However, Zheng Jing always knew that her cousin was actually jealous of her.
Because her eldest aunt favored sons over daughters, although she had married well—her in-laws were a wealthy Manchu family whose ancestors had been high-ranking officials for a century—Qi Chunhui never enjoyed any of that. She was the eldest daughter in the family, with two younger brothers. She did have a younger sister, but she died at birth. Whether she was stillborn or suffered an accident, it was unknown; in any case, only she and her two younger brothers grew up.
Since she was a child, all the good things in the house belonged to Qi Bin and Qi Yao. Qi Chunhui could not eat any good things, but all the housework was hers. If she did anything less, she would be scolded as a lazy girl.
On the other hand, it is true that her parents rented a house, but she was the only daughter in the family at the beginning, so all the good things in the house were reserved for her. She liked to eat the pastries from Daohua Village, so her family bought her money every month. She liked to wear flowery dresses, so her mother exchanged cloth coupons from others to make them for her. She wanted to learn dance, so her mother spent money to send her to the dance teacher's house to learn. It is no exaggeration to say that her mother was obedient in everything.
Later, when we moved to a new house, we reserved a room for her to live in.
She lived a happy life as an only child for ten years. Even after her mother gave birth to a younger brother, she did not say that she loved her less because she favored her younger brother. Before she went to the countryside, her eight-year-old brother still slept in the small bed in her parents' room.
In fact, her cousin Qi Chunhui was also a poor person. Because she had a hard life, she had an extremely strong self-esteem and could not tolerate others showing any contempt for her.
Everyone else wanted to hide their origins, for fear of being known, but she acted like a princess of the Eight Banners all day long, as if this made her noble.
In fact, everyone was laughing at her.
Zheng Jingjing doesn't like her aunt or her grandparents' house because her grandparents also favor boys over girls, and her aunt follows her grandparents' example.
Her mother is considered the "oddball" in the family. Because she suffered in her childhood, she is extra nice to her daughter and wants to make up for what she lacked in her childhood.
Zheng Jing felt that her mother's behavior was normal. She couldn't understand why her aunt, who had suffered from the pain of male chauvinism, wanted to make her daughter suffer again.
But her aunt didn't think there was anything wrong with her, and even scolded her mother for being stupid. What's the point of raising a girl so well? She would just give her to someone else's family when she grew up.
In short, the four of them were suffering when they went back home. They had no appetite for food, no matter how delicious it was, because they heard everyone criticizing them.
But she couldn't not go, because if she didn't go, her grandmother would come and scold her. This old lady with bound feet was very fierce when she scolded people.
Zheng Jing endured the whole meal, and as soon as the meal was over, she found an excuse to run away.
Qi Chunhui called her name from behind, but Zheng Jing pretended not to hear.
What a joke! If you don't run, you'll be left to wash the dishes! Only a fool wouldn't run!
Qi Chunhui also wanted to run, but she was a step too slow. In addition, she shouted Zheng Jing's name loudly, which made her mother discover her intention. She was pulled back by the ear.
Qi Chunhui didn't eat enough at his grandparents' house, so after leaving Lihua Hutong, he went to a nearby state-owned restaurant and ordered another bowl of noodles with soybean paste.
She was just concentrating on eating when she suddenly heard someone calling her name: "Comrade Zheng Jing? Is that you?"
Zheng Jing raised her head blankly, with a big mouthful of noodles still stuffed in her mouth.
Seeing that the person who called her name was Ji Ping, Zheng Jing quickly slurped the noodles, chewed them quickly, and swallowed them. She wiped the sauce from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, then smiled at him and said, "It's you, Comrade Ji Ping. Happy New Year."
Ji Ping was an actor from the Beijing Film Studio, and Zheng Jing had worked with him in a film before.
"Happy New Year, Comrade Jing." Ji Ping smiled warmly. "What a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you in the capital. When I came in just now, I saw your profile and thought I was seeing things."
"It's quite a coincidence." Zheng Jing nodded.
In such a big city like Beijing, they met in a small state-owned restaurant.
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