Chapter 118 Paying Back the Money
The kids had heard people talk about fox spirits before, and thought they were the fox spirits in the story. But in Linjiatun, they heard some kids say their mother was a fox spirit.
They felt something was wrong.
When they got home, they asked their grandfather about it clearly, and then they went to Linjiatun again to instigate other kids to beat up the bad-mouthed kid.
This aunt looked at dad with squinted eyes. Was she trying to hook up with him?
Although they didn't know why people who were trying to hook up had to look at each other with squinted eyes, this aunt was definitely not a good person!
And this great-aunt, grandma said she was not a good person, and was even more disgusting than Zhao Meifeng.
If the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. If they are bad, then this old lady must be bad too!
The Xie family didn't know that the two children had discussed what to do today in their bed last night.
They were afraid that their mother would be embarrassed to ask for her things back, so they helped.
Adults would be embarrassed, but children wouldn't.
As soon as the two children came in, Mrs. Xie messed up their plans, so she didn't know how to make up for it for a while.
The eldest aunt couldn't deny that she didn't take Lin Shu's things. After all, Lin Shu was here. If she denied it, it would be equivalent to breaking off relations with Lin Shu, and she wouldn't get any benefits in the future.
She found out that Fang Dihua treated Lin Shu differently now than in the past, so Lin Shu must have cloth and money.
Lin Shu also took back her sewing machine. I heard that she made clothes for others during the New Year. The eldest aunt was jealous.
The reason why she didn't visit was because she was jealous of Fang Dihua. That old woman was too tough and didn't care about her relatives' face and made her lose face. She didn't visit
because she was asking for trouble.
It would be best if Lin Shu could get along with her, or go to Linjiatun.
Thinking this way, she couldn't fall out with Lin Shu.
She kept squeezing Lin Shu's eyes and asked Lin Shu to take care of the children.
Lin Shu understood and poked the two children gently, "What are you talking about? Did your grandma give in?"
Panpan: "Yes, grandma said that she lent the money to relatives because of your face." He poked Tiantian.
Tiantian continued: "Grandma said that it is a favor for us to lend money, and it is the duty of relatives to pay back the money. If she doesn't do her duty, then we will lose all the favor."
This is not something a 6-year-old child can say. It must be taught by an old woman.
The old lady believed the reconciliation between the aunt and the family.
Lin Xia was shocked. Aren't these two kids too capable?
This... Lin Xia found herself unable to say it.
Lin Yue was a sincere man and would not play tricks. Even if he was holding his breath to settle accounts with the Sun family, he would just go to confront them face to face, so he treated the aunt the same way.
He advised: "Aunt, you should return the money you borrowed from my sister as soon as possible. Sun Xiaohong occupied her sewing machine and refused to return it. Look at what happened to her."
The room was strangely quiet for a while.
The two kids nodded vigorously, "My father was not at home at that time, but now my father is at home. He will come to pick up my mother in a while. My father loves my mother very much."
The aunt shuddered for some reason. No way?
Is the Lu family so stingy that they would care so much?
She looked at Lin Shu, "Niece, those are all given by you to show your filial piety to your grandmother, right?"
Lin Shu did not answer but asked, "Really?"
It should be said that although the original owner was weak and would not refuse when someone asked for things, she did not rush to say that I was showing filial piety to you by giving you this and that.
Those money and things were really given by the eldest aunt-in-law who said "lend them to me for use". After all, no matter how thick-skinned you are, you have to whitewash it. It's not like the master can just ask the servant to give them to me. Most people will still cover it up and say that they can lend them to me for two days. Their thick-skinnedness is mainly because they borrow and don't return them. Old lady Jie
smiled and said, "Did the third lady forget?"
The two children immediately said that they had not forgotten, and they were thinking about it for their grandmother.
Xie Jinlan was scolded by her son as a vixen before, and she was angry and aggrieved. She hoped that Lin Shu would beat the two children to teach them a lesson. In the end, Lin Shu not only did not beat the children, but also tolerated their nonsense.
She was immediately unhappy. Why should she give face to Lu Shaotang when he didn't come?
She sarcastically said, "Second sister, are you here to dig up old scores or to find fault on New Year's Day? It's easy to say or not, how can there be such children?"
Lin Xia: "This is all true, what's there to say? We are here to visit grandma, and we won't have an IV drip today?"
Oh, look at the old lady who is so pretentious, there are two crossed tapes on the back of her hand.
Old lady Xie was very uncomfortable when she saw that the rhythm was controlled by Lin Shu, so she quickly interrupted and asked the grandson's wife and the children at home to come over.
Soon, the children of the three brothers Xie Jinkui came running over, calling their cousins and looking at them expectantly.
Their parents said that their rich cousins would come over today to give them New Year money.
A niece of seven or eight years old said with a smile: "Second cousin, you work in the city, your salary is high, right?"
Another little boy said: "Third cousin, your uncle is in the People's Liberation Army, your salary is also high, right?"
"Uncle, you drive a tractor, you also make a lot of money!"
Then Jie Jinkui's third brother and sister-in-law came over with a baby in their arms, with a piece of cloth wrapped around her head, and greeted several people with a smile, "I'm about to leave the confinement period, and the baby will have a full-month banquet in the next two days, you must come."
In the first month of the year, you have to give the child a
New Year's gift, right? You have to give gifts for the full-month banquet, right?
It's a nice thought.
Lin Xia was about to say that it depends on the time, as she would be back to the city in the next two days, but Tiantian snatched it and said, "Grandma, I'm hungry, please give me some snacks. I always eat egg cakes at home. Do you have any at home?"
The Xie family members were sarcastic. How did Lin Shu teach her children? She
wanted to eat and drink as soon as she came?
It happened that two neighbors heard that the granddaughters and grandsons of the old Xie family came to visit relatives. They were all handsome and decent, and there were two children who looked like dolls. They also came to join in the fun.
The eldest aunt explained to the neighbors with an embarrassed look on her face, "Children are bound to be greedy, that's how it is."
But her expression said, oh, this Lu family really doesn't know how to teach their children.
The neighbors looked at Lin Shu with a bit of subtlety.
The eldest cousin's wife was mumbling to her younger brother and sister-in-law, "They came to see grandma, why...didn't they bring any New Year gifts?"
Normally, they should bring some meat, fish, big steamed buns, etc. There must be good things for the New Year, right?
Her second younger brother and sister-in-law said in a low voice that the neighbors could hear, "Maybe give money. His second cousin works in a steel mill, and his third cousin's father is a military officer. They are all rich."
Lin Shu laughed when she heard it. You said we are your relatives, what's the benefit of you stepping on us? Isn't it just to let the neighbors laugh at you for having a poor relative who steals from the door?
These people are really confused.
At this time, Panpan said crisply: "My aunt said to my niece as soon as she came to my house, 'Oh, mom, my legs are so tired, please give me something to eat to fill my stomach. Yes, scrambled eggs for me, and make some hand-rolled noodles...'
My aunt's face turned red and purple in an instant. It was so embarrassing for a child to say that she was greedy and asked for food at a relative's house. She
really didn't care about her dignity.
The two neighbors opened their mouths.
Although no words were spoken, those words appeared in everyone's mind: Oh, she is really unruly, bringing shame to her niece's in-laws. How will the parents-in-law look at her? Look, the child has learned it so seriously, it must be true.
The key point is that she used to show off after coming back from Lujiazhuang, and everyone knew it.
Several daughters-in-law of my aunt were embarrassed, which was really unlucky. Old
lady Jie had already held out a basket of melon seeds for people to eat, and forced the topic to change.
Finally, she took out a snack box from the kang cabinet, which contained several ready-made cakes.
She gave it to Panpan and Tiantian, and said kindly: "Come, eat, eat, this is specially reserved for you by your great-grandmother. When your mother and uncle came over when you were young, I also reserved it for them."
What a nice thing to say.
Panpan took a look and said with a little disdain: "Oh, how come it's all dry? It doesn't taste good at all."
He and Tiantian are both a bit of a clean freak. After all, they were held in their grandparents' hands since they were young, so they are not very particular about food, but they must keep it clean and fresh.
They definitely won't eat this kind of dry and hard egg cake that has been stored for who knows how long.
He said to his aunt, "Aunt, go and roll noodles for us. First, fry the eggs in a pan, then add water and boil the noodles. It's as delicious as you said. Oh, add more oil, don't pick it."
Originally, the wives of the Xie family did not take their children and husbands back to their parents' home, just to wait for Lin Shu and others to come to give the children New Year's money, and everyone put pressure on Lin Shu to ask them to pay for Lin's mother to "treat" Mrs. Xie.
Who knew that before they could show their power, they were ordered around by the two kids.
No matter whether they served or not, the kids kept talking, and every word was a boomerang to the aunt.
You used to order my mother around like this when you went to my house, so why can't we order you around when we come to your house? Didn't we
agree to exchange gifts?
Isn't there a saying that goes
"It's impolite not to return a favor"? Panpan reminded Mrs. Jie again: "My uncle borrowed money from my family, and my grandma said that it must be paid back. If it is not paid back, it will be a disgrace to the Jie and Lin families. My grandma said that relatives should not be embarrassed."
Tiantian: "Well, and the cloth and cotton must be paid back."
Of course, there is not so much cloth and cotton in reality, so cut it in half.
But they are babies, and the babies just heard it from grandma, can't they remember it clearly? Of course, round it up .
Mom, there is such big news?
Several neighboring wives' eyes sparkled when they heard it, and they went out to talk about it.
Normally, the Xie family seems to be very respectable, but who would have thought that they would plunder their relatives?
Old Mrs. Xie oppresses her children, but the neighbors don't take it seriously. This is Old Mrs. Xie's ability and it is natural. They also want to oppress them, but they are either reluctant or unable to do so.
But it is wrong for you to plunder your granddaughter's in-laws, because they are not that close to you.
Old Mrs. Xie was so angry that her forehead bulged. She sighed, "Why can't I get better again?"
Xie Jinlan asked anxiously, "Grandma, do you still need an IV drip? You were on it until midnight yesterday, but you have to stop today because my cousins are coming over. They say it doesn't look good."
She turned to look for Xie Jinkui, "Brother, why don't you find a barefoot doctor to get you an IV drip?"
Lin Shu stepped forward and said, "No need to go to such lengths, grandma. My father-in-law is a barefoot doctor. He was selected as the most advanced barefoot doctor by the county hospital. He is recognized as very good. I have learned some things from him. I see that you are not seriously ill. I can help you with a needle and let some blood out."
No matter if you have a headache or a fever, or if you feel uncomfortable somewhere, I will pick out a few acupuncture points for you to let blood out. I guarantee that you... won't dare to pretend anymore.
Country people like to use cupping, acupuncture or scraping when they have a headache, and no one doubts her words.
But Mrs. Jie didn't dare!
She was sharp-eyed and good-natured!
Panpan and Tiantian immediately came to the scene to perform, and they performed a live interpretation of the commune commendation meeting.
"Oh, is it you?"
"I heard about it too! Your commune is so lively, and our commune didn't hold a meeting."
Panpan: "My mother is the most beautiful military wife!"
Tiantian: "Our whole family has won awards! We can't use up the hot pots, washbasins, and large teacups we were given. Every room has a new hot pot, and the old hot pots and teacups have been given away."
People who heard this felt so distressed. You gave away the things you couldn't use up, why didn't you bring them to us?
Especially old lady Jie and my aunt, we are real relatives, why don’t you bring them to us!
My aunt felt so painful, because Fang Dihua squeezed her out of the Lu family for the past two years, she missed so many good things.
For her, if she didn’t take advantage of this, she would lose something, which is a big loss. She
felt so sad.
Lin Yue didn’t see anything, he thought it was just a normal parent showing off, and he followed the leftovers.
Lin Xia was so angry that she was about to get internal injuries, she really wanted to find a place to laugh.
She pinched Lin Shu quietly, are these two children yours? You were timid when you were a child, can you give birth to such a good child?
Because Panpan and Tiantian told the story vividly and interestingly, the Jie family soon became their stage.
The neighbors called their neighbors over, and soon the Jie family could not stand in the house, and the main hall and the yard were crowded with people.
Because Panpan and Tiantian started to talk about catching the brazer, Xu Ermao, the bald thief and others.
Xu Ermao wanted to be simple, just saying that he was caught by his father for murder, and the other brazers and the bald thief wanted to be told vividly, carefully and comprehensively.
"Wow, so that's what happened?"
"These kidnappers are so bad!"
"You two are really right, little kids are so capable!"
As the two children told the story, the neighbors' exclamations came one after another.
As they were talking, Panzai'er interrupted, "Aunt, you lent my family about 30 yuan, as well as cloth, cotton, shoes and so on. You have to pay it back. We are not a wealthy family. We have to make clothes. If you don't pay it back to my grandma, you will blame my mother. This year, the brigade distributed dividends. My aunt and stepmother both had money, but my mother didn't. She didn't have any money to honor my grandmother and great-grandmother. If people say that my mother is unfilial, how wronged would my mother be, right? Everyone?" The neighbors
nodded in unison, "Yes!"
Someone turned to the aunt and said, "Jin Kui's mother, pay them back quickly. Didn't you get a lot of dividends this year?"
"Yes, look how wronged the child is. Such a good child, because his mother borrowed money from relatives and didn't pay it back, his parents-in-law gave him a hard time, and the child suffered as a result."
"Oh, so pitiful."
Those soft-hearted women with strong empathy have already started to wipe their tears, and some people even gave boiled eggs to the two children.
"Good children, eat, you look so thin. So pitiful."
Jie Jinlan and the aunt-in-law were about to curse, you are blind, look at them, they are white, tender, round and moist, how can they be thin?
Those who feel sorry for the children also think they are right. In their minds, these two children are so good, they should be chubby without necks, and their little arms are like lotus roots with joints.
During Panpan and Tiantian's vivid performance without props, under the watchful eyes of the neighbors, the aunt-in-law made egg hand-rolled noodles for them.
Six eggs were fried!
A whole big mat of noodles was rolled out!
Oh my god, it hurts so much!
When the noodles are ready, of course the guests should eat first, and the family members should eat later, and every family does this.
This is the way to entertain guests.
The eldest aunt brought the hand-rolled egg noodles to the kang of Mrs. Jie and let the two children eat first.
The two children pushed it to Mrs. Jie very gently, "Grandma, you are the oldest, you eat first. My mother wants to be filial to you, but she can't cook without rice. My eldest aunt took her money..."
Look at the children, how good they are at talking!
The words are so set.
"Okay!" The eldest aunt was anxious and quickly changed the subject, "It's not that you don't want to pay back the money, it's just that your uncle got married and had a baby before." Okay
, just admit that you borrowed the money.
Lin Shu thought that if she didn't admit it, she would have to find a way to make her admit it.
It seems that for the Jie family, the potential benefits of the Lu family far exceed the thirty yuan, otherwise the eldest aunt would definitely turn her face and would not admit it.
Relatives from the same village or too close, such as parents, children, brothers and sisters, etc., these relatives are connected by bones and tendons, and it is not easy to sever ties.
But to be honest, nieces and uncles, especially nieces and uncles who are married and have children, are not that close.
Many families don't visit their grandmothers and grandfathers after their children pass away.
If their parents, uncles, and aunts are all gone, they will visit even less.
Each family has limited energy and money. If there are too many relatives to visit, they will definitely only visit the closest ones.
After my niece got married, she had a child. Then the child got married again and had new relatives. How could she care about her grandmother?
That would really stop slowly.
The Jie family obviously believed the reason why Lin Shu was controlled by her mother-in-law, and they wanted to continue to take things from Lin Shu.
They urged Lin Shu to separate from the family. Your husband is still alive, so you have at least 40 or 50 yuan a month, right?
You don’t spend much money in the countryside, so you can save 20 or 30 yuan a month,
right? These 20 or 30 yuan can be used to give five or ten yuan to grandma every month.
When the eldest aunt thought of this, her heart was as hot as Lu Shaotang’s when he thought of his wife.
When the original owner just got married, the eldest aunt took advantage of her a lot under the pretext of caring about the original owner.
The eldest aunt knew that the original owner was unwilling to marry Lu Shaotang, and that she must be very scared and lonely when she first married into a strange husband's family, so she would come to visit every now and then.
She took more than thirty yuan of filial piety money for grandma, more than two meters of cloth, a pound of cotton, a large teacup, and other needles and threads from the original owner.
Whenever she came, she had to take something away, just like a thief who never leaves empty-handed.
Once she came to see the original owner, because the original owner had no good things like cloth to give her, she took away the original owner's dowry scissors and a pack of needles, saying that the original owner's scissors were sharper.
Later, Fang Dihua confronted the aunt behind the original owner's back. She stopped giving the original owner money and good things. The aunt lost face. Besides, seeing that Lin Shu was controlled by her mother-in-law and had no benefits for her
, she rarely visited her. And she didn't even visit her niece and son-in-law to express her condolences.
Now that Lin Shu took the initiative to visit, she of course wanted to pull her over.
She felt that she had the ability because Lin Shu listened to her.
She specially served a big bowl of noodles for Lin Shu, put several scrambled eggs in it, and personally handed it to Lin Shu, saying affectionately: "Third lady, your aunt has loved you the most since you were a child, you know this."
Lin Shu took it with a smile, "Thank you, aunt."
She looked at it and found that Lin Xia had the least noodles, a bowl of soup and a little noodles, while Lin Yue had half a bowl.
She gave half to her second sister.
The eldest aunt was very upset, saying that the fool was not worthy of eating her noodles!
Lin Xia was not polite, and helped Lin Shu eat it knowing that she had a small appetite.
Panpan even vigorously picked up an egg and gave it to Grandma Jie: "Grandma, you eat it, I can't bear to eat it."
I've eaten enough at home.
The Xie family children on the ground were so greedy that they were chewing their fingers vigorously, but they didn't dare to cry or ask for food.
Because the rule of the Xie family was that the good things should be given to grandma, grandfather and father first, and then to the aunt, and everyone else had to stand aside.
Whoever dared to compete in food and drink would be scolded and beaten.
As long as grandma said so, grandpa and father would beat whoever they wanted.
Xie Jinkui gave his youngest son a bite of noodles, and asked his wife to take them out to drink noodle soup, as it was inappropriate for them to squeeze in here.
But in his heart, he was thinking that he had to go to the Lin family and the second aunt's house to get the thin noodles for today.
After eating and drinking, Panpan saw that there were still some old ladies and women at home, so he continued to tell them new things.
Old lady Xie wanted to chase those neighbors away, but...she was afraid that they would gossip about her family.
She had to hold back and kindly pick out a slightly wrinkled Huang Yuanshuai apple for the two children. It was yellow, soft, and easy to chew.
The two children ignored the wrinkles on their faces, just like the old lady, and ate it without hesitation, smiling and letting their great-grandmother eat it.
"My mother respects her great-grandmother, so we should respect her too. You can eat it."
The children who had eaten their fill were even more lively and energetic, and they were very excited when they told everyone the latest news.
They followed their grandfather to the county town, followed their mother to the city, the city hospital, the steel rolling factory, and the father slapped the boy three times. It was a dramatic and emotional story that shocked the neighbors.
Some people were also concerned about the kidnapping of children by the brazer and wanted to know the experiences of Hu Zi and Chang Xiaogang.
Panpan: "That's a long story. Let's wait for the next time. I'll tell you the next time my mother comes to see my great-grandmother."
He looked at Grandma Jie and began to wipe his tears, "Grandma, you are so pitiful. Why are you dressed so tattered at your age? Mom, please open my cotton pants and cotton jacket and give my great-grandma some cotton."
Grandma Jie, her aunt, Jie Jinkui and others were so angry that they wanted to vomit blood. She changed into tattered clothes specifically to show Lin Shu and others!