Chapter 2: Pretend to be dead
The eldest daughter-in-law Xie Lanqin was anxious and said quickly: "Mom, my uncle's family also had good intentions. It's okay if you misunderstood them, but how can you divide the family? We still need their help to guide us!"
The sons also followed suit, saying that without their uncle leading the way, they would feel uncertain about the journey.
Zhang Defu snorted coldly, turned his head, and waited for Zhao Chunhua to speak and show weakness.
But Zhao Chunhua was determined to go her separate ways. She glanced at her daughter-in-law and said, "If you think they are good to you, then go with them. I won't stop you."
Xie Lanqin held it in for a long time, and finally dared not say a word.
Zhao Chunhua looked at Xie Lanqin with a meaningful look, without saying a word, but her meaning was very clear.
Xie Lanqin's face turned red, she lowered her head, and twisted her fingers.
She wanted to go to the eldest wife's house, but it depended on whether they were willing to take her in.
As soon as the thought came to her mind, Zhang Defu's wife Bai Xiaowei slapped her thigh and said disdainfully: "Forget it. After the family division, you still expect us to support a pregnant woman for nothing? Don't even think about it!"
Zhang Defu frowned and said, "You have both old people and children in your family. Without my guidance, you can't even get over this mountain, let alone the south. Be obedient, otherwise don't blame me for not giving you face."
Zhao Chunhua still had a cold attitude: "Give me back my food, and we can go our separate ways."
Zhang Defu was so angry that his face turned red. He shouted, "You unreasonable woman, I see that your family will either be eaten by wild beasts or starve to death on the road!"
Seeing that Zhao Chunhua was not buying it, Zhang Defu left angrily.
Zhao Chunhua asked her sons to carry the cart and follow her out.
After the family returned to their old earthen house, Zhang Defu, unwilling to give up, ran to persuade them to go together in order to get some food.
At this moment, there was a shout suddenly coming from outside.
"Whoever dares to bury my mother, I will fight him!"
The third son, Zhang Dajun, hurried in carrying a pile of firewood that was taller than him, with a sickle in his hand.
Everyone's expression changed.
The reason is very simple. Da Jun is only ten years old, but he is incredibly strong, stronger than a cow, and he is particularly filial to his mother Zhao Chunhua.
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If he knew whoever wanted to bury his mother, he would beat that family to a pulp.
Bai Xiaowei was so frightened that her face turned pale. She cried out, "I just remembered that there was a pot on the stove at home. I was so anxious that I forgot everything when I heard that something happened in the second room."
After saying that, she took Zhang Defu and Zhang Erxi, and the family of three quickly found an excuse to leave.
The third roommate, who had been watching the fun from the sidelines, felt embarrassed to stay any longer when he saw that there was nothing to gain, so he left.
Zhao Chunhua comforted Zhang Dajun, whose forehead was bulging with veins, and patted his head gently, saying in a gentle tone: "Mom is fine, you can follow your brothers to your uncle's house later and get our things back. Don't hang out with them in the future!"
Da Jun nodded in agreement without even thinking about it. He did whatever his mother said.
He smiled foolishly, showing a row of teeth: "Mom, look, I found some food!"
Da Jun carefully took out a bulging cloth bag from his waist. Zhao Chunhua took a look at it and was almost scared.
Wow, it’s a bunch of wriggling grasshoppers!
She held back her nausea, and asked with a twitch in her mouth, "Where did this come from?"
Zhang Dajun chuckled: "I found a nest of them when I was chopping wood in the mountains, so I caught them all. We can have some meat today."
When he said this, his eyes lit up and his saliva was about to flow out.
During the past few days of fleeing, I had no choice but to save on meat and even coarse grains. I gnawed on grass roots and tree bark all day long, and I became extremely thin.
Everyone in the Zhang family swallowed their saliva secretly.
In such a critical moment, who would dislike insects? As long as they can fill their stomachs, it’s enough.
Zhao Chunhua sighed. All this was caused by war and famine.
She handed the bag to her eldest daughter-in-law, Xie Lanqin, and asked her to process the bugs and cook them for everyone to eat.
Xie Lanqin was so moved that she wiped away tears and agreed repeatedly with red eyes.
Zhao Chunhua understood what she was thinking. This daughter-in-law was not a bad person by nature. It was just that she had been bullied too badly by her family before, so she had to please the eldest wife for the sake of her children.
At night, Da Jun followed Tian Bao and Tian Fu, and the three of them went to their uncle's house to get the things back.
At first, Zhang Defu cursed and refused to give the money, but Zhao Chunhua was not used to his behavior. She rushed to his door and scolded him. She sat at the door of his mud house and slapped her thigh, telling him all the disgusting things the eldest wife had done over the years.
The villagers passing by were talking about this commotion, and Zhang Defu was so embarrassed that he had no choice but to hand over the things.
In the evening, the family finally had a decent dinner, steamed mixed flour buns and a plate of fried locusts.
The family sat around the fire, waiting for the head of the family, Zhao Chunhua, to come and share the food.
Zhao Chunhua sighed as she looked at her family members who were all thin and sickly. She gave each of them a large piece of cake and a handful of fried locusts.
As for her own portion... she really had no appetite, so she kept half a piece of cake for herself and gave the rest to her eldest daughter-in-law Xie Lanqin who was pregnant.
Xie Lanqin's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt guilty and ashamed: "Mother..."
Today she listened to her uncle's family and buried her mother-in-law, but she didn't expect that her mother-in-law would also give her her share of food.
She knew in her heart that she had misunderstood her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law was actually a very nice person. Woo woo woo…
Zhao Chunhua said sternly: "Eat quickly! If you keep hesitating, I will really throw you to the mountain to feed the wolves!"
Zhang Tianbao wiped his tears while eating, and later he burst into tears. He knelt in front of Zhao Chunhua and kept admitting his mistakes.
He felt that he was very unfilial. Today, he was almost instigated to bury the aunt who raised him since he was a child.
He swore that even if his whole family starved to death, he would never let his mother down again.
The others also looked remorseful, and the family hugged each other tightly and cried.
Only Da Jun was eating happily, while Zhang Daniu stood silently beside Zhao Chunhua without saying a word.
Zhao Chunhua sighed and waved her hands, revealing an impatient expression: "Just eat quietly. If you keep making noise like this, I'll overturn all your bowls!"
The Zhang family's children finally quieted down and went about their own business after dinner.
Early the next morning, Xie Lanqin prepared breakfast for the family.
There were still some fried locusts left over from yesterday, so she mixed them into flour and used them all to make pancakes.
At this time, the third aunt Zhu Fangfang came over after smelling the aroma and said, "Hey, Tianbao family, what delicious food are you making? Why does it smell so good? Did your army hunt down some game?"
Her eyes narrowed into slits, flashing with curiosity and greed, and she was about to lift the lid of the pot.
Xie Lanqin didn't know what to do with the spatula in her hand. She wanted to stop it but didn't dare to. Her face turned blue and red.
Suddenly a hand reached out and held Zhu Fangfang's arm tightly.
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