Aunt Zhu held Chen Banxia's hand, her face full of gratitude. "Banxia, it's all thanks to you! You have no idea, the doctor in the county said that if it hadn't been treated in time, I would have lost my life. You saved my life, you are my savior. From now on, whatever you say, I will never say a word."
Big Dog and Second Dog immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times, before Shen Banxia could stop them.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill us?" Zhou's mother shouted angrily.
"Oh, Wang Cuihua, my two dogs were just standing there for too long, they didn't mean anything by it," she said, then looked at Chen Banxia, "Banxia, this is a piece of cured meat that your aunt specially gave you, remember to eat it."
Before Shen Banxia could react, she found herself holding a piece of cured meat weighing about five pounds.
The Zhou family looked at Aunt Zhu in astonishment. Had the sun risen in the west? This notoriously stingy person would actually give someone something, and such a large piece of meat at that?
Shen Banxia was both amused and exasperated. "Aunt Zhu, please take it back. I am the village doctor. Saving lives is my duty. It's not worth it for you to give me something."
Aunt Zhu's face was also filled with heartache, but her tone was firm, "No way, you saved my life, how can it not be worth a piece of flesh?"
After saying that, he ran off, not forgetting to call out to his two brothers, "Big Dog, Second Dog, hurry home."
Zhou's mother snatched it away, saying, "We can't let you waste this good stuff. We'll save it for the New Year."
Shen Banxia looked at her empty hands and said, "Mother, this meat should be returned to Aunt Zhu."
Zhou's mother frowned. "Are you stupid? They already said they'd give it to you, and you want to return it? Aren't you slapping them in the face? Besides, you saved Zhu Dazui's life, so what's wrong with eating a piece of his flesh? Are you unhappy because I took it, and that's why you want to return it?"
"Let me tell you, as long as the family hasn't split up, I will still be in charge of the Zhou family."
The other members of the Zhou family also showed their disapproval, but they knew they had no say in the matter.
Shen Banxia was too lazy to talk to her, and looked at Zhou's father, "Father, do you also think I should accept it? I am a barefoot doctor who has earned work points. If word gets out that I am accepting things in private, who do you think is giving them to me or to you?"
Mr. Zhou's face darkened. What did this have to do with him?
But just like the old woman said, they didn't separate.
"Old woman, give the meat back."
These words were like cutting Zhou's mother's flesh. "Old man, are you stupid? I didn't ask Zhu Dazui for this. She gave it to me on her own initiative."
“I said I’ll return it, and I will. Do you want the commune members to gossip about me, the brigade leader, for accepting things from others in private?”
"You old man, it's not like it was given to you for free, yet you still have the nerve to be so shameless."
Zhou's father's dark face turned red and then blue as he gritted his teeth. "If you want me to lose my position as the brigade leader, then you can eat it."
This was exactly what Zhou's mother was thinking. As the wife of the brigade leader, she was the most important woman in the eyes of all. If the old man stopped being the brigade leader, how could others still fawn over her?
Such a disparity was unacceptable to Zhou's mother, so she stuffed the meat back into Chen Banxia's hands, saying, "You took it yourself, so take it back and return it yourself."
Shen Banxia handed it to Zhou Mingqian, saying, "Go and return it."
Zhou Mingqian smiled and agreed, which earned him a glare from his mother.
"You worthless piece of trash! When I ask you to do something, you dawdle and procrastinate, but when your wife asks you to do something, you're all over the place. Aren't you shameless?"
“I’d love to,” Zhou Mingqian said, flashing a bright white smile.
Zhou's mother couldn't bear to look anymore and yelled, "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
When Zhou Mingqian returned empty-handed, his mother's face turned ashen, and she couldn't help but say, "Zhu Dazui just accepted it like that? I knew it, she was just here to go through the motions, I thought she had changed her mind."
My chest hurts. If I had saved that piece of cured meat for the New Year, the whole family could have eaten a few more slices.
Shen Banxia didn't care about all that. Even though Aunt Zhu's family was well-off, it wasn't easy for them to produce such a large piece of meat.
Meanwhile, Aunt Zhu next door slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Oh dear, why didn't I think this through? The Zhou family hasn't even separated yet. I don't care to give meat to Wang Cuihua's family. Besides, she's a brainless jerk. That girl Zhou Mingjiao is no good, yet Wang Cuihua treats her like a treasure. I bet she'll suffer later."
Aunt Zhu disapproved of Wang Cuihua's behavior the most; as if they knew each other perfectly well.
The villagers, as well as the educated youth, all thought that Wang Cuihua was a person of high awareness. While others favored sons over daughters, she did not.
"Pah!" Aunt Zhu couldn't help but complain. "Does everyone know that at the beginning, they looked down on her because she was just a little girl? But then, when she was a month old, a monk came to beg for alms, and I don't know what he said, but in the end, Zhou Ming was spoiled rotten."
"Mom, how should we thank Sister-in-law Zhou?" Er Gouzi was still shaken. He had seen his mother's face turn black and she was barely breathing. He had almost collapsed himself.
“Yes, Mother, I think we can’t afford to offend someone as capable as Sister-in-law Zhou,” Big Dog added.
Big Dog's wife did want to say something, but she wasn't the head of the family after all.
Dog Egg chimed in, "Sister Xia likes peanuts, we can give her peanuts."
Aunt Zhu clapped her hands. "That's a good idea. We can remove the shells and send them over without attracting attention. They're also good for health, and Banxia is pregnant right now." After all, peanuts can be pressed for oil, and anything related to oil is bound to be a good thing.
Shen Banxia had no idea that Aunt Zhu was eagerly preparing to send her peanuts.
At this moment, Zhou Mingjiao started making a fuss again. She was extremely envious and jealous of Shen Banxia for being respected and receiving gifts.
She felt that if she had been able to participate in the barefoot doctor training program back then, she could have done the same.
"Dad, can you help me think of a way to get into the training program?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's all in the past. Besides, we already have barefoot doctors in Zhoujiazhuang. Even if you pass the training, you'll be assigned to another village."
"What? How could this happen? What should I do?" Zhou Mingjiao asked anxiously.
"What do you mean, 'what to do'? You should just settle down and prepare for your marriage." Mr. Zhou was really afraid of his daughter now, as she was always acting on a whim.
Zhou Mingjiao never expected that her father had not given up on his plan to get her married.
Looking at Shen Banxia, who was watching the spectacle with amusement, an idea instantly came to mind.
However, this matter requires Mother's cooperation.
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