She drank half a bowl of wild vegetable soup last night and didn't even have time to drink a sip of water this morning. Shen Zhimei worked on an empty stomach for the whole morning. When it was time to get off work, she was so hungry that her limbs felt weak and she couldn't even walk.
Because she didn't take out the cotton wool, Old Mrs. Qian didn't even use the few drops of cooking oil in the past few days.
To make wild vegetable soup, you can just scoop a few ladles of water to boil, then pour a basket of wild vegetables in and cook them, then add a pinch of salt to season.
What difference was there between the wild vegetable soup without a drop of oil and the pig food cooked by the production team to feed the pigs? Qian Dabao and Qian Zhizhi naturally had no worries about food. They would not starve if they took out something from Mrs. Qian's cupboard.
Qian Xingsheng was the most promising eldest son in the eyes of Old Lady Qian, not to mention that he had given her a precious grandson. Old Lady Qian was still willing to treat him badly, and she always spoiled him in front of others.
As Qian Xingsheng's bedmate and Qian Dabao's biological mother, it is not natural for Xie Xiaofen to benefit from it.
In the end, they were the only ones left to eat coarse food.
So much fine grain is distributed in a year...
"Mother, I haven't been feeling well these days, so please don't bother with her." Qian Xingwang caught up with Shen Zhimei, carrying a hoe, and said in a low voice.
A bitter arc appeared at the corner of Shen Zhimei's lips.
Calculate...
Did she dare to care? In the old Qian family, Mrs. Qian was the sky, and she was the mud on the ground.
If Old Mrs. Qian didn't pick a fight with her, she would be grateful profusely.
"Mother..." Seeing that Shen Zhimei didn't respond, Qian Xingwang called softly.
"I understand." Shen Zhimei nodded helplessly.
Seeing Shen Zhimei nod, Qian Xingwang's frown obviously relaxed a little.
Daya and Erya, who were pulling weeds in another field, saw Shen Zhimei and Qian Xingwang and happily ran over with their baskets.
"Dad, Mom."
The two little girls called out in unison.
"Hey!" Shen Zhimei forced a smile.
Qian Xingwang smiled and took the baskets from Daya and Erya and held them in his own hands.
The family of four walked home talking and laughing.
"Mom, why is there smoke coming out of our house? Is there a fire somewhere?" Daya suddenly pointed in the direction of Lao Qian's house and said in panic.
Shen Zhimei and Qian Xingwang looked up and were also shocked.
In the past few years, although Xie Xiaofen loved to be lazy and would occasionally find the excuse of back pain to ask Shen Zhimei to help with cooking, most of the time she would still cook, wash dishes, and do housework.
But later, after Shen Zhimei gave birth to Erya, there was no more movement in her belly.
Over time, Mrs. Qian would find fault with Shen Zhimei.
Xie Xiaofen used the excuse of taking care of Qian Dabao, so housework such as cooking and cleaning the house gradually fell on Shen Zhimei.
Others can take a break after work, but Shen Zhimei has to cook, wash dishes, and clean the house when she gets home...
By the time she had washed the clothes she had taken off the day before and fed the chickens, the horn for work rang again.
Especially in the past two years, the eldest and second daughter have grown up, and almost all the housework, such as collecting firewood, digging wild vegetables, sweeping the floor, and feeding chickens, falls on the three of them.
The family of four ran back home in a hurry.
Qian Zhizhi, who was carrying a plate of fragrant twice-cooked pork to the main hall, saw Shen Zhimei's family coming back and said with a smile, "Second brother, second sister-in-law, Daya and Erya, wash your hands and eat quickly."
Shen Zhimei frowned, feeling that something was not going well.
"Okay!" Qian Xingwang smiled, put down the basket and hoe, and went to the well to wash his hands.
"Why are you still standing there like an idiot? Don't you know you're hungry?" Hearing no sound behind him, Qian Xingwang turned around and looked at his wife, daughter and two with a smile on his face.
Shen Zhimei put down the hoe, forced a smile, and motioned to Daya and Erya to wash their hands and eat.
As soon as a few people sat down at the table, a pot of greasy braised pork was brought up.
The bright red fat was piled up in the enamel basin, exuding an enticing aroma.
Qian Dabao picked up the chopsticks, picked up two pieces of braised pork and stuffed them into his mouth, then started eating with big mouthfuls of food.
Daya and Erya couldn't help swallowing, but didn't dare to touch the chopsticks in front of them.
Xie Xiaofen and Qian Xingsheng looked at the braised pork in the pot and swallowed their saliva.
"Eat! Why are you still standing there?" Old Mrs. Qian walked in with a big bowl of white rice and a smile on her face.
Seeing this, Xie Xiaofen hurried forward to take the rice bowl, "Mom hasn't even come to the table yet, how can we youngsters eat first!"
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
Old Mrs. Qian sat down in the main seat with satisfaction.
Shen Zhimei looked at the huge table of food in front of her and felt uneasy for no reason.
When a bowl of white rice was placed in front of her, Shen Zhimei's heart was completely panicked.
"Second wife, you should eat more. You look so thin. You need to take care of your body so that our Qian family can have more children!" Old Mrs. Qian smiled and put a piece of braised pork into Shen Zhimei's bowl.
While talking, he put a few more pieces into Shen Zhimei's bowl.
Xie Xiaofen and Qian Xingsheng looked at each other secretly and exchanged glances.
Outsiders may not know what Old Lady Qian's attitude towards Shen Zhimei is, but her family members must be clear about it.
Old Mrs. Qian must have had something bad to say today.
With the mentality that if you don't eat it, it's a waste, and if you eat it, it's also useless, Xie Xiaofen and Qian Xingsheng had a meal with twice-cooked pork and braised pork.
Shen Zhimei looked at the braised pork in the bowl and became so nervous that she could hardly hold her chopsticks.
Seeing Shen Zhimei bowed her head and said nothing, Old Lady Qian continued, "Second brother, your sister-in-law has grown up and it's time for her to get married. Two years ago, I asked your eldest uncle to help find cotton so that I could make two quilts for your sister-in-law as a dowry and sew a new coat..."
Shen Zhimei's hands trembled.
Old Madam Qian coughed lightly and continued, "But the cotton harvest has been bad in the past two years, and your uncle has no other options. I was thinking, your mother gave you two quilts, so you can lend them to your sister-in-law for emergency use, and wait until the cotton harvest is good next year..."
"Mom, you can have whatever you want, but I can't give you those two quilts and cotton." Shen Zhimei put down her bowl and chopsticks.
"I've already told you that I'll return it to you next year. What else do you want? Don't be so shameless." Old Mrs. Qian slammed her chopsticks on the table and said angrily.
The loud noise scared Da Ya and Er Ya so much that they trembled.
"Mother, why don't you give me the two quilts that I gave you first..." Qian Xingwang glanced at the furious Old Lady Qian, frowned and said in a low voice.
"That was not given by my mother, but by my younger sister." Shen Zhimei interrupted Qian Xingwang directly.
"You know my little sister's health condition. She is sick for 300 days out of 365 days a year, and has to drink bitter medicine soup every other day. She drags her sick body to write articles to earn some royalties, and she still thinks about me, her eldest sister, and her two nieces. Tell me, if I give away these two quilts and cotton, am I still a human being?"
As Shen Zhimei spoke, her eyes became red.
"Don't say so much to me. Today, either you take out the cotton wool or take your cotton wool and your two money-losing goods and get out of our Qian's house." The old lady said with a gloomy face and gritted teeth.
(End of this chapter)