Qi Zhijun nodded and said, "So she got her just reward! She's doing very well now!"
Wang Dong nodded, raised his glass, and said, "Let's toast Aunt Wei to this glass, wishing her a lifetime of happiness!"
Qi Zhijun's tears also fell, and the two of them downed a glass together.
Wang Dong continued, "I really don't have any money right now! Otherwise, Grandma wouldn't have argued with my aunt like that over eggs and brown sugar. The little money my uncle left me was mostly used to subsidize Wang Fang when she was sent to the countryside..." She chuckled and said, "Fangfang is just like my mom, you know? How many clothes does she have in her trunk? Probably no less than my mom's."
She burst into tears as she spoke, “Back when Aunt Wei was alive, although we were living under her roof and often came to her door to beg for food, we never lacked food or drink. She not only provided us with food and drink, but also with clothes. I keep thinking, if Aunt Wei hadn’t left, would my mother be in this situation now? Going to find other men just for food and clothes.”
Qi Zhijun wiped away her tears and said, "Let's not talk about it anymore. We can't drag others down with us just because we want to have a better life. You're all grown up now, you know how hard it is to make a living, how hard it is to earn money. She was a woman earning only 38 yuan back then, you can imagine how hard she had to work!"
The two people who drove Wei Shuqing to madness in the original drama are actually sitting here exonerating her. It seems that withdrawing in time was a wise choice. This is what people call retreating to advance!
Two heavily intoxicated men sang "The East Is Red" all the way home. Just as they entered the house, they heard an argument inside. "...What's wrong? We didn't eat your food, why are you saying that!" Qi Zhifang screamed, her voice filled with anguish.
From the other end came Xiao Cui's slow, deliberate voice, "Oh dear! Fangzi, I didn't say anything, but you three, grandmother and grandson, started arguing with me right away. I still don't know what you're arguing about?"
Qi Zhifang shouted angrily, "I think you're just pretending to be ignorant. We haven't separated yet! What do you mean by taking half of the money and tickets?"
Xiao Cui flicked away the non-existent dust on his body and laughed, "Mom makes corn porridge or boiled cabbage stalks every day. I calculated that the money ration coupons are enough. Don't you have to pay too? As long as you pay as we agreed before, the family won't go hungry. The old lady has lived her whole life, and she can't save any money ration coupons. She doesn't know how to manage a household at all. I'm doing this for the good of our family's future."
After saying that, she looked at Qi's mother, Qi Zhifang, with a bright smile, "Just buy the trimmed cabbage leaves at the supply and marketing cooperative. It's cheaper and you don't need coupons. Mom, don't get it wrong!"
Saying this, she turned and left. Qi Zhifang angrily said, "Who are you telling me to pick up rotten vegetable leaves!" Xiao Cui turned around, blinked innocently, and said, "Don't we eat vegetable stalks every day? Rather than buying a whole head and only eating the stalks, it's better to just buy the stalks. Don't worry, I'm not picky." Then she looked at the mother and daughter suspiciously and said, "You're not after my meat and egg coupons, are you? Trying to get special treatment again?" After saying that, she gave them a disdainful look, "You really don't know your place! A lady's body with a maid's life. Even in that state, you still want to eat eggs and meat!" She snorted and went into the house.
Just as Qi Zhifang was about to speak, she saw Qi Zhijun and Wang Dong come in. The mother and daughter just stared at the uncle and nephew, neither of them making any attempt to mediate the fight, and then they went back to their own homes.
Xiao Cui helped Qi Zhijun to bed, wrinkled her nose, covered him with a blanket, and then went to sleep on the other side. The man who should have been soundly asleep from being drunk was unusually clear-headed. He thought about previous work events where he would socialize, and how Wei Shuqing always took excellent care of him when he drank too much, leaving a glass of sugared water by his bedside. Even though the sugar water was for him, Qi's mother would still criticize him for days. Thinking of this, tears welled up in his eyes. He realized that Wei Shuqing had given him everything! And he had lost the person who cared about him most.
The next day, Qi Zhijun and Wang Dong were still lying in bed, hungover. Xiao Cui leisurely finished getting ready and went to the kitchen. She was self-sufficient with her eggs and meat rations, so she didn't care if Qi's mother cooked for her, since she wasn't eating her food. When she went in, she saw only four cornbread buns, a bowl of porridge, and half a plate of pickled vegetables on the table, but didn't think much of it. The three of them had just finished eating when they heard an older woman from the street calling, "Wang Fang, is Wang Fang home?" Qi's mother and daughter stopped eating.
Wang Jia: "Sister, sister, run! I saw the police coming, but they didn't ask where we live. They're probably here to arrest you!" Wang Hong rushed in to warn them.
Wang Fang had just finished her rice porridge when Wang Hong snatched the bowl from her, put clothes on Wang Fang, and pushed her, saying, "Hurry up and leave! It'll be too late if you don't leave now."
As soon as Wang Fang got down from the ground, she heard, "Don't move!" She froze, too afraid to move. The moment the cold handcuffs were put on her wrists, Wang Fang's young face was filled with bewilderment and confusion. Qi Zhifang and her mother heard the noise and stood at the door watching Wang Fang being taken away. They covered their mouths, turned their heads away, and their trembling shoulders showed that they were holding back their tears.
Wang Hong cried out for her sister, but couldn't catch up with the child and sat on the ground, wailing loudly. When Qi Zhifang came to her senses, she plopped down on the ground, her eyes vacant, tears streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string. After a long while, she exclaimed, "Ah!" "What is this troublemaker trying to do? Does she have to kill us before she's satisfied?" Then, as if possessed, she cried out, "Let her die, let her die, let her go die, let her die far away, let her get out of here!"
When Qi's mother came out, she saw Qi Zhifang acting like a madwoman, grabbing her hair and shouting incessantly, with strands of hair still clinging to her hands. Qi's mother quickly stopped her, shouting, "Zhijun, Dongdong, come quick! Someone come here!"
Qi Zhijun and Wang Dong entered one after the other. Although Wang Dong was disgusted, he still firmly restrained her hands and said, "What are you doing? The house is already messy enough. What's wrong with you? Can you stop pressuring us?"
Qi Zhifang's eyes were red and swollen. "Fangfang, my Fangfang! What should I do? Ah..."
Wang Dong shook her violently a few times. "Enough! Stop shouting! Do you want everyone to know about her? The family is already in enough trouble. More debts don't weigh us down, more lice don't bite. Are you afraid of another woman like her? Since she did such a shameless thing, let's just pretend she doesn't exist. Let her go die somewhere far away. Stop going crazy!" He then walked away, leaving Qi Zhifang lying on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Qi Zhijun glanced at her and said, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. Do you understand our feelings now? Behave yourself from now on! Don't do anything that demeans yourself." After saying that, he left.
Xiao Cui finished his meal slowly and deliberately, and left without even glancing at them.
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