Chapter 5
"Just wash her hair or shave it and let it grow back. Using a comb alone won't work."
Jiao Huilan smiled and said, "Daya just took a bath last week. It's been less than a month. I'll take her to the bathhouse next week."
The Meng family was so poor that they could not even afford food, so of course they had no means to take a bath frequently. In the summer it was okay, as they could just draw a bucket of water from the well and put it in the sun to dry. But in the winter it was not possible, as it was inconvenient to take a bath at home.
But the bathhouse ticket costs 1 cent, and children pay half the price, which is a considerable expense for the Meng family.
Jiao Huilan was reluctant to take the money. Besides, many people around her didn't wash once a month or two, so they were still relatively clean.
Zhen Zhen was speechless. She hadn't taken a shower for two days and it was already uncomfortable enough. They only took a shower once a month. Didn't their bodies feel itchy?
It's okay if it's a little dirty, but lice are contagious. If Daya goes to her room often, there will inevitably be lice jumping onto her quilt.
Zhen Zhen was determined to change their hygiene habits.
She went back to her room and took out a dollar. The Meng family had not split up, and Meng Daguo was foolishly filial. The original owner controlled the family's financial power, so all income had to be handed over to her.
Even though the brigade didn't have much money left every year, there was still some, and with the subsidy from Old Man Meng, the original owner was always well-off.
She only cared about spending her own money and never cared about other people's lives. The whole family had no food to eat, no winter clothes, and Jiao Huilan couldn't even afford the money for a bath, but the original owner didn't care about anything.
The original owner had almost spent all his savings, and now only had two dollars and eighty cents left. He had originally planned to keep the money to buy himself a piece of cloth to make a new dress.
Zhen Zhen handed a dollar to Jiao Huilan, "Winter is coming soon. It's too cold to take a bath. Why not take Daya to take a bath before winter comes."
Jiao Huilan didn't expect her mother-in-law to give her money on her own initiative, and she even gave her a whole dollar! She didn't know whether to accept it or not.
Didn't mother hate her asking for money? There was no money at home, and mother gave her so much. Was she trying to test her?
How dare she ask for money from her mother? She really has no intention of being the master of the house!
Jiao Huilan blushed and said, "Mom, Daya has only been bathed for three weeks. Children are not dirty."
Zhen Zhen also wanted to be gentler, but with Jiao Huilan's personality, she would only obey if she was a little fierce.
Zhen Zhen glanced at her and said, "How can it not be dirty? Children run around all day and sweat a lot, so they will only be dirtier than adults. Just take a shower when I tell you to! After taking a shower, go to the nearby barber shop and shave the child's hair to avoid getting rid of lice."
"But……"
"Don't be so picky! Just take the money! I've never seen anyone feel bad about money!"
Jiao Huilan felt that the money was a bit too much, but she really needed some money to buy some clothes for the baby in her belly.
Daya's eyes lit up. Her scalp hurt from combing her hair. If she shaved her head, she wouldn't have to comb her hair anymore.
"Mom, I want to shave my head." Daya said in a baby voice.
Jiao Huilan was worried because winter was coming soon and the children had no hats to wear, and they would catch a cold if they shaved their heads.
But she couldn't disobey her mother-in-law, so she had to agree.
"Mom, will you take a shower with us?"
Zhen Zhen was somewhat tempted. The original owner didn't like cleanliness and didn't take a bath frequently, but she was a bit of a germaphobe.
Just as he was about to agree, he heard Jiao Huilan say:
"Let's get up at three tomorrow morning, and we'll definitely be able to grab a wooden recliner. If we go too late, there won't even be wooden slippers, so we'll have to wash barefoot."
Zhen Zhen swallowed his words and said, "I have something to do tomorrow morning, you can just take Daya with you."
Jiao Huilan thought, what could possibly happen to her mother? Every day she would just sleep or rock in the rocking chair. But why did her mother love to sleep so much? She would not feel sleepy even if she woke up early every day.
The next morning, Zhen Zhen heard Jiao Huilan getting up while he was still asleep.
It was pitch black outside and the wind was howling. It was difficult for Jiao Huilan to take Daya walking at night.
Zhen Zhen turned over and heard Meng Daguo's voice again. It turned out that the family of three went together. She felt relieved.
Jiao Huilan arrived early and managed to grab the wooden recliner with a cabinet as she had wished. She stuffed her and Daya's clothes into it and carried the wooden barrel in.
He filled a bucket with water and let Daya play with it by herself while he stepped into the big bathtub to take a hot bath.
Dachuan's wife came in carrying a wooden bucket. "Hey! Huilan! You're here too? You just took a bath a few days ago, why are you taking a bath again?"
Jiao Huilan smiled and said, "My mother thinks Daya and I are dirty, so she called us to take a bath and asked me to take Daya to shave her head."
"What? The eldest girl has lice?"
"That's right! No matter how hard you try, it's never clean."
"Which girl doesn't have lice? Only your mother-in-law pretends to be clean!" Dachuan's wife looked around and saw that no one was around, so she asked in a low voice, "Why did I hear that your mother-in-law asked you to take the reincarnation pill?"
Jiao Huilan sighed, "That's right, who told me that I couldn't have children and couldn't continue the Meng family line? It's all my fault."
Dachuan's wife choked, "How can I blame you? Let's not talk about this. Let's just say your mother-in-law is reluctant to buy you and Daya a piece of clothing, but she herself dresses up gorgeously. Who in the village doesn't talk about it behind your back?"
Jiao Huilan nodded. "My mother-in-law is beautiful and has a good figure. She is not like me, who has dark skin and is fat. Nothing looks good on me. Daya's skin is like mine. It would be better if she looked like her father. Daguo still looks like my mother-in-law."
Dachuan's wife suspected that someone had stuffed straw in this man's head. Was this how he talked today?
According to the law, most people would at least curse the mother-in-law after hearing what she said.
"Let's not talk about her looks, let's just talk about your mother-in-law's laziness. Which mother-in-law doesn't live frugally and work hard for the family all her life? Working in the fields, washing clothes and cooking, taking care of grandchildren, serving daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law during confinement are all no problem. But your mother-in-law is just enjoying herself all day long. If it were me, I would rather starve to death than not give my grandchildren enough food to eat!"
Dachuan's wife was filled with righteous indignation. She and Jiao Huilan were from the same village, and by marrying into Batou Village, she was considered half a family member.
She wanted to ask Jiao Huilan to help her deal with the ignorant mother-in-law at home, but Jiao Huilan was not in her right mind and nothing she said made sense.
Jiao Huilan nodded and sighed:
"Yes! How can my mother-in-law be so lucky? Before my father-in-law died, he sent her money every month. Not only are her three sons filial, but the daughter-in-law she found is also capable. Such a good life is really enviable!"
Dachuan’s wife: “…”
Dachuan's wife didn't want to talk at all.
Three layers of skin were rubbed off Daya's body and her voice was almost hoarse. Only then did Jiao Huilan let her go.
After taking a bath, Jiao Huilan shaved Daya's hair according to her mother-in-law's request. The barber took the receipt and was not surprised by her request.
Rural girls are prone to lice, so if they are not removed thoroughly, their heads will be shaved bald. Children have delicate skin, so just be gentle.
"Go home and knit a woolen hat for your child to wear, otherwise he will catch a cold easily in winter."
Jiao Huilan's eyes darkened. How could she get the money to buy wool when she couldn't even afford to eat? Besides, wool tickets were in short supply these days.
The family of three walked back carrying the big bucket. After washing, they removed at least five pounds of dust and they walked with a light heart.
Daya ran into the house and asked, "Grandma, do I look good with a bald head?"
The eldest girl has a good shape, round like a salted egg. Zhen Zhen feels that it is much cleaner this way and feels good.
Jiao Huilan felt a pang in her heart, and a tingling pain spread all over her.
Because the first child gave birth to a daughter, the mother-in-law was too lazy to take care of it and didn't even bother to give the daughter a flat head to sleep on, which delayed the daughter's birth! How can she find a partner with this big round head in the future! After this baby is born, I must find a hard photo album or a wooden board to give the second daughter a beautiful big flat head to sleep on.
Meng Daguo also looked at his mother flatteringly, "Mom, does Daya look good with a bald head?"
Zhen Zhen smiled: "Very cute."
Meng Daguo felt very happy.
Mother used to scold Daya for being a money loser. Although Meng Daguo loved Daya, he was also influenced by his mother and thought that a maiden was useless and that the family needed a boy to carry on the family line.
Now that his mother was praising Daya for being adorable, Meng Daguo suddenly felt that it would not be bad to have a concubine.
Daya was praised by her grandmother and showed her little teeth, "It's very comfortable not to have to tie my hair, but it's cold when the wind blows."
Zhen Zhen said: "Grandma will knit you a woolen hat later, so you won't be cold in winter."
Daya secretly rubbed her head against grandma's pants. Grandma didn't yell at her. Instead, she looked at her tenderly, unlike before when she was always fierce!
Such a grandma is so nice. I hope she will always be so nice to her.
Zhen Zhen was thinking about knitting a woolen hat for Daya. She had some ready-made wool in her space. The wool in later times had beautiful colors. She took the new green and light blue yarn, and the hat she knitted had beautiful gradient colors, which didn't look tacky at all.
When Zhen Zhen was in high school, knitting was popular in her class. She also learned a little and should be able to knit a simple hat.
She had nothing to do on weekdays, so when she had free time she would lean against the window and knit a hat in the warm sunlight. Daya would sit on a low stool and help her wind the wool. The sunlight was so bright that every grain of dust could be seen clearly.
Zhen Zhen felt inexplicably sleepy when the sun shone on her. She yawned and heard someone outside shouting:
"Is Aunt Zhen here?"
Zhen Zhen stuffed the wool into the quilt, "Who is it?"
"It's me! Jiang Hua!"
According to the original owner's memory, Jiang Hua was a relative from the original owner's maternal side. She was not a few years younger than the original owner, but a generation younger. Jiang Hua married Zhao Guoan in Xiaogezhuang a few years ago and rarely came out since then.
"Long time no see, what brings you here?"
Zhen Zhen is not passionate, but that's just the character of the original owner. It's gentle and considerate of her not to be sarcastic to others.
Jiang Hua was a little intimidated by this distant relative, and her smile seemed a little unnatural. When she thought of the purpose of her visit, she was even more angry and dared not speak.
Zhen Zhen brought her a chair. Jiang Hua was flattered. "Auntie Zhen, I can do it myself. I remember the last time I came was when Daya was born. In the blink of an eye, Daya has grown up so much."
"That's right! Time makes people grow old!"
Zhen Zhen brought her another cup of hot tea. Jiang Hua became even more restless holding the teacup. Aunt Zhen had always been aloof, so why was she suddenly so warm to her? How could she open her mouth?
Jiang Huagan smiled and said, "Auntie Zhen, I won't hide it anymore. I'm here this time because of your Eryong's matter."
Meng Eryong started dating a girlfriend at the beginning of the year. The girl's brother broke his leg while working, and there was no one to do the farm work at home, so Meng Eryong volunteered to go to the girl's house to work.
The original owner looked down on his son for rushing to his house and scolded Meng Eryong several times, but Meng Eryong still didn't care about the life and death of his family and ran to his girlfriend without looking back.
So, I have been working in the girl's house for a month and plan to come back after the autumn harvest.
The original owner favored the younger son and hated the older son. She could neither like nor hate the second son who was caught in the middle. Her attitude towards him was quite ambiguous.
If I remember correctly, Meng Eryong's girlfriend is from Xiaogezhuang. Zhen Zhen roughly guessed why Jiang Hua came.
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