Chapter 216
In the blink of an eye, it is New Year's Eve.
Zhao Chunlan thought it was ridiculous to go out and eat during the New Year's Day.
"Instead of asking others to earn this money, it would be better for you to save the money and give it to me!"
"We are a family, can't we just have a warm meal at home?"
Wang Mengmei: "We'll eat at home, and you'll cook?"
"Isn't this Dongzi's wife?"
She also prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner in previous years.
Wang Mengmei said rudely: "I've been busy all year, why can't I take a break?"
Zhao Chunlan muttered: "And Li Xia, if it doesn't work out, you and your sister..."
"I've been busy for a year, I won't do it."
Zhao Chunlan said disdainfully: "Now that you've made money, you've become lazy."
If you have money, you don't want to walk a few steps outside, you just want to drive. The same goes for cooking, you have to go out to eat every now and then. If you run a store business, you have to go out and give money to other people.
Spend the house!
Wang Mengmei: "You don't waste money. When my grandmother was alive, she would complain every New Year about you throwing away the half-cut cloth you made from making clothes."
When her mother-in-law was mentioned, Zhao Chunlan seemed to be on fire. She jumped up and yelled, "Am I a spendthrift? I raised you guys. You did all the work in the fields and at home. That piece of cloth was given to me by my mother. I can throw it away if I want to! That damn old woman is just looking for bad luck with me. Do you remember when you were just born? I didn't even take a look at you, and your grandmother took you away. If your father and I hadn't seen you, you would have been thrown into the pigpen..."
The death of her mother-in-law seemed to have turned on some switch in Zhao Chunlan. On New Year's Eve, she spent most of the day scolding her mother-in-law.
When she was young, she was bullied by her mother-in-law. The brigade had a millstone, but her mother-in-law didn't let her use it. She found a small millstone at home to grind beans slowly. After she gave birth to two daughters in a row, her mother-in-law became even more angry and scolded her whenever she saw her.
Zhao Chunlan held her nose and waited until she had a son, but her mother-in-law didn't even look after her.
Before she died, the old lady was still shouting at her son to divorce her.
Zhao Chunlan said as she glanced at the girl with pride: "You know your grandma wanted to throw you away at that time, what did I do?"
Wang Mengmei has almost no memory of her deceased grandmother. The only impression she has is that she always stood with her hands on her hips and cursed at the street during the Chinese New Year.
While she was sorting things out, she asked, "What did you do?"
"I asked the guy from Aunt Cao's house next door to report her to the brigade."
Right after the war, there was a population shortage. Wangjiazhuang followed the orders of the higher-ups, saying that no one was allowed to abandon a baby. If a baby was found, it would be put in the cattle shed. Of course, some people would put it in the cattle shed or throw it away, but most people would still raise it. If they couldn't raise a baby themselves, they would ask around to see if there were any families willing to take one.
This is what Zhao Chunlan is most proud of in her life.
She sent her mother-in-law, her mortal enemy, to the cowshed and locked her up for a few days.
When the man came back, although he still scolded her, he did not dare to mention the matter of throwing his granddaughter out again.
Wang Mengmei had already heard this passage by heart, and she cooperated by saying a few nice words to Zhao Chunlan.
Zhao Chunlan continued to chatter: "The cowshed was smelly and dirty. Your grandmother had no place to pee in it. The day your father came to pick her up, I laughed for a long time in the room..."
Zhao Chunlan reminisced endlessly, as if all the sufferings in the past had never existed, and she danced with joy.
After talking about this for a while, Zhao Chunlan suddenly seemed to remember something and changed the topic back to going out for the New Year's Eve dinner.
"I thought about it again, eating out is also a good idea."
Wang Mengmei was just about to say that she finally figured it out.
Zhao Chunlan added: "There is something wrong with the Feng Shui of our family. You and your sister are doing well now, but your two brothers are not as good as you. Now it's better. Sun Cuifang is making money, but your brother has become a helper every day."
Everyone is fine now, especially the daughter-in-law. After Zhao Chunlan came to the capital, she is not as daring as before.
I'm bothered by the quarrel with my daughter-in-law. She has her own children. Can't she stay at their place for a few days when she goes out?
Especially this time Wang Yunyun was going abroad, so she left the key of her small second bedroom to Sun Cuifang, saying that she would not rent it out, and asked Sun Cuifang not to come back to live there when she was very busy.
Zhao Chunlan whispered to her daughter about her dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law, and from time to time she would look up to see if Sun Cuifang came in.
Wang Mengmei: …
Zhao Chunlan sighed: "I told your brother before that he should find a job when he goes out, but he is so useless that he insisted not to get involved in the children's affairs and just open a fried skewers shop with his wife. Look..."
What a loser.
Wang Mengmei: "I think you are fine now, you just worry about it. Are the clothes I bought for you a few days ago suitable for you to wear?"
Zhao Chunlan: "Sure, of course. Your sister bought me another set of clothes. Now I have more clothes than anyone else!"
Zhao Chunlan quickly found a companion here. Among the group of old ladies, she was the most brightly dressed one.
At around six or seven in the afternoon, Zhao Chunlan, dressed in bright clothes, sat in Wang Mengmei's car and went to the hotel to have the New Year's Eve dinner.
The whole family was divided into five cars, and when we arrived we found it was extremely lively.
The restaurant's New Year's Eve dinner was fully booked, and Wang Mengmei wanted to have a good atmosphere, so she didn't book a private room. There were seven or eight televisions in the lobby, broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala live.
The Wang family sat at two tables, one for the elders and one for the younger ones.
A group of young people gathered together at a table, and when they had nothing to do, Jian Li dragged them to play Three Kingdoms Kill.
At first everyone thought it was just a simple game, but as they played more and more, they became crazy about killing.
"Kill!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Ten thousand arrows fired at once!"
…
Sweat broke out on Wang Chengcai's head and his eyes were fixed on his cards.
Wang Shuai licked his lips excitedly and looked around.
Jian Li's strange smile made everyone around her feel anxious.
Qian Ping also frowned, as if he was thinking about the cards.
Wang Yunyun was eager to try, waiting for Wang Shuai to come down so she could go up.
Even Fang Jia, who had decided to keep a low profile today, sat next to Wang Chengcai and couldn't wait to give him instructions.
…
The excitement at this table soon attracted people nearby. After playing a few rounds of the card game and vaguely understanding some of the rules, more and more young people came over.
Later, when a card was played, all kinds of noises suddenly appeared around.
"Do you know how to play?"
"It's over, it's over."
"Rubbish! I'd better do it!"
They all said that it would be better for me to do it, and they all looked very greedy.
The cards that Jian Li made at home are simple but fascinating.
When the dishes were served, the situation became even more complicated. Jian Li ate while staring at the cards.
Someone at the table next to them was calling out to their kid, who was so fascinated by the meal that he picked up his chopsticks and started eating at the other person's table.
When the parents saw this, they laughed and scolded, "Are you being well behaved?"
Everyone was immersed in joy. The parents brought wine to Wang Mengmei's table, gave her a dessert, and then left.
If Jian Li wants to eat, she will give up her seat. If she doesn’t want to eat, she can continue.
After playing all night, Jian Li stretched her back and said, "No more playing, let's watch the Spring Festival Gala."
If you don't watch it now, Li Guyi will come out soon.
The board game was over, but many people came to Jian Li to ask how the cards were made.
Just as Jian Li was about to speak, Wang Shuai winked at her desperately.
Jian Li: "…Sorry, this is a new product from our company."
Wang Shuai gave a thumbs up under the table: "Sister, you are so nice..."
Jian Li took a bite of the fish head pancake. The fish head meat was firm, and the pancake was coated with a layer of salty soup, making the taste even richer.
"I want fifty percent."
Wang Shuai: ...
Wang Mengmei enjoyed the New Year's Eve dinner this year. Firstly, she didn't have to clean up after the meal, and secondly, it was a reunion dinner and it was rare to have so many people.
But she also called Jian Feng quite often.
I started to receive text messages and phone calls one after another in the afternoon, and after eight or nine in the evening, I received even more calls.
There were fewer people at twelve o'clock, but those who came were all close relatives.
Jian Feng went out to answer a few phone calls, looking normal. After dinner, he sent everyone home. On the way back home, Jian Feng said something as if he was just chatting: "Ge Qi is going abroad. Chang Yuan just called and said that he has applied for a master's degree in Germany and will be leaving soon. He asked if I could see him off at the airport in Beijing."
After so many years, Jian Feng's impression of Ge Qi is still that of the silent but focused child he was when he was little.
A few years ago, Ge Qi was admitted to a good university in the college entrance examination, but it was in the south. Ge Changyuan wanted him to study medicine, but Ge Qi refused and finally applied for a major that his parents were not optimistic about.
Now that he has completed four years of study with excellent academic performance, Ge Qi wants to study abroad.
Wang Mengmei frowned as she listened: "When?"
Jian Feng: "It was said to be after the Lantern Festival."
"…Then send it."
"And..." Jian Feng's voice dropped coldly: "Ge Changjun called and said that Ge Qiang was dead."
Ge Changyuan didn't even mention this news on the phone, but Ge Changjun called to tell him about it.
Wang Mengmei hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Dead? When?"
"Today."
I'm wearing my shroud now.
"These days are rushing."
Years have not passed.
Jian Feng: "What I was thinking was to ask someone to send a wreath and give it a few hundred dollars."
Huang Guihua is dead, and it doesn't matter to him that he has anything to do with Ge Qiang.
Ge Qiang went to find a matchmaker before Huang Guihua died, but less than three months after she was buried, the old man married another woman.
The new old lady has a son and a daughter, and her style is different from Huang Guihua. She can coax and persuade.
Ge Changjun and Ge Changyuan both knew that the old man had some savings, so they didn't take it seriously. But when Ge Changjun went to see the old man, he found that his mother had urged the old man to add her name to the property certificate.
In the early years, Ge Changjun might not have taken a house seriously, otherwise he would have paid half of the money for the house, but the house was named after his biological father. He really didn't care when he had money.
But things are different now!
Ge Changjun suffered a lot from the losses in his business. Although he did not lose everything, for a man who had experienced prosperity before, even a comfortable life was hard to endure.
He was thinking of selling the house for money after his father died, but his stepmother also set her sights on it.
So after a big quarrel, Ge Changjun fell out with his father.
Ge Changyuan also went to look for his biological father, but was also rejected in the end.
The two brothers went to find Ge Yaqin again, hoping that their sister would come forward to persuade them.
Ge Yaqin didn't say a word, and finally the two of them slammed the door and left in anger.
Ge Yaqin returned to her room and stared at the gold ring left by Huang Guihua.
After Huang Guihua passed away, Ge Yaqin felt relaxed at first, but then she couldn't sleep. During the sleepless nights, she recalled the good and bad things about Huang Guihua.
Ge Changyuan and Ge Changjun did not feel the same way as she did.
However...
Ge Yaqin thought, they will be pregnant soon too.
Huang Guihua was a burden when she was alive, but her stepmother was a trouble.
Ge Changjun and Ge Changyuan may not remember Huang Guihua's care, but they will definitely remember Huang Guihua's kindness.
…
In the end, someone else's name was added to the house. Even if it wasn't added, someone else would still have a share of it after Ge Qiang died.
Jian Feng was too lazy to get involved in such things; the Ge family had disappeared from his life for too long.
He even entrusted the task of sending Ge Qi to his employees.
We were picked up and dropped off by car, and I also brought some things and was given some money.
But no one showed up.
After Ge Changyuan, who was far away in Taocheng, learned about this, he remained silent for a long time.
The recent dispute over the property of the Ge family has made too many people laugh. It was at this time that Ge Changyuan suddenly discovered something that made him shudder.
Everything he did to Huang Guihua was seen by his son.
When Ge Qi talked about going abroad, his tone was unusually firm.
"I plan to study for a master's degree first, and then a doctorate. It will take at least ten years."
Within a few days, Ge Changyuan had nightmares every night, and so did his wife.
The two thought about it, but neither dared to speak out what was in their heart.
Ge Changyuan had inquired and found out that the German academic degree is the most difficult to obtain.
Will Ge Qi come back?
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