Chapter 75 Meeting Grandma
There weren't many places Zhou Ma could go, and Li Xiaohua's house next door was one of them. As soon as she entered the living room, Li Xiaohua pulled her into her room.
Li Xiaohua's room was even smaller than Zhou Ma's room; there wasn't enough space to put a chair, so the two of them could only sit on the bed and chat.
Aunt Zhou gave a subtle look, then asked, "How was it? Was the movie good? This was a surprise for you."
Seeing Zhou Ma's expression, Li Xiaohua knew that Zhou Ma was using a double entendre. On one hand, she was asking if the movie was good, and on the other hand, she was asking if Ma Long was good. After all, her son was still in the living room taking care of him, so they couldn't be too direct in their conversation.
"What surprise? It's good-looking, but it's not really my type." Li Xiaohua thought for a moment and made up her mind to give up on Ma Long.
With a puzzled look, Zhou's mother asked, "Why is it not suitable for you? From any perspective, you are all very suitable."
The two were about the same age, and their partners had both left them. They were both from rural areas with high social class backgrounds, so neither of them would look down on the other.
Li Xiaohua sighed and said slowly, "I'm too old for watching movies. This kind of life is too risky for me."
Aunt Zhou frowned and said, "You don't want to watch the movie, but some people do. Aunt Zhang from the next apartment building especially loves watching movies. After seeing this movie, she couldn't take her eyes off it. Before, we wanted to watch it but couldn't, but now we can. You're hesitating. Watching a movie isn't a one-person thing. You should at least consider the movie's opinion! See if this movie suits you. You should at least give the movie a chance!"
She really has been corrupted by Lin Yuanshu; she can come up with lies so easily now.
Li Xiaohua was originally thinking about whether she should avoid Ma Long these few days, because as soon as she saw Ma Long, her mind would go blank, and she would believe whatever Ma Long said.
Upon hearing Zhou Ma say that Aunt Zhang also liked Ma Long, she had no desire to avoid the topic.
She could accept Ma Long being with other outstanding women, but that person couldn't be Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang was gossipy and slovenly, and she often spoke ill of her and Aunt Zhou to others. Aunt Zhang was half responsible for their bad reputation.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t be so resistant. I’ll think about it again tomorrow!” Li Xiaohua said in a heavy tone.
Zhou Ma smiled with satisfaction. She suddenly felt that she had a talent for being a matchmaker. After she stopped working in the cafeteria, maybe she could try being a matchmaker.
Everyone overheard their entire conversation. He was quite curious about what movie his mother was watching, and whether watching movies was appropriate for her! Movies are something you can watch whenever you want; there aren't so many requirements!
Around 3 p.m., Lin's mother suggested leaving, since if she stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to get back to the production team before dark.
Lin Yuanshu paused for a moment, then said, "There's no need for you to leave in such a hurry. You can go back to the production team tomorrow. If you can't stay at home, I'll take you to the chemical plant's guesthouse."
Lin's mother raised her hand to refuse, saying, "Our letter of introduction says today is the return date. I don't want to be mistaken for a vagrant by the police, arrested, and sent back to the production team. That would be too embarrassing."
Hearing what Lin's mother said, Lin Yuanshu stopped insisting and pulled Zhou Xiangyang along to see Lin's mother and the others off to the station.
Zhou Xiangyang returned the pastries to Lin Yuanfeng, who finally got her pastries back. She planned to take them home to eat, lest her parents confiscate them.
Before getting into the car, Lin's mother glanced at Lin Yuanshu and said, "Just live well in the city. Don't worry about us. Xiaofeng will take good care of us."
Lin Yuanshu nodded, then watched his mother leave.
Mr. and Mrs. Sun looked at Mr. and Mrs. Lin with envy. Mrs. Sun sighed, "Your daughter is so thoughtful. She brought her son-in-law to personally see you off to the car. Unlike my daughter, who didn't even come down from the apartment building, she just saw us off at the door."
Lin's mother advised, "Your daughter is pregnant and has difficulty moving around, which is understandable."
Sun Ma pursed her lips. It would have been fine, but seeing Lin Ma being given a ride by her daughter made her feel a little resentful. She asked curiously, "What kind of feast did you have for lunch today? I could smell the aroma from next door! Fish and duck, the smell was incredibly enticing! And your son-in-law cooked it for you himself. You're so lucky, unlike us, who can only eat plain noodles..."
Lin's mother touched her nose, unsure how to answer, and replied perfunctorily, "We didn't have a fancy meal, just fish and duck. Your daughter has been very considerate to you; even plain noodles are a fine grain..."
If she were Sun Yiyi, her mother wouldn't even have plain noodles to eat.
After Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang returned home, they saw Sister-in-law Xue and Ma Long busy in the communal kitchen, but Zhou's mother and Zhou Dafu were nowhere to be seen.
Lin Yuanshu glanced at his older brother and asked, "Where did Dad and Mom go?"
The older brother explained, "They went to my father-in-law's house for New Year's Eve dinner. After all, my father-in-law's family isn't very wealthy, so they probably only eat well on New Year's Eve. At other times, they eat all kinds of cornbread."
Lin Yuanshu's expression was very complicated. "This must be Mom's idea!"
The older brother nodded.
Lin Yuanshu took a deep breath. Sure enough, you can't sleep in the same bed with two kinds of people: one who dares to come up with ideas and the other who dares to follow them.
"How can you let your uncle work in the kitchen? Go and help him," Lin Yuanshu ordered.
"He offered to help on his own initiative, it wasn't me who asked him for help," the older brother muttered under his breath.
Lin Yuanshu smiled slightly and said, word by word, "I don't care about any of that. I only care whether you go to the kitchen to help out or not. A good man wouldn't just stand by and watch his pregnant wife working in the kitchen while he rests on the sofa."
The older brother reluctantly walked to the communal kitchen, muttering to himself, "All he does is order me around. So what if he's the boss? Bullying me, huh..."
Zhou Xiangyang licked his lips, looking like he was deep in thought.
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow, sat on the sofa, and said to Zhou Xiangyang in a serious tone, "These are things that the eldest brother should do. After all, the eldest brother is the pillar of the family. It is only natural for him to take care of his younger brother and sister-in-law. Think about how your salary every month ends up in the eldest brother's hands. Do you still feel sorry for your eldest brother?"
Zhou Xiangyang shook his head, blushing, and said, "After you get pregnant, I won't let you go into the kitchen. I will try my best to be a good man."
Lin Yuanshu: "..."
She thought Zhou Xiangyang felt she wasn't respecting his older brother enough, but she never expected him to be thinking about how to be a good man. His love-struck mind is terrifying.
After the eldest brother arrived at the communal kitchen, Ma Long did not leave the kitchen. Instead, Sister-in-law Xue went back to the living room to rest, while he and the eldest brother cooked dinner in the kitchen.
This gesture won the favor of the older women nearby. There are so few men willing to cook. Ma Long didn't know how to cook before, but he had to learn since he was raising his child alone. So now cooking is a piece of cake for him.
Zhu Huilan was very satisfied with this scene. If Ma Long couldn't even win people's hearts, then he was really too useless.
Although Ma Long was her preferred candidate, she didn't know much about him. She only knew that Ma Long was a grateful, honest, and kind countryman. She didn't expect that Ma Long could even cook.
She returned home and deliberately said to Li Xiaohua, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu's distant cousin is really amazing. He was afraid of tiring out Zhou's pregnant sister-in-law, so he took the initiative to help with cooking. Such a good man is hard to find. I heard that his wife died, and several aunties wanted to introduce him to other women, but he refused them all."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaohua couldn't help but smile slightly, a sweet feeling welling up inside her. Ma Long must have rejected these older women for her sake.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Li Xiaohua made up an excuse and left the room. She just wanted to watch Ma Long cook, since Brother A Niu couldn't cook. Compared to him, Ma Long was much better.
Li Xiaohua left quickly, so she didn't hear the full name.
"I'm already so old, why would I want to find a wife? I just want someone who can take care of me."
Zhu Huilan retorted without hesitation, "What do you know! Old people also have the right to pursue revolutionary partners."
The whole nation: "..."
He was too lazy to argue with his wife over such a trivial matter, since it had nothing to do with him that Lin Yuanshu's distant cousin was looking for a wife.
When Zhou Ma and Zhou Dafu arrived at the Xue family's house, they thought they could get a great deal. However, they didn't expect that Xue Ba and Xue Ma would be so stingy with their own family. Not only did they not eat dumplings, but they also ate cornbread with pickled vegetables. The only meat dish was bones that they had picked up from their house, which were stewed with cabbage leaves to make cabbage and bone soup.
Aunt Xue showed no disdain for Aunt Zhou and Zhou Dafu's arrival. Instead, she warmly greeted them, saying, "You didn't even tell me you were coming to my house for dinner. If I had known, I would have come back with you and we could have chatted on the way. The standard of living in your tenement building is so much better than here. You even throw away such good cabbage leaves. It's such a waste, so I picked them all up."
For a moment, Zhou Ma didn't know what to say. She was worried that Xue Ma knew in advance that they were coming to have New Year's Eve dinner and would deliberately serve them meager food, so she came uninvited. She didn't expect that even without them, the Xue family's New Year's Eve dinner would be so meager.
She was unwilling to go back now. She had come all this way, how could she go back without even eating a meal? That would be a huge loss. In any case, she definitely wouldn't drink a drop of the cabbage and bone soup. Ever since what happened last time, she felt disgusted by anything she found, let alone put it in her mouth.
Seeing that his mother refused to leave, Zhou Dafu had no choice but to stay.
Aunt Xue didn't notice anything unusual about Aunt Zhou. She said proudly, "We picked up so many cabbages that we can't possibly finish them all in a short time. So I put some cabbages in the cornbread. I think it tastes pretty good this way. You must try it."
Zhou Ma: "..."
Damn it! She can't even eat cornbread anymore.
In the end, Zhou's mother angrily ate two large bowls of pickled vegetables, and Zhou's father ate one bowl of pickled vegetables before the two left the Xue family.
The Xue family was completely baffled. They didn't know what was wrong with Zhou Ma and Zhou Dafu. They wouldn't drink bone broth or eat cornbread, but insisted on eating their pickled vegetables. They ate more than half of their winter's worth of pickled vegetables without even feeling that they were too salty.
When Zhou Ma and Zhou Dafu returned home, the first thing they did was drink water. Then they cooked and ate the dumplings that Lin Yuanshu and the others hadn't finished. Homemade food is always the best.
I really should take Lin Yuanshu to the Xue family so he can know how good life he's living in the Zhou family.
Lin Yuanshu could tell from Zhou Ma's behavior that she hadn't gotten the better of him; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone home and eaten dinner.
If Zhou's mother is this stingy, it's unimaginable what kind of life Xue's mother, who is even stingier than Zhou's mother, lives!
After Zhou Ma finished eating the dumplings, she called her eldest brother to wash the dishes, and then came to Lin Yuanshu's side. She lowered her voice and asked, "Second wife, what have you thought about it? As long as you are willing to let me off the hook and not tell your grandmother about this, you don't have to hand over your salary next month. I will help you keep it a secret from everyone."
Lin Yuanshu stroked his chin and said vaguely, "I haven't thought it through yet."
With a frustrated expression, Zhou's mother said, "Why haven't you made up your mind yet? How long are you going to think about it? You can't still be thinking about it when you get to your grandmother's place! Give me a straight answer now, you can't keep me in such a state of anxiety."
Lin Yuanshu said seriously, "It depends on your performance! If you perform to my satisfaction in the future, I will not tell anyone about this. Of course, my requirements are not high. As long as you listen to me, that will be considered good performance."
Once the information is leaked, it's no longer a piece of information!
Zhou Ma gritted her teeth and said, "I understand."
How despicable and shameless!
She had no other way to deal with Lin Yuanshu except to compromise. She admitted that she was not a good person, but Lin Yuanshu was worse and more ruthless than her.
Although it was pitch black outside, the apartment building was brightly lit.
Zhou Ma and Zhou Dafu were so sleepy that they kept dozing off, but they insisted on "staying up all night" to send away all the bad luck of the past year and welcome good luck in the new year!
Zhou Ma was filled with regret, wishing she could have sent Lin Yuanshu away and then welcomed a filial daughter-in-law.
Keeping watch at night is a piece of cake for Lin Yuanshu, after all, she was a master of staying up all night in her previous life.
Zhou Xiangyang, on the other hand, became more and more excited as he read, and didn't want to sleep at all. He was now working hard to write the manuscript and had sent out many copies, but unfortunately most of them failed because the content was too thin. A small number of them did not receive any response, as if he had never sent the manuscript at all.
After dinner, Wei Yong pulled Sun Yiyi into the room and questioned her, "Did you cook noodles for your parents? Why is there so little left of the noodles I bought for you? I told you not to talk to your parents."
Sun Yiyi took a deep breath and retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? I ate these noodles by myself. I've been eating a lot these past few days, so I've been cooking for myself. Even though my parents came today, I didn't let them eat a single grain of our food. They ate the food they brought themselves. If you keep being so suspicious, it'll be really hard for me. They are my parents, not our enemies. I can ignore them, but I can't hate them."
Seeing Sun Yiyi's agitated state, Wei Yong worried that it would affect the baby in her womb, so he quickly comforted her, "I didn't mean to doubt you, I was just asking because I was afraid you would soften your heart and start being nice to your parents again, and then your parents would take advantage of us."
Sun Yiyi lowered her head and said firmly, "Don't worry, I won't give them a single penny."
She's not stupid; she knows what kind of people her parents are. How could she possibly be willing to give everything for them? She can be good to her parents, but that kindness can't involve money.
Seeing this, Wei Yong didn't say anything more. As long as Sun Yiyi understood, he didn't want to criticize her too much.
The next morning, the Zhou family got up early to pack their things and prepare to return to the production team where Grandma lived. Since Ma Long couldn't go back to the production team with them, Zhou's mother told Ma Long to eat at Li Xiaohua's house all day.
Originally, Zhou Ma wanted her eldest daughter-in-law to stay at home, but the daughter-in-law refused to stay no matter what, insisting on going to the production team to see Grandma Xiangjun so that the whole family could be together. Zhou Ma had no choice but to agree.
Both Zhou Ma and Zhu Huilan wanted to bring Ma Long and Li Xiaohua together, so when Ma Long went to Li Xiaohua's house for dinner, the decision was made happily without anyone objecting.
Grandma Zhou waited for the Zhou family at the crossroads of the production team, braving the cold wind. She didn't know how long she had been waiting, but she finally saw Lin Yuanshu and the others.
Lin Yuanshu looked at Grandma Zhou in the distance, her expression somewhat dazed. It was as if she saw her own grandmother in her previous life waiting for her at the village entrance in the same way.
Zhou Dafu was deeply moved when he saw his mother waiting for him in the freezing cold. He was overjoyed and ran over to her.
Grandma Zhou bypassed Zhou Dafu, hugged Lin Yuanshu, and said, "Little Second Wife, you must be exhausted! It's too cold outside. Come home with me to warm up by the fire, and I'll make you some sweet brown sugar water."
Zhou Dafu was stunned. He felt a chill run down his spine. Wasn't he his mother's best child? How could she ignore him like this?
“Mom!” Zhou Dafu shouted.
Grandma Zhou turned around and glanced at Zhou Dafu impatiently, cursing, "All you do all day is 'mama mama,' are you trying to call back the soul?"
Compared to the generous Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang, the stingy youngest son was not so likable.
Chow Tai Fook looked aggrieved; indeed, love can fade.
Grandma Zhou led Lin Yuanshu and the others home. In the center of the main room was a household coal stove, which was emitting heat. As soon as you entered the main room, you felt warm all over.
When Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law saw Lin Yuanshu and the others, she immediately brought out some dried pumpkin seeds from the room and warmly invited them, "Come and eat some pumpkin seeds and warm yourselves by the fire."
Lin Yuanshu wasn't interested in pumpkin seeds at all; they weren't tasty and were hard to peel. But Zhou Ma loved them. She not only ate them but also grabbed a handful and put them in her pocket.
For Zhou Ma, anything that's free is something she'll love.
Zhou Laoda's wife glanced at Zhou Ma's empty hands, not at all surprised. They always came empty-handed and left with a full load, making it seem like they were the city people and Zhou Dafu's family were the poor relatives who were freeloading.
Lin Yuanshu took out a can of malted milk powder from his bag, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, "Since this is my first visit, I couldn't come empty-handed. This is malted milk powder I bought. It's a rare nutritional product in the city. It contains wheat, milk powder, eggs, and other ingredients. It can replenish the body's energy and strengthen the body. I know you work hard on the farm every day, so I specially bought it to nourish your bodies. Just mix it with hot water and drink it, and your health will get better and better."
She knew that Grandma Zhou had drunk malted milk powder, so she wasn't introducing it to Grandma Zhou, but to other people. It wasn't to show off, but because she was afraid they wouldn't know the value of malted milk powder and wouldn't be able to show how good she was to them.
A former student thanked her for writing information on the process of producing naphthalene intermediates by solvent sulfonation and specially gave her two cans of malted milk powder. The student's mother works in a malted milk powder factory, so these two cans of malted milk powder can be considered as a worker's benefit, made from leftover materials, and are much cheaper than buying malted milk powder at a regular grocery store.
She didn't want the two cans of malted milk powder in the first place, but the student left them and ran away.
After the doctor said she had insufficient qi and blood, she bought a can of malted milk powder, which she still hasn't finished. So she doesn't lack malted milk powder, and neither do Chow Tai Fook and others.
Yesterday, her mother took one of the two cans of malted milk powder home, and today the other can was delivered to her grandmother. After all, it's important to maintain a good relationship with her grandmother. Her grandmother is not only bad luck to her mother-in-law, but also to her father-in-law. We can't morally blackmail her, but that doesn't mean we can't morally blackmail our parents-in-law.
Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law stared at the malted milk powder in shock and blurted out, "My goodness! How much does a can cost?"
Looking at Zhou Laoda's wife's naive and unsophisticated expression, Zhou Ma gave her a disdainful look and loudly replied, "This is a tonic. Even such a small jar costs more than five yuan, and you can only buy it with industrial coupons. You might not be able to buy it at a regular supply and marketing cooperative or grocery store."
Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law swallowed hard. Buying nutritional supplements was such a waste. It would be better to just give the money to them directly. However, she thought again that if she gave them the money directly, it wouldn't end up in her hands anyway. If she bought nutritional supplements, she could at least get some of it.
She smiled and said, "Little sister-in-law, you are so kind to us. Thank you so much for coming all this way and bringing us a gift. It looks delicious."
Zhou Lao Er's wife nodded in agreement.
The children stared intently at the malted milk powder, their mouths practically watering. They didn't understand what nutritional supplements were; they only knew it tasted good, but they didn't know if it was as sweet as candy.
Grandma Zhou looked at their hopeless appearance and said irritably, "Then you can each make a bowl and drink it now, so you can taste the high-end nutritional products of Beijing."
The reason she was so calm was because she had drunk malted milk powder before. Xiangyang and Xiao Er's wife had given her a can of malted milk powder before, and it tasted really good. She didn't share it with others, since there was just too much at home. If everyone drank a little, she would have none left.
As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you. She certainly didn't want her family constantly eyeing her nutritional supplements.
Upon hearing this, Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law turned around without hesitation and went to the kitchen to get a bowl. She wanted to make sure everyone had a bowl of malted milk powder while there were many people around. If her mother-in-law put the malted milk powder away, no one would get any unless it was a holiday.
Seeing that Zhou Laoda's wife was preparing to make malted milk powder with them, Lin Yuanshu quickly refused, saying, "There's no need to prepare our malted milk powder. We have malted milk powder at home and drink it every day."
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