Chapter 21
Zhen Zhen's knitting was a little wrong. This is the kind of situation that people are afraid of when knitting. If one stitch is wrong, all the steps will go wrong. There is no way to make up for it.
When she found out, she could only untie the wool stitch by stitch and start again from the wrong place.
But not everything can start over again.
Life is long, and you can't live it well just by understanding a few profound life philosophies. Often by the time you truly understand them, you are already old and aging, and understanding no longer has any meaning.
In the original novel, the villain's son took risks in order to fight the hero, exploiting legal loopholes to make crazy arbitrage in the stock market, but was caught by the hero and eventually sent to prison.
She untied the wool, rewound it around the knitting needle, and said slowly:
"Everyone has a sky above their heads, big or small, and when you realize this, you are no longer a frog in a well. Your mother is an ordinary rural woman, and she cannot provide you with the conditions to leave Batou Village, but you can change your fate through your own efforts. When you leave, your children will be able to stand on your shoulders. If there really comes a day when your children ask you whether a person's fate is determined at birth, I believe you can give a more convincing answer."
Meng Hua's expression changed slightly. He longed for the clean streets of the big city, the people coming and going, and the cars that could be seen everywhere on the streets.
But all he has are the mountains and forests not far away, the land under his feet, and a future without hope.
His blood and roots are all here. For a man like him, being an apprentice in a state-owned factory in the county town is already a great honor, let alone going out.
My mother's gentle voice came to my ears:
"Meng Hua, no matter how far you can go in the future, I will remind you to take the right path and the right way, don't exploit legal loopholes, and make money honestly. Even if you can't get rich overnight, at least you can sleep well."
Meng Hua turned her head and found her mother's words a bit strange.
In this environment, selling eggs could be considered a capitalist act, and being able to be a worker would be a great honor for the Meng family, not to mention exploiting legal loopholes.
"Mom, don't worry, there is no way I would do anything illegal!"
Even if it was done, no one would know about it. For such a thing, a scapegoat must be found in advance.
He Meng Hua is not that stupid.
Zhen Zhen knew that her third son was not as simple as he seemed, and she would not believe everything Meng Hua said.
"When a child grows up, he or she will no longer be controlled by the mother. Once children grow up, they will no longer care about their parents. Anyway, remember what mother said. Before doing anything, you must consider the consequences. Don't take risks just for the sake of a little benefit in front of you."
"Got it!" Meng Hua responded unhappily, and crawled into the quilt like a cricket pupa.
When I closed my eyes, Cheng Su's thin figure appeared in front of me.
This was the first time in his life that his heart was moved by a woman.
But she came from a big city and was a delicate and weak woman, completely different from the elder and second sisters-in-law. Even if he could keep her, mother would not like her, right?
"Mom, is it hard to be a mother-in-law?"
"Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing. I just feel that my eldest sister-in-law and my second sister-in-law have completely different personalities. As a mother-in-law, it shouldn't be easy for you to accept a stranger into our home and get along with them as a family, right?" Meng Hua asked tentatively.
Zhen Zhen thought about it for a moment and understood what he meant.
To be honest, it was quite tiring to talk to Meng Hua. It was obviously a simple matter, but he insisted on making it so complicated. I really don't know how many years in prison he would get if I just spoke frankly.
What can she do with a son like this?
Zhen Zhen felt like sighing for no apparent reason, but she still pulled herself together and replied:
"Being a mother-in-law is not easy, but when I think about how much harder it is to be a daughter-in-law, I feel that being a mother-in-law is nothing. As long as I think about the fact that someone married into my family alone and lives in my home, I remind myself to be more tolerant."
Meng Hua thought that his second sister-in-law was still pretending to be sick in the house, and thought that his mother had a hard time too.
In the past few months since he left home, my mother's temperament has changed a lot. In the past, my mother would definitely not tolerate Cheng Su's temperament, but now my mother is gentler and more reasonable than before. My mother should like her.
The next morning, after brushing his teeth, Meng Daguo went into Zhen Zhen's room to inspect the progress of the sweater. Seeing that the sweater was almost finished, he felt very happy.
When Meng Hua came back from the restroom, he saw Meng Daguo sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling as if he was constipated.
"What are you doing here?" He looked alert.
Meng Daguo was very happy, but his mother was partial to him and only knitted sweaters for him. If he told other brothers about it, it might cause trouble.
He coughed very quietly:
"It's okay. I'll come and see if the room is warm enough. If it's not warm enough, add more charcoal."
Meng Hua wiped his mouth with a towel and looked at him suspiciously, "Why do I feel like something's wrong with you?"
"What can I do? Your sister-in-law has prepared breakfast, go and eat!"
Meng Hua responded absentmindedly, feeling that there was something odd about this.
It was time for breakfast. Tao Aihong certainly couldn't miss this opportunity. She told Meng Eryong in advance:
"Eryong, I'm hungry, remember to hide some meat buns for me."
Before, when Jiao Huilan was in confinement after giving birth, the family had mediocre meals. Now that she is out of confinement, she made hot meat buns early in the morning. Meng Eryong liked the meat buns made by his sister-in-law the best and couldn't wait to jump off the bed.
At breakfast, Zhen Zhen baked a plate of steamed bread slices. When Meng Daguo saw her eating like this, he felt inexplicably distressed.
If it were three months ago, the Meng family couldn't even afford a meal, and having steamed bread slices was something they couldn't even dream of. But now that the family is well off, they eat meat every day, and breakfast is always big, greasy meat buns or dumplings. But my mother never eats those, only these incredibly vegetarian steamed bread slices.
"Mom, have some meat buns!" Meng Daguo said.
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "Daguo, steamed buns are too greasy. I don't like them. I'll just eat steamed bread. You should eat more."
Meng Daguo choked up inexplicably. How could he have thought that his mother didn't love him before? His mother was reluctant to give him food, but she kept it for him to eat. His mother's kindness to him was always reflected in the details of life.
It turns out that she is just a microcosm of thousands of old mothers in this world.
Mother's love is silent, and as he grew up, he finally understood this heavy mother's love.
It's not that Zhen Zhen is picky about food, it's just that the food Jiao Huilan cooks is too greasy. Take buns for example, she likes to use the fattiest meat to make them, and mix the vegetables with pork lard. After all this, the buns are really too greasy.
People these days are short of oil and water, and they like to eat big meat buns like this the most. They think oil and water can satisfy their hunger, but Zhen Zhen can't get used to it!
Fortunately, she liked eating steamed bread slices, and she was quite happy about the rare improvement in her diet. When she looked up, she saw Meng Daguo looking at her with tears in his eyes.
His gaze fell from his own face to the steamed bread slices.
Zhen Zhen's face was covered with tears. She was an expert at baking steamed bread slices. She put the tongs on the stove, cut the steamed bread slices and put them on the stove to bake. The steamed bread slices were baked to be crispy and fragrant, emitting an irresistible burnt aroma. It was her favorite and she didn't want to give it up at all.
But her silly boy was staring at her so much, how could she, as a mother, have the nerve to eat alone?
So Zhen Zhen handed the steamed buns out in a dignified manner, and said in a generous tone: "This steamed bun is delicious, Daguo, why don't you try it too?"
Mom is eating steamed bread slices and still thinking about herself!
Meng Daguo took a bite of the steamed bread. Well, if he ate one more slice, his mother would eat one less slice. His mother loved him, and he loved his mother too.
When Meng Eryong and Meng Hua saw him eating the steamed bread slices, they also took a piece with their chopsticks. Then, Zhen Zhen watched his older sons eat the whole plate of steamed bread slices until only the skin side was left.
Look, is your son untameable?
She gnashed her teeth. The villain in her heart had already pressed Meng Daguo against the wall and rubbed him madly. She wanted to send her eldest son to the toilet and lock him up, but she couldn't be gentle and loving, and maintain her image as a loving mother with a smile on her face.
Jiao Huilan saw that she didn't like greasy food, so she smiled and said, "Mom, I'll make you an egg pancake. It doesn't contain any oil and is very light."
The daughter-in-law is still caring. Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "Thank you, Huilan."
Meng Eryong stuffed the food into his mouth in big mouthfuls. As he ate, he suddenly felt as if he had forgotten something. After a while, he slapped his forehead! Tao Aihong asked him to hide a few meat buns to take back, but he actually forgot about it.
In the past, Zhen Zhen would go back to his room early after dinner, but today he sat at the dining table without moving.
Jiao Huilan was cleaning up the dishes. Meng Eryong waited for a long time but didn't see his mother leave, so he became anxious.
How can he hide the meat buns if his mother doesn’t leave?
"Mom, there's a lot of smoke in the kitchen, you should go back to your room!" Meng Eryong asked concernedly.
Parents are most afraid of this sudden greeting from their children, because it is definitely not a good thing.
Zhen Zhen rubbed his hands, glanced at him nonchalantly, and smiled, "The kitchen is warm, mother can sit in front of the stove and warm herself by the fire."
Meng Eryong laughed dryly, "Mom, the kitchen is full of oil and smoke. If you feel cold, go back to your room and I'll add some charcoal for you. You can lie on the bed and knit a sweater while warming yourself by the fire. Isn't that more comfortable than being in the kitchen?"
Zhen Zhen smiled: "No need, Mom wants to stay in the kitchen today."
"There's no treasure in this kitchen, what are you doing here?"
"There's no treasure but there are meat buns. I'm going to watch over here to prevent the weasel from coming to our house to steal food!"
Meng Eryong suspected that he was being implicated and ran away in shame.
The smell of food from the kitchen wafted into Tao Aihong's room through the window. She secretly opened the window and looked towards the kitchen as if she was sick.
The kitchen was steaming and looked warm.
Jiao Huilan is a good cook. Every meal she prepares is sumptuous and breakfast is full of variety. She has learned a lot in the past month since she got married.
If she hadn't pretended to be sick, she would be able to hold a meat bun in her left hand and an egg in her right hand, and occasionally eat some egg pancakes and tofu rolls.
If you are lucky, there will be some meat soup left over from the previous day, and you can dip the cakes in the soup.
But now she could only watch and drool.
Meng Eryong came back, and Tao Aihong ran over expectantly, "Eryong! Where are the meat buns? Did you bring them?"
"No! My mother was sitting in the kitchen, how could I hide the meat buns?"
"What? Why don't you just hide one when you eat? Do you want to watch your son go hungry?"
Meng Eryong curled his lips and snorted unhappily. If she hadn't been causing trouble, there wouldn't have been so many troubles!
I thought Tao Aihong could take advantage of me by pretending to be sick and push all the housework to her sister-in-law. But she ended up losing more than she gained. Not only did she fail to gain any advantage, she also got herself into trouble.
"Can you blame me for this? If you weren't so cunning, there wouldn't be so many troubles!"
"Meng Eryong! How can you say that to me? I'm pregnant and I want to be lazy, so what? It's freezing cold, who wants to cook or clean the house? I'm carrying the eldest grandson of your Meng family in my belly! Can't you be more modest? You should blame your mother for pretending to make boiled cabbage for me. Is that food for humans? I don't have any food in my stomach now, I'm seeing stars, and I could pass out from hunger at any time!"
Tao Aihong felt really aggrieved. She was greedy to begin with, but now while others were eating meat, she could only eat cabbage.
"How can you blame my mother for this? You said you were not feeling well, and my mother was worried about your stomach, so she told you to starve for a few days. Wasn't that right?"
"I don't care, I don't care!" Tao Aihong got angry and sat on the ground, "I want to eat meat! If you don't solve this problem, I'll just hang myself with a rope!"
Meng Eryong was annoyed by her, but she was his wife after all, and she was pregnant with a son! If she cried too much, it would hurt the child, so he had no choice but to take Tao Aihong away.
"Mom," Meng Eryong smiled and pulled Tao Aihong out, "Mom, look at Aihong's complexion, is it much better?"
Zhen Zhen was drinking tea. Hearing this, he slowly looked up. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. As expected, sometimes people just need to eat vegetarian food to get rid of oil.
"That's right, Aihong looks much better now!" She blew into the enamel teacup.
Meng Eryong thought there was hope when he heard this. "Mom, Aihong is well now and can eat normally. I was thinking of letting her have lunch with us at noon! She's still pregnant, and if she gets too hungry, the baby in her belly won't be able to handle it!"
Zhen Zhen understood, and her gaze shifted from Tao Aihong's red face to Meng Eryong's face, "Eryong, what you said is wrong."
Meng Eryong was confused. "What's wrong?"
"Let me ask you, does Aihong still have headaches, nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness?"
Meng Eryong quickly said, "No, no! Aihong's symptoms have all disappeared. All her symptoms are gone now!"
Zhen Zhen laughed again: "Then can she still work in the fields?"
"Of course! She can take turns cooking and doing housework with my sister-in-law. There is no problem at all! As long as you give the order, she will take over my sister-in-law's shift today and make sure that the housework is done in an orderly manner without any mistakes!"
Meng Eryong's words made Zhen Zhen smile knowingly. She nodded with satisfaction and said softly:
"That's right! Aihong has seen results after only two days of eating vegetarian food. It shows that mother has identified her symptoms and prescribed the right medicine! Just think about it, the effect is so good after two days. If she eats for a few more days, what will happen!"
Zhen Zhen recalled as he spoke:
"I remember it was a cold winter, with howling north winds and fluttering snowflakes."
The purpose of using scenery description here is to set the mood and highlight the character's mood, making it easier to fool people.
"When I was pregnant with you, I was also listless, didn't want to work, and couldn't eat, just like Aihong is now. But I was young and ignorant at the time. I didn't know that this hurt my stomach. I took a lot of medicine but it didn't work. In the end, I was left with a permanent root of the disease. Until now, my stomach is still not in good condition! Whenever I think of this, I feel extremely regretful. It is because I have experienced this that I don't want to let my mistakes be repeated on my daughter-in-law. Eryong, you have to understand my good intentions!"
The fence-sitter Meng Eryong switched sides instantly.
Mother was right. Her starting point was that Aihong was good, but it was because of Aihong's evil intentions that she caused so much trouble.
Tao Aihong felt that her mother-in-law was deliberately making fun of her. She secretly pulled Meng Eryong's clothes from behind, hoping that this foolish and filial son would wake up sooner! Look at his daughter-in-law next to him!
But Meng Eryong was so obsessed with his mother's words that he immersed himself in the web of maternal love woven by his mother.
Tao Aihong was very angry and kept saying, "Mom, I'm really fine! I can work and eat meat!"
"Aihong, why are you talking like a child?" Zhen Zhen said in surprise, "You are still young. Don't you know that health is the capital of revolution? If you don't take good care of your body, you will be hindered for the rest of your life."
Tao Aihong was anxious, "But I'm pregnant! My child is hungry! He wants to eat meat, chicken soup, and eggs!"
"It's because you're pregnant that you can't take it lightly. It's okay for adults, but it's not good for the child," Zhen Zhen said, patting Tao Aihong on the shoulder and speaking with concern, "Listen to me, take good care of you, and eat for another ten days or so until your intestines and stomach are in good condition, then I can rest assured!"
Another ten days or so? Tao Aihong almost fainted.
In the next few days, Tao Aihong almost cried. She felt hungry every day. This kind of hunger was completely different from the hunger she felt when she was not full at her mother's house. In fact, she ate a lot, but every meal was vegetarian, without any oil or water, and it was the same as if she had not eaten anything.
Tao Aihong was counting the days, but Meng Eryong was as stupid as a pig and didn't even think of sneaking some meat and vegetables out for him.
"Eryong, I'm hungry. Please save some of your food tonight and give it to me."
Meng Eryong glared at her and said unhappily, "When I was hungry, I didn't see you saving the chicken soup for me!"
"You are such a jerk, Meng Eryong, you still hold a grudge against me? Is that my fault? It's obviously the child in my belly that's the fault, no matter how much he eats, he can never get enough!"
"Mother is right. You blame everything on the child. He ate too much because he wanted to eat. But you lied and pretended to be sick. It can't be the child's fault, right? I'm telling you, what kind of life are you living at your mother's house? Your mother asks you to pick up manure every day. You do all the dirty and tiring work at home, while your brother is waiting to be served at home like a big master. I should go to your house to help you, so that you can relax a little."
The more Meng Eryong thought about it, the angrier he became. Tao Aihong didn't have enough to eat or warm clothes in her parents' home, and was exploited every day, but she didn't dare to talk back. How come she had a good life after getting married, but instead she was struggling every day to find a sense of existence, leaving him with no peace for a single day!
"My parents' family is my parents' family, and my husband's family is my husband's family. I'm pregnant with the eldest grandson of the Meng family. Shouldn't you Meng family hold me in high esteem?"
Tao Aihong disagreed. She said that she got married to enjoy life, so it was okay for her to be a little lazy.
Besides, Jiao Huilan is the eldest sister-in-law and has given birth to two daughters, so she should work hard for the Meng family!
"Then you can continue making noise!"
Meng Eryong turned over, faced the wall, covered his head with the quilt, and ignored her.
Taking advantage of the good weather and the fact that no one was at home, Zhen Zhen went for a walk in the space. Over the past few days, a lot of meat, noodles and rice in the space had been consumed, and it was obviously less.
There are still many years of planned economy left, so we cannot eat up all the food, especially meat, which needs to be eaten regularly. When we have money, we should buy meat from time to time and store some in the space.
Zhen Taiping brought quite a few medicines from the clinic, including some lactic calcium and DHA for children. Zhen Zhen glanced at the instructions. DHA can only be taken when the baby is six months old. Erya is not old enough, but Daya can take it.
She thought Daya was a little calcium deficient, so she called her in and fed her two pills.
Daya chewed with her head tilted back, her expression indescribable, "Grandma, what is this?"
"This is called the Beauty Growth Liquid. After taking it, you will become more lovely and beautiful. Remember, this is a secret between you and your grandmother. If your mother knew about the Beauty Growth Liquid, the gods would not drop things for us. Do you understand?"
Although this thing tasted terrible, the three-year-old Daya swallowed it without hesitation when she thought about becoming more beautiful.
"I understand. If we don't tell mom, the gods will often drop food for us to eat!"
You are such a logical genius!
Zhen Zhen smiled and pinched her chubby face. Children are so easy to raise. If you feed them more, they will gain weight. Daya has been eating more carbohydrates recently, and she has become visibly cuter.
When I first saw her, she was as thin as an old woman, with a narrow face and big eyes, which looked a little scary.
Now it has grown into a sticky little dumpling, which makes people happy.
After sending Daya away, Zhen Zhen was tripped by something when leaving the space.
These are her mother's old leather shoes.
Zhen Zhen's mother died early, and before the seventh day had passed, Zhen Taiping found a stepmother for her. As soon as the stepmother came into the house, she threw away all of Zhen Zhen's mother's things. When Zhen Zhen went home during the holiday, the house had changed completely.
Zhen Zhen was very angry at the time and had a fight with her stepmother. Zhen Taiping then deducted her pocket money for half a year.
Strangely enough, the stepmother threw away everything but kept a pair of her biological mother's old leather shoes.
Zhen Zhen once suspected that she had cast some kind of curse, the kind cast on dead souls, the purpose of which was to suppress her mother so that even if her mother turned into a fierce ghost, she could not take revenge.
But this was just Zhen Zhen's fantasy. This pair of old leather shoes was very old. They were the black big-toed leather shoes that were popular in the 1990s. The toe box was very big and the upper was wide and fat. They looked very heavy and were not suitable for walking at all.
She put the shoes in the space purely as a commemoration, and thinking of this she kicked her leather shoes aside to avoid tripping.
The sun was shining brightly, and Jiao Huilan was washing diapers for Daya. She used to wash them with cold water even in the cold winter months, but Zhen Zhen would not allow her to abuse herself like that. She would boil a large pot of hot water every day and ask her to wash the diapers while it was still hot. With her mother-in-law caring for her, Jiao Huilan felt much more relaxed at work.
While hanging Daya's diapers one by one on the clothesline, Zhen Zhen caught a glimpse of a girl sneaking in.
This seems to be Song Xiaoyu from Zhang Cuihua's house next door? The second daughter of the Song family, she was a primary school classmate of Meng Hua.
The original owner's only impression of this girl was that she had a runny nose, and her nose was dirty and black, all the time when she was a child.
It is said that girls change a lot when they grow up, but Song Xiaoyu probably does not agree with this. She has not changed much since she was a child. Although she no longer has a runny nose, she is still not beautiful.
Because Song Xiaoyu was Zhang Cuihua's second daughter, the original owner was a sworn enemy of Zhang Cuihua and disliked her daughter. She never even looked at her when they met. But Song Xiaoyu was a polite person. Since elementary school, she would approach the original owner affectionately whenever she saw her, calling her Aunt Zhen all the time.
"Auntie Zhen!" Song Xiaoyu was full of energy.
Zhen Zhen burst into tears, she was only 25 years old and was already called auntie?
But Aunt Zhen is better than Old Lady Zhen, and she can still be rescued.
"Xiaoyu?" Zhen Zhen smiled and welcomed her in. As far as he could remember, this was the first time Song Xiaoyu came to his house. Zhen Zhen enthusiastically made her a packet of soy milk powder, and took out melon seeds and peach cakes to treat her.
Song Xiaoyu hasn't drunk the soy milk powder yet, and she licked her lips, still not satisfied. Aunt Zhen was always cold to her before, but now she is so enthusiastic. Does it prove that Aunt Zhen likes her?
Speaking of which, Aunt Zhen has changed a lot in the past few months. I can't tell what's different, but I just feel like she has become a different person, and the way she looks at people has also changed.
But Aunt Zhen liked her, so it was a good start.
Song Xiaoyu hesitated and put down the teacup shyly.
"Auntie Zhen, there are some things I shouldn't say, but I am Meng Hua's elementary school classmate after all, and I feel I have an obligation to help him! We are both from the proletariat, how could I be seduced by a little Burjoya from a big city!"
Zhen Zhen blinked and stared at her with a smile, which made Song Xiaoyu blush. "Auntie Zhen, do you understand what I said?"
Zhen Zhen shook her head.
"No."
Song Xiaoyu choked, "Aunt Zhen, you don't know yet, do you? There is an educated youth named Cheng Su in our village. She looks very ordinary, her figure can be blown away by a gust of wind, and she works as if she is not full. In short, she can't compare with us proletarians at all! But she is not a good person, but she is very generous and actually fell in love with Brother Meng Hua! Who is Brother Meng Hua? He is your Aunt Zhen's most beloved son, the flower of our Batou Village, is he still something she can't miss? Aunt Zhen, do you think about it?"
Zhen Zhen was in mixed feelings, she thought it was nothing, but it turned out to be a country romance!
But Song Xiaoyu's words made Zhen Zhen understand her character as a supporting female character.
The female supporting role, the female leading role belongs to the male leading role, who is Meng Hua, how could Cheng Su possibly like him?
However, Zhen Zhen happened to be paying attention to this matter, so he rushed forward, "Xiaoyu, you are right. Meng Hua is young, and I don't want to let him talk too early. If he has anything wrong, tell me what he wants to do, Aunt Zhen will beat him up!"
Song Xiaoyu was overjoyed, "Don't worry, Aunt Zhen, I will definitely look after Brother Meng Hua and ensure that the female educated youth will not tarnish Brother Meng Hua's innocence!"
Zhen Zhen thought to himself, what does the third boy’s innocence mean? Is a man’s innocence still innocent?
In the evening, Mrs. Meng came to discuss the details of building the house with Zhen Zhen, including what style to build, how big each room should be, whether the toilet should be moved, and how to layout the kitchen.
There were no designers these days, so they could only discuss it themselves. After a brief thought, Zhen Zhen went into the house and drew a simple blueprint. He even specially drew the fireplace in his room and a bread oven at the kitchen door.
Since you want to do it, just take this opportunity to make it all. Anyway, when people build houses in the countryside, the villagers will help. There is no need to pay for the work, just some money for the materials.
Old Mrs. Meng was disgusted and gave up. What a spendthrift woman! It would be enough to just build a house that can be used, but why add so many fancy things!
But she didn't dare say a word of this, for fear that her daughter-in-law would scold her!
The next day, Zhen Zhen received another letter from the army. She finally received the compensation from Daguo's father. Although she had to go and get it herself, at least she got the money.
She locked the letter in the cabinet in a good mood, and then she heard someone shouting outside the door:
"Auntie Zhen!"
"Xiaoyu?"
Song Xiaoyu panted and begged, "Aunt Zhen, please go and take a look! Brother Meng Hua's innocence is about to be tarnished!"
Zhen Zhen calculated that the incident between the villain's son and the heroine would probably happen in these few days. What you fear will come true!
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