Zhao Guihua grumbled all the way home, her mood sour.
Although she had disciplined the naughty kids, it didn't mean she wasn't angry. Zhao Guihua had a fiery temper.
Ming Mei stealthily glanced at her mother-in-law and quickly stepped forward to soothe her, saying, "Mom, don't be angry. We've already punished those three kids to sweep the courtyard. Let's see how they behave next time. If they dare to misbehave again, we won't go easy on those little rascals."
She continued, "Mom, look, my mom brought us a hen. Let's feed it for a couple of days and have it stewed for the New Year, okay?"
Zhuang Zhixi quickly stepped forward, proudly displaying the plump hen, and said, "Look, how plump and delicious it looks. It must taste great."
The hen: "Cluck cluck cluck~"
Zhuang Zhixi: "Hear that? It's saying, 'Eat me, eat me.'"
Zhao Guihua's mouth twitched: "..."
You're just picking on the fact that the chicken can't talk? Even if it were stupid, it wouldn't make such a request. She gave her son a sidelong glance and said, "Alright, stop fooling around. Go make a cage for the hen. We'll keep it for now."
"Okay."
As the evening approached, Zhao Guihua muttered, "Liang Meifen, she's been out all afternoon. We can't rely on her at home."
Isn't it just like fate to have such coincidences? Liang Meifen just returned and heard her mother-in-law talking about her. She felt a pang of guilt and quickly walked in, calling, "Mom, I'm back." Her eyes fell on the hen, and she was instantly delighted; this was a good thing.
Zhuang Zhixi immediately bragged, "Sister-in-law, this is from my mother-in-law. She really likes me. You can tell how much a son-in-law is valued by visiting his in-laws. Look at me, coming back with a hen in hand. Now look at my brother... Uh, never mind."
Zhao Guihua gave him a death stare, and Zhuang Zhixi immediately stopped bragging. He quickly said, "I'll go make a hen cage."
Liang Meifen awkwardly lowered her head.
Zhao Guihua: "Your dad and the others will be home soon. Let's make some sour cabbage for dinner, with sour cabbage and vermicelli."
Liang Meifen immediately went to the small sour cabbage jar at the door to scoop some out. They didn't eat much sour cabbage locally, but Aunt Wang from the northeast knew how to make it. So, the women in the courtyard all learned from her. Now that they have sour cabbage, it adds another dish to their winter meals, which is quite nice.
Zhao Guihua muttered, "If we could add some streaky pork to the sour cabbage, that would be perfect."
Both Liang Meifen and Ming Mei, the two daughters-in-law, simultaneously swallowed their saliva at the thought, feeling it would be incredibly delicious.
However, they knew that was just a fantasy. They couldn't afford to have meat every day; that was for what kind of family? They could only dream. But Ming Mei slyly approached Zhao Guihua and boasted, "Mom, our bus station usually issues two pounds of meat coupons during the New Year."
Zhao Guihua's eyes lit up and said, "That's great. We can put more meat in our dumplings this year and have a hearty meat dumpling feast."
"Gulp," Ming Mei swallowed her saliva.
Liang Meifen also looked at Ming Mei enviously. Although she had also worked in a factory, their textile factory's benefits were far inferior to the bus station. Not to mention two pounds of meat, they wouldn't even get two ounces.
Liang Meifen: "The bus station is really good. The benefits are great, and the holidays are plenty."
Ming Mei had taken so many days off recently. If it were their factory, that would be impossible.
Ming Mei was taken aback and quickly explained, "Oh no, we don't have many holidays. I took leave for a reason." She elaborated, "Our bus station is different from regular factories. There are no fixed holidays during the New Year. Although the bus schedule is reduced, there are still services. We attendants work in shifts. Since I took many days off for my wedding, I'll be working on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day this year."
She rubbed her hands together, "It looks like I'll be working on New Year's Eve this year."
Zhao Guihua already knew this from her previous life and wasn't surprised. She nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. It's okay to work. We'll wait for you to come back for dumplings in the evening."
Ming Mei smiled and said, "Okay."
She happily added, "Although I'm working on New Year's Eve, our boss was considerate of my recent marriage and didn't schedule me for New Year's Day. Hehe."
Zhao Guihua glanced at her youngest daughter-in-law. She had to admit that this daughter-in-law was an optimist, easily delighted by small things. She said, "That's nice of your boss. Go scoop some cornmeal."
Ming Mei: "Sure."
While chatting, Zhao Guihua didn't neglect her work. She kneaded the cornmeal into oval-shaped cakes and stuck them on the sour cabbage pot, saying, "If only we had a copper hot pot, eating sour cabbage pot in winter would be delightful."
"Gulp," Ming Mei swallowed her saliva again.
Zhao Guihua chuckled. Indeed, Zhao Guihua had planned well. By the time dinner was ready, the family members had all returned. They sat around the table to eat. Old Man Zhuang asked, "I heard you had a quarrel with someone today."
Zhao Guihua rolled her eyes: "What quarrel? I scolded him. That little brat, trying to scheme against me."
Old Man Zhuang: "They must have smelled something yesterday."
Zhao Guihua snorted and said, "So what if they smelled it? Do I owe them anything? I'm telling you all, stay away from the Su family. If I find out, I'll break your dog legs."
The three Zhuang men quickly said, "Understood, understood."
This old lady, they couldn't afford to offend her.
Zhao Guihua, seeing they had taken her words to heart, nodded in satisfaction. She knew the Su family better than anyone else. Once entangled, it would be endless. She didn't want her family to be involved with them.
Their family hadn't yet reached the point of thriving; why bother with others?
Zhao Guihua lectured her family and then pondered. The New Year was approaching, and every family wanted to have a good year-end. After a year of hard work, if they didn't have a good meal during the New Year, it would be too unfair.
However, Zhao Guihua knew that the meat coupons they had saved were all used up during her youngest son's wedding. Even if Ming Mei could get two pounds of meat, with their family of eight, it would be enough to eat, but not enough to eat well.
If it were Zhao Guihua a week ago, she might have saved a pound and a half of meat, just tasting a bit of meat. But since she had been reborn, she could quickly adapt to her current life and wanted to eat a little better within her means.
Not to mention, her husband had worked hard all his life, but hadn't enjoyed many good days before passing away. Now that she had another chance, Zhao Guihua didn't want her husband to suffer.
But to eat well, they needed resources. Even if they had workers in the family, it might not be enough. Everything was rationed now; even if they had money, they couldn't buy it. There used to be a pigeon market where they could trade for food, but now it was abolished.
Although the pigeon market was abolished, a black market emerged.
But these two were different. The pigeon market was unregulated, with nearby farmers coming to trade; now the black market was monitored, and one could get caught. It was risky. But despite the risk, people still went.
With the New Year approaching, every household would prepare fish, as it symbolized "surplus year after year." If they could trade a batch of fish for meat... I think it's feasible!
"Mom, why aren't you eating? What are you thinking about? You're spacing out," Zhuang Zhixi noticed his mother's distracted state. "Are you okay?"
Zhao Guihua: "What could be wrong with me?"
She wasn't the type to dawdle. Once she made up her mind, she immediately decided. She asked, "Which of you men can take a day off tomorrow?"
Taking a day off?
The family members were puzzled but still answered honestly.
Old Man Zhuang: "I definitely can't. It's the end of the year, and there's a lot of work. I'm indispensable." He was a level-five riveter, and riveters were fewer than welders, so taking leave was out of the question.
Zhuang Zhixi raised his hand: "I can't either. I've taken a lot of leave recently because of my wedding. Although our clinic doesn't have much work, they are all more senior than me, and they all have families. With the New Year approaching, they will definitely need to take leave to prepare for the festivities. It won't be my turn."
Ming Mei: "I'm even less likely to get leave. If I take leave, our leader will go crazy."
Zhao Guihua: "I never even considered you!"
Ming Mei: "Oh."
At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to Zhuang Zhiyuan, who gave a wry smile and said, "I can't either. I haven't mentioned it yet, but I have to go on a trip tomorrow. I've been assigned to a trip to Fengtian, which will take about six days round trip."
It won't interfere with the New Year celebrations, but taking leave tomorrow is definitely out of the question.
Seeing that everyone was unavailable, Zhao Guihua cursed, "Useless things! Alright then, tomorrow it's still just the two of us."
She looked at Liang Meifen, who was puzzled: "???"
Liang Meifen didn't understand what her mother-in-law was planning, and Zhao Guihua didn't intend to explain.
Old Man Zhuang: "Guihua, what are you up to..."
Zhao Guihua glared at him: "Don't ask what you shouldn't."
She glanced at the two children who were eating noisily and didn't want to discuss it in front of them.
Old Man Zhuang nodded and, after dinner, sent the two children to their room. Only then did Zhao Guihua say, "I plan to catch some fish to sell in the black market and buy some meat."
This almost scared the rest of the family half to death. Old Man Zhuang quickly tried to stop her: "Whoa! Your guts are too big. The black market is not a place for us to go. Even buying things requires extreme caution, let alone selling?"
Zhuang Zhiyuan, whose eyebrows could almost pinch a fly to death, nodded and said, "No, this is definitely not possible. It's too dangerous."
Zhuang Zhixi also nodded, incredulously saying, "Mom, you're quite wild now, even thinking about dabbling in the black market."
Ming Mei blinked: My mother-in-law is indeed formidable!
Zhao Guihua shot a sharp glance at the men in the family and said, "I'm not doing this for the family's sake? That pond on the mountain, is it exclusively ours? Today we can find it, tomorrow others can too. While no one else has noticed, there are plenty of big fish in there. Wouldn't it be better to catch some now? Otherwise, when more people find out, we won't even see fish bones."
Zhao Guihua wasn't lying. How did she know there was a pond with fish on the mountain? It was because it happened in her previous life. About a few months later, after the New Year in the summer, a group of teenagers from the compound went up the mountain to play and discovered the pond.
These fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys couldn't compare to her, an old bird from Dongting Lake.
These boys had no sense of discretion, each taking a bucket of fish home, making a big show of it. The news spread quickly. Within two or three days, there wasn't a single fish left in the pond, not even fry.
They caught them all.
Zhao Guihua, living in the courtyard, heard about it. When they went there, there was nothing left. She was so regretful and heartbroken. She had remembered this missed opportunity for decades.
That's why she immediately went up the mountain to find the pond after being reborn.
It's strange, the pond wasn't exactly hidden, but no one had noticed it before, nor did they know there were fish in it. Some things really depend on fate. But this time, Zhao Guihua didn't want to miss out.
She said, "Let's sell some while the market is good before the New Year."
Zhao Guihua was full of ambition, but the rest of the Zhuang family was grimacing and scratching their heads. This was dangerous, who could handle it? Zhuang Zhiyuan tried to persuade his mother, saying, "Mom, if you get caught..."
Zhao Guihua: "Pfft, can't I run?"
She said, "Besides, at that time, you need to have the determination to break the boat. If things go south, I'll just throw the fish at them. Then you guess, will they catch the fish or chase me? You men, you really lack guts."
The Zhuang men felt criticized, but they still looked miserable, genuinely not wanting their mother to take risks.
Zhao Guihua, stubborn as eight oxen: "This is settled!"
"Hey, not so fast, Mom..."
"Old lady, wait a minute..."
Zhao Guihua: "Who are you calling old lady? I'm still young. If you can't help, don't add to my troubles. Go away."
Zhao Guihua felt that a family shouldn't listen to men. Men always overthink things. By the time they figure it out, the opportunity is gone.
They can't even catch up to a hot meal.
At this time, Liang Meifen and Ming Mei, the two daughters-in-law, couldn't get a word in, nor did they dare to.
With the three Zhuang men unable to persuade, let alone the two daughters-in-law, who were one level lower. The three men were so worried their eyebrows were knitted together.
"Mom, if something goes wrong..."
"Don't jinx it." Zhao Guihua was resolute. She sighed, seeing everyone's worried looks, and said, "Alright, I promise you, we'll just sell this batch before the New Year. After that, I won't go to the black market. Is that a compromise?"
Compromise?
Where did you compromise?
But seeing this, everyone knew they couldn't persuade Zhao Guihua. Zhuang Zhixi sighed, saying, "Mom, you're really something. Are you planning to move the family to the Forbidden City next?"
Zhao Guihua: "..."
Death glare.
Zhuang Zhixi: "Then you promise us, just this batch before the New Year."
Zhao Guihua rolled her eyes: "What's there to promise? Alright, I promise!" What happens next is next's problem, for now, the promise is made.
Because Zhao Guihua was so stubborn, the men left with heavy hearts. The two couples departed, and Old Man Zhuang was so worried his hair seemed to be greasing up. He said, "You old lady, why are you so stubborn?"
Zhao Guihua glanced at him and said, "What else can I do for this family? I don't want to take any risks and just keep the fish for us to eat, but look, just a whiff of fishy smell, and the greedy cats are already sniffing around. If this goes on, sooner or later someone will notice, and that pond on the mountain will have nothing to do with us. We can go, others can too. Besides, even if it's not from us, what if someone else finds out? There's no reason we shouldn't seize an opportunity when we encounter one."
For her, going to the black market wasn't a big deal, but seeing how worried the family was, she had to reassure them.
"The older and younger sons don't understand, but you do, right? I'm not careless. If I'm going to the black market, I'll be cautious and disguised. No matter what, let's make some money first." Zhao Guihua sighed, "You do physical labor every day, with no oil or fat, how can you endure? Tiger and Little Swallow also lack nutrition."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhuang was moved. He whispered, "I know, I know you're doing this for the family, for me."
His eyes reddened, and he started wiping away tears. His old lady was so good to him, better than any other family's wife. He must have done good deeds in his past life to have such fortune.
This time, he couldn't bring himself to stop her.
Zhao Guihua: "You understand that's good!"
Zhao Guihua saw that Old Man Zhuang didn't object, so she opened the drawer and took out the money box. She said, "All our savings right now amount to six hundred and fifty yuan. I've thought about it, and since they won't be handing over their salaries anymore, our savings will slow down. They used to give us ten or twenty yuan a month, but with eight people in the family, thirty yuan isn't enough to eat well, let alone twenty. In the future, we'll probably have to subsidize the kids. Just now, we talked about how you're not young anymore and can't keep enduring like before; you need to eat better. The kids are growing too, so we should at least spend twenty yuan a month on them. With forty yuan covering the food expenses for eight people, we should be able to eat decently. Even if we can't eat well, we must at least eat enough. I'll figure out the rest. I don't care about wearing nice clothes, but in this cold weather, if our cotton-padded jackets aren't warm enough, we need to add some cotton or make new ones. That's a necessary expense; otherwise, we might end up with arthritis. There are also other living expenses, so we won't be able to save much in the future."
Old Man Zhuang: "A little savings is enough."
He was content, saying, "More money means more expenses, less means less. Our kids aren't ungrateful; they won't abandon us."
Zhao Guihua nodded, saying, "I know that."
While the older couple was counting their "assets" in the room, the younger couple was doing the same. This referred to Zhuang Zhixi and his wife, Ming Mei, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, counting money carefully while Zhuang Zhixi was tending to the stove.
To save on coal, their house didn't have stoves in every room during the day; only the main room where the parents stayed had a stove. If they weren't working, they would stay there. They only lit their own stove at night. Zhuang Zhixi was busy, while Ming Mei focused on her task: "Don't peek, okay?"
Zhuang Zhixi: "Oh, wife, you're so smug. You think I wouldn't dare to snatch it?"
Ming Mei: "Come on, come on, see if I'll be polite."
Zhuang Zhixi: "Oops, forgot you're a pro."
He had learned from Ming Mei why her salary was higher. He had always known her salary was higher than his, thinking it was due to her taking over her job, but he didn't realize it was because she had once caught a thief and received a promotion.
"Hey, wife, were you scared when you caught the thief?"
Ming Mei: "What's there to be scared of? Of course not. You don't know, I was hoping for another fool to show up so I could get another promotion. Catching thieves is way faster than waiting for seniority to increase my salary. I've been waiting for them to come and boost my performance. Alas!" She sighed, saying, "Who knew there wouldn't be any thieves? They've gotten smart and don't come near my bus route anymore."
She had missed out on another great opportunity to raise her salary!
Zhuang Zhixi chuckled: "You're really something!"
Ming Mei looked up: "Of course, I'm very capable."
At this point, she suddenly slapped her thigh, unhappy: "Zhuang Zhixi, you're so annoying! Why did you talk to me? I counted wrong!"
Zhuang Zhixi: "Pfft!"
He teased: "Do you want me to help you count?"
Ming Mei immediately looked wary: "Get lost."
She moved to the head of the bed, turned her back to Zhuang Zhixi, and continued counting. Seeing her money-loving ways, Zhuang Zhixi couldn't help but laugh even more. His wife looked smart, but she really had no guile.
Any shrewd wife wouldn't count her private money in front of her husband.
But Zhuang Zhixi didn't realize that Ming Mei dared to do this because she was confident he wasn't a match for her. Actually, Ming Mei hadn't planned to count her money today; it was just... they had gone to her parents' house today!
Ming Mei had always kept her money at her parents' house and hadn't brought it back. She wasn't some naive little girl without any cunning.
But after having a "dream," Ming Mei had a good idea of what kind of person her mother-in-law was. At least her mother-in-law had good character, so there was nothing to worry about. Even if Zhuang Zhixi wasn't a good guy, her mother-in-law wouldn't let it slide. So she felt much more at ease.
Ming Mei had taken back the private money she had saved over the years when she visited her parents today. She had taken over her mother's job and had been working for about two and a half years. Her parents didn't take her salary, so all the money was in her hands. Ming Mei had saved a total of four hundred yuan.
When she got married, Zhuang's family gave her fifty yuan as a dowry, and her mother added another fifty yuan to her dowry, making it a hundred yuan for her private money. So now Ming Mei had five hundred yuan.
The full notes were these, and the rest were some loose change.
Altogether, it was forty-eight yuan.
Ming Mei took out eight yuan and put it in her small wallet, then put the remaining money in a wooden box, locked it, and still wasn't reassured. She then locked the wooden box to the bed, put on her slippers, and went to the ground, crossing her arms and looking at Zhuang Zhixi, asking, "Are you done yet? Is it lit?"
Zhuang Zhixi looked up: "It's been ready for a while; I was just waiting for you."
Ming Mei raised her chin, smiling coquettishly. Zhuang Zhixi felt his heart melt. His wife was so beautiful. He reached out to hold her hand and led her to the bed, but Ming Mei pulled back, pouting: "Go fill a kettle with water."
Zhuang Zhixi chuckled: "Okay."
He took the kettle to the yard, filled it quickly, and placed it on the stove before pulling his wife to "rest." As newlyweds, they were truly tireless, and soon the bed began creaking...
The biggest difference between newlyweds and old couples is that the former are always eager to explore the mysteries of "life" and "birth," while the latter can argue for hours over trivial matters.
The old Zhuang family was no exception. While the young couple was testing the bed's endurance, Zhuang Zhiyuan and his wife were arguing over trivialities.
Zhuang Zhiyuan was leaving home tomorrow, and Liang Meifen couldn't help but feel sad. She nagged: "Why leave now, not earlier or later? It's so hard for me to be alone at home, you know..."
She was preparing clothes for Zhuang Zhiyuan to change into before he left.
"Your mom is also going to sell things, and I don't know if she'll drag me along. What if something happens? Why is she so restless?"
She sighed again and said, "I went to the neighborhood office today to look for work, but they ignored me. It must be because your mom has been talking behind my back. Otherwise, why would they look down on me? I even ran into her today, talking about me with Old Three's wife. Do you know how hard it is for me in this family? I work hard, I..."
"Are you done yet?" Zhuang Zhiyuan said seriously: "If you have time, you should use it to study. Look at how you've become so mundane, always talking about trivial matters. Don't always assume my mom treats you badly. I think she treats you quite well. Look around our neighborhood; who has a mom as honest as mine? You can't be ungrateful."
He turned over and continued reading the "Railway Weekly," saying, "Look at me, always striving to learn."
Liang Meifen: "..."
She took a deep breath and said, "What's the point of reading that? It doesn't fill your stomach or quench your thirst!"
Zhuang Zhiyuan: "Life isn't just about eating and drinking; one should aspire to a broader spiritual level. You're too vulgar, too vulgar!"
Liang Meifen: "Waaaah..."
Her husband just couldn't be down-to-earth, always so lofty!
She was so hard!
Being a wife was so hard.
"Why are you crying again? Look at you..."
Liang Meifen couldn't take it anymore, saying, "I'm going to the bathroom!"
Afraid he might follow, she added, "For a big one!"
She rushed out the door and headed to the bathroom, where she couldn't hold back her suppressed tears. Waaaah, why couldn't he understand her? Her life was so hard, so difficult.
Liang Meifen didn't dare to cry loudly, afraid someone would hear, so she covered her mouth and sobbed quietly. She felt so wronged. Only here could she cry freely. Her life was so hard!
Woohoo!
In the men's restroom, the drunkard Zhang San stumbled in, only to feel a chill as soon as he entered. It wasn't that he was easily startled. Last time, he had encountered a ghost in the restroom and didn't even dare to tell anyone about it.
This time, he thought he was finally... No, wait, the sound of sobbing echoed again.
Zhang San shivered, nearly fainting from fright. He quickly leaned against the wall, trembling, thinking, "Ghosts... There really are ghosts! The ghost is crying again! I heard it, I really heard it!"
Zhang San covered his mouth again, "Woo!" He couldn't make a sound.
However, this time he was bolder than last time. Last time, he didn't dare to move, but this time, he slowly moved towards the exit while covering his mouth. As soon as he reached the door, he let out a scream and ran away, shouting, "Mommy...! There's a ghost!"
Liang Meifen was crying when suddenly she heard someone scream. Her crying stopped, and she quickly left the restroom to see Zhang San from the neighboring courtyard running away in a panic. Liang Meifen was puzzled, "What's wrong with him? What's he shouting about?"
She muttered to herself, "That drunkard must have had too much to drink and doesn't know what's what."
Feeling much better after crying, Liang Meifen wiped her tears and hurried home. Looking at the overcast sky, she thought, "It's going to snow!"
Liang Meifen didn't know the mental trauma she had caused others. She hurried back and said, "Husband, it's going to snow outside. Don't let the water pipes freeze. Fill up some water."
Zhuang Zhiyuan: "Okay!"
Although everyone used the water in the courtyard, almost every household had a water tank. The Zhuang family was no exception. The water tank was in the main room, usually filled with water. Sometimes, when it was crowded in the morning or the water pipes froze in winter, they had a backup.
Fortunately, the pipes rarely froze, so most people still preferred to use the outdoor water source. Zhuang Zhiyuan got up to fetch water, and Old Man Zhuang came out to help. It seemed like it was indeed going to snow. Old Man Zhuang said, "It's usually not cold when it snows, but it gets cold after the snow."
Zhuang Zhiyuan quoted, "A timely snow promises a good harvest."
Old Man Zhuang glanced at him and said, "Stop showing off with your words. You have to go out tomorrow. Go back to your room and rest. I'll take care of it."
Zhuang Zhiyuan didn't refuse and chuckled, "Alright." He hadn't put on his outerwear and was feeling a bit cold.
As for the outside world, Zhuang Zhixi and Ming Mei were completely unaware. The young couple, after a tiring night of activity, were already soundly asleep. The next morning, they woke up to the sound of people talking in the courtyard and realized it had snowed.
Ming Mei added hot water to her washbasin and was just about to start her morning routine when she heard a distant sound of a pigeon whistle. In the past, many people raised pigeons, but these days, it was strictly prohibited. However, some still took the risk and did it secretly.
Ming Mei, being a native of Beijing, smiled when she heard the familiar sound. "There are still some brave ones," she said.
"That's right!"
Someone replied. Ming Mei looked over and saw it was Jiang Lu, the daughter-in-law of Madam Zhou Li. Jiang Lu smiled at Ming Mei and glanced at her water cup, saying, "Young couples really have good feelings. You even prepared hot water."
Ming Mei smiled and said, "I can't handle cold water."
Madam Zhou Li, coming out of her house, heard this and muttered softly, "Just pretentious."
Ming Mei didn't take it to heart. She knew her mother-in-law, Zhao Guihua, had a sharp tongue but a kind heart. Unlike Madam Zhou Li, who seemed to have a grudge against everyone. Ming Mei remembered how Madam Zhou Li had said unpleasant things to her on her first day of marriage. Clearly, she had some kind of mental issue.
It was early morning, and everyone was busy going to work. Ming Mei felt her mother-in-law was really good. In such cold weather, who wouldn't want to sleep in a bit longer? But every morning, Zhao Guihua would get up early to prepare breakfast, saving them a lot of trouble.
Like today, Zhao Guihua had even steamed buns early in the morning.
Ming Mei ate the fragrant buns and mumbled, "Even without side dishes, I could eat a dozen of these buns!"
Zhao Guihua snorted and said, "You may be called Ming Mei, but don't get too carried away! A dozen? Do you think I'm a landlord? Even landlords don't have that much surplus!"
Ming Mei chuckled, not annoyed. She knew her mother-in-law was just blunt-spoken but had no ill intentions, unlike the wicked old lady outside. She happily finished her breakfast and said, "I'm off to work."
Zhuang Zhixi: "Can you leave the bike for Mom to use for a few days? I'll pick you up after work."
Ming Mei blinked and quickly agreed, "Sure."
She immediately thought of what her mother-in-law might be planning to do in the suburbs and agreed without hesitation. She couldn't help with the work, but she could contribute her bicycle.
However... Ming Mei looked at Zhao Guihua with pleading eyes and said, "Mom, my bike is brand new. Can you promise me to treat it well? You must take good care of Little Red!"
Zhao Guihua was utterly speechless: "Can you stop naming your bike?"
Ming Mei innocently blinked and said, "It's called Little Red."
Having a name made it seem like something very important, something that should be cherished. She vaguely knew that her mother-in-law didn't think much of the bike, but she did. In her heart, the bike was very precious.
She shook Zhao Guihua's arm and said, "Anyway, please take good care of Little Red. I'm leaving now."
With that, she quickly dashed out the door.
Zhuang Zhixi: "Wait for me."
He stuffed the remaining buns into his mouth and said, "Let's go together. I'll walk you part of the way."
Ming Mei looked at his face and smiled softly, "Okay."
She shook her coat and said, "Put your hand in my pocket. My pocket is very warm."
Zhuang Zhixi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Okay."
The young couple quickly held hands in their pockets and walked to work together.
Madam Zhou Li came out to use the restroom and saw the distant figures of the two walking away. She spat and muttered, "So improper."
She spat again and said, "Neither of them are any good."
"Hey, Madam Zhou, don't go."
Madam Zhou stopped and asked, "What is it?"
It was Aunt Chen from the neighboring courtyard. Aunt Chen winked and said, "Have you heard? Our restroom is haunted!"
Madam Zhou: "What?!"
She was shocked and quickly said, "We shouldn't talk about this. It's not appropriate..."
"Just between us, don't tell anyone else. Don't disbelieve me, it's true. A female ghost, Zhang San from our courtyard said so. He was so scared last night that he called for his mom... And don't disbelieve me, he's not the first time he's encountered it. He just didn't dare to say anything before, but last night he was so scared he blurted it all out..."
Madam Zhou's eyes lit up: "You have to tell me more..."
In their courtyard, once Madam Zhou knew something, everyone in the courtyard would know it. As for keeping it between just the two of them, that was impossible.
Madam Zhou hurried back and couldn't wait to spread the news: "Ladies, have you heard? Our... "
And so on!
The young women, old ladies, and everyone in the courtyard were all amazed.
Liang Meifen was startled and patted her chest, "That's so scary. I guess I really can't go to the restroom alone at night anymore." However, this story sounded familiar. Never mind, she thought, she would just avoid the restroom at night from now on!
"That's right!"
Zhao Guihua glanced at Liang Meifen and turned away.
"You know, if it's about ghosts in the restroom, I believe Zhang San. Once, I also heard some strange sounds when I went there, and I didn't dare to go in..."
"Me too."
"But I haven't heard of any incidents around here. How could there be ghosts? Our place is..."
Everyone was chattering away when Aunt Wang quickly put a stop to the discussion, saying, "Alright, alright, enough of that. These are all feudal superstitions, don't believe in them, and don't spread them. What's wrong with you all? Spreading this nonsense, if someone catches you, you'll end up getting lectured during the New Year, is it worth it?"
She said, "Everyone, disperse now."
Madam Zhou Li pouted, clearly unconvinced.
Aunt Su chuckled softly and quickly followed Aunt Wang's footsteps, "Old sister, I'll come sit with you for a while."
Aunt Wang: "Sure, let's go. I'm winding yarn right now, give me a hand."
"Alright."
Madam Zhou Li: "Pfft." She really couldn't stand Aunt Su in the courtyard. Well, she didn't like Aunt Wang either; um, Zhao Guihua wasn't any better, anyway, no one was as good as her!
With a huff, she turned and went home.
Everyone quickly dispersed, which suited Zhao Guihua just fine, as she had her own important matters to attend to. She quickly locked the door and set off with Liang Meifen on the back seat, who was carrying a bamboo basket on her back, singing woefully, "The north wind blows, the snowflakes flutter..."
She was miserable, so very miserable, just like Xi'er.
Zhao Guihua frowned, "Can you stop that wailing? What kind of song is that? If you can't sing, don't! It's so unpleasant to listen to!"
Liang Meifen let out a long sigh, a mix of melancholy and sorrow, dissipating in the wind.
Zhao Guihua pedaled the bike with vigor, thinking, "If you're not proactive about making money, there's something wrong with your mindset."
This family, it still needs her to lead the way!
