Chapter 136 A big forest has all kinds of birds.
"mom--
"Unless you agree to let me take Ah Zhen back, I'd rather die than go back." Lu Mingzheng angrily hung up the phone, feeling utterly helpless at his mother's stubborn temper.
This is a dead end. Because of my age, I've had a prejudice against Jiang Ruzhen from the very beginning.
He refused to even meet her, and wouldn't listen to anyone's explanation. He stubbornly believed that older women couldn't accompany him for life, that they would need his care when they got old, and that they couldn't bear him children.
The real reason he retired was something he didn't tell his family, because he was afraid they would worry too much.
But now it seems necessary for him to tell them the truth.
It's not that Jiang Ruzhen is clinging to him; it's that he simply can't live without her.
Jiang Ruzhen went home. Although she could go into the space to wash up, she still had to bring some changes of clothes and daily necessities with her.
Otherwise, if she went empty-handed and changed her clothes every day, it would easily arouse suspicion from the hospital staff.
Before I even reached my doorstep, I passed a small stall selling wontons.
She thought that since she wasn't home and her second son was busy taking care of the business at both stores, he might not have time to cook for his fourth son. So she bought a portion of raw wontons, thinking that her fourth son could cook them for himself when he got home.
"Boss lady, one order of raw wontons, please."
"Alright!" Aunt Tian replied as she packed the wontons, handing them to Jiang Ruzhen with a fawning smile.
"Little Jiang, don't call me boss lady. I'm just a small vendor with a stall. How can I compare to you running two big stores? You're the real big boss who makes a fortune every day."
Jiang Ruzhen chuckled, said nothing more, took the wontons, and was about to leave.
"Hey, Xiao Jiang! I've noticed you've been so busy lately, never home or at the store. What's wrong? You've handed the business over to your second son?"
Aunt Tian's question was a bit too much, and Jiang Ruzhen didn't want to answer it.
A month ago, the second child told her that a wonton vendor had approached him about whether he could set up a stall to sell wontons next to his store.
People are drawn to his store because of the constant flow of customers; they've taken a liking to this location.
Jiang Ruzhen didn't pay any attention at the time and just casually agreed.
In this day and age, the government doesn't care about doing business or setting up a stall, so why should she care?
However, the stall is a bit too big, and it might block half of the road, affecting her customers' ability to move around.
However, Jiang Ruzhen is not a petty person. People don't earn money easily these days, so she doesn't care about the little bit of road she's blocking.
Jiang Ruzhen glanced at Aunt Tian and said casually, "Yes, that's right. I'm planning to do something else, so I haven't been to the store much."
After speaking, Jiang Ruzhen was about to leave again when Aunt Tian grabbed her arm and said with a smile.
"Jiang Meizi, you're really capable. You have no idea how much we street vendors envy you."
We food vendors work hard from dawn till dusk to earn a meager living, but you own two clothing stores, dress up in fancy clothes every day, and make a fortune just by talking.
We all look up to you, but unfortunately we don't understand fashion trends and can't work in your line of work.
Jiang Ruzhen listened to Aunt Tian's words, which seemed to lack focus, and wondered what she was trying to say.
He responded with two "humphs" and then lifted his leg to leave again.
Aunt Tian grabbed her arm again, saying unhappily, "Look at you, you're so impatient. I haven't even finished speaking, why do you keep wanting to leave?"
"Sister Tian, what exactly do you want to say? Can't you just get straight to the point?" Jiang Ruzhen was getting quite impatient with her.
Aunt Tian grinned and said, "Hey, Sister Jiang, I have a niece who's eighteen this year and wants to go to the city to find a job. Can you help me arrange it?"
"Just let her work as a sales clerk in your store. The salary doesn't need to be high; just pay her thirty yuan a month, enough to give her a place to stay."
Jiang Ruzhen stared at Aunt Tian in astonishment, wanting to slap her across the face and ask, "Who are you?"
Do you own this store? You think you can just assign people to it whenever you want?
"Aunt Tian, are you a relative of mine?"
"No!" Aunt Tian shook her head.
"Do I owe you money?"
"No!" Aunt Tian continued to shake her head.
"Then why do you expect me to arrange jobs for your family members? And for thirty yuan a month? You've got some nerve."
Jiang Ruzhen didn't want to talk to this person anymore, but to her surprise, Aunt Tian grabbed her and wouldn't let go, arguing and making a scene.
“Jiang Meizi, that’s not right of you. As the old saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative.”
I've been your neighbor for over a month now, and I've helped your store attract customers quite a bit. I also often keep an eye on the entrance to prevent anyone from stealing clothes.
So you didn't remember any of the good things I did for you?
Jiang Ruzhen forcefully flung Aunt Tian aside and said coldly.
"Who said we're neighbors? You chose to set up your stall in front of my store because you saw how many people were there at the entrance."
I haven't even charged you for using my space, and you're already trying to shift the blame. Well, let me make it clear today: I don't care about your kindness. Tomorrow, set up your stall further away from my house.
Jiang Ruzhen returned home in a huff, threw the wontons on the table, and became increasingly angry. She picked up all the wontons and dumped them into the trash can.
What good materials could such a heartless family possibly use to make things?
It's not worth getting diarrhea after eating it.
She still felt suffocated after throwing away the wontons, so she took a taxi to Xingong Street to find her second brother.
As soon as she arrived at the entrance, she saw Mei Ling and Lao Er chatting and laughing happily at the entrance of the store.
"In a good mood, second brother!" Jiang Ruzhen walked over and said sarcastically.
Mei Ling trembled upon hearing Jiang Ruzhen's voice, and turned around, her voice trembling with tears.
"Aunt Jiang, don't blame Second Brother. I came to him on my own initiative."
"Mom, Meiling saw I was too busy, so she brought me some braised pork. She left right away, just a moment..."
The second brother covered for Mei Ling, who nodded repeatedly from behind him. When she saw that Jiang Ruzhen looked unwell, she turned and ran away.
"I have something to do, Second Brother, Aunt Jiang, I'll be going now."
Jiang Ruzhen felt even angrier seeing Mei Ling's behavior, which resembled that of a mouse seeing a cat.
People who don't know her might think she's a tigress who would eat people!
Mei Ling's irresponsible parents also completely indulged their daughter's behavior.
He neither accepted nor rejected her, letting his daughter follow his second son around without any status or identity every day.
You want her to be the bad guy and break them up, right?
She wasn't falling for it. She was just a girl who was pestering her son; let her chase after her if she wanted.
Since her parents don't care, she won't take the initiative to propose marriage!
If that shrewd couple still has the idea of making their second son a live-in son-in-law, wouldn't her bowing down first be tantamount to actively pushing her second son away?
"Don't grin at me like that. I'm warning you, second brother, don't act like a fool and think everyone is pitiful."
"In a big forest, you'll find all sorts of birds. If you encounter an ungrateful person and think you're doing a good deed, they'll just think you're a fool, that it's your duty, understand?"
"Mom, what's wrong? Did Uncle Lu make you angry? No, he shouldn't have the guts!" the second son muttered to himself.
Jiang Ruzhen raised her hand and slapped the second son on the back. "I'm talking to you. Why are you dragging your Uncle Lu into this?"
"What happened to me?" The second brother looked bewildered. He had been working diligently lately and also had to clean up after the fourth brother, keeping him extremely busy.
He didn't have time to provoke his mother, but he noticed from her expression that she was genuinely angry, and he felt sorry for her, so he quickly grimaced and asked what was going on.
After Jiang Ruzhen finished recounting Tian Sao's shameless words, the second son was also furious.
"What kind of family is this? If I hadn't seen how pitiful they were, why would I have agreed to let the two of them set up a stall in front of my store?"
"Mom, don't be angry. I'll go and kick them out tomorrow."
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