"Why are you crying? Did that old hag from the Jiang family bully you again, or did Dahai do something to offend you?" Zhao Hong's originally stern face immediately froze when she saw her daughter crying, and she asked nervously.
Gu Dongmei neither denied nor admitted it, but just kept crying, making Zhao Hong anxious like an ant on a hot pot. After she cried her heart out, she started talking about the things that made her feel unhappy during this period.
Zhao Hong just sat there, listening to her daughter talk about her grievances. The expression on her face changed from heartache at first to inexplicable surprise, and finally to calmness.
"Is that what you are talking about?"
Zhao Hong was puzzled. She admitted that she lost her father because of her little daughter. She had been spoiling and doting on her daughter since she was a child. In the early years, her daughter could not support herself without a son, and she would use her daughter's timidity as an excuse to comfort herself. But now she has a son, and she can still live like this. The old lady can no longer make up for it by favoring her daughter.
"So you are angry because Xiaobao asked Dani to hand over half of her salary after she starts working?" Zhao Hong asked calmly.
"What do you mean, Dani has had such a hard life. She has been raising her brothers and sisters since she was young, and now she finally found a suitable partner but it broke up. It's ok that Xiaobao doesn't get close to me, but now she even has her eldest sister's money. I don't know how much suffering Dani and the others will have to endure in the future."
When Gu Dongmei thought about it, she suddenly felt that her life was even more miserable. It is said that raising a son is a preparation for old age, but her son has never been close to her as a mother from the beginning to the end. Can she still count on him in the future?
"I finally understand." Zhao Hong shook her head and tapped Gu Dongmei's forehead hard with her finger, pushing her so hard that she almost fell backwards.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Gu Dongmei asked angrily, covering her forehead. Why didn't her mother share the same hatred with her, but instead pushed her?
"Now that you remember that you are Dani's mother, what kind of life did those girls live before Xiaobao was born? As a mother, have you ever said a word for those children?"
Zhao Hong raised her hand to suppress Gu Dongmei's rebuttal: "Don't say anything. Since you are here this time, let's clear up these things thoroughly so that you don't continue to do so and become completely alienated from the children."
Zhao Hong's words made Gu Dongmei extremely confused and aggrieved. How could she not love her own daughter? It was just that she didn't have a son at that time and was weak, so she had to watch her daughter being bullied by her mother-in-law. Didn't her mother see what she was going through at that time? There was nothing she could do.
As soon as Zhao Hong saw Gu Dongmei's expression, she knew what she was thinking. She rubbed her temples with a headache. It was all her fault. She shouldn't have raised her little girl to be like this. Her eldest daughter, Qiuju, was also her daughter and married far away in Province Z. She didn't have any family members around her, but she still lived a prosperous life.
It was no use for Zhao Hong to regret. Her daughter was already married, and she could no longer stay by her daughter's side 24 hours a day like she did when she was a child. Whenever her daughter was wronged, she, as a mother, would stand up for her.
"I just want to ask you, how does Xiaobao treat Dani and her sisters?"
Zhao Hong knew that it was no use just reasoning with her paranoid daughter. She had to break everything down and explain it to her before she would listen a little.
"That's all." Gu Dongmei thought of how good her son was to Dani and the others. Her eyes flickered and she tried to fool them with a stubborn face.
Zhao Hong looked at her strangely. Even she, a grandmother who rarely spent time with the children, could see that Xiaobao cared about his sisters. She didn't believe that Dongmei, as a mother, who lived with the children every day, couldn't see it.
"Dongmei, tell me honestly, do you dislike Xiaobao?" It was rare that there would be women in this world who disliked their sons. Didn't Dongmei long for Xiaobao as her son? And it was because of Xiaobao that her life started to get better. Otherwise, considering the status that Gu Dongmei had in Old Lady Miao's heart over the years, it would have been wishful thinking for her to bring so many good things back to her parents' home on the first day of the New Year.
If that’s the case, why doesn’t she like Xiaobao?
Gu Dongmei's secret thoughts were exposed, and she seemed a little angry: "That child doesn't like me either. I think he is here to collect debts. He is only close to Dani and the others. Mom, you don't know, sometimes when I look at that child's eyes, my heart is cold, as if I am not his mother, but a stranger. Tell me, how can I get close to such a child."
At the beginning, Gu Dongmei had great expectations for her son. She devoted more effort to him than to her daughters. Although Gu Dongmei did not say it, in fact, in more than ten years of marriage, she had already unconsciously been infected with the idea of favoring boys over girls.
A son is the real support, and having a son has become Gu Dongmei's obsession.
In her heart, her son, whom she had finally gotten through so much hardship, should have the same feelings towards her as a mother, and her son should be closest to her as a mother.
But as her son grew up, Gu Dongmei found that he did not meet her expectations at all.
He is smart and sensible, kind and well-behaved. He is close to Dani's sisters, his uncle Shitou, and his aunt Jiang Dazhen, but not close to her and Dahai as his parents. The way that the child looks at them and Old Man Jiang's grandparents is close yet distant. Sometimes when he acts like a spoiled child, he seems to be wearing a mask, making it impossible to see the emotions in his eyes.
Gu Dongmei had been holding these thoughts in her heart for a long time. A few years ago, Xiaobao secretly ran away in the middle of the night. She was angry and beat the child. In fact, it was also a way to vent her anger. But she soon realized that beating her son would cause dissatisfaction from her parents-in-law. This son is now the treasure of their Jiang family, and she, as a mother, cannot even touch him.
Since then, Gu Dongmei suppressed her dissatisfaction with her son in her heart, and this resentment grew deeper and deeper. Until now, no matter what her son did, she couldn't help but speculate with the greatest malice.
"That's it." Zhao Hong listened to her daughter's discontented complaints and her disappointment in her son Xiaobao. Her face did not fluctuate at all, but she also had a hint of doubt in her heart.
She can only see her grandson for a dozen days a year. She has always loved this hard-earned little grandson very much. Similarly, the grandson is very close to her, the grandmother. According to her son, Xiaobao is also very close to him. It doesn't make sense to be so close to the grandmother and uncle who you don't see very often, but have no feelings for Dongmei, the mother who lives with her day and night.
"You said Xiaobao is not close to you and Dahai, and is even distant from your parents-in-law. Can't your parents-in-law and your husband see it? What are they doing?" Zhao Hong asked her daughter.
"What else can they do? They are so happy to have a smart grandson. He is the eldest in the family now and everyone else has to lag behind him." Gu Dongmei muttered.
Zhao Hong frowned. If it was really as Dongmei said, there was no reason why the shrewd old man in Jiang Cheng couldn't see what she could see.
"Dongmei, the fact that you and Xiaobao can be mother and son in this life is the fate of your previous life. Whether you owe him or he owes you, it's because you can't let go and forget that you have the fate of this life."
"You said Xiaobao doesn't like you as a mother, but have you tried to make him accept you?" Zhao Hong waved her hand: "If Xiaobao is really like this, Dahai can see it, right? How did he do it? It's definitely not like you."
Zhao Hong held her daughter's hand and said, "Dongmei, this time it's not that your mother doesn't favor you. Look at yourself. You always want others to accommodate you. When Dani and the others were bullied, you didn't speak up because you felt that you were suffering too. If you spoke up, your mother-in-law would target you. Now you have a son, and just because he doesn't get close to you, you think he is a bad child. Have you ever tried hard? Or did you just give up when it didn't work? Ask yourself, will Xiaobao really ask the sisters for money, or will he use this as an excuse to get your mother-in-law to agree to let Dani and the others go to school?"
"Dongmei, you are not a fool. Mom doesn't believe you didn't understand."
Zhao Hong sighed, "You are not miserable. There are many people in the world who are more miserable than you. You are just selfish. You think that since you gave birth to all the children, they should revolve around you. But besides giving birth to them, what have you done for them? If you really count, your sister-in-law has given more to the children than you have."
"It's me as a mother who has spoiled you. I said this out of consideration for you. Dani and the others are good children. When they become successful in the future, they will definitely respect you. But as a mother, you can't break the children's hearts."
Gu Dongmei lowered her head and listened to her mother's heartfelt words. She looked a little confused and shed tears silently.
"Wipe your tears. The children will be back soon. Go back and think about what I said today."
How could Zhao Hong not feel heartbroken seeing her most beloved daughter so sad? But if Dongmei was allowed to continue to dwell on this issue, this bomb would explode sooner or later.
A short pain is worse than a long one, Zhao Hong thought. She had made her words so clearly, her daughter should understand something by now.
******
Daqian Village and Xiaoqiu Village are separated by a river, and the two villages often have conflicts over the ownership of the river. Therefore, even though the narrowest part of the river is only eight or nine meters apart, the two villages do not build a simple small bridge. If you want to go to the village on the other side of the river, you have to walk for half an hour, which is time-consuming and laborious.
The sales agency of Daqian Village is at the entrance of the village. A few steps away is the Hunchun River, which caused the dispute between the two villages. Many young wives are sitting on the rocky beach by the river, chatting and washing clothes in the cool river water.
As soon as Sanni and her friends saw the sales agency, they cheered and ran over. The sales agency in Daqian Village was not big, just a container and a small room. It seemed a bit cramped to squeeze three or four children in.
Jiang Yilu pushed Ruan Ruan in and asked her to choose things they liked with her third and fourth sisters. He and his eldest sister stood outside, waiting for them to come out.
When Jiang Yiliu was looking around boredly, he suddenly saw a tall man waving at them from the other side of the river. Upon closer inspection, he saw that he was walking forward. A big man carrying a bucket of clothes stood out among a group of women.
As soon as Jiang Yilu saw him, he thought of his vicious mother. Without thinking, he pulled his elder sister towards the already crowded sales agency.
Xiang Qianjin watched the girl he had been thinking about disappear into a small house and sighed in disappointment.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. He remembered that Dani's grandmother seemed to be from Daqian Village, so it was not surprising that Dani and her brothers and sisters appeared here.
Xiang Qianjin recalled the pretty sight of Dani wearing a navy blue cotton-padded jacket with two pigtails neatly placed on her chest, and his heart warmed. But when he thought of Jiang Yilu's defensive expression, his mood sank again.
He confirmed that Dani's brother had just seen him, but he didn't expect that the other party would dislike him so much. Xiang Qianjin, a grown man, showed a little aggrieved expression, squatted down, and worked hard to wash the clothes in the bucket.
It doesn’t matter. After the New Year, Dani will go back to work in the textile factory, and then they will have another chance to cultivate their relationship.
Xiang Qianjin secretly cheered himself up. At that time, he didn't know that Dani was going to school. He planned to wait for Jiang Dani on the small road that she had to take to go to work as usual as soon as the factory started operating.
******
"Third brother, why are you only washing your own clothes? Please help wash your brother's cotton-padded jacket." Yin Hong said with a hint of complaint when she saw her son coming back with a bucket of washed clothes.
"Okay, the third child is tired enough from working, and as a mother, you are busy washing the clothes instead of complaining all the time." Xiang Laoshi took a puff of his pipe and said with a little dissatisfaction.
"Third brother, don't pay attention to your mother. Go into the house and have a rest. You see, you have been cleaning the house and repairing the roof these days and you have not been idle." Xiang Laoshi said to his son with concern.
Xiang Qianjin responded, and went back to his room after drying the clothes.
Yin Hong has always been very respectful of her husband. Even if she wanted to explain that she didn't help the third child with the laundry because she wanted to help the eldest, second, and fourth children with the laundry, she didn't dare to say it out loud. She knew in her heart that her husband would not only not understand her, but would also scold her.
Yin Hong picked up another bucket of clothes piled in the room and walked out of the yard with a little dissatisfaction. Inside was the cotton-padded jacket that her youngest son had changed out of yesterday.
When he was about to go out, he saw a woman standing not far away. She was wearing a knitted hat and her face was covered tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. He was so scared that he stepped back.
"Didn't you go to the river to wash clothes? Why are you back again?" Xiang Laoshi asked puzzledly.
"I'm tired. I'll help Guangming wash tomorrow." Yin Hong put the clothes on the ground and walked back to her room in a panic. "I'll lie down in the room for a while. You can have some leftovers from last night for lunch. Don't wake me up."
Xiang Laoshi shook his head, thinking that she was tired from helping her three sons wash clothes for three families in the morning, and didn't think much about it.
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