Chapter 5: Life is boring and Toad comments on humans
Even Xie Lanzhi was not dissatisfied with Xu Xuemei's decision. After all, their family had quite a few people and they had been living very crowded. Moving out of the big house would free up a few rooms, and the two sons would also have somewhere to live after their marriages, so the division of the family was relatively amicable.
Xu Xuemei waved her hand and took out ten yuan and handed it to her husband, "Jianmin, go buy some meat and vegetables. My brother and sister-in-law will eat at home today!"
"Okay!" Shen Jianmin agreed readily. He was honest and dull in character, and was never as lovable to his mother as the second brother Shen Jianguo. After they got married, his brothers-in-law helped them a lot. Not to mention a meal, even if they ate at home for three days, he would never say no.
Huo Beichuan took out a few packs of cigarettes from the things he bought, divided them among his three uncles, and took out two extra packs for Chen Jintao to deliver to Grandpa Shen. Chen Jintao knew that the old man was upset, so she didn't say anything and went into the old couple's room with the cigarettes.
Wang Lanxiu didn't look happy when she saw her. In her opinion, if Chen Jintao hadn't said that it was Chen Chunmiao who pushed her, Xu Xuemei wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it.
Isn't it just a small misunderstanding between young people? He had to make a fuss, and now a good family has been broken up. He is definitely a troublemaker.
He also snatched away the person originally chosen for Chen Chunmiao. The old lady felt uncomfortable no matter how she thought about it.
Chen Jintao also doesn't like to curry favor with someone who doesn't like her, even if that person is her own grandmother.
"Grandma, grandma!"
After shouting, without waiting for their answer, Shen Jintao walked to the side of Mr. Shen, "Grandpa, this is the cigarette that Beichuan and I bought in the county town. I heard from the salesperson that this is good. It has less smell than the leaf tobacco you smoke, and it is more fragrant. You should try it!"
The old man's mood suddenly improved a lot. He looked at Chen Jintao's face and felt that it was still a little pale. He reached out to take the cigarette and opened a pack directly, "Go find me a match!"
"Okay!" Chen Jintao hurried to the kitchen.
As soon as Chen Jintao turned around, Wang Lanxiu stared at the remaining pack of unopened cigarettes and said, "Give me a pack of these cigarettes."
The old man glared at him, "What do you want to do?"
"Give it to the second one. You have two packs anyway!" Wang Lanxiu said with a clear conscience.
"Go away, go away. This is my granddaughter's gift to me. Don't worry about it."
The old man was too lazy to argue with this woman. He told her many times to treat everyone equally, but every time when he couldn't see her, she would secretly help the second son.
It was because when she was pregnant with her second child, she met a fortune teller who said that the baby in her belly was blessed and would bring honor to the family in the future.
Shen Jianguo did have some cleverness since he was a child that his older brother didn't have, but he was just a little clever and was spoiled by his mother, so he never used it in the right way.
I’m almost forty years old now, why haven’t I brought honor to my family? He said that fortune tellers only say what you want to hear, and only fools would believe them.
"You old man, I've told you so many times but you just don't believe me. Just wait and see, the second child is bound to have a bright future. Don't blame him for being unfilial to you in the future!" Wang Xiulan scolded.
"If he wanted to be successful, he would have been successful long ago. His children are about to get married, but he hasn't achieved anything. I, an old man, can still get a salary. If he was so capable, why didn't he go to the city to eat commercial grain? You just wait for him to be filial to you."
The old man shrugged it off.
"I've asked someone before, this is called something... thick... thick what hair, anyway, he's saving it now, and he'll give us a big one later!"
The old lady believed the fortune teller completely.
Chen Jintao walked in with a match and couldn't help but retort, "It's possible that a golden phoenix will fly out of the ravine, but you always rely on your second uncle. You might as well rely on my grandfather to become a commune director. Compared to your precious son, I think my grandfather is more reliable."
"What do you know, little girl? You just keep making people angry all day long. I'm too lazy to talk to you." Wang Lanxiu felt suffocated after hearing this, and she disliked her granddaughter even more.
"Yes, I don't understand, but I know that filial piety should be shown early, rather than waiting until later. To put it bluntly, if you keep waiting like this, your teeth will fall out, your legs and feet will become weak, you won't be able to go anywhere, and you won't be able to eat anything. Even if my second uncle does become successful, what good will you be able to enjoy?"
Shen Jintao couldn't help but retort.
These words made the old lady so angry that she almost hit someone, but when she thought about it carefully, she felt that it made sense, so she shut up for a while.
After hearing what Chen Jintao said, the old man felt happy to see his wife being humiliated. He thought that he should let his wife listen to more truthful words and stop thinking about nonsense all day long.
The three uncles of the Xu family were very good at hands-on work. When Chen Jintao talked to the old man for a while and then went out, they had already set up a simple stove.
Zhang Qin even went back to Xu's house and brought back a pot. "We just happen to have extra pots at home. You can use them first. When you build your own house, you can live on your own."
Shen Jintao couldn't help but sigh that these uncles and aunts were all very good.
"Jintao, I'll go back and put the things away first. My parents are here to deliver the betrothal gifts." Huo Beichuan was not idle either. He helped for a while and then asked to go back.
"Please ask your uncle, aunt, Xiaonan and Xiaodong to come to our house for dinner. This is the first meal after our family split up, so it has to be lively." Chen Jintao said. Huo Beichuan spent a lot of money today and bought a lot of things for the family, which were not included in the betrothal gift.
He even bought her some things as a dowry, and Shen Jintao was touched.
"Yes, Beichuan, ask your parents and your brother and sister-in-law to come home for dinner!" Xu Xuemei also said.
Huo Beichuan thought about it and agreed. Both sets of parents should indeed sit together and have dinner.
Liu Guifen and Huo Chenggong arrived very early. Knowing that the Shen family had split up, they picked a lot of vegetables from their own private plots and even brought a piece of bacon weighing almost one pound.
The Huo family had an easy life. After all, they had a son who was a soldier and received a good allowance. Xiaonan and Xiaodong had not yet started a family, so the family could still have meat to eat from time to time. This was why the second branch of the family was eager to get the marriage when the engagement started. They thought that Huo Beichuan was an officer, and Chen Chunmiao could help her family if she married him.
Who knew that by some strange coincidence, Huo Beichuan and Shen Jintao got together.
Xie Lanzhi felt that Shen Jintao must have done it on purpose. She might have set her sights on Huo Beichuan at some point. She even threw things around while cooking. "Some people are so shameless at such a young age. They only learn how to seduce men and even steal their own cousin. What a vixen!"
"I think you didn't get enough of the beating just now!" Zhang Qin rolled up her sleeves and was ready to fight again.
"Which ear did you hear me mentioning names?" Xie Lanzhi was also scared. The daughters-in-law in the old Xu family were as fierce as Xu Xuemei.
Chen Jintao quickly pulled the person back and said, "Aunt, some people are just fished out of the toilet. Don't bother with them."
Xu Xuemei agreed with her daughter's words, "Yes, sister-in-law, life is boring, and a toad comments on humans, how can you care about her?"
"Xu Xuemei! Who do you say is the toad?" Xie Lanzhi exploded.
"Which ear did you hear me calling you by name? I advise you to shake your brain before talking to me!" Xu Xuemei rolled her eyes.
Xie Lanzhi wanted to say something, but Shen Jianguo glared at her, "That's enough! Are you still making trouble?"
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