Despite her haste, Xia's mother was still late; the food in the pot was burnt. Luckily, she had prepared more than one dish, and with Xia Liang's help, the mother and daughter quickly served the food. Xia Rong also washed her hands and sat down to eat. After the meal, Xia Liang wanted to help her mother wash the dishes, but her mother refused: "I have nothing to do all day, I only cook two meals, why would I need your help? Go and do your work." Saying this, she pushed Xia Liang out of the kitchen. Xia Liang didn't insist and went to the living room with her brother to chat. Xia Liang's idea was that once her brother joined the transportation department, the business could be expanded. At that time, it wouldn't be just a small place like the county town. The garment factory needed to ship to more than just this province, including orders from the south. They could take the goods to the south and find some things that weren't available in the north to bring back here to sell. But this couldn't be kept from the driver; they had to find a way to get along with him. If all else failed, they could get him to invest. After all, in this era, you could get shot if things went wrong, so they had to sacrifice a little money to save their lives. Xia Rong nodded in agreement with her sister's words, then, as if remembering something, said to her, "Do you think we should find Dad a job too? It's not good for him to stay home alone all the time; he can't take care of himself." Saying this, she went to her room to get the account book and went over the accounts with Xia Liang. They had earned over 60,000 yuan so far. The siblings each took 30,000 yuan, and they kept the remainder as capital for the next purchase. Finding a job would be easy; after all, not all jobs are as expensive as Xia Rong's. Most only cost a few hundred yuan, like Xia Liang's. After the siblings discussed and divided the money, Xia Liang teased her brother, "Brother, have you given Xiao Hui any gifts since you started dating her?" Xia Rong's face flushed red, like a big tomato, and he stammered, "Yes, I have, I gave her fabric." Xia Liang thought to herself, "What a clueless guy!" But she couldn't blame him. After all, this era was different from later generations. There were all sorts of gifts available, and Xia Rong didn't have many choices even if he wanted to. He probably hadn't even been to a state-run store. Giving Zhou Xiao Hui fabric was probably because he was in the fabric business, and he just gave her whatever looked nice. Zhou Xiao Hui was probably quite happy, since love conquers all, and besides, the fabric Xia Rong gave her was indeed quite nice.
Xia Liang was indeed a good friend of Zhou Xiaohui. Zhou Xiaohui was genuinely happy to receive the fabric Xia Rong gave her. She took it home and gave it to her mother. Xia Rong wasn't really stupid; the fabrics he gave included styles suitable for young people as well as styles appropriate for Zhou Xiaohui's mother's age. When Zhou's mother saw her daughter return with so much fabric, she quickly asked, "Where did you get this?" Zhou Xiaohui blushed and said, "Zhou Rong gave it to me." Zhou's mother was a little unhappy: "You still associate with him? Didn't I tell you not to have anything to do with him anymore? He's just a country boy. If you want to find someone, I can ask your Aunt Wang to introduce you to some nice young men in the city." After saying that, her joy at seeing the fabric vanished, and she tossed it onto a stool nearby as if it were something dirty, afraid of getting her hands dirty. Zhou Xiaohui was almost in tears. She quickly went to her mother's side and said, "Mom, Brother Zhou is a very good person. Why don't you give him a chance?" Zhou's mother turned around and glared at Zhou Xiaohui with a look of exasperation. "Give him a chance? Why should I give him a chance? What future can a poor boy like him have? If you follow him, you'll only suffer for the rest of your life. Why can't you listen to me? I'm your mother. Would I harm you? You're young now, so you don't think it's a big deal, but when you get old, you'll know what it's like to have no money or ration coupons, have to work in the fields every day, and when the harvest is bad, the whole family will go hungry. By then, it will be too late for regrets." As she spoke, she began to sob bitterly, as if she could really see her daughter marrying into a rural family and working in the fields, her face full of hardship. Zhou Xiaohui was frightened by her mother: "Mom, don't worry, it won't happen. Even if I marry Brother Xia, I'll still work in the factory. Besides, Brother Xia said he'll work hard to give me a good life." Hearing this only made her angrier. She slapped Zhou Xiaohui on the back and cried, "So that's what you're thinking! You're after your job! Are you planning to make me support the family or steal your job?" Actually, Zhou's mother's thinking wasn't without reason; there were indeed many reasons... City girls are often tricked into marriage by country boys, who then use pregnancy as an excuse to coax them into giving up their jobs. Sometimes the job is given to the husband, but the husband hands over the wages to his mother, leaving the girl with nothing. Other times, the job is supposedly given to the sister-in-law, who is then supposedly given a job in the city so the sister-in-law can find another job, which the city man's family can then help find her. Zhou's mother hadn't witnessed this herself, but she'd heard plenty of stories, having become close to Matchmaker Wang in her search for a wife for her son. Thinking of this, she decided to throw away the fabric Xia Rong had given her. Zhou Xiaohui quickly grabbed her mother's arm and protested, "Mom, Brother Xia isn't that kind of person. I believe him." As the mother and daughter were arguing, the door opened, and Zhou's father returned. Zhou Xiaohui's brother, Zhou Xiaoguang, had gone to pick up his wife after get off work. The two worked at the same factory, which was a bit far from home, so he arrived home a little later than Zhou Xiaohui. Seeing the mother and daughter arguing, Zhou's father immediately asked, "What happened? Why is your mother crying?" He then turned to Zhou Xiaohui and asked, "What did you do to upset your mother? Look how upset she is!" Zhou Xiaohui explained the whole situation. Upon hearing this, Zhou's father smiled and comforted his wife, "Don't always think the worst. What if he really is a good young man, and our daughter likes him? Wouldn't that break up a good match? How about we bring that young man home for dinner another day, and I'll give him my opinion?" Although Zhou's mother was still reluctant, her attitude softened considerably. Seeing that his wife and daughter were satisfied with his suggestion, Zhou's father laughed and said, "Alright, alright, hurry up and prepare the meal. Xiaoguang and his wife will be back soon." Zhou's mother washed her face and went to the kitchen to cook, without saying anything more.
Xia Liang got up early today and steamed the pork and beef jerky she had marinated yesterday on a large steamer. After steaming for about forty minutes, Xia Liang took the steamer off the table and poured the meat into a bowl she had prepared earlier. When her mother saw that she was done, she called out, "Liang, I've hung up the strips of cloth here too. Do you think that's enough?" When Xia Liang got up, her mother was already up, so she asked her mother to help her hang the strips of cloth to dry the meat. Xia Liang picked up a strip and put it in her mouth, replying, "Okay, I'll take it out." When she got to the yard, she put the bowl on the table and fed her mother a strip of cloth as well. Her mother exclaimed, "That's really good! Ah Liang, when did you learn to make this?" Xia Liang casually replied, "I learned from the head chef at our canteen." After all, her mother, Zhao Danxiang, knew exactly what kind of cooking Xia Liang was, so Xia Liang could only tell a little lie. Seeing that her mother didn't ask any more questions, Xia Liang began to hang the jerky strips one by one on the strips of cloth in the yard to dry so that it could be preserved for a long time.
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