Chapter 20
Zhang Cuihua was so angry at Song Xiaoyu's stubborn look that she felt a pain in her heart.
What kind of curse did the men of the Meng family cast on her? She liked Daguo's father because she was young and romantic. The eldest daughter liked Meng Daguo because she was blind. I thought the matter ended there, but who knew that the second daughter came up again, and she looked like she couldn't live without Meng Hua!
Fortunately, the third child is not a daughter. If the third child continues to try to get close to the men of the Meng family, she will not live!
Zhang Cuihua slapped the girl on the back of her head, "What's the point of an embroidered pillow? If you can't work, you can't support your family. Are you going to starve?"
"If you can't support a family, then don't support it! I'm willing to work to support him, as long as he's good-looking, as long as he smiles at me, I'm willing!"
Zhang Cuihua took a deep breath and said, "Where's my fire stick?"
"It's no use looking for a fire stick. I don't believe you're not like this! You always say that seeing my dad makes you vomit the food from three days ago, but that's because my dad is ugly! If it was Daguo's dad in a military uniform, would you still say that?"
Zhang Cuihua imagined how handsome Daguo's father looked in military uniform when he was young. Her heart was uncontrollably moved for a moment, then she came to her senses and cursed:
"You little idiot, I'm trying to persuade you for your own good. Stop daydreaming! The damage your father's ugliness has caused you is eternal. You are the one who looks most like your father among my two girls, and Meng Hua is the most handsome in the Meng family. How could he be interested in you?"
"If he doesn't like you, then he doesn't like you! Meng Hua's father doesn't like you either, so what's the difference between you and me?" After saying this, Song Xiaoyu ran out of the house sadly and went to the mountain.
Zhang Cuihua was so angry that her brain hurt. The fragile friend she had with Zhen Guizhi when she burned the chicken soup last time also broke down. When she thought of Zhen Guizhi's story of secretly spreading the story of her eldest daughter's secretly beating in Meng Daguo all over the village, she had a psychological shadow and wanted to beat her to the other party's face.
Zhen Zhen was completely unaware of all this. It was freezing cold, and looking out from the top of the mountain, the trees were withered, the houses were low, and the smoke from cooking was curling, as faint as an ink painting.
She came down the mountain carrying a backpack and saw Zhang Cuihua. She wanted to thank her for helping her last time and called out:
"Cuihua, I have some dried mushrooms here. Can I give you some to make soup?"
"Who wants your mushrooms! None of the mushrooms from your Meng family are good! I wouldn't even look at them even if you gave them to me!" Zhang Cuihua walked away with a gloomy face, without even looking back.
Zhen Zhen: ? ?
Who had offended her? How come none of the mushrooms in the Meng family were good? Zhen Zhen was a little confused about the friendship of middle-aged women, and walked into the house carrying a backpack.
Meng Hua lowered his head and walked with a limp.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know what happened, but I always felt pain in my left leg, as if someone kicked me!"
Zhen Zhen was silent for a moment, his expression unchanged, "Are you hysterical? Who kicked you after getting full? By the way, your grandfather said he would send the approval slip today, has he come yet?"
Meng Hua pointed absentmindedly at the back of the yard and went to look in the mirror at the door.
Zhen Zhen lifted the tarpaulin covering the bricks. Old Lady Meng was a reliable man. As he was the elder in the village, he had some prestige and managed to get the approval slip. It took others half a year to collect enough red bricks, but he managed to deliver a batch to Zhen Zhen in just a few days. He only asked her to settle the bill.
"The bricks are good. We can build a house in a few more months." Zhen Zhen put down the backpack.
Meng Hua didn't care to agree with her mother, and smeared something on her hair. The air was filled with a familiar yet strange smell. Zhen Zhen sniffed, "What are you applying?"
Meng Hua didn't say anything. Zhen Zhen came up to him and sniffed hard, "You little bastard! Why do I smell lard?"
"No, you heard it wrong!"
"No? Say it again!" Zhen Zhen reached out to touch the poker. "You are only a few years old and you already know how to imitate others to be conceited! Not only that, but you also imitate others to smear lard on your hair. Lard is so expensive! It takes several pounds of pork to get such a little oil, and you just smear it, and it's a big lump. Look at your oily hair! You can cook several hot pots with it. If flies come, you have to switch to ice skating!"
It was also the first time for Meng Hua to apply hair oil. It was Dachuan who taught him how to do it. He melted the pork fat and applied it to his hair. Once the pork fat solidified, the hair would be shaped and would not fall apart even when he was working or running.
He scooped a lump of lard with a copper spoon and put it on the hot fire to roast. Unexpectedly, the lard was quite useful. It fixed his hair in place in a few seconds and the hair was not even messed up by the wind!
Meng Hua looked at the energetic young man in the mirror with satisfaction, "Ouch! Mom! No, no, no! I worked so hard to style my hair, please don't mess it up!"
"Come here!"
"You must be mentally ill to ask for a beating," Meng Hua said as he ran out the door, not forgetting to turn around and smile at Zhen Zhen, "Mom! Fortunately, you are pretty, otherwise your son would not have such a handsome face!"
Zhen Zhen was both angry and amused, and she was so annoyed by this villain son that she threw away the fire stick, thinking that spring hasn't even arrived yet, but this kid already knows how to be conceited.
Then I thought something was wrong, as if I had overlooked some important detail.
Wait! Zhen Zhen suddenly had an idea. A few days ago, Meng Daguo said that a group of educated youth came to the village. Because Batou Village could not spare a house to serve as a dormitory for educated youth, it had not accepted educated youth in the past few years. This year, the county arranged for a group of educated youth from Beijing to come, with a total of more than 20 people.
Could it be that Cheng Su, the unlucky heroine of this period novel, was one of the educated youth who went to the countryside?
This explains Meng Hua's sudden estrus.
In the original novel, the villain Meng Hua fell in love with the heroine at first sight. He seemed upright but was actually a person who would not do anything without a profit. Seeing the heroine in danger, he did not want to help her, but instead added insult to injury and took advantage of her misfortune, allowing others to discover his affair with the heroine, so that the heroine had to marry him.
But the heroine is destined to belong to the hero.
The hero has an almost insane obsession with the heroine. Because of hatred, he forced the heroine to have sex with him without hesitation and even sent her to jail for love.
Many years later, after the reform and opening up, the hero went into business and his career reached its peak. After the heroine was released from prison, she went to the nightclub he opened to make a living, but she was forced by the hero to kneel down and admit her mistakes, which was physically and mentally tormenting!
The heroine finally opened a small restaurant, but was suppressed by the hero and went bankrupt.
The hero has always suspected that the heroine's child is Meng Hua's. Whenever he thinks of the intimate relationship between Meng Hua and the heroine, he becomes jealous and crazy. When he learns that Meng Hua is emerging in the business world, he uses his family background to suppress Meng Hua's business, and no matter what Meng Hua does, he will go bankrupt.
The impoverished and frustrated Meng Hua also brought a devastating disaster to the Meng family. In the end, the Meng family ended tragically under the oppression of the male protagonist.
This fucked up plot made Zhen Zhen feel very sympathetic towards the heroine of the sadistic novel. Then she thought of herself, a young girl who had been reborn as a wicked grandmother, with nothing at home, three sons and two granddaughters, and she was also the target of the crazy revenge of the male protagonist.
Oh, where on earth does she get the courage to sympathize with others?
Counting the days, it was found that the heroine was in trouble at the end of winter. In order to prevent the Meng family from suffering a tragic fate, Zhen Zhen decided to pay special attention to the young boy today to prevent him from going astray and harming others and himself.
Zhen Zhen went into the house to see Erya. Jiao Huilan didn't take good care of herself after giving birth to Da Ya, and went back to work early. This time she stayed in the house for more than half a month, and her body was covered with eczema.
"Mom, if I don't take a shower, I'm going to stink."
"You're almost out of confinement. If you want to take a bath, wear something thicker and ask Daguo to take you to the bathhouse on a cart. When you come back, be well protected. It'll be fine if you don't get blown by the wind."
Jiao Huilan wanted to say that she was not that timid, but for the first time in her life, she was treated like a treasure, and she was particularly fond of the feeling of being a child in front of her mother-in-law.
"Mom, Erya has gained three kilograms, almost nine kilograms!"
Because she was born prematurely, Erya was not heavy enough when she was born. In rural areas, babies are fed during the confinement period. Rich families feed them minced meat and pork liver, while poor families feed them rice noodles soaked in steamed buns with dandruff. Jiao Huilan felt that Erya was too light and breast milk alone was not enough, so she made steamed buns for Erya a few days ago.
Zhen Zhen had never raised a baby, but she knew that babies' stomachs were not well developed at birth, and they could not digest too much food, so breastfeeding was the best way to feed them. So she deliberately reduced the amount of steamed bread she fed her. She didn't have any baby formula in her room, but she had some soy milk powder, which she planned to take out and feed to Erya when she was a little older.
"Jiujin is not bad. If you take good care of him, he will be able to catch up with normal children." Zhen Zhen made Erya laugh.
Erya is also a caring person. She often purses her lips and blows bubbles, which makes Zhen Zhen feel soft-hearted.
At noon, Zhen Zhen made chicken soup for Jiao Huilan, and used the chicken soup to make chicken soup noodles for Daya, so that Daya could replenish her body together.
Daya slurped the noodles and smiled contentedly at Zhen Zhen, "Grandma, the chicken soup is so delicious! Grandma, I want some too!"
The little girl was quite caring. Zhen Zhen smiled and patted her head, "You eat it! Grandma has already eaten."
The sensible Daya's eyes darkened. Grandma said she had eaten it, but she was actually lying! She was reluctant to eat the chicken soup and wanted to save it for her and her mother. Grandma was so good to them.
Daya sniffed and said that when grandma got old, she would buy her the best walking stick.
Tao Aihong came in with a basin, "Mom, today's chicken soup is so delicious!"
Zhen Zhen thought to herself, how come this nose is more sensitive than Ma Da's? He came in just after he had done his job well.
Zhen Zhen glanced at the chalk marks on the wall. She was keeping a record for Tao Aihong. "You've eaten six chickens this month. If you continue to eat more, what will you eat during the confinement period?"
Tao Aihong thought to herself, "Did you worry that I wouldn't eat during the confinement period? If you don't, I won't let you see your grandson! Let's see how you can bear it!"
Tao Aihong laughed dryly, "We eat noodles and meat every day, you must have money!"
Zhen Zhen glanced at her and asked, "What does my money have to do with you?"
Tao Aihong: “…”
Tao Aihong pouted. She was just greedy. She had never eaten chicken in her mother's family. How could she stand smelling chicken soup every day when she came to her husband's family? Besides, she was greedy even when she was pregnant. She wanted to eat everything she saw. The more she ate, the more she wanted to eat. How could this mother-in-law not be understanding at all?
Besides, how can it have nothing to do with her if the mother-in-law has money? Yes! The mother-in-law has three sons, but she is pregnant with the eldest grandson of the Meng family! The daughter born by the first wife has no inheritance rights, and the child of the third wife is nowhere to be found. Isn't the mother-in-law's money her son's money? Why can't she calculate it?
Tao Aihong laughed dryly, "Mom, although you said so, didn't you say that this chicken is related to the IQ of the baby in my belly? If I eat more, the baby in my belly will be smarter. If it is smarter, it will have a bright future. If it is bright, it can marry a beautiful and smart wife. If I have a son, my descendants will have hope!"
Zhen Zhen: ???
Dare to use her words to stop her! OK! Tao Aihong has grown up and this is it!
Zhen Zhen smiled, glanced at her round belly and her increasingly plump waist, "Aihong, it's not that mom is harsh, but you need to control your food intake during pregnancy. Otherwise, the baby will be too big to give birth to, and it will be difficult to lose weight after giving birth. In the end, you will be the one who suffers!"
Tao Aihong curled her lips in disapproval. If you don't want to eat, then don't eat! What excuses are you making? Her mother said that it's better for pregnant women to gain weight!
"Mom, you see how easy it was for my sister-in-law to give birth. She gave birth on the way. I'm not afraid!"
Zhen Zhen was so angry that she laughed, "What I said may be a little unpleasant to hear, but your sister-in-law worked hard every day, taking care of everything around the house. Even when she was pregnant, she still had muscular lines on her belly! You lie at home every day, not moving at all. You are definitely not as good as your sister-in-law in giving birth. You should control your weight. If you have a difficult delivery and your uterus is torn, you will be the one to suffer."
Tao Aihong secretly remembered what her mother-in-law said and went back to her room to tell Meng Eryong:
"Your mother is biased! She said I'm not as capable as your sister-in-law!"
Meng Eryong was confused. "You are indeed not as capable as my sister-in-law. My mother is right!"
This foolishly filial man!
Tao Aihong was so angry that she said, "How am I not as good as her! I am pregnant with your Meng family's eldest grandson, and not only do you not praise me, but you also make up stories about me every day! Could it be that my pregnancy with a boy is not as good as hers with a girl?"
Meng Eryong also thought that a grandson was valuable, but his mother had changed her mind and no longer took her grandson seriously.
"Mom and my eldest sister-in-law have known each other for a long time and have a deep relationship. When your child is born, I will definitely like him."
"Really?" Tao Aihong expressed some doubt.
"That must be true! How can a grandmother not love her grandson?"
After hearing this, Tao Aihong felt relieved to eat again. The smell of chicken soup also made Meng Eryong greedy, but Tao Aihong never asked for any share with him. He only had half a chicken a day, and he ate it cleanly every time.
Meng Eryong saw this and felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to snatch food from the pregnant woman, but Tao Aihong didn't even bother to be polite.
After finally waiting for Jiao Huilan to be discharged from the confinement period, Zhen Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She counted the number of hens. Jiao Huilan and Tao Aihong ate a total of 23 hens. Jiao Huilan felt nauseous at the sight of hens and preferred to drink some pork rib soup or eggs soaked in brown sugar to change her taste.
Being a mother-in-law is not easy! During the month Jiao Huilan was in confinement, Zhen Zhen lost at least 3 kilograms! Now she has finally made it.
Looking at Jiao Huilan again, after a month, her skin became whiter and more delicate, and her eyes were gentle and shining when she looked at people. Although she had taken good care of herself, she did not eat too much fat. Anyone who saw her would be surprised, and feel that she was like a different person. It was hard to tell where she had changed, but she was definitely much more beautiful.
When Jiao Huilan heard others praising her, she felt secretly happy, thinking that it was all thanks to her mother-in-law. She could see that the diet arranged by her mother-in-law was different from that of other mothers-in-law in the village. She did not simply ask her daughter-in-law to eat more to gain weight so that she would have milk to feed the child. She did not gain weight after eating the meals arranged by her mother-in-law, but became more and more beautiful the more she ate.
Jiao Huilan was quite happy about being out of confinement. She was a person who could not sit still. Tao Aihong was like a donkey that could not be pushed. Not only was she lazy in doing things, but she also always needed to be urged. She felt more at ease when she took care of household chores in person.
It was supposed to be Tao Aihong's turn to cook today, but Jiao Huilan fell ill as soon as she came out of confinement.
"Are you sick?" Zhen Zhen raised an eyebrow and looked at Meng Eryong. "I just had a bowl of chicken noodle soup at noon, and I ate half a hen. In the afternoon, I ate all the small fruits and crispy noodles I bought. How can you be sick when you have such a good appetite?"
Meng Eryong glanced at his mother with a guilty look on his face. "Pregnant women have weak constitutions and can get sick easily. How would I know?"
"Really? Since she's sick, mom should go see her!" Zhen Zhen pushed open the door of their room. Meng Eryong didn't stop her. As soon as she entered, she saw Tao Aihong lying on the bed eating melon seeds.
"Mom?" Tao Aihong sat up, and thinking that she was still "sick", she quickly lay down with a sigh, "I don't know what happened today, I suddenly had a headache, it hurts so much that my brain feels like it's going to explode!"
Zhen Zhen glanced at the melon seed shells all over the floor and thought it was rare for someone with a headache to still have such a good appetite.
"What are the symptoms of your headache?" Zhen Zhen responded to all changes with the same attitude.
"Ouch! I feel dizzy and nauseous whenever I stand up, and I get a headache whenever I do anything! I feel a little blurry when I look at people, and I always want to lie down on the bed and sleep," Tao Aihong stroked her forehead with her hand, "Ouch! Ouch! It hurts so much! I must be sick, Mom, it seems I can't cook or work in the short term."
This disease is too specific. Once you get sick, you won’t be able to cook.
Zhen Zhen nodded but didn't say anything.
"You feel so bad, it seems your appetite won't improve either. What a pity. A few days ago, your second uncle sent two kilograms of shrimps to me. I was planning to make fried shrimps and roast beef and potatoes. Your eldest sister-in-law also steamed red sugar jujube mud cakes."
Shrimp? How can rural people afford to eat that? Tao Aihong's eyes widened when she heard this. "Mom, I can still eat."
"How can that be! It sounds like your symptoms indicate that you have hurt your stomach. You are sick with a big belly, so you need to take good care of yourself," Zhen Zhen thought seriously. "You must not eat too much greasy food, or you may hurt your stomach, which is bad for the baby. From today on, you can't eat pickled mustard greens. I'll ask your sister-in-law to make some boiled cabbage for you to take care of yourself!"
Zhen Zhen said and turned away.
Tao Ai's eyes were red with enlargement. When people at home were slurping fried shrimps in the evening, she could only smell the tempting aroma of the rice and swallow her saliva.
"Eryong! I'm hungry!" Tao Aihong lay on the bed, exhausted. "I'm pregnant, how can I eat vegetarian food? Go and tell mom that although I'm sick, my appetite is still good and I can eat anything. As long as I don't work during the day, send me meals as usual, and don't send me boiled cabbage anymore!"
Meng Eryong found her annoying and a little disgusted, "Why did I marry a lazy woman like you! You don't want to cook and push it to your sister-in-law, and you don't even know how to clean up the room. This is already a rotten mud floor, and you threw melon seed shells all over the floor, making it smell! If you don't feel ashamed, I feel ashamed for you."
"Aren't we going to build a new house? Why are you still cleaning?" Tao Aihong said indifferently, "Go tell mom, I'm hungry and want to eat meat."
"No more!"
"What!" Tao Aihong sat up in shock while "sick", "No...nothing?"
"Nonsense! My mother is willing to use oil when cooking. The fried prawns were fried in a whole pot of oil. They were so delicious that I almost swallowed them! She didn't even want to spit out the prawns, let alone the potatoes, beef and jujube cakes. Even Daya ate several pieces. The juice was all eaten up by dipping the cakes. How could there be any vegetables left for you?"
Tao Aihong almost vomited blood. She just wanted to secretly push the housework to Jiao Huilan because she saw Jiao Huilan was out of confinement. But although she was sick, she didn't say that she had a poor appetite! She could eat anything! What she wanted was to not work and just eat!
Tao Aihong was so heartbroken that she cried, "Eryong, I'm hungry!"
"There's nothing I can do even if I'm hungry. Who told you to play tricks on my mother?"
The next morning, Tao Aihong was so hungry that she felt dizzy.
She was already six months pregnant and felt very hungry in the later stages of dizziness. She had been hungry every year at her mother's house before, but she was used to it. After coming to the Meng family, she often ate meat. She also ate six or seven chickens with Jiao Huilan, and had chicken soup noodles every day. How could she eat boiled cabbage?
She couldn't bear to be hungry any longer, so she got up when she heard Zhen Zhen push the door.
"Mom, let me help you with the work!"
Zhen Zhen raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Just because she had a vegetarian meal last night, Tao Aihong didn't look so greasy anymore.
"What do you do?"
"Yes, mother, who told me to be so hardworking? I feel uncomfortable if I don't work for a day! It's okay for me to be sick, but I can't delay the work at home!" Tao Aihong covered her stomach, her voice weak.
Zhen Zhen stared at her carefully, "Oh! Aihong! Why do I feel like your illness is getting worse?"
Huh? Tao Aihong stroked her face, "No, my complexion is normal!"
"You are not normal at all. Your face is pale, your lips are blue, your eyes are empty, your steps are weak, and you look like you will be blown away by a gust of wind! Your illness is getting worse and worse. I thought you would be well in a week, but now it seems that you won't be well in ten days or half a month!"
Tao Aihong wanted to explain that she was not sick, but under the concerned look of her mother-in-law, she could not open her mouth no matter what.
"Mom, I'm fine, I can do it!"
"Aihong, stop trying to show off. Listen to your mother and go back to rest now. I'll ask your sister-in-law to make some boiled cabbage. Eat a good meal and take care of your stomach. I'll try to cure your illness as soon as possible!"
Tao Aihong: “…”
When he turned around, Zhen Zhen curled the corners of his lips slightly and went into the house with a smile.
The north wind was howling. Zhen Zhen burned some charcoal early, filled a bottle of saline water and stuffed it into the quilt. When the room and the quilt were warm, he took the wool bag and went to bed.
Meng Hua pushed open the curtain and came in, rubbing his hands, "Mom, it's still warm in your room!"
Do I need you to tell me this? Zhen Zhen knitted without even raising her head. Meng Huazuan got on the bed and immediately took the hot water bottle to cover her hands. Zhen Zhen pouted in disdain, thinking, "You're so stinky!"
Meng Hua looked at the wool in his mother's hand with deep affection. His mother knitted a sweater every day. After so many days, she was finally almost done. Now there was only a small half left, and it would be finished in a few days.
This looks like an ordinary sweater, but it actually represents his mother's love for him! He felt warm inside when he thought about wearing this beautiful caramel-colored sweater.
"Mom, the sweater isn't finished yet?"
Zhen Zhen thought, does this have anything to do with you? "No, but it will be fine soon, in a few days."
"Mom's knitting skills are getting better and better. This sweater will definitely look good on her!" Meng Hua was full of hints, guiding his mother to tell him about giving him the sweater.
It's a pity that his mother didn't understand. Zhen Zhen just smiled and thought to himself, this kid can talk!
"It's really getting better and better. My son looks like me, so he will look good in it!"
Meng Hua got some key information and became more certain of his guess, so he happily crawled into the quilt.
He lay down but couldn't fall asleep. He put his elbows under his head and stared at the ceiling with his eyes closed.
"Mom, what kind of person a person will become is determined at birth, isn't it?"
Zhen Zhen paused while knitting. "Why do you ask?"
"Only when I went to Beijing did I realize that the world outside is huge and there are many things I have never seen. I used to be a frog in a well, only seeing the sky above my head, content with the status quo, but never thought about jumping out of Batou Village and going to a wider world. This time, many educated youth came to Batou Village. They came from big cities, had read a lot of books, and were different from many people in Batou Village."
It seems that this trip to the capital gave the third boy a lot of insights. He felt a gap in his heart and began to understand the disparity of this world.
Zhen Zhen could fully understand his inner confusion. Meng Hua had lived in Batou Village since he was born. He grew up here, went to school here, and this was his whole world. Suddenly one day he went to the outside world and realized how big the world was.
I remember she also went through a similar period when she was in junior high school. She read a lot of books, heard a lot of stories, and met a lot of people. She thought she owned the whole world, but she knew nothing about the future.
She was confused and thought about it, but did she come to a conclusion? In fact, she didn't.
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