Chapter 16
Jian Li urged her sister to go with her.
"If you go to someone else's house, my aunt might find out and take it out on them. If you come to my house, my mom will argue with my aunt."
After all, Qian Ping married far away in her previous life, which was one of her mother's regrets.
"Your aunt has a good heart, but she is very sharp-tongued and impatient. Now that your sister has forced her to marry far away, what good has she gained?"
"I was too busy with business. I should have stopped her earlier. How could I let someone take my daughter away when I didn't even know where she was going abroad?"
"Your aunt is being stubborn now, but she will regret it when she's older."
I don't know whether my aunt regretted it or not, but when she thought of her cousin who didn't come home later, she felt no psychological pressure at all.
"Sister, go home and pack your things today, and come back to see me tomorrow with your luggage secretly, and then..."
Jian Li talked about her plan in a rambling manner.
Qian Ping was very nervous: "Is this... is this possible?"
Jian Li patted her chest and promised: "It's okay, just listen to me, we will leave together tomorrow."
Wang Yunyun also chimed in: "Sister, follow Xiaoli. I'll cover for you tomorrow."
Qian Ping thought she was crazy for actually playing tricks with her two younger sisters.
But she was used to being obedient. If she didn't follow Jian Li, she would have to follow that fellow villager.
She didn't tell her mother that the fellow villager had privately asked her many questions that made her uncomfortable.
For example, whether she has a date at school, whether she has had sex with anyone...
She didn't answer, but she was so scared that she couldn't move.
Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Jian Li was very happy to hear Qian Ping's accurate words.
Then...she saw Wang Shuai huddled aside.
Wang Shuai is trying hard to reduce his presence.
He really just wanted to have some ice cream!
Jian Li narrowed her eyes, and the boy smiled ingratiatingly and began to express his sincerity.
"Sister, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
He was not stupid. Jian Li had disciplined him thoroughly this summer. There were a few times when he wanted to make trouble, but Jian Li complained to him without saying a word, so that he had to make up for the amount of beatings he had received this summer...
Wang Shuai was feeling depressed, thinking that his sister was still as fond of telling lies as ever.
She also said that parents who always beat their children are unqualified parents, but every time she complained, she just watched her father beat her.
Jian Li looked at Wang Shuai with a wronged expression, as if he was a bullied young wife, and immediately felt very satisfied.
Don't forget to give a date.
"Just be good and don't make trouble. I'll come back during the winter vacation and we'll continue making money then."
As soon as he mentioned making money, Wang Shuai's resentment disappeared immediately, and he said in a very servile manner: "Don't worry, sister! I'm very strict! Sister, do you need my help tomorrow? I'll ask Shitou and the others to help you move things, right?"
Qian Ping looked at his servile cousin and finally laughed from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you, Xiaoli, Yunyun, and Xiaoshuai."
Jian Li pulled her sister and said, "What are you talking about, sister? Come on, let's go eat ice cream."
After buying the ice cream, she happened to see a melon-selling cart at the entrance of the village. The melons were already at the end of their season, and the rain-soaked melons were no longer very tasty. But Jian Li still bought half a bag of five or six watermelons.
"After this one, we won't be able to eat melons again until next year."
Jian Li’s favorite food is watermelon, and this year she finally fulfilled her childhood dream.
I stopped my aunt-in-law from cutting the melon immediately.
“Don’t cut the melon with a kitchen knife!”
She doesn't want to eat garlicky watermelon anymore!
This year, at Jian Li's request, she cut all the watermelons with clean iron sheets.
Because of this, Jian Li's grandmother nags her for a long time, thinking that she is too troublesome and "restless".
Jian Li turned a deaf ear to all these words. Her grandma could nag her, but she wouldn't lose any weight anyway.
Who told her grandmother to be so biased, always leaning towards her second uncle's family? This summer, her grandmother basically went to her youngest son's house every day, helped him with his chores, and then went home at night, complaining that she was tired, and asked her eldest son to go to the city to buy her some ointment.
Jian Li grinned at the sight.
Her grandmother made clear distinctions in her life: daughters were not as good as sons, and the eldest son was not as good as the youngest son. She made clear who was close and who was distant.
The same thing happened with lunch. Although Wang Mengmei didn't come back, my aunt Wang Menglan brought some food. In addition to pork belly, there were also two pig's trotters and a few pounds of mutton.
My uncle's house doesn't have a refrigerator, so this much meat can only be eaten for one or two meals at most.
My aunt-in-law is not a nagging person. She just asked me to make a few more dishes for lunch.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jian Li immediately called Wang Yunyun and asked her to go to the town.
"Go and call your second uncle and his family over. We have so many dishes, where can we eat them all?"
To Wang Menglan, she valued both brothers equally, so she naturally had no objection.
But my aunt Sun Cuifang was very nervous. The old lady said that she would live with her family in her old age, but everyone knew that the old lady went to the town every day.
For others, she washes clothes, cooks, and takes care of children, but here, she sighs and groans every day, and even has to wait for her meal to be brought to her before she eats. The old lady does all the housework and farm work at home, waiting for her to come back and do it.
If you ask, it means you have no strength in your body. If you ask, it means you are not in good health.
It makes people feel restless.
Sun Cuifang didn't understand either. They were all the same sons, so why would an old man be so partial to one?
The same applies to raising children. The second child was the first born in the family, and the old lady raised him all the way until he was five or six years old and went to primary school. As for the first of her two children, the old lady didn't even look at the first one, which was a girl.
But when the younger one came out, she didn't seem to be very attentive.
She said she was taking care of the child, but she felt pain here and there all the time.
At that time, the eldest child, Wang Yunyun, was only a little over a year old, and Wang Shuai was even younger. She spent a lot of time on both ends, and was left with back pain after childbirth...
Grandma Jian Li had no idea that her eldest daughter-in-law was resentful, but even if she knew, she didn't care much.
According to her, who wouldn't feel sorry for their child who strives to be successful?
Wang Yuexi was her last child among four children, and the only one who could read. Naturally, she attached the most importance to her family.
Not long after Wang Yunyun left, her second uncle and his family arrived.
Second aunt Li Xia is short and fat, wearing glasses. As soon as she entered the house, she couldn't stop boasting: "I can smell the aroma of my eldest sister-in-law's cooking meat from a long distance away. It's this braised pork, Chengcai has been dreaming about it for a long time."
Sun Cuifang was busy in the kitchen. She looked out and saw that the whole family came empty-handed.
Not only did Wang Chengcai come in empty-handed, but as soon as he entered the room, the old lady immediately held him by her side, treating him like her own flesh and blood.
"Chengcai, come here quickly. Grandma hasn't seen you for a long time. Are you too busy in your senior year of high school? Look at your face, you've become thinner. Grandma will bring you some cereal later. Even if studying is hard, you must eat well..."
Wang Yuexi was riding his bicycle and was at the back of the group. He heard his mother say this when he entered the door.
As expected, he greeted his mother and said, "Mom, it's just right. You should also bring some black sesame paste to Xiaocheng. He is using his brain a lot now, and black sesame can help him to think."
The old lady was so distressed when she heard this that she readily agreed, "That's fine. Your sister brought back three more plants this time. You can take them all later. I'm an old lady, why would I drink this tonic? I have to let my eldest grandson drink it so that he can get into college next year."
"Black sesame is good for the brain, right? Tomorrow I'll go to the village and ask who has some. I'll exchange some for you and send it to your house in a few days."
Wang Yuexi nodded, greeted Wang Menglan first, and then went to his brother's side.
"Brother, give me a fire."
Wang Yuedong said nothing, but took out a box of matches from his pocket and threw it to him.
Wang Yuexi paused for a moment, a little dissatisfied: "Brother, give me a cigarette."
Wang Yuedong felt in his pocket and threw the box to him: "Just these few..."
He doesn't usually smoke, and even if he does, it's just the kind of homemade cigarette bags you get in the village. The rolled cigarettes in his pocket are for socializing on the construction site.
Wang Yuexi was a little disappointed: "Why is it Hardman?"
This cigarette is cheap, only two yuan a box.
Wang Yuedong: "If you don't want to smoke, give it to me."
What's wrong with two yuan? Two yuan for a pack of cigarettes, his heart was bleeding when he bought it.
Wang Yuexi laughed: "Twitch, tick, tick!"
He lit a cigarette very naturally, and stuffed the rest of the cigarettes, including the box, into his pocket. He closed his eyes and puffed out the white smoke in ecstasy.
Wang Yuedong wanted to say something, but he was always tongue-tied and could not win over his younger brother, so he could only keep his head down and peel peanuts at the door.
Wang Yuexi smoked happily, puffing out air from his nose.
The salary of a teacher is not high, especially when there are two teachers in his family.
On weekdays, Li Xia managed the money and didn't let him spend a penny more. All the money in the family was intended for her son Wang Chengcai to go to college.
Wang Yuexi was so craving for cigarettes that he could no longer smoke, so he came back to see his brother. No matter whether it was Hardenmen or Hongmei, as long as he could have a puff, he would be so happy that he didn't know what to do.
After smoking two cigarettes, Wang Yuexi finally started to act like a teacher.
It just so happened that all the children were at home today, and before the meal was even served, he started talking to each of them one by one.
First it was Wang Yunyun. Wang Yunyun has always been good at liberal arts but poor at science. Wang Yuexi happened to teach mathematics, so he often criticized Wang Yunyun for not studying hard.
"Learn math, physics and chemistry well, and you will be able to travel the world without fear. Look at you, you have learned so much liberal arts knowledge, but it will be useless in the future."
Wang Yunyun lowered her head and said nothing. Whenever this happened, no one in the family could say anything.
Wang Yuexi was a teacher, and the only educated person in the family who had studied at a normal school. When he disciplined the children, even Sun Cuifang thought it was reasonable.
Therefore, Sun Cuifang had a lot of opinions about her sisters-in-law, but she always had some respect for Wang Yuedong. She felt that although he was nagging, he still cared about the children's studies.
Hearing Wang Yunyun being scolded, Sun Cuifang hurriedly walked out of the kitchen.
"Yunyun, listen to your uncle. What he says makes sense. You still need to study math well. Only by studying math well can you improve your grades."
Perhaps every teacher in charge has a parent like this. Following Sun Cuifang's words, Wang Yuexi became even more proud.
After talking about Wang Yunyun, he turned his attention to Wang Shuai.
As soon as Wang Shuai saw his second uncle and his family coming back, he wanted to run away, but he didn't. Now he was being controlled by his mother and was being forced to crack corn kernels under the main hall.
Wang Yuexi had a look of disgust on his face, and then he sighed heavily.
Unlike when he criticized Wang Yunyun, Wang Yuexi basically just had one word for Wang Shuai.
"There is no cure."
In Wang Shuai's limited memory, the person who bothered him most was not Jian Li, but his second uncle.
Whenever his second uncle came back, he would be beaten after he left.
Sure enough, as Wang Yuexi sighed, Wang Yuedong's sharp eyes immediately swept over.
Wang Shuai's legs went weak at the sight.
Second aunt Li Xia seemed to be concerned but actually hit the nail on the head: "Sister-in-law, I've been wanting to say this for a long time. Even if you and brother are busy making money, you still have to take care of the children, right? Xiao Shuai is a very smart child. Isn't it the parents' responsibility that he is so bad at studying?"
Sun Cuifang just felt her face burning, which was why she couldn't stand up to Li Xia every time.
Who is Li Xia's son Wang Chengcai, who is said to have excellent grades?
Look at my own one. Since I was a kid, I have been carrying a red lantern home every semester.
Parents are called several times every semester.
So shameful.
Li Xia was extremely happy when she saw her sister-in-law's ashamed look.
She knew that her sister-in-law resented the old man for favoring her family, but so what?
The couple has a stable job and their children are doing well.
My sister-in-law and her husband both graduated from junior high school. How can they raise a good child?
Li Xia raised such an outstanding son, so why can't she stand up straight in the Wang family?
Wang Yuexi fixed his gaze on Jian Li again. Jian Li had lost a lot of weight this summer. Although she was still short of the goal of 150 pounds, she was at least not far off.
But in Wang Yuexi's eyes, he felt that this niece was probably useless.
I used to think that as a young girl, even if she failed in her studies, she could still marry a man based on her looks. But now look, she has grown fat and her academic performance is just average.
“Tsk tsk…”
Wang Yuexi looked around and felt that all the children in this yard were not doing well.
Jian Li didn't care. That was just the kind of person her second uncle was.
She has been working all her life, but at family dinners, her second uncle would still ask her whether she had received any rewards at work, whether her leaders valued her, and what her plans for the future were.
Jian Li was exhausted from work and really didn't want to talk to her relatives about her three-year and five-year plans after work, so she just made an excuse that she had no plans.
Her second uncle immediately disagreed and started to teach her a lesson.
"How can you not have a plan? At your age, you should have a clear understanding of your life and future."
"You have to make the right choice between work and marriage. You can't live your life in such a state of confusion, right?"
"Just now I wanted to ask, you didn't even say hello when you came in, you just sat down and ate directly, is this the proper rule? Is this how you act at work?"
"You need to be alert and learn how to behave in the workplace."
…
Jian Li tried to explain herself at first, but later remained silent.
Her second uncle is the kind of ordinary parent who believes in chicken soup stories like "The big boss valued me because I picked up paper balls on the first day of the interview." He has never left school in his life, so he thinks that anywhere can be fitted into the school's competition mechanism.
Little did they know that after leaving school there was no report card to rank who was first and who was second.
Jian Li was calm and not affected at all.
After Wang Yuexi finished talking about these children, it was time for dinner.
Sun Cuifang made her specialty, braised pork in brown sauce. She stir-fried lamb with scallions and coriander, making the lamb tender and fragrant. She stewed pig's trotters with soybeans, making the pig skin tremble with a sauce color and the soybeans dense and fragrant.
There were three meat dishes on the table. Wang Yuexi's family members used their chopsticks as if they had grown new tips, and they were all eating the meat eagerly.
The title of teacher sounds nice, but due to historical reasons in the early years and the fact that teachers’ salaries are not very high nowadays, many people still habitually call them “stinky old ninth”.
Li Xia teaches Chinese at the town's middle school, and Wang Yuexi teaches mathematics. Their combined monthly salary is just over 200 yuan.
This little bit of money is used to buy supplementary materials for Wang Chengcai, a senior high school student. After calculating the household expenses such as oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, there is always a shortage of money every month.
This is also one of the reasons why the old lady likes to take care of her younger son.
Jian Li quickly scooped out a few chopsticks of meat and put them in the bowl, then ate it together with rice, feeling particularly satisfied.
As for others, they are not as lucky as her.
Wang Yuexi's family ate a lot, and the others didn't get much.
After Wang Yuexi finished eating the meat, he picked his teeth and finally asked Qian Ping.
"Sister, Ping Ping didn't pass the exam now, what are your plans?"
He had known for a long time that Qian Ping had failed the exam, and he was the one who ran to tell his eldest sister the news. After all, Qian Ping had been studying in the town, and although he was not her teacher, he knew all the teachers who taught Qian Ping.
Li Xia next to her also chimed in: "Yes, Ping Ping is already two years old. If you ask me, if a child is not lucky enough to study, don't force it. Learning a skill is better than anything else."
As the old saying goes, too many sisters-in-law mean more trouble, too many younger sisters-in-law mean more trouble. Li Xia has never been able to look outside her eyes in her life, and she is always trying to compete with her sisters-in-law and her elder and younger sisters-in-law.
Compared with Sun Cuifang, she feels very superior.
Compared with Wang Mengmei, she also feels superior.
But when she was compared with Wang Menglan, her sense of superiority was in jeopardy.
Wang Menglan has no son, but Qian Ping has good grades.
During the three years that Li Xia attended school in the town, she could always see Qian Ping's name listed first on the honor roll.
It hurt her eyes and made her heart sad.
The elder sister-in-law can make money. If my daughter goes to college, what can she compare with her elder sister-in-law?
So Li Xia didn't tell anyone that when Qian Ping failed the exam for the first time, she happily ate two more bowls of rice.
Later, Qian Ping took another exam. Li Xia followed Wang Menglan's instructions and sent Qian Ping to the school's refresher class. She always wondered in her heart if God could hear her wish again.
As expected, Qian Ping failed the exam again.
Having failed the exam this time, Qian Ping has basically no chance to study again.
Li Xia looked at Qian Ping who was eating with her head down and sighed, "Sister, I'm not saying this in hindsight. When Ping Ping wanted to study science, I told her that she should be cautious because girls don't have as much stamina as boys. Look at her now... Well, it's not a big problem for girls. Stay at home for a few years. I'll keep an eye on you later. Let's find a good family."
After Li Xia said this, she waited to see Wang Menglan's ashamed expression. That was the medal that belonged to her the most that she was happy to see.
But Wang Menglan wiped her mouth and dropped a shocking news.
"What craft do you want to learn? I don't want to learn it anymore. I plan to give it to her."
"If you go to the United States, you can earn $2,000 a month just by selling dishes!"
Li Xia's original pride and joy were washed away, replaced by disbelief: "Ah? Going to America?"
She felt a little surprised and uncomfortable.
After finding out the reason, she couldn't laugh anymore.
Wang Menglan spoke in a nice way, praising America all the time and saying that Qian Ping might be able to stay there after she went there.
"I don't expect her to achieve much, but she just needs to stay there. When her father and I get older, we will go there too, and we can be together as a family."
Wang Menglan seemed to have finally picked up her self-esteem that was lost by Qian Ping, and she kept praising how great America is.
Li Xia couldn't stand it after just a few words.
"Sister, I think you need to think about this matter again."
She was jealous and panicked: "It's so far, are you sure you can let Ping Ping go alone? It's not like going to the south to work and coming back. There are so many countries between us. If Ping Ping has something happen there, can you still fly over?"
Wang Menglan waved her hand nonchalantly: "What's the problem? I've heard that the welfare there is good. If you are sick, you can get free treatment and go to school for free. I've thought about it. When the time comes, I'll ask her to go there and work while continuing her studies."
The thing Wang Menglan regrets most in her life is that she did not catch up with the good times and had to drop out of school early for the sake of her family. Therefore, no matter where her daughter goes, she always wants Qian Ping to fulfill her wish.
"I heard that it's easy to get into Harvard in the United States. I'll ask Ping Ping to work harder. Who knows, maybe she can get into Harvard or something."
Li Xia: …
Ahhh, she was so angry.
But his own country hasn't figured it out yet, and Wang Yuexi is very sure of the superiority of the United States.
"Well said, Ping Ping, you must follow the path your mother has planned for you. Remember your mother's kindness in the future."
Qian Ping lowered his head even deeper.
Wang Menglan pinched her in anger and said, "Look at you. Your uncle is talking to you, but you don't even answer him. If you are like this, you will suffer if you go out. You are not a troublemaker at all."
Listening to her aunt scolding, Jian Li finally understood why her sister got married right away in her previous life.
It can be said that almost no one enjoyed this meal.
After finishing the meal, Wang Yuexi and his family put down their chopsticks and left.
Qian Ping helped to clear the table and whispered in Jian Li's ear, "Xiao Li, shall we meet in the county town tomorrow?"
She decided, she's leaving!
What her mother said just now was like putting her on fire.
Even if they weren't scammers, she didn't want to go to the United States!
Qian Ping didn't know why her mother always wanted to make her proud and always boasted first.
Harvard, does her mother know where Harvard is? She just wanted her to work part-time and study to go to Harvard.
If Qian Ping's idea was not so firm before the meal, now Qian Ping has made up his mind not to go to the United States.
She couldn't fulfill her mother's wish.
Jian Li: "It's the county town. Sister, you go to the station by yourself tomorrow. The bus I'm taking will stop at the county town station. We can go together then."
Qian Ping nodded heavily.
Jian Li did what she said. After dinner in the afternoon, she said she would go to town to call her mother.
"My mom is probably too busy to remember. I'll tell her I'll go back tomorrow."
Grandma Jian Li snorted, but Jian Li ignored her.
When she got to the town, she found a public phone and made a call, which was connected to the kiosk of the cotton textile factory. Jane Li waited for another ten minutes before her mother called back.
Hearing the voice that she hadn't heard for over a month, Jian Li acted coquettishly on purpose.
"Ms. Wang Mengmei, have you forgotten that you have a young lady who is not at home?"
Wang Mengmei was so busy that she was out of breath when she made the phone call: "Oh, it's already the 23rd, Xiaoli, you still start school on the 1st, right?"
Jian Li was speechless: "I always start school on September 1st every year."
Wang Mengmei: "I'm really busy. How about this? Hurry up and take a bus back tomorrow. I'll ask your dad to pick you up at the station."
Jian Li's eyes rolled: "Mom, you are so busy, why don't you find someone to help you?"
Wang Mengmei: "Why are you so worried... I'm looking for it, but I haven't found it yet? But I think school is about to start, and business won't be very good in winter, so why not just carry on."
Jian Li: "That won't work. Don't worry, Mom. I will solve this problem for you when I go back tomorrow. Just wait for me!"
Wang Mengmei: "...Don't mess with me..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard the microphone beep.
Wang Mengmei: ...It's been more than a month, why does she still want to beat the child so much?
After getting the accurate information, Jian Li went home and started packing.
When I came, I only had clothes and summer homework, but my backpack was now stuffed with all kinds of weird stuff, as well as the remaining goods that I hadn't had time to sell out.
Wang Shuai looked at her eagerly: "Sister, are you coming over the winter vacation?"
Jian Li replied while stuffing it in her mouth: "Come on."
Not during the Chinese New Year, but usually her mother will stay at her parents' home for a few days after the Chinese New Year.
Wang Shuai: "Then I'll wait for you."
Jian Li knocked on his head and said, "I passed math, but what will you do if I fail?"
Although General Wang was reluctant, he still nodded obediently.
Indeed, without math skills, it is impossible to do math.
If you count too little, it's fine. But if you count too much, won't you suffer the consequences?
Wang Yunyun gave Jian Li a long list of books: "Go back and read some books."
She has no shortage of books to read now, but she always feels lonely.
When Jian Li was around, she could still chat with her. But now that Jian Li was gone, she really didn't know who to talk to.
Looking for Wang Shuai?
Come on, if Jian Li hadn't taken him to do something serious this summer, this kid would have been peeing and playing in the mud every day. Wang Yunyun didn't even say anything, but before Jian Li came back, she saw Wang Shuai and a group of little black guys competing to see who could pee farther...
Looks like a mentally retarded person.
Jian Li accepted the list of books, reluctantly leaving behind a classic quote from Big Bad Wolf.
"I'll be back!"
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