Chapter 11

After the breakfast rush, Liang's wife called out to the people in the kitchen, "Lao Liang, I'm going to go out and find some workers for Ah Shu first. You can take care of the store first."

Uncle Liang poked his head out from behind the kitchen door and said, "Go ahead. There aren't many people in the store right now. I can handle it."

As he spoke, Uncle Liang couldn't help but walk from the kitchen to Sister-in-law Liang, and glanced around quietly.

Seeing his sneaky look, Liang's wife said unhappily, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't act like a ghost."

Uncle Liang touched his nose and said, "I just want to ask you, has Haozi met that mainland girl? What does he think? What did his sister-in-law do to find a shady person to be her brother-in-law?"

Uncle Liang became more and more angry as he spoke the latter sentence. He watched Chen Zonghao grow up, and that boy was not like his older brother since he was a child. Instead, he was extremely obedient and filial. He was good at studying and was still a college student. He was also very polite. He would greet him whenever he saw him and sometimes even help him. He thought it would be great if he could become his second daughter's son-in-law, since he saw that his second daughter liked him very much.

Therefore, when I saw that Chen's eldest sister-in-law introduced him to a girl from mainland China who had everything he wanted except that she was pretty, I felt a little sorry for him.

After hearing this, Liang's wife glared at him and stretched out her hand to twist Liang's ear vigorously, "What are you talking about, you bastard? Ah Shu is fine. She looks pretty and has a methodical way of doing things. She is more than a good match for Haozi."

Looking at the way she talked with Boss Li yesterday, she was neither humble nor arrogant, and even made Boss Li want to treat her as a friend. She is a smart person, and such a person will seize the opportunity if given one.

"It hurts. Why are you moving your hands and feet when you should just talk?" Uncle Liang covered his ears, bent his waist and cried out in pain.

Liang's wife showed no mercy and continued to twist her around, saying sternly, "I warn you, don't call her Mainland girl in the future. She has a real name, Song Shu. Also, don't think I don't know what you are thinking about, wanting to tell Haozi about our second daughter, haha."

Mrs. Liang sneered, "I am ashamed for you. I will not be able to face Father and Mother Chen in the underworld. Do you have any self-awareness towards your two daughters? They haven't even finished high school. They just hang out with some bad boys all day long. They don't listen no matter how I teach them. I am afraid that one day she will suddenly bring me a grandson..."

Uncle Liang bent over and covered his ears, listening to his wife's incessant cursing, and he felt very miserable in his heart. He had only said a few words, but why did the woman have so much to say and kept chattering? Fortunately, there was no one in the store, otherwise he would have lost all his face. But who can save him now?

Perhaps God heard his cry for help, and the door was pushed open with a "bang". A young girl wearing a sequined tank top that reached her waist, a pair of shorts that could not be any shorter, and smoky makeup on her face walked in.

Before the person arrived, the voice came in first, "Dad, mom, I'm back. Come on, dad, make me a bowl of beef brisket noodles first, I'm starving, add more beef brisket."

The person came in with squinting eyes and walked in familiarly, but why did no one answer her?

The girl couldn't help rubbing her eyes which were almost covered with dark circles after staying up all night. When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother's angry look, and her father was being scolded by her mother.

The girl suddenly started to wake up and nimbly dodged the menu thrown at her, accompanied by the roar of the mother opposite, "Liang Shuyi."

The young girl named Liang Shuyi dodged her mother's pursuit and cried out, "No, Mom, did I offend you? Is it menopause that's happening?"

"You bad girl, you still say you won't mess with me. You were born to be a debt collector. Why did I give birth to a debt collector like you? What kind of shabby clothes are you wearing? What kind of makeup is that on your face? You are not at home all day long. I support you to study but you don't even study. Why don't you learn from your sisters..."

Liang's wife cursed angrily while chasing after the girl and beating her, but her fat body from years of not exercising could obviously not catch up with the agile and strong young woman.

Liang Shuyi skillfully dodged her mother's pursuit, then found the right opportunity to run up to the second floor in two or three steps, closed the door of the stairwell with a "bang", leaned against the door and took a breath, then shouted at the door, "Yes, I am here to collect debts, who asked you to give birth to me?"

Liang's wife was so angry that she slammed the door hard, "You poor girl, if you have the guts, open the door."

"I won't open it. If you want, come in."

"Open the door."

"No."

Uncle Liang stood behind his wife Liang and watched as one battle just ended and another one began. He thought quickly and said, "Wife, don't you still need to help Ah Shu find some female workers?"

When Liang's wife heard this, she stopped knocking on the door, turned around and slapped her head, "Yeah, I almost forgot about this."

After saying this, he turned around and knocked on the door again, "Liang Shuyi, you better watch your skin for me." After saying this, he walked down the stairs, cursing.

Uncle Liang watched the person walk out of the door, muttering that Ah Shu was really useful and the woman left as soon as he spoke, while knocking on the door and saying, "Woman, open the door, your mother is gone."

There was silence on the other side of the door for a while, then it opened a crack. Liang Shuyi stuck her head out to look down the stairs. "My mother is gone?"

Uncle Liang glared at her and said, "Go away, stop irritating your mother all day long. She cares about you the most."

Liang Shuyi opened her mouth but said nothing in the end. Thinking of the conversation between her father and mother that she had just heard behind the door, she asked curiously, "Who is Ah Shu? My mother's new friend."

Uncle Liang's face changed and he stammered, "I won't talk to you anymore. I'll go cook you a bowl of noodles." After that, he quickly went downstairs.

Liang Shuyi frowned and muttered, "It's weird."

Suddenly, "Ah," Liang Shuyi cried out in pain, and saw someone pinching her ear.

Liang Shuyi had no choice but to turn around and meet a pair of angry eyes. She couldn't help but hesitantly call out, "Big Sister."

The man pinched her ear. He was shorter than her but full of aura. He completely suppressed Liang Shuyi. "Where did you go fooling around last night?"

"I didn't go anywhere." Liang Shuyi whispered, not daring to resist at all, "I just went to the bar and sang karaoke all night..."

Facing her elder sister Liang Shuyis, she did not dare to have any hidden thoughts and honestly explained what she had done last night.

It can be said that Liang Shuyi was completely raised by her eldest sister. At that time, her parents had just arrived in Hong Kong and were busy making money to support the family. They had no time to take care of her who had just been born. Therefore, Liang Shuyi was completely raised by her elder sister.

Liang Shuwan listened with a frown, then looked at her sternly, "You can't go out for the time being. Study hard and finish your high school entrance exam."

When Liang Shuyi heard this, she felt really bad that she was caught by her elder sister, but on the surface she could only nod and agree obediently, "Okay."

Seeing her elder sister walk towards her room after she finished speaking, Liang Shuyi quickly grabbed her younger sister who was watching the excitement and asked, "Does my excitement look good?"

Liang Shuzhen adjusted her glasses and nodded honestly, "It looks good."

Then she received a knock on the head, forcing her to cover her head and look up at her second sister with tears in her eyes, "You dare not refute my eldest sister and yet you come to bully me, on what basis?"

Liang Shuyi raised her chin and said in a dignified manner, "Do you understand blood pressure suppression? I can't move my elder sister, but you still sprinkle water."

Liang Shuzhen covered her head with her hands in resentment, turned around and prepared to go back to her room. She didn't want to stay and be bullied by her second sister.

"Come back, wait a minute." Liang Shuyi grabbed her collar from behind her neck, squinted her eyes and asked suspiciously, "Let me ask you a question, who is Ah Shu?"

She always felt that her parents' reactions were strange.

Liang Shuzhen stopped and tilted her head as she followed the movement. "Oh, Ah Shu, I know, she's the new wife that our neighbor Chen Zonghao just married."

Liang Shuzhen seemed not to notice her second sister was shocked, and continued slowly, "By the way, I have secretly seen that sister upstairs before. She is prettier than you, and most importantly, smarter than you."

After saying that, she quickly pulled back her collar and ran back to her room and locked the door before her second sister could get mad.

Her second sister was left standing there in a daze.

Liang Shuyi took a while to react and shouted, "How is this possible!"

＊

Mrs. Liang turned around and walked out of the store. She took a breath, straightened her clothes, turned to the stairwell behind the street, and walked up the stairs.

For shops like theirs that open downstairs, there is often a stairwell next to it that leads to the upper floors, or a small door at the back of the street that leads to the upper floors.

Liang's wife walked up six flights of stairs in one breath before she stopped, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and muttered, "I'm really useless. When I was young, climbing more than ten flights of stairs in one breath was not a problem. Now, oh."

After saying that, she calmed down and walked towards Room 604. Standing in front of the door, she heard the chaotic sounds inside before she knocked. Liang Sao suddenly had a toothache, but she still reached out and knocked on the door, "Knock, knock."

"Who is it? Coming to call for souls so early in the morning?" Along with the cursing voice, the door opened from the inside with a bang.

An old woman with gray hair opened the door, her eyes raised, her brows knitted together, she looked at the person outside the door, and said in a bad tone, "Who are you looking for?"

Liang Sao's smile remained unchanged. "Grandma Li, you don't recognize me. I am Liang Sao downstairs."

Granny Li narrowed her eyes and looked at her for a while before she said calmly, "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

It’s not that she is very enthusiastic. Liang Sao has lived here for more than 20 years and has long known her character.

Because there was a teacher in Grandma Li's family and she had two sons, and her son also married a teacher, Grandma Li felt that her family was superior to others and only associated with educated people.

Mrs. Liang paused and continued smiling: "I'm here to see Mrs. Li and Mrs. Xiang."

After hearing what she said, Granny Li curled her lips and let her in, "Come in."

Then he walked in first and shouted to the kitchen, "Ah Xiang, I'm looking for you."

After saying this, he sat down at the dining table and ignored Liang's wife.

At this time, a large family was sitting at the dining table, including Grandma Li and her husband and wife, the second son of the Li family and his husband and wife and their baby, and the eldest daughter of the Li family, Li Baoer, who was standing aside and eating a bun.

Seeing Aunt Liang coming in, the others just raised their heads slightly and nodded to her. Only Li Baoer smiled and greeted her, "Hello, Aunt Liang."

"Okay." Liang's wife nodded to her. Seeing that Granny Li, who had just ignored her, now lowered her head and looked at her grandson, she coaxed him, "Good grandson, have another egg."

Mrs. Li Er, who was standing by, said to Granny Li rudely, "Mom, don't feed Jie Zai anymore. The doctor said she needs a balanced diet."

Granny Li didn't get angry after being told that. She nodded and said, "You have to listen to the doctor."

Mrs. Li snatched the half egg from Jie Zai's mouth and casually threw it into Li Bao Er's bowl, saying, "Give it to Bao Er."

When Granny Li saw this, she glared and shouted, "Why do you have to feed a loser? All she does is eat all day. She's exactly like your mother, both losers..."

Li Baoer seemed to be used to it. She just lowered her head to eat the vegetarian bun in her hand, and did not dare to touch the half egg in the bowl that had been eaten by her brother.

The others seemed to be accustomed to this scene and did not say anything.

Li Lao Er said to his wife, "Eat faster, we're going to be late."

Mrs. Li complained, "It's all because of you, my dear, that you eat so slowly."

"We won't wait for him. We'll go first. We have sister-in-law anyway." Li Laoer stood up and said.

Mrs. Li also stood up and said, "Okay, then you can ask Mrs. Li to take Jiezi to kindergarten later."

Granny Li nodded and said, "I know, I know. I will ask your sister-in-law to deliver it. You guys should go quickly. Don't be late, it will have a bad impact."

After hearing this, Li Laoer's parents-in-law picked up their things and went out.

Mrs. Liang looked at it for a while, then walked towards the kitchen with a frown.

I saw Mrs. Li, who was carrying a baby on her back, bending over and washing the pot. She turned around when she heard footsteps and said, "Sister Liang, it's you. What do you want from me?"

Mrs. Liang opened her mouth and wanted to talk about the scene she had just seen, but when she saw the man in front of her wearing a factory uniform that had been distributed by the factory at some point and was now a little worn out, and with wrinkles on his face at only twenty years old, she didn't know what to say.

Turning to the purpose of this visit, he said, "You decide what to do. This job is not too busy and the pay is not worse than your job. With your skills, you may be able to earn more."

Nowadays, female factory workers earn about 800 Hong Kong dollars a month, and it costs 5 yuan to make a piece of clothing. If they are fast, they can make six or seven pieces a day, which means they can earn about 1,000 Hong Kong dollars a month.

Ah Xiang's eyes lit up when she heard this, but she lowered her head again as she thought of something. "But I not only have to take care of my little girl, I also have to take care of household affairs. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it..."

Seeing her like this, Liang's wife got angry. She couldn't help but glanced at the living room and whispered, "What are you thinking about? You have a pig brain. Do you know that I just saw your second sister-in-law take out half of the egg that Jiezi didn't want from his mouth and give it directly to your daughter, and your mother-in-law didn't want it and scolded her... If you don't think about yourself, you should think about your two daughters. I think your mother-in-law is biased to the Pacific Ocean. She only has her two sons in her eyes. Well, as an outsider, I can't say anything else. Think about it yourself."

After hearing this, Ah Xiang lowered her head and wiped her eyes. After a while, she raised her head again and looked at Liang Sao and said, "I'll do it."

＊

After Mrs. Liang left, Mrs. Xiang walked out of the kitchen and looked at the house. It was a small house of about 40 square meters, and a family of nine were squeezed into it. They could bump into people when they turned around.

Her husband, as the eldest son of the Li family, lives in the smallest room. The largest room in the suite, which is more than ten square meters, belongs to the second son of the Li family and his family.

Every day when she woke up, she had endless housework to do. The two elders of the Li family said that now was their time to enjoy themselves and they didn't need to do it. The second sister-in-law of the Li family would come back and make various excuses not to do it, saying that she had to mark students' homework tonight, or that she had to give Jie extra lessons tonight, etc. However, the two elders of the Li family did not say anything and agreed that she didn't need to do it. In the end, the eldest sister-in-law of the Li family did everything by herself.

Only Mrs. Li's daughter, seeing how hard her mother worked, rushed to help.

Every day, Boss Li went to the construction site to move cement before dawn and came back exhausted at night. When he got home, he had to eat the leftovers. Only Sister-in-law Li felt sorry for her husband and heated up the food for him, but she was scolded by Grandma Li for wasting gas.

Mrs. Li stood in the living room, recalling each day and wondering how her family got through it.

At this time, Granny Li saw her standing there, opened her mouth and said sarcastically: "Hurry up and send Jie Zai to kindergarten."

Mrs. Li looked at Granny Li and said, "Mom, I haven't had breakfast yet."

Li Apo's voice became even sharper after hearing this. "What are you eating? I've sent Jiezi to school first. Come on, eat your cassava."

Mrs. Li opened her mouth and reached out to hold Jie's hand, but Jie looked at her and said disdainfully, "I don't want her to hold it. People in school will laugh at me."

Granny Li hurriedly said, "If you don't want to, then don't. Our Jiezi is really smart."

Li Baoer stood up and walked to her mother, holding her mother's hand tightly.

Mrs. Li felt the small hand in her palm, lowered her head with tears in her eyes, and touched her daughter's head.

"Mom, let's go."

"Wait a minute." Granny Li glanced at the table, then looked at Li Baoer and said, "You poor girl, stay here to clean the table and learn again."

Mrs. Li raised her eyes and looked straight at Granny Li, "Mom, Baoer will be late for school soon."

Granny Li glared at her, "She's late, so what? Why should a poor girl like her go to school? She should be helping with housework at home..."

With a "bang", Mrs. Li took her daughter out and closed the door, leaving Granny Li in the room cursing.

Li Baoer shook her mother's hand, a little worried, "Mommy, Baoer, why don't you wash the dishes before going to school? I run very fast and won't be late."

Mrs. Li suppressed the heat in her eyes and turned her head away. "No, I won't use it anymore."

Li Baoer didn't understand what her mother said, but when she saw her mother's sudden expression, she seemed to see her old mother again.