Zhao Xiaocao was very proud and couldn't stand someone younger than her putting pressure on her.
Moreover, when Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi were still living at home, they always treated her with utmost deference and never showed her such disrespect as they did today.
Ever since Grandma kicked those two jinxes out of the house, most of the work they used to do has fallen on her shoulders.
Zhao Xiaocao has been living a miserable and pitiful life lately, with a belly full of anger and nowhere to vent it.
She stepped forward, reached out, and poked Zhao Wanzi's forehead hard. "Hey Wanzi, did your head get damaged by Grandma when you were kicked out of the house that day? Your dilapidated temple, which is drafty on all sides, how could it possibly be hot for you?"
Zhao Erhua retorted, "My house is so much better than yours, it's freezing cold even without firewood. Zhao Wanzi, you're such a braggart, don't you even think before you start? Haha, you big braggart!"
Zhao Wanzi's fair forehead stung from Zhao Xiaocao's poking. She covered her forehead, her face flushed with anger.
"Hmph, believe it or not! My family is not the same as yours. My family burns coal, while your family doesn't even have firewood!" After saying that, Zhao Wanzi pulled her sister Zhao Denglong away.
She felt very powerful today. When she was arguing with Zhao Xiaocao, she was thinking about the imposing manner her mother had when she scolded Zhao Ergou last time.
Back then, she thought her mother was amazing! Today, she tried to emulate that spirit, and sure enough, she didn't suffer any losses.
As Zhao Wanzi thought to herself, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
Liu Shuixian was very puzzled. "Wanzi, why are you laughing while arguing with someone?" If it were her, she would probably cry whether she won or lost the argument.
Zhao Wanzi was even happier when Liu Shuixian asked her that question.
“My mother said that if someone bullies you, you should fight back fiercely! Otherwise, they will think we are easy to bully.”
Zhao Denglong was amused and exasperated by her younger sister's precocious manner, and she patted Wanzi's head.
"Let's go back quickly, or your mother will be worried if she can't find you when it's time to eat."
Zhao Xiaocao and Zhao Erhua pouted as they watched Zhao Denglong and the others walk away. They had lost all interest in playing after all that was done.
The other little girls then dispersed.
However, Zhao Xiaocao didn't want to go back. If she went back at this hour, her grandmother would definitely make her cook. The firewood was filthy, and she didn't want to do such dirty work.
"Erhua, shall we go to Wanzi's house? Didn't she say her house is warm? Let's see if she's just bragging." Zhao Xiaocao's eyes lit up and she came up with this great idea.
"Okay, okay, let's go take a look." Zhao Erhua lifted her foot and followed.
The two sneaked up to the back of the dilapidated temple. As soon as they approached the crack in the temple, they felt a warm breeze wafting out.
Zhao Erhua took a few deep breaths, "My goodness, it's true!" Zhao Wanzi wasn't lying!
Inside the house, He Tiantian's family was eating around the stove. The whole family was eating heartily, each holding a broken bowl.
Zhao Xiaocao and Zhao Erhua watched from outside for quite a while. Was that the glowing red thing in the stove the coal briquettes Zhao Wanzi had mentioned? Wow, that's quite a nice thing.
If they had that at home, wouldn't they not need to burn firewood? And the whole house would be warmer...
Zhao Xiaocao returned to the Zhao family home in a daze; it was already dark. The entire Zhao family was sitting in the main room, already having dinner.
Cheng, with her sharp eyes, caught a glimpse of Zhao Xiaocao coming in from outside while she was drinking her porridge.
Her face was ashen, and she slammed the bowl she was holding heavily onto the table.
"You brat, all you do is run around outside all day. You still know how to come back?" With that, he took off his shoe and threw it at Zhao Xiaocao.
His two older brothers, Zhao Pang and Zhao Shou, seemed to take this kind of thing for granted, and neither of them offered to plead for their sister.
Zhao Xiaocao was already used to Cheng's harsh scolding. She walked to her seat and sat down expressionlessly.
Tao quickly took a bowl and ladled a bowl of millet porridge from the pot. "Little Grass, eat quickly, it'll get cold soon."
Zhao Xiaocao looked down at the bowl of porridge, which was so clear, and the room was so cold.
She immediately felt resentful and complained, "This can be called porridge? All the rice in our family's bowls combined doesn't even amount to the amount of rice in one person's bowl in my second aunt's family!"
"What!" Mrs. Cheng looked utterly incredulous. "You went to that jinx's house? I'll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing!"
Cheng punched Zhao Xiaocao twice, feeling very angry.
"Grandma kicked my second aunt out of the house, how could I possibly go to her house? I was secretly watching from outside with Zhao Erhua today. Besides, my second aunt's house doesn't burn firewood, they burn coal briquettes! It's so warm!"
Old Mrs. Zhao was so shocked by the news that she forgot Zhao Xiaocao's disrespect and quickly asked, "What coal briquettes? Can that stuff be as precious as firewood?"
Zhao Xiaocao couldn't explain it either, and angrily stomped her foot and went back into the house.
The family lost their appetite because of Zhao Xiaocao's words... How could she, a widow with two children, be better off than their whole family?
It's not fair! God is so unfair!
"Cheng, go and find out what's going on tomorrow." Old Mrs. Zhao thought for a moment and sent the clever Cheng to ask.
When Zhao Tingzhang was carrying coal briquettes home that day, many people in the village saw him.
These people all asked Zhao Tingzhang what this thing was for, but Zhao Tingzhang didn't say. He just told everyone to come to his house to see it after dinner.
Zhao, the pavilion chief, returned home triumphantly, lit the coal briquettes, and cracked the window open to let in some ventilation. The room was small, and it warmed up in no time.
The villagers stayed at Zhao Tingzhang's house so long they didn't want to leave; they all wanted to have this good stuff at their own homes too.
Only after asking did I learn that this thing was given to me by Director Song from the mine. Director Song had also given the order that if any family in the village wanted to burn coal briquettes, they would have to obediently go back to the mine to work.
The next day, when He Tiantian went to work at the mine again, she noticed that there were significantly more villagers working there.
The villagers worked while seeming to want to say something but holding back. It was easy to tell what they were thinking.
Everyone worked diligently throughout the day, and Director Song gathered all the villagers together just before they were about to leave.
Honeycomb briquettes have been produced in large quantities these past few days, and a lot has already piled up.
Song Yun stood on high ground, looking down at the group of villagers in the mine.
He cleared his throat and announced, "I, Song Yun, keep my word. Each villager who comes to work today will take a coal briquette home. This coal will be given to the miners for free. From now on, you will only receive one coal briquette for each day you work. Of course, your monthly wages will still be paid as usual."
[Author's Note]: My dear readers, with your support, this book will be featured in its second round of recommendations on July 28th. I'll be adding extra chapters for the four days of recommendations! Thank you for your support!
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