Liu Taohua, who had just come out of the house, heard her youngest daughter's question and a hint of displeasure flashed across her face, but she still explained, "Your second sister and her husband didn't come back this year, and your little brother is also spending the New Year in another city."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuemei immediately glanced at her husband on the table.
She remembered that her second sister and the others had come back for the New Year in her previous life, right? Why is it different this time?
Xu Minghan noticed the confusion on his wife's face and gently shook his head, signaling her not to ask any further questions.
After lunch, Xu Minghan went to his uncle's house to pay New Year's respects with gifts, while Xu Panpan went out to play with her cousin Zhang Yajing. Only Zhang Xuemei and the Zhang family elders were left at home.
Liu Taohua added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier, looked at her youngest daughter and sighed deeply, saying, "I don't know what your brother is doing out there. He's been gone for a year and hasn't come back for the New Year."
And your second sister, she called before the New Year to say she wouldn't be coming back this year. Her two children are still at home being looked after by her mother-in-law. I'll go see the children in a few days when I have some free time.
Zhang Xuemei naturally knew why her younger brother hadn't come back. He had gone out to work with other villagers and had met his future sister-in-law, Le Rong, through an introduction. Now was the crucial moment for him to pursue her.
This guy never tells the truth. He told his younger brother's wife that a new house had been built in their hometown, and that it belonged to him alone. He also said that he had saved several thousand yuan from his job. He just kept spouting nice things like they were free, and that's how he tricked his younger brother's wife into coming back.
Zhang Xuemei looked up at the ceiling of the old house and couldn't help but sigh. Her younger brother would be coming back with his wife next year for the Spring Festival, and there would be a big commotion then!
However, in the end, he managed to win her over with his younger brother's sweet words. The two bickered and argued for most of their lives, but they lived a pretty good life.
However, if her own daughter were as love-obsessed as Le Rong, she would be absolutely disgusted.
She followed a man all the way to his house without even getting a marriage certificate. Seeing the terrible conditions, she didn't run away. After a few sweet words, she even stayed. She's really something else.
As for her second sister, she really didn't know how she got back. Perhaps many things don't develop according to the trajectory of her previous life; there will always be changes.
Seeing her mother's worried expression, Zhang Xuemei smiled and comforted her, "Mom, you don't need to worry. Xueshan is a very clever boy. You're afraid he'll get taken advantage of? Just wait and see, who knows, he might even bring you a daughter-in-law later!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Taohua quickly waved her hand and said, "No way, I don't want a daughter-in-law from another province who can't understand what I'm saying and is very annoying."
There are several women from other places who have married into their village. Not only are their eating habits different from theirs, but they also can't understand what they say. Most importantly, two of them have already run away, abandoning their own children.
"Hmph, you still look down on people from other places? With your son like that, you want to find someone nearby? They wouldn't even consider your family's conditions!" Mr. Zhang couldn't help but retort when he saw his wife being picky.
"It's your fault that the conditions aren't good, you..." Liu Taohua got angry as soon as she saw her husband's face. He wasn't worried at all that his son couldn't get married, and he was even making sarcastic remarks.
Seeing that they were about to start arguing, Zhang Xuemei quickly took out two red envelopes from the inside pocket of her clothes.
"Here, these are New Year's red envelopes for you, one for each of you."
"How much did you put in? Is this much?" Liu Taohua hadn't even opened it to check, but just by feeling the thickness, she felt there was quite a lot.
Over there, Zhang Guodong, the father, was already counting. After finishing, he looked at his youngest daughter with a look of surprise and delight, "A thousand! Looks like you did a good job this year!"
"You have a thousand? That makes two thousand in total?" Liu Taohua looked at her youngest daughter worriedly, afraid that she was just putting on a show.
Zhang Xuemei understood her mother's thoughts perfectly well, and quickly explained, "Minghan has set up two stalls this year, and business is quite good."
"Now that I'm making money, I should at least take care of you two elders, right? It's the same with my in-laws."
Hearing her youngest daughter say this, Liu Taohua felt relieved. "That's good, that's good. You don't know, when your second sister called before the New Year, although she didn't say it in detail, I could tell from her tone that she hadn't made much money. If I had known, I would have preferred to go to Tianshui City with you."
Look at your older brother and sister-in-law, they've only been working for a few months, but they've already earned quite a bit! This year they even gave your dad and me 500 each!
Zhang Guodong nudged his wife's arm and said, "Don't make any arrangements. They've all grown up, and each person has their own opportunities."
Then he looked at Zhang Xuemei and comforted her, "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. You can make money because of your own abilities. Besides, setting up a stall is such a tiring job. I heard from your older brother that it's even more tiring than farming at home. Even if your second brother-in-law is given a chance, he won't be able to seize it."
Liu Taohua glanced awkwardly at her youngest daughter and explained, "Xuemei, Mom didn't mean that. I was just worried about your second sister and the others..."
Zhang Xuemei shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.
"Mom, I know what you mean. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely bring some of my brothers and sisters. Look, my eldest brother and sister-in-law are examples!"
"Mom knows you're a good person, and I'm very relieved." Seeing that her daughter wasn't angry, Liu Taohua smiled with relief.
"Don't talk about how much money you've made outside, keep it a secret, okay?" Liu Guodong was afraid that his daughter and son-in-law would be ignorant and show off their earnings everywhere, making others envious.
This is based on his decades of life experience, even though he hasn't made much money from it.
"Dad, we all know! Keep quiet and make a fortune, I understand."
Zhang Xuemei hadn't forgotten what her sister-in-law had said, so she casually brought it up, "Mom, when I came here I saw a girl who was dressed quite fashionably, but wasn't she cold wearing so little clothing in this cold weather?"
Liu Taohua looked knowing. "You mean Zhou Chenchen from the Zhou family, right? That girl made a lot of money in a year, making her parents so happy they're practically rolling in the sand."
Many young girls in the village want to go out to work with her! If our Ya Jing weren't still so young, I'd want her to go too; I heard she gets five hundred a month!
Zhang Xuemei is now thankful that her niece is still young, otherwise it would have been truly dangerous.
"Hmph, all you old women see is money. I bet that girl isn't doing any respectable job. Look at all the boys around her, she can make them laugh and sweet-talk them, getting them food and drinks. She's so clever!"
Zhang Guodong felt that the villagers' eyes were all blinded by greed; all they could see was money. Zhou Chenchen clearly wasn't a decent girl; who knew what she was up to behind the scenes!
"You can just say it at home, but don't go around saying it outside, or people will think you're jealous!"
Liu Taohua was afraid that her husband would say the same thing outside, and the Zhou family wouldn't be happy about that, since she had no evidence!
Of course, she didn't believe it either. It's normal for a young girl to like dressing up. Big cities are just different from their village.
"Mom, Dad might actually be right," Zhang Xuemei said in a low voice with a serious face.
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