Zhu Youliang hitched a ride on an oxcart, but unfortunately, he only made it halfway. He got off when it didn't suit him and walked all the way back. Although it was nearly dusk, the heat was still intense. He felt like he'd just been pulled out of the water, his clothes drenched in sweat. To avoid attracting attention, he took a back road home. Before he even reached the door, he heard someone calling him. Looking up, he saw Huang Mei and an unfamiliar old woman.
Granny Yang wanted to stay and see what Zhu Youliang brought back, but since he had just said he wanted to go back, she left.
"Sixth Brother, are you going down to the village again? What's that on your back? Someone gave it to you?" Huang Mei saw her son arrive home and hurried over to help him unload the things on his back. Wow, it's quite heavy.
"Mom, I'll do it. You'll know later." Then he picked up the bag and walked into the house.
Liang Yuan brought a full cup of water in his large white porcelain jar, and Zhu Youliang took it and drank it all in one gulp.
He turned around and asked Huang Mei, "Mom, who was that old lady standing at the door with you just now?"
"Your mother-in-law Yang is the matchmaker for your eldest sister," Huang Mei whispered. Although her daughter agreed, it hadn't really happened yet, so it was better not to let anyone know.
"Mom, you're rushing my eldest sister again. Can't you let her stay home longer? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"What are you waiting for? Your eldest sister isn't a child anymore. Besides, you won't be able to find it again if you miss this opportunity. You know the guy I'm introducing this time. It's Guangzhong. You played with him when you were a kid, and your sister was quite satisfied with him."
"Mom, what did you say? I have to meet Guangzhong first." Zhu Yourong said anxiously. Didn't Wang Jincai look good before?
\"Okay, okay, let's talk about it after you meet the person." Huang Mei said and followed Zhu Youliang into the main hall.
Zhu Youliang didn't say anything, but looked at Liang Yuan. Liang Yuan shook her head at him, signaling him to ignore it, and he remained silent.
He then untied the rope on the snakeskin bag and opened it.
Huang Mei looked inside and saw a large piece of pork. "Where did it come from?"
"Let's talk about it later. It's too hot. The meat needs to be taken out first, otherwise it will go bad." Zhu Youliang said as he took out the pork.
"You know it's broken, why did you buy so much? You've only been working for a few months and you're already wasting money, you spendthrift son." Huang Mei angrily hit Zhu Youliang. These days, if it wasn't a big deal, who would give away pork? 80% of the time, they bought it.
Zhu Youliang hurriedly explained, "Mom, listen to me. There are a lot of people at home, so we can eat it all. I bought five pounds of meat, and I'll keep two pounds for myself. I'll give two pounds to you guys, and one pound to uncle. Isn't that just right? Didn't I tell you before that I'll let you eat meat with me every day from now on?" During the meal, Uncle Zhu got drunk and told a lot of old stories. Although the original owner had heard this several times before, this was the first time for Zhu Youliang. He had great respect for the veterans of this era, so this time he bought an extra pound of meat. He was usually very frugal with his meals, and even after having a meal of braised pork at noon, he still felt unsatisfied. This time, he had to eat his fill all at once.
Huang Mei was very pleased to hear her son thinking about her, but she said, "Who are we? We only eat two pounds of meat for one meal. You've only made a few dollars, and you're so extravagant. You won't be able to make a living in the future." Then she said to Liang Yuan, "You don't say anything to him, and you let him squander the money like this."
Liang Yuan could only smile and said, "Mom, if he has grain, he's not the type to spend it recklessly. There must be something good going on. Just listen to his explanation."
Zhu Youliang smiled and said, "Yes, yes, there is a great news, I will tell you later. Yuanyuan, take this meat and deal with it first, so that it won't go bad. By the way, where are the children? I also bought some soda, which is just right for drinking now." Fearing that the meat would go bad on the way, he specially bought some soda that was frozen as hard as a rock, and it was almost melted by now.
"They've all gone out to play. I'll go find them right away." Zhu Yourong said from the side. Sanya and Siya had never drunk soda before.
"Mom, you should have one bag too. I bought a lot, enough." Zhu Youliang said as he stuffed a bag of soda into Huang Mei's hand.
"Why would an old woman like me drink soda? Leave it for Tongtong. I see there's something else in the bag, I need to take a look." Huang Mei didn't take the soda. Instead, she went to rummage through the snakeskin bag on the ground, pulling out the contents one by one. Everything else was fine, but when she saw the five white porcelain jars with red flowers, she was completely speechless. After a long pause, she turned around and asked Zhu Youliang, "Tell me, what are you doing?"
Zhu Youliang sat aside and fanned himself, "I didn't do anything. I had nothing to do, so I modified the table fan. I took a day off today and went to the machinery factory with my colleagues to sell the blueprints. It was quite a lot of money, several hundred yuan. I wanted to buy some things for my family to improve our lives." As he spoke, he took out a handful of money from his pocket, some whole and some small. He spent more than four yuan on entertaining guests and buying things, and had more than fifty yuan left. He took out two big unity notes, and dug out two white porcelain jars with red flowers and a bag of pot cakes from the bag on the ground, "Mom, this is my filial piety to you and Dad."
Huang Mei felt as if her throat was choked. Instead of taking the money or the things, she turned her head to the side and wiped away her tears.
Zhu Youliang quickly stood up and said, "Mom, what's wrong with you? You should be happy!"
Huang Mei nodded, "Mom is just too happy."
At this moment, Old Zhu walked in from the courtyard gate with his hands behind his back.
"What's the matter? You're crying. It's okay if Yourong doesn't agree. It's not like the family can't afford to support you. It's almost dark. Go back and cook, or you'll waste more kerosene."
"What you said, old man, seems to be very satisfactory. I am happy. Look, there is a white porcelain jar and two pounds of meat bought by Lao Liu for us." Huang Mei said proudly.
Old Zhu picked up a jar and knocked on it. "Yes, that's the sound. You have meat to eat, and you're not happy. Why are you crying?"
When Zhu Youliang saw this, he quickly stuffed the big unity cigarette in his hand into his father's hand and said, "Dad, this is my filial piety to you. Go to the market tomorrow and buy two good cigarettes. I was in a hurry to come back today and didn't think about it."
Old Zhu happily took the money and said with a smile, "Sixth Brother, are you getting rich?"
Zhu Youliang nodded and said, "I made a little fortune, enough to buy you a lot of meat."
Old Zhu didn't even ask how he made his fortune. After putting the money in his pocket, he smiled and said, "I knew you were capable. No wonder your mother likes you the most."
At this moment, Liang Yuan came over with two pieces of packed meat. "Dad, your place is close to Uncle's house. You can take this pound of meat back to Uncle."
"This meat is good, quite fatty." Old Zhu smacked his lips before taking the two pieces of meat.
Zhu Youliang picked up another bag, took out some of the malt sugar he had bought, put it together with the jar of pot cakes, and stuffed it into Huang Mei's bag.
"Dad, you bought me a soda." Tongtong suddenly rushed in from outside.
"Yes, one person, one bag. They're all here." Zhu Youliang said as he handed over a bag.
Tongtong bit it with his teeth and took a deep sip, "It's so sweet."
Everyone laughed when they heard this. This is soda, how can it not be sweet?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
