, right?"
"I finally understand. In your eyes, I am not as good as Wen Zhihua in any way. You still miss her and have been wanting to drive me away to make room for her, right?"
As she shed tears, it seemed as if she was not facing her relatives, but enemies who were trying to force her to death and wished her reputation to be ruined.
Grandma Xie was stunned. What did this have to do with Wen Zhihua? How could she turn the tables like this?
Could it be that if they said one more harsh word today, they would force her to death so that they could bring their ex-daughter-in-law back?
How would Tingyu face his mother if this got out?
Xie Jun frowned after hearing this, and he finally understood.
"Look at what you're saying. What's the point of leaving or not? It's just a little spice, but you've made such a fuss..."
Ye Qingshui then whispered, "This is not just about spices."
Xie Jun's face was tense, as if he was somewhat dissatisfied with his daughter-in-law for interrupting him at this time.
Ye Qingshui avoided her father-in-law's gaze. She knew in her heart that this time she would definitely offend someone with her words.
Grandma Xie looked fierce and said, "Why are you looking at Shuiya like that? Shuiya, tell me."
Ye Qingshui's eyes fell on the bag of spices. "No matter how hard I worked to make these spices, Aunt Fang took so much that I probably can't use it up even if I make sausages for a month. What on earth did you do with it? This is not the first time I have thrown away spices. Aunt Fang didn't tell me once, twice, and three times, and she finally confessed until Sister Zhang saw it."
"I don't know where to live if I have to protect myself from thieves in my own home."
For a stepmother-in-law like you who always wants to take advantage of you, and after taking advantage of you, she sneers and complains that you are of low class and not presentable, Ye Qingshui doesn't want to give her even a single grain of spice, let alone a bag of spices.
What did the mother and daughter do with the spices?
You can figure it out with your toes.
Zhang Hongying suddenly realized, "I was wondering why fewer people were buying sausages recently. It turns out that someone came to steal our business. How shameless! Not only did they steal the product, they also stole the craftsmanship. If this happened in my family, breaking your legs would be the least of your punishment."
Xu Maofang wiped away her tears and said, "Today, for this bag of spices, you have even disowned your relatives. Fine, fine, I'm leaving."
She walked away with the spices, her face full of disappointment.
The more Grandma Xie listened, the gloomier her expression became. Xu Maofang didn't even want to step aside. Did he want people to chase him and flatter him?
She said, "Don't stop her, let her go. Go back to the Xu family and calm down first. Come back when you have thought it through!"
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