Mingmei smiled brightly, her two pigtails swaying back and forth, looking very adorable.
She said crisply, "Mom, let's take a walk together, and you can introduce me to the people in our courtyard. Brother Zhixi has to go to work, so he definitely doesn't know as much as you do. Please give me some pointers."
Zhao Guihua looked up at Mingmei in surprise, but she quickly agreed and said, "Okay."
Many people in their courtyard are not easy to deal with, and they really need to talk to their daughter-in-law to avoid being cheated. After all, this is not more than 50 years later, when each family only cares about their own affairs and no one cares about what happens in other families. It is not the case now.
Nowadays, the relationship between neighbors is very close. In a large compound like theirs, there are a lot of family gossips and human interactions, so they should talk it out and be careful.
She said confidently: "You should ask me about this matter. No one knows better than me."
Mingmei nodded hurriedly: "I knew you were not an ordinary person."
Zhao Guihua raised the corner of her mouth and waved her hand modestly: "It's just so-so. I just know a little more than others, understand a little deeper, and see a little further."
How could this not be long-term? She was reborn, lived for more than a hundred years, and was outlasted by these old friends. She knew exactly what each family was like and what each would do in the future. When it comes to the long term, no one knows better than her!
Mingmei nodded in agreement. She said, "Mom, I'll rely on your guidance. You're really amazing."
Zhao Guihua smiled and said, "Okay, leave it to me."
The conversation between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law stunned the whole family. Liang Meifen never expected that the sister-in-law who just came in was a flatterer. Look at what she said, it was clearly flattery. And it was naked flattery, which was really infuriating!
She bit her lip and wanted to say something, but she felt that it was hard to open her mouth to talk about her brother-in-law.
She tried hard to think of the compliments, but before she could come up with any words, she heard her mother-in-law speak.
Zhao Guihua: "Old man, boss, you should all come back early after get off work today. We will have a family meeting tonight."
Zhuang Lao Ni nodded and said, "I know."
He had just met the old woman in the room and knew the main content of the meeting. Zhuang Zhiyuan was not very clear, but even if he was not clear, he could probably guess something. He nodded without any objection: "I understand."
However, Leung Mei-fen's expression changed suddenly, and her face turned pale in an instant.
She stammered as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't dare to open her mouth, and she didn't even dare to look at her mother-in-law's face. She could only look at her husband for help, but Zhuang Zhiyuan was only busy at work and didn't even look at her. They were delayed this morning and it was already very late when they left.
Zhuang Zhiyuan finished eating and stood up: "I have to leave quickly."
Zhuang Laonian also nodded. He was closer to the place than his son, but there was no time to waste, so both father and son hurried out.
Liang Meifen tried hard to calm down and look natural, but she felt cold and bitter. Now she just hoped that her mother-in-law would not split the family at the family meeting.
She didn't want to split up the family, not even a little bit.
Maybe, the mother-in-law wanted to say that the family should not be divided at the meeting. Her husband is the eldest son, and her parents-in-law will rely on them for their retirement. Maybe the family will not be divided. No. With this self-comforting, Liang Meifen finally managed to calm herself down.
Zhao Guihua saw what Liang Meifen was doing. She and Liang Meifen had been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for nearly 60 years. How could she not know who Liang Meifen was? Zhao Guihua sneered, full of sarcasm. Liang Meifen's face, which had just regained some of its natural look, turned pale again in an instant.
Zhao Guihua didn't care whether Liang Meifen looked pale or not, and said, "Please clear the table. I'll take the third son's wife for a walk."
Liang Meifen quickly responded: "Okay, I'll clean it up."
Although she didn't know what her mother-in-law was sneering at, Liang Meifen was unsure and only hoped that her mother-in-law would see her good side. However, Zhao Guihua no longer looked at her and said, "Let's go."
Mingmei stood up quickly and took Zhao Guihua's arm in a familiar way. Zhao Guihua looked down at her hand and her mouth twitched. Mingmei didn't consider herself an outsider and said, "Mom, I am your daughter-in-law and your daughter. I don't know anything. You have to teach me more."
Just as Zhao Guihua was about to speak, her other arm was held by her youngest son Zhuang Zhixi.
Zhuang Zhixi was newly married and didn't want to be separated from his young wife, but he couldn't hold her arm, as it would be inappropriate in public. But holding his mother's arm was fine, so he said, "I'll go with you."
Zhao Guihua had also been here since she was young, and she knew that newlyweds wanted to be together all the time, so she said, "Okay, you guys come with me..."
Priscilla Leung: “!!!”
She was so angry! Look at what he said, how could he treat her like his own daughter? How could he be so ridiculous.
How come these two are such flatterers? What should I do if my mother-in-law is fooled? She lowered her head to look at her two children and muttered softly, "Eat, eat, eat, they only know how to eat. The little kids eat as much as adults."
She thought if the child couldn't finish the food, she could give some to her husband, but these two unfortunate guys kept eating it.
Hutou and Xiaoyanzi didn't care what their mother said and just held on to their bowls of rice.
Tiger Head: “I can finish it!”
It's so delicious, he can finish it! Xiaoyanzi nodded and said in a baby voice: "I can finish it!"
Liang Meifen felt aggrieved, breathing heavily. Seeing that they hadn't finished eating yet, she ignored them and immediately moved to the door, peeking out through the crack...
Zhao Guihua took the young couple out. The weather was very cold and no one stayed in the yard. In addition, there was still half a month before the Chinese New Year, and the old women in the yard also went out every day to the supply and marketing cooperatives and non-staple food stores to buy various New Year supplies, so the yard was empty.
It wasn't that early for them to go out. Those who were going to work or shopping had all gone out, and every house was locked.
Zhao Guihua looked at the yard she had been away from for a long time and found that every blade of grass and every tree were particularly familiar.
Zhao Guihua: "Our compound is a two-entry compound. We are in the front yard, with four households in total. The four rooms in the main house belong to Aunt Su's family. She is a widow, but her surname is not Su. People call her Aunt Su because of her husband's name, and people in the compound are used to calling her Aunt Su. When her husband left, the three children in the family were young, and she raised them all by herself. She speaks softly, is gentle and soft, smiles when she sees people, and is caring and considerate. But if you believe her, you'll suffer."
Mingmei immediately nodded seriously and concluded: "He is a smiling but dagger hidden behind his smile."
Zhuang Zhixi's mouth twitched: "..."
He really didn't know that this was his mother's evaluation of Aunt Su.
Zhao Guihua continued: "Aunt Su has two daughters and a son. The two daughters were married eight hundred years ago, but you can see that the two come back every now and then to give gifts. They want to empty their husband's family to subsidize their own family. Her son got married ten years ago, but he died in the past few years due to work, leaving behind a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. Because both the father and son died in the factory, their family was able to get the four rooms in the main house. Her daughter-in-law is called Wang Xiangxiu, a young widow. Wang Xiangxiu's belly is very competitive. She gave birth to three boys in a row, nine-year-old Su Jinlai, seven-year-old Su Yinlai, and five-year-old Tonglai. After her husband left, she took over and also worked at the Qianjin Machinery Factory. She doesn't have the mind of her mother-in-law, but she is not an easy person to get along with. She looks like a sassy Beijing girl, but in fact, she learned to be very capable from her mother-in-law. The men in the courtyard are more or less interested in her."
Mingmei: "Ohhhh, not to be trifled with."
Zhao Guihua nodded: "It's true that he is not easy to mess with."
Zhuang Zhixi's mouth twitched again: "…………"
The four rooms in the main house belong to the Su family, and the one on the side is their house, which also has four rooms. Actually, it is said to be four rooms, but in fact it is three and a half rooms. One of them is a small wing room at the corner. It is not accurate to say there are four rooms, but there is no saying that there are half a room either.
So it is still four rooms, but it is incomparable to the four rooms in the main house.
There are two families living opposite their family. There are no small rooms here, but four regular rooms. The two on the left are for a family of three.
Zhao Guihua: "This is the richest family in our yard, the old Zhou family, a family of three lives here. The old lady is Zhou Li, she is also a widow, mean to death, obviously rich, but she never gets enough of taking advantage, mean and vicious, hates people who have more and laughs at people who have less. His son is Zhou Qun, he is 31 years old this year, and still has no children. I don't know whose problem is with the couple, Zhou Qun is not simple, he is a seventh-level electrician in the factory, and his monthly salary is 92. His wife Jiang Lu is a member of the factory women's federation, and her monthly salary is 37. But because she didn't give birth to a child for the old Zhou family in her thirties, Zhou Li doesn't like her very much. Zhou Li scolds her daughter-in-law at home all day long, you don't have to meddle in her business."
Mingmei made a gesture to shut up.
Zhao Guihua nodded with satisfaction. She had to say that after the first try, her daughter-in-law had become much more sensible.
But when she talked about this, she laughed. Even though decades have passed, she still has a very clear memory of that time.
But it is true. Ten or twenty years later, families would not tell others about their income, but at this time, the positions and levels of workers were clear, and the salary was clear. Everyone knew it. As long as you know the level of the job, you can get the salary. She didn't remember other people very well, but she remembered the richest man in their compound clearly.
She muttered quietly, "I have a pretty good memory."
He added, "There's a conflict in his family, so don't get involved. Jiang Lu won't thank you if you intervene, and will definitely blame you."
Mingmei nodded more carefully.
Zhuang Zhixi: “………………”
Didn’t he stand up for Jiang Lu before?
Zhao Guihua: "The two rooms on the right are occupied by a father and a son, both bachelors. Their family name is Bai. Old man Bai is a boiler operator in the factory and is an old widower. His son Bai Fendou is also 31 years old this year and has not found a wife yet. The father and son, the old man has fallen in love with the old widow Aunt Su, and the son has fallen in love with Aunt Su's daughter-in-law, the young widow Wang Xiangxiu. Bai Fendou works in the factory's security department. Both of them earn a lot, but it seems that they don't have much savings..."
Mingmei understood immediately: "It was spent on someone else." She glanced at Aunt Su's family.
Zhao Guihua nodded with even more satisfaction. As expected, her daughter-in-law understood everything immediately.
Zhuang Zhixi: “…………………………”
This is also thanks to the cold weather and no one in the yard, so they can review each house one by one. If they were to sit in the house to review, it would feel like they lacked a sense of ritual.
Zhao Guihua said, "We often come into contact with the families in the front yard. Come on, I'll take you to the back yard. There are five families living in the back yard. The main house is occupied by the chef Li's family. Li Dashan and his wife Li Wangshi have only one daughter, Li Fang. Their family has a live-in son-in-law, who is Li Dashan's apprentice, named Yang Lixin. Li Fang's family has two sons. Aren't these live-in sons-in-law? The sons' surnames are not Yang. One is called Li Junjun and the other is called Li Weiwei. Li Dashan's salary is not the highest, but as a chef, he lives off the land and has no shortage of food. His family is easy to get along with. Li Dashan's wife Li Wangshi, also known as Aunt Wang, is in charge of our yard. She collects water and cleaning fees every month, and she is the one who conveys some street notices. If there is anything in the yard, she will organize a meeting for everyone to vote. She is also the matchmaker in our area, and she is a capable person."
Mingmei concluded: "The one in charge."
Zhao Guihua smiled and nodded, then introduced the remaining four families. She explained the general situation of each family to her daughter-in-law. They lived in the same courtyard, so they had to interact with each other.
Mingmei listened very carefully and wished she could find a small notebook to take notes.
At this time, Zhuang Zhixi finally sighed softly: "My dear, I never thought that you are a know-it-all."
Zhao Guihua snorted, raised her eyebrows and said, "What don't I know? You can't hide anything from my sharp eyes!"
Zhuang Zhixi asked a soul-searching question: "Why didn't you remind us?"
Zhao Guihua glared and said, "You didn't ask me. Besides, we all live in the same courtyard. Can't you observe for yourself? You have lived here for so many years and you still don't know the situation of each family in the courtyard. Aren't you a fool?"
Zhuang Zhixi: “…”
Mingmei covered her face and laughed, flattering the man.
"Mom, you have to allow others to be inferior to you. You see, not everyone has the same sharp eyes as you. Many people just can't do that."
Zhuang Zhixi: “…”
His wife is really something.
Zhao Guihua didn't get cocky, but her raised lips showed that no one disliked hearing nice words. She said, "Come on, I'll take you around the alley. The courtyards on this side of Xinghuali are all occupied by employees of the machinery factory. Outsiders can't live in them. They were all allocated from the machinery factory..."
Mingmei: “We are both neighbors and co-workers.”
Zhao Guihua nodded and said, "But we don't have much contact with other courtyards, so we just need to get familiar with our own courtyard."
Mingmei said meekly, "I know."
The three people had just walked out of the hospital gate and hadn't taken a few steps when they heard the crisp sound of a bicycle bell. A bicycle rushed over and said, "Make way, make way..."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
