Chapter 26
At this age, I still fall in love at first sight. The rural love is played out clearly by all the uncles.
No matter if it is the widow killer or the traditional Chinese style craftsman, neither of them is within Zhen Zhen's reach. She has a mirror at home and knows that she has average looks and conditions, nothing to show for herself, and she is also incredibly lazy. She is not worthy of being discussed marriage with you uncles.
"Mr. Chen..."
"Oh my! Mr. Chen is so popular! You don't know that before his wife died, several widows asked me to be a matchmaker. At that time, he also asked me to help him find a companion to live with."
"Carpenter Zhou..."
"Carpenter Zhou's wife has been dead for two years and he hasn't found a new one yet. How many men can do that? He is a craftsman, tall and strong. Although his conditions are not as good as Chen's, he is honest! There are not many honest people these days. If he wasn't so good, I wouldn't introduce him to you. Otherwise, your three sons would have torn me to pieces." Aunt Yao spoke very convincingly.
Zhen Zhen thought that her father brought his stepmother home before her mother's death even passed away. Compared to him, Carpenter Zhou was a romantic man.
Zhen Zhen picked up the enamel teacup and blew a sip, then said with a smile:
"Auntie Yao, thank you so much for coming here, but Daguo's father just passed away a few years ago, so I really don't mean to."
Aunt Yao blinked and said, "Guizhi, you don't even like a man as good as Mr. Chen?"
"I found my wife alive, what's so good about that?"
"Aren't all men like this? Guizhi, you are almost 40 years old, you have three sons at home, and the youngest son is still unmarried. Aunt Yao said that you should also consider your own situation! Don't think I am talking too much. You are not worthy of Chen Gong in terms of your conditions. If Chen Gong didn't insist on you, this marriage would never have fallen into your hands!"
Zhen Zhen: ???
As they were talking, an old and harsh voice came from outside the door:
"Zhen Guizhi, your mother is here, why don't you come out to greet me!"
Zhen Zhen frowned, "Why are you here?"
Old Lady Zhen smiled strangely, "Guizhi, I miss you and want to come and see you."
Zhen Zhen raised an eyebrow. What was this old woman trying to do?
Old Lady Zhen drooped her eyelids, not knowing whether to smile or not:
"Do you remember that you had a classmate named Zhao Weimin in middle school? I remember that you liked him very much when you were in middle school. You mentioned him to me several times when you came home. So I brought him here so that you can talk to him!"
Zhao Weimin was wearing tattered clothes and his hair hadn't been washed in who knows how long, so it was stuck to his head and he looked extremely slovenly.
He stepped over the threshold and looked around, as if evaluating something. When his gaze fell on Zhen Zhen's chest, he stayed there for a long time and his eyes lit up instantly.
"Guizhi? I haven't seen you for more than ten years. How come you are still so beautiful?" Zhao Weimin rubbed his hands and was about to drool.
There was such a person in the original owner's memory, but she hadn't seen him for more than ten years. The reason why she still remembered him was because Zhao Weimin had once peeped at her going to the toilet, but he failed and was discovered by the original owner's second brother.
The second brother beat him up severely, and from then on Zhao Weimin avoided the original owner whenever he saw him.
Zhen Zhen sneered: "You haven't changed at all, you're still so wretched!"
Zhao Weimin was stunned. He didn't expect Zhen Guizhi to be so aggressive at her age.
But there's nothing wrong with being spicy, he just likes spicy things, and it's fun to conquer them!
It is not exciting to have sex with a woman who is too docile, and Zhao Weimin doesn’t like that!
The thought of holding Zhen Guizhi under his body made him feel hot all over, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her was obviously lustful.
Zhen Zhen was offended and shouted into the house, "Daguo, your grandma is here, come out and entertain her."
Old Lady Zhen sneered, not without pride: "Come on, Guizhi, stop pretending. I came here after asking for information. Your son and daughter-in-law are not at home today, and there is no one at home. But don't be afraid, I am your mother, how can I harm you?"
Zhen Zhen said with a serious face: "What do you want to do?"
Old Mrs. Zhen looked around. There were so many red bricks stored in the yard that at least several hundred bricks would be needed. It was obvious that the subsidy from Daguo Daddy had indeed arrived!
If I don't take this opportunity to force my daughter to take out two hundred yuan to support her parents, there will be no chance in the future!
Old Lady Zhen laughed strangely: "Mother just loves you. Daguo's father has been dead for several years. Mother can't bear to let you suffer, so mother found a man for you. Weimin was married but had no children. It's hard to find a man like this even if you search with a lantern!"
Zhen Zhen: ? ?
She took a deep breath and said, "I don't plan to get married. Even if I do, I have several sons to support me. It has nothing to do with you!"
"Why is it okay?" Old Lady Zhen disagreed. "You are my daughter, and it is natural for my family to arrange for my daughter's marriage! I have already made plans for you. Weimin is a late bloomer and has no house. After you two get married, I will ask Weimin to be your son-in-law! You are a widow, and it is a great honor for a man to want you! After marriage, change your temper, serve your man well, and then give Weimin a son. It will be better than anything else!"
There was a hint of malice between Old Lady Zhen's brows, and she winked at Zhao Weimin after she finished speaking.
Zhao Weimin immediately came forward to grab Zhen Zhen's hand, but she dodged him.
"Sister Guizhi, I've been thinking about you since I was in school. If it weren't for your second brother meddling in my affairs, we would have been together a long time ago! Although you are older and have three sons, you are not worthy of me at all, but I don't despise you. As long as you change your bad temper and be obedient, we will definitely be able to live a good life together!"
After Zhao Weimin finished speaking, he pushed Zhen Zhen to the wall, thinking he was very handsome, and blew into Zhen Zhen's ear.
Zhen Zhen covered her mouth and was about to vomit. How many days had this man not brushed his teeth? It was stinkier than a toilet!
Doesn't he even look in the mirror? He thinks he's a domineering CEO! An elderly widower is still playing with her?
Speaking of Zhao Weimin, the original owner had a lot of gossip about him in his memory. Zhao Weimin's ex-wife committed suicide by drinking pesticides, but her body turned purple when she died, and everyone said that she was killed by Zhao Weimin.
It was such a piece of shit, but Old Lady Zhen wanted to give it to her!
Zhen Zhen also got angry and said coldly: "Let go!"
Zhao Weimin refused to let go. His mistresses all liked his tricks, and Zhen Guizhi must have liked it too.
"Sister Guizhi, your mother has agreed, so you are mine! You will never have to stay alone after you marry me. I will make sure you know what it feels like to be a woman!"
Zhen Zhen couldn't bear it anymore and kicked the opponent in the vital part.
Zhao Weimin was caught off guard and was kicked by her, screaming and covering his head with his hands, cold sweat was coming out.
Zhen Zhen sneered: "Shameless thing, who do you think you are? You are not even worthy of carrying my shoes!"
As he said that, he ran into the kitchen and took out a kitchen knife. Zhao Weimin was frightened by the cold light on the blade and took a step back tremblingly.
"Zhen Guizhi! Calm down! Let's talk it over!"
"Let's talk it over nicely? What can I say to a shameless person like you! You dare to come to my house and bully me? Do you really think that you can be bullied just because my husband is dead? All right! Today I will show you how powerful I, Zhen Guizhi, am!"
Zhao Weimin thought she was just trying to scare him and didn't take it seriously at all, still looking nonchalant!
Women tend to go crazy when they get angry. Just pull them into your arms and comfort them.
Who would have thought that before he could even show his arms, Zhen Guizhi stabbed his arm! !
"Ahhh! Zhen Guizhi! You're crazy!"
This was a serious blow. Zhao Weimin covered his arm and broke out in a cold sweat.
"You, you, you...you slut!"
"Hey! You just called me sister, but now you're calling me a slut? Why are you men so fickle?"
Zhen Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or not. The kitchen knife in her hand was blind and it would turn when it chopped people. Not only did it chop Zhao Weimin, but it also chopped Old Lady Zhen and Zhen's sister-in-law.
"Zhen Guizhi, you are crazy! I am your mother! What you are doing is extremely treasonous!" Old Mrs. Zhen shouted like a goose.
"That's right! If you hurt us, your brother won't forgive you!" Mrs. Zhen said tremblingly.
"Come on! I have three sons, do you think I'm afraid of you in a fight?"
As Zhen Zhen spoke, he set his eyes on Zhen Dasao. Zhen Dasao was frightened by the crazy and evil sister-in-law, so she grabbed Old Lady Zhen and ran away!
After running away, she patted her chest and glared at her mother-in-law in a blaming manner:
"I told you not to come but you insisted on coming. Look at the good daughter you raised. I've never seen a daughter stabbing her own mother with a knife!"
I never want to come to this crappy place of the Meng family again!
Chopping people is a physical job, and Zhen Zhen was very tired. When he came back, he put the knife on the whetstone and smiled at Aunt Yao in the house.
That smile was extremely creepy in Aunt Yao's eyes!
"Guizhi, I watched you grow up!"
Aunt Yao was gentler than ever before.
Zhen Zhen stroked her messy hair and smiled:
"Auntie Yao, who did you just say I was unworthy of?"
How could Aunt Yao dare to say another word? She picked up her cloth bag and ran away without looking back.
Zhen Zhen estimated that after she went crazy this time, no one would dare to come to her house to propose marriage for at least a few years.
She didn't understand why Old Lady Zhen wanted to marry her to that kind of person. But she could guess what she meant. Zhao Weimin was just a cover. Even if Zhen Zhen agreed, the three children of the Meng family would not agree to Zhen Zhen marrying such a person.
Old Lady Zhen just wanted to use Zhao Weimin to control Zhen Zhen and make Zhen Zhen take the initiative to pay for disaster relief.
It is possible that Zhao Gong and Zhou Mujiang, the two carpenters who were matchmakers for Aunt Yao, also heard about the existence of this money.
After all, all the staff at the town's post office knew about Zhen Zhen's withdrawal of money, and the town was small, so it was not surprising that the news spread.
In the evening, the sons came home and heard about this, and they all came over to greet us.
When Meng Daguo heard that Old Lady Zhen wanted her to marry a rogue, she immediately refused to do it.
"Mom, I'm going to find her now and ask her why she did this!"
"That's right! Mother is our mother. Even if she remarries, it is not her turn to make the decision!" said Meng Eryong.
Meng Hua pursed his lips and sneered, Zhao Weimin, right? Grandma, right? Bullying his mother means that he doesn't take them brothers seriously. He will remember this.
Jiao Huilan was a little worried. If her mother-in-law really remarried, they, as her children, would not be able to stop her. However, after her mother-in-law remarried, she would have to live with someone else, and they would not be as close as they were before.
She still selfishly hoped to keep her mother-in-law by her side.
Several children stared at her worriedly. Daya also looked worried, "Grandma, I don't want you to remarry. Then I won't have a grandma anymore!"
Zhen Zhen smiled, "Don't worry! Grandma won't remarry. Grandma will stay with Daya and Erya, watch you grow up, watch you go to college, and watch you become outstanding people."
"Grandma!" Daya threw herself into grandma's arms and rubbed against her.
Zhen Zhen held the girl onto his lap.
Meng Daguo breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want his mother to remarry, and he didn't want to have a stepfather out of nothing. In his opinion, no man in the village was worthy of his mother, and it would be unfair for his mother to marry them! He didn't agree!
Tao Aihong was addicted to listening to the story, and gossiped while eating melon seeds:
"Oh my! Mom, I didn't expect you to be so popular. You are already this old and there are still several men who like you? It's really not easy! Is that man as tall and handsome as my dad? Describe to us what that man looks like!"
Zhen Zhen smiled: "Ai Hong!"
"Hmm?" Tao Aihong blinked.
"If you have water in your brain, control yourself more. If you are stupid, talk less. No one thinks you are dumb!"
Tao Aihong suddenly felt that gossip was no longer interesting.
In the evening, Zhen Zhen went to the brigade and bought some duck necks. No one ate this stuff, and the brigade used to throw it away. Zhen Zhen bought a big pot of it for five cents.
"Mom, why did you buy so many duck necks?" Jiao Huilan came over.
"Do a dry duck neck?"
Dried duck neck? I've never heard of this before. Mom really knows how to eat it! But the meat on the duck neck looks scary. Can this thing be delicious?
Zhen Zhen smiled, "You'll know once you make it!"
Zhen Zhen has been craving for duck necks for a long time. If she had known she would have to wear them here, she would have bought some more.
If she couldn't eat it, she would have to make it herself. She remembered that dried duck necks needed to be brined before frying. She had never brined duck necks, but she had brined chicken feet, and she felt that the ingredients for making brining were almost the same.
She had all the seasonings in her space, so she threw all sorts of them together, making one pot of spicy and one pot of non-spicy, then fried them in the pot.
The duck neck made in this way is very fragrant, but the meat on the outside is not dry enough.
She didn't have an air dryer, and the weather was hot, so the wind outside was not very effective. She just roasted the duck necks in the bottom of the extinguished pot. The residual heat roasted the duck necks until they were charred, and the meat was firm and chewy.
Daya is one year older, has made a few friends, and only comes back from playing when it’s time for dinner.
"Grandma, what delicious food did you make?"
"Duck neck."
"Duck neck? Can you eat duck neck? Let me see!"
Zhen Zhen handed one to her to see, and Daya put it in her mouth very naturally, moving her little mouth and nodding repeatedly:
"Grandma, the dried duck neck is so delicious! It's so delicious that I want to catch all the ducks in the village to make duck necks!"
Zhen Zhen thanked her on behalf of Duck.
"If it tastes good, just eat it! After you finish eating, grandma will make more!"
Daya was a little addicted to eating duck necks. Jiao Huilan came back and saw that Daya liked it so much, so she also took one. Unexpectedly, Daya became more and more addicted to it and ate four in a row before stopping.
Not to mention Tao Aihong, she took the remaining ten duck necks back into the house.
When Zhen Zhen wanted to eat one at night, he went to her room to ask for it, and she reluctantly gave him one.
"Mom, ask Eryong to go to town to buy more tomorrow, and you can make a few more pots for me to eat slowly during my confinement."
Zhen Zhen thought to himself that you are quite good at conducting.
Zhen Zhen ignored her, and she pestered Jiao Huilan again, "Sister-in-law, you are good at cooking, make me some! The duck neck made by mother is so delicious, I am so hungry for it!"
Jiao Huilan found it funny. How could this person be so greedy? But the duck neck made by her mother was indeed excellent.
"Okay, I'll ask your brother to go to town and see if he can buy some!"
Meng Daguo bought some duck necks. Jiao Huilan tried it according to what Zhen Zhen said, and then according to her own understanding, she did not fry it, but roasted it directly on the bottom of the pot. The roasted duck neck was drier and chewier than the fried one.
This duck neck amazed Zhen Zhen! It tastes better than those popular brands in later generations!
"Huilan, I've never eaten such delicious dried duck neck. You were born in the wrong era. If you were born in a good era, with your cooking skills, you could at least open a chain of snack shops!"
This was the first time Jiao Huilan was praised like this. She blushed, "Mom, it's not as good as you say! Everyone in the countryside can cook!"
"That's not the same! The food you cook is simply better than others! How could I, Zhen Guizhi, be so blessed to have such a virtuous daughter-in-law like you? I will be blessed for the rest of my life!"
Jiao Huilan smiled secretly, she was willing to cook for her mother-in-law for the rest of her life.
Can my mother-in-law not remarry?
Tao Aihong showed off all of Jiao Huilan's duck necks. Three or four days later, when all the duck necks were eaten, Tao Aihong came to ask Jiao Huilan for more.
"Sister-in-law, you said that the baby in my belly is really greedy. It's been a few days and it wants to eat duck neck again."
Jiao Huilan really found it funny. She glanced at her round belly and became a little worried. Her mother was right. Tao Aihong's belly was too big. She would suffer a lot during childbirth! She didn't know how to control herself. But she couldn't tell others because she was afraid that she would worry.
"Okay! I won't be working today, so I'll make you a pot."
Tao Aihong was quite happy and went back into the house to lie down and wait for the food to be ready.
Jiao Huilan tried some new methods, such as coating the fish with seasonings after frying, brushing it with sauce after air-drying, and marinating it with seasonings before cooking.
In summary, the taste of the various methods is not much different, but Zhen Zhen thinks that wind-dried duck neck is not suitable for coating with sauce.
As fate would have it, Jiao Huilan also made the brined duck necks that were sold on the streets in later generations. The taste was so good that Zhen Zhen even thought about selling duck necks.
Maybe Tao Aihong ate too much duck neck and the baby in her belly was unhappy.
"Ouch! I'm bleeding. Am I about to give birth?"
Practice makes perfect. Zhen Zhen was obviously much calmer this time. Besides, she remembered that it was more urgent for Jiao Huilan to have her water break first, but for Tao Aihong who saw blood first, there was no need to be too nervous. She could even take a shower before going to the hospital if she had the energy.
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