Recalling the past, Zuo Ling's heart surged with emotion, but she suppressed it:
"Grandma, is it time to harvest the autumn grain? My colleague heard from his friend at the meteorological bureau that next year's harvest will be bad, so don't sell the grain this year, keep it for your own consumption."
Grandma frowned:
“The whole family’s expenses depend on selling grain. If we don’t sell it, what will we spend our money on? Your second brother is building a house, which he’s been talking about for years. Back then, when we were building a house for your eldest brother, we didn’t have enough money, so we didn’t build one for your second brother. Your second brother’s wife was very unhappy about that, and we couldn’t keep putting it off.”
After thinking for a moment, Zuo Ling said:
"Grandma, the weather bureau's monitoring is quite accurate. If the harvest is bad this year, we can sell more grain next year, and it will be more profitable than this year."
Grandma was tempted: Could she make more money?
"How about I talk to your parents about it?"
The grandmother's two grandsons stayed at home farming and didn't amount to much. In her heart, only her granddaughter was promising.
You should think twice before saying what the meteorologists say.
Zuo Ling couldn't tell her grandmother that the end of the world was coming; if she did, no one would believe her.
If Zuo Ling hadn't truly experienced it herself, she wouldn't believe it either.
He added:
“Tell your second brother that he’s building a house next year, and I’ll sponsor him 20,000 yuan, covering the refrigerator, color TV, and washing machine…”
Before he could finish speaking, his adoptive mother's exaggerated voice came through the microphone:
"Ling, are you serious? You can really sponsor 20,000 yuan for the second child when we build a house next year?"
Then raise your voice:
"Old man, second son, come quick, come quick! Xiaoling said that she'll sponsor the second son 20,000 yuan for building a house next year, and it'll cover the refrigerator, color TV, and washing machine."
Zuo Ling was speechless. She had forgotten that her adoptive mother had a habit of eavesdropping on her phone calls with her grandmother.
The adoptive mother was afraid that she would renege on the debt, so she quickly made sure that the matter was settled.
The sound of hurried footsteps and my second brother's loud voice came from the other end of the microphone:
"Little sister, is it true? Don't try to fool your second brother. Building a house in the countryside, even a difference of 20,000 or 20,000 can make a big difference..."
The foster mother seized every opportunity:
“Xiaoling is a steady person, how could she lie to her second brother about this? Am I right, Xiaoling?”
The microphone was fought over:
“Little sister, I’m your second sister-in-law. Besides the 20,000 yuan, do you also need a refrigerator, a color TV, and a washing machine? We can’t buy anything too cheap. If my family comes over and they see us, I’ll lose face. You have to make sure I get all the face I need.”
The microphone was then scrambled for, with several people jostling and pushing, each afraid of missing a single word.
"Little sister, little sister, I'm the eldest sister-in-law. We won't worry about how much you give to your second brother, but don't forget your eldest brother. When you were little, your eldest brother always protected you."
“Sister-in-law, we’re talking about the house. Your family has been living in your new house for years. What did we say? Why are you arguing with us now?”
"What are you talking about? When has my little sister ever brought anything home? We always split it equally. The refrigerator, TV, and washing machine cost at least 10,000 yuan, plus the 20,000 yuan for building the house, making it more than 30,000 yuan. Why can't we get a share?"
“My younger sister feels sorry for her second brother who doesn’t have a new house to live in. I’ve been married into the Zuo family for so many years, and I’m still living in the old house. Why don’t you offer to give us your house to live in?”
“Okay, Teng, the new house you build is ours, and the refrigerator, TV and washing machine are ours too.”
"Dream on. Why didn't you make a move sooner or later? It's too late now."
The eldest and second sisters-in-law were both unwilling to give in, and they argued back and forth, making quite a scene.
Bang bang sounds rang out:
"You're all eyeing your sister's little things, don't you have any shame? What did you give Xiaoling for her wedding? Two embroidered insoles and two embroidered pillowcases, is that even presentable?"
You don't even need to look to know that Grandma is scolding someone with the broom handle.
The older sister-in-law was unconvinced and muttered:
"That's still better than the second brother's family. They just said a few cheap words to send my little sister away. I embroidered it myself, and even if it's a small amount, it's still a token of my affection. They didn't even bother to pretend. How dare they take my little sister's things?"
Second sister-in-law argued:
"Can you blame me? My younger sister got married right when my son fell ill. We were already broke, so we couldn't give her any money, and we ended up with a huge debt."
“Sister-in-law, it’s not nice to bring up old grievances. My brother built a house and emptied our house. Because of this, my wedding with Xiaohua was postponed for a year. I didn’t say anything.”
The second brother chimed in, afraid that his wife wouldn't be able to argue with his sister-in-law.
Bang, bang, bang, several more sounds:
"Get out, get out, get out of here!"
Judging from the sound, Grandma was impartial, giving one to each of her eldest sister-in-law, second brother, and second sister-in-law.
"Mom, it's not like we asked the girl for it; she offered it to us herself."
Seeing that her mother-in-law was too harsh, the adoptive mother was afraid that the old lady would ruin things after they left. Tens of thousands of yuan was not a small amount in the countryside, so she quickly interjected.
Grandma snorted heavily:
"I haven't even said anything about you yet. Your daughter got married, and what did you, as her mother, give her? Two quilts. The covers were new, but the quilts were filled with old cotton that your eldest daughter had taken off. How dare you ask your daughter for anything?"
The adoptive mother was so embarrassed by what her mother-in-law said:
"Back then, things weren't going well at home."
Grandma didn't buy it:
"Nervous? You wouldn't be nervous if they squeezed every last drop of oil from your bones to apply to your son's wedding, but you get nervous when it comes to your daughter using a little bit?"
"How can that be the same? She's not..."
With a snap, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the adoptive mother's extremely aggrieved accusation:
"Mom, why did you hit me? What did I do wrong? It was my daughter who wanted to give it to me. I raised her all these years, and I'm saying I was wrong? She's giving me some back, so what?"
Zuo Ling listened silently to the noise on the other end of the phone. In her previous life, similar things happened frequently.
Starting over and listening again, my feelings are completely different from before.
She doesn't earn much, and after deducting necessary expenses, she also has to support her family from time to time.
Her adoptive mother, brother, and sister-in-law always had countless reasons to ask her for money, making her already tight financial situation even worse.
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