Chapter 45: Top-notch Wang Cuihua
Everyone was busy when suddenly an old man's voice was heard outside the door.
"Little Huo's, Little Huo's!"
As soon as Shen Jintao heard it, she knew that he was calling her, and she was about to go out without even taking off her apron.
Huang Xiuru quickly pulled the person back and said, "This is the mother of Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang. She likes to borrow money from every household and never pays it back. She must be up to no good when she comes to you."
"Yes, the lard you borrowed from my family last time hasn't been returned yet. Sister, don't be fooled."
"That's right. Once you give a good face to such people, they will never stop bullying you. I didn't know the situation at the time and suffered such a big loss."
The sister-in-law who was speaking had a painful look on her face, so Huang Xiuru explained that when she first came to the family compound, Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang's mother, Wang Cuihua, borrowed a pair of large pig's trotters from her on the pretext that her daughter-in-law was in confinement after childbirth, but later she simply denied the debt.
It just so happens that her husband has a good relationship with Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang, and he doesn't allow his sister-in-law to make a fuss. As a result, her sister-in-law is still angry because she couldn't get any relief.
"Thank you for your reminder, sisters-in-law. But since someone has come to my door, it seems unreasonable for me not to go out and take a look. It doesn't matter. Now that I know what kind of person she is, I won't lend her anything."
Shen Jintao said to her sisters-in-law gratefully.
These sisters-in-law are all very nice. If they were the kind that said one thing in public and another behind the scenes, I wouldn't have said so much to them. I guess they are probably just looking forward to watching the show.
"Hello, old man, what can I do for you?"
Arriving at the gate of the courtyard, Shen Jintao asked politely.
Wang Cuihua looked into the yard and said, "What are you doing? Why does it smell so good? It smells like seafood, but it doesn't seem to be seafood."
"It's seafood." Shen Jintao nodded.
"Is that so?" Wang Cuihua rolled her eyes. "Are you guys treating us tonight? Hey, I don't want to come over to eat with all these grown men. How about this, you fill me a bowl."
"I won't come over to eat tonight, so as not to disturb you young people's conversation."
Looking at the basin that Wang Cuihua put in front of her, Shen Jintao really broadened her horizons.
This is an officer's family member, and he can take advantage of it so naturally. This is rare even in the village.
"I'm sorry, Auntie. I haven't prepared much here. Even so, I'm still worried that there won't be enough to eat at night."
Shen Jintao refused directly.
"What's wrong with you? I'm going to treat you to a meal anyway, so what if you pretend to be generous to me and I take it home? Or are you just pretending to be generous?"
Wang Cuihua was angry. "You can't do that. I have to talk to Xiao Huo!"
Huo Beichuan suddenly appeared, "What do you want to tell me, Auntie?"
Wang Cuihua was frightened, thinking that Huo Beichuan's rank was higher than her son's, and that this man's cold face was indeed quite scary. But she also felt that she was an elder after all, and Huo Beichuan would definitely not do anything to her, right?
"Xiao Huo, you're at home. It's even better if you're at home. Tell me yourself, is your wife right or wrong? If you ask me, you shouldn't marry such a stingy woman who can't bear to give away any seafood. Anyway, you have to treat us all. I said I wouldn't come over to disturb you young people's dinner and chat in the evening, but she actually said she didn't have much. What does that mean?"
"No, Aunt Wang, did we invite you? We didn't plan any portion for you at all, so how could we give it to you? Or are we going to have no food tonight because of you?" Huo Beichuan asked back.
Wang Cuihua didn't expect Huo Beichuan to say it so bluntly. She was dumbfounded for a moment. "What's wrong with you? How can you say that?"
"I just want some seafood. It's not something expensive. There are so many of them on the beach. How can you be so stingy? You usually look like a decent person, but I didn't expect you to be so stingy. It seems that people of the same family are like birds of a feather."
Wang Cuihua was getting more and more outrageous. Chen Jintao didn't want to be seen as someone who was easily bullied, so she spoke up, "Auntie, please understand that we are definitely inviting comrades who my husband has a good relationship with. Another thing, you said that some seafood is not worth much? But even if it's only one cent, it's mine. Why should I give it away for free? Not to mention that I put a lot of expensive seasonings in the dishes, so how can these be free?"
"I've seen beggars, but I've never seen one begging so confidently. Old Huo, which comrade-in-arms' relative is this woman from? Go ask them. If their family is really in such a difficult situation, we should help them."
Chen Jintao's words could be said to be extremely unpleasant to the ear. Even though Wang Cuihua had been unreasonable for most of her life, she had never been said such words to him before. For a moment, she was so angry that her face turned ashen.
Seeing Wang Cuihua staggering and about to faint, it was clear that she was going to blackmail her, Shen Jintao suddenly said, "Old lady, don't be afraid if you faint, I can also give you acupuncture. I can't say how good my skills are, but it shouldn't be a problem to wake you up."
"Who knows, I might even gain a reputation as someone who is helpful..."
After hearing what Chen Jintao said, Wang Cuihua no longer dared to faint. She couldn't breathe up or down, and she was so angry that she was going crazy.
Her daughter-in-law Liu Jinping came out of her yard and took the person back.
Chen Jintao then turned back to the kitchen and asked Qian Mingfang about the situation of Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang's wife.
"I thought there were no young people at home, but there were. They just let me do this? Aren't they afraid of ruining the reputation of Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang?"
Speaking of this, Qian Mingfang's expression turned disdainful. "You don't know the situation in their family. Liu Jinping gave birth to children one after another. Originally, Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang's allowance was enough to support the whole family, but she has given birth to five children in a row and is pregnant with the sixth. Life is already very difficult for such a family. Of course, she turned a blind eye. I guess she was hoping that her mother-in-law could bring something back."
Shen Jintao swallowed hard. She couldn't imagine what it was like for a woman to give birth to six children. "Why so many?"
"What else could it be? It's because the first five were all girls, and that old woman scolds her daughters-in-law every day. I guess Liu Jinping is just trying to be prudent and must give birth to a son."
Huang Xiuru also looked down on them and added a handful of firewood to the stove. "Anyway, you'd better stay away from this family. The girls in her family...are not good people either."
With the help of her sisters-in-law, Shen Jintao quickly learned about the situation at Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang's home.
In front are five daughters. The oldest is ten years old and the youngest is just over one year old. It can be said that they have started preparing for the next baby before their bodies are fully recovered. Because they don’t pay much attention to the girls, they basically don’t teach them. The older girls are always stealing and playing tricks, or they go to other people’s homes to take advantage of them like their grandmother.
But after all, they are pitiful. From time to time, everyone would turn a blind eye or take the initiative to give the children some food. It is no exaggeration to say that the five daughters of Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang have grown up eating food from many families since they were able to eat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
