On the way back, Widow Huang felt the few food coupons and money left in her pocket, hesitated for a while, and finally turned to a state-owned restaurant and bought a bowl of steaming braised fish.
You can make money again...and cheat again, but you can't let your mouth go to waste.
Although he didn't get the money just now, Widow Huang thought it was mainly because Old Lady Xia was there, otherwise Old Chen would have given him the money long ago.
However, she could ask for it tomorrow, she was not in a hurry.
When she got home, her two children had just arrived. They were delighted to see that Widow Huang had bought some fish. Her youngest son asked, "Mom, did you have a good catch today?"
Widow Huang rolled her eyes at him. "No way, his wife is at home. Not only did I not get a dime, but I also got bullied for nothing."
She went into the kitchen and stir-fried some vegetables, then took out her bowl and chopsticks to eat. "That old hag wants me to go back to work. Damn it."
When Widow Huang's youngest daughter heard about jobs, her eyes lit up. "Mom, jobs are great! My brother and I will graduate from high school in two years. If we don't have jobs then, we'll have to go to the countryside. If they have jobs, you can ask for them and save them for us. If you don't want to work, we can do it. It's better than going to the countryside."
Widow Huang nodded her youngest daughter's head. "You think the job is free? That old hag wants me to pay for it. A job, even a temporary one, costs hundreds of yuan. How can we afford that? Besides, you still have two years left. Why rush? Mom will always find a way to prevent you from going to the countryside."
Widow Huang's youngest daughter complained, "What if something goes wrong? At least I have a job now, so I can have a safety net. I can just sell it when the worst comes to the worst."
Widow Huang picked up some vegetables for her with chopsticks and said, "Didn't I tell you that even if you want it, our family has no money. Why are you yelling at me, girl?"
"If you buy fewer clothes on a regular basis, we can save up enough for the family."
Widow Huang was furious. "If I don't dress up nicely, do you think those lecherous men will give me money to spend? If I'm sloppy, how can I pretend to be pitiful? They might as well go home and visit their shrewd wives. You are disgusted by me."
"Okay, if our family wants to save money, we'll start with you. Look at your new clothes. They're much better than those worn by people with both parents in the compound. When have I ever let you wear patched clothes? Don't buy clothes like this anymore. Save money for a job."
Widow Huang's youngest daughter immediately burst into tears. "Mom, why are you like this? How can I play with the factory director's children if I'm dressed in rags? If we don't build a relationship now, how can I marry into a wealthy family in the future? Do you want me to marry a peasant?"
Widow Huang's tone softened. "Since you know that you have to rely on good clothes and good shoes to play with them, why can't you understand Mom?"
Widow Huang's daughter stopped talking. Her mother was right. Clothes make the man. If her mother didn't dress well and acted pitiful, people would think she was sloppy.
Now she is just pretending to be pitiful to let those people support them. If they stop giving money in the future, she is also afraid that her mother will go astray and really bring a man home. Then, she will not be able to marry into a wealthy family in the future, and some people will even say that her family is a brothel.
On the second day, Widow Huang regrouped and waited for Old Chen on the small road where he went home from get off work in the evening.
After so many years, she knew that Old Chen liked to go home early most of the time and would take a shortcut.
This alley is the only way.
She took out a mirror from the basket and checked her appearance today. She had deliberately combed her hair loose to make it look more casual.
Here he comes, Widow Huang heard the sound of a bicycle. She stood in the shadow, ready to call him suddenly later.
The bicycle passed in front of her, as if it didn't see her. Widow Huang saw Old Chen riding farther and farther away, so she had no choice but to shout, "Brother Chen."
Old Chen was thinking about something when he heard the sound. He was startled and lost his balance and fell off.
His pants were torn and his palms were scratched. Damn it, who was calling him that unlucky star? When he got home, Old Mrs. Xia would scold him again. These were new clothes that had been made at the beginning of the summer.
Old Chen felt so distressed that he glared fiercely at the source of the sound.
"Huang Li, what are you doing standing there?" Old Chen said dissatisfiedly. She looked like a ghost, so scary.
Widow Huang walked over slowly and said in a strangled voice, "Brother Chen, I... I really have no choice. There is no rice at home, and the two children are hungry. They also need to buy new schoolbags. I am so worried that I wish I could die. Wuuwuwu..."
Old Chen patted the dirt off his body and stared at his torn pants, feeling upset. "If you don't have money to eat, just sell this fancy clothes of yours. After selling it, your family will have enough to eat for several meals. You don't even have money to eat, and you bought such nice clothes? You deserve to starve to death!"
"Also, I remember you bought new schoolbags for your two children last year, right? Are your two children's schoolbags for eating? Why do they have to be replaced every year? My fourth child is so naughty! He's been using the same schoolbag since junior high. It's about the same size as yours, and he's never changed it. Why do you have to have new schoolbags every year?"
Widow Huang couldn't believe it. Old Chen had always been kind to her and never said a harsh word to her. But today, he seemed to be furious and actually said that she deserved to starve to death?
"Brother Chen." Widow Huang called out in a low voice, as if she was about to cry.
Old Chen had just touched the hole in his pants, and his hand trembled again after he heard the old man shout, and the hole was torn bigger. Damn it, how could he beg for mercy from his wife when he got home? Would he get less slaps if he knelt down?
"Stop crying! You don't even want to work, and you still want to wear the best fabrics for your clothes and shoes. Did you spend all your man's compensation? Is that why you're asking for money from us kindhearted people every day?"
"Don't you have any backbone? Why are you pretending to be rich if you don't have money? Can't you wear something made of cotton and linen? You're wearing Dacron, right? We have so many workers in our family, and we don't even afford to buy clothes like that every month. Now we only have one for each of our children, and even I can't bear to wear them."
"You're so good, you say you're starving, but you dress better than the big boss. Do I deserve your money? I'm not your father, nor your man. Why should I give you money?"
Old Chen was furious and lost his mind after finishing the call. Suddenly he felt that he had spoken too harshly. After all, she was a lesbian, and she would cry if he said that.
Although he felt that these words made sense, he couldn't say them so harshly.
He felt a little embarrassed and wanted to apologize, but he felt that he was not wrong. If he didn't apologize, he would feel bad.
Damn it, it was all because of her shouting just now that his pants were torn, otherwise he wouldn’t be so angry.
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