Zhang's mother happily walked to her eldest daughter Zhang Meili's house. Along the way, several elderly women asked her if Jinwawa had moved. When they learned she was Zhang Guoqing's mother, they all pulled her aside and praised his son, Xiaowu.
"Mom, why are you here? Didn't Xiaowu meet you?" Zhang Meili watched her come in and looked behind her in surprise.
Zhang's mother looked inside and didn't see her husband and children. "Where are your father and the others? Xiaowu was taken to a banquet by his father-in-law. Only Jiaojiao is at home taking care of the children. Don't worry about anything yet. Wait until your father and the others come back, then come with me to Xiaowu's house and help me. When Chunming comes back, ask him and the children to come over."
Zhang Meili pulled her to sit down and brought her a cup of hot water. Looking at her cheerful mother, she said, "No need. Everything is ready at home. The kids will be too noisy if they go over there. Just sit back and relax. Dad will be back soon. He said he'd take Xizi and the others to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask Uncle Huang about something. I asked him about it, but he didn't reply."
Zhang's mother nodded. She knew that her father was worried about the eldest son and wanted to ask his uncle about it. Looking at the living room, she finally remembered what she had forgotten last time.
"Meili, tell me why the housewarming day has been changed? Did something happen to your father-in-law? And what happened to your yard? I wanted to ask you last time, but you interrupted me and I forgot."
Zhang Meili just had a lot to say to her mother, and when she heard this, she immediately pulled her to her bedroom.
The very thought of warming the house filled her with rage. She and her husband had asked her father-in-law to pick a date. After he had chosen it, he informed Zhang Chunming's brothers. The next day, the daughters-in-law came to say they had family matters that day and asked if they could pick another date. Fine. Then they'd pick another one. They'd just bought this yard, and they were planning to renovate it.
A few days later, Zhang Chunming's eldest and second sisters-in-law came to visit and asked Zhang Chunming to take care of their nephew. They said Zhang Chunming's house had a large yard, so they wanted to let their youngest son live there first to see if there was any work to be done in the city.
His second sister-in-law cried poor and kept begging them to lend her some money, saying they were short over two hundred yuan for the betrothal gift. She said her eldest sister-in-law had borrowed one hundred yuan from her family, and since Zhang Chunming's family was the better off, they should at least lend her fifty. Zhang Meili was furious. The total betrothal gift was only three hundred yuan. And the eldest sister-in-law had lent the second sister-in-law one hundred yuan, as if she were dead?
At that time, Zhang Meili said that she had no money and just wanted to ask her eldest sister-in-law for some. Since her eldest sister-in-law had money to lend to others, her family should not need her little money. This made the eldest sister-in-law blush and dared not say a word.
The second eldest brother's family kept talking about how much money the family spent on Zhang Chunming's schooling. What about if he has made it big, he should not forget his roots. Zhang Chunming was so angry that he said he would go back with them to find his father to settle the accounts. Let's see whether his brothers spent more or he earned more. He also did odd jobs while he was in school to help support the family. Before getting married, he gave all the money he earned from his master to his father. How could he forget his roots? He bought a yard to live in, why do they dislike it so much? Why is his family the best off? He has three sons and a daughter, and they rely on the little salary of the couple. How can there be any extra money?
When the honest man got angry, the eldest son's family was so scared that they quickly ran away with the second son's family.
They thought the matter was over. But a few days later, her father-in-law came over and asked if she had quarreled with the eldest brother and his family. The couple hurried to explain.
Later, I learned that the two sisters-in-law had gone back and told their husbands that they had come to the county town to look at a new house, but had been kicked out by Zhang Chunming. They hadn't even mentioned coming here to borrow money or stay.
At that moment, her father-in-law returned to the village in a huff. Later, he sent someone to tell the couple to inform their in-laws and relatives about the three-day house-warming ceremony. Before they could do so, her father-in-law came to their house and told them to wait. He told them to wait until their brothers were free, to get together and have a good chat, and not to forget that they were brothers. He went on for a long time, essentially asking them to wait. He told them to wait until they arrived before holding the house-warming ceremony.
Furious, Zhang Chunming told them to just stay away. Even if they came, he wouldn't receive them. He warmed the house, didn't accept any gifts, gave them free food, and acted arrogantly. They could come or not. Finally, Zhang Chunming bluntly said they'd bought the yard almost a month ago, and if they didn't move, the children wouldn't be able to sleep well. Even his colleagues were teasing him about when he'd give them drinks. His family couldn't wait any longer. They'd set the date for next Sunday. He'd have his father let them know, and they could come if they wanted.
Zhang's mother laughed heartily. Seeing her daughter was so angry that tears came out, she listened to see that there was no one outside and whispered, "You are stupid. You are really stupid. It would be great if your husband's brothers were all like this. Your husband is not stupid. Doesn't he know how to just take care of his own family? You better not get involved. No matter how the brothers quarrel, don't say anything. Brothers are still brothers, and you are an outsider."
"I don't care. Who wants to deal with these things? It's so annoying. I asked them to warm up the house twice, but nothing happened. Why do they have so many problems? I think my father-in-law is a little confused. He always wants his sons to help him. But do you think it's possible? Since my father-in-law came here last time, we haven't gone back. The child's father said it depends on whether they come. If they don't come, we will cut off the relationship. If they come, don't pay attention to them."
After listening to this, Mother Zhang thought for a moment, then said quietly, "I finally understand why Xiaowu has been preparing housewarming gifts. Even Jiaojiao has told me several times to pick any in her house. He's smart enough to know that there's trouble with your in-laws, and he wants to support you. No wonder he always says that you're the one who suffers the most in the family. Your mother isn't as attentive as your brother. From now on, Xiaowu will come forward for you, so just let him do what he wants. Whatever he gives you, just accept it. He just wants to support you."
Zhang Meili was stunned and said hurriedly, "What support do you have? I have the final say in my family. You have to ask him to save money privately. They don't know how to live. They are very generous. They used to give meat all the time, and now they start to give money to the children all the time. I just heard Xizi say that his aunt gave them pocket money to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. Mom, please persuade him. There are more than ten children in our family alone. Two yuan per person is my monthly salary. Not to mention the children of my uncle and younger uncle's families. Who can withstand such extravagance?"
"Haha..." Mother Zhang laughed and rolled her eyes at her, "Do you think that apart from your four brothers and sisters, Xiaowu and Jiaojiao would be so nice to them? Don't worry. Jiaojiao knows what's going on. Qingshan's wife and the others took the children to Jiaojiao's room, and Jiaojiao only gave each of them one hard candy." There was a lot that Mother Zhang didn't say, and she didn't intend to tell her.
Her favorite thing about this young daughter-in-law was her ability to distinguish right from wrong, to know what was important. For example, Zhou Jiao would only secretly tell her how much her grandmother had given her for the third-day-birth ceremony, never mentioning it to anyone else. She seemed generous, yet she kept the most valuable gifts hidden. For example, when she returned at the end of the year to collect her dowry, she never mentioned it. Brother Zhou treated her like his lifeblood, so she never mentioned the private gifts he had given her.
"That's good. I was also thinking of talking to her about how to live her life. Since we'll live close to each other, I'll visit more often and keep an eye on her. Don't let your kindness go unrewarded." Zhang Meili nodded in satisfaction. Her son Xiaowu was very generous. She had to remind Jiaojiao not to leave her money with Xiaowu.
Mother Zhang didn't dare look directly at her silly daughter. How could she have given birth to such a silly girl? She really didn't want to continue the conversation. She was afraid she would smack her to death.
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