Pi Dan looked at Zheng Dandan in surprise. Although he knew Zheng Dandan's gender, he had never equated the girl he looked down upon with the aunt he respected and liked.
After Zheng Dandan reminded him, he realized that his aunt was also a "girl"!
"Auntie can eat meat, it's Auntie's turn!" Pi Dan tried hard to explain to Zheng Dandan, not wanting Zheng Dandan to be sad and misunderstand him.
"Of course my aunt is worthy, but my sister is also worthy. Men and women are equal. She is not a girl, she is a girl, your sister, do you understand?" Zheng Dandan patiently explained to Pi Dan in a gentle tone.
"Sister?" Pi Dan looked at the big girl curiously.
The adults were usually busy and seldom had the time to tell them these things, and the eldest girl had always been neglected in the Zheng family. In Pi Dan's three-year-old life, the thing he heard most was the word "girl" from his third aunt's mouth.
"That's right, she's your cousin, your closest sibling." Now that family planning has been implemented, cousins are almost considered close relatives. "You must rely on each other and help each other. You protect her, and she protects you. Can you do that?"
"Okay." Pi Dan nodded heavily.
Zheng Dandan looked at Pi Dan with satisfaction. He was not a bad person, but he was spoiled by his family and led astray by outsiders.
"Say sorry to your sister." Zheng Dandan continued.
Pi Dan was a little hesitant and embarrassed to speak. Under Zheng Dandan's encouraging eyes, he finally mustered up the courage and looked at Da Niu, "I'm sorry, sister." Then he handed the meat in his bowl to Da Niu.
"It's okay." The big girl's eyes reddened and she pushed the bowl back. "Eat it, my brother will grow taller."
The siblings put aside their differences and lived in harmony. The adults beside them had mixed feelings, some ashamed, some relieved.
"We're running a business now, making money, and our lives are getting better and better. But a family can't just focus on making money; we also need to educate our children well. If they're crooked now, we can still straighten them out. But if they become set in their ways when they grow up, there's no going back."
Zheng Dandan looked at her brother and sister-in-law. Although she had never given birth to a child, she had seen too many cases in her previous life and knew very well the importance of educating children.
"Our parents did a great job. Dad was a worker and supported the family. Mom raised us well, and there was almost no conflict between us siblings. We should learn from our elders in this regard."
Although Sun Cuilan also had a share in ignoring the big girl, Sun Cuilan was the grandmother and in principle it was not her place to take charge. As a mother, she had raised the child well.
Sun Cuilan, who was originally feeling a little guilty, straightened her back with confidence after hearing what Zheng Dandan said.
"Your little sister is right. No matter how busy I was before, I always talked to you and taught you right from wrong!"
"We understand." said my second brother Zheng Jianye and his wife.
"Brother and sister-in-law, don't blame Pi Dan, and don't blame Second Brother and Sister-in-law. What happened today is also due to your negligence. Because of the gender of the eldest girl, you have neglected her a lot. What does it mean that because she is a daughter, she is not your biological child?"
Zheng Dandan looked at her elder brother and his wife who were silent and said that she was not worried about her elder brother Zheng Jianye, but her elder sister-in-law He Yuegui was a person who easily took things to heart.
"How could we ignore her?" He Yuegui retorted.
Like Sun Cuilan, she also felt that she cared a lot about her daughter - compared to other people in the village.
"What did she do yesterday? How much meat has she eaten recently?" Zheng Dandan didn't want to argue with He Yuegui, so she asked directly.
"She's just a kid, it's just playing, what can she do? There's meat at home every day, how do I know how much she eats?" He Yuegui frowned and stammered.
"Big girl, tell mom what you were doing yesterday and how much meat you have eaten recently?" Zheng Dandan ignored her and spoke softly to Big Girl.
The big girl glanced at Zheng Dandan, then looked at He Yuegui, with a fearful and hesitant expression.
"Can you please be brave and tell your mother?" Zheng Dandan encouraged.
The big girl looked at her gentle aunt and finally nodded. "I learned to count from one to ten at the nursery yesterday. I haven't eaten meat recently, but the dishes are delicious. The oil has the taste of meat."
After saying that, the girl smiled brightly.
Zheng Dandan felt so sad that she wanted to cry. She thought she cared enough about this niece with a weak sense of existence, but she didn't realize that she didn't even dare to eat a piece of meat in her own home from beginning to end!
He Yuegui stood there in a daze, tears streaming down her face, and her elder brother Zheng Jianye's eyes also turned red.
"Sister, eat it, the meat tastes better." After hearing what Da Niu said, Pi Dan stood on the chair and picked a piece of pork belly for Da Niu.
"You two can eat it. If you like it, tell grandma and I will make more in the future." Sun Cuilan sighed and quickly picked up some meat and vegetables from the preserved eggs for Da Niu.
"Little sister, I was wrong. I will pay more attention to you in the future. Thank you, brother."
Zheng Jianye looked at Zheng Dandan with gratitude in his eyes. If it weren't for Zheng Dandan, he didn't know when he would realize his mistake.
"We're all family, why be so polite?" Zheng Dandan didn't mind. Seeing the atmosphere was too dull, she brought up the idea of buying another tricycle. "From now on, each group will have one. It will be more convenient for everyone. Third brother will have one group each, and if he's too busy, we can hire a reliable helper."
"What do you want to ask for? If the third brother is too busy, I will go to lend a hand. Can we trust people from outside?" Zheng's father said.
"Dad, little sister, I can do it on my own." Third brother Zheng Jianjun patted his chest, very confident. He had the goods on hand, and customers were polite to him, not daring to rush him. How could he be too busy?
My eldest brother and his wife, and my second brother and his wife also supported the plan to buy a new car, but because of what happened just now, they were a little depressed and did not express their opinions.
The next morning, Zheng Dandan and Sun Cuilan went to the scrap yard.
"You are here again. Do you want to scrap the tricycle?" The old man noticed Zheng Dandan and Sun Cuilan coming over, and immediately stepped forward to ask enthusiastically.
"You have?" Zheng Dandan looked at the old man in surprise. Is the scrap rate of tricycles so high now?
"Aren't you thinking someone would want one? I went out of my way to collect a few. Come and have a look?" The old man invited with a smile that wrinkled his face.
After he made money that day, he was itching to get some. Although he was not sure if Zheng Dandan and the others would come and still want it, he could not help it, so he took the risk and bought three old tricycles and a bicycle.
Zheng Dandan nodded, and after the old man walked closer and took a look, she asked, "How much are they selling for?"
"This tricycle is better than the last one. One costs at least 40 yuan." The old man stretched out four fingers on his right hand.
"Where is the bicycle?" Zheng Dandan asked again.
"Twenty for a bicycle," the old man replied.
"One hundred and twenty in total, I want them all!" Zheng Dandan thought for a moment and said a number that he thought was reasonable.
"Great!" The old man had dealt with Zheng Dandan before and knew her temper. After calculating the profit, he didn't bother to talk any more and agreed without hesitation.
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