Chapter 122
The Spring Festival Gala is still in progress. This year's Spring Festival Gala is quite entertaining. Not only are the crosstalks and sketches good to watch, but also Hong Kong's handsome men and beautiful women were invited, which fascinated Zhen Zhen so much.
Meng Nan was very smart. She made a gesture to her brothers and sisters, and they all knelt down in front of her.
"Oh, such a big gift for grandma? That's too polite!" Zhen Zhen joked.
Meng Nan hugged Zhen Zhen's thighs, "Grandma, you must live a hundred years! No, live a thousand years!"
"You have such a sweet mouth. Okay, I will never forget the New Year's money for you!" Zhen Zhen specially changed some US dollars, put them in red envelopes, and gave each child a big red envelope.
Meng Nan glanced at the thick red envelope and said, "Grandma, you are so generous. This must be worth thousands of dollars!"
"No matter how much it is, it's just a little gift from grandma." Zhen Zhen said, and took out a few heavy gold locks, each with the name of the child engraved on it, and the word 1993 engraved on the back, "Here, everyone wears it for good luck. Huilan, Aihong, Cheng Su, and Eryong all have one, and those who are not here, Daguo, Menghua, Suxiu, etc., give them all."
Tao Aihong had to admit that no matter how much her mother-in-law disliked her, she always treated her equally in important matters.
There has never been a quarrel over money at home. Even though Tao Aihong has some small thoughts and keeps silent about things behind her back, she has never blamed her mother-in-law for big things.
Tao Aihong can't let go of the gold lock, not only because it looks good, but also because it is heavy!
The heavier the gold, the better!
Tao Aihong is a gold lover and only likes to buy gold jewellery.
Even though people say that platinum and diamonds are more valuable than gold, she still chooses gold!
In the past few years, all the gold she has received from her mother-in-law is a small box of gold! She receives gold for her birthday, National Day, Chinese New Year, and Women's Day!
That’s all. On the child’s birthday, the mother will also receive gold. My mother-in-law said that the child’s birthday is the mother’s suffering day, so the mother needs to be praised more.
Of course, Tao Aihong doesn't need to be praised, she simply likes gold.
Jiao Huilan washed her mother-in-law's feet, and Cheng Su asked Zhen Zhen to put her feet on her legs and gently massage her calves.
"Auntie Zhen, how am I doing?"
Jiao Huilan smiled and said, "Look, I'm feeling so comfortable that my eyes are almost closed. Mom, let's go to bed and sleep, shall we?"
Zhen Zhen was lying on the bed in a daze. Jiao Huilan covered her with a quilt and asked in a low voice, "Mom, what do you want to eat tomorrow morning? Do you want to eat the noodles I made?"
Zhen Zhen suppressed his laughter and said, "Since you asked that, you have to eat even if you don't want to."
Jiao Huilan felt that her business was too big, and she was busy with company affairs and neglected to take care of her mother-in-law. She used to roll noodles for her mother-in-law every now and then, but now she doesn't roll noodles for her mother-in-law once a month.
Jiao Huilan felt relieved when her mother-in-law wanted to eat it.
This is their special way of expressing love.
"We agreed to eat noodles tomorrow, so I'll boil some noodles for mom to make steamed buns. Hmm, we'll roll them with fried dough sticks, salted duck eggs, spring onions, and fried shrimps. How do you think?"
Zhen Zhen was half asleep when she heard the word "Laomo". The Laomo made by Jiao Huilan was so soft that even a 60-year-old woman could chew it. It was delicious when paired with various side dishes!
Zhen Zhen arrived in 1993 in this mood.
On the first day of the New Year, she got up very early.
The window glass was covered with fog. Yesterday, Meng Nan pasted little rabbit window decorations for her. They were so cute. She looked out into the yard through the gap between the rabbit's tail. It was all white outside, with a thick layer of snow on the roof and in the yard.
Zhen Zhen first called her subordinates and asked them to arrange for them to work overtime to shovel the snow. It was not that she was unsympathetic to her employees, but if all the snow was not shoveled away this year, it would freeze over next year and the roads would be impassable. If someone fell, it would be troublesome.
Zhen Zhen arranged her work, put on a thick down jacket, a hat and a scarf, and went out with a shovel.
Sister Qian came out and said with a smile, "I was just thinking, I'm the first one to get up! You got up earlier than me."
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "I went to bed early last night, why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
"I can't sleep. I don't get enough sleep when I get older. I took your health supplements and I sleep better than before, but I'm still not as good as young people."
Zhen Zhen is almost sixty years old, and she doesn't sleep as well as she did twenty years ago. She shovels the snow into a pile and slaps it tightly.
The snow in Xin Yao was quite soft, but Zhen Zhen was not very strong, so when he shoveled it down with a shovel, the snow only caused some minor injuries.
Sister Qian's smile broke. "How long have you not worked? You should just stand aside and I'll take the photo!"
Zhen Zhen felt a little embarrassed. As he was talking, Qiao Dazhuang and Sun Ying also got up.
Qiao Dazhuang was in poor health, so he roasted melon seeds for his good mother-in-law in his early years. Later, when Zhenxin Food Factory became bigger, Zhen Zhen transferred him to the office, where he had a high salary, good benefits, and a lot of free time.
According to Qiao Dazhuang himself, he has nothing to do every day, just walking around and checking whether there is any irregular use of electricity in the factory.
Last year, Sun Ying was promoted to manager, and even her parents-in-law were transferred to the factory to work as security guards. The family of four now receives a salary and enjoys high benefits.
Qiao Dazhuang is not an ungrateful person. He knows that Sister Zhen is taking care of him, so he always rushes to do any dirty or tiring work that the Meng family has to do.
Just then, Qiao Dazhuang heard the noise at home and saw Zhen Zhen working, so he came out with a shovel to help.
"Sister Zhen, what are you going to do? Show me how to do it and I'll help you!" Qiao Dazhuang is in good shape and has strong arms.
"Don't do that. I'm afraid you'll fall."
Sun Ying smiled and said, "Don't worry about him. He is wearing high clogs, how can he fall? These things are waterproof and non-slip! Just let him do it! If you don't let him help, he will feel uncomfortable and feel useless."
Zhen Zhen just let him go.
Zhen Zhen wants to build a children's ice and snow park, with a long slide or something, to provide children with some fun.
Qiao Dazhuang laughed and said, "Meng Nan's third and fifth children are not young anymore."
“No matter how old they are, they are still my grandsons!” Zhen Zhen said with a smile.
Qiao Dazhuang really admires her. She has a good vision for making money and a great love for others. When she sees others in trouble, she always helps them. She helps her relatives and friends, and also helps the people of the whole county!
Qiao Dazhuang gave her a thumbs up and went to work with Sun Ying.
Soon, the neighbors came out to help, and in less than two hours they built a slide that was more than ten meters long.
When Meng Nan went out, she almost thought she had seen something wrong. She rubbed her eyes several times and said, "Wow! An ice and snow slide! It's so beautiful!"
When the third and fifth children heard the calling, they also ran out. The three of them rushed to the slide, enjoying themselves greatly.
Jiao Huilan rolled out the noodles, came out and looked at them, and said with a smile:
"Mom, you are really used to children."
"What's wrong with spoiling a child? At least the child knows you love her."
"That's right. Mom, after what she did, I'm afraid Meng Nan will still remember this day when he's fifty years old!"
"I won't be around when Meng Nan turns 50." Zhen Zhen said with a smile, pulling the dazed Jiao Huilan forward, "Huilan, you should go and play a few rounds too."
Jiao Huilan was a little embarrassed and her face turned red. "Mom, how old am I?"
"No matter how old you are, you are younger than me! In my eyes, you are just a child. Call Cheng Su and Er Yong to join in the fun."
When Zhen Zhen turned around, she heard a click and saw Si Ya standing behind her with the camera she had given her.
She smiled and said, "Grandma, say eggplant!"
Zhen Zhen made a "yeah" gesture and asked Si Ya to take a picture of her.
Jiao Huilan's hand-rolled noodles are really amazing! Add some pickled mustard greens and shredded pork topping, and pair it with steamed buns and side dishes, and it's priceless!
Just after finishing the meal, Zhen's second brother came over with his family. Zhen Zhen thought they were here to pay New Year's greetings, but who would have thought that Zhen's second brother and Zhen Xiangyang both had solemn expressions.
Zhen Zhen wondered if it was Old Lady Zhen who had died?
Is there such a good thing?
"Brother, sister-in-law, Wang Ling, Xiang Yang, we have hot soup noodles at home, would you like to have some warm soup?"
"Don't be busy, Guizhi, my second brother came to see you for something."
Only then did Zhen Zhen realize that his second brother Zhen didn't look like his mother had died.
She was a little disappointed. "What's wrong, second brother?"
Second brother Zhen pulled Dongdong out from the corner. Dongdong was Zhen Xiangyang's son. He had encephalitis when he was a child, and it was Zhen Zhen who helped cure him.
After many years, Dongdong is one head shorter than Sanwa, which is considered a medium height in that era, not short.
The boy looks good, but he just doesn't like studying.
It's not a big deal if he doesn't like studying, but he bought a set of comic books last year, saying that he wanted to learn from the gangsters in the comics and become a big brother! He was determined to be the village bully, and he even put a green dragon on his left and a white tiger on his right. He bought soda for everyone he met, and wanted them to recognize him as a big brother!
Second brother Zhen has many students all over the world, but he also grows bitter melons at home.
It would be fine if the child dropped out of school because he didn't study well, but he also followed others to be a traitor! He was really afraid that he would be severely beaten again and his things would be taken away.
"This guy was setting off firecrackers with others yesterday. He was allowed to set off firecrackers, but he was such a wicked guy that he stuffed firecrackers into a cow's butt!"