◎First update◎
Zhou Yun looked at the third brother's family who had been chattering around him for the whole morning and was too lazy to pay any attention to them.
Zhou Yun and Xu Heng had two sons and one daughter. The eldest, Xu Mingxia, married and moved to the next city, and was rarely seen. The second, Xu Mingyuan, who was Xu Shengjie's father, died in an accident in his early years. The only one who still lived in the city was the third, Xu Mingliang.
The eldest son, Xu Mingxia, married a repairman from the tractor factory in the next city, who was a fifth-level skilled worker. They had two sons and two daughters and lived a good life. Xu Mingliang was a worker at the steel mill, taking over Xu Heng's shift. He was the only one in the family with a formal job. They had two sons and one daughter. Both sons were temporary workers at the steel mill. The eldest son got married, but the youngest son had not yet arranged a marriage. The daughter-in-law got married, and they lived a relatively good life.
The visitors today were the third brother's family of three, Xu Mingliang, Feng Juan and their youngest son Xu Shengkai who had not yet been engaged.
"Mom, wait for Sheng Jie and his wife to come back and let Juan'er check. My second brother and his wife left early, and the family cannot do without a head of the household."
"Yes, Mom, there's no mother-in-law at home to keep you under pressure. Be careful that your new daughter-in-law might ride on your head."
Xu Mingliang just heard this morning that his nephew got married, and he got married three days ago. He, as a third uncle, was really slapped in the face. It seems that his mother still hates him for not even informing him of such a big event.
Previously, the two wanted to introduce Feng Juan's niece to Xu Shengjie, but Zhou Yun refused. They wanted to find another opportunity to persuade the old lady, but Xu Shengjie got married without saying a word!
So, he brought his wife and son here early in the morning to inquire, and by the way, to meet his niece-in-law who was from the country and looked so ugly. They absolutely disagree with a city man marrying a country woman!
"Grandma." Liang Baozhen listened from a distance and couldn't help but speak.
"Baozhen." Zhou Yun was feeling pain in his ears, but when he saw his granddaughter-in-law coming back, his face immediately relaxed, and he pushed his way past the eldest brother's family and walked out. "Why are you carrying so many things? Where's Sheng Jie?"
"It was too late in the factory, so he went straight there." Liang Baozhen opened the bag, "My mother asked me to bring some vegetables with me, so I can mix them up and eat them later."
"Really? Your mom is kind-hearted. How can you eat and take things?"
Xu Mingliang and his family of three all looked at the young girl who suddenly appeared in front of them. She was wearing a fashionable blouse, very charming, with a tender face, and spoke sweetly. Where did this beautiful girl come from?
"Mom, what is this?"
Zhou Yunbai glanced at his son, but he couldn't say much. He just asked Baozhen to call people, "Baozhen, this is Uncle Shengjie's family. Call Uncle and Auntie."
Liang Baozhen then looked at them properly. Xu Mingliang was in his early forties, with a square face and a shrewd look in his eyes. Xu Shengjie looked somewhat similar to his third uncle, with the high nose bridge that was a hallmark of the Xu family. Feng Juan looked her up and down with unabashed disbelief on her face.
"Third uncle, third aunt."
"This...is this the country girl that Sheng Jie married?!" Xu Mingliang asked loudly in surprise. Not only him, but the three members of the family didn't believe it. This girl looked just as good as a city girl, even better. She didn't look like a farmer who worked in the fields every day.
"You keep talking about country wives. What's the matter? Do you have any opinions?" Zhou Yun threw the melon pulp in his hand, splashing a few drops of water in the water tank. "This is the wife Xu Shengjie married. People have seen her. Go back to where you came from."
Zhou Yun's three children separated after their father passed away, and Zhou Yun lived with his children. The eldest daughter was a filial daughter, but she married far away.
At first it was agreed that the old mother would live in one place for half a year, and the two brothers would take turns to raise her. However, the third son Xu Mingliang seemed to be a good person when he was young, but he turned out to be a petty person when he grew up. He schemed against the family members and even took the money for his mother's medical treatment and medicine. It was not until his second brother Xu Mingyuan gave him a good beating that he calmed down.
Zhou Yun later lived with Xu Mingyuan's family. At that time, the relationship between the two families was pretty good. It didn't matter if Xu Mingliang and his wife had some minor problems. After all, they were blood brothers and there was no room for arguing.
Until Xu Mingyuan and Wu Huacui died unexpectedly after work, Zhou Yun was so sad that he almost died with his second son and his wife. On the one hand, Xu Mingliang and his wife wanted to cheat the pension given to them by the National Cotton Mill, and on the other hand, they wanted to take the job quota of the second brother's family. The more difficult the time, the clearer people's hearts can be seen.
It was at this time that Zhou Yun completely gave up on the third brother's family. After he and Xu Shengjie settled down, he was unwilling to care about this family anymore.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Feng Juan put her arm around her mother-in-law affectionately, smiling like a silver bell, "We are all family, and we should not talk behind each other's backs. As the elders, we have to show some appreciation for Sheng Jie's marriage."
As he spoke, Xu Mingliang fished out a handful of loose change from his pocket, spat on his thumb and index finger, and took out a crumpled dime. He poked it in front of Liang Baozhen and said, "My niece-in-law, your name is Baozhen, right? Come here. Third uncle doesn't have much to give you. Take this money and buy something as a wedding gift for you and Sheng Jie."
Liang Baozhen did not move, feeling uncomfortable in her heart. Zhou Yun, who was standing by, pushed his son's hand back and said, "Take the money back yourself. We don't want it."
"Grandma, please don't say such angry words." After being silent for a long time, Xu Shengkai spoke casually, "This is a gift from my parents."
"We appreciate your kindness, but we don't want the money." Zhou Yun sneered and said firmly.
The old lady was always cheerful and always smiling at whoever she met. This was the first time Liang Baozhen saw her grandmother angry.
"Uncle San and Aunt San, we won't accept any money. Sheng Jie and I have already married, and there is no point in accepting any more gifts. The sun is shining now, so you can go back early and take a break. We won't keep you here any longer."
"You!" Feng Juan's breath was stuck in her throat. It was fine if her mother-in-law said those words, but how dare a new daughter-in-law dare to be so shameless to her family? "You have only been in the Xu family for a few days? Do you really think you are the head of the family? I have been married for more than 20 years, how can you have a say in this!"
"Who said Baozhen has no right to speak? She is the head of our family. What are you talking about here?" Zhou Yun pulled Liang Baozhen and protected her behind him. He opened and closed his thin lips and was merciless when he criticized his daughter-in-law. "Third brother, you should go back as soon as possible. Do you remember what you said back then? The second brother and his wife left. You said that everyone should mind their own business and that we should not come to your house to beg for food."
Xu Mingliang listened to his mother's angry words without blushing, and said sullenly, "Mom, why are you still talking about things that happened more than ten years ago? They were all said in anger before, not worth it."
He walked up to Zhou Yun and grabbed him, wanting to talk to his mother about the relationship between mother and son.
However, Zhou Yun was a stubborn person and pushed his son away immediately. Feng Juan and Xu Shengkai also came up to talk to him softly. The whole family surrounded Zhou Yun and made a fuss...
"It makes my head hurt!"
Zhou Yun pushed a few times, but was held tightly by his son. Liang Baozhen saw that her grandmother was angry and wanted to help her leave. Several people pushed and shoved, and chaos broke out.
Xu Shengkai didn't know what he was doing, and in the chaos, he and his father pushed Zhou Yun from the left and right, almost pushing him backwards. Fortunately, Liang Baozhen was quick-witted and rushed over, holding the wall with one hand and supporting Zhou Yun with the other.
"Grandma, are you okay?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Zhou Yun took a few deep breaths.
Liang Baozhen also got angry when she saw this family, and she shouted a few words at the top of her voice, "I just came back and saw the red armbands patrolling outside. Now we are being beaten, especially at your age, it is easy to get dizzy and uncomfortable. Grandma, please wait a moment, I will go find someone, they will definitely take care of it."
Having said that, Liang Baozhen looked at Zhou Yun, blinked, and gave him a look.
"Ouch, ouch." Zhou Yun understood and immediately put his hand on his forehead, slowly sat down, and covered his chest and cried out in pain. "I feel so uncomfortable, my heart is in turmoil... Ouch..."
"Uncle, aunt, grandma has a heart attack. She needs to be taken to the hospital immediately." Liang Baozhen said to the people in front of her, with an anxious look on her face. "The examination plus hospitalization will cost ten yuan. I just got married and I don't have a penny. Grandma is also penniless. Please give me ten yuan to take grandma to the hospital for treatment."
"Ten dollars? Why don't you just go and rob it?! Stop trying to bluff us!"
Liu Nianhua was sewing clothes in the house when she heard the commotion outside. She put down her needlework and went out to take a look.
There weren't many people in the courtyard at this time. Most of them had gone to work or to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. Only the area in front of Xu's house was bustling.
"Auntie Yun, Baozhen, what's going on?"
Xu Mingliang's family seldom came to the compound, and Liu Nianhua had never seen them before, so he thought they were some bad people from outside looking in to cause trouble.
"What are you doing? Are you causing trouble? If you continue like this, I will call the street office."
Seeing someone suddenly come into the compound, Feng Juan gave a wry smile, "This must be the girl from the neighborhood, you are being so polite, this is my mother, how can she be a bad person!"
"Sister Hua, you're just in time." Liang Baozhen took a few steps forward and pulled her over. "Grandma is feeling sick again because of their commotion. It was you who took her to the hospital last time. She spent ten yuan on the hospitalization. Now that Sheng Jie is not at home, we don't have much money. I wanted my uncle and aunt to pay for the medical expenses... but they didn't believe it!"
Liu Nianhua was confused. When had he taken Xu's grandmother to the hospital? It wasn't until his arm was pinched that he came to his senses. "Yes, yes! It cost ten dollars last time. Your grandmother is old and it's hard for her to see a doctor. Her third uncle, there is no man in the Xu family now. You should pay for your mother's medical expenses."
Looking at his mother who was holding her chest and breathing heavily, and the bewildered new daughter-in-law next to him, Xu Mingliang felt more and more that his money was going to be gone. He frowned and said, "What do you two know? My mother is just anxious and angry. She will calm down after taking a break. Why go to the hospital? There are no good people in the hospital. If you go in, you will be robbed of your family's wealth."
She turned around and said to Zhou Yun, "Mom, if you are not feeling well, we will go back first and you can take care of yourself."
The three of them couldn't hurry away at first, so they now walked out in small steps and left the compound, for fear that they would really have to pay.
Seeing that the person had left, Liu Nianhua hurried to check on Zhou Yun, "Auntie Yun, how are you?"
Zhou Yun had been holding his chest and complaining about being uncomfortable, but now he let go of his hands, squeezed his plump cheeks, and smiled happily, "It's okay, it's okay, I lied to them!"
"Slow down a little." Liang Baozhen stopped Zhou Yun from getting up and asked him to sit down and rest.
"That's good. You scared me. I thought something really happened." Liu Nianhua spat, looking down on these people. "If everyone hadn't gone to the vegetable market today and there weren't many people in the yard, I definitely wouldn't have let them go like this."
"It's okay, Nianhua, thank you for today." Zhou Yun and Liang Baozhen thanked the man, gave him two fresh tomatoes, and then went back to the house.
Liang Baozhen poured a cup of water for her grandmother, watched her drink it, and then looked around to make sure she was okay.
"What are you looking at? I'm fine. I'm not that weak." Zhou Yun looked at his granddaughter-in-law, who looked delicate and soft. He was satisfied. She didn't look like someone who would be bullied. She was just acting because she couldn't do anything. She was smart. "You were just pushed? The third brother and his wife didn't know the seriousness of the matter and didn't make sense."
Liang Baozhen shook her head, quietly clenched her left hand into a fist, and placed it under the table, "I'm fine."
"Grandma, why did my third uncle and aunt suddenly come to our house?" Liang Baozhen didn't know much about Xu Shengjie's generation, but after hearing a few words, she knew that their relationship was not good, and that the mother and son might even have turned against each other.
Zhou Yun briefly explained the matter. One should know one's own son's own son. "He was thinking about the job left by your parents-in-law. Our family also has a job quota at the National Cotton Mill. Before, Feng Juan knew that Xiaojie would return from the army and wanted to introduce her niece to him. I knew her that her niece was just like her, with a bad heart."
As for the Xu family's affairs, they criticized Xu Shengjie's third uncle and Zhou Yun's son's family. Liang Baozhen felt disgusted but didn't say much.
"When Sheng Jie comes back later, talk to him. If they come every other day, we won't have a peaceful life."
"Yes." Zhou Yun had a plan in mind, "I'll talk to him tonight. Wait until you get familiar with the house and the courtyard for a few days, otherwise you can take over that class."
Liang Baozhen was surprised, "Give me the job?"
It is hard to find a job in the city, especially a formal job in a large state-owned factory. Many people try their best but cannot get one.
"Of course not. Xiaojie and I discussed it after you got engaged. When you get your job back, Xiaowei and Xiaoya are still in school and won't need it. You can take over the job so that people outside won't worry about you."
The author has something to say:
Academy of Film and Television Best Actress: Zhou Yun & Liang Baozhen
"On the acting skills of veteran actors" & "The road to advancement for outstanding young female actors"
I will post the chapter tomorrow, so this chapter is relatively short, and I will make up for it later. Tomorrow's update will be moved to 23:30, and there will be a 10,000-word chapter at that time, and there will be a full subscription lucky draw. Thank you for your support, muah~
See you tomorrow night at 23:30
The author's column has completed period stories "Young Couple in the 1970s Art Troupe" and "Daily Life in the 1970s Farm Family Courtyard". If you are interested, you can read it~
Thanks to the cutie who irrigated the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of lucky tilizi
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