"Xuemei, are you better from your cold?" Zhang Aiping asked Xuemei two meters away.
"Sister Zhang, I'm fine now. Please bring Xiaozhong out to play with him!" Xuemei replied.
Xiaozhong is Zhang Aiping's youngest son. Xuemei has caught a cold these two days. Zhang Aiping was afraid that the child had weak resistance, so she didn't dare to take him out to play. She kept him on the small bed in the lounge. Even Zhang Aiping didn't dare to get too close to Xuemei and talk to her.
"Xuemei, don't blame me for being nosy. If Xiaozhong catches a cold accidentally, not only will the child be uncomfortable, but I will also be in trouble. The main thing is that there is no one at home to take care of Xiaozhong now, so I will have to ask someone to take his place at home!" Zhang Aiping said as she came out holding the still crying Xiaozhong.
"Sister Zhang, I understand. You don't have to explain to me specially. I feel embarrassed. I have a cold these days and our Xiaozhong can't go out to play, right, Xiaozhong?" Xuemei said while teasing Xiaozhong.
Eeeehahah…hahahaha
"Look at this guy. He was crying just now and felt so aggrieved, but now he's smiling!" Zhang Aiping said as he wiped the tears from Xiaozhong's face.
"Our Xiaozhong wants mommy to carry him out for some fresh air, right?" Xuemei said, holding Xiaozhong's little hand.
"Xuemei, stop teasing him. Help me tie him on my back. Someone is coming to buy something!" Zhang Aiping said as he looked at the pedestrians coming from a distance and took out a cloth strap and handed it to Xuemei.
…
"Liu Xuemei, I'm here to buy things again! I have had no appetite these days, and my boss insisted that I come here to buy some of the things I want to eat." Wu Lian said shyly.
"Isn't that what you should do? You are pregnant now, so you can eat whatever you want. Comrade He is right! Comrade Wu, what do you want?" Xuemei said casually.
Ever since Wu Lian was able to get out of bed after three months of pregnancy, she would come to Xuemei's counter every few days, even though she was bulging with belly. Often, even if she didn't buy anything, she would come to talk to Xuemei, pretending to be casual about how good her life was at the He family and how good He Ping was to her! Sometimes she would even tell Xuemei what she had eaten.
After saying this, she specifically emphasized that Xuemei shouldn't tell anyone, saying that if others knew, they would say she was just bragging. Or maybe she didn't mean to tell Xuemei, it was just that Xuemei was the only person she knew well in the commune, and it just slipped out when they started gossiping.
Xuemei had become immune to her behavior, and her words went in one ear and out the other. However, Wu Lian must have been eating well at the He family recently. Not only had her belly grown, but she had also gained a lot of weight, now around 100 pounds, almost 20 pounds heavier than before she got married.
"You're right, my head of the family is a good husband, and he's really good to me. Liu Xuemei, quickly get me a can of oranges and a box of mung bean cakes." Wu Lian wanted to show off for a while longer, but when she saw a girl coming to He Ping's counter not far away, her face suddenly drooped, and she looked at He Ping and the girl fiercely.
Xuemei quickly settled the bill for her. Wu Lian didn't settle the bill herself today. She took the things and ran towards He Ping, which surprised Xuemei and Zhang Aiping.
"Hey! He Ping's wife, walk slower! You are still pregnant?" Zhang Aiping called out kindly.
"Oh! Sister Zhang, how can she listen to you now? Her whole mind is focused on that?" Xuemei gestured with her head to Zhang Aiping to look at He Ping.
Seeing that no one was selling anything, Zhang Aiping came up to Xuemei and whispered, "He Ping is really not any less cunning even after getting married. No wonder his wife gets worried when she sees him talking to girls.
If I were to meet a husband like that, I'd take advantage of the fact that I'm pregnant now and make as much money as possible from He Ping so I can have some money myself. She's an educated youth sent to the countryside, and her family lives so far away. If her first child is a girl, she'll be tortured by the He family, right? Do you think He Ping will care about her?
"But He Ping's wife is also ungrateful. I ran into her a few days ago and noticed how much weight she'd gained, especially since she's only five months pregnant. I reminded her to pay attention to her diet and eat less. She immediately got mad at me, saying I was jealous of her good food!" Zhang Aiping said, rolling her eyes at Wu Lian.
Xuemei didn't really want to talk about Xuemei. Seeing that Xiaozhong had fallen asleep on Zhang Aiping's back, she said, "Sister Zhang, let's not talk about her anymore. Xiaozhong is asleep. Why don't you put him in his crib first?"
"No, we have to have lunch in half an hour. Don't let him go and wake him up again!" Zhang Aiping shook her head and said.
"Sister Zhang, it's not convenient for you to bring Xiaozhong to work all the time! It's okay now, but when he can walk, you won't have so much time to look after her!" Xuemei said, looking at Xiaozhong's little face that was red from sleeping.
"Your brother-in-law and I plan to wean him when he is eight months old, and then put him in a nursery class or find a retired old lady to take care of him!" Zhang Aiping said unhappily.
"Sister Zhang, that's great. You'll feel much more relaxed now! What are you unhappy about?" Xuemei asked in confusion.
"It's a lot easier, but it costs money! The nursery school probably won't accept children as young as Xiaozhong, so I'll probably have to find someone else to take care of them. It'll cost at least seven or eight yuan a month, which is much more expensive than the nursery school.
"Even though your brother-in-law and I both have jobs, we have to raise four children and give my parents-in-law five yuan a month. By the end of the month, there's not much money left at home, and food is very tight!" Zhang Aiping said distressedly.
"Sister Zhang, don't think too much. The bridge will be straightened out when it reaches the top of the wall, and everything will be solved then!" Xuemei comforted.
"How can I not be anxious? He's only three or four months old! If the nursery class doesn't accept him, your brother-in-law will have to ask the commune and find someone capable and well-behaved to take care of the child. Don't find someone like my mother-in-law. In fact, last year, before Xiaozhong was born, your brother-in-law and I planned to give my parents-in-law an extra five yuan a month after Xiaozhong was weaned and have my mother-in-law come over to take care of my youngest son. But ever since we caught my mother-in-law last time, she hasn't hidden her partiality in front of your brother-in-law.
This year, your brother-in-law and I went back to the countryside to pay New Year's greetings. My mother-in-law, in front of us, took out some delicious food but kept giving it to my eldest brother's children. She made my children watch and said in a sarcastic tone that my children were used to eating good food in the commune and couldn't get used to the food in the countryside. My father-in-law watched from the sidelines and didn't say a word to stop her.
"Your brother-in-law was so distraught at the time that he didn't even have lunch and immediately dragged me and the children home. Now we don't dare to even think about it, because I'm afraid my mother-in-law will steal everything when she comes home!" Zhang Aiping became increasingly angry as she spoke.
"Sister Zhang, they don't like your family, so you just need to see each other less often. As long as you and your brother-in-law do your best to fulfill your filial duty to your parents, everyone will see it and won't say anything to you. As for Xiaozhong, he will definitely be admitted to the nursery class when he is two years old, and then you and your brother-in-law will have it much easier!" Xuemei comforted.
"You're right. At most, your brother-in-law and I will have to tighten our belts for the next year or so. But this will allow your brother-in-law to see the true faces of my mother-in-law and father-in-law, and he will focus on our small family in the future. Then all the hard work will be worth it!" Zhang Aiping comforted herself.
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