Chapter 77
In Meng Hua's memory, Zhen Guizhi used to be mean, tough, and lazy, and she quarreled with the women in the village every day.
Among the three brothers, Zhen Guizhi always favored the youngest son, ignored the second son, and disliked the eldest son.
Meng Hua knew that his mother was partial to him. All the delicious food and drinks in the family were closely tied to his youngest son. During the New Year, even if she didn't buy clothes for her elder and second brothers, she would make new clothes for her youngest son. In the summer, Zhen Guizhi never gave pocket money to her elder and second brothers, but she gave him money every day to buy popsicles to cool him down.
As a vested interest, Meng Hua has been spoiled since birth and does not think there is anything wrong.
After Meng Daguo got married, he never had a son. In order to force Jiao Huilan to take the pill to change her pregnancy, Zhen Guizhi cried, made a fuss, and even hanged herself, making the whole family restless.
Meng Hua knew that his mother's behavior was problematic, and that his sister-in-law was pitiful, but he also knew that this predicament was not something he could change.
In the past, Meng Hua would just watch from the sidelines and would never make his mother unhappy for the sake of his eldest brother's family.
But after he came back from the capital that time, Zhen Guizhi seemed like a different person.
She no longer allowed Jiao Huilan to take the pills that could change her mother's sex life, and she no longer treated her daughter-in-law harshly. She treated her three sons equally. Meng Hua was no longer the youngest son favored by his mother, but he received the true love of his eldest brother and the opportunity to go to college that his mother had fought for him.
He used to be a kite in his mother's hands, but now he is a bird flying freely. Love has changed from a shackle to a support, and Meng Hua has also begun to examine his relationship with his mother.
It was then that he realized that he paid too little attention to his mother.
Perhaps in his eyes, an aging mother was not worthy of him stopping and paying too much attention to her.
Zhen Zhen was moving peanuts, which were quite heavy. Meng Pandi came over to help her. She had just taken two steps when her hand loosened. When she looked up, she saw Meng Hua carrying the sack over with one hand.
Meng Hua looked thin, and his shoulders were not broad. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, revealing his strong arm muscles, and he looked quite lean.
Zhen Zhen patted Meng Hua's arm and kept clicking his tongue:
"Not bad, even though it looks like a white chicken, it still has some strength."
Meng Hua curled his lips, "Mom, you look down on me too much. After all, I grew up in the countryside doing farm work, how can I not have some strength?"
Zhen Zhen thought to himself, you newbie, you have only done farm work for a few days?
Meng Hua was irritated by Zhen Zhen's disgusted expression and deliberately showed off his strong arms.
Before Meng Hua could feel proud, Meng Daguo came over.
He had a muscular body, broad shoulders, long legs, strong muscles, and wheat-colored skin that exuded a wildness.
Meng Daguo has a manly figure and handsome looks. He picked up a sack with one hand, put it in the warehouse, and walked back without changing his expression.
Zhen Zhen pointed at his eldest son and smiled: "You need to train your muscles, at least to be like your brother."
Meng Hua felt a little jealous.
"My second brother is not as good as me."
"You can only try to make your presence felt in front of your second brother." Zhen Zhen smiled.
Zhen Zhen went to the well to wash her hands, and took out the Cordyceps sinensis she had bought. This was the gift she was going to take to the Tan family. Cordyceps sinensis of this quality would cost at least tens of thousands of yuan in later generations, but it is not worth much these days. One has to ask someone to buy it in advance, otherwise one cannot buy such good quality.
Zhen Zhen received these two boxes of Cordyceps sinensis by chance when he was in Guangzhou. He had kept them in his space and had never taken them out. This time he just happened to bring them to the negotiation room.
"Mom, this isn't cheap, is it?"
Meng Hua travels a lot and is a connoisseur of goods. He often buys Cordyceps sinensis as gifts, and you simply can't find such good ones on the market.
"It's not cheap. This is your wedding, so it can be considered a betrothal gift."
Meng Hua originally thought that just giving some local specialties would be enough. He and Tan Wenyin did not have a very deep relationship, and the marriage was just a formality. But his mother was more serious than anyone else.
"Mom, such a good Cordyceps, Tan Wenyin doesn't need it at all."
"If she doesn't eat it, give it to your father-in-law."
"My father-in-law?" Meng Hua smiled. "Mom, Cordyceps sinensis is a virility enhancer. If I give this to my father-in-law, wouldn't that be like asking for half his life?"
Zhen Zhen glared at him and said, "Just deliver the gift. I'll also take care of the after-sales service, right?"
Meng Hua laughed dryly.
Zhen Zhen took a few more packages of dry goods, packed the gifts he was going to take and put them in a box, and took out a notebook from the cabinet.
"Mom, what are you looking at?"
"Look at your gift list."
"Dowry?" Meng Hua was stunned. "I forgot to tell you this. I have already agreed with Tan Wenyin that both the dowry and the wedding gift are waived. You don't need to prepare anything. I will give her a set of jewelry later. Isn't it much more expensive than the dowry?"
Meng Hua was willing to let his child take the Tan family's surname, which was considered a concession. Tan Zheng was a reasonable man. He knew that Meng Hua's father died early, that there were many brothers in the family, and that the conditions were not good, so he took the initiative to waive the bride price and let the Tan family pay for the wedding banquet.
Meng Hua didn't think there was anything wrong.
He is planning to come here to live off the woman, so he should just live off her to the end. It is impossible for him to spend all his money and effort, and follow all the formalities, and still let the child take the woman's family name, right?
Zhen Zhen glared at him and said, "If they don't want it, then they are sensible. If we don't give them a penny, then we are immature."
"Mom, you're overthinking it. Tan Zheng and my dad were comrades-in-arms, and he knows the situation in our family."
"The past was before, and the present is now. Now that our family has opened a store in the county town, and the conditions are better, there is no reason to pretend to be poor," Zhen Zhen patted his hand and whispered, "You and Tan Wenyin can live a life without any funds at home. Mom is just helping you a little in the name of the bride price."
Meng Hua felt bad. He made a lot of money in the jade business. Even if his mother didn't let him help the family, she still found ways to help him.
"Mom, I'm the boss, so why do I need your help?"
"Being a boss is so great? Being a boss also needs love! Whose son gets married and the mother doesn't show some support?" Zhen Zhen smiled and stuffed a passbook into his pocket. "Here are five thousand yuan. It's not too much, and it's not too little. Give it to your wife and tell her I'm buying her some candy. When we get to Beijing, ask someone to buy some cigarettes and alcohol for her. Although our family's conditions are not as good as theirs, your marriage is a big deal and can't be looked down upon."
Meng Hua hesitated, "You gave too much. I'm afraid my second brother and his wife will have some opinions. After all, when my two brothers got married, they didn't have much money for betrothal gifts."
Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "Mom has thought about what you said. You should have a share in this business. I am thinking of giving you shares. Your second brother and sister-in-law must have opinions, so I might as well help you financially. The money is not much, and your brother and sister-in-law earn more from me every year. When our food store becomes big, they will lie down and count the money, and they will not be able to spend it all in their lifetime. What mom gives you is really nothing."
Meng Hua felt the passbook in his hand was hot.
"Mom..." Meng Hua felt a pang in his heart. He had never thought of taking advantage of his family and had no intention of asking them to spend a penny, but his mother was concerned about not letting him suffer any loss.
He clearly wanted to marry a filial wife so that his mother could enjoy a good life, but in the end, it was still his mother who worried about him.
Meng Hua felt unhappy and felt that he didn't care enough about his mother.
Just as he was about to speak, Second Brother Zhen came over on his bicycle.
"Second uncle." Meng Hua called out.
Meng Hua and Meng Daguo visited Zhen Erge together a few days ago. Zhen Erge was very happy to see his nephew, but he did not rush to reminisce about the past as he had other things to do this time.
Meng Hua poured him a glass of water. Brother Zhen smiled, took the enamel cup and sat down. He drank two sips before saying:
"Little sister, I came here this time to tell you good news."
Zhen Zhen held the stool and approached Second Brother Zhen, "Second Brother is going to give me money?"
Brother Zhen was stunned and laughed:
"You are such a money-grubber. If I don't give you money, it's not good news. You are right. This time, I really came here to give you money."
A few days ago, Brother Zhen went to the Education Bureau for a meeting. The leader of the Education Bureau was his high school classmate, and the two talked about the issue of teachers' holiday gifts this year.
In previous years, the education system purchased all its holiday gifts from state-owned stores. The state-owned stores were very confident, and all the regular units in the county purchased from them. Even if they purchased from local big manufacturers, they might not look favorably upon them.
These factories are all annoyed by the practices of the state-owned stores, but there are only a few stores in the county, and they are all controlled by the government. They are unhappy, but there is nothing they can do.
Factory procurement is related to employee benefits. If the benefits provided to employees are not adequate, employees will curse their leaders to death in private.
Therefore, procurement is the top priority of the unit every year.
Brother Zhen was not stupid, so he took the opportunity to tell his old classmates about Good Mother-in-law Food Store.
The old classmate had some impression of Zhen Guizhi. He learned that Zhen Guizhi's husband was a martyr, and that she raised three sons by herself and opened this store just to supplement the family income. The old leader wanted to help her, so he asked Zhen Guizhi to prepare a big gift package and send it to his unit. The employees of the unit would hold a meeting to vote on whether the package could be purchased from the Good Mother-in-law Food Store.
"I have several old classmates who are leaders in state-owned factories. I have already contacted them and they have verbally promised to help me. You can go there in person and deliver the samples so that they will know what is going on."
It’s not that Zhen Zhen doesn’t want to take over the purchasing business.
But she knew that such government agencies and state-owned enterprises had long-term partners in procurement, and the benefits had been transferred over many years. It was impossible for them to change merchants at will. Even if she was a good mother-in-law, it would be difficult to chew these hard nuts.
"A verbal promise doesn't count, right?" Zhen Zhen asked in a low voice.
"Of course it doesn't count," Zhen Erge pointed at the paper, "Let's not talk about anything else. This machine tool factory alone has more than 1,300 employees. If you can take over this factory, you will make a lot of money this year."
Zhen Zhen also looked at him with envy, "Then I'll go back and do some exercises?"
"I've written down the names and contact information of these classmates. You should give gifts and money when necessary. It's not their business if others don't want to, but you have to show an attitude." Second Brother Zhen ordered.
"Brother, don't worry, I'm not stupid."
Zhen Zhen was not a stingy person. She had heard about these units. They had thousands of employees in total, plus the county-wide procurement of several government units. If they could really succeed, they would earn tens of thousands more a year. What was a little gift? Cigarettes, alcohol, and cash, as long as they dared to ask for them, she would give them.
Brother Zhen was afraid that she couldn't handle it alone, "Do you want Xiang Yang to follow you?"
Zhen Xiangyang has been busy opening a store recently, and Zhen Zhen is worried that he can't leave.
"No need, my three sons are not just for show!" Zhen Zhen smiled.
Meng Hua and Meng Daguo looked at each other and smiled faintly.
Second Uncle Zhen also felt emotional that his three nephews were able to start their own families and careers and stand on their own. If his brother-in-law saw this in heaven, he would be happy.
Meng Hua does jade business in Beijing, and it took him more than half a month just to get the procedures for the license. He has dealt with people in government departments and state-owned enterprises a lot, and he knows the nature of these people. If you don't drink a few times, give a few gifts, and serve them well, you won't be able to get anything done.
Zhen Zhen originally planned to buy some cigarettes and alcohol and visit them, but was politely declined by his three sons.
The reason is that she can't drink much and is of no use.
The three brothers of the Meng family can all hold their liquor, so drinking is no problem for them.
The three brothers of the Meng family have a clear division of labor. Meng Daguo takes the lead and is responsible for visiting the purchasing offices of units and factories, getting in touch with the employees in charge of purchasing, and then inviting them out for a meal in the name of Zhen's second uncle.
Meng Eryong has the best alcohol tolerance among the three brothers. He is responsible for drinking with them. Fearing that he may not be able to accompany those old-timers well, Meng Hua also invited the Meng Dazhui brothers to come over.
After three rounds of drinks, they had boasted, promised benefits, and called each other brothers. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting lively, Meng Eryong pretended to be casual and mentioned that Meng Hua was going to get married.
Meng Hua graduated from a prestigious university. He was handsome and eloquent. Several old-timers in state-owned enterprises wanted to marry their daughters to him. When they heard that he was getting married, they all rushed to find out which daughter Meng Hua was looking for.
Meng Hua waved his hands nonchalantly and didn't want to mention it.
Meng Daguo smiled but said nothing, while Zhen Erjiu looked very proud, which made the old-timers at the table unable to guess what they were talking about.
After they urged him many times, Meng Eryong slowly said the name of Meng Hua's father-in-law.
Upon hearing the name and military rank of Meng Hua's father-in-law, several old-timers at the table were stunned, as if they couldn't believe that Meng Hua could marry into such a family.
It's not enough that Meng Hua is powerful, he married someone's only daughter. If they really get married, Meng Hua will be wronged if he walks around in this county! How can they, the little minions, have the qualifications to let Meng Hua toast them?
A few old-timers looked at each other, then stood up tremblingly with their glasses of wine.
"Brother Meng Hua, you are really a person who does not show your true colors. As your brother, I knew you were someone important the first time I saw you! But we didn't expect you to be so low-key... You said you have a father-in-law like the Tan chief, let alone us unknown minions, even if the county party secretary came to your house, he would have to pour you tea and wine. In short, today a few elder brothers were blind and did not recognize the great man. When you become successful in the future, don't forget to help your brothers."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
