Wu Ping said cheerfully, "Mom and Dad, we didn't buy these."
"It's my brother."
"That kid has learned his lesson now, he goes fishing at the beach every day. Look, these two fish are the ones he caught, they're still jumping around."
"He also paid for all the food and drinks."
"Yueqin and I only made this one trip."
The elderly couple listened in a daze.
Has that brat learned his lesson?
Mei Donghai pointed to the hanging salted fish and said, "I was just about to clean it up and have Xiao Wu deliver it to you, but I didn't expect you to send us fish to eat."
"Grouper, oh, that can sell for a good price."
"We don't need to eat such good fish; it would be better to sell it for money."
Mei Yueqin quickly said, "Mom and Dad, no need."
“Let me tell you, Ah An has really learned a lot.”
"They send seafood home every day; we can't even finish it all."
"We can't finish eating this salted fish, so we'll sell it and you can earn more money."
As they were talking, they and Wu Ping unloaded all the food and drinks from the carriage and put them in the east room.
Mei Donghai asked, "Tell me quickly."
"How exactly did that kid learn so well?"
"I hope this isn't just a hoax."
It wasn't that he had a problem with Wu An; it was just that Wu An was such a scoundrel. He even lied and cheated Xiao Wu out of money when they met him on the road. If they hadn't stopped him, Xiao Wu would have already run to Xiaoxi Village to settle accounts with Wu An.
Mei Yueqin pulled up a stool, sat down, and said, "No."
"He never rests, even on rainy days he goes fishing."
"I've been lucky; I've earned about ten thousand yuan during this period."
"He's hiring people to clean up his old house and says he wants to buy a fishing boat and build a new house."
As she spoke, Mei Yueqin's face was full of smiles.
The couple looked at the food and drinks in the house, then at the grouper still thrashing about in the basin, and laughed, "Good, good, good."
"It seems this child has become more sensible and understanding."
"Your life will be easier from now on."
The old woman held Mei Yueqin's hand, her face full of satisfaction.
noon.
Mei Yueqin helped with the cooking. The elderly couple didn't want to cook the two grouper fish and insisted that the two of them take them back. They then brought up Wu An again, saying that Wu An would be angry if they took the fish back. Only then did the elderly couple take one out to cook.
"Mom and Dad, this fish is nutritious, you should eat more of it."
"Remember to take those nutritional supplements too, don't let them expire."
After dinner, we sat down to drink tea and chat, and inevitably the topic of Wu An came up again.
Mei Donghai took a sip of tea and asked, "Has the matter with the Chen family been resolved?"
Mei Yueqin shook her head.
Mei Donghai sighed and said, "How about I go and put in a good word for them? The Chen family should at least give me some face."
He was a brigade cadre back then, and now he's just an ordinary citizen who's retired, but he still has some influence in the village.
Wu Ping quickly said, "Dad, please don't."
“I asked Ah An, and he said he could handle it.”
“He has changed a lot now, and he has his own ideas. Besides, he was the one who caused this mess in the first place. Since he wants to handle it personally, let him give it a try.”
“Alright.” Mei Donghai paused and said, “Although he’s started working, he’s still young. You, as his older brother and sister-in-law, should help him out more.”
Wu Ping nodded.
Mei Yueqin didn't say anything; she had long treated Wu An as her eldest son.
The old woman said, "It's a good thing to be responsible; this is because you've learned your lesson after suffering a loss."
Mei Yueqin smiled and said, "Mom, I actually wanted to ask if there are any suitable girls in our village. I'd like to help Erzi find one."
"This..." The old woman was a little troubled: "Your brother-in-law is famous in the village. Even if there is someone of suitable age, I'm afraid they won't be willing to accept him."
"Let's wait a little longer."
It wasn't that Wu An had such a bad reputation, but rather that the villagers all said that Mei Yueqin suffered hardship after marrying into the Wu family in Xiaoxi Village.
I was curious about why.
Upon further inquiry, it became clear that Wu An was a scoundrel.
In the countryside, nothing stays hidden forever.
In this village, people marry into each other's families; relatives are everywhere.
The story spread like wildfire, from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, until even the most outrageous things Wu An had said were clearly known.
Before Mei Yueqin could say anything more, Wu Ping interrupted, "Mom is right."
"Let's talk about this after Ah An has shown some promise."
"If we go and say anything now, they'll definitely think we're lying to trick the girl into jumping into a fire pit."
Just as Wu Ping finished speaking, a voice came from the doorway: "It really takes a teacher with the right values."
"Yueqin, Xiaoxi Village is so poor, and everyone in our village knows what kind of situation your in-laws are in."
"You're suffering all by yourself, why do you want to drag others down with you?"
The speaker was Chen Lin, a neighbor, who was about the same age as Mei Yueqin. She had married into the family and it's worth mentioning that she and Chen Long were cousins from the same great-grandfather's generation, so their relationship was somewhat distant.
Besides her, there were several other villagers who came to visit.
Mei Yueqin and Wu Ping were both a little embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.
Don't say that dogs look down on people; some people are just that shallow.
When Mei Yueqin and Wu Ping fell in love and she married into the Wu family, many people envied them.
Because in the eyes of outsiders, the Wu family is very well-off. Wu Ping is a teacher and her father-in-law is a village cadre. If she marries into the family, she will at least live a life no worse than others, if not extremely wealthy.
As a result, the Wu family couldn't make ends meet and had a very hard time. They often had to rely on the Mei family for help. Gradually, the villagers found out about this, and many people laughed at them behind their backs.
Chen Lin was different; she mocked Mei Yueqin to her face. Every time Mei Yueqin returned to her parents' home, she would always make a few sarcastic remarks.
"Let me see what you took from your parents' home this time?" she said, lifting the plastic sheet in the car.
Everyone else looked over, all with an air of "watching the joke."
Upon closer inspection, there was nothing under the plastic sheeting; the carriage was empty.
"We asked them to take some salted fish back with them, but they refused." Mei Donghai complained, but he smiled. "They said they couldn't finish all the fresh seafood at home. So, they sent over two lively groupers. Fresh sea fish is good, but salted fish has a unique flavor too."
"What? You can't finish all the fresh seafood?" Chen Lin looked at him with a "don't lie to me" expression: "Uncle Donghai, stop bragging. Everyone knows what kind of family Yueqin's in-laws are in."
The old woman had been waiting for her to say this, and she opened her mouth and said, "Yueqin's brother-in-law is doing well now. He goes to the beach to fish every day. Not only can he make money, but he also has seafood every day."
"Look at this grouper, it's so lively and jumping around. You can't buy it for one or two hundred yuan at the market. They insisted on bringing it to us to try, saying that this fish is nutritious and good for the elderly."
"A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold..."
"There are still so many nutritional supplements... I can't finish them all, I simply can't finish them all..."
He rambled on and on, leaving everyone stunned. Could this person really change his ways so suddenly?
Although Mei Yueqin and Wu Ping didn't like to show off, hearing the old couple's boasting at least silenced the gossip and prevented them from hearing any unpleasant chatter.
Taking advantage of everyone's surprise, the two stepped on the gas and rode away on their tricycle.
As soon as they left the village, the two couldn't help but burst into laughter, a truly hearty laugh.
"Yueqin, I actually feel a sense of triumph..." Wu Ping said with a smile.
Mei Yueqin recalled Chen Lin's incredulous expression and laughed, "Who says it isn't true?"
"My parents are really something, I just couldn't say those things."
Wu Ping said with admiration, "You know, old ginger is spicier."
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