Seeing her affected manner, Old Man Chen rolled his eyes in anger.
They develop all sorts of bad habits when they're spoiled. They should be grateful they can at least have enough to eat, yet they still complain and pick and choose.
If you starve yourself for ten or eight days, even dung will taste like meat.
He thought this in his heart, but dared not say it aloud; he still had to patiently persuade him.
"Alright, old woman, you didn't eat anything last night. Hurry up and eat a couple of bites, or you'll get sick from hunger."
"You make it sound so easy. This stuff has no flavor, it's sticky in my mouth and it irritates my throat. I haven't been able to poop for days after eating this stuff. If I keep eating it, I'll definitely suffocate!"
"Oh dear, I was wondering why you looked so pale these past few days. Turns out you've been holding in your poop. What should I do? Shall I put some sesame oil on your face with chopsticks?"
"Get out of here! Last time you hurt me so badly, and now you want to cause trouble for your old mother again? Can't you think of any other way?" Old Mrs. Chen got angry and slammed the cornbread on the table with a 'bang'.
Old Chen frowned. "What are you doing? Why are you getting angry? I wanted to make you some nice food, but you know how it is, with that brat at home, we can't really do anything about it!"
"I don't care, I'm eating white rice and scrambled eggs today no matter what."
"Oh my god, we're almost out of white rice and we're barely making enough cornbread to go around!"
"You idiot, can't you think of a way to make sure we don't have any white rice?" Old Mrs. Chen glanced at Old Mr. Chen sideways and snorted in annoyance. "Marrying a man like you is the worst thing that ever happened to me. I'm starving to death, and you don't care about your wife at all."
Hearing their conversation, Ruhua felt uneasy. Her husband had entrusted his parents to her care, yet they ate coarse grains and brown rice every day, and her mother-in-law had clearly lost a lot of weight in the past two days.
What if her husband comes back and blames her? How could she live up to the trust he placed in her?
But the family was destitute, so where could they get fine rice and grains?
Thinking of this, Ru Hua's eyes lit up.
Tangfang is always hiring workers, so why doesn't she go work there and earn money to improve her in-laws' meals?
Having made up his mind, he quickly ladled the wild vegetable soup from the pot into bowls, carried them into the house, and said with a smile,
"Mom, please don't make things difficult for my father. Everyone in Nanshan Village knows that he listens to you the most and loves you the most."
Old Mrs. Chen loved to hear this. If the old man hadn't listened to her, she would have run away long ago when she was young. How could she have settled down and lived a peaceful life with him?
Grandma Chen was secretly pleased. "Ruhua, what you said makes sense. But being sentimental won't put food on the table. If he really cares about me, he should find a way to get me some good food. What good is just talking about it?"
Ru Hua chuckled and said, "Mom, my dad is so old, what can he do? How about I go ask the neighbor's shop tomorrow if they're hiring? I can go work there and earn some money to buy some fine rice for the family. What do you think?"
"No way! You're a scholar's wife, how can you let that heartless ingrate serve you like a servant? That would only bring shame to our family. You just stay home and don't worry about what you eat." Old Mrs. Chen refused without even thinking.
Ru Hua shook her head helplessly and didn't insist anymore. "Alright, I'll listen to Mother."
Seeing Old Mrs. Chen put on her shoes and get out of bed, Old Mr. Chen was taken aback. "Old woman, where are you going?"
"Let's go next door and mooch some food and drinks."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen was so angry he almost fell flat on his face. He told himself to stay calm, hold back, and not lower himself to the level of this unreasonable and spendthrift old woman.
"Old woman, with that brat at home, it's not easy for us to make a move. To avoid unnecessary trouble, just bear with it!"
"Endure my ass, I can't hold back anymore."
"Aren't you afraid that brat will punish you?"
“I’m a grown man, afraid of her? Even if it’s a tiger’s den or a wolf’s lair, I’ll risk it all. Come on, old man, I’ll treat you to the best of everything.”
Are we really going?
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up." Old Mrs. Chen glared at Old Mr. Chen.
Old Chen felt a little apprehensive. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth, put on his shoes, and got out of bed. He couldn't help but say another word.
"Old woman, we've already made a deal. If that brat really gives us the cold shoulder, we shouldn't bother asking for trouble."
"I know, that brat didn't have any creepy hairs. Look how scared you are. Let's go!" Old Mrs. Chen grabbed Old Mr. Chen's hand and led him out of the yard, not forgetting to give him some instructions.
"When you come inside, don't worry about anything else. As long as you see food, just like before, spit on it first, then pick it up and eat it."
"Okay, okay, I'll remember." The two said as they walked towards Chen Zhanshan's house...
Early in the morning, many villagers gathered in the sandy area of Xishan. Looking at the thriving sugar beets in the field, everyone was overjoyed.
Zhao Fugui grinned from ear to ear, “I just did a rough calculation. Each beet weighs two catties. My family has four mu of land, so I estimate we can harvest eight thousand catties. If we buy it at three copper coins per catty, I can sell it for twenty-four taels of silver.”
Erhuzi's wife chimed in, "My family and yours have about the same amount of land, four mu each. If we sell it for that much money, we'll be rich."
"Yes, yes, I can earn so much money in a year. I never dared to dream of it before. I don't know how to spend it all."
"Yeah, this is the path to wealth!"
"Alright, don't get too excited yet. Setting off firecrackers before the bridal sedan chair even arrives is risky. What if Qingya doesn't buy it? We'll have been happy for nothing."
"That's right, this is no small amount of money. If they don't want it, we'll be left watching from the sidelines, dumbfounded."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fugui smiled dismissively and said, "Don't worry, it's fine even if Qingya doesn't buy it. We can make our own sugar. If you trust me, you can send it all to my house, and I'll buy it for three coins per pound."
"You're just bragging. Even if you can make sugar, who are you going to sell it to? Do you have Qingya's ability?" Erhuzi's wife said with a face full of doubt.
Zhao Fugui puffed out his chest and said, "Don't underestimate me. If I dare to say it, I dare to buy it."
Erhuzi's wife shook her head and scoffed, "Qingya has helped us a lot. If we sold the beets to you, we would be utterly worthless."
"That's right. Qingya has been good to us. She still thinks of us even after she makes money. I'm not an ungrateful wretch. As long as Qingya buys these beets, I'll sell them to her first."
"That's right, we're selling it to you. Will you get paid for it?"
"That's right. With your poverty, you still want to make sugar? Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"
The villagers thought Zhao Fugui was joking and didn't take it seriously at all...
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