The second and third wives lived in cramped conditions, and the same was true for the fourth and third wives. Although their house was the same size as the Zhou family's eldest son's house, which later became the Tang sisters' house, they had fewer people and were all girls, so they had more space. Unlike these descendants, who had many children after they started to grow up.
Moreover, the Tang family home is now just a place for the sisters to get together occasionally. Sometimes, when there isn't enough room, they have to stay at the Tao family home in the backyard.
During holidays and festivals, we still have to visit the two families in Taoyuan Village to make proper arrangements, since everyone has children now and things are different from before.
If the Tang family is like this, what about the Zhou family with a large number of sons and grandsons?
Everyone knows that Zhou Yue has a grudge against them, so his marriage into the family this time is definitely not a good thing.
Even though he entered Zhou Jianxin's house, the second house was only so big, and the other rooms were all standing there, openly listening.
The father-in-law and son-in-law didn't even bother with formalities; they openly and honestly stated their purpose for coming.
"It's been a long time since I've come to visit, so I came to take a look around." Seeing that none of your families are doing very well, I feel relieved.
"These days, this is the first time I've ever seen someone visit someone's house empty-handed."
As soon as Zhou Yue finished speaking, he heard a woman muttering behind him. He turned around and saw that the one speaking was his second wife's notoriously mean-spirited mother, who had sold her three daughters to get wives for her two sons.
Zhou Yue smiled and looked at her: "How can I compare to you? You sold three daughters, and your whole family ate their flesh and drank their blood. Now that your savings are gone, look at the kind of life you're living. You can't earn money yourself, so you're only eyeing these pittances that come to your door, right?"
"Zhou Yue, you bastard, what did you say? Dare to say it again, or I'll slap you to death!"
Zhou Yue simply stood up. In all his years in the army, he dared not say anything else, but his height and temperament alone could easily outshine all the adult men in the courtyard.
He just stood there, and his upright posture made the ugly and deformed people in front of him feel ashamed.
Moreover, Zhou Yue inherited his mother's looks and the character of the eldest branch of the Zhou family, which the second branch could never match.
"What's wrong with me saying it again? Listen carefully, I said you gnaw on your daughter's bones and drink your daughter's blood."
Without the sacrifices of those three daughters, would your son have been able to get married and have grandchildren? You granddaughters should also watch yourselves!
Your grandmother has a criminal record; she was able to sell your aunt. In the future, the family won't have money to help your brothers get married.
And then there are those who have designs on you, what do you call this? A vicious cycle! Come at me, you old hag!
Zhou Yue grinned and stretched his face forward, which angered the old woman so much that she was about to go up and provoke him, but her son and daughter-in-law held her back tightly.
"Mom, calm down. He's just trying to provoke you. Look at the clothes they're wearing; they must be doing quite well."
"If you go up and confront him, who knows what dirty tricks he might be up to!"
Zhou Jianxin had four brothers. One of them died, leaving three. Two of them were reformed and returned sickly. Only one of them was still relatively healthy, but he married a bad wife who would constantly take things from her parents' home, forcing his family to constantly rob Peter to pay Paul. Later, after they got married, his two wives followed suit, making the couple so angry they were about to vomit blood.
The speed at which they were moving things out couldn't keep up with the speed at which they were carrying things home, their backsides sticking out.
After seeing the miserable state of the family, Zhou Yue was very satisfied and then revealed his purpose for visiting them.
“Considering that we share the same surname, Zhou, and that you are living a life of hardship just as I imagined, my godfather and I have come to show you a way out.”
Tao Changyi remained silent, watching Zhou Yue deal with the Zhou family. He couldn't believe that his son-in-law would be so kind as to help the Zhou family out of sheer boredom.
Sure enough, after he had whetted the appetite of everyone in the Zhou family, he spoke very enthusiastically.
"You all know that coal miners earn a lot of money, right? Coincidentally, I have connections that can send your men there to do hard labor and earn big money."
I'm just letting you know that I won't be home for very long. If you're interested, you can come find me.
The wages for informal workers are slightly lower, but if you have perfect attendance, you can easily earn fifty yuan a month.
Upon hearing that there would be a monthly salary of fifty yuan, the women of the Zhou family's eyes lit up, while only the men remained clear-headed.
"Why don't you say that this money was earned with our lives? Besides, our household registration isn't there, so how are we supposed to eat?"
Temporary workers get fifty yuan, so wouldn't permanent workers get eighty or ninety yuan? They get a food allowance, what about us?
"What are you up to? Coal mining is the job with the most accidents. If you get buried underground, do you think you'll survive?"
"You old women are really short-sighted. Don't be tempted by fifty yuan. Don't even look at what kind of work that is."
We might earn the money, but we also need to be alive to spend it.
Zhou Yue glanced at them with surprise, thinking they were easy to fool, but they turned out to be quite knowledgeable.
Fortunately, his original intention was not to introduce them to jobs, and seeing that they seemed unmoved, he did not force them.
He stood up and said, "Alright, since you're not interested, I'll go ask the fourth branch of the family. After all, there are only five spots available."
"Where's the third wife? Aren't you going to check on the third wife? That family has three simple-minded kids. Don't let their simple-mindedness fool you, they're quite strong!"
Hearing their mocking remarks, Zhou Yue merely curled his lips and waved at them.
"Come find me at the Tao family's house once you've figured it out."
As soon as they left, the Zhou family members spat behind their backs.
"Pah! Look at that bastard of a man. Let whoever is embarrassed go. I'm not going."
Skipping over the third house and arriving at the fourth house, this family only had two branches, and two brothers had died in the labor camp.
Although their living conditions were more spacious than other families, the fourth branch of the family, due to the previous generation's favoritism, meant that although the two brothers lived in the same courtyard, they lived as if they were two separate families.
Like the second wife, the fourth wife also sold her two daughters, and they have never returned since they got married.
Because they had sworn an oath when they left home, "From this day forward, we will never have anything to do with the Zhou family again."
Without their daughter, and with the constant bickering between the two brothers, the old couple's already frail health deteriorated prematurely.
They never even got to see the day when the land was distributed to individual households.
When Zhou Yue entered the courtyard, his two brothers' wives, who were of the same generation, instinctively called out to the house.
When Zhou Hongjun and Zhou Hongxing came out and saw Zhou Yue and Tao Changyi, they subconsciously frowned: "What are you doing here?"
Zhou Yue didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose. Unexpectedly, the two brothers immediately told him to leave.
"You're clearly up to no good. Offering us jobs? Hmph, are you a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken?"
The two brothers, unusually united, said, "You'd better save your breath, we're not interested. Hurry up and go find somewhere cool to stay."
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