"...Now I raise my glass to wish good people a peaceful life. Who can get drunk with me and know me? Year after year, we are close yet far away, but we are destined to be together. This love warms the world..." Zhang Guoqing hummed a song and walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face.
"Oh, my son is so happy today. Did something good happen to him?" Zhang's mother smiled when she saw him come in.
"It's a good thing for them, so it should be a good thing for our family too, right? Jiaojiao, Liu Zhang has been transferred back to the provincial capital."
Seeing his son coming home, Zhang's father finished the remaining wine in his bowl and said, "Mother, ask Xizi and the others to come over for dinner. His uncle is back."
"Dad, there's no need to shout. They'll come over as soon as they've packed up the books. Jiaojiao, put the things on the bed. Wait and see if it's what you're looking for."
Zhou Jiao nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Has there been any good news from the village grain station in the past two years? Why haven't I heard about it?"
"He was originally transferred here. I just happened to meet him at the station today." Zhang Guoqing said this and winked at her. He believed his wife understood.
Zhou Jiao understood and continued to look at Zhang's mother.
When she came back from a short walk just now, her mother-in-law was not in a good mood. Seeing that she had bought a lot of things, she thought there would be no trouble. But when she came back, she pulled her father-in-law and muttered to him, her face full of anger. Who had offended her mother-in-law?
The person who could make her mother-in-law so angry must be an acquaintance - with her personality, she would just let it go after the quarrel, and would not complain to her publicly with a face full of anger and dissatisfaction.
Supply and Marketing Cooperative——Huang Yaozong——Internally defective products——Maybe the sister-in-law came but didn’t look for him, so she was bumped into by her mother-in-law——It’s over, an acquaintance really offended her.
Zhang Guoqing looked at Zhou Jiao curiously. Why did his wife keep stealing glances at his mother? She looked thoughtful, and then suddenly realized something.
Facing his inquiring eyes, Zhou Jiao silently uttered three words and secretly pointed in the direction of the main road.
Zhang Guoqing's eyes darkened when he saw this, and he shook his head slightly at her. He felt as nauseous as if he had eaten a green-headed fly.
Since his mother hadn't told them, it must have something to do with them, or even with his sister-in-law. If it were just Huang Yaozong, his mother wouldn't have kept it a secret. And now, listening to his mother and Jiaojiao discussing the defective products at the supply and marketing cooperative, what else could he possibly not understand?
It was simply that his sister-in-law had the opportunity to buy a defective product without notifying Jiaojiao, who lived just a few steps away. His mother was furious when she saw this, and perhaps the eldest son of the Huang family had said something unpleasant to him at the time, which further infuriated her.
Since his mother didn't say anything, they just pretended they didn't know. He hadn't intended any benefit from helping his brother, let alone his sister-in-law's gratitude. He was doing it for his parents and his brother.
"Only women and villains are difficult to raise. If you get close to them, they will be disrespectful; if you keep them far away, they will complain" - this statement by Confucius is very true.
Zhang Guoqing was now increasingly thankful that his actions had been correct. Brothers should settle accounts clearly; there was no need for further subsidies. After all, his father-in-law was right. It was time to start looking for Auntie.
He could already imagine that in the future, if there were any conflicts or arguments, his two sisters-in-law would definitely say that he had been helping their family since his parents separated. He would rather provide for his parents than let them fight.
Then he looked at Jiaojiao—she hadn't stopped for a moment, constantly busy. His parents had come, bringing a bunch of kids with them, and they were making such a fuss every day. He had finally figured out a way to calm them down. He was only making his wife suffer more, but why was he doing that? He was really just overeating.
With Jiaojiao's personality, she must be impatient with the Huang family at this moment. She would even ponder over and over again what her sister-in-law did, and once again doubt human nature.
Based on his understanding of his wife, next time, let alone asking Zhou Jiao for help, she would not even be willing to talk to his sister-in-law. At most, she would just show some courtesy, and she would even lose interest in his nephews and nieces.
Thinking of this, he had originally planned to arrange for his child to skip a grade and catch the last train in 1965. But now it seemed that he had better give up. If the child made any mistakes in the future, he might blame him as an uncle.
Zhang Guoqing saw Xizi and the others come in and said with a smile, "Hurry up and wash your hands and have dinner. Your aunt has cooked your favorite dishes. Do you want to stay at your uncle's house tonight?"
"Uncle, I'm going to take my brothers to my uncle's place tonight. He said he has prepared something for us. I'll come over tomorrow."
Zhang Guoqing nodded and smiled, "It seems like you little ones have a very busy life. Be careful when you go out and come in. Tell the adults where you are going and don't let your family worry."
Xizi and the others laughed out loud. His uncle's words were always interesting. He never thought that they were children and would lie to him or scold him.
At Huang Yaozong's home, the three Huang siblings and their children gathered to celebrate their father's birthday. The three brick houses were packed with the Huang family, big and small.
Huang's mother was cooking with her two daughters-in-law, while Huang's father was standing outside the yard chatting with the neighbors next door.
At this moment, he was happily talking to the other party about his son-in-law working at the grain station, when he saw his daughter sitting on the back of his eldest son's bicycle with a sad face.
Huang's father paused. It was almost time for dinner. Could it be that his son-in-law and grandson hadn't come to argue? He spoke absentmindedly to the old neighbor, then dispersed and returned to the east room.
In the east room, the two brothers Huang Yaozong and Huang Yaoguo were sitting on the kang.
Huang's father looked at his wife in the outer room and found that they hadn't noticed their daughter's unusual behavior. He turned around, patted his eldest son Huang Yaozong on the shoulder, and asked in a low voice: "Your little sister looked so sad when she first came in. Did something happen to her? Where are your brother-in-law and the children?"
"My brother-in-law will be here soon after work. The kids ate at Zhang Guoqing's and will come over tonight." Huang Yaozong said lightly. He didn't dare to say that he had angered his aunt-in-law.
Father Huang saw that he lowered his head to answer him, so he remained silent and tapped the edge of the kang with his pipe. "Tell me. What stupid thing have you done to upset your sister?"
Huang Yaoguo saw that his eldest brother didn't even dare to raise his head, and laughed, "Dad, it's okay. I guess my younger sister was scolded by him and she's upset. We always have these jokes with each other."
Huang Yaozong looked up and smiled when he saw his younger brother trying to smooth things over for him, then pulled his father to sit down.
"Dad, how about I go to Xiaowu's house later tonight to meet my uncle and aunt? Xiaowu happens to be home late at night. I think my little sister needs her parents-in-law to give her some permission before she can work. Xiaowu is very filial to his parents. As long as they ask, he will definitely find a way."
After listening to his youngest son's words, Huang's father pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Let's wait until after the New Year. Let's not talk about the fact that they just separated. I think their family should have a plan. Didn't Xizi and the others say that his aunt is helping them with their studies so that they can go to school in the county town after the New Year? Let's not interfere in their family affairs, so as not to embarrass your little sister."
Huang Yaozong gritted his teeth and said, "Second brother, let's go later. I seem to have offended Xiaowu's mother today." After saying that, he saw that the two men were staring at him and asked him to continue.
He chuckled a few times and said, "My little sister and I went in to buy some defective items and happened to run into Xiaowu's mother. I blurted out, 'Xiaowu asked you to buy these?' Maybe my tone was not good at the time, but she looked quite angry. She didn't even say goodbye to me before leaving."
Huang's father shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He tapped him on the head with his pipe and scolded him with a smile, "You are stupid. Your mother-in-law treats her youngest son like the apple of her eye. She must think you are making fun of her precious son.
The supply and marketing cooperative is right in front of Xiaowu's house. Why didn't you ask your younger sister to ask the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to go together? You don't know how to do favors for nothing. Who did Xiaowu's mother go with?
"My accountant from our unit and a fat woman. The three of them are going together."
Huang Yaoguo was silent for a moment and said, "Huang Juan, the accountant at your unit, lives next door to Xiaowu. Her husband is a supervisor at the Grain Bureau. Think about your brother-in-law's job.
It wasn't long after Xiaowu bought the yard that he hooked up with the couple. You don't think your brother-in-law got his job based on his own merit, do you?
Zhang Laoer and his brother-in-law explained their jobs to the public by saying they were hired when there was a job opening. But what kind of jobs were these? This is the real public ration.
"I know. I know Xiaowu's ability. He didn't help Xiaomei with the arrangements. I was a little sarcastic at the time, but I felt really uncomfortable.
How old was Xiaowu when my younger sister got married? It was my younger sister who helped take care of the family.
Now that he's rich, he deliberately lets his sister-in-law take care of his parents. Do you think anyone does things this way? If he had no ability, I wouldn't think too much about it.
Huang Yaoguo held back his father, who was about to explode with rage, and whispered to his eldest brother, "You said he's rich, but do you think he has a job now? You said he deliberately asked my younger sister to take care of his parents, but the in-laws have been kept in the county town by the young couple and won't let them leave.
Brother, I've had the most contact with Xiaowu. Even at his young age, he's incredibly cunning. He won't let anyone find fault with him. Your logic doesn't make sense.
You forgot that Xiaomei was first the daughter-in-law and then the eldest sister-in-law. She should take care of the elderly and look after her younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Besides, how do you know that Xiaowu deliberately didn't arrange for his two sisters-in-law to go to work?
If he didn't arrange for his younger sister to return to the city, what would happen to Xizi and his two brothers when they went to school in the county next year? It was fine for him to keep her in his house for a short period of time, but who would be willing to support her in the long term? No matter how kind and righteous he was, he couldn't let his precious young wife serve a bunch of nephews.
Is that right? I've never worried about my younger sister finding a job. Instead, I'm worried that it's been so long and it'll be harder to find a job in the future.
The wives of several of my colleagues have been out of work, unable to even get temporary jobs. There are only so many jobs in the county, and they are all packed. Who knows when a vacancy will open up?
"What should we do? If Xiaowu's mother tells Xiaowu, then, then..."
Huang Yaoguo smiled and shook his head, "Dad, let's have breakfast tonight and go to Xiaowu's house. You and Xiaowu's father chat about family matters, and my eldest brother and I said we were worried that Auntie might be angry, so we came to check on her.
"That's all right. They're a very easy family to talk to, and Xiaowu isn't the type to be petty. Besides, our two families have always had a good relationship."
Huang's father nodded and said it would be better to go and talk it out as soon as possible. If some things were talked out, the in-laws would not have any grudges. His daughter was still living under the care of her mother-in-law.
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