Chapter 104 [104] A better place.
Zhang Lancao's mother passed away very early.
What her father said most often was: "You are the older sister, you have to support this family."
"You're the eldest sister. You have to take good care of your two younger brothers. They are your responsibility."
Zhang Lancao grew up listening to these words. She gave up the opportunity to go to school to her younger brother and rushed to go to the countryside.
When I got married, my father changed his instructions to: "When you marry someone else, you must serve your husband well, take care of your parents-in-law, and don't let others say anything bad about our Zhang family."
Being diligent, managing the household, and not letting others criticize you are the standards she has heard for half her life.
No one told her at first that this was wrong.
It took her a long time to realize that it is impossible for anyone to satisfy others.
As long as you seek to please others, you will always be criticized.
She tried to fight for it, but the people who exploit you will not listen to reason with you and only want to exploit you forever.
She had no choice but to lower her head, ignore the accusations and injustices, and continue to be a gentle and good-tempered person.
This kind of life is not easy. She can live with it, but her daughter can't.
So, little by little, she taught her daughter the lessons she had learned, telling her not to care about what others think, and that practicality is more important.
Outside, her mother-in-law was pinching her waist and scolding her, so she just covered her daughter's ears and teased her with her little nose, so that her daughter would not pay attention to the scolding outside.
"Are you hungry? Do you want some peanut candy?"
"Um!"
Mother's nose was soft against his nose, and the little nose was filled with mother's fragrance. Grandma's horrifying scolding drifted away, and little Yuanyuan's ears were filled with mother's soft voice. The little head nodded seriously, and the baby voice hummed.
Peanut candy made from sesame peanut candy is fragrant and sweet. In this era, every household must buy some.
Little Yuanyuan's hands were small, but he could fill them with a piece of peanut candy. He raised his little arm and stuffed it into his mother's mouth: "Mommy, eat too!"
Zhang Lancao took it happily.
The peanut candy was hard, and when little Yuanyuan bit it with his teeth, it made a crunching sound, and his cheeks trembled.
I enjoyed the meal so much.
Mrs. Tang pinched her waist and cursed for a while, then felt bored. She put a few handfuls of melon seeds in her pocket and went to visit her old sisters to chat.
Zhang Lancao planned this matter in her mind.
Where to go?
When to leave?
How to get there? How to avoid my family taking my luggage? I had to think about all these things.
And there are train tickets.
After she died in her previous life, she became a ghost for decades. Every Qingming Festival and New Year's Day, her daughter would come to sweep her grave, chat with her, and tell her about her life.
She knew that her daughter had married in Shanghai in her previous life, her son-in-law was very good to her, and her granddaughter was very cute and looked very much like her daughter.
Then let’s go to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
As for the luggage, there was no excuse to take it out. My mother's house was very close, and there was no place for her to live. But it was 1982, and the prices of daily necessities were still in the penny. Although it was cheaper, money was valuable. All the money in the family was 800 yuan, and bedding and clothes all cost money.
"Yuanyuan's mother, boil some water and make some tea." Tang Aiguo shouted while cracking melon seeds at the card table outside.
Can't show any abnormality.
Zhang Lancao got up good-temperedly and went to the kitchen to boil water. There was some low-quality tea leaves in the cupboard that cost one yuan and five cents per pound. There was no particular requirement for brewing it. Just put some leaves in and brew it.
It was time for dinner, and Zhang Lancao was busy alone as usual. The New Year's Eve dinner was dumplings stuffed with cabbage and vermicelli. Dozens of cabbages had been bought in advance and piled up at the foot of the wall. She washed one cabbage, chopped it into stuffing, and squeezed out the excess juice with a fine cloth.
Little Yuanyuan followed her mother like a little tail, licking the peanut candy and following wherever her mother went.
"Mom, Caicai, pee."
"Yuanyuan can also pee."
Kneading the dough was her favorite part. Zhang Lancao washed her chubby little hands, gave her a rolling pin, and a small piece of dough. After kneading it for a while, she would put it in Tang Aiguo's bowl and give it to him to eat, so that it would not be wasted.
There are still several kinds of meat left over from the lunch. If heated up, it will be another sumptuous meal. Nowadays, children and adults love the Chinese New Year because they can eat sumptuous meals.
Little Yuanyuan struggled to eat dumplings with chopsticks longer than her face. They were too slippery and kept falling. Suddenly, she had an idea and dipped her mouth in the vegetable heart. It was very cute. Tang Aiguo smiled and dipped a little with his chopsticks, "Yuanyuan, come here, have some soda."
Zhang Lancao's heart sank as she recalled the old incident where Tang Aiguo coaxed his daughter to drink, but his daughter was allergic to alcohol and almost died.
Of course, she couldn't be allowed to tease the child anymore. Zhang Lancao directly took away his chopsticks and wiped them dry: "The doctor said that children can't drink alcohol. It will cause serious problems."
Tang Aiguo didn't take it seriously, thinking Zhang Lancao was a real spoiler: "What's wrong with letting her have a taste?"
Zhang Lancao made up a lie and said, "Back home, there was a child who drank alcohol that his grandfather had touched and fell into a coma. He spent over a hundred yuan to be sent to the hospital. If he feels unwell, even if he vomits, he still has to go to the clinic. Not only is it a waste of money, but it's also a bad omen."
When Mrs. Tang heard that money was needed, she scolded her son, saying, "Just drink it yourself. Why give it to a little girl?"
Perhaps because she was thinking of leaving, Zhang Lancao found today that the four words "girl" were particularly irritating.
I felt so anxious in my heart, like a bird with wings, and I couldn't wait to leave here.
Before going to bed, Tang Aiguo said something that irritated her again.
"Your belly is not doing well. You haven't been pregnant since you gave birth to Yuanyuan. My second brother got married after me and already had two boys. From now on, let's change Yuanyuan's name to Zhaodi and give us a son."
Zhang Lancao just lowered her head meekly as usual.
She will never give birth to Tang An again in this life.
She came back before getting married. She didn't dare to move to another family for fear that there would no longer be a daughter like Yuanyuan in this world.
For decades, her daughter insisted on returning to the small place of Yucheng to see her, talk to her, and pray for her.
The only person in the world who truly loves her!
She can't live without her.
She only wants her one child.
She didn't dare make any changes. Mrs. Tang liked her because she was honest, hardworking and capable of managing the household.
She got married on the same day, got pregnant, and even had the same birthday. The first time she saw her daughter, she knew it was her.
Her Yuanyuan came into this world again.
She no longer wanted her son Tang An. She remembered Yuan Yuan saying that her son had actually thought of using something to destroy her face, but fortunately he was rescued. She could not forgive him for this.
The best way was to not give birth to this son, so after she gave birth to her daughter, she secretly went to an old Chinese doctor and bought a sterilization prescription to stew and drink, thus avoiding the time when her son was supposed to get pregnant.
Tang Aiguo will never have a son again.
At this moment, Zhang Lancao decided not to take the luggage. After sweeping the streets early the next morning, she went to buy a train ticket to Shanghai.
There will be more trains returning home after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. If you are traveling with your children, the fewer people the better.
The train was due to depart at 3 p.m. on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Zhang Lancao's excuse was to go back to her parents' home for dinner. During the Lunar New Year, daughters had to go back to their parents' home for dinner, so this excuse was perfect.
No one would have thought that she would take her daughter and leave here forever during the Chinese New Year.
In this life, she learned a little smarter. In the first month after marriage, she gave her street sweeping salary to Tang Aiguo.
The words were also very nice: "You are the head of the family, you have a formal job, and you are the boss of our family."
Tang Aiguo was moved and put the money into the box and locked it in the cabinet in front of her without any precautions.
Zhang Lancao would ask him for money when she bought groceries, and then put it into her own pocket little by little. She had already hidden more than 100 yuan.
The bulk of the money in the box was eight hundred yuan, and a pocket had been sewn into the inside of the clothes so it could fit in.
"What are you doing?"
Tang Aiguo pushed the door open and Zhang Lancao turned around. "I'm going back to my parents' house and was going to take two cakes with me. Do you want to come with me?"
Tang Aiguo didn't really like going to the Zhang family. His two brothers-in-law loved to borrow money from him. Moreover, he had played cards all night yesterday and was now sleepy. He threw himself on the bed and said, "Go by yourself."
He didn't know that he would soon be without a wife, so he closed his eyes, pulled the quilt over him and fell asleep.
Zhang Lancao didn't even look at him again. She tiptoed out and closed the door.
The sun was shining brightly today. Mrs. Tang was enjoying the sun while eating sunflower seeds. She said, "Come back early after you finish eating. Don't wait until dark."
Zhang Lancao knew that she was asking her to come back early to make dinner, so she said, "Come back before dark."
In fact, she will never come back here again.
She put the household registration book in her arms and took a look at the yard where she had lived for six years. She got up at four o'clock every day, heated up some pancakes and ate while walking to sweep the streets. When she came back, she would cook lunch and wash the pots and dishes. All the clothes, shoes and socks of the whole family were hers.
In my previous life, I sent my parents-in-law off here. They had to take medicine three times a day, especially my mother-in-law, who was bedridden for two years.
I don’t know who will take care of her in this life.
It's not that she hates him, she just doesn't want to live like this anymore.
Mrs. Tang was quite happy to see that she only had two cakes in her hand and not even a small extra fruit.
Elbow knew to turn back to his own home and watched the mother and daughter leave the yard with satisfaction.
Little Yuanyuan held her mother's hand and shook it: "Mom, uncle?"
Zhang Lancao really wanted to go back to her mother's house. She wanted to eat her fill before getting on the bus so there were fewer people to suffer. "Yes, let's go to your uncle's house and have some delicious food."
Little Yuanyuan puffed out her little mouth: "Is there any meat?"
Zhang Lancao smiled: "Yes! Yuanyuan will have meat to eat and Wahaha to drink every day from now on." She will definitely earn it.
Little Yuanyuan happily jumped around his mother.
Zhang Lancao met many neighbors along the way and greeted them with a smile.
The New Year atmosphere is very strong in this era. The air is filled with the aroma of meat, red couplets are posted on the courtyard gate, and everyone gathers together to chat, holding a handful of melon seeds in their hands.
Just like that, under everyone's gaze, the mother and daughter left.
The alley was narrow and long, its bluestone bricks gleaming with a cold light. Zhang Lancao, holding her daughter's hand, looked back at the place where she had lived for two lifetimes.
Not nostalgic at all.
Hold the hand of the person you love most, the person who loves you most.
A few naughty kids gathered together and set off firecrackers, as if they were blessing them.
The green train was emitting white smoke and mechanical roars. The long rails stretched infinitely to the horizon. The fiery red sun was half hanging in the west. When I put my hands on my eyebrows and looked at it, it seemed golden.
It was little Yuanyuan’s first time to take a train. He sat on his mother’s arms, looking around with his big round eyes.
What a huge wheel: "It looks like a dragon, so long!"
"This is a train."
Little Yuanyuan happily leaned against the window, the scenery receding, did they fly up like birds? "Silong, it seems like it's taking us to the sky."
"Mom, where are we flying to?"
"To a better place."
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