Upon hearing his daughter's words, Old Zhang's face darkened. He glared fiercely at his wife and Zhang Qing, then sullenly puffed on his water pipe.
He needs to think of a way to ease tensions with the Ji family; he absolutely cannot let this in-law relationship fall apart.
Old Zhang remained silent, while Old Zhang's wife impatiently made her two daughters do the work, while she herself complained and groaned about being tired, making excuses to lie down.
Back at the Zhang family home, dinner consisted of sweet potato and brown rice porridge with pickled vegetables and pumpkin, without a trace of oil.
To be honest, Zhang Hong hadn't eaten such terrible food for several years since she got married.
Not only was the food unpalatable, but half a day after she returned home, she experienced breast engorgement, which caused her to feel dizzy and weak from the pain in her chest.
Zhang Hong went back to her room to lie down after eating half of her meal. Zhang Qing grumbled, "Mom, look at my eldest sister. She's only been back for half a day, and she's already complaining about being tired without doing anything."
"Shut up. Your sister is already married. When she comes back, she's a guest. Is it your place to boss her around?"
The conflict with the Ji family had caused trouble for Old Man Zhang, who was quite annoyed. Upon hearing this, he gave Zhang Qing a severe scolding.
The following afternoon, Old Zhang was pulled aside for another talk by the captain of the Xiapo Brigade, who then scolded Zhang Qing again upon his return.
Zhang Qing was thoroughly scolded and gritted his teeth in anger. When he returned to his room, Zhang Hong was lying on the bed, looking sickly and crooked.
She couldn't help but sneer, "Big sister, you've only been married a few years and you've already become so pretentious? You're bedridden after just half a day at home?"
Zhang Hong glanced at her weakly, feeling an unbearable pain in her chest with the slightest movement, let alone...
Since she became pregnant, she has only done light work. During her postpartum period, her younger sister did all the work.
Having not worked for a long time, my breasts started to engorge when I came back yesterday afternoon. The temperature dropped again last night, and the Zhang family's quilts weren't warm enough. Zhang Qing was reluctant to give her a quilt, and after a cold night, I now feel dizzy, lightheaded, and have a terrible headache.
Hearing Zhang Qing's words, Zhang Hong said weakly, "Second sister, I caught a chill last night. Could you go to the clinic and get me some medicine?"
"I have no money and I don't know what medicine to get. If you're not feeling well, just drink more water."
Zhang Qing stormed out of the house without even doing any housework.
As they walked to the stream on the west side of the village, a gentle and refined man returned with two fish in a fish basket. He smiled when he saw Zhang Qing.
"Zhang Qing, you're back? Oh, what's up?"
The man's gentle voice relaxed Zhang Qing's tense expression. Her eyes were dry, and soon they turned red.
She bit her lower lip and choked out, "Ye Qinglin, that won't work out."
"What is it? You mean about that job at the supply and marketing cooperative?"
Ye Qinglin smiled faintly upon hearing this, showing no surprise. He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, comforting her in a tender tone: "Don't cry, it's only natural, isn't it? A job isn't so easy to get."
"You went into town yesterday, right? What did they say?"
“I went to the city a few days ago, and my sister persuaded my mother and me to go.”
Zhang Qing snorted resentfully and embellished her story of yesterday: "You can't believe how awful that person is. She actually demanded a thousand yuan before she would give up her job, and she'd rather my sister get a divorce than budge..."
Ye Qinglin pondered to himself, surprised. He thought the biggest obstacle was the other party's elders, after all, they were the brigade secretary.
Before the elders could even utter a word, a young woman about to be married was already acting arrogantly. What gave this girl the audacity to treat her elder brother and sister-in-law like that?
After listening quietly for a while and letting Zhang Qing vent his anger, he pretended to be casual and said with a smile, "If she can't even get past her sister-in-law, it seems that the chances of this succeeding are slim."
Zhang Qing shook his head in frustration: "I'm sorry, Brother Qinglin, this is definitely not going to work out. Today, the brigade leader went to my dad and scolded him, saying he was shameless and told him to stop having bad ideas. He also told him to send my sister back as soon as possible."
"Send it back? Wouldn't that be putting your father's face underfoot?"
Zhang Qing's face darkened further upon hearing this, because her parents had scolded her several times since yesterday, blaming her for everything.
Then look at Zhang Hong. She spent half a day lying in her room pretending to be sick after returning home, refusing to do any work. Old Man Zhang and Old Woman Zhang were worried that she would hold a grudge if she returned to the Ji family, so they didn't dare to ask her to do any work.
And then there's Zhang Lan. They're all sisters, so why is it that Zhang Lan can stay in the city and enjoy a life of luxury, living a life of luxury with her older sister, while she's the only one left to suffer in the countryside?
Thinking about what I heard yesterday, that the postpartum care cost more than 300 yuan and included 20 or 30 chickens and more than a dozen pig's feet, I felt a pang of jealousy.
Zhang Lan stayed in the city and gained several pounds in just over a month. Her clothes were almost all new, and it was clear that she was living very well in the city.
They all come from the same background, so why is it that the eldest sister can marry so well?
They're both younger sisters, so why can the younger sister stay in the city to work as a nanny, but she can't?
Ye Qinglin then asked in a low voice, "What do you think? Do you hope your sister and brother-in-law will reconcile?"
A shadow of gloom flashed in Zhang Qing's eyes as she said viciously, "Even though she's made up with me, the family doesn't get a single benefit. She won't share even a fraction of her good fortune with me. If I'm not doing well, she shouldn't expect to either."
"I think so too. Your sister married into a good family. If she cared about you, why would you need to ask her?"
Ye Qinglin smiled and shook his head, his expression gentle and his demeanor mild, but the words he spoke were anything but gentle.
"Hmph, marrying into the Ji family won't be of any use to the family. It's better to divorce her and marry into another family. At least you can get a dowry."
Zhang Qing's expression was somewhat sinister. Ye Qinglin chuckled and said, "Perhaps I can lend you a hand with this matter?"
He leaned down and whispered a few words in Zhang Qing's ear, and Zhang Qing's eyes lit up: "Really? You can really help me?"
"You're my friend, if I don't help you, who will I help?"
Ye Qinglin winked at her and comforted her for a long time before she felt a little better.
Thinking that he would have to work when he got home, Zhang Qing slacked off and stayed outside for most of the day, only returning home around dinnertime.
Back home, she peeked inside and saw smoke still rising from the kitchen. Granny Zhang was cooking dinner while cursing and swearing, but she didn't see Zhang Hong working in the kitchen.
Zhang Qing was secretly annoyed. She wasn't home, and Zhang Hong refused to do any work. Did she really think she was the rich young lady of the Ji family?
Just then, Zhang Qing faintly heard the voices of village women outside the courtyard. He turned around and saw a village woman helping Zhang Hong slowly walk back to the Zhang family's courtyard.
"Drink more water tonight. You can't take medicine while breastfeeding, so you'll just have to tough it out. Also, remember to express the milk yourself today to avoid getting blocked again tonight."
Zhang Hong looked grateful and gave her a weak smile: "I understand. My sister-in-law and I will go to the city tomorrow."
Zhang Qing was startled upon hearing this and quickly asked with a forced smile, "Sister, what are you talking about? You went back to the city after only one day at home?"
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