Hua Kai has become quite familiar with the family structure during this period. Her third uncle, Hua Wanhu, works as a temporary worker at the township post office, a stable job he has held for several years. In addition, her third aunt, Wang Min, is from the township, so the family moved there a couple of years ago. However, it's not far, so they often come back.
Hua Wanhu has two daughters. The older one, Hua Shuang, is a few months younger than Hua Kai. She also took the high school entrance exam this year but didn't get into high school, so she's repeating a year. The younger one, Hua Lu, is fifteen years old and in the second year of junior high school.
After Hua Kai called out to everyone, she sat down with her parents on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Seeing that everyone was present, Zheng Shuzhen cleared her throat and said, "The reason I asked you all to come back today is because there's something important to say. Linlin is getting married next month, so you uncles and elders should also give something. The third and fourth brothers usually give Linlin quite a lot, so I won't insist on them giving a lot of money. But eldest brother, since it's your niece's wedding, you should at least give a hundred or so as a token, right?"
Hua Kai knew some people were shameless, but she didn't know this person could be this shameless. She couldn't let her father agree to this, or even discuss it with him. This was simply an unreasonable request.
She stood up and said, "Grandma, you don't know, I'm going to continue my high school studies in a couple of days. In recent years, no more than five people from our Cuishan Village have been admitted to high school, right? I'm bringing honor to our Hua family. Among the four great joys in life, the wedding night and passing the imperial examination are ranked together, which shows that they are equally important. You all know that our family is poor. How about this, each of my uncles will give me a hundred yuan as support for my studies."
Hua Wanjiang's mouth was agape. He had just wanted to say that he had no money and would try his best to scrape together some, but he was stunned by his daughter's words before he could even utter them.
Hua Qingyi was very glad that he came along today. He had always wanted to rebel, but he had never found a way to do so. Now he had learned how from his sister.
Gu Lanyan was simply astonished. Although she noticed the child had changed, the change was so drastic that she was somewhat bewildered.
Of course, everyone in the room was also shocked by what Hua Kai said. Who would have thought that Hua Kai would say such a thing?
Zheng Shuzhen paused for a moment before saying, "You're a girl, what's the use of going to school? You'll still get married in the future, won't you?"
Hua Kai looked at Zheng Shuzhen and deliberately asked, "Grandma, this is a new society now. What's wrong with girls? What does getting married have to do with going to school?"
Zheng Shuzhen glared at Hua Kai: "Once you're married, you belong to someone else's family. What good is learning more?"
Hua Kai had been waiting for this question. She smiled and asked, "Then why is Hua Shuang repeating a year? She didn't pass the exam in one year, so she has to study for another year. Why doesn't Grandma just tell her to stay home and wait to get married?"
At this moment, Huashuang, who was on the kang, looked at Zheng Shuzhen with a wronged expression, and was about to cry: "Grandma, look at Huakai, she is obviously making fun of me for not getting into high school."
Zheng Shuzhen glared at Huakai after hearing her granddaughter's words: "They have money to study, whether they repeat a year or whatever, it's none of your business."
Hua Kai and Hua Shuang are classmates, and they know each other very well. She's a total green tea bitch, always pretending to be weak and vulnerable to gain sympathy, but she's actually full of bad intentions.
Of course, in Huakai's eyes, such a person is not even human, and she will avoid such people in the future.
She ignored Huashuang and instead said to Zheng Shuzhen, "Grandma, my family can earn money to support my studies by digging up medicinal herbs and selling cakes at the market. I don't need anyone else to take care of me, do I?"
Zheng Shuzhen had heard about Hua Kai's family selling cakes at the market before, but she thought it was just a few hard-earned dollars and didn't take it seriously.
At this point, he said, "What can your family do with the meager earnings? How can you compare to your third uncle's family?"
At this moment, Hua Wanjiang also spoke up: "Mom, although we don't earn much, it's more than enough to support our child's schooling. We can find ways to earn more money in the future. I can afford to support our child. Our daughter will not only go to high school, but also to university."
Zheng Shuzhen didn't expect Hua Wanhe to speak at this time. She looked at Hua Zhongzhi and said, "Don't you care about your son? What kind of family is this? He's still pretending to be something he's not, and he still has to support college students. What if he can't afford to eat in the future and comes to us for food?"
Before Hua Zhongzhi could speak, Hua Wanjiang said, "Father, you don't need to persuade me. I've already made up my mind. Don't worry, even if our family goes hungry, I won't ask you for anything."
Hua Zhongzhi fiddled with his pipe and said, "Hey, you figure it out yourself. Just don't end up begging for food."
Hua Kai said, "Grandpa, don't worry, I promise it won't happen. But when I start school, my brother will also be going to school, so our family will have to live more frugally than before. We'll sell any food we can't eat to get money. We can't let Grandma take it from Fourth Uncle anymore. But don't worry, Grandpa and Grandma, we'll give you the old-age allowance you're entitled to, no matter how much."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Shuzhen almost jumped up: "Why? Isn't it your duty to respect the elderly?"
Hua Kai smiled as she looked at Zheng Shuzhen, who looked like a clown: "We didn't say we were unfilial. I said we would give her what she was supposed to. If you're not satisfied, then go to the village and find the village chief. Our family doesn't mind. I believe the village will just ask us to give a fixed amount of money. We won't be in the wrong anyway."
At this point, Hua Wanhai couldn't sit still anymore, because he had benefited from the grain his mother had brought back. His third brother lived in the village, and basically all the grain that Zheng Shuzhen brought back from Hua Wanjiang's house was distributed to him and his second brother, Hua Wanhe.
So he stood up and said, "Huakai, what do you know? Your family is so unfilial. If this goes to the village, aren't you afraid that people will despise your family and gossip about your family behind your back? You may not be afraid, but your father is."
The flowers still bloom with a smile, but that smile looks cold and somewhat frightening.
She said to Hua Wanhai, "Fourth Uncle, you've been using this trick for too long. Our family isn't stupid. Do you think we don't know what's going on? Go out and ask around. Who doesn't know that our family has been bullied by you all along? Making a scene in the village won't do us any harm. On the contrary, it's you who will be embarrassed. Our family has nothing to be afraid of."
That's absolutely right. In fact, everyone knew it in their hearts, but they just didn't say it before. So they kept using this excuse to suppress Hua Wanjiang.
At this moment, Hua Wanhai was at a loss and could only say to Zheng Shuzhen, "Mother, I think the flowers are blooming like crazy, and so is my eldest brother's family. What's going on? Is it the turn of a child to run the household now?"
Zheng Shuzhen was also furious. She said to Hua Wanjiang, "Eldest brother, what's going on? Is your family really being run by a girl now? Is your family no longer in power?"
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