Chapter 46
Mrs. Meng wanted to take Zhen Zhen and others to Jiang's house to see Meng Li.
Zhang Qiaohong brought four pounds of flour, Zhou Shufen stewed four pig's trotters, Mrs. Meng brought two bags of brown sugar and a large bag of Sanzi, and Old Lady Meng took rice to grind rice flour early in the morning to make rice porridge for the children.
Buying so many things is a big burden for ordinary people, but is there any way?
Who asked Meng Li to give birth to twins?
First of all, there are two sons, and if the gifts from my mother's family are too few, the Chiang family will inevitably look down on them.
As Meng Li's biological family, her sister-in-law and her mother did a good job in not embarrassing her at critical moments.
Zhen Zhen bought four packets of milk powder from Zhao Meilan, which was a pretty good gift.
Jiang Dongping originally thought that it was fine to raise children casually.
But seeing how well Zhen Zhen raised his grandchildren, he was still very envious. Meng Li had inquired and learned that her aunt had been feeding the children milk powder, and an egg a day was also essential, and she also occasionally gave the children calcium supplements.
Plus, he eats well and dresses elegantly, so isn't he different from other kids?
When Meng Li saw the changes in Daya, she decided to follow her aunt's example and feed her baby milk powder.
Yesterday I asked Jiang Dongping to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask. Jiang Dongping bought four bags of milk powder and felt that they were expensive all the way.
The key point is that even four packets of milk powder are not enough to drink, after all, I have two sons.
When Jiang Dongping saw Aunt Meng Li bringing him four packets of milk powder, he felt that this gift touched his heart.
Meng Li was in good condition. Although she was breastfeeding two children, her face was rosy and she looked energetic.
"You've recovered so well." Zhen Zhen said.
Meng Li glanced into the room and smiled happily:
"My mother-in-law is really interesting. Usually when I go to work, she comes out to clean the house and cook. When I am almost home, she hides in the house and disappears. After I came back from the hospital, Jiang Dongping threw the two children in to her. She has been taking care of the two children all the time. She only stuffs the children through the crack of the door when they cry for milk."
Isn't this the legendary folding mother-in-law?
Seeing Jiang Dongping clumsily changing the baby's diaper so as not to tire Meng Li out during the confinement period, Zhen Zhen felt that she had made the right choice in marrying this man.
"If a man has never raised a child, it's just empty talk for him to say he loves his children and his wife. Your Jiang Dongping has done a good job, and your mother-in-law is a rare good mother-in-law. With them helping you take care of the children, you don't have to be afraid of having two children." Zhen Zhen said with a smile.
Jiang Dongping vaguely heard Zhen Zhen praising him and felt relieved from the bottom of his heart.
He likes his aunt Meng Li very much.
This aunt is different from other rural women. She never yells at or criticizes her children. She always speaks with reason and evidence, has an unusual temperament and knowledge, and has raised a son who is a college student.
Jiang Dongping was willing to listen to her whenever she spoke.
Zhen Zhen saw the two children with a photo album under their heads and said quickly, "Are you flattening their heads when they sleep? This is unscientific. You can't do that."
As soon as she said the word "science", she won. No one talks like that these days.
Jiang Dongping was stunned when he said, "My mother said that a flat head looks good. The outer shell of this album is very hard. If the child sleeps from birth, it will be easy to shape it."
Mrs. Meng and Zhang Qiaohong also agreed with this. The big flat head is so cute. If anyone’s child has a big flat head, they will go out and show off!
Zhen Zhen thought that sleeping with a flat head can really cause a lot of harm.
She patiently explained: "The human head is round. Sleeping with a flat head will cause compression at the back of the head, affecting the child's intelligence and visual development. The back of the head will extend in all directions after being concave, so children with a flat head will have a flat face and protruding cheekbones when they grow up. Whether in terms of appearance or physical development, it is harmful rather than beneficial."
It was the first time Jiang Dongping heard such words and he felt a chill down his spine.
Just sleeping with a flat head can cause so many harms? He almost killed his child!
Mrs. Meng, Meng Li and others were also stunned by what they heard.
Zhang Qiaohong said: "Is it so harmful to have a flat head from sleeping? My son Zhaodi has a flat head. But it seems what my aunt said is right. My son Zhaodi has been dull since he was a child, and his face is not as three-dimensional as Laidi's."
Meng Laidi has never slept with a flat-headed guy, and he looks much better than Meng Zhaodi.
Meng Li was also a little scared. Of course, she hoped that her child would grow up good-looking. She had long said that her aunt was not an ordinary person. Just from the fact that her aunt fed the child with milk powder, she felt that she should trust her aunt.
Meng Li asked Jiang Dongping to discuss with her mother-in-law, and they unanimously decided not to let the child sleep with a flat head.
Zhen Zhen hadn't been to the county town for a long time, so he asked Mrs. Meng to take the people back first, and he went to meet Zhao Meilan.
Zhao Meilan accepted two gold rings and a gold earring. Because they were small in weight, Zhen Zhen gave her two yuan, and Zhao Meilan was happy to do so.
These things are not worth much. Even if the world gets better in the future and she sells them, she won't make a fortune from these little things. She still wants to exchange them for some money to buy a few more pounds of rice and flour to support her family.
Zhen Zhen put the thing in his pocket, his expression unchanged.
Zhao Meilan was a little confused about her. She thought Sister Zhen had heard some rumors and wanted to collect more gold and wait for the price to go up.
But if that's the case, we should at least be happy.
This sister is different. No matter what good things she receives, she always looks calm and motionless, which makes people confused.
Zhen Zhen went to the black market again, wanting to buy some cotton. Winter would soon come after the autumn harvest, and once winter came, cotton would be indispensable for making quilts and clothes.
What's more, there will be a new baby in the family this year.
There were indeed people selling cotton on the black market, and she bought a sack of it. She didn't dare buy too much, after all, although it was not heavy, it was quite large.
The cotton seller was a young man, and his eyes lit up when he saw her.
"Sister, is that you?"
Zhen Zhen comes here often, and many people here know her. After all, this lady has an unusual temperament. I heard that when she came here a few times before, many people thought she was an undercover agent. It was only after Zhao Meilan's man brought her here a few times that people became less wary.
Zhen Zhen also thought he looked familiar. "
The young man said quickly:
"Sister, wait a minute, I'll bring someone to find you and will be back soon!"
Zhen Zhen was a little confused, but she still waited here. During this time, she bought two kilograms of red beans, a watermelon, one kilogram of dried mushrooms, and two kilograms of red dates.
She originally wanted to buy some wolfberries, but the quality of the wolfberries was average and a bit black, so she didn't want any.
However, today someone was selling ginseng, saying that it was imported from the north across the province. It is only the size of a thumb and only two yuan per pound. However, this kind of ginseng is very nutritious when boiled into soup.
Zhen Zhen bought a pound of food, put it away and wanted to go back.
But the young man hurriedly came over, pulling an older sister with him.
The elder sister was about forty years old. Although she was dressed simply, her hair was round and plump, and she looked very wealthy.
"She has something she wants to sell, I wonder if you will accept it." The young man said, staring at Zhen Zhen's face.
Zhen Zhen smiled defensively, "What is it that is so mysterious?"
The elder sister was still a little hesitant. After thinking it over again and again, she carefully opened her handkerchief and took out a pair of bracelets.
The color looked like jadeite, and it was shiny and glossy when worn by the lady. At first glance, there was no flaw at all, just like a fake jadeite.
After all, this kind of jadeite would be sold at auction houses in later generations, so how could Zhen Zhen have ever seen jadeite of this quality?
But these days, real things are either smashed or burned, and it’s really hard to find fake things.
"This is..." Zhen Zhen pretended not to know what it was. "Is this jade? I don't like this kind of thing. To us country folk, it doesn't shine as well as gold and it's easy to get bumped."
Seeing that she didn't know the goods, the elder sister became a little anxious.
If the jade is sold by someone who knows the value of the jade, he may ask for a higher price. But if the jade is sold by someone who doesn't know the value of the jade, no matter how good the jade is, they will not recognize it.
The eldest sister said anxiously, "Sister, this is jadeite, one in ten thousand, it was passed down from my ancestors, if I hadn't been starving, I wouldn't dare to sell it."
"Jadeite? You want to sell this bracelet to me? Sister, let me tell you, I'm a country woman. I usually work around the kitchen and have to do a lot of washing. If I wear such an expensive bracelet and it gets bumped and breaks into pieces by accident, I won't even have a place to cry." Zhen Zhen said.
"Sister, why are you wearing such a good thing while washing dishes? Keep it for your future life..."
She suddenly covered her mouth, knowing that she had said something wrong. What do you mean by a good world? Is this world not good?
She hastily changed her words: "If you sell them in the future, you can at least buy an apartment in Beijing. My ancestors have repeatedly warned us not to sell these bracelets no matter how poor we are. It's because we have no use for them that we can't keep them."
She spoke from the heart, so Zhen Zhen stopped pretending with her.
"Okay, how much do you want to sell it for?"
Seeing that she was not too enthusiastic, the elder sister did not dare to name the price she had prepared.
After hesitating for a long time, she said, "Twenty yuan plus one hundred kilograms of rice."
This is really a very cheap price. After all, this bracelet can really be used to buy a house in the future.
But the problem is, one hundred kilograms of rice costs more than ten yuan, and with more than thirty yuan you can pick whatever you want in the museum. With the same price you can buy a basket of cultural relics, but it is really not worth buying a jade bracelet.
Zhen Zhen was also kind-hearted and didn't want to lower the price too much.
"Fifteen yuan for a hundred kilograms of rice. You know, this price is already higher than the market price."
The woman knew what was going on and agreed immediately.
Zhen Zhen took the jade bracelet, wrapped it in the handkerchief given by Cheng Su, bought 100 kilograms of rice on the black market, and gave 15 yuan.
Seeing that she offered a high price, the young man asked secretly:
"Sis, if you like this kind of stuff, I'll buy some for you when I find something suitable."
Zhen Zhen didn't really trust him. "I can't say I like it either. I only accept one when I find the right one. I plan to give it to someone to do something."
The young man pondered over what she meant and became a little unsure.
Zhen Zhen left the black market, found a secret place, put the jadeite into the space, and then rode back.
After arriving home, she put the watermelon in a water tank to cool it down, and cooked a pot of mung bean soup and put it in the water tank to cool.
Under her instruction, Meng Zhaodi prepared dinner, which was Zhen Zhen's specialty, salved pork rice. Boiled eggs and dried tofu were put in the salved pork soup, and the salved pork was chopped into small pieces and placed on the rice. The sticky and fragrant soup was poured on the rice and the flavor came out.
Meng Daguo and Meng Eryong love eating broth rice the most. As soon as the rice was served on the table, they picked up their chopsticks and started to eat, which made Zhen Zhen stop them.
"Waiting for your grandpa and grandma."
Old Mrs. Meng and her father came in wearing straw hats.
The two of them had been working in the fields recently and were extremely tired, especially Old Lady Meng, whose face was thin and dry, her skin was dark, and her wrinkles were filled with ultraviolet rays and the smell of earth.
The old couple are so old, but they are still stubborn and refuse to retire, working hard every day to earn work points.
Zhen Zhen shook his head and asked Daya to call them over to have some good food to replenish their body.
Originally, Zhen Zhen was sent over by Meng Daguo, but now Jiao Huilan is pregnant again, and Old Lady Meng says that life is not easy over there, so she doesn't let her send the child anymore.
It is also a great honor for Old Mrs. Meng and her father to be invited to the house.
Zhen Guizhi had a bad reputation before, and no one had ever been seen to invite anyone to the Meng family for dinner.
On the way here, many people asked Mrs. Meng and her father what they were doing. They said:
"My daughter-in-law is calling for dinner!"
That tone is also quite proud!
As they were eating the fragrant baloney rice, they were even more satisfied. They ate so deliciously that Zhen Zhen was even hungry.
After dinner, Meng Zhaodi washed the dishes, Jiao Huilan cleaned the yard, and Tao Aihong went to get vegetables to cook pig food.
There was not enough food at the pig farm, so Meng Daguo often brought pig feed from home to feed the pigs.
Tao Aihong took the initiative to help this time in order to get more money.
"Who do Meng Li's two children look like?" Old Mrs. Meng chatted with her daughter-in-law after dinner.
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "The eldest son looks like Meng Li, and the youngest son looks like Jiang Dongping."
"Why do they look different? Aren't twins exactly the same?"
There was a pair of twins in the village where Old Lady Meng came from. She thought the two children looked like they were cast in the same mold and often couldn't tell which was which.
"Maybe they are fraternal eggs? Some twins look alike, while others don't. Meng Li's two children don't look alike."
However, it is not popular to check whether the eggs are identical or fraternal these days. This is all Zhen Zhen's guess.
Old Mrs. Meng is still very satisfied. At her age, she just wants the younger generations to live a good life.
Zhen Zhen took the spoon and cooked pig food. She cut all the unripe fruits and vegetables in the yard, including zucchini, loofah, vegetable leaves, cucumber vines, and the pigweed that Tao Aihong cut from the fields, and put them all into the pot to cook.
She doesn't feed him swill anymore.
Ever since the last time a pig ran out of the pigsty, went to the well, and used its nose to press the lever to take a shower, and was seen by Zhen Zhen, she truly accepted the idea that pigs have high IQs and never used pork slop to feed pigs.
Zhen Zhen took out the bean cake residue and rice bran and put them into the pot to boil. Daya came in holding a cicada, stood on tiptoe beside the pot and watched for a while.
"Grandma, it smells so good!"
Zhen Zhen smiled: "Little pig nose."
Daya pointed to the side and said, "Grandma, put some cucumber and tomatoes in it. Daya likes it."
Erya also ran in, "Erya wants to have a bowl too!"
Zhen Zhen thought to herself that it was like raising two little pigs. They didn't like regular meals but had a special liking for pig food.
She sent the two men out to catch dragonflies. The pig food had just been taken out of the pot when Zhang Cuihua came in.
Her girlfriend Song Xiaohong was beaten by a man and came back home with black eyes and bruises.
Zhang Cuihua's husband is the second child in the Song family. He has an older brother and a younger sister.
Most mothers-in-law love their younger sons, but Zhang Cuihua's mother-in-law is different. She likes her older son and younger daughter, but dislikes Song Er.
When the family was divided, all the houses were given to the eldest wife, and Zhang Cuihua was only given a broken box to get out.
Zhang Cuihua was also tough. She chopped the box into pieces in front of her mother-in-law and burned it.
After that, the two sides had little contact.
Zhang Cuihua's daughter was wronged this time, so she planned to ask some people to go over and seek an explanation. Since she couldn't find anyone from the eldest wife's house, she could only find some people in the village and tell them that they were relatives of the Song family.
Zhang Cuihua was also very angry. She had been often beaten since she got married. She originally thought that she could just endure it since she was pregnant, but the beatings became more and more severe. In the past, they only hit her body and not her face, but this time, her face was completely covered with blood.
Zhen Zhen and Zhang Cuihua went to her house.
Song Xiaohong was beaten badly. Her nose was crooked, her eyes were swollen, there were bruises on the corners of her mouth, and her body was in a disfigured state.
Zhen Zhen frowned: "Have you been to the hospital? Will it affect your eyesight?"
"The doctor can't say for sure. Xiaohong's husband is really a bastard. How dare he treat my daughter like this! I must go and ask for an explanation this time. Ask your Daguo and Eryong to go with me!" said Zhang Cuihua.
Zhen Zhen had no choice but to agree to this matter, so he told his two sons to go. However, he was still a little worried, so he warned his two sons not to be impulsive and not to hurt themselves.
Batou Village is relatively united. Whenever there were conflicts or fights with other villages, the entire village would fight together.
When the villagers heard that Song Xiaohong was bullied, they couldn't stand it anymore. It happened to be the autumn harvest yet, and everyone was not busy, so everyone sent someone to go with Zhang Cuihua to ask Song Xiaohong's husband for justice.
Song Xiaohong's husband Chen Liu is an alcoholic. When he's not drinking, he speaks and acts in a very set way, just like a real person. But his true colors show up once he drinks.
He always drinks over the slightest matter. After drinking, Song Xiaohong will definitely try to persuade him. If he doesn't want to listen, he will beat his wife.
This time it was about money.
Chen Liu's mother favors his eldest brother Chen Liu. A few days ago, his eldest brother's house was collapsed by heavy rain, so his mother instigated Chen Liu to use the family savings to build a house for his eldest brother.
When the family property was divided, Song Xiaohong only got a broken pot and a bag of rice, while the eldest wife took all the benefits.
Besides, she had worked so hard over the years and had only saved less than a hundred yuan, which she was going to use to build a house for her family.
Who knew her mother-in-law would come up with this idea.
Song Xiaohong refused to give money to Brother Chen to build a house, so her mother-in-law pointed at her and scolded her. She also blamed Chen Liu for being foolishly filial and secretly gave the money to his mother. When Brother Chen's house had already laid the foundation, Song Xiaohong realized that the money was missing.
She has been thrifty over the years and is reluctant to buy a single piece of clothing. She is also frugal with her children. She hasn't enjoyed any of the happiness, and the money has gone into other people's pockets.
Of course she didn't want to!
She was quarreling with Chen Liu, who had a drink at Brother Chen's place. Brother Chen also instigated her, saying that he couldn't control his wife. Chen Liu got angry and went home, locked the door and beat Song Xiaohong.
After the fight, Song Xiaohong returned to her parents' home, and Chen Liu felt very regretful.
But I've fought her so many times before, so I think it's no big deal. Once Song Xiaohong calms down, she'll come back after some coaxing.
When Zhang Cuihua arrived with a large group of people, he realized that something was wrong, but he did not want to lose face.
Chen Liu was still very angry, thinking that his wife didn't give him face, so he yelled:
"I beat my own wife, what's it got to do with you?"
His mother also pinched her waist and shouted: "That's right! This is our Chen family's family affair! Isn't it normal for a couple to fight? If Song Xiaohong dares to make trouble, our Chen family will not want her as a daughter-in-law!"
Meng Daguo has become a reformed Meng Daguo. He said in a deep voice:
"Fight? You're putting it too nicely. If you hit me and I hit you, that's called fighting. Your Chen Liu hit Song Xiaohong, and Song Xiaohong didn't have a chance to fight back. That's called being beaten! Men who hit women are the most cowardly! If you treat your daughter-in-law like this in Chenjia Village, who will dare to marry their daughter to Chenjia Village in the future?"
The head of the Chen family and the village chief both came. After hearing this, they also felt that the matter was serious and wanted to make peace.
Later, Brother Chen also came. He was very rude and kept accusing Song Xiaohong of being ignorant and told his brother to divorce his wife!
Zhang Cuihua then refused to give in, and a fight broke out between the two sides.
Those who go to Batou Village are all young and strong. They all get ten work points and are in good shape.
Especially Meng Daguo, that punch is no joke! He is like a leader.
Although there were quite a few people from Chenjia Village, they were all there to watch the fun. When the fight really started, only Brother Chen and Chen Liu took part. The two were surrounded and beaten by the people from Batou Village, and Chen Liu's mother even had her hair pulled out by Zhang Cuihua.
After this beating, he learned to speak and to apologize. However, that night Song Xiaohong's son was pushed out and asked to go and mediate.
This kid is also useless. He was corrupted by his grandmother and blames his mother for bringing people to beat his father.
"My father has been beaten beyond recognition. You are so cruel, Mom!"
Song Xiaohong only has this one son. She felt discouraged after hearing this and didn't want to go back even more.
Seeing that she was badly injured, Zhen Zhen gave Zhang Cuihua a bag of brown sugar and a handful of ginseng.
Zhang Cuihua was also very grateful to her. Brown sugar was hard to buy and she had never seen ginseng before. It was Zhen Zhen who told her that she could soak it in water or cook it into soup.
Song Xiaohong couldn't eat these few days, so she cooked soup with ginseng and made some sugar water for her to drink. Song Xiaohong's complexion was pretty good.
The brown sugar in Zhen Zhen's space had long been used up.
Now she bought all these from Zhao Meilan and the black market. Brown sugar is very practical. Daya likes to eat brown sugar sesame cakes. They often make brown sugar cakes at home, so the brown sugar is used up quickly. Whenever Zhen Zhen sees it, she will buy a few bags and keep them. Anyway, they won't go bad if eaten.
That day, the villagers caught two snakes while working in the fields. One of them was caught by Meng Daguo, so he brought it back and asked his mother to make snake soup.
He also took it for granted, thinking his mother knew everything. However, Zhen Zhen was very afraid of snakes and directly told him to throw the snake out and not to keep it at home.
Meng Daguo had no choice but to give the snake to Dachuan so that Dachuan could have a snack.
This year, the Meng family has an important event, that is, Daguo’s father is going to erect a monument.
According to local customs, no tombstone is erected in the first three years, just find a place to bury the body. Daguo's father has been gone for three years. When the original owner was alive, the family had a hard time and could not afford to buy a tombstone. It was difficult to persuade Old Lady Meng, so the matter was delayed.
Life has been better in the past two years, and the daughter-in-law has become kinder and more filial than before. Old Mrs. Meng observed her daughter-in-law's expression and brought up this matter.
Zhen Zhen had to do something about this, after all, he was the original owner's man and the biological father of three children.
She took out twenty yuan and asked Daguo to find someone to erect a tombstone and move the grave to a better place. She also asked Jiao Huilan to make steamed pork with rice flour, salinated pork rice, meatballs, and fruits to offer to Daguo's father.
There was an accident when they were moving the graves because the grass was too lush and Daguo mistook the wrong grave. He only realized something was wrong when he was halfway through digging.
Zhen Zhen brought gifts to apologize and talked a lot before the other party let them go.
The problem is that in the past few years, Daguo has been bringing his mother and brothers to worship at this grave.
It turned out that he had kowtowed in vain during those years, and he had not received any offerings from his family since his father died.
Tao Aihong curled her lips and said, "I've called this old man dad for several years. Big brother, you should be more serious next time. There's a generation difference between us."
Meng Eryong also found it strange. With so many people in their family, how come no one discovered the grave and admitted their mistake?
This made Old Mrs. Meng very sad. Not only did her damned son not enjoy a good life when he was alive, but he also suffered hunger and poverty after his death.
Meng Daguo felt very guilty, "Mom, do you think my dad is poor down there?"
"Not poor at all!" Zhen Zhen was very confident.
"Why?"
"With your father's physique, he could have snatched some of the offerings. The man you burned before was from the same village, and your father has good relationships with people. If he talks to that person, he will have to share some with your father. Besides, didn't we also offer some fruits at home? Although Daya took them all away, there were still some left. Your father definitely won't starve or freeze." Zhen Zhen was talking nonsense.
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