Xia Baozhu got out of bed and rummaged through the old-fashioned reddish-brown wardrobe, finding a dark blue long-sleeved jacket and a pair of navy blue trousers.
This was the most popular and mainstream style in the early 1980s, but it would have looked incredibly outdated and unfashionable in the city in the 1990s.
He tossed the clothes aside and continued searching.
In a corner of the wardrobe, Xia Baozhu found a new dress in the style that had been popular for the past two years. It was a dress that Leng Minghui had casually bought for Xia Zhaodi when he came back.
The clothes were brand new and neatly folded, showing how much Xia Zhaodi cherished them.
Xia Zhaodi only tried on these brand-new clothes once or twice.
Xia Baozhu also found the reason why Xia Zhaodi didn't wear new clothes in her memory.
When Leng Minghui first went out, he bought Xia Zhaodi several beautiful clothes, but they were borrowed by Leng Minghui's two younger sisters under various pretexts shortly after she put them on. These were loans that were never returned.
Later, when Leng Minghui bought more clothes for Xia Zhaodi, she carefully put them away.
Another reason for not wearing new clothes was Wang Aixiang's scolding.
Xia Zhaodi is beautiful, and with just a little dressing up, she can attract the attention of some men. Especially when she wears new clothes, Xia Zhaodi is relaxed and radiant, which can easily make men lose their minds.
Wang Aixiang had witnessed several instances of men staring intently at Xia Zhaodi, each time hurling extremely offensive insults, making Xia Zhaodi so ashamed and indignant that she considered jumping into a well to prove her innocence.
For this reason, whenever Xia Zhaodi wanted to go out to work, Wang Aixiang was extremely unwilling, scolding her for being shameless and wanting to seduce men.
"You're not laying eggs and you're not doing any work, Xia Zhaodi, get out of here today! Don't just stand around doing nothing!"
Wow, what a huge pot!
It seems that Wang Aixiang gave birth to four children by laying eggs.
Hearing the insults, Xia Baozhu leisurely changed her clothes, wearing a blue floral shirt, black corduroy trousers, and black cloth shoes.
It's a bit rustic, but at least I can wear it outside.
Looking into the mirror on the wooden table, Xia Baozhu smiled sweetly at her reflection, which resembled her own appearance.
She has an oval face, peach blossom eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, a delicate nose, and a diamond-shaped mouth—a classically beautiful appearance.
Thankfully, I'm still myself.
However, her yellowish skin and frizzy hair greatly diminished her beauty.
The worst part is her hands. To take good care of them, she needs to avoid physical labor as much as possible.
Just as Wang Aixiang was about to kick the door open, it opened. Seeing Xia Baozhu's expressionless, pretty face, she became even angrier and slapped her across the face.
Xia Baozhu swiftly grabbed Wang Aixiang's outstretched arm, rendering her unable to move.
"Ouch! Mingguang, come out quickly! Mom is about to be beaten to death!" Wang Aixiang felt as if she was being clamped by pliers where Xia Baozhu was holding her, and it hurt terribly.
"I didn't hit you." Xia Baozhu raised an eyebrow, her expression indifferent, her eyes revealing her disgust for Wang Aixiang. She hated dealing with such vulgar and unreasonable shrewish women the most.
Besides, she didn't use much force, so was it really necessary for her to be in so much pain?
Thinking of this, Xia Baozhu increased the pressure on her hands.
"Aaaaaah! Quick! Quick! Let go!"
Wang Aixiang felt a sharp pain in her arm, her vision went black, and saliva dripped involuntarily as she spoke. If Xia Baozhu hadn't been holding her back, she would have almost collapsed to her knees.
Hearing his shouts, Leng Mingguang opened the door and saw Xia Zhaodi holding his mother's arm. He quickly ran over and scolded her.
"Xia Zhaodi, what are you doing! Are you crazy? Let go of Mom!"
Leng Mingguang showed absolutely no respect for his sister-in-law, Xia Zhaodi.
It's such a pity that such an outstanding person like his brother married such a rural woman.
"Your mom hit me, what's wrong with me blocking it?"
Xia Baozhu gave Leng Mingguang a cold look and released Wang Aixiang's arm.
Wang Aixiang hugged her arms, her lips trembling, wanting to curse, but the pain in her arms was affecting her performance.
Leng Mingguang was surprised that Xia Baozhu dared to speak to him like that and even dared to defy his mother. He pointed at Xia Baozhu and said, "You, you..."
He mostly ignored Xia Zhaodi, and usually paid her no attention. His mother and wife would ask Xia Zhaodi to do things, and he would enjoy Xia Zhaodi's efforts without worry.
Ironically, Xia Zhaodi thought he was a good person because Leng Mingguang wouldn't order her around or scold her.
Ignoring the mother and son behind her, Xia Baozhu went to the kitchen to cook some food.
There are two earthen stoves and one gas stove in the kitchen.
The gas stove was bought by Leng Minghui, but Wang Aixiang was reluctant to use it and always had Xia Zhaodi use firewood to heat the earthen stove.
Actually, Xia Baozhu wanted to go out and buy breakfast more at this time. It was too slow to cook while she was hungry, but unfortunately she didn't have much money.
Wang Aixiang took all the money that Leng Minghui sent, and Xia Zhaodi didn't get a single penny. It's truly pitiful and lamentable.
The sixteen yuan she had now was given to her by Leng Minghui when he returned from his first year away. She had spent twenty yuan over four years and still had so much left, which filled Xia Baozhu, who had never known poverty, with emotion.
Worried about the safety of the gas stove, Xia Baozhu followed Xia Zhaodi's memory, sat in front of the earthen stove covered with white ceramic tiles, lit a fire to boil water, and poured in the rinsed rice.
Pour a bowl of flour into an aluminum bowl, crack in three eggs, chop two scallions, add a bowl of water, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and stir until it becomes a yogurt-like batter.
Place a small piece of snow-white lard in the pot on the second stove. After the lard melts, scoop a spoonful of batter and then rotate the pot to spread the batter evenly on the bottom.
Flip it over after one minute, and after flipping it twice, a slightly yellow scallion and egg pancake is ready.
When Xia Baozhu was making the second pancake, she picked up the first one to eat. She was so hungry that her stomach kept protesting, and she, who was usually well-mannered, didn't care about etiquette anymore.
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