Finally, Tian Zhigao saw his father for the last time. The next day, Tian Agui was carried up the mountain.

As usual, the production team sent people to help, and the work was done in half a day.

When Tian Zhigao came back from the mountain, Xian Fangfang immediately asked him to take her back to the city. Tian Zhigao said: It is not possible now. According to custom, we should stay at home for seven days. Their situation of eating public food is different, so they have to stay at home for at least three days.

When Xian Fangfang heard that she had to stay in this shabby house for another two nights, she immediately refused to do it and clamored to leave today: This country is so dirty, there is no running water, no electricity, no toilet, and there are bedbugs and fleas. She was itchy all over and couldn't sleep well last night. There was nothing to eat, and she was so hungry that her legs cramped in the middle of the night. If she didn't leave, she would die! Tian Zhigao once again used his tender offensive, whispering to comfort and coax Xian Fangfang.

Wang Shuifeng saw that her most beloved and beloved third son, who had been so proud, confident, smart and promising since childhood, was now humble in front of a woman, almost kneeling down to beg. She was really distressed, but she knew there was no way. The third son was now in a bad position and had to rely on his wife's family in the city to stand up again and restore his original official position! All this was to blame on that hateful Meng Taohua! Wang Shuifeng gritted her teeth and wished she could be a puppet and curse Meng Taohua to death with needles.

Wang Shuifeng thought about it. Now, all the people in the family, including herself, looked haggard, shabby and miserable. The city daughter-in-law would definitely not be happy to see them. Usually, the youngest daughter, Tian Yalan, knew how to dress up and had some nice clothes to show her off to others, but unfortunately she had to live in the commune clinic again. So she could only ask the fourth daughter-in-law, Du Meiqiu, to make some delicious food and send it over. Du Meiqiu was a new daughter-in-law and was relatively clean and tidy. Perhaps the third daughter-in-law would not mind and would be able to eat it.

Although Du Meiqiu is also pregnant, she can't take care of too much now. A wife in the city is more precious.

When Du Meiqiu heard her mother-in-law asking her to make noodles and fried eggs for her third sister-in-law in the city, she was reluctant because she was suffering from morning sickness. But then she thought that she and Tian Zhiyuan would have to rely on her third brother and his wife to work in the city in the future, so she suppressed her dissatisfaction and followed Wang Shuifeng to the kitchen. After a busy day, she brought a bowl of egg noodles to the house, persuaded Xian Fangfang to eat something with a gentle smile, and sat next to her to chat with her.

Wang Shuifeng took the opportunity to signal Tian Zhigao to go out so that the mother, son and brothers could talk and get away from Xian Fangfang for a while, at least they could relax.

Xian Fangfang saw that it was Du Meiqiu who brought the meal. The young wife had her hair combed neatly and her clothes were clean. Even the bowl and chopsticks she handed over seemed cleaner than yesterday. She tasted the noodles with confidence. The noodles tasted weird, with too much salt and too little oil. It was so unpalatable! If she wasn't so hungry, Xian Fangfang really couldn't eat it. She only ate half a bowl reluctantly.

At least there was some food in her stomach, so she relaxed a little and thought about things in the future. Xian Fangfang looked at Du Meiqiu, who was dressed well, and suddenly remembered Meng Taohua, who was also the daughter-in-law of the Tian family... Well, wasn't Meng Taohua the child bride of Tian Zhigao? Why could Du Meiqiu wear good clothes, but Meng Taohua went to the provincial capital and still wore pants with patches on the knees? Did she do it on purpose? She deliberately made a scene to attract people's attention and let Tian Zhigao be blamed by his coworkers and colleagues - this bad-hearted woman!

As Xian Fangfang thought about it, she asked unconsciously, "Does Taohua still live in this village?"

Du Meiqiu was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Xian Fangfang to ask about Meng Taohua. She nodded and replied, "Yes, she is. Her family is originally from this village, at the west end."

"She's not married yet?"

"No. In our countryside, it's very difficult for a woman like her who is rejected by her husband's family to get married again. If she wants to get married, she can only marry a dead wife or an old bachelor who is too poor to get married. But Meng Taohua is a little different. There are eight educated youths living in her house, who teach her culture every day, and the daughter of the deputy director of the commune is good friends with her... Taohua is very proud now. I heard that she has a relative in the provincial capital who is very rich. He sends her packages every day, and the team cadres support her, so she may not be afraid of not being able to get married. Maybe she can marry a commune cadre in the future - that, I heard that the wife of the deputy director of the commune is matchmaking for Taohua."

Du Meiqiu was telling the truth. When she went to the river to wash clothes that day, she heard a group of old ladies discussing Meng Taohua's marriage. They said that there were people in her village and other villages who wanted to propose marriage to Taohua. When Aunt Yang found out, she rejected them all on behalf of Taohua, saying that Taohua would definitely marry into a good family in the future, and that she and her husband, Lao Zhou, were watching over it, so everyone didn't need to worry.

"Meng Taohua looks just like that, with dark and rough skin and no figure. You are ten times prettier than her. Do you believe that she can marry a commune cadre?" Xian Fangfang asked Du Meiqiu with a raised eyebrow.

Du Meiqiu was embarrassed: "Third sister-in-law, you are praising me, but I am not as pretty as you."

Xian Fangfang: “…”

You take it seriously when I say it casually? Do you know the key points? I had to ask again: "Is it still raining? It's boring to stay indoors, why don't you take me to Meng Taohua's house?"

"What are you going to do at Meng Taohua's house?"

Du Meiqiu looked at Xian Fangfang in surprise. She was still a new bride. Generally, new brides would not go out and wander around the village easily, for fear of being watched and laughed at. What's more, the embarrassing incident of the Tian family before... Du Meiqiu really didn't have the face or confidence to wander around Linshui Village.

Xian Fangfang was displeased when she saw Du Meiqiu's unwillingness and reluctance, and waved her hand: "Forget it, I was just talking casually, you can go now."

Du Meiqiu packed up the dishes and left. Xian Fangfang sat for a while, but when she saw that Tian Zhigao hadn't come back to accompany her, she became angry and opened the door and went out in a huff.

Where is Tian Zhigao? He is talking about family matters with Wang Shuifeng, Tian Xianglan, Tian Baoshan and Tian Zhiyuan. He is worried that Xian Fangfang will be upset if they see him, so he hides in the backyard to talk.

Du Meiqiu went into the kitchen, Zhao Liulian was in the house with two little girls, and there were only a few girls of Tian Xianglan in the yard, squatting on the porch picking vegetables. They were all dirty. Xian Fangfang avoided them with disgust, and walked out of the Tian family yard without making any sound with her leather shoes stepping on the mud.

As soon as she left, the girls looked at each other, got up and ran into the open house. They easily found a net bag of apples, pears and biscuit cans. They had seen these things yesterday, but they had waited so long for their uncle and aunt to share some with them. Now, they had them all! They opened the cans and biscuits and ate half of them. They didn't dislike them and took them all away! Xian Fangfang had been cooped up in the house for two days. She felt great when she came out to breathe the fresh air. It wasn't raining at the moment. The roads in the village were different from the roads from outside. They were paved with large and small stone slabs. Although they were bumpy, they were not muddy. Just walk carefully.

The sound of her leather shoes attracted two children who followed her curiously. Xian Fangfang was quite capable of solving problems. She took out a handful of fruit candies from her pocket, asked them for directions, and said that she was looking for Meng Taohua. The two children took the candies and very professionally sent her directly to Meng Tao's door.

(End of this chapter)