Chapter 19 [19] What can a mother do for her daughter?
Tang An: "Second Uncle promised me that he would never come and occupy this room before my sister got married. Mom, Second Uncle is quite reasonable. He's not as bad as you think."
Tang Yuanyuan has already witnessed her brother's "philanthropy", so it's not surprising that such a brother would say such words in the future.
She wasn't even angry anymore.
For the first time in her life, Zhang Lancao gave Tang An a cold look: "Xiao An!"
"You are your sister's brother, how can you point your elbow towards outsiders?"
It's also her fault. She never talked about adults' conflicts in front of the child, which is why she raised the child so innocent, Zhang Lancao thought self-reproachfully.
"Sister, she will get married in the future"
Tang An's voice became softer and softer, and in the end he didn't dare to say anything anymore, because Zhang Lancao looked at him with such disappointment.
It's the same look he gives his father.
Tang An scooped up some bath water and added it to the wooden tub, unable to shake off that look in his mind.
When his sister was taking a shower, his mother clearly rushed to mix the water.
All he talked about now was Yuanyuan. "Xiao An, you must treat your sister well from now on. She's had a very hard time. You must protect her."
Now, even when she eats, she thinks of her sister when she first bowls a meal.
After his grandfather died, he slept alone in the west room. He lived in this room during his last days. He was so scared, but his mother only wanted to accompany his sister.
I turned against my father for my sister, and now I am disappointed in him.
My second and third uncles are right. My mother was led astray by my sister.
Become petty and narrow-minded.
We are all blood relatives, why should we make such a mess over a house? Wouldn't that make people laugh at us?
Fu Yijian once said, "What's the harm in giving him three feet?"
Women are petty.
As a big family, we should work together to face the outside world. This is a sign of the family's prosperity.
Why don’t my sister and mother understand this?
They argued over such trivial matters until their faces turned red and their home didn't feel like a home anymore.
Early in the morning, Zhang Lancao only left four vegetable buns and a bowl of mung bean soup in Tang An's room, and took away all the others to sell. Tang Yuanyuan and her mother separated and went to another door. The two of them sold out by eight o'clock. Tang Yuanyuan handed the tools to Zhang Lancao and went to the factory to collect her salary, 240 yuan, plus the 352 yuan she earned during this period, a total of 592 yuan!
After receiving his salary, Tang Yuanyuan rode his bike to the train station and bought two tickets.
The time is eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Zhang Lancao is reluctant to give up her afternoon's earnings. She really loves making money now.
Tang Yuanyuan had no objection. She put the money and train tickets into the biscuit box, then put it into the cabinet, locking it with a small lock. "Mom, you seem to be obsessed with money now."
Zhang Lancao: "It's good to be rich. With money, my daughter can go to university."
University, ah, university, just these two words make people happy.
The mother and daughter cooked some jelly and mung beans and prepared food for the train tomorrow morning. Food on the train is expensive, so it is best to cook a few boiled eggs and take them with you. They also had some steamed buns and pickled cucumbers.
Also, you need to prepare sacks for loading the goods, as many and as big as possible!
The farthest place Zhang Lancao has ever been is the countryside of Yucheng. When the policy of going to the countryside came out, her father signed her up and she was sent to the countryside of Yucheng. During the Chinese New Year, she had to go to the wholesale market to buy New Year's goods.
Now, she is going to such a far place with her daughter.
It was my first time taking a train, and I was quite nervous.
"I heard that trains are very fast, faster than pigs."
Tang Yuanyuan was also curious and nervous, but she was amused by the metaphor: "Mom, you are really good at using metaphors."
Zhang Lancao: "Wild boars run very fast, so Mom thought of this."
Tang An finally had some free time. He ate some steamed buns early in the morning and went to play with his friends. When he returned home for lunch, he saw Zhang Lan's bundled sacks. "Mom, what are you doing with this?"
Zhang Lancao gave him five yuan and said, "Xiao An, your sister and I will take the train to the border town tomorrow to buy some goods to sell. It will probably take two or three days for us to return. If we make money well, maybe we can open a noodle shop, and our family will have a good life in the future."
Tang An: "Mom, are you going so far? What if you get scammed? Dad got scammed last year and almost couldn't come back."
Zhang Lancao: "Don't worry, we won't. Your sister has already made inquiries. The wholesale market over there is huge, much bigger than ours."
Tang An just felt that his mother and sister were crazy!
A girl who can't read a single word and has never even left the county wants to go to such a far place.
Opening a noodle shop? His mother? Can she figure out the bills?
His family is getting more and more chaotic. Isn’t it enough that his grandfather is dead?
Tang An's heart was full of worries.
Although they now had a huge sum of nearly 600 yuan in their hands, Tang Yuanyuan and her daughter did not dare to spend a penny more, for fear that it would not be enough in the border town. The two of them divided the mung bean soup left at the bottom of the bucket and returned to the compound in the night.
Dumplings on the bus and noodles when getting off. Zhang Lancao planned to make dumplings for good luck.
Zhang Lancao kneaded the dough, Tang Yuanyuan picked leeks, washed them, and made the stuffing. She then beat a few eggs, spread them into thin egg skins, and chopped them. The spiciness of the leek foam complemented each other, and just the smell was satisfying. Adding a little soy sauce and sesame oil made the taste even richer.
"Xiao An's father--"
Uncle Zhao's voice came from the gate of the courtyard. He must be here to collect debts. Zhang Lancao stretched her head out with flour on her hands and saw that Tang Aiguo had already come out of the main room to greet him. He had no intention of coming in, so she didn't go out either.
After that, several more creditors came, and Tang Aiguo talked to them at the door.
Tang Yuanyuan: "Mom, after paying back these families, there won't be much left for our family, right?"
Zhang Lancao smiled and nodded: "Yes, there are not many left."
Finally, I am debt-free.
At this moment, Tang Yuanyuan suddenly felt grateful for fate.
Thank God for letting her dream about the future, which made her suddenly want to go to school again.
If it weren't for that dream, what would her and her mother's life be like?
The dumplings with bulging bellies are floating on the water. They are cooked and not a single one is bad.
The food was still placed under the persimmon tree in the yard.
Tang Aiguo and Tang An were both very quiet tonight, just eating dumplings in silence.
Tang Yuanyuan was in a good mood and talked a lot. While eating dumplings, she tested her mother on the new characters she had learned recently. Zhang Lancao insisted on learning one character a day and now knew fourteen new characters.
It's a rare leisurely evening for the mother and daughter.
Tang took a shower, lay on the bed, and took out his high school books. The owner of this set of books took good care of them and used newspapers as book covers, so the covers looked very new and the notes on them were also very neat.
"Is this the book you are going to read at the beginning of the school year?" Zhang Lancao's eyes fell on the book. The densely packed words on it made her feel awe.
Tang Yuanyuan smiled, her eyes filled with joy. "Yes, this is the book from high school."
"Mom, let me teach you how to write your name."
Zhang Lancao.
On the snow-white draft paper, the three words "Zhang Lancao" were written very neatly. It was the first time that Zhang Lancao knew that her name was written like this.
"No, no, how come your writing is so beautiful, but mom's writing looks like a dog crawling."
"I didn't write so beautifully at the beginning, Mom. If you write it every day, you will be able to write beautifully soon. You also need to learn how to do accounting. If you run a noodle shop, you need to do accounting to know the profit and loss."
Zhang Lancao is particularly willing to learn anything related to running a noodle shop.
Tang Yuanyuan was reading a high school textbook, while Zhang Lancao was practicing writing his name stroke by stroke with a pencil.
Soon the page was filled.
Although it was still crooked, writing her own name seemed to have a magical effect, making her hair feel happy.
"Yuanyuan, how do you write your name?"
Tang Yuanyuan wrote her name on the draft paper again.
It turns out that this is my daughter's name.
Ten yuan, hehe.
Electrical wires hung overhead, and the lightbulbs lengthened the shadows of the mother and daughter.
That night, the corners of the lips of both mother and daughter were raised, but at dawn, they were all lowered.
Because the door was locked from the outside.
"Tang Aiguo, please open the door quickly."
"Tang Aiguo, Yuanyuan has already made inquiries. There's a wholesale market in the border town. If we buy goods, we can make twice as much money. If we go there twice more, we can open a noodle shop. I'll pay for the two children's tuition, and then we'll have two college students at home."
What if I miss the train?
Tang Aiguo smoked his pipe and said, "Give up on this idea. I've already arranged for Yuanyuan. My third brother's wife's nephew is a truck driver who earns a thousand yuan a month. Yuanyuan doesn't need to study anymore. She can just marry him and enjoy a good life."
Zhang Lancao: "Yuanyuan can study, why would she marry someone?"
Tang Aiguo: "Don't even think about studying. I've already torn up her admission letter."
Tang Yuanyuan remembered the cabinet, took the key from the drawer and opened it. The biscuit box was empty. There was neither admission letter nor money.
Zhang Lancao was going crazy, "Tang Aiguo, you even took my daughter's money!"
"Are you human?!"
"Why do you tear up my daughter's admission letter?"
Tang Aiguo tapped his pipe and said, "Just because I'm her father, if you can't even respect your parents, you deserve to be struck by lightning. You're such a heartless person. No matter how much you study, it's useless!"
"Don't even think about it. I've already used the money to pay off my debts. I'm also facing a famine at home. It's not a good idea to keep owing it."
Zhang Lancao pressed her face against the small window, almost squeezing her head out. "You're lying to me, aren't you? Isn't the money from the gifts at home enough to pay off the debt?"
Tang Aiguo said, "This house was given to my second brother. My third brother can't be left without anything. I will split the money from the gifts with him, 1,000 yuan each. I will use this money to pay off my debts."
Zhang Lancao's mind buzzed.
He couldn't stand up, staggered back two steps, and fell on the bed.
I just felt like the sky was falling.
Tang Yuanyuan pried open the tiny window and door, hysterically saying, "Tang An, open the door! If you still recognize your mother, then open the door and let us out! Mom doesn't look well."
Tang An: "Sister, Mom, please don't be stubborn. Dad is doing this for your own good."
"Dad, a man, was deceived. How could you two women go to such a far place? Don't bother. Just stay at home and sell jelly and buns. It's fine."
Tang Yuanyuan: "Okay, we won't go. I won't study anymore. Open the door. We are all hungry and need breakfast."
Tang Aiguo was determined to cure the mother and daughter: "Don't play tricks, I'm telling you the truth, Xiao An doesn't have the medicine spoon, I'm the only one who has it."
"Just be quiet and don't make a fuss. Tomorrow, my third brother's wife and two nephews will come to see you. If they like you, we'll arrange the wedding properly. If you make a fuss, don't even think about eating."
"You guys stay inside today and reflect on what I said. I'll let you out when I'm satisfied."
He also warned Tang An: "Xiao An, you are not allowed to let your mother and your sister out, and you are not allowed to give them food. You can only give them some water."
"You'll only listen if you're hungry, understand?"
Tang An couldn't bear it any longer: "Dad, what if Mom is starving? Isn't this inappropriate?"
Tang Aiguo said impatiently: "Eat less, they won't starve to death. I'm doing this for their own good."
"It's better than running away and getting lost."
Tang Aiguo agreed with his third brother's words very much. Zhang Lancao had lived a good life for so long that she no longer knew what fear was.
After a good beating, they will learn to be afraid and respectful, and then they will behave themselves.
But he underestimated his mother.
He didn't know how far a mother could go for a daughter.
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