The little quarrel episode was nothing at all.
This did not affect Zhao Guihua's good mood. She suddenly became more than fifty years younger. Who wouldn't be happy? Of course, she was happy, but if she found fault, she would still be rude. Who made her live again? She would still be an uneducated and shrewd old lady.
Although she has more experience than others, her personality will not change.
Comrade Zhao Guihua was still a vigorous old lady when she was 100 years old. If she saw someone cutting in line, she would go up to him and beat him with a stick. So what's this now? It's nothing.
Zhao Guihua didn't take this little thing to heart at all. When she got home, she ordered, "My eldest daughter-in-law, go buy a piece of tofu this afternoon and make a tofu stew with fish in the evening."
Liang Meifen was stunned when she heard this, but she quickly reacted, forced a smile, and said, "Stew, stew fish?"
She felt sour in her heart again. This old lady was really partial. When her young daughter-in-law came home, she only prepared delicious food. Didn't she think about the New Year? Her heart was in pain. If she didn't think about it, she shouldn't have gotten married before the New Year.
She got married before the Lunar New Year. Not only did she have one more person to eat at home during the Lunar New Year, but she also needed a lot of ingredients for the wedding banquet. She had used up all the meat and food coupons she had saved. Now she had to cook the fish directly after buying it, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Zhao Guihua glanced at her sideways, sneered, and said, "Do you have any opinion on what I decide to eat?"
Liang Meifen noticed that her mother-in-law's tone was not good, and she was startled and said quickly: "No, I will listen to whatever mom says."
She wiped her hands and said, "Don't wait until the afternoon. I'll go right away. It's not far anyway."
She hurried out, feeling very bitter in her heart. Being a daughter-in-law is not easy. Zhuang Zhixi and his wife were squatting by the stove to warm themselves. When they saw Liang Meifen was gone, Zhuang Zhixi immediately came to Zhao Guihua and said with a smile, "Mom, we have a family meeting tonight. What's going on? Let me know in advance."
Zhao Guihua glared at him and said, "Get lost."
Zhuang Zhixi still didn't give up: "Tell me earlier, I won't tell anyone else."
Zhao Guihua glanced at him with disdain and said, "I told you to get out."
Zhuang Zhixi: “…Woo woo.”
Mingmei couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw him hitting a snag.
Zhao Guihua put her hands on her hips and said, "You only have one day off, go back to your room, why are you hanging around me? Don't get in my way."
Zhuang Zhixi and Mingmei: "..."
"Go! Go! Go!"
The two were driven away. Zhao Guihua shook her head and thought about the family meeting in the evening...
Time flies, especially in winter. Before you know it, the day is over and it gets dark early.
In the evening when people get off work, the yard is bustling with people coming and going, greeting each other, washing vegetables and getting water, and playing in the yard. When Zhuang Laonian came home from get off work and walked to the entrance of the alley, he met his eldest son Zhuang Zhiyuan.
The father and son went home together. As soon as they entered the yard, they smelled the aroma of cooking oil.
Zhuang Laonian sniffed and said confidently, "Who is frying fish? It smells so good."
Zhuang Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Anyway, it can't be ours. We don't have any fish."
Zhuang Lao Nier: "That's right."
A plump woman went out to get some water. When she heard this, she raised her eyebrows and greeted him with a smile, with a bit of expectation in her tone: "Uncle Zhuang, you are back? To be honest, you guessed wrong, this fragrance is from your house. My three boys don't want to eat anymore after smelling it. They have to go to your house for a free meal."
Zhuang Lao Ni said cheerfully: "That won't do."
The plump woman's eyebrows turned, and she laughed heartily, saying, "Uncle Zhuang, look at you, I was just kidding you. Life is not easy for anyone, it's not easy for everyone, and we are not the kind of people who take advantage. I was just joking with you, why did you take it so seriously?"
Zhuang Laonian: "Well, I am an honest man. I take everything others say seriously."
"Old man, come back quickly for dinner. We have a meeting tonight." Zhao Guihua said angrily as soon as she opened the door.
Zhuang Laonian hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I'll be there right away."
The Zhuang father and son walked in. It would have been fine if they hadn't come in. As soon as they came in, they smelled the fragrant aroma. The two little kids at home had already sat at the dining table early. They didn't go out to play, but were eagerly waiting for the food to be cooked.
Zhuang Zhixi and his wife squatted beside the stove, swallowing their saliva and adding firewood, looking like they were helping.
Zhao Guihua said coldly, "Stop messing around with the widow."
Zhuang Laonian: "Just say hello to this neighbor..."
Seeing the old woman's fierce eyes coming towards him, he nodded immediately: "I'll do as you say."
Zhao Guihua: "That's about right."
Zhuang Zhiyuan: "Mom, I don't have much contact with them, but it's more important to be harmonious among neighbors. I think..."
"I think you should shut up." Zhao Guihua said, "Wash your hands and eat!"
She opened the pot at this time, and the whole family started swallowing their saliva instantly.
"Oh my god, why does the fish smell so good today?" Zhuang Laonian felt that this time the fish was much more delicious than usual. Although he didn't eat fish very often, he couldn't remember it smelling so good before.
Liang Meifen said distressedly: "How can it not smell good? Today's fish is fried in oil."
She felt so heartbroken about the oil that she almost fainted.
If this doesn't taste good, it's a waste of the oil! Zhao Guihua: "Do you have any objections? Are you the boss or am I?"
Liang Meifen's neck shrank, and she quickly said, "It's you, I just said it casually."
"Alright, alright, let's get ready for dinner." Zhuang Zhixi was anxious. His father and elder brother had just returned from outside, but he had been exposed to the aroma. He was already drooling with greed.
When I looked again, I saw that my niece was drooling.
Look, he said it, right? No one is not greedy.
Zhao Guihua brought the fish to the table. Although the fish was not big, she put a lot of side dishes on it, including cabbage and potatoes. The fish was stewed in an iron pot, so the side dishes were also indispensable. The taste of the vegetarian food on the side of the pot was not bad at all.
The family quickly sat around the table. Zhao Guihua said, "Let's eat!"
At the command, the chopsticks started dancing rapidly, even Mingmei was no exception. Wow, it’s so delicious.
For example, the Su family next door felt it the most. Their three boys were making a fuss and refusing to eat.
Mrs. Su looked at her daughter-in-law and said uncomfortably, "Xiangxiu, you have to think of a solution. As a mother, how can you bear to see your child suffer so much? Or am I incompetent? I am an old widow, I don't have any skills at all, and I can't help at all..."
Wang Xiangxiu, the plump woman who had just spoken to Zhuang Laonian, was the young widow of the Su family. She sighed and said, "I tried to test him just now, but Uncle Zhuang refused."
He also said, "If Uncle Zhuang agrees, Aunt Zhao can also drive people out. She is not someone who is easy to get along with."
How could Mrs. Su not know that Zhao Guihua was not easy to get along with? They had been neighbors for many years. Wasn't she hoping that her daughter-in-law could be more powerful? But she didn't say much, and only said more uncomfortably: "How about I cook the fish we bought today instead of waiting until the New Year. We can't let the child..."
"Don't!" Wang Xiangxiu shook her head: "Our family is not like them. They have many workers, but we can't. If we eat, we won't be able to celebrate the New Year. Wait, I'll go to the Bai family to take a look..."
She quickly went out and headed for the Bai family.
As soon as she left, Mrs. Su smiled a faint mocking smile, then immediately returned to her gentle and kind look and said, "That's great. Your mother is going to think of a solution. You just wait."
The Su family, who were closest to them, were like this. The Zhou family across the street also smelled it. Mrs. Zhou Li cursed: "What an unlucky family. No matter how rich they are, can they be as rich as my family? They still eat delicious food. If they can't die from eating, how can they not get choked by fish bones..."
His daughter-in-law Jiang Lu was cooking and responded, "That's right. He doesn't have much money but he still wants to show off. Mom, can we cook a fish too? Our family is no worse than his..."
"Bah, what are you talking about, you little bitch? You're just a spendthrift. Do you talk nonsense just because you have money? You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run the household. What should you eat? The money has to be saved for your medical treatment. You just crow but don't lay eggs. If you don't give birth to a baby for our Zhou family, I will let Xiao Qun divorce you! You still want to eat good food? No way. Fry two eggs for Xiao Qun and we can eat steamed bread together."
Jiang Lu hummed awkwardly, his eyes red.
Zhou Qun, who was standing by, was listening to the radio and didn't say a word from beginning to end.
The Zhuang family didn't know about the quarrels among the families. Although the families in this compound could not hide anything, they didn't say anything that could be heard. While other families were arguing over dinner, his family had eaten cleanly.
Zhao Guihua sent the two children back to the house and started the first family meeting of all members of the old Zhuang family.
Zhao Guihua was not the type to hesitate, so she said decisively, "Okay, let's have a meeting."
She looked around and saw that everyone straightened their backs. Zhao Guihua groaned and said, "In this meeting, I represent both your father and I. My opinion is our common opinion."
Zhuang Laonian: "Yes, listen to your mother."
Zhuang Zhiyuan Zhuang Zhixi: "..." Not surprising.
Zhao Guihua: "Okay, now let me tell you about the decision that the old man and I have made. Our decision is... not to separate the family."
Upon hearing this, Liang Meifen's eyes lit up, and her whole body stood up instantly. What she feared most was the separation of the family. Now that the family was not separated, that was the best. She was so excited that she wanted to turn around in circles immediately. She smiled proudly at Mingmei, thinking that the old man and the old lady really had to rely on us for their retirement, and they couldn't offend us.
Zhuang Zhixi frowned slightly. He was not the kind of person who would suffer a loss openly.
This kind of thing is not suitable for his wife to deal with, but he can.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard his mother Zhao Guihua continue, "It is neither realistic nor convenient for our family to split up under the current circumstances. But even if we don't split up, we have to change the form of our family in the future."
Zhuang Zhixi swallowed what he was about to say and continued listening.
Zhao Guihua glanced at everyone again. Everyone had different expressions. She said, "Your father and I have decided not to split up the family, but we cannot be unfair. My eldest daughter-in-law, what you did was disgusting."
When Leung Mei-fen was called out, she quickly lowered her head. She wouldn't suffer any loss anyway, so a few words of scolding wouldn't matter.
Zhao Guihua did not stop, but said directly: "Although it is true that the job is yours, we are a family, we have not separated, and you have two children. You didn't tell anyone and secretly gave up the job. It is self-evident what you want. You want to rely on your brother-in-law and his wife, and then help your brother from your mother's side? Does this sound good? Because of what you did, not to mention our compound, the whole street is laughing at our family. I have to be asked whether I will separate the family when I go to the public toilet in the morning. You really can cause trouble for me. Because of this matter of yours, the third child's marriage was almost delayed. I promised to give an explanation to my mother-in-law, and I can't not give it! When you got married, your mother said that even if you got married, you had to give half of your monthly salary to your mother's family because they paid for your studies. If you don't agree, you won't get married. I promised at that time, and I did it. Now, I promised the third child's wife's family, and I will definitely do it."
Leung Mei-fun's face turned pale.
Zhao Guihua continued, "I said I would give an explanation and I will! Although our family is not divided, each room will be its own room from now on, and you don't have to give me your salary. Starting from next month, each room will pay ten yuan a month for living expenses, and we will share food and drink. For other expenses, each room will bear their own expenses. You all get paid at the end of the month, so you should pay normally this month. Mingmei has just moved in, so you don't have to pay for a few days."
Everyone looked at Zhao Guihua.
Mingmei nodded obediently.
Zhao Guihua continued expressionlessly: "Your family is the one that is taking advantage of this, as you have two more children. The third brother and his wife have no children, so they pay the same amount as you."
"Zhiyuan, Zhiyuan often goes out driving..." Liang Meifen said instinctively.
Zhao Guihua sneered, thinking that the eldest daughter-in-law's calculations were shameful. She said, "Yes, he is often not at home, but the third brother and his wife eat lunch at work and will not come back. You and the children have to eat at home."
Liang Meifen wanted to say something, but her mind was blank at this moment. She didn't know how to explain or what to say. She was afraid of splitting up the family. Now there is no splitting up the family, but it is no different from splitting up the family...
Zhao Guihua looked around again and asked, "Any other opinions?"
Priscilla Leung has a thousand things to say but she doesn't know how to say them. She has failed miserably.
But her husband Zhuang Zhiyuan said, "I think it's okay."
Zhuang Zhixi and Mingmei looked at each other and said, "We both listen to our mother."
Zhao Guihua could understand why young people wanted to make their own money. After all, she was also young and had the experience of her previous life. She vowed not to follow the same path again.
In her previous life, she managed to hold on and not split up the family.
In order to give an explanation to Mingmei's parents, she was given an extra 500 yuan as pocket money.
However, this matter was not handled well.
When the eldest son's wife, Leung Mei Fun, found out about this, she hated her and thought she was biased, but she didn't realize how much of an advantage she had taken.
As for the third brother and his wife, they were not happy about the money. If they did not split up the family, their salary would have to be used to support the family, and their annual salary was more than 500 yuan. The most important thing was that the eldest sister-in-law was not only not grateful, but also resented them, thinking that she did not get any private money and had to manage the family and do housework.
In the end, the two brothers were affected and had conflicts, and their relationship became very cold in the later period.
Zhao Guihua now thinks that she actually did something wrong from the beginning. Now she can't say that she did everything right, but if she could do it again, she would do it according to what she thought was fair.
What if you don't want to listen or suffer?
Well, get out! (End of this chapter)
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