Chapter 13: Guaguaguaguagua She would never let anyone work for nothing. ...
Liu Xiaolan was not there during lunch. She said she had gone back to her parents' home and would not be back until dark.
Xiang Yao picked up a fried chili pepper and put a mouthful of rice into her mouth. After swallowing it, she realized that the spiciness was too strong and her whole mouth was on fire.
She hissed twice, swallowed two mouthfuls of rice, and then said, "I'll go see my mother tomorrow too."
She said this lightly, as if it was a very common occurrence, but everyone at the table fell silent at the same time.
These days, Xiang Yao never mentioned Liu Qiaoyun except when Zhang Juhua insulted Liu Qiaoyun, she would fight back.
Everyone was a little surprised that she came here suddenly.
I thought this girl didn't care at all about her mother being kicked out, but it turns out that's not the case.
Zhang Juhua glanced at her sideways and said coldly, "Your mother is no longer a member of our Xiang family. What's there to see?"
In the past, when a man got married, the new bride would carry her luggage and come to her husband's house. Those who could afford it would set up several tables, while those who couldn't would at most set up a table with meat and vegetables, and the family would gather together to eat.
As for the marriage certificate, country people don't care about it. Liu Qiaoyun came to Xiang's house in the same way. What's more, Zhang Juhua was so stingy that she didn't even give anyone the fabric for a new dress.
After Xiang Liangsheng died, Zhang Juhua sent Liu Qiaoyun back to her parents' home, which made it clear that she no longer recognized her as her daughter-in-law. The two families no longer had a relationship of in-laws.
Xiang Yao curled her lips and said, "My mother is not from your Xiang family, but she is the mother who gave birth to me and raised me. You can deny her, but can I deny her?"
Filial piety is what the older generation values most. Zhang Juhua certainly couldn't deny this, but she was still unhappy: "You want to go see your mother when the team is busy? I think you just want to be lazy and not work!"
"Hey, our third aunt went back to her parents' home, why didn't grandma say this?" Xiang Yao snorted and laughed.
Zhang Juhua glared at him, "She went home for an urgent matter, do you have an urgent matter too?"
Xiang Yao raised an eyebrow: "Yes."
Zhang Juhua: "What's going on?"
Xiang Yao: "She still has some things she hasn't taken away. I have to deliver them to her."
Now everyone looked at her again, and Xiang Xiuxiu even subconsciously asked, "What is it?"
Xiang Yao didn't even look at her: "I have to report everything to you. Don't worry, there's no need to worry about me taking your Xiang family's things. My parents handed over everything they should have handed over to grandma, and they didn't save a penny privately."
These words made Zhou Aihua and Xiang Jinsheng feel a little uncomfortable.
Zhou Aihua would only carefully save a little money for herself, but the third wife was different. The four members of that family always took money directly from Zhang Juhua.
Even when Xiang Yao and Xiang Xiuxiu were both studying at school, it was obvious that they were treated differently.
Even the enamel pot that Xiang Liangsheng won during the production team competition would eventually appear on Xiang Xiuxiu's desk.
As for Xiang Liang, as Zhang Juhua's favorite grandson, he can get whatever he wants. Even when eating meat at home, he can prepare it in advance and eat until his mouth is full of oil.
Who doesn’t know that they benefit the most?
Oh, by the way, whenever there is a big meal at home, the power of cooking will temporarily return to Zhang Juhua's hands.
It’s simple, he’s just afraid that Zhou Aihua will cheat on him.
It was when Xiang Yao was rummaging through her parents' wooden boxes that she discovered a lot of Liu Qiaoyun's clothes inside.
I don’t know if she left in a hurry because she was too sad, or if she had always intended to leave these clothes to her as her daughter.
She went to see Liu Qiaoyun, one reason being to send all the clothes over, and the other reason being that she had nothing else but plenty of peanuts, and wanted to share some with the Liu family so that they would treat her mother better.
She did not have a deep impression of her maternal grandparents' home. Even when she went there as a child, it was during the New Year or festivals, and there was no way people would have a bad face when she went there.
Even if there were any, most of them were still decent and would not let a child like her see them.
Now that things have come to this, if anyone still forbids Xiang Yao from going, it will definitely not sound good if the news gets out.
Zhang Juhua weighed the pros and cons and finally relented, saying, "You can go. This family can't control you anyway, but you must get your work points today. The family won't prepare anything for you."
Normally, in such cases, one would carry a basket with at least some gifts. For example, Liu Xiaolan could openly carry two eggs and half a liter of rice.
This is the respect given to the daughter-in-law by the husband's family, and it also shows the respect between the in-laws.
Xiang Yao didn't care, as long as this matter could be resolved.
She nodded perfunctorily, and kept reaching into the bowl with her chopsticks. When everyone came back to their senses, they suddenly realized that there were not many dishes left on the table!
"You're the reincarnation of a starving ghost! All you do is eat all day long. No matter how much food we have at home, it's never enough for you!"
"Next time, cook more vegetables! The cucumbers in the garden are all old. Are you saving them for Chinese New Year or something?"
Zhang Juhua tried to hold it in but couldn't help it and started cursing again.
Zhou Aihua, who was in charge of cooking, lowered his head with a hint of humiliation in his eyes.
But so what? As long as Zhang Juhua is still in this world, she, as the eldest daughter-in-law, has to serve him all day long.
What else can she do?
Xiang Yao quickly finished the rice in the bowl, wiped his mouth and slipped away.
If her departure had been less unexpected, there might have been another argument over who would wash the dishes.
She just finished her meal and she wouldn't say a few more words because that would have already been digested.
Xiang Yao took out a basket from the corner, packed some of Liu Qiaoyun's clothes and put them in it. He didn't even have time to take a nap. He thought that the Shiniu Brigade where the Liu family lived was a bit far to walk to, so it would be better to go there early.
In the countryside these days, you have to walk everywhere. If you are lucky, you can meet a bullock cart driver and even get a ride. But now it is the double harvest season, and the bulls in the team also have transportation tasks. Unless there is something important to do, they basically won’t come out.
Xiang Yao walked for a while, but did not go out first. Instead, he turned and went to Liu's house at the fork in the road.
Yang Xiaohong's family is having dinner at this moment. A few dark-skinned little kids must have finished eating before the adults, and are squatting on the ground playing with stones with great interest.
Seeing Xiang Yao coming, they were not afraid, but stared at her with their bright eyes.
An older child asked, "Sister Xiangyao? Are you looking for my mother?"
Xiang Yao nodded, squinting her eyes, and stuffed a handful of peanuts into the older child's hands: "Yes, she's looking for your mother. Come, share some with your brothers and sisters."
The older ones were relatively calm, but the younger ones had already started cheering, shouting inside, "Mom, someone's looking for us! Come out quickly!"
Yang Xiaohong also noticed Xiang Yao at this moment, and hurried out. Seeing the peanuts in the hands of the little ones, she felt a little embarrassed: "You came, why did you bring them food? I ate yours yesterday!"
Xiang Yao smiled: "It's okay, Auntie, your little ones are all growing up strong and healthy!"
Yang Xiaohong's face wrinkled with joy. "You are such a sweet-talker, little girl! I'm thankful that these little brats don't cause me any trouble. I wish I had a daughter like you. Tell me, what do you want from me?"
Xiang Yao saw that everyone in the Liu family's main hall was also looking over here. Not knowing what was going on in their family, he took Yang Xiaohong's hand and went to the corner of the yard.
"Auntie, I have something to ask of you!" She explained with a smile, "It's like this. I'm going to give my mother some clothes later. I might not be able to finish the task in the fields, so I wanted to trouble you and Aunt Yuezhi to see if you can help me with the work for the second half of the day."
Without waiting for Yang Xiaohong to speak, she took out a bag of peanuts wrapped in lotus leaves from the basket and said, "Although these peanuts are not much, they are the only thing I can offer right now. Auntie, please don't despise them."
Although Xiang Yao was still a student before she came here and had not spent much time thinking about the ways of the world, she still understood this basic principle.
When asking someone to do something for you, you must first tell them the compensation you can offer. This way, they will have an idea in mind and may not agree to help. However, if they agree, as long as they are an honest person, they will basically do their best to help you.
Although she didn't spend much time with Yang Xiaohong and He Yuezhi, she could tell that they were both honest people. Even though they were quite shrewd, being shrewd was not a bad thing. On the contrary, it made them easier to deal with.
Sure enough, Yang Xiaohong was a little hesitant after hearing the first half of Xiang Yao's words.
After all, the two families are not related, not even relatives, so why would anyone bother her?
If I just help plant a few bunches of rice seedlings, it’s no big deal, I can do it easily.
But this is a task that takes most of the day, not just a matter of tying a few ties of rice seedlings, it's a matter of several work points!
But when she saw the little girl sincerely taking out so many peanuts, she felt a little embarrassed about the idea she had just had.
No one was planning to take advantage of her efforts, but she was being petty and thinking so much.
Yang Xiaohong still pushed it away: "It's not a big job, how can you need so much? Your relative gave it to you, so keep it well. When you don't have enough to eat at home, you can have a meal in private."
Everyone in the production team knew the situation of Lao Xiang's family.
It was fine when Xiang Liangsheng was around. He was a team leader. Even if he only had a girl and Zhang Juhua didn't like her, Xiang Yao would not be left cold and hungry.
But now that Xiang Liangsheng is gone, Zhang Juhua is still keeping her granddaughter and not kicking her out, which shows that she doesn't want to lose face.
As for how he treated this little girl in private, we can get a glimpse of it from the fact that Xiang Yao almost fainted yesterday afternoon.
Xiang Yao knew that she was embarrassed to accept it.
But when it comes to favors, people feel embarrassed to accept them. If you really don't give them, they will definitely feel uncomfortable and may even criticize you behind your back for being ignorant.
She would never let anyone work for nothing.
Then he forcefully stuffed the peanuts into Yang Xiaohong's hands and said, "Auntie, I still have some, don't worry. Besides, I don't have time to go to Aunt Yuezhi's house now, so I'll have to trouble you to divide the other half for me."
Seeing that Yang Xiaohong was about to refuse, she persuaded her again: "I am already very grateful that you have agreed to help me. Besides, you don't know how I work, and I don't do it well and slowly. I might need to trouble you to help me later."
After she said this, Yang Xiaohong no longer refused. She thought that this girl was very open-minded, so she accepted it. After all, the double harvest season was still a long time away, so at most she could help out a little more.
So, the two of them finally reached an agreement.
Seeing Xiang Yao disappear down the slope, Yang Xiaohong looked at the bag of peanuts in her hand and laughed.
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