Chapter 30
Zhen Guizhi and her sons were living better and better, and she even built such a magnificent tiled house for her family, using the house to tell those jealous people that they should forget about receiving Daguo's father's death compensation.
Mrs. Meng thought that her sister-in-law was smart and independent-minded, so she always wanted her sister-in-law to give advice on matters that she couldn't decide at home.
"I heard that your daughter-in-law is making a fuss. How is it? Has she not made you angry these days?"
Now Zhen Zhen is like a bullied old woman, and other old ladies in the village feel sorry for her when they talk about this matter.
It is said that there is no one in our village who is more generous than Zhen Guizhi. After all, no one is blind. When other families are hungry, the chimney of the Meng family is filled with the aroma of meat every day.
Who wouldn't be disgusted by it?
What kind of life did Tao Aihong live in Xiaogezhuang before? Now she is well fed and well fed but still wants to make things difficult for her mother-in-law. Everyone says that this daughter-in-law is useless!
Zhen Guizhi's bad temper didn't even make Meng Eryong divorce, which was simply embarrassing for Tao Ai.
Mrs. Meng also felt that her sister-in-law was wronged, but after all, it was someone else's family affair, so she couldn't make idle remarks.
Zhen Zhen smiled and shook her head, "She has been very quiet these days."
Mrs. Meng lowered her voice:
"When Qiaohong first came into our family, she was just like Aihong in your family. She always wanted to be the boss and control me. How could I let her control me? I was very unhappy at that time, and I found an opportunity to tell her clearly. I said if you want to live together, live well, if not, leave. I am not that kind of unreasonable mother-in-law. She gave birth to two daughters, and I never gave her a cold look. I served her with good food and drink. I brought up both Dani and Erni, so what else is she not satisfied with?"
Zhen Zhen nodded, "Sister-in-law, you are kind and righteous."
"Hey, what's the point of talking about justice and injustice? Put yourself in their shoes. Am I not also worried that Meng Li will suffer?"
Mrs. Meng gets angry whenever she mentions Meng Li.
"Guizhi, I have never met a person like Zhou Changsheng! It's fine if he doesn't give Meng Li his salary, but he also wants to settle every penny with her. Meng Li has to write down the money she spent on vegetables in a notebook and share the cost with him when she gets home. But when Meng Li came to buy toilet paper, he said it was for her and told her to pay for it herself."
Although Mrs. Meng is from the countryside, she is warm and hospitable by nature and never cares about trivial matters.
Mrs. Meng thought Zhou Changsheng was an employee and earned a lot of money, so she naturally thought he was generous. But who knew he changed after they got married.
My wife has to pay for every roll of toilet paper!
It's really a real steal!
Meng Li sat aside and wiped her tears. "Mom, Auntie, Zhou Changsheng said that people in the city are like this. He said that couples should be clear about their accounts so that they can live a good life. He also said that I spend money lavishly and can't manage the household. He didn't give me a penny of my salary and asked me to pay for the food myself!"
Is this what the AA system means? I didn't expect that people had this idea in the 1970s?
Zhen Zhen is not good at judging others, but she is fine with the AA system but not with the double-dipping system. This scumbag almost made her laugh because of the AA system but took advantage of everyone.
"Meng Li, don't you think what he said makes sense?"
Rural women who marry city dwellers always feel inferior.
Meng Li stammered, "He's from the city, with advanced ideas. I asked him to hand over his wages, but he said I came for his money, that I was backward, and that I had the mindset of a farmer. He even asked me if I married him for his money! I just..."
"Have you been brainwashed by him?"
"I..." Meng Li was a little confused.
Zhen Zhen was so angry that she laughed. This man was really cunning. He married a wife who did the laundry, cooked, warmed the bed and raised the kids, but now he wanted to split the bill with his wife after he put on his pants.
"Being reluctant to spend money on your wife means you are advanced in thinking and behave like a city dweller? Asking him to hand over his wages means you are thinking like a rural person and you are after his wages? Pah! This cunning man is really shameless! Let me ask you, who buys the vegetables in your house? Who cooks the meals? Who washes the clothes?"
Meng Li stammered: "All... all of it was done by me."
"It's all your fault. Did you ask him for wages? A nanny who does laundry and cooking should be paid 20 yuan a month, right? He hired a free nanny like you, saving all the wages, but he doesn't want to pay a penny and even wants to split the bill with you! Then let me ask you again, who eats more of the meals you cook every day?"
When Meng Li heard the word AA for the first time, she thought it was very fashionable. Although she didn't understand it, she could understand the general meaning.
She said quickly:
"Of course he eats more. He eats three bowls of rice every day, while I only eat one bowl! He sits down to eat while I'm cooking, and eats up all the dishes. By the time I sit down, the meat on the plate is gone, not even a scrap of meat can be picked out. Also, he's a worker, and his clothes are covered with engine oil every day, which makes them very difficult to wash! All the detergent is used on his clothes, and it takes me an hour to wash a set of his clothes! By the way, last time my father went to the county town and gave me a bag of rice, he said that gifts from family members don't count, so he can't give me money."
But Zhou Changsheng himself was reluctant to give her even a can of food.
The more Meng Li thought about it, the angrier she became. At night, she felt as painful as if she had been in a fight. Her body was covered with bruises and scary nail marks. She often couldn't sleep well and stayed awake until dawn.
So, she couldn't stand it anymore and ran back to her parents' home to cry.
But Mrs. Meng had never seen the world and didn't know if all the people in the city were so stingy. She also didn't know how to solve the problem, so she had to call Zhen Zhen over.
Meng Li's words were so immersive that Zhen Zhen also got angry.
"You know how to get angry and know how to write down these injustices, which proves that you are not a piece of wood! If you are not a piece of wood, don't let men bully you. Let me say something unpleasant. If he is willing to give you money, you can get something from bullying you. Now that he doesn't even give you money, you still have to serve him and be his mother. All the good things in the world are taken advantage of by these cunning men!"
Meng Li nodded. Although she was gentle, she had worked in the county town for a few years and was more clear-headed than her peers in the village.
Zhen Zhen said leisurely:
"Didn't he want to split the bill? If he wants to split the bill, then we have to settle the bill! You ask me to buy food, you have to pay! You ask me to cook, you have to pay! You ask me to wash the dishes and do the laundry, you still have to pay! For the food, you have to pay for the dishes you eat, and he has to pay for the food he eats. Rice is calculated by the amount of one bowl, and one bowl is counted as one portion! Let's settle the bill clearly, and no one can take advantage of us!"
Meng Li's blood boiled when Zhen Zhen said this, because this way she could pay less than half the money.
She couldn't wait to go back and settle the score with the man.
But her mother-in-law is a fierce one. Now that her mother-in-law is in charge of the family, she feels a little scared when she thinks of her mother-in-law.
"My mother-in-law would scold me, saying that I have been married and still can't have children, that I am a hen that doesn't lay eggs, that I am after their urban hukou, that women are born to sacrifice for men, and that I should not be so arrogant! I am afraid that she will scold me."
Zhen Zhen laughed, "What are you afraid of? You just got married and didn't spend a penny from their family. They want you to bow your head just like that? You are so shameless! Listen to your aunt. Just stand up straight and be tough. Especially your man who is so incompetent, you have to teach him a lesson!"
Meng Li nodded vigorously.
Mrs. Meng was a little worried, "Will it be okay? Will there be trouble?"
"Sister-in-law, do you think this is how you live? She's just married and she's already being bullied by Meng Li. We're not without people in the Meng family, so how can we let them bully us? Besides, it's like this even before you have children, how much worse it will be after you have children!"
Mrs. Meng couldn't make up her mind. It would be embarrassing if she told others about her daughter's breakup right after her wedding. She couldn't even hold her head up in the village.
However, after returning from work, Mrs. Meng heard about this and actually agreed with Zhen Zhen.
"This shameless bastard only picks on the weak and bullies others. If he meets me, I will beat him till his teeth are all over the ground!"
Old Lady Meng frowned, "Who can you beat to a pulp? The children are listening, don't embarrass yourself!"
Old Mrs. Meng was unhappy.
The son born to Zhang Qiaohong this time was making a lot of noise. Zhen Zhen thought of his three other children at home, so he stood up and went back.
She gave Meng Li some advice, but it was up to Meng Li to decide what to do. If Meng Li was the kind of person who would always give in, then no matter how much she said, it would be useless.
Ultimately it depends on her.
After returning, Jiao Huilan asked Zhen Zhen about his visit to Meng Dasao's house, and Zhen Zhen mentioned it a few words.
Tao Aihong was stunned when she heard this, but she was now in the image of a submissive young wife, so she didn't dare to say too much and only cursed the man a few words.
Jiao Huilan frowned, "How can there be such a man? If Meng Li gives birth to a child, how will the cost of childbirth be calculated? How will the cost of raising the child be calculated? How can the family members divide it clearly?"
This is what Zhen Zhen wanted to say. Women pay a lot for childbirth, but men don’t want to pay a penny. It’s just wishful thinking.
The three men criticized Zhou Changsheng severely. The three Meng Daguo brothers were stunned and dared not say a word for fear of getting into trouble.
Dinner consisted of stir-fried loofah with fried dough sticks, fried lotus root slices, and stewed lamb chops. Knowing that they had worked hard during the summer harvest, Zhen Zhen asked Jiao Huilan to braise the remaining yellow eels, which are a great tonic.
She thought of ways to provide them with a combination of meat and vegetables every day. Although the three of them were tired, they were in good spirits. They were not like other people in the village who had to do farm work for more than ten hours without enough food and often fainted from hunger in the fields.
Her three sons are in very good health, not at all deficient, and full of energy every day.
The stewed yellow eel is very delicious, even Daya likes it.
Zhen Zhen picked up a piece of yellow eel with chopsticks and put it on Meng Eryong's plate, "Eryong, eat more!"
Meng Daguo paused, staring at Meng Eryong, wondering what he had done today to please his mother? Why did his mother give him food?
Meng Hua's face also turned dark. His mother's love for him was becoming less and less now. She only had her elder and second brothers in her heart.
Meng Eryong started to show off, Oh my! Mom really loves him the most! Why is he so likable?
"Thank you, mom! You are always good to me!" Meng Eryong said happily.
Zhen Zhen raised her eyebrows, thinking that she didn't want to either, mainly because your body is too empty, ten minutes is a bit not enough, you need to work harder!
After dinner, Zhen Zhen went to feed Erya and Sanwa again. She found feeding was very interesting. Watching the babies open their eyes wide, gulp down the milk, and smack their lips as if they were not satisfied, she felt a kind of happiness in raising them.
After eating and drinking enough, Sanwa became visibly fatter, and Erya became a little fat girl with a round face.
Before it got dark, Zhen Zhen took out some sunflower seeds that she had harvested last year. She had exchanged these for two bowls of rice from the villagers.
"Mom, what are you doing with the sunflower seeds?"
"Mom wants to fry some melon seeds, but she doesn't know how to make them tasty."
Jiao Huilan laughed. Rural people would fry some dried food before the Chinese New Year. This year she fried peanuts and chestnuts. If she had known her mother-in-law wanted to eat melon seeds, she would have fried some.
Mom is such a greedy little cat who knows how to eat!
Jiao Huilan heated up the pot, poured the melon seeds in and stir-fried them. People who cook may not be able to tell the steps, but they will get the feel of it when they do it. Jiao Huilan repeated it several times and finally fried a pot of melon seeds.
The bag of melon seeds that Zhen Zhen received was very filling. After frying them, they tasted like original melon seeds, and the fragrance lingered on your lips and teeth after you took a bite.
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