To ease the awkwardness, the man took the initiative to speak:
"Happy New Year."
Jiang Yu moved her lips, forcing a smile that looked worse than a grimace. She couldn't calm down from last night's events, and she made up an excuse:
"I'll go cook dumplings for breakfast. You can wake the child up."
The man didn't say much, but took out two yuan from his pocket and placed them on top of her New Year's money.
The two children didn't have the habit of staying in bed, and after being woken up by Chen Ying, they jumped out of bed and were overjoyed to see the new clothes and red envelopes on the bedside table.
They had always worn hand-me-downs from childhood, so when they suddenly got new clothes, they were overjoyed.
Jiang Yu spent a lot of time buying this dress. She has a unique eye and doesn't like ordinary clothes. Fortunately, her previous profession was a fashion designer, so she didn't need to borrow a ruler to measure, saving her a lot of time.
Having just finished breakfast, Jiang Yu couldn't wait to pull out the floral fabric she had bought before the New Year, find a needle and thread to thread a rope, and prepare to draw a curtain.
Shen Ying naturally understood what she meant. Without saying a word, he went out and borrowed a hammer and a few nails from Wang Cuihua's house.
He didn't have these tools at home, nor had he prepared them.
"Brother Shen Ying, why don't you take a break during the New Year holiday? It's not too late to work tomorrow."
Wang Cuihua's husband, Shen Jianguo, rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find his toolbox, handing it to Shen Ying as a reminder. There's a saying that working on the first day of the Lunar New Year will ensure a busy year ahead.
Shen Ying knew he was thinking of her, but some things couldn't be delayed.
When she got home, Jiang Yu had already finished sewing the curtains. Seeing the man bring over his tools, she discussed her needs and discovered that their ideas were exactly the same.
The height of the roof was a bit of a challenge for Shen Ying's height, so Jiang Yu brought him a stool.
The rope needed to be stretched from the end of the kang (a heated brick bed) to the center of the window, because there was a dining table in the middle, so the curtain only needed to cover the kang. After some tinkering, it was finished.
Just as Shen Ying got off the bench, a string of curses came from outside:
"You little brat, if you don't apologize to your Uncle Shen Ying today and get his forgiveness, I'll break your legs when we get back."
Shen Daqiang was known as honest in the village. Over the years, Zhang Xinhua had always scolded and beat him because she thought he was incompetent. But this year, he went to the city, made money, and gradually stopped being controlled by this woman.
The experiences of living in big cities can not only broaden a person's horizons, but also cultivate their courage.
Yesterday, his son went out and caused trouble. After Shen Ying brought him home, Shen Daqiang realized that if he didn't discipline his son and he inherited Zhang Xinhua's temper, his life would be ruined.
Jiang Yu snorted coldly. Usually, saying such things is just a reminder to the master that he has already disciplined the child, so don't make things too ugly later.
After entering, Shen Daqiang looked at Shen Ying in a fawning manner:
"Brother, I've brought my son to apologize to your wife and nephew. Are they home?"
Shen Daqiang had never been to Shen Ying's house before, and he stared into deep thought as he looked at the mud-brick house. He knew the Shen family was poor, but he hadn't expected them to be this poor.
"Come in."
Over the years, Shen Ying and he had little contact, but Li Xiuying was his mother's distant cousin. Although the relationship was somewhat distant, they were still related by blood.
Shen Daqiang brought his son into the house, and upon seeing Jiang Yu, he kicked Shen Bo in the leg.
"Hurry up and kowtow to your aunt and admit your mistake."
Shen Bo was kicked and lost his balance, kneeling before Jiang Yu with a stubborn look in his eyes. His mother had said that a woman like Jiang Yu was destined to be drowned in a pig cage. And her two children looked malnourished; they wouldn't amount to much in the future, so there was nothing to fear.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Shen Daqiang kicked him again:
"What did I tell you on the way here? Have you forgotten?"
"Auntie... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you."
Shen Bo spoke reluctantly, his tone perfunctory, clearly showing his dissatisfaction.
"Sister-in-law, the child is still young, what do you think?"
Shen Daqiang didn't think too much about it. Since Shen Bo had come to apologize, the matter was considered completely resolved.
“On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, he kicked our Niannian several times and cursed at our Suisui and me. Last night, he even said in front of us that he would teach Niannian a lesson. We dare not forgive him for admitting his mistake.”
Jiang Yu listed all these things one by one, glancing sideways at Shen Bo. If she forgave him just like that, it would truly mean she believed they were easy to bully.
“Sister-in-law, I know about all this, and I’ve already disciplined him at home. He has realized his mistake and promised he will never do it again.”
Shen Daqiang hadn't expected Jiang Yu to hold a grudge like that. He smiled awkwardly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He thought to himself: He'd already made the child kneel down, what more did she want?
“It’s not that I’m being aggressive, but the child is only seven years old. He doesn’t understand the meaning of some words and starts swearing. I don’t know if you and your husband talk to us like that at home, and that’s why the child has learned it.”
A seven-year-old child keeps calling someone a "little hussy," and has no idea how Zhang Xinhua scolds her at home. Besides, her eyes don't look like she's apologizing.
"Sister-in-law, you're joking. How could that be?"
Shen Daqiang knew that Zhang Xinhua often cursed and gossiped about the village at home, and was usually quite outspoken. Since family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, even if he knew, he couldn't say anything; he could only settle accounts with his wife later.
Seeing that Jiang Yu didn't seem to want to forgive him, he turned his gaze to Shen Ying, hoping he would discipline his wife and let the matter rest.
"Comrade Jiang is right. This situation needs to be addressed at its root. If someone comes to our house today to kowtow and admit their mistake, and then hits our child again tomorrow, they'll come to kowtow again. Over time, this will become a pattern where as long as you bully someone, you can just kowtow and that's it. If we run into someone who's unforgiving and sends Shenbo to the police station for a couple of days, it will be too late to regret it."
Shen Ying's words made sense. After hearing them, Shen Daqiang slapped Shen Bo twice across the face. Feeling unsatisfied, he kicked him twice more. Ultimately, he felt sorry for the child and couldn't bring himself to kick him a third time. Finally, he knelt on the ground and wept bitterly.
"What sins did I commit in my past life to marry Zhang Xinhua, and have such a wicked child? Brother Shen Ying, I am truly heartbroken!"
Shen Daqiang's crying was almost a release of all the grievances he had held over the years. Seeing a man in his thirties with snot and tears streaming down his face was truly heartbreaking.
"Dad, I was wrong. I will never cause trouble again."
It was the first time Shen Bo had seen his father cry. He was initially scared, but then felt a pang of heartache. If he hadn't been so immature, his father wouldn't have come to someone else's house to apologize so humbly.
He could kneel down and apologize, but he couldn't uphold his father's dignity.
Jiang Yu could tell that Shen Bo still had some conscience and wasn't beyond redemption. She spoke up, saying that as long as he didn't cause any more trouble, she would consider it forgiveness.
Shen Daqiang was extremely grateful, not only for Jiang Yu's generosity, but also for Shen Ying's words, which had awakened him from his slumber.
"In that case, we won't keep you for dinner."
As Shen Ying was seeing Shen Daqiang off, she saw an old woman approaching. She paused, her throat tightening slightly.
"aunt?"
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