When sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan said this, the two grown men at the table, Yang's father and eldest brother Yang Jianguo, did not react much and were not interested in women's topics.
Only the third sister-in-law Wang Rong, who was standing and dividing the dishes, paused and quickly glanced at her sister-in-law Shuying's face.
The third sister-in-law Wang Rong was extremely shocked and asked: "Little sister, what did you put on your face? It's so white? None of the female educated youth can compare to you!"
Fourth brother Yang Jianzhang, who had just walked in, happened to hear what Third Sister-in-law said and blurted out: "It's nothing, it's just soap!"
"Oh, it's fat...what! Soap?" Third sister-in-law Wang Rong widened her eyes in shock.
"Soap?"
The Yang family members at the table all looked at the tree shadow on the table in shock, like a searchlight.
Seeing that the adults were all looking at their aunt, the three nephews and two nieces also looked over with ignorant curiosity.
Yang Jianzhang saw the shocked looks on people's faces and immediately realized that he had said something wrong and was about to try to get away with it.
Suddenly, someone behind him asked anxiously, "Old Four, tell me clearly, what kind of soap is this?"
Yang Jianzhang turned around and saw his mother holding a large bowl of wild vegetable and corn porridge. He was startled and stammered, "What did I say? I said that some of the female educated youth used soap..."
"Mom, my uncle just told me to wash my face with soap!" Third sister-in-law Wang Rong exposed him without any hesitation.
"Third sister-in-law, you heard me wrong. I didn't say that." Yang Jianzhang retorted guiltily, but he didn't even believe his excuse. He looked at his younger sister Shuying with an apologetic look, hating himself for speaking too quickly.
Mother Yang slammed the vegetable porridge on the table, and now she too was staring at the shadow of the tree.
Shuying felt his scalp tingling as more than twenty eyes of the whole family were staring at him.
I originally thought that excuse was nothing, but now I think it’s a big deal. I’m glad she only said soap and not toilet soap.
After all, it has only been a few years since the famine, and soap is a rare commodity in the countryside.
Nowadays, most families in the countryside use wood ash, soap beans and the like, and would never afford to buy something as rare as soap.
"I saw someone at the educated youth camp using soap to wash things cleanly. I thought it was useful, so I exchanged it with him for a piece of soap." Shuying said vaguely.
Everyone's heart ached after hearing this.
Mother Yang asked hurriedly, "What did you exchange it for?"
The two sisters-in-law also listened attentively.
Shuying couldn't think of what he exchanged for a long time. After thinking carefully about the prices at that time, he could only reply half-truthfully, "I just... exchanged it for two cents.
”
As he spoke, he held up two fingers.
Yang Shuying thought that the Yang family could accept this price, but as soon as he finished speaking, his two sisters-in-law and Yang's mother were surprised one after another.
"What? Two cents?"
"Two cents?"
"Two cents?"
Mother Yang's face looked particularly stiff and painful at this moment.
If this wasn't her most beloved daughter, she would have scolded the child for being a spendthrift.
Country people like them don't need such luxurious things.
Mother Yang's heart was bleeding: "Oh my, what kind of soap costs only 20 cents? This is too expensive. Who is the unscrupulous person who sold it to you? Isn't this just stealing money?"
After saying that, she quickly turned to Shuying and said, "No, my lady, who did you buy it from? Mom will go and get the money back for you!"
Yang Shuying was dumbfounded.
"Little sister, this is too expensive for you? Are you worried that you have too much money?" Sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan couldn't help but mutter.
"Yes, let's return the goods quickly!" Third sister-in-law Wang Rong's eyes turned red with jealousy. She thought that judging from her sister-in-law's expression, she might even say that two cents was too little.
"I've used it, so I definitely can't return it." Shuying thought to herself. She didn't even buy the soap, it was just an excuse, where could she return it? "I won't return it!"
Mother Yang glanced at her daughter with a frown.
Yang's father and his brothers were also shocked that a bar of soap cost only two cents.
But Yang Jianzhang really loves his little sister, and couldn't help but speak up for Shuying: "Mom, that soap washes really well. My little sister, who takes a bath regularly, can wash out as much dirt as mud. You don't know how black her bath water was just now, so it's not a loss."
"It's a bit expensive, but it sounds useful. I'll just use it once in a while." Father Yang tried to smooth things over, and then he said to her, "My dear, next time you spend money, remember to discuss it with your mother. Don't spend money like this anymore."
"Yeah, forget it. I won't dare to do it again next time." The eldest brother Yang Jianguo also chimed in.
Sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan couldn't stand it anymore. The younger sister didn't admit her fault, but they kept making excuses for her. She angrily stepped on him under the table.
What's the point? You won't dare to do it again next time? The whole family is so used to the sister-in-law, she wonders if the sister-in-law will dare to do it again next time!
The boss only knows how to feel sorry for his sister, why doesn’t he feel sorry for her!
She still feels heartache now.
The eldest brother Yang Jianguo cried out in pain and looked at his wife who stepped on him: "Why did you step on me?"
Sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan didn't look at him.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. You're giving me a headache. Do you still want to eat?" Mother Yang was furious. She didn't like anyone and knocked on the pots and bowls with a spoon.
This thing can't be eaten.
You can't drink it either, what's the point? It's just to deceive her concubines and other young girls.
The eldest sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan and the third sister-in-law Wang Rong were listening nearby and realized that Yang's mother had no intention of pursuing the matter and just let it go.
They felt very jealous. The money that sister-in-law Shuying used to buy the soap must have been secretly given by mother-in-law Yang.
How biased!
Sister-in-law Shuying was so extravagant, but her mother-in-law didn't say a word to her and just let it go. If it were them, they would have scolded her a long time ago.
The two of them didn't dare to say anything more about their mother-in-law's attitude, but they were still very angry.
"Little sister, I have never seen the soap in the county. How about you take it out and let me see it?" said the eldest sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan unwillingly.
"Yes, yes, my body has been itching these days, and my scalp is a little itchy too. I don't know if there are bugs. It's a good opportunity for me to take a bath with it." Third sister-in-law Wang Rong was moved when she heard this. Seeing that the matter was done, she could only take advantage of it and make up for it.
"Let me see too. What kind of soap is it? It's worth two cents." Yang's mother also said.
Shuying: “…” She says now that it’s all used up, is it too late?
Shuying looked at her two sisters-in-law and Yang's mother who were staring at her, and she felt a huge pressure.
Where was she going to conjure up a bar of soap out of thin air?
That night
Almost no one in the Yang family slept well.
Mother Yang was so heartbroken that she couldn't sleep. As a person who spent every penny carefully, how could she get used to seeing her little daughter Shuying spending money like that? She tossed and turned and made a lot of noise, which gave Father Yang a headache.
Sister-in-law Hong Xiaojuan went back to her room and complained to her brother Yang Jianguo: "Mom is too partial. She only loves her daughter. It's hard for me to give birth to three grandsons for the Yang family, but I didn't get anything good in return!"
She thought that she had given birth to three sons for the Yang family, what a great contribution!
"Why doesn't mother love our son? He is her grandson. Besides, isn't my younger sister still young?" The eldest brother Yang Jianguo said disapprovingly.
"Still young? She's already over ten years old! She can get married at this age!"
"What do you mean by getting married? My little sister is still young, she needs to stay for a few more years! Our whole family can't bear to let her go." The eldest brother Yang Jianguo said unhappily.
“……”It’s impossible to reason with such a blockhead!
On the other hand, the third sister-in-law Wang Rong wanted to quarrel with the head of the household, but her head of the household was out repairing the bridge. She just lay in bed and felt more and more sad the more she thought about it.
She was a city girl, and her parents favored boys over girls, otherwise why was she the one who went to the countryside instead of her brothers?
But how did she end up with such a mentally ill mother-in-law? Who in the countryside would value a little girl so much?
Famine in previous years
Many of them could not afford to support the little girls, so they abandoned them to fend for themselves.
As a result, her husband's family is different. They only know how to favor the little girl they gave birth to!
She has never seen families with fewer daughters and more sons value their daughters more in recent years.
She was envious and jealous. How could a city girl like her live a life worse than that of a country girl?
She bought a soap worth a few cents without hesitation, and her mother-in-law was reluctant to say a word to her.
She looked at her two daughters again and saw that her mother-in-law didn't love her own daughters that much. She only loved the ones that came out of her belly.
However, a daughter still has to marry out, so there must still be a son to rely on. Wang Rong felt a little jealous when she thought of her eldest sister-in-law's three sons.
Why does she have such a miserable life?
Shuying didn't know that the "two cents" she casually said made the entire Yang family sleep poorly.
But what happened tonight did not prevent her from realizing that this family was really poor.
At the same time, she stared at the yin-yang fish tattoo on her arm, wondering how she was going to take out a bar of soap out of thin air.
There is a system mall inside this Yin Yang fish tattoo, but it is gray and locked.
By the way, I wonder if the two fish are still alive? When she took a bath at noon today, she filled them with well water and even dripped the last drop of nectar with a painful heart.
She had a feeling that these two fish were very important, and if they died, the golden finger would disappear.
As she was thinking, a babyish sound of saliva was heard suddenly.
"Ding! The Yin Yang Fish system is online. Do you want to officially log into the Yin Yang Fish system?"
Shuying was stunned for a moment, then replied decisively: "Yes!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for being officially bound!" A childish and mechanical voice came.
Then, there was a click-click-click sound: "The system mall interface is unlocked!"
Shuying was stunned. He became conscious and a white screen appeared. Sure enough, he saw that the bottom layer of the locked gray interface turned into a bright color.
"Ding! The host can get a lucky gift pack for the first time!"
Shuying watched as a large gift box fell from the white screen. He consciously thought about opening it, and then several colorful fireworks exploded.
She looked at it expectantly, and in the middle appeared a yellow bar of soap wrapped in a plastic bag and a small bag of fruit candy.
"Congratulations to the host for receiving a piece of Diao brand antibacterial soap and a bag of fruit candy. They will be automatically stored in the space backpack. Please check them carefully!"
Shuying immediately checked the space backpack and found a piece of Diao brand antibacterial soap and a small bag of fruit candy inside.
The corners of Shuying's mouth twitched. This is luck.
Gift bag'?
Well, she is so poor now that it is good enough to have something.
Shuying wanted to ask the system more about the mall, but got no response after calling it several times.
Until suddenly a burst of alarms sounded.
"Ding ding, low on energy, please enter energy saving mode!"
"Ding ding, entering sleep mode!"
"Ah hey..." Tree Shadow watched the Yin-Yang Fish yawn and then fall asleep. There was no time to stop it. It could only watch it fall asleep.
The only thing to be thankful for is that although the Yin Yang Fish has gone into hibernation, the system mall inside it is still there.
Shuying observed carefully and found that the first floor of the newly unlocked mall was full of snacks, such as potato chips of various flavors, canned fruits, chocolate, White Rabbit milk candy, Want Want steamed buns, etc.
There is a wide variety of snacks available.
But Shuying's eyes fell on the second floor of the mall which had not yet been unlocked, which was labeled "Grain, Oil and Seasoning Area".
Seeing the bright yellow peanut oil, rice and flour on the shelves, her eyes widened and she swallowed quickly.
She wanted to see the third floor, but she couldn't get there no matter how hard she tried.
Shuying felt a little regretful and remembered that there was not a penny in her account. How could she buy things?