Chapter 3 I’m scolding you!
"The third son is coming back to visit his relatives! When he comes back, get out of the Zhai family!!" Liu Xiulan was afraid that her daughter-in-law couldn't hear her, so she continued to scold her while standing outside the side room.
Liu Xiangqin just rushed into the main room and unexpectedly heard the news that the third brother would soon return from the army.
When she heard that her brother-in-law was coming home from the army to visit his family, Liu Xiangqin suppressed the anger in her chest. Although her brother-in-law had not been home for five years, she and the second son's wife knew that her brother-in-law sent one hundred yuan to his family every year.
However, the mother-in-law Liu Xiulan kept the money in her hands and did not let the third son's wife know anything about it.
Liu Xiangqin simply sat down on the bench next to the big table in the main room. She wanted to see how good her man was to that bastard!
At this moment, in the side room, Wang Ziru saw the fire burning and she breathed a sigh of relief. With the help of her uncle, she finally started a big fire.
She hurried back to a cramped room at the back of the house and carried the shivering child, who was sitting on a small stool, to the side room to warm himself by the fire.
He went back and rummaged through the drawers to find a set of clothes to replace the child's wet clothes.
Wet clothes cannot be washed yet. If you wash but don’t wear them, you can only hang them on the back of a chair to dry them before wearing them.
"Baby, mommy has changed your clothes. I'll boil some water. Drink some hot water to warm your body." Wang Ziru said lovingly.
"Okay, Mom, but Baoer is a little hungry..."
The boy sat by the fire. His frozen body gradually warmed up, and then he felt his stomach growling with hunger.
"Are you hungry? Mommy will make you something to eat."
Seeing Wang Ziru frantically changing the child into dry clothes by the fire, the eldest son of the Zhai family felt even more sympathetic. "Sister-in-law, make some corn grits porridge for the child."
Zhai Qingsong squatted beside the fire, tending to the firewood and silently watching his younger brother and sister-in-law take good care of the children.
My brother and sister-in-law have not had an easy time in recent years. They have to take care of the children alone and endure the difficulties caused by our mother.
Although my mother doesn't like my sister-in-law, she doesn't want her to really divorce my third brother. If it really comes to that, it will be bad for everyone, especially since my sister-in-law gave birth to a boy for the Zhai family and made great contributions.
Let’s look at their eldest son. He and his wife had been married for ten years, but his wife had not given birth to a son or daughter. Later, he could not stand the gossip in the village anymore, so he went to a family in the deep mountains and adopted a girl, naming her Zhaodi.
The second younger brother and his wife were quite capable, but the second oldest brother and his wife only had two girls who were of no use when they grew up.
If my third brother came home from the army and saw that he already had a son, he would be so happy.
Wang Ziru got up in a panic, went to the thatched kitchen behind the house to fetch a bucket of water, and poured it into the hanging pot above the fire.
This hanging pot is used by the whole family to cook porridge. I don’t know how many years it has been used, and the oval surface is covered with a thick layer of black ash.
Baoer's body gradually warmed up, and he quickly pulled off his mother's cotton shirt, "Mom, you wear it."
"Mom is not cold, Baoer, dress yourself!" It was not too cold to work by the fire, Wang Ziru said while cooking cornmeal porridge for her son.
The little guy blinked his bright eyes and pursed his little mouth.
Although he was only four years old, he could see that his mother was only wearing a thin autumn coat and must be very cold.
Watching the fire burning fiercely, the eldest brother of the Zhai family patted the ashes on his hands and said:
"Sister-in-law, don't be too sad. I went to town today and heard that several soldiers in Qinglong Village have returned to their hometown after being discharged from the army. Maybe my third brother will be discharged soon. He has been away for five years, and life has been really hard for you, sister-in-law."
After hearing her uncle's considerate words, Wang Ziru thought he was just trying to comfort himself.
She no longer had any expectations of the man who had never fulfilled his responsibilities as a husband.
Moreover, she had learned from the original owner's memory that the third son of the Zhai family was about to get engaged to a girl from the next village.
However, the original owner was a nymphomaniac. Once, she saw that the third son of the Zhai family was handsome and could not let go of the man. She even used the beauty trap on the third son of the Zhai family...
But this cannot be an excuse for him to be irresponsible to his family.
Wang Ziru sneered, "When Zhai Ximo comes home, this marriage must be divorced. I have had enough of this kind of bullying and lack of warmth."
Mrs. Liu, who was standing at the door of the side room, thought these words were addressed to her.
He turned around and was about to go out, cursing.
At some point, her eldest daughter-in-law quietly walked behind her, scaring Mrs. Liu so much that she yelled, "Liu Xiangqin, what are you doing? You're like a ghost, and you're walking without making any sound."
Of course Liu Xiangqin didn't dare to openly retort to her mother-in-law, she just walked to the door of the side room and deliberately said loudly:
"Mom! You are so unyielding to my sister-in-law, and you feel comfortable scolding her in your heart! But you don't even open your eyes to see that even though the third brother is not at home, my sister-in-law is not lacking in men who care about her."
Mrs. Liu immediately understood that her eldest daughter-in-law was going to fight, and she yelled at her eldest son who was warming himself by the fire in the side room, "Qingsong! What are you still doing sitting there? Stay away from such a lowly creature from now on."
"That spendthrift woman prepares food before dark. This family will be ruined by her sooner or later..."
"Mom..." Zhai Qingsong understood what his mother and wife meant.
I originally wanted to give Baoer some advice, but I had to get up and leave.
Liu Xiangqin glared at her husband fiercely, watched him walk out dejectedly, then walked into the side room and sat down, warming herself by the fire, "Sister-in-law, are you really going to divorce the third brother?"
"Um."
"In fact, in my opinion, the third brother has been in the army for five years and has refused to come home. He never gave you two cents of the money he brought home every year. It's better for you to divorce," Liu Xiangqin hurriedly looked outside the door, pretending to let the cat out of the bag, and smiled, "You are still young, and you still have a chance to marry a good man."
Mrs. Liu stood at the door of the side room, wishing she could rush in and tear the mouths of her two daughters-in-law.
But when she saw Wang Ziru's shocked expression, she quickly ran out.
If the third son's wife knew that the third son brought 100 yuan home every year and didn't give her a penny, she would probably make trouble.
As expected, Wang Ziru looked at her sister-in-law who suddenly appeared in the side room. She obviously had bad intentions. She asked, "Does Zhai Ximo send money home every year?"
"you do not know?"
"How much did you send?"
"It seems like I sent 100 yuan every year. Mom never told you such a big thing. How come you seem to have never heard of it?" Liu Xiangqin said with a strange laugh.
"Liu Xiulan is really something! She dared to swallow the money my man sent her behind my back." Wang Ziru was fed up and threw the wooden spoon in her hand heavily into the bowl.
She lowered her head to glance at her adopted son who was sitting on a small stool. He was so skinny that he was just skin and bones. He was so hungry that there was not even an ounce of meat left on his body!
The child’s father clearly sent money home!
It seems that the bastard man did not ignore them and their son, but all the money sent home was embezzled by the mother-in-law!
No wonder the aunties in the village all called her a fool!
However, compared to the original owner, Wang Ziru is smarter and not yet angry.
She could more or less see what the people in this family were thinking. For some reason, her eldest sister-in-law seemed to want her and her mother-in-law to quarrel.
Humph, you can't just follow Liu Xiangqin's wishes.
Liu Xiangqin looked at the snot flowing out of Baoer's nostrils and said with a smile: "Actually, in your situation, it would be more comfortable to live separately."
"Now all the land in the village has been distributed to each household, and our Zhai family has also been allocated some good fields. If we divide the family, just ask Mom for the good fields."
Wang Ziru was stunned. Doesn’t the sister-in-law want to get a few good plots of land?
She is so strong and a good worker. If the family is divided and the good land is given to the third child, she will definitely point at her mother-in-law and curse at her.
"Sister-in-law, you are right!" Wang Ziru wiped Bao'er's nose and sat by the fire, watching the corn grits porridge in the hanging pot, and said, "We are such a big family, and the number of people is increasing. It is not a good idea to always eat from the same big pot!"
"But if we want to divide the property, we have to ask Village Chief Li to divide it for us. He knows where each family's fields are." Liu Xiangqin suggested.
How could Wang Ziru not hear it when they blatantly pushed her out to be used as a tool?
"It's better to let the eldest brother take charge of this matter. Invite the village chief tonight to divide the family. If the eldest brother proposes to divide the family, the second brother will definitely listen to you."
"Sister-in-law, you are really cunning." Liu Xiangqin sneered.
At this time, the sound of a child looking for her mother came from the yard outside. Wang Ziru recognized that it was Zhai Zhaodi, the daughter adopted by her eldest brother from the mountains in the neighboring village.
The child must have played enough in the village, so when he returned home, he didn't see his mother, so he walked all the way from the yard to the side room.
"Mom, have you prepared dinner? I'm starving." Zhai Zhaodi walked to the door of the side room and could already smell the aroma of corn grits. She asked while licking her lips.
In the side room, Baoer was sitting by the fire, warming himself.
The moment he saw Zhai Zhaodi, it was like seeing the living King Yan. His face turned pale with fear, and his skinny body suddenly dived into Wang Ziru's arms, with his face deeply buried in his mother's arms. "Mom, I'm scared..."
"Baoer, what's wrong with you? Mom is here, what are you afraid of?"
Wang Ziru's heart skipped a beat and she quickly hugged her son. It seemed that Baoer was very afraid of this cousin who had no blood relationship with the Zhai family?
She hugged her adopted son's small body tightly and turned to look at her seven-year-old niece who came in. Could it be that Zhai Zhaodi bullied Baoer?
Wang Ziru couldn't help but think of this, pretending not to understand Bao'er's sudden fear, rubbing Bao'er's head, "When the corn grits porridge is ready, eat it with your sister."
"No, don't!" Baoer was trapped in his mother's arms, and his little mouth reacted with fear.
A pair of bony little hands waved hurriedly.
"Strange! Bao'er seems to be very afraid of Zhaodi?" Wang Ziru's face gradually turned cold, and she stared at Zhai Zhaodi sharply, "Zhaodi, tell Auntie if she played with Bao'er by the village pond this afternoon?"
Liu Xiangqin's expression suddenly changed.