Chapter Three: We're Not Getting Married!
After saying that, she didn't even look at their frozen faces, turned around and walked straight towards the dimly lit kitchen.
Inside the main room, the three brothers looked at each other, stunned.
Mom... what's wrong?
It wasn't like this before, was it? Before, as long as they asked, especially if the third child just acted cute, Mom would find a way to satisfy them, no matter how difficult it was.
How could you bear to say such harsh words today!
Li Hongjuan pursed her lips and muttered to her husband, Zhong Chengfa, "Hmph, in the end, he's just stingy. He wants to keep all the money to himself! He doesn't even care about his own son!"
Zhong Chengyi reacted quickly, looking thoughtfully towards the kitchen: "I think Mom was angry because we were arguing too much."
Zhang Chunxue ignored her question and stepped into the kitchen. In front of the stove, Zhong Xiaoxiao was squatting, adding firewood. Her shoulders were trembling slightly as she silently tended the fire while secretly wiping away tears.
Zhang Chunxue's heart felt as if it had been pricked by needles, a dense, persistent pain.
Her daughter was intelligent and academically gifted, but she only finished junior high school before staying home to serve the whole family.
He raised three older brothers who were lazy and good-for-nothing. They didn't even get into high school and just loafed around at home.
Xiaoxiao is going to marry Wang Laowu from the neighboring village, an old, ugly, and vicious gambler who killed three of his wives!
He's thirty-two this year, a full fourteen years older than Xiaoxiao. Everyone in the village says that when Wang Laowu goes crazy, he'll even beat his own mother! None of his three wives lived more than three years!
"Get up! Still cooking? Are you cooking for a bunch of animals?" Zhang Chunxue looked into Zhong Xiaoxiao's clear eyes again, her eyes stinging, but her voice remained unchanged: "Mom won't marry you anymore. I'll send you to school to study!"
Zhong Xiaoxiao was more promising than others when she was in junior high school, ranking among the top students in her class. If she can continue on the path of education, she will definitely bring honor to her family in the future.
Moreover, she also enjoys reading.
Zhong Xiaoxiao's eyes widened, her blistered fingers trembled slightly, and she wondered if she had misheard.
Her mother often beat and scolded her, and she had gotten used to it. Now, her mother was actually saying she wanted to send her to school? No one could have imagined this sudden change.
Li Hongjuan, who was outside, wanted to come in and see what was going on. She lifted the kitchen curtain and just then heard Zhang Chunxue's words.
What? You're not getting married? And you're even sending that brat to school!
She didn't care what was wrong with Zhang Chunxue, turned around, and rushed back to the main room.
"Honey, second son! Third son! Listen to this, Mom's gone mad!" Li Hongjuan shouted angrily. "She just told Xiaoxiao in the kitchen that she's not getting married and that she's going to send Xiaoxiao to high school!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Mingli, the second daughter-in-law who had been keeping her head down, suddenly raised her head, a look of surprise on her face. "Really? Mom really said that?"
That's great! Xiaoxiao finally doesn't have to marry that beastly bachelor!
But the three Zhong brothers' faces instantly fell! It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over their heads.
"What? You're not getting married?" Zhong Chengfa was the first to jump up, his voice booming, spitting almost onto Zhong Chengren's face. "What about the hundred yuan dowry?"
"Without money, where am I supposed to get a wife!" Zhong Chengyi exclaimed, jumping up and down, his neck turning red with anxiety.
"What medicine did Mom take today? I have to go see her."
Zhong Chengfa added fuel to the fire, and as he spoke, he rushed into the kitchen, looking as if he was about to fight Zhang Chunxue to the death.
If they don't sell Zhong Xiaoxiao, where will they get the money? He's already secured a job in the city; he's determined to get her.
"Big brother, wait a minute!" It was the third brother, Zhong Chengyi, who was quick-witted and grabbed him. "Go find Mom now. She's in a bad mood and you're sure to get scolded, maybe even beaten!"
"What can we do then? Are we just going to watch the money fly away?" Zhong Chengfa asked, looking unwilling.
Zhong Chengyi lowered his voice, leaned close to his two older brothers' ears, and said slyly, "Let's go find Grandma. Grandma loves us the most."
"Yes, yes, let's go find Grandma!" Zhong Chengren also realized.
Their grandmother, Liu Cuie, was extremely patriarchal and greedy. She certainly wouldn't want that hundred yuan to go to waste. The three brothers immediately agreed and turned to leave.
Seeing them storm off to find the old lady, Zhou Mingli felt a pang of anxiety and wanted to follow them to the kitchen to give her mother-in-law a heads-up.
That old lady... is much more difficult to deal with than her mother-in-law!
But as soon as she lifted her foot, Li Hongjuan grabbed her arm.
"Second sister-in-law, where are you going?" Li Hongjuan asked with a forced smile, her eyes carrying a warning.
"I...I'll go check on Xiaoxiao," Zhou Mingli stammered, not daring to look her in the eye.
"What are you looking at? Mom and Xiaoxiao are cooking, do you need to do anything? Stay put!" Li Hongjuan pulled hard, her eyes fierce. "Don't even think about going to tip them off, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
Zhou Mingli's arm ached from being gripped so tightly, and with her child in her arms, she didn't dare to really break ties with her sister-in-law, so she could only stand there anxiously.
Meanwhile, the three Zhong brothers had already arrived at the old lady Liu Cuie's room.
Liu Cuie was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), squinting her eyes, puffing on her old pipe.
"Grandma, Grandma! Mom woke up from her nap and went crazy." As soon as they entered the door, the three of them knelt down.
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