"Isn't that because the second son's family is rich? Why should he take over my dad's job? Now his family lives in town, gets a monthly salary, lives in company housing, and lives a better life than us. And my mom is still on his side! The eldest son is supposed to take care of us in our old age, but all the benefits go to the second son's family!"
Huang Meijuan's family lived far away, so she had nowhere to vent her frustrations. When she finally found an outlet, she would pour out her bitterness like a madwoman, completely unlike the gentle and unhurried person she usually was.
Chen Hong is about to become a mother-in-law herself. She didn't like the woman her son had his eye on. Seeing Huang Meijuan like this, she couldn't help but think of her mother-in-law: "You're so heartless. Didn't your mother-in-law help you take care of this child?"
"You brought it for less than a month, does that count as bringing it for me?"
Normally, Huang Meijuan would never dare to speak to Chen Hong like this, but today, it's clear she's really feeling wronged.
The two women were about to start arguing when Bai Jiaojiao quickly pulled Huang Meijuan aside: "Sister Meijuan, what kind of name did you give your son?"
"His name is Zhuangzhuang, and his formal name is Chen Dazhuang."
When Zhuangzhuang heard his name, he called out "ah ah" twice, whether he really understood or it was just a coincidence, it's hard to tell.
Bai Jiaojiao smiled and praised him, saying he was really smart. Huang Meijuan's attention was immediately diverted: "My son is much smarter than the average child."
Huang Meijuan followed Bai Jiaojiao's lead and started talking about her own child. Zhuangzhuang was less than two months old, but in Huang Meijuan's eyes, there were already a lot of interesting things to tell. The two chatted while working.
Chen Hong couldn't get a word in edgewise, so she stopped talking.
Huang Meijuan seemed much more at ease when talking about her son.
Seeing that the conversation had almost ended, Bai Jiaojiao asked, "Why is someone missing today?"
"Since the team leader didn't swear, Liu Ying must have asked for leave."
Unlike Bai Jiaojiao, Liu Ying doesn't do any work herself, but Shen Heng helps her. If she didn't come for no reason, given Chen Hong's temper, she would have already started cursing her out.
Bai Jiaojiao felt uneasy because she couldn't see Liu Ying, fearing that Liu Ying might secretly cause some trouble.
Huang Meijuan didn't think much of Liu Ying and didn't want to talk about her anymore: "Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, have you bought any zongzi leaves yet?"
“I bought them. I bought them when I went to the county town last time. They all have leaves this wide and are in very good condition.”
Bai Jiaojiao measured it with her hand to show Huang Meijuan, who praised, "The things in the county town are really good. I bought it from the supply and marketing cooperative in our village. I don't know where it was left over from. Sigh."
There are no places where zongzi leaves can grow in the Hushan Brigade area, so it's inconvenient to pick some yourself.
But every household would buy some to take home as a token of respect. If they really couldn't afford it, they would wrap a whole corn cob in a corncob and consider it a celebration.
Bai Jiaojiao just went to make an appearance in the morning, and once that was done, she waited for Shen Heng to come and finish things up for her.
She went home, took the soaked bamboo leaves out of the water, and started wrapping zongzi.
She made three kinds of dumplings: red date, meat, and duck egg yolk.
Bai Jiaojiao wrapped ten of each kind, and picked up four of each to take to her parents' home.
"Your sister-in-law was just saying she was going to bring you some zongzi. You really don't mind going to the trouble of making such small ones for the kids."
The small rice dumplings Bai Jiaojiao made were all the size of a palm. This was a habit she developed with her adoptive mother from the south, unlike in the north where a rice dumpling was bigger than Bai Manlin's head.
Bai Shiqing took out the steamed buns she and Deng Min had made and placed them next to the zongzi that Bai Jiaojiao had brought, just like an ancestor and grandson.
Children love trinkets, and Bai Manzhi peeked out from the doorway, too shy to approach.
Bai Jiaojiao said, "The white lines are dates, the red lines are meat, and the black lines are duck egg yolks."
"You're really good at researching. Why didn't you wrap a cabbage inside?" Bai Shiqing had mentioned this to Bai Jiaojiao when she came to the house to ask for salted duck eggs, and she never expected that Bai Jiaojiao would actually wrap one.
One type of Baijiabao is filled with red dates, and the other type is filled with red bean paste.
The red bean paste was made from their own beans, so it wasn't too sweet and wasn't mashed too finely, allowing you to taste the beans. Bai Jiaojiao found it quite palatable.
When Wang Fushun returned in the evening, he passed through Shili Village and brought the tickets that Shen Heng had asked for. It was a thick stack of colorful tickets, with a sewing ticket on top.
"I finally managed to find this, Brother Heng, please take it." Wang Fushun had made a lot of money with their family these past few days, so it was only right that he give something in return for the holiday.
Shen Heng looked at the sewn plane ticket and thought that his family probably wouldn't need one.
Bai Jiaojiao doesn't know how to sew clothes, nor does she need to.
But he accepted it anyway: "Wait a moment."
Shen Heng went into the kitchen and took out a bundle that Bai Jiaojiao had prepared for Wang Fushun: "This is from your sister-in-law, take it."
When has Shen Heng ever done anything like this, considering the complexities of human relationships? Wang Fushun thought to himself, "It's all different after he got a wife."
"I can't accept this..."
Wang Fushun saw that Shen Heng's basket didn't look light at all. When he took it from Shen Heng, he almost lost his balance, and his arm hurt from the weight.
"What's this?"
"Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)".
When Wang Fushun got home, he opened the cloth covering the basket and saw three pairs of small zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), two packets of meat floss cakes, and several pieces of some kind of cake that he couldn't identify. They were white and looked quite nice.
Wang Fushun is now a bachelor, living with his elderly mother.
His older siblings thought he was a good-for-nothing, a layabout with a bad reputation, and they all distanced themselves from him.
It was still his mother. Although she was said to be a burden on him in his old age, it was precisely because she took care of him that Wang Fushun found some comfort in his heart.
But if he hadn't risked going out to earn money back then, where would his older brothers and sisters have gotten married?
He felt a pang of sadness thinking about it, but since no one was sharing the good things, they all belonged to him and his mother.
Wang Fushun kept one of the two packs of meat floss cakes for himself, put the other pack in his mother's room, and asked his mother to steam all six zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
"Where did you get this thing that came out of your nose hole?" In Old Mrs. Wang's eyes, Bai Jiaojiao's small and exquisite zongzi was still too stingy.
"It was given to me by Heng's wife. She's from the city, unlike us rough and careless people."
"They're just too fussy because they're poor."
Grandma Wang was thinking of saving her well-wrapped zongzi for the festival tomorrow, so she quickly steamed this one, which was just a joke.
He took the rice dumpling and unwrapped it: "My goodness, there's a piece of meat inside!"
"Meat?" Wang Fushun heard his mother's words and peeked out to look.
The piece of meat was right next to us, cooked until tender, and the aroma of the meat mixed with the fragrance of zongzi wafted over.
Wang Fushun quickly opened one as well and couldn't wait to take a bite.
"Why sell pork floss cakes? This is much better for the Dragon Boat Festival!"
Wang Fushun ate the small rice dumpling, finishing it in four or five bites, still wanting more.
The only problem is that these zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are not easy to share; otherwise, they would definitely sell better than pork floss cakes, and they are also easier to make.
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