Chapter 7 At least you're not completely stupid.
Upon hearing her older sister's words, Cheng Cheng felt as if she had received a pardon and smiled happily!
Cheng Ping ignored her and turned to tidy up the things she had brought, then went to see what Cheng Cheng had bought at the market that day.
With the crisis averted, Da Ni and Er Ni looked at their aunt with bright eyes, their faces filled with admiration and sudden realization!
So this is what Mom does when she's angry?
They seemed to understand something.
Little Lingxiao became happy, following behind his mother one moment and his aunt the next, revealing two little dimples.
Cheng Cheng seemed to have a weight lifted off her shoulders, chattering excitedly beside her older sister, saying that she had shown off her skills at the market today and had managed to snag three and a half pounds of pork ribs!
"Sister, Da Ni and Er Ni, don't leave at noon, I'll cook for you!"
Cheng Ping glanced at her but didn't say anything. The meaning in her eyes was probably that with her cooking skills, all she could say was that she shouldn't waste the food, since she was the one who had to cook it.
Cheng Cheng, feeling embarrassed, defended herself: "Sis, I recently found a cooking manual in the library, and I've learned all the recipes in it!"
"Really! I'm not lying to you!"
After saying that, she blinked her big, cute eyes, looking like a well-behaved child.
The original owner worked at a library, and usually no one paid much attention to her. Although the library removed and destroyed a batch of banned books, a few cookbooks should still be available.
Besides, who knows what books she read or what she learned in the library? It gave her a very good reason.
"Hmph, if you don't believe me, I'll cook lunch today and I guarantee it will amaze you! If we had some preserved mustard greens at home, I could have made braised pork with preserved mustard greens for you to try."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ping didn't even raise an eyebrow, and beckoned to Dani: "Dani, go back and ask your grandma for the dried preserved vegetables she collected last year, and bring some over."
Da Ni nodded immediately and turned to run.
Cheng Ping shouted loudly from behind, "Go back and tell your grandma that we don't need to cook lunch for you. We'll eat at your aunt's house."
Cheng Cheng remembered that she also had a little nephew, and quickly added, "Da Ni, remember to bring Niu Niu too. Auntie will make braised pork with preserved vegetables for you at noon!"
"knew!"
Da Ni disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Erni licked her dry lips, saw a kettle and enamel cup on the table, and immediately went over.
He poured himself a glass of water, picked up the enamel mug, and was about to drink when Cheng Cheng saw him and blurted out, "Dirty! Unhygienic!"
Erni held the enamel cup, looking at her aunt with a helpless expression, like a child who had done something wrong.
Cheng Cheng hurriedly explained, "Erni, this cup has been used by unclean people and hasn't been sterilized yet. Don't use it to drink water. Auntie will find you a clean cup."
As she spoke, Cheng Cheng took the enamel mug from her hand and looked for other mugs in the cupboard, only to suddenly realize that the only enamel mug in the house was the one she was holding.
She was a little embarrassed. "I forgot that we don't have any extra cups at home. Erni, you can drink from the bowl first. Tomorrow, your aunt will go to the state-run department store to buy a new set of teacups so that you'll have cups to use when you come to our house."
After saying that, Cheng Cheng quickly took two bowls outside to wash them, and then came back to personally pour two glasses of water for her older sister and Erni.
She forgot about Xiao Lingxiao, so she hurriedly ran out to wash two more bowls, poured one for her precious Xiaoxiao and one for herself.
After finishing her water, Cheng Ping waved for Erni to take Xiao Lingxiao outside to play.
A pair of sharp eyes looked at Cheng Cheng. She didn't speak, waiting for her younger sister to confess, to see if she was really repentant or just lying to comfort her.
Cheng Cheng looked sullen under such gazes. As expected, she couldn't hide it from her older sister, even though she hadn't intended to!
She hadn't figured out how to say it, so she stammered out that Ding Manman had come to her house to look for her and had just left.
Upon hearing Ding Manman's name, Cheng Ping immediately slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
Cheng Cheng hurriedly tried to put out the fire, helping her sit down, "Sis, calm down first!"
"I truly see through her true colors now, I swear!"
Seeing her older sister's expression, Cheng Cheng steeled herself and first told her how she had tricked Ding Manman earlier that day. Then, she closed her eyes and confessed everything about the clothes, things, and money that Ding Manman had borrowed from her.
"Bang—"
The teapot and bowls on the table shook a few times. Seeing that the situation was not good, Cheng Cheng immediately dodged away.
Sister Cheng's hand missed its target, and she turned pale with anger, glaring at Cheng Cheng.
Gritting her teeth, she said, "Cheng Cheng, you're really something! I underestimated you. You can borrow over four hundred yuan so easily, and you don't care about anything in the house. You just take whatever people want. Why don't you get borrowed by others? It would save me a lot of trouble!"
Cheng Cheng raised her hand timidly, "Actually, it wasn't borrowed all at once; it's accumulated over the years."
"You still have the nerve to talk?!"
Sister Cheng glared at him, and Cheng Cheng immediately shrank back, not daring to talk back.
Actually, the original owner of this body was quite intelligent; she knew how to keep accounts, otherwise she wouldn't have known there was so much!
Moreover, the original owner of this body refused to lend her large household items such as a sewing machine and a radio. Ding Manman asked the original owner for the radio several times, but the original owner refused to lend it to her.
"Sister, I know I was wrong. I wasn't thinking clearly before, and I will never do it again!"
Cheng Cheng dared not argue with her older sister, because her older sister could really hurt when she hit someone!
The Cheng family has five siblings. The eldest sister is the oldest, and she and her younger brother are twins. She is the youngest among the siblings and can be said to have grown up on her eldest sister's back.
The eldest sister is like a mother, and from the eldest brother to the youngest brother, none of them escaped being slapped by her. However, it seems that the original owner of this body never received a beating from her eldest sister from childhood to adulthood, except for the last time when she argued and called her brother-in-law a cripple, which was the first time that Sister Cheng hit her.
Cheng Cheng recalled what her mother had said in her memory; her eldest sister seemed to have won the title of model worker in the meat processing plant workshop last year.
It's important to know that most of the slaughterhouse workers in the meat processing plant are men. Her older sister was able to carve out a niche for herself in a male-dominated factory, beat them, and win the title of best slaughterhouse worker. She absolutely had to have outstanding abilities and skills!
This is real skill! Her older sister is a master at subduing a pig with her bare hands. Let alone killing a pig, it's as easy for her as eating and drinking. Her older sister is also a master at dissecting pigs!
In ancient times, there was the master butcher Ding who skillfully dissected an ox; now, her elder sister skillfully dissects a pig. A master! A truly masterful master!
Cheng Cheng couldn't help but feel glad that she had dodged quickly. If her older sister had landed on her, she would have been covered in bruises.
That's over four hundred yuan, not forty cents or four fen!
She earns 36 yuan a month, which is only 432 yuan a year. This is only because she has worked in the factory for almost ten years and is a skilled worker.
Cheng Ping wished she could grab her troublesome younger sister, twist her ear, and ask her if she had water in her brain.
Or did they forget to bring their brains with them when they were born?
Thinking about it that way doesn't make sense either. The younger sister was born a moment earlier than the younger brother. Could it be that the younger brother ate the younger sister's brain while she was still in her mother's womb?
No wonder, my younger brother has always been smarter than my younger sister since they were little!
Thinking about it that way, Cheng Ping wasn't so angry anymore. She sat down, leaning on the table, and glared at her: "At least you're not completely stupid!"
Knowing that she was involved in lying and even trying to scare the other party into returning Ding Manman's belongings and money, there's still hope for her!
Cheng Ping asked her, "What do you plan to do if Ding Manman doesn't intend to pay it back, or can't pay it back?"
Cheng Cheng wasn't too worried about this issue. If you were to ask who understood you best, besides your enemies, there were also your "plastic best friends." Ding Manman was quite concerned about her image, and the Ding family wasn't exactly peaceful either.
Ding Manman's mother gave her job to Ding Manman. Her sister-in-law had always had a problem with this unmarried younger sister-in-law because she hadn't given birth to a son in previous years, so she didn't have much of a backbone.
But as far as she knew, ever since her sister-in-law gave birth to the Ding family's only son last year, her sister-in-law had become much more assertive.
Every time Ding Manman came to see the original owner, she would complain to him that her sister-in-law was stingy and difficult to get along with, a troublemaker, and that she was constantly being given the cold shoulder by her sister-in-law.
Ding Manman's reasons for complaining to the original owner were somewhat predictable. On one hand, she wanted to vent her dissatisfaction with the original owner, and on the other hand, she wanted to evoke the original owner's sympathy and pity, and squeeze more things out of the original owner.
She said, "Sister, tomorrow is Monday. If Ding Manman doesn't return the things by Sunday, we might have to trouble you to come and help!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ping rolled her eyes at her, "Now you know how formidable your sister is? Where were you before? I told you a long time ago to stay away from Ding Manman!"
"That girl's eyes darted around, and her sweet talk completely fooled you. Your brain—"
Cheng Ping stood up angrily, pointed at her, and yelled, "All of you combined, you're not as cunning as her!"
Cheng Cheng felt embarrassed and lowered her head, twisting her fingers. She had been scolded, so she just had to accept it obediently!
Actually, Ding Manman's matter is relatively minor; there's another ticking time bomb that could destroy her at any moment!
Never mind, let her think about it again. Let's not tell her older sister for now.
She was afraid that her older sister was too traumatized and might go berserk, which would kill her!
Cheng Ping scolded her, but seeing that she behaved obediently and seemed to know she was wrong, Cheng Ping's expression softened.
He stopped scolding her, mainly because it wouldn't have any effect; she would just get angry too. He took out a basin of pork fat from the basket and rolled up his sleeves.
When Cheng Cheng saw the basin of pork fat, she was pleasantly surprised. She put her arm around Cheng Ping's shoulder and said in a coquettish tone, "Sister, how did you know we were almost out of oil? I went to the market this morning to buy pork fat to render into oil, but the butcher's stall had already sold out!"
Cheng Ping glanced at her and said, "Pork fat is such a hot commodity. People are already waiting in front of the stalls at the market before dawn every day. Do you think you can wait for me? By the time you can buy pork fat, my niece will be starving and emaciated by now! She'll be eating boiled vegetables every day!"
Cheng Cheng: "..."
Um... that's the truth!
But... the truth is never pleasant to hear!
"Sis, I'll blanch the ribs and pork belly to remove the fishy smell first. Then you can render the lard. Once the lard is rendered, I can fry the pork belly."
As Cheng Cheng spoke, she quickly sliced ginger and cut scallions, then put the pork belly into a pot of cold water. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't have any rice wine at home.
"Sister, I'm going out to borrow some rice wine."
Cheng Cheng picked out about twenty bayberries, took the bowl, and went outside.
This morning at the market, I saw some bayberries for sale. There were still a little more than half left in the basket, so I bought them all.
Her sister saw her just now and scolded her again for wasting money. If she wants to eat them, she should just send a message back. There are plenty of wild bayberry trees in the mountains, and it's the season for them to ripen.
Cheng Cheng quickly picked out the bayberries and went to Sister Ma's house next door without hesitation.
Sister Ma's family is dual-income households, and they live a fairly comfortable life. I remember Sister Ma's mother-in-law, Aunt Zheng, being kind and generous, and she even gave Xiaoxiao fruit candy once.
The gate was open. Cheng Cheng knocked on the door, and Aunt Zheng came out of the kitchen. She was the only one at home; her grandson, Shi Tou, had long since run off to play somewhere.
Cheng Cheng smiled and explained her purpose. Aunt Zheng quickly called her in, scooped a spoonful of rice wine for her, and asked if it was enough.
Cheng Cheng quickly said, "That's enough! Thank you, Aunt Zheng! I'll return it to you after I buy some rice wine from the supply and marketing cooperative."
"No need, Xiao Cheng, don't be so polite!"
Aunt Zheng smiled kindly. It was just a spoonful of rice wine, and besides, Xiao Cheng had also brought some bayberries.
A note from the author:
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