Xia Juhua's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down. She relaxed her whole body and almost lost her balance. If Wang Caixia hadn't helped her, she would have fallen flat on her butt. But Xia Juhua still had a smile on her face:
"Really? That's great. I feel relieved when you say that. Please rest assured, I will hurry up and fry the peanuts when I get home. No need for the day after tomorrow. You can just ask Caixia and the others to come and help the day after tomorrow."
Xia Juhua was so happy that she moved up her delivery time by one day. Her worries were real, and her smile after being relieved was also brilliant. The director saw it clearly and felt that this rural woman in front of him was really a real person.
No matter what era it is, everyone is willing to deal with real people, especially Xia Juhua, who came to report the loss because she was worried about the supply and marketing cooperative. She ran so hard that sweat was dripping down her neck, but when she heard that nothing was wrong, she didn't complain, which made the director like her even more.
The director waved his hand and said to Wang Caixia, "Since Comrade Xia is here, you can take her to each group. I remember there are some processed items. If Comrade Xia needs them, give them to her."
It was another good thing like this. Xia Juhua was a little hesitant to accept it: "Well, Director, I was in a hurry to go out and I didn't bring any money. I won't bother Caixia."
So Comrade Xia is a good comrade indeed. The director continued to smile and pretended not to notice Wang Caixia's little action of pulling Xia Juhua's collar, and walked away to deal with other things.
Wang Caixia finally had the chance to complain to Xia Juhua: "Do you know what we are dealing with? Just say you don't have any money. It's rare that our director asks for it. I'll buy whatever you want for you, and you can just pay me back when I go to your house to get some peanuts."
Xia Juhua turned her head and was pulled to the grocery counter by Wang Caixia. She listened to her explaining the director's intentions to the salesperson in a vague way, and looked at the things that the salesperson took out from under the counter with her eyes wide open.
Xia Juhua had seen so many things in her life that she would not be shocked by a few bags of brown sugar. But now, if rural people want to buy brown sugar, they have to dig a door, steal a hole, and ask someone for help. The supply and marketing cooperatives actually have to deal with it.
Wang Caixia didn't hear Xia Juhua say whether to buy it or not for a while. She turned around and saw her expression and couldn't help laughing. She nudged her with her elbow and asked in a low voice: "How is it, do you need it?"
Of course she needs it. Not to mention that Wang Caifeng had to eat brown sugar eggs during her confinement, even if she couldn't use them all and kept them as gifts, it would be a big favor - many of the things in Xia Juhua's cabinet were not bought when they were needed, but bought when they could be bought, so that she wouldn't be at a loss when she wanted to use them.
Moreover, Xia Juhua has made up her mind that she can't be like her last life and not socialize with anyone in the village, but get along with people she gets along with. If you want to get along well with others, you can't save on favors. Brown sugar is a very good gift whether it's for milk production or for visiting the elderly.
So Xia Juhua, who was awakened by Wang Caixia's elbow, nodded to the salesperson and asked, "How many kilograms can I buy?"
The salesperson smiled, carefully checked that no one was paying attention to the three of them, and said softly, "The director has spoken. You can buy two kilograms."
Compared to the amount of brown sugar the salesperson had put out, two pounds was not much. Xia Juhua did not think the salesperson was deliberately not selling it to her, but thanked him sincerely. She did not say much, and her words were somewhat poor, but you could hear the sincerity of her thanks.
The salesperson was very polite because Wang Caixia came with the director's words. After hearing what Xia Juhua said, he smiled even more deeply, bent down under the counter and took out five more handfuls of noodles:
"This is not from our supply and marketing cooperative. I bought it from the grain station for my relative. If you need it, take it first and I'll buy it for him."
Hearing that the salesperson had exchanged them for someone else, Xia Juhua glanced at Wang Caixia and saw her nod slightly. She thanked the salesperson again and accepted the five bunches of noodles without hesitation.
It was indeed Wang Caixia who gave her the money, but it was only enough for two kilograms of brown sugar - Wang Caixia came to work normally, and the money in her pocket was for buying some processed products from the supply and marketing cooperative, so she didn't bring much.
However, the salesperson in the food department told Wang Caixia to bring it to her in the afternoon, and winked at Wang Caixia. Xia Juhua pretended not to see the eye contact between the two, and after leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, she was still thanking the salesperson to Wang Caixia.
Wang Caixia whispered to her, "If you want to thank someone, thank our director. Xiao Chen wants to be promoted, so she listens to our director the most. She has good eyesight, so she must have seen the director talking to you several times."
Xia Juhua finally understood the trick and said with a smile, "I don't thank her or the director, I just want to thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known the director, and I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of him."
Isn't it cheap? Other farmers had to work very hard to buy some brown sugar, but the supply and marketing cooperative actually "processed" the goods after they arrived. This made Xia Juhua, who was worried when she came, return home with a blessing in disguise.
Wang Caixia was also amused by her. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a noise coming from the street. She looked closely and found that it was a few Red Team members who had tied up several people and were walking towards them, cursing all the way.
Wang Caixia didn't recognize the people tied up, but Xia Juhua was very familiar with them. They were Liu Sizhuang and his wife, as well as their son and daughter. The last person to follow was Liu Erzhuang, who looked depressed. Fortunately, Liu Erzhuang was not tied up. It seemed that he followed because he wanted to hear how the Red Team would deal with Liu Sizhuang's family.
Liu Erzhuang also saw Xia Juhua standing with Wang Caixia. He opened and closed his mouth, lowered his head and walked past the door of the supply and marketing cooperative with the Red Team with a red face.
Wang Caixia whispered, "I wonder whose family was unlucky enough to be targeted by the Red Squad and the whole family was arrested."
Xia Juhua looked at the crowd walking away and said in the same voice, "It's not unfair for this family to be arrested. They are my youngest brother-in-law's family."
Wang Caixia looked at Xia Juhua a little embarrassedly, and then she realized belatedly: "Weren't you kicked out by your mother-in-law's family a long time ago?"
So rumors and the truth are quite different. Although Wang Caixia had been to Ping'an Village, Xia Juhua had not told her about her family affairs in detail, and Wang Caifeng did not have time to tell Wang Caixia.
Now Wang Caixia actually said that she was kicked out by her mother-in-law. It must be because of what she said to Sun Guizhi at the door of the hotel. Who knows how many people passed it on to this conclusion. However, Xia Juhua did not think this conclusion was bad. She said with some helplessness:
"The one who followed without being abducted was my second uncle. He and my third uncle's family have been secretly helping us three mothers over the years. The ones who were abducted were the fourth brother's family. Last night, the fourth brother chopped the third brother's head off. The third brother's wife was not convinced and reported him to the commune. That's when the Red Team went to our Ping'an Village to arrest people."
As for the fact that Liu Sizhuang took his wife and children to his father-in-law's house in the middle of the night, Xia Juhua did not say anything. It was not because she wanted to save face for Liu Sizhuang's family, but because she felt there was no need to say it - as long as she saw Liu Sizhuang's family being dealt with by the Red Team, Xia Juhua was very happy.
Wang Caixia had indeed heard the rumor that Xia Juhua had quarreled with her sister-in-law in front of the hotel. Because Xia Juhua was the protagonist and she had made special inquiries in detail, she knew that Liu Sizhuang's wife was no good. She heard that Liu Sizhuang had broken his own brother's head, and thought that the couple deserved it.
The two talked a few more words about this and agreed on the time when Wang Caixia would go to get the peanuts. Then Xia Juhua returned to Ping'anzhuang with a relaxed mood, carrying the brown sugar and noodles wrapped in a borrowed bag.
After returning home, Xia Juhua felt hungry. She ate two cakes in one breath and rested for half an hour before she started frying peanuts again with full energy - that's her personality. If she doesn't agree, she won't agree. But if she promises to do something, she will do her best to complete it.
Wang Caifeng saw that her mother-in-law had gone to the commune and her face did not look as bad as before she went to the old house. While watching the fire for Xia Juhua, she asked, "Mom, I heard that the Red Team caught Sun Guizhi and the others. Were you there to see them in the commune?" Maybe her mother-in-law went to the commune specifically to see Liu Sizhuang's family making fun of themselves, otherwise why would she be so happy when she came back.
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "I saw it. Not only Sun Guizhi and Liu Sizhuang were arrested, but also their family members Zhiliang and Hongjuan were arrested." At this point, Xia Juhua herself felt strange: "Why did the Red Team arrest them both?"
Logically speaking, after Liu Sizhuang beat the man up and ran away, Sun Guizhi taking him back to her parents' home could be considered as protecting him. However, Liu Zhiliang and Liu Hongjuan were both teenagers, so the Red Team should not have arrested them as well.
Moreover, Liu Erzhuang was with them. No matter how much he disliked Liu Sizhuang and his wife, he had to plead with the Red Team on behalf of Liu Zhiliang and Liu Hongjuan. And what about Sun Guizhi's family? Would they just watch the Red Team take away two half-grown children?
Yes, the people in the Red Team were not very reasonable, but Liu Zhiliang and Liu Hongjuan were old enough, and if someone spoke up for them, the Red Team would not really take their anger out on the two half-grown kids. They were busy beating up bad elements every day, and it would be noisy to catch two half-grown kids crying and shouting.
Xia Juhua's face grew increasingly heavy. She wondered if she was too happy too early. The Red Team was able to capture Liu Zhiliang and Liu Hongjuan. They were extremely unreasonable. Could she take the words of the director of the supply and marketing cooperative seriously? Could she really continue to fry her peanuts?
Before I could figure it out, someone called out at the gate, "Are you home, dear? Hongmei, come out quickly. Your mother and I are here to see you."
Xia Juhua and Wang Caifeng were both stunned. Because Xia Juhua was frying peanuts and couldn't stop, she had to respond loudly: "Who is it? I'm busy here." Then she motioned Wang Caifeng to go out and take a look.
Before Wang Caifeng could leave the kitchen, Liu Baoguo, who was sleeping, was woken up and started crying. Wang Caifeng was a little anxious and took a big step, almost tripping over the door sill. Fortunately, she managed to stand steady by holding onto the door frame. Xia Juhua had no choice but to go out to turn off the fire, but the man had already walked to the kitchen door.
"My dear, what are you cooking? Why does it smell so good? I always say that our Hongmei is a lucky girl, otherwise how could she marry into such a good family." The person who was talking was talking to himself. Xia Juhua also recognized that they were Sun Hongmei's parents. While continuing to put out the fire, she said, "My dear, you are here. I'll be there soon."
Sun Hongmei's mother said she was in no hurry, but she had already entered the kitchen. She didn't need anyone to let her in, she just reached out and tried to grab the peanuts in the pot. The stove was still on fire, and although the peanuts were only half cooked, the temperature was still high. Sun Hongmei's mother was burned and reluctantly withdrew her hand.
Seeing that she couldn't eat the delicious peanuts, Sun Hongmei's mother said something very sinister: "Why are you and your niece's wife at home, but where is our Hongmei?"
Xia Juhua didn't know that Sun Hongmei's mother and Sun Guizhi were really close sisters-in-law, and no one could resist their ability to stir up trouble. After hearing her question, she knew that the person who came was not friendly, so she simply ignored her until the fire was put out, then she stood up and said, "Hongmei went to the field, and the in-laws wanted to see her. If it's urgent, you have to go to the field to find her."
"Hey, why are Hongmei still working in the fields in the middle of winter? Ping'an Village is really different from our Sunjia Village." Sun Hongmei's mother pouted and said, "Why are our Hongmei working in the fields, but my niece-in-law doesn't have to?"
Xia Juhua looked at Sun Hongmei's mother speechlessly, and did not even move into the main room. She stood in the middle of the yard with the couple and said coldly, "My eldest daughter-in-law has worked in the fields for a year, and the work points she earned have been exchanged for food and dividends. Now that she is about to give birth, I will let her rest at home."
What? Can’t I make my own decisions about my own family affairs?
Sun Hongmei's mother was stunned for a moment, and felt that Xia Juhua in front of her was different from what her sister-in-law said. According to her sister-in-law, her daughter's mother-in-law was a person who only knew how to work and kept everything to herself. If she had to argue with someone, she would think again and again before speaking.
How come what you said just now was so smooth, but there was something fishy in it? What did you mean by earning work points and exchanging them for food and dividends? It means that your daughter has no food and no dividends!
Sun Hongmei's father also heard that Xia Juhua didn't like their family, so he smiled and said, "My dear, my old woman just loves her daughter and doesn't hold back when she speaks. Since Hongmei has married into your family, it's only natural for her to work in the fields and earn work points to earn food."
"You are right." Xia Juhua seemed to have heard what Sun Hongmei's father said, and she echoed him, "In the old society, people said that if you marry a man, you will have clothes and food. But now it is a new society, and the elders say that women can hold up half the sky. Even if Hongmei marries into our family, she must listen to the elders' teachings."
After saying this, Xia Juhua first thanked in her heart the loudspeaker at the entrance of the village that read quotations every day, otherwise she would have forgotten these words long ago.
Sun Hongmei's father was also stunned. He had just emphasized that Sun Hongmei married into the Liu family because he wanted to trap Xia Juhua with the saying "marry a man for clothes and food", but he didn't expect that Xia Juhua had said this first and refuted him with the old man's words.
How could the old man's words be wrong? ! Sun Hongmei's father came to his senses and could only nod in agreement with Xia Juhua. Seeing him nod, Xia Juhua smiled, but she quickly stopped, and then the three of them were silent.
Xia Juhua deliberately did not ask Sun Hongmei's parents about the purpose of their visit - she had already asked it when they met just now. If you don't want to tell me, then I won't ask anymore. Just let you keep it a secret.
She was able to hold her temper, but Sun Hongmei's parents had something on their mind and couldn't wait. Seeing that Xia Juhua remained silent, Sun Hongmei's mother gave her a look that she thought was covert, and then glared at her man.
After being glared at, Sun Hongmei's father cleared his throat and spoke: "My dear, we came here to find out what happened to Si Zhuang's family. Why did the Red Team go to their home to arrest someone?"
So that's why they came. Xia Juhua looked at Sun Hongmei's father in confusion: "I don't know about their family. Before Hongmei and Zhishuang got married, you all knew that our eldest house had already separated from the old courtyard and we haven't been in contact for more than ten years."
Sun Hongmei's father was speechless again - most people would not air their disgrace in public, so they would pretend that their family is harmonious in front of their in-laws. So why isn't the daughter's mother-in-law afraid that she will look down on their family?
Sun Hongmei's mother was anxious, her voice became sharp: "My dear relative, what you said is wrong. Even if you separate and live separately, Zhishuang is still the root of the Liu family. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. How can you not care about such a big thing at all?"
"My son cares about us very much. He even accompanied his uncle to the county hospital in the middle of the night yesterday." Xia Juhua said calmly, "My son naturally cares about us three good people."
"You——" Sun Hongmei's mother's eyes turned red with anger: "His father, we came here for nothing today. I didn't expect Hongmei to marry into such an unkind family. Let's go to the old Liu family to ask around. I don't believe that all people with the surname Liu can be so inhumane as her."
"Who are you calling inhuman?" Wang Caifeng had just stopped Liu Baoguo from crying, and she thought that there were guests at home, and they were Sun Hongmei's parents, and as the eldest sister-in-law, she should entertain them for her, so she carried Liu Baoguo out. She didn't expect that her idea was good, but others didn't want to have a good relationship with her, and she happened to hear what Sun Hongmei's mother said.
Ever since Sun Hongmei married into the Liu family, Wang Caifeng has made a comparison and discovered that her own mother-in-law is really nice, fair, caring for Liu Baoguo, and able to make money. Now is the time to feel not only gratitude but also admiration for Xia Juhua. How could she tolerate anyone saying bad things about her mother-in-law?
Sun Hongmei's mother said to her face that her mother-in-law was inhuman. It would be strange if Wang Caifeng could tolerate her: "If you want to criticize others, you should first look at what your family is doing. My aunt came back to her parents' home every three days, bringing a lot of gifts, but in the end she was only given a bowl of porridge. My daughter also had to go back to her husband's home to have a bite of food. That was inhuman."
Without waiting for Sun Hongmei's mother to react, Xia Juhua glanced at Wang Caifeng, and saw her face flushed and looking at Sun Hongmei's mother fiercely. She felt emotional in her heart: Wang Caifeng had often gone out to talk about her in her last life, and she also had little calculations at the beginning of this life. Now she actually took the initiative to speak for her, which really surprised Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua had never expected that, and Sun Hongmei's mother had never expected that the fact that their family was hosting their aunt's return visit would be exposed in front of them, and it was the sister-in-law of the young lady who told them about it. Her old face blushed for a rare moment.
Hongmei, this damned girl, had already told her not to tell her mother-in-law how she would entertain her aunt when she returned to her mother-in-law's house, so how did the Liu family know about it? She was also a sister-in-law, so of course she knew about such things. The mother-in-law might cover up for her daughter-in-law for the sake of her son, but the sister-in-law would not.
If she got hold of something like this on her sister-in-law, she would definitely use it to criticize her every day.
, the daughter-in-law’s sister-in-law is not an easy person to deal with either.
Sun Hongmei's father's face had turned black, and he raised his hand in anger to hit his wife - what a stupid bitch, if you can't speak, just pretend to be dumb, but you came to ask for help and scolded the person first, how could you say the next words?
He raised his hand to slap her, Xia Juhua and Wang Caifeng just watched, neither of them said anything to persuade her. Sun Hongmei's father had no choice but to slap his daughter-in-law on the back, and continued to say with a smile:
"That relative-in-law, niece-in-law, calm down. This damn woman said she was a talker, but she still pretended to be so shameless. Don't bother with her. Since you have separated and lived separately for a long time, it is normal that you don't know what's going on over there. When Hongmei comes back, I will ask her to find out."
Hongmei is your daughter-in-law. If she goes out to inquire about things, outsiders will definitely think that you are the one asking them to inquire. You can still say that you have no contact with the Liu family and why you care so much about their affairs.
He had a good idea, but Xia Juhua had no intention of letting him do as he wished - Xia Juhua had long been annoyed by the Sun family, including the Sun family, who kept jumping out to cause trouble for her. Now, seeing the way Sun Hongmei's father's eyes were rolling around while he was talking, Xia Juhua was sure that he was also one of the military advisors behind Sun Hongmei in his previous life.
So Xia Juhua's tone became even lighter: "I'm afraid that won't work. Sun Hongmei was clamoring to go back to her parents' home a few days ago. When I asked Zhishuang to send her back, she cried and begged and refused to go back. At that time, she promised me that in order not to be sent back to her parents' home, she would not have any contact with Sun Guizhi in the future."
"If I let her go out to inquire about Sun Guizhi, does that count as moving around or not? If it counts as moving around, it's different from what Hongmei promised me. My dear relatives, do you want to take Hongmei back to her parents' home?"
"Impossible." Sun Hongmei's mother didn't care about the slap she just received. She cried out as if someone was stepping on her tail: "That's our Hongmei's biological aunt. How can you say that she can't get along with her aunt? It was her aunt who acted as a matchmaker for Hongmei and her husband to get married. Besides, our Hongmei is so sensible. If you hadn't bullied her so much, how could she want to go back to her parents' home?"
"Oh, I get it. It's because you, as a mother-in-law, are too partial. You left your eldest daughter-in-law at home in the middle of winter and made our youngest daughter-in-law, Hongmei, work in the fields every day. Her sisters-in-law also always scold and beat her. Our Hongmei couldn't stand this and wanted to go back to her parents' home."
She screamed so loudly that some people outside the courtyard stopped and looked through the crack of the door, wanting to see what had happened in the Liu family, which had always been very peaceful. Xia Juhua didn't care if there were people outside the courtyard watching the excitement or how loudly Sun Hongmei's mother screamed, she just watched her jump up and down calmly.
Sun Hongmei's father frowned, as if Xia Juhua hadn't finished what she had just said. He opened his mouth to ask his daughter-in-law to stop shouting, but he couldn't stop her from going crazy.
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