Zhuang Zhixi and Ming Mei spent most of the day at her father's house. When they were about to leave, her mother gave them a hen. The old hen was clucking, looking so lovable. This old hen, with a little neck rub, a few plucks of feathers, a bit of mushrooms, and some dried bamboo shoots, stewed on high heat then simmered on low heat, would make a great dish.
Just thinking about it made their mouths water.
So, through this old hen, Zhuang Zhixi deeply felt the truth of the saying, "The more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more pleased she becomes."
You see, his elder brother has also taken his wife to visit their father-in-law countless times over the years, but never once received such treatment. But Zhuang Zhixi was different, he did! So, even in the cold winter with the north wind howling, Zhuang Zhixi pedaled his bicycle with all his might.
Ming Mei sat on the back seat, hugging Zhuang Zhixi's waist, feeling that riding a bike together was indeed better, a good wind blocker.
The couple rode their bike back to the alley. Before they reached home, they saw the alley crowded with people. Considering that it wasn't a holiday and everyone should be at work, this crowd must have gathered from both ends of the alley, otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people.
Zhuang Zhixi: "What's going on?"
Ming Mei immediately jumped off the bike, stood on tiptoe to see, and curiously asked, "What happened, what happened?"
Zhuang Zhixi: "I don't know, it seems they're gathered around our yard, I wonder whose family is in trouble..."
He shouted loudly: "Make way, make way, ladies and gentlemen, give me a path, I'm going home."
His shout immediately attracted attention, and an old lady recognized him and said, "Little Zhuang, you're back just in time, your mother is going ballistic again, you better go home and see if you can calm her down."
Zhuang Zhixi: "My mother?"
Oh, so it's our house?
He quickly made his way through the crowd and entered the yard where there were also quite a few people. Comrade Zhao Guihua was standing with her hands on her hips, spewing out words like a pro, her scolding skills no less than the continuous battles of Madam Zhou Li.
Without even taking a breath, she was yelling: "You little rascal, trying to take advantage of me, do you really think I'm a docile little kitty? You uneducated dog, you shameless thing, what's the matter? You think because your mother and grandmother spoil you, everyone in the world has to spoil you too? Am I your father? If I were your father, I'd kick you straight into the outhouse, you shameless thing. You still want to ask me for something? Pah, you really don't know the three-eyed horse king. Your family is having a hard time? Who isn't? How come other families can live well by saving and scrimping? But your family, time and time again! Not satisfied with taking advantage, huh? If I don't give in, you'll retaliate, right?"
"Aunt Su, don't play the frail woman with me. Who do you think you're fooling? Do I look like one of those old men? I'm not falling for your tricks. You better save it. If others are willing to cater to you, that's their business, but don't think you can skin me alive. Look at yourself, who do you think you are! Sending your kids to do your dirty work because you're too old to do it yourself? Planning some kind of revenge? How can your family be so shameless? Why hasn't a bolt of lightning struck you all down for your wickedness?"
Zhao Guihua spat out her words with a venomous satisfaction, her eyes boring into Aunt Su's family, as if she was ready to consume them whole.
Zhuang Zhixi: Oh my God~
He quickly stepped forward, asking, "Mom, what's wrong? Who's been bullying you?"
Ming Mei, rolling up her sleeves, chimed in, "Yes, Mom, who's been bullying you? I'll teach them a lesson!"
The onlooking crowd: "......"
Oh dear, who could possibly bully her? It would be a miracle if she didn't bully others!
Usually, in such situations, someone would step forward to defend justice, to mediate, but not today. Because today's issue was...
Well... it's complicated.
But to think that Zhao Guihua would be at a disadvantage, that was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
The story began at noon today. Yes, it's a bit of a long story, but not a complicated one...
Even though it was the end of the year, this day was like any other ordinary day. After lunch, Hutou, a little boy full of energy, was not interested in resting or afraid of the cold. He took his sister out to play on the streets.
It was winter vacation, and the children on the street buzzed like bees, in groups.
As soon as Hutou and his sister left, Liang Meifen changed her clothes and went out. She planned to visit the neighborhood committee. She used to work and it wasn't a problem, but now she had lost her job and one source of income.
She had originally planned well, thinking that they could all live together, with so many workers in the family, they wouldn't starve. But she never expected her mother-in-law to act so unusually. Although they hadn't separated households yet, what was the difference?
She couldn't profit, and lost one person's salary, so she had to think of more ways. If she wanted to find another formal job, it was out of the question. Even though she graduated from high school, it was a pipe dream.
The movement to the countryside was in full swing. Many families with a bit of power could not guarantee that each of their children could have a formal job in the city, let alone her situation. Although Liang Meifen was a bit confused, she understood this.
Because she understood, she wanted to register with the neighborhood committee to see if there were any odd jobs she could do to earn some extra pocket money. But she also knew that with their family's situation, eight people in the family, four workers, and two children, they were considered a pretty well-off family. Usually, the neighborhood committee arranges some odd jobs, but not for just anyone, they prioritize the needy households.
Their household was certainly not what you'd call impoverished. A family was considered poor if the average monthly income per person was less than five yuan. There were eight people in their home, which means if they made more than forty yuan, they weren't poor. Her father-in-law alone made fifty-five yuan. It was quite a situation!
It was impossible for their family to ever be considered poor, and it wasn't easy to make arrangements for them.
So, Liang Meifen spent the last few days frequently visiting the local government office whenever she had nothing else to do. She shamelessly hung around, hoping that her regular visits would earn her some small jobs, like pasting cardboard boxes or matchboxes. She was willing to do anything.
Because of this, Liang Meifen left home after lunch today. The large family was left to Zhao Guihua alone, who was pondering over the situation of her youngest son bringing home his wife. She remembered what happened in her past life. Because their family didn't handle things well, even though they gave their daughter-in-law five hundred yuan as private money, the Ming family was very dissatisfied.
Zhuang Zhixi didn't show any good face in the past. Thinking about these things, although Zhao Guihua was stubborn, she felt a twinge of regret in her heart. She hadn't handled this matter well in her past life.
While she was pondering, she heard a rustling noise outside the window. Zhao Guihua quickly stepped forward and opened the window. Sure enough, there were three "big rats" below the window.
The three guys were sneaking around. Zhao Guihua looked at the three children, Jinlai, Yinlai, and Tonglai, and asked with a smirk, "What are you doing here?"
Jinlai didn't expect to be caught. He awkwardly and reluctantly smiled, quickly thought of an excuse, and said, "We're playing hide and seek."
Zhao Guihua raised an eyebrow, not quite believing these three "big rats". However, she didn't give the children a hard time. She chuckled and said, "Who could hide here? Go play hide and seek somewhere else."
She was about to close the window, but she didn't mind. These three kids had no shame at all.
Jinlai woke up needing to pee last night, but he overheard his grandma and his mom talking. The Zhuang family had fish. His family had some too, but they were saving theirs for the New Year. The Zhuang family was so well-off, why couldn't they share a little with his family?
They were all neighbors, why should they hog all the food?
This kid had been spoiled by his family since he was a child, and his character was particularly selfish. Thinking about this, he quickly said, "Grandma Zhao, I want to eat fish."
Zhao Guihua's hand paused as she was closing the window, and she looked at this little brat. The brat looked up, taking it for granted as he said, "I smelled fish from your house, and I want to eat it too."
Zhao Guihua burst out laughing, finding it truly amusing. She said coldly, "What are you thinking about, you little rascal? Just because my house has fish, I should give it to you? How big is your face? Is this how your family teaches you? It's really funny. You're nine years old, not like your little brother, who's only five. If a five-year-old child said this, I could consider him ignorant. Don't you think it's shameless for a nine-year-old child to say this?"
Doesn't Jinlai understand this principle?
He does, and he knows that the food he's eating now isn't something he can casually share with others. However, his grandma and his mother often talk about their own hardships, and how they should help each other when others are having a good time. Hearing this often, he thought it was right and natural.
"We can barely feed ourselves, how can you be so heartless? What's the problem with giving us a little bit? You're so harsh, no one will take care of you when you're old!" Jinlai, mimicking his mother's typical words, scolded Zhao Guihua.
Zhao Guihua was already upset, and this made her furious.
She didn't hold back, pointing at Jinlai and his two brothers and scolding, "You little brats, taking advantage of our family, right? Compassion? Why don't you bring out your stuff? Always out stealing and messing around, what kind of unlucky children, were you born without being taught? I don't want to stoop to your level, you better take your brothers and get out of here. If I see you again, I won't hit a child, but I won't spare your grandma and your mother! What a piece of crap, a half-grown kid coming here to put on airs. What do you think you are!"
Jinlai, Yinlai, and Tonglai were boys, and they were not only pampered at home, but also received compliments outside. Having three sons at once, they were like brothers in arms. How impressive that was.
When they went out to play with others, they were always on top.
And the people in the yard also quite liked them. Despite Madam Zhou Li's constant nagging, she sometimes looked at them with envy. Who wouldn't crave three boys? The Bai family father and son were even worse, the elder fawning over the old widow, the younger over the young widow, they were bound to be good to the three children.
Even Chef Li envied their family, he only had one daughter. Although she was married into the family, the desire for a son was different. Other families, more or less, would show their envy.
Because of this, Jinlai and his brothers enjoyed being under the envious and jealous eyes.
When they were suddenly scolded, they were naturally furious, glaring at Zhao Guihua. Zhao Guihua retorted, "What are you looking at, you little bastard, dare to look at me like that, believe it or not, I'll smack you?"
A nine-year-old child, no matter how big, wouldn't dare to fight with an adult. Zhao Guihua was fierce, Jinlai glared at Zhao Guihua fiercely, then ran away with his two brothers.
Seeing the children run away, Zhao Guihua shook her head, thinking to herself that this family really didn't know how to raise children. What have they taught these good kids? Their family was indeed a bit harder than others, but if they said their life was unbearable, Zhao Guihua didn't agree.
In her previous life, she didn't see it clearly, thinking they were just neighbors, two women raising three half-grown boys, with only one person working, she would help if she could. But it turned out later, it wasn't like that.
Wang Xiangxiu, the one who worked, didn't earn much, but she had a wide range of sources for money.
Although Wang Xiangxiu wasn't a gentle and delicate woman, she was quite attractive and had a figure that was considered desirable in that era. She had caught the eye of many men and had them wrapped around her finger.
They didn't necessarily do anything, but they did take advantage of each other. If we were to speak in terms of today, her fish pond had raised quite a few fish. However, these people didn't work in the factory, and men didn't talk about these things, so the people living in their area didn't know much about it.
As for her mother-in-law, Aunt Su, even though she was old, she managed to take advantage of the neighbors by pretending to be weak and pitiful. Not to mention, she had two daughters who were masters of manipulation.
Even after her son passed away, she didn't hesitate to manipulate her nephew.
Her daughter-in-law, Liang Meifen, was quite manipulative, but compared to Aunt Su's two daughters, she was nothing.
Because of this, Zhao Guihua realized that she had misjudged the situation. In reality, their family was living a good life. They might even have been living better than Zhao Guihua herself. As for Aunt Su's frail health, it was all an act. She lived till the age of ninety-five.
At this age, the trees on Madam Zhou Li's grave, who was still alive and kicking, had started to grow.
Zhao Guihua didn't believe that Aunt Su was genuinely ill. She believed it was just a tactic of Aunt Su. She grumbled in disdain, "Such a pretender."
As Zhao Guihua was reminiscing about the past, she was unaware that the three little boys who had been scolded were quite angry. Jinlai led his two brothers outside the courtyard, cursing, "That old hag, she won't give us fish and even scolds us. Why doesn't she just drop dead! She deserves to choke on a fish bone."
Yinlai, with his small eyes, grumbled, "Brother, cursing won't do any good. She won't give us any fish. We have nothing to eat. Should we steal some?"
Tonglai, who was a year younger than Hutou but lacked his lively charm, greedily said, "If they won't give us any, we'll steal everything. They can eat shit!"
Upon hearing this, Jinlai and Yinlai turned to look at Tonglai, "Huh?"
Jinlai, with a malicious glint in his eyes, said, "That old hag refuses to share and even scolds us. We need to teach her a lesson. It's not gentlemanly to let a grudge go unavenged. We may be kids, but we won't be bullied."
Yinlai and Tonglai nodded in agreement, "Brother, what should we do? We'll follow your lead."
Jinlai said maliciously, "Since she won't share with us, we'll share with her."
Yinlai and Tonglai were confused, "???"
Share with her?
They barely had enough for themselves! How could they share with others?
The two mischievous boys were puzzled.
Jinlai let out a wicked laugh, "We'll do as our youngest brother suggested. Let her eat shit!"
"Ah?!!!"
They were genuinely shocked. However, imagining the scene, they began to clap their hands in excitement, "Good, this is good! She deserves to be taught a lesson. This is a great lesson."
Yinlai asked, "Brother, what should we do?"
Jinlai said, "Let me think, let me think carefully."
He pondered for a while, then said, "We'll keep an eye on the courtyard. She can't possibly stay inside all the time; she'll have to come out to use the toilet. As soon as she comes out, we'll sneak around to the back and throw the firecrackers into the toilet. If we're lucky, she'll fall into the toilet. Isn't that a fine mess? If we're unlucky and she doesn't fall in, at least we'll have splashed her, and that's a win too!"
"That's a good idea, but we don't have any firecrackers."
"Bro, I want to play with firecrackers."
Jinlai pondered, "Our mom definitely won't give us money. We need to think of another way."
Tonglai suggested, "Grandpa Bai, we can ask Grandpa Bai."
Jinlai said, "Right, I'll go find Grandpa Bai. If I can't find him, I'll find Uncle Bai. I'll just say I want to set off firecrackers, they'll definitely give me some. I'm going to ask right now, you two keep an eye on the old woman."
"Okay."
The three children divided the work amongst themselves. Other children their age would be able to help out at home a bit, but not these three. They were thinking about how to get into mischief together, each one full of energy.
Zhao Guihua was completely unaware of this, oblivious to the impending danger.
In the afternoon, she came out to use the outhouse. As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, the three children who were all set and ready immediately followed her quietly, sneakily.
To be honest, the person who was most uncomfortable with this toilet situation was not Ming Mei, who had moved from a high-rise building to a courtyard house. Although Ming Mei was living a more frugal life now, she was a person of this era, and was used to such dry toilets. Her family didn't use them, but she did when she was out. Although it was a bit difficult, she could still bear it.
The one who couldn't bear it at all was Zhao Guihua. She hadn't used such a dry toilet in decades. Every time she had to use the toilet, she had to mentally prepare herself before she could step into the toilet.
It was tough!
She held her sleeves, walked quickly to the toilet, aiming for a quick battle.
Zhao Guihua rushed to the toilet, almost like a tornado. As soon as Zhao Guihua entered the toilet, Jinlai and the other two children immediately went around to the back of the toilet, where the dung pit was. They struck a match, and a gust of wind blew out the match.
Jinlai muttered a curse under his breath, quickly struck another match. Matches cost money, and he was very stingy. He quickly struck the second match, and this time finally lit the firecracker, and threw it directly into the dung pit... Boom!
Zhao Guihua was quick; she never dawdled when using the toilet, and didn't chat. She went in and out quickly. Sure enough, she was out of the toilet in no time. She had barely taken two steps when she heard a noise. A voice cursing came from the toilet, "Who's the unlucky star that threw firecrackers into the toilet, are you trying to kill me!"
A woman ran out pulling up her pants, and you could see that her lower legs were spotted with dung.
Zhao Guihua: "You..." Before she could ask what happened, she saw Jinlai and his two mischievous brothers. Zhao Guihua shouted, "Is this your doing, you three little devils?"
The three children ran off as soon as they heard her. They certainly didn't want to be caught red-handed.
They thought that Zhao Guihua, after being scolded, wouldn't react so quickly. But who would have thought that Zhao Guihua was quick to use the restroom and she was already out. The three children were instantly flustered, and another innocent victim rushed up, grabbed Jinlai, and slapped him twice.
"You unlucky child, how dare you throw..."
No wonder Tonglai, the youngest, started to cry loudly when he saw his brother getting beaten up. He shouted, "We didn't mean to blow you up, we wanted to blow up the old hag Zhao..."
Zhao Guihua suddenly realized that these kids were after her. She was also angry and started scolding the three kids. Zhao Guihua and the victimized sister-in-law were not easy to deal with. Their shouting and the children's crying attracted a crowd.
"What's going on?"
"Why are they hitting the children? This is not right!"
The victimized sister-in-law was not happy and shouted, "Get lost, you hypocrites! You don't know the whole story... These three little bastards..." She loudly explained what had just happened.
Zhao Guihua also refused to be outdone: "These three brats targeted me. If I hadn't come out early, I would have been victimized too. Can you believe that?"
Tonglai shouted, "It's because you didn't give us the fish!"
Zhao Guihua: "Pah!"
She grabbed the child's ear and shouted, "Why should I give you fish? The fish I got from the old man fishing by the river yesterday was for my daughter-in-law, and it was taken away this morning. These three little brats came to my house demanding it, saying that I was heartless for not giving it to them. Now, who doesn't lack food and drink? If your family lacks, should others give to you? And if they don't, you retaliate? How did your family educate you?"
Zhao Guihua's rant made the surrounding people nod in agreement.
Who could afford to give away such precious things in this economy?
The scene was chaotic. Aunt Su ran out crying, "Jinlai, Yinlai..."
"You stop pretending to be the victim. Tell me, did you teach these children? How else could they do such a thing?" Zhao Guihua was righteous and on the side of reason.
"They didn't..."
"They didn't my ass, they did it on purpose. Sister, I'll keep an eye on these three little brats for you. You should go home and change your pants first, then come to our courtyard. I'll vouch for you and make their family compensate you. There's no way to handle things like this." Zhao Guihua looked at the innocent sister, feeling that she was the real victim. Ugh! Her pants were covered in feces.
"Alright, sister, I trust you!"
At this point, Aunt Wang also came out. She was in charge of their courtyard and naturally didn't want things to get uglier. She said, "Regardless, all of you should return to the courtyard first. What's the point of quarreling at the toilet door? Move along, move along."
She pushed people back, but even if they returned to the courtyard, could it disperse the crowd's enthusiasm for gossip?
No, it certainly couldn't.
And so, they were surrounded. As the crowd of onlookers grew, it was three layers inside and three layers outside.
When Zhuang Zhixi and Ming Mei returned, this was the situation. After hearing what had happened, Zhuang Zhixi was speechless. What kind of shameless people were these? He didn't mince his words, saying, "Aunt Su, stop your crying. With all your sobbing, it's as if we're bullying you. No matter how hard you cry, it's your family who's in the wrong. What your child has done is not something a human should do. What's this, you can get away with anything by crying these days? Even if you're wrong, you still want to stir up trouble? Let me tell you, you can't just cry your way out of this. There's no such thing as bullying people like this."
Ming Mei added, "Exactly, you're just bullying my mother because we weren't home."
She quickly moved to her mother-in-law's other side, gently patting her back to comfort her, saying, "My mother is such an honest and simple person, look at how you've upset her! Is this how you do things? You're really going too far."
The onlookers exchanged puzzled glances: Honest, simple?
Aunt Su was choked by these words, interrupting her sobbing rhythm.
Zhuang Zhixi continued, "I think it's about time you managed your three children better. What's with all the stealing and petty crimes? Now it's even worse; they've started retaliating. Are we supposed to live in fear of retaliation from your three children if we don't give them things? Can we even continue living here? Can anyone?"
When Zhuang Zhixi said this, the neighbors in the courtyard thought about it and agreed. This was a matter that affected their interests, and they immediately began voicing their opinions. Everyone expressed their dissatisfaction.
"Aunt Su, your children really can't go on like this. I think what Zhuang said is right, this can't continue."
"Exactly, they stole peanuts yesterday, and today they're demanding fish and retaliating. You have to manage these children."
"I've been saying this won't do, and you said it was just boys being mischievous, but look now..."
"We can't let this continue in our courtyard..."
"Exactly, exactly."
Aunt Su covered her face and cried, sneaking a glance at Zhuang Zhixi. In her heart, she cursed: You little bastard, showing off your eloquence and rallying the crowd. You're a curse. Why don't you get struck by lightning?
Even though she cursed Zhuang Zhixi to high heavens in her heart, she didn't let it show on her face. Instead, she showed a hint of guilt.
"It's my fault for not disciplining the children well. My health is not good, I didn't put enough effort into them, it's my fault..." She was good at this, not the first time she played this card: "Guihua, you know me, I'm a strong-willed person. If it wasn't for my lack of energy, how could I let them run around and pick up bad habits from other children? But believe me, no matter what, I will discipline them properly in the future. This time, please forgive them, I'm going to kneel for you..."
She was about to kneel as she spoke, but Aunt Wang stopped her before she could, frowning, "Aunt Su, what are you doing? This is a new society, we don't do that anymore, don't kneel at the drop of a hat."
Aunt Su's eyes were full of tears, "I'm so ashamed!"
She patted the children's backs, "You three naughty children, look at what you've done. Who behaves like you? Haven't I told you? Our family may be poor, but we must not be short-sighted, why don't you listen!" She patted lightly, not hurting them at all.
Ming Mei watched and nodded in agreement, "They really don't listen. I've been married for three or four days and I've heard you say it twice. I remember it, but these three kids don't. In this situation, based on my experience, a good beating will do the trick."
Aunt Su: "Uh..."
You've messed up my rhythm, you know!
Do you know?
You messed it up!
What's it got to do with you!
She looked at this young couple, a thousand, ten thousand times annoyed, why are you everywhere!
Ming Mei's big eyes were looking around, her gaze fell on the stick Madam Zhou Li had placed at the door, "Look, isn't that a stick? Don't use your hands, you're so weak, it'll hurt you too if you hit them too hard, use the stick. If you beat them with the stick, I guarantee they'll learn their lesson."
The courtyard was silent in the afternoon.
The onlookers didn't know what to say for a moment, and the chatter died down.
Aunt Su's pale face turned the color of a pig's liver, and Zhuang Zhixi clapped his hands, "Ah, that's right. Look, when it comes to disciplining children, my wife knows best. See how reasonable she is. Aunt Su, you don't need to thank us."
Aunt Wang was supporting Aunt Su, preventing her from kneeling. This bad habit must not be allowed, she was in charge of managing the yard, she always had to keep this in mind. But now, she could clearly feel that Aunt Su was starting to shake slightly.
She didn't know if it was out of shame or... anger.
Zhao Guihua had been scolding for a while, her son and daughter-in-law jumped out, she could take a little break in the middle of the game. But, she found that Aunt Su wasn't as angry when she was jumping and cursing, but a few short words from her son and daughter-in-law almost made her faint with anger.
Zhao Guihua blinked, suddenly feeling like she had learned something.
Well, the old saying is really good, live to old, learn to old, it's true.
Sometimes sarcasm is more annoying than direct cursing.
Ming Mei was still going on, "Aunt Su, if you want the children to remember the lesson, it's best to hang them up and beat them with their clothes off."
The surrounding people: "....Sss." So ruthless!
Everyone let out a sound like a toothache.
Ming Mei, with her innocent face, said something not so friendly: "Only a harsh enough lesson will teach a child a lasting lesson. Otherwise, if you just scold them lightly, they will repeat their actions next time. But after you beat them, remember to mix some salt water and splash it on the child."
The surrounding people: "....Sss." So ruthless, so ruthless!
Won't this hurt to death?
Zhuang Zhixi: "Why?"
He asked curiously, and Ming Mei seriously explained: "The wooden stick is not clean. After beating, we need to sterilize it."
"Wow... Don't hit me, don't hit me, I don't want to be beaten with a stick, you are a bad person, you are the worst person in the world, wuwuwu..." Tonglai was scared and started crying loudly.
Jinlai and Yinlai were also a bit scared. They weren't afraid of their family hitting people, but they were afraid of other people in the yard doing it. Don't think that Jinlai dared to kick Madam Zhou Li yesterday, that's because he knew that Uncle Zhou Qun liked him and wouldn't come out to hit him.
His mother and grandmother were there and wouldn't let him be bullied. Even if he was beaten a little, he wouldn't suffer.
But the people of the Zhuang family... They didn't have this "friendship" with him.
His mother wasn't home, and neither was Bai Fendou. Only his grandmother was there. How could she handle it?
The two of them were also a bit scared and kept shrinking behind their grandmother.
Ming Mei continued to babble: "The child is small. If you are afraid of hurting him, don't hit his body, hit his butt. There is a lot of meat on the butt, and there will definitely be no problem after hitting it."
She also enthusiastically suggested where to hit.
Zhao Guihua: "I think my daughter-in-law is right."
She sneered and said: "These little rascals need to be educated properly, otherwise they will never stop."
"I won't dare anymore, I won't dare in the future, don't hit me, it's all big brother's doing, it's all big brother's idea, not me..." Yinlai saw that the situation was going wrong and decisively sold out his own brother. Everyone was amazed at this. How could this child be like this?
Jinlai was also annoyed: "You bastard, I am your brother!"
"Wuwuwu, I don't want to be beaten, it's you, it's you, it's you, it's your idea, it's you who did it..."
Kids, dog eat dog.
"Make way, make way for me, big sister, I'm back, compensation, you splashed me with a pair of pants full of dung dots, hurry up and compensate me!" The other victim, big sister, finally came back. This trip home, she had calmed down a lot and decisively chose to ask for money.
What does disciplining the child have to do with her?
Money is more attractive. Isn't it good to buy meat with the money?
"Compensation! Look at my pants, you have to compensate me for at least one pair of pants..." Negotiating a price is like this, first ask for a big one, then slowly bargain. She asked for a large amount. Sure enough, everyone around her took a deep breath.
Zhao Guihua didn't have any expression, but it was Aunt Wang who said: "Big sister, you can't do this. They are indeed wrong, but this is too much. Your pants can still be worn after washing. How about we pay a little less..."
Everyone knew that letting it go was impossible. Why should they?
If it was mud, no one would say anything, but that was dung.
The scene immediately plunged into intense haggling. A pair of pants, no matter how you look at it, would cost a few bucks at least. It was impossible to settle for less. After intense bargaining from both sides, the compensation was finally set at eighty cents.
The victim, the sister-in-law, took the money and left triumphantly.
Aunt Su was heartbroken. The money for a pound of meat was just given away like that!
"All right, all right, everyone disperse..."
Zhao Guihua shouted, "Disperse? Who said anything about dispersing? She's settled, but what about me? If they don't give me an explanation, I won't let this matter rest. Who knows if those little brats will ambush me in the restroom again tomorrow without some discipline?"
Ming Mei chimed in loudly, "Exactly! How can they do this?"
Zhuang Zhixi added, "They must give us an explanation."
Aunt Wang rubbed her temples. In a short time, she had figured out that this new daughter-in-law of the Zhuang family, was not an easy one to deal with. Originally, the Zhuang family only had Zhao Guihua to contend with, but now this young woman was also quite assertive.
Ming Mei thought to herself: Now is the perfect time to brown-nose!
She rolled up her sleeves, "If your family doesn't give my mother-in-law an explanation, I won't be polite. Let me tell you, I can catch seven villains bare-handed! Dealing with you guys is a piece of cake! Cleaning you up is as easy as chopping vegetables!"
Zhuang Zhixi curled his lips into a smile, "My wife is really amazing."
Zhao Guihua: "......"
She had forgotten that this young daughter-in-law was indeed a formidable person.
Ming Mei started working half a year later than Zhuang Zhixi and almost a year now, but why was her salary higher than Zhuang Zhixi's? Because she had been commended and given a raise. The reason for the commendation was that she had once caught a gang of seven thieves stealing on a bus.
It was said that the thieves had even pulled out a knife, but they were helpless. The seven grown men were beaten up by a young girl until they were black and blue. When the police arrived, they were crying their eyes out. The onlookers applauded.
Later, it was heard that those thieves never dared to commit theft on the bus where Ming Mei worked as a ticket seller.
Of course, Zhao Guihua found out about all this later.
Technically, she shouldn't know about it yet, as Ming Mei had just married into the family and hadn't mentioned these things. But since she brought it up now......Zhao Guihua put her hands on her hips, "You better believe it, my daughter-in-law dares to catch thieves, dealing with you little brats is a breeze."
Aunt Wang rubbed her temples, feeling her head ache from all the noise, but she was not one to ignore things.
She thought for a moment and said, "We can't just let it go, or the kids won't learn their lesson. But hanging them up and beating them is a bit too... How about this, I have a suggestion. You three boys sincerely apologize to Granny Zhao, and then you're punished to sweep the yard for a month, what do you think?"
This punishment was not light.
A whole month!
Just as Aunt Su was about to play the victim and haggle, she heard Zhao Guihua say, "Two months! One month is too short!"
Aunt Wang advised her, "Let's settle for one month. Look, although the child didn't hold back properly, he didn't really cause any harm, right? We can't be too hard on him. Let's give the child a chance. If they repeat this, we'll be stricter. This is their first time, let's give them a chance. I believe that sweeping for a month can teach the child a lesson."
Aunt Su, who was just thinking about bargaining, quickly accepted when she saw Zhao Guihua wanted to raise the price. She is a very pragmatic person.
She immediately said, "Our family agrees. It was our mistake. We are willing to sweep the yard for a month."
Zhao Guihua also knew she couldn't be too stubborn about this. After all, as Aunt Wang said, even though they were mean, she wasn't really affected. She pursed her lips, gave a heavy hum, and said, "Alright then!"
