Chapter 103 [103] if line
Spring Festival of 1982.
This day is New Year's Eve. There is no rest in the job of street sweeping, and New Year's Eve is no exception.
After Zhang Lancao finished sweeping the street, she took off her overalls and hurried home.
"Mother!"
Her daughter was sweeping the yard with a broom almost as tall as herself in her small hands. She saw her at once and ran over with her short legs.
"Be careful, it's slippery."
Tang Yuanyuan ran steadily, stretching out her two little arms. Zhang Lancao naturally squatted down and picked her up.
"Why are you still sweeping the floor?"
"grandmother."
The little girl didn't know the adults' intentions. She sat on her mother's arms, swinging her legs happily, rubbing against her mother happily, and giggling.
Mother-in-law poked her head out from the kitchen: "Yuanyuan's mother, take this fish and kill it."
Zhang Lancao carried her daughter into the house and said, "Come back later. I'll comb Yuanyuan's hair first."
Mother-in-law: "Hurry up! It's almost time for lunch. Don't waste your time. Just give it a quick injection."
According to the custom in Yucheng, the reunion dinner is eaten at noon on New Year's Eve. It is already past ten o'clock and the dishes should be stewed. In the living room, Tang Youshan and his two sons are playing cards, and they are leisurely cracking some melon seeds and peanuts.
Of course, Zhang Lancao didn't listen to her mother-in-law. She combed her daughter's hair diagonally and neatly divided it into four parts. The pink plastic flowers on her head looked so festive, like a few small umbrellas opening on her head.
Little Yuanyuan puffed out her chubby cheeks and tilted her head left and right in front of herself in the mirror. She looked mischievous and it was obvious that she was admiring her own beauty.
Zhang Lancao asked, "Yuanyuan, have you had breakfast?"
"Ci la!"
Little Yuanyuan is not very good at singing with curlicues yet, so the squeaking sound is very lively.
“Are the fried eggs good?”
"Yuanyuan has sweet potato rice. Brother Xiaojun, brother Xiaoyong and brother Xiaoyong all have eggs, but grandma won't give any to Yuanyuan."
Zhang Lancao realized that her daughter didn't get to eat the eggs, and they all went to the two boys from the second wife.
"Yuanyuan must be hungry, right? Is there a sound? Let me listen."
"Hmm!" Little Yuanyuan patted his bulging belly with his chubby hands, "My belly is sour!"
"Come on, mom will make you scrambled eggs."
The third branch of the Tang family had separated a long time ago and they all lived separately. They had to come over to eat reunion dinners like New Year's Eve together. The second branch's wife was an elementary school teacher, and even the meals at home were cooked by her second brother, so naturally she would not come to prepare this meal.
The third wife, Lv Jinhua, is a new daughter-in-law who got married this year. She came to help with the housework. She is good at pleasing people. At this moment, she is guarding the kitchen and making a fire. Making a fire is a pleasure in this season. She also buried a few sweet potatoes at the bottom of the pot.
Zhang Lancao poured in some oil, put two eggshells directly into the pot, and added a little sugar. The fragrance instantly filled the kitchen, and even Lu Jinhua couldn't help but sniff.
Mrs. Tang: "What are you doing? I'm cooking!"
Zhang Lancao said, "Yuanyuan is hungry. I'll fry an egg for her."
Mrs. Tang: "A girl is a liar, this is not a waste of things."
Lu Jinhua: "That's right, sister-in-law, a little girl will get married sooner or later."
Zhang Lancao said gently, "Third sister-in-law, we are all girls. If you give birth to a daughter in the future, don't you expect her to miss you even after she gets married? Or do you plan to sever ties with your mother now that you're married?"
She spoke in a gentle tone and looked at him with a smile, which made Lu Jinhua choke.
Everyone says that my sister-in-law is gentle and easy to talk to, but she has run into setbacks many times.
How can I talk to you?
He smiled awkwardly: "I just said it casually."
Mrs. Tang said with an unhappy face, "What nonsense are you talking about? You're just a little girl, and you want to scramble eggs? Do you think eggs are free? I can't bear to eat them."
Zhang Lancao was unwilling to give in on this matter: "Mom, the child is growing up. Eating eggs will make her smart. Only when she goes to school can she be like her second aunt, have an education and a job, and bring honor to our family."
Mrs. Tang said she liked the second half of the sentence, but eggs were a waste of money.
Fortunately, Zhang Lancao herself is a frugal and hardworking person. The only bad thing is that she dotes on this girl too much, but she is particularly stubborn about this matter.
Also, she has not been able to give birth to a son for her eldest son yet.
He also said, "When will your belly be able to grow stronger and give me a grandson? That's the serious matter. A girl, no matter how promising she is, will have to get married in the future."
Little Yuanyuan bulged her eyes and looked at Zhang Lancao blankly. She vaguely knew that she was being told that she was not good, but she didn't understand what it meant specifically.
There are some people you can never convince. Arguing with them will only bring more unpleasant words. Zhang Lancao stopped talking, looked like a quail, took a spoon, and put the bowl on the small dining table.
In fact, it would be better to eat in the room, but the adults were playing cards at the dining table, and there was a fire in the kitchen, which was warmer. As long as you are in this house, it doesn't matter where you hide.
"Yuanyuan, sit here and eat eggs."
Little Yuanyuan's mouth is only as big as the knuckle of her little finger. The spoon is even bigger than her mouth. The oil-soaked egg just dips on her lips. It's so cute. "Mom, it's delicious!"
"Eat eggs, Mom."
Zhang Lancao: "Mom doesn't like eggs, but Yuanyuan eats them all and grows taller."
The eggs smell so good, why doesn't Mom like them? Little Yuanyuan didn't understand at all. She chewed them happily with her little mouth while thinking about this question.
Mrs. Tang said, "If you raise such a greedy girl like this, her in-laws will despise her when she gets married."
Zhang Lancao said, "Studying doesn't cost much. Yuanyuan will be well-educated and marry a good woman. She won't marry someone who wouldn't even bother eating an egg. She'll only marry someone who's well-off and can be filial to you and come back often to buy you meat."
Lu Jinhua curled his lips and thought to himself, you are so bold, everyone can be a teacher.
Mrs. Tang was unhappy when she heard the first half of the sentence, but she felt a little happy when she heard the second half.
Zhang Lancao has been saying this kind of thing since the little girl was born. She has heard it so many times that she feels that there is some truth in it.
If you really want to study hard and marry someone with good financial conditions, that will also be a help.
Zhang Lancao took a basin to the well to kill the fish. She worked skillfully. She scraped the fish's scales off with a few swipes of the knife, cut open its belly, took out the internal organs, and washed it with water. The fish was killed cleanly. She turned its head and put it into a clean basin.
Only then did I see that my daughter had come over and was squatting on the ground with a smile on her little mouth. She didn't say anything, but just looked at me with her curious big eyes.
"Be good, it's cold outside, come inside, it's warm inside."
"Mom is here."
"Mom is an adult, and adults are not afraid of the cold."
Little Yuanyuan still opened her big, watery, dark eyes and looked around with a smile: "Mom is here."
Zhang Lancao's hands were covered in the lingering fishy smell. Fortunately, these fish would be killed soon, so she could only let her follow her and speed up her movements.
Her daughter followed her to the kitchen like a little tail. Zhang Lancao asked her to sit next to Lu Jinhua to warm herself by the fire and took over the spatula from her mother-in-law to cook.
Mrs. Tang saw that the last dish was almost cooked and said, "Yuanyuan, go to your second uncle's house and call your second aunt, brothers and sisters to come and eat."
Zhang Lancao didn't dare let her daughter go alone: "I'll go and shout. There are beggars here. Yuanyuan is still young and can't go out alone."
Mrs. Tang cracked melon seeds and said disapprovingly, "It's New Year's Day, how can there be beggars? Every household has people there, so what's the big deal about running errands? You're the only one being so pretentious."
Zhang Lancao had already taken off her apron: "Mom, please watch the pot. I'll go and call."
Little Yuanyuan got up from the bench and naturally held his mother's hand with his warm palm.
It's like a little tail that can't be shaken off.
The snow that fell a few days ago had not melted yet. Zhang Lancao was afraid that she would fall, so she bent down and held her in her arms, and little Yuanyuan hugged her mother's neck.
During the Chinese New Year, every household does not have to work, and for those who don’t want to stay at home, going to the market is a great way to have fun.
After lunch and washing the dishes, Zhang Lancao went to the wholesale market with Zhou Wei's mother.
The New Year's goods stalls were filled with peanuts, melon seeds, peanut candies, Spring Festival couplets, Chinese knots, and red lanterns. The machines were humming as the red and green silk cakes were cut into slices of even thickness. Little Yuanyuan could hardly see it all, and her mother even bought her some sour and sweet candied haws.
There is a new kind of cotton shoes called snow boots. When I put my hand in them, it is surprisingly warm. It is very different from the old black cotton shoes I made myself. The thousand-layer soles are cold when I put them in.
They are just too expensive, a pair costs 8 yuan, which can buy more than ten kilograms of pork.
Zhang Lancao picked out a pair for Tang Yuanyuan and put them on her small feet. She felt that the sound when she walked was different. This was the one she chose.
Zhou Wei's mother also chose a pair for Zhou Wei.
Returning home happily, Mrs. Tang noticed the snow boots on Xiao Yuanyuan's feet at a glance. She had heard that these boots cost 8 yuan a pair.
Mrs. Tang's heart suddenly tightened with distress. Her eldest daughter-in-law was becoming more and more unruly. She pinched her waist and started scolding her in the yard. She had to give her a good talk today: "You are a wasteful woman. You are a rag who can't even give birth to a son. You are just a girl. Your feet change every year. You only wear them for a few months for 8 yuan. With this money, you don't know to buy a pair for your man! I think you are..."
It was the first time that Zhang Lancao was pointed at on the nose and scolded loudly by her mother-in-law. She had a good temper and had taken over all the housework in the family since she got married. She did whatever Mrs. Tang said and hardly ever spent money indiscriminately. She only did small things like giving her daughter eggs every day.
Tang Aiguo had a high salary, and Zhang Lancao had been sweeping the streets, so they could actually afford it for 8 yuan. After all, Tang Aiguo's new leather jacket only cost 15 yuan. It was just that she felt that Tang Yuanyuan, a granddaughter, was not worth the money.
Tang Aiguo was still playing cards in the house. The four men in the family looked as if they were dead, and no one came out to mediate.
Little Yuanyuan was frightened by her vicious grandmother and tears welled up in her eyes as she tightly grabbed the corner of Zhang Lancao's clothes.
She didn't understand why grandma was so scary?
Zhang Lancao has gained more experience in the first half of her life. She is no longer the person in her twenties who feels wronged and embarrassed when listening to her mother-in-law's criticisms.
In her previous life, she was the one who took care of her mother-in-law.
She covered her daughter's ears and said softly, "Mom, I was wrong. I won't spend money recklessly anymore."
As he said that, he bent down, picked up Tang Yuanyuan, and walked into the house.
In the past, her daughter was too young, and she didn’t dare go out alone if she took her with her.
Now her daughter is eighteen months old and has grown up, so she can take her daughter away.
All the money in the house was in the cabinet. She planned to take it all away, buy a train ticket, rent a two-story shop, sleep upstairs and sell buns downstairs. It would be enough for her to take care of her daughter by herself.
I originally wanted to wait until my daughter was a little older and more secure before leaving.
Now, she doesn't want her daughter to hear these words anymore.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com