Li Yuzhu said, "Mother, I believe Dongqing will succeed. You saw it today; we are not alone. Leaders from the region and county attended the project launch ceremony. With government support, this project won't fail. Please give it some time, okay? I'm begging you."
Li Yuzhu's words were not without reason. Her mother felt much better after hearing them, but she still couldn't help but worry and be afraid. The road ahead was dark, and who could say for sure? If they couldn't get out of the long night, no one would see the dawn.
"How could I have given birth to such a troublesome daughter like you? Are you only satisfied if you go with him and go down with him to your death?!"
The mother sat on the sofa and cried for a long time. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears and said, "Fine, I won't force you to divide the property with him for now. Sun Hao's parents went to your third aunt's house yesterday morning and told her that he doesn't want you anymore. You've been dragging your feet on getting engaged, and this is all your own doing. I've already told your third and fourth aunts that I'll find you another partner. If you drag your feet on getting engaged to the next one, I won't acknowledge you as my daughter anymore. I'm going home!"
After speaking, the mother stood up, picked up the child, and left. Li Yuzhu said, "Mom, please finish your meal before you go."
"I'm so angry I'm full, what's the point of eating?" The mother paused for a moment and said, "Let me tell you, girl, don't even think about remarrying that Dongqing brat. As long as I'm alive, you can forget about it."
Li Yuzhu wanted to cry after hearing her mother's words. This was never going to end. She believed that within a week, a second blind date would be set up, and then she would be forced to meet and go on blind dates. When would this end? Who could stand it?
At this point, she could only acquiesce and drag the matter out, nodding reluctantly after hearing her mother's words.
Li Yuzhu had no choice but to leave with her mother, who insisted on going.
I took my mother to a restaurant for a simple lunch, then took her to the bus station, bought her a ticket, and saw her off.
Dong Qing arrived at the pig farm at noon. Dong Tao asked, "You shouldn't be so free today, right? Is there something you need at the pig farm?"
Dong Qing asked, "You should know that the soybean residue produced by the soybean product factory can't be used to feed the pigs, right?"
Dongtao said, "I know. The soybean processing factory keeps urging me to produce soybean residue, so it's hard not to know. But the proportion of fresh soybean residue we feed is already high enough. More than half of the feed we give the pigs is fresh soybean residue. The amount can't be any higher, otherwise there won't be enough other nutrients, and the pigs' growth will be slow."
Dongqing said, "I know that. No matter what, the amount of fresh soybean residue fed to the pigs must be kept below half. This afternoon, have everyone clear the open space in the pig farm. We'll start feeding and building pigpens tomorrow. If things go smoothly, Uncle Donghui can bring the piglets back by tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, the soybean residue produced by the soybean product factory will have to be thrown away, and that would be a huge loss."
Dongtao said, "Okay, I'll arrange that."
When Dongqing returned home at noon, he walked to the kitchen door. His third sister, who had just come home from work, was cooking. He asked, "Third sister, did you see Yuzhu when you got back?"
Dong Sanmei said, "I didn't see her. I cooked dinner and went to my house to call her over for dinner."
Dongqing said, "Her mother came this morning. Go and see her; I'm worried she and her mother might argue."
“Her mother’s visit is never good. How could Yuzhu have such a mother?” Dong Sanmei paused for a moment and said, “You help my sister cook, I’ll go check on things at home.”
The three Dong sisters felt a headache whenever they thought of this old lady. They couldn't avoid her, nor could they afford to offend her. No matter how uncomfortable they felt, they had to smile and say nice things to her, acting like grandchildren in front of her. Just thinking about it gave them a headache.
After Dong Sanmei finished speaking, she washed her hands under the tap and then walked out of the kitchen.
When she arrived at Li Yuzhu's door, she took out her key to open the door, hesitated for a moment, put the key back in her pocket, and then raised her hand to knock on the door.
The door opened instantly, and Dong Sanmei looked behind Li Yuzhu. The living room was empty. She asked, "I heard from my brother that your mother came. Where is she?"
Li Yuzhu said, "Ignore her, she's angry and left."
Dong Sanmei didn't care whether the old lady stayed or left. It was better if she left, so she wouldn't have to speak to her so humbly. She said, "Don't be angry, go and have your meal."
Li Yuzhu said, "My mother and I just ate out. You guys eat."
"You don't have to eat, just come with me."
After Dong Sanmei finished speaking, she took Li Yuzhu's hand and walked out of the house, closing the door behind her.
Back home, Dongqing came out of the kitchen and asked, "Yuzhu, did your mother make things difficult for you?"
Li Yuzhu said, "It's the same old story, let's not talk about her anymore."
Dong Qing easily understood what the old saying meant. Besides pressuring her to go on blind dates and get engaged, the old lady was preoccupied with this every day. She wouldn't let go until Li Yuzhu got married.
Dong Qing couldn't say anything now, because anything he said would upset Li Yuzhu. He said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Come sit down and I want to discuss some important matters with you."
They sat down on the sofa, and Dongqing told his ex-wife about buying piglets. He said, "The soybean product factory produces too much, and the soybean residue they produce can't possibly feed all the pigs. Judging from the current situation, even if we raise 2,600 pigs to adulthood, half of the residue will still be left over. I just called Donghui and asked him to help me buy another 2,000 piglets, otherwise we won't be able to process all that soybean residue."
"This is something we didn't anticipate at first. You handle it." Li Yuzhu paused for a moment and asked, "When will Donghui call back?"
Dongqing said, "He went to a few pig farms this afternoon to ask around, and then he called my older sister."
Li Yuzhu said, "Looks like we'll be busy getting feed and building the pigsty again tomorrow."
At noon that day, both the local and provincial television stations simultaneously rebroadcast the live recording from that morning.
In those days, there were no television stations at the county level, and the regional television station had just been established. Television sets were also scarce, but even so, many people could still watch live broadcasts and replays.
Such a large investment project in a county town is a hot topic. Once people know about it, the news spreads like wildfire, almost as fast as media coverage.
In the afternoon, Dong Qing and Li Yuzhu went into the construction manager's office. Dong Qing said, "Manager Zhang, I'd like to assign you a project unrelated to this one. I'll calculate the cost of this project separately. Would you be willing to take it?"
The manager said, "In principle, we can't take on this project. If the workload is large, I can report it to the head office. If the workload is small and doesn't affect the main project, we can take it on privately."
His meaning was clear: all projects have time limits, and the main project cannot be delayed because of other projects. If the project is delayed, he, as a project manager, cannot bear the responsibility. If the project is large, he can report to the head office and make new arrangements for the project.
Dong Qing said, "This project isn't big; it's just building a small villa next to this main building."
The manager asked, "Small projects are no problem. Do you have the construction drawings? If so, I'll have the technical department calculate it for you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
