The chicken, braised for a long time, had its tendons and membranes fully melted, making it flavorful. Yet it still retained a chewy texture, bursting with oily fragrance when bitten into.
However, everyone searched but couldn't find the eldest sister-in-law.
"She couldn't have gone to the fields to pick millet grains, could she? It's so late, why isn't she home yet?" Chen Degong said as he tore off a large chicken leg, put it in a bowl, then tore off another and gave it to Chen Meilan. "Let's eat our share, no need to worry about your sister-in-law."
It was rare to have chicken, so he let the children eat first while he went to look for her.
The children were eager but, with their mother not home, they didn't feel right eating. They looked at Chen Meilan expectantly.
"You go ahead and eat, I'll go find your aunt," Chen Meilan said, taking a chicken leg and eating as she walked out the door.
The moonlight was clear, illuminating the vast, flat fields as far as the eye could see.
A glimpse of the eldest sister-in-law's figure flashed by, heading towards the direction of the old house. Beside her was a slender figure in a dress with permed hair.
Chen Meilan had a vague feeling that it might be the eldest sister-in-law's younger sister, Zhou Xueqin.
Sure enough, the two women stopped by the small river and began talking.
"Have you gone mad? Leaving your own children hungry at your parents' home while buying things for some good-for-nothing's kids?" This was Zhou Qiaofang, her voice filled with exasperation.
The other woman, whose dress fluttered in the night breeze, surprisingly replied, "Sister, you should get rid of those old-fashioned ideas. I can manage my own life, I don't need you to interfere."
It was indeed Zhou Xueqin's voice.
Before Chen Meilan could get a better look, Zhou Xueqin waded across the river and disappeared into the woods on the other side.
"If Lu Jingyu ever becomes the richest man in Xiping City, I'll eat eight jin of shit!" the eldest sister-in-law shouted, her voice full of anguish.
Chen Meilan stopped in her tracks, thinking to herself, this isn't right. Zhou Xueqin had just divorced Yan Zhao, how could she already be involved with Lu Jingyu?
She didn't remember this happening in her previous life. Both Lu Jingyu and Zhou Xueqin were acquaintances of hers, but they didn't know each other.
Moreover, she suddenly recalled that in her previous life, Zhou Xueqin's divorce from Yan Zhao didn't happen until several years later.
And now, how coincidental was it that Zhou Qiaofang had introduced Yan Zhao to her?
Could it be that Zhou Xueqin had also been reborn?
The thought of her own rebirth flashed through her mind, and surprisingly, Chen Meilan wasn't shocked at all.
Reborn or not, let her pursue him if she wants. Lu Jingyu was a man Chen Meilan didn't want, and she couldn't care less about him.
Zhou Qiaofang was nearly driven mad with anger. Zhou Xueqin's own children didn't even have a decent pair of shoes, were starving and being beaten at their grandparents' home, yet she had bought a pair of brand new, fashionable spiked shoes for each of Lu Jingyu's two children.
She must have gone crazy, absolutely insane.
Abandoning her own children at her parents' home while buying shoes for someone else's kids - she must be cursed!
Turning around, Zhou Qiaofang was startled again: "Meilan, what are you doing here?"
"We're all having chicken together, waiting for you too," Chen Meilan said, then walked away first.
Although Zhou Qiaofang was indeed good to her sister-in-law, people always have their own biases. She had always thought that her younger sister Xueqin had a better figure and was prettier. Of course, she was once the belle of the textile factory, hand-picked by the factory leaders as a marriage match for an outstanding military officer with a glorious war record.
When comparing her sister-in-law to her younger sister, she would always find fault, feeling that Chen Meilan's beauty was rustic and not fashionable enough.
But at this moment, in the hazy moonlight, looking at Meilan's stylish shirt and shorts, with the shirt even tucked into the pants, her waist so slender and lithe.
Zhou Qiaofang suddenly felt that Meilan might be even more beautiful than Zhou Xueqin.
Her own sister was behaving so poorly, what could she do?
She didn't want to, but her sister-in-law was kind-hearted and well-behaved, so how could her heart not lean towards her?
After taking a cool shower, Chen Meilan washed Zhaodi's little dress squeaky clean, and also rinsed her own new clothes, pinning them outside the window to be gently blown by the soft evening breeze.
She gathered all their old clothes together. Zhaodi's were still okay, but hers were all tattered, like a pile of cotton waste, all needing to be thrown away.
However, there was one floral shirt, old-fashioned but made of good fabric, with a particularly pretty pattern.
She couldn't bear to throw it away.
Chen Meilan stared at the new dress for a while, then cut open the floral shirt, first sewing a belt, then adding a floral trim to the collar and half-sleeves of the dress. When she put it on and tied a butterfly knot at the waist, the dress became a layered fake two-piece, no longer plain, suddenly looking beautiful.
Zhaodi was too hot to sleep, tossing and turning in bed. Suddenly she looked up and saw her mother in the floral, beautiful dress, her loose hair black as a waterfall. She immediately exclaimed, "Mom, you're even prettier than the actresses on TV. Liu Xiaoqing and Gong Li aren't as beautiful as you."
The popular movies now were "Red Sorghum" and "Yellow Earth", and the popular stars were beauties like Liu Xiaoqing and Gong Li.
In Zhaodi's eyes, her mother outshone them all, looking beautiful no matter how she looked at her.
Chen Meilan didn't believe it at first, but catching her reflection in the glass window, she suddenly realized that this dress really did make her look like a beauty.
"Go to sleep, my beautiful little girl," she said softly, hugging Zhaodi and suppressing the joy in her heart.
Zhou Qiaofang hadn't stopped her sister yesterday, and this morning she went to the old house at dawn, only to be nearly driven to madness.
Because Zhou Xueqin hadn't come home last night, she had stayed at Lu Jingyu's house.
She had thrown away all dignity and virtue just to marry a good-for-nothing.
In contrast, Chen Meilan had worn new clothes yesterday, and this morning she had changed into another dress. The floral belt on the dress caught the attention of Zhenzhu and Baozhu, who followed behind her calling "Auntie" this and "Auntie" that.
Young girls love all beautiful things. They couldn't bear to let their aunt in such a pretty dress fetch water, so the two of them carried a bucket together, bringing water from the river to the house, bucket by bucket.
Zhou Qiaofang was already in a foul mood, and at this moment, her second sister-in-law passed by the door and couldn't resist taking a jab at her: "If Meilan remarries and moves to the city with two thousand yuan in her pocket, yet doesn't leave even a tattered piece of clothing for you, Zhenzhu, and Baozhu, don't you feel shortchanged, eldest sister-in-law?"
The eldest sister-in-law looked at the beautiful floral dress Meilan was wearing and was stunned: Had Meilan taken apart her most beautiful shirt to make a dress?
If it weren't for Zhou Xueqin's outrageous behavior beforehand, the eldest sister-in-law would probably have felt bitter, thinking Meilan should have left that shirt for her.
But with her own sister behaving so shamefully, blindly wanting to be a stepmother to a good-for-nothing's two unruly children, while her sister-in-law had to raise her nephews instead, what was one piece of clothing? As long as Meilan was happy, her two nephews would have good days ahead.
"I'm just a country woman, I'm comfortable in my cotton vest, I don't care for fancy shirts," the eldest sister-in-law coldly retorted. "Instead of wasting your breath, go harvest your own grain and stop being an eyesore in front of my house."
The second sister-in-law had already lost all her money to Chen Meilan, and her husband's head had been cracked open by Chen Degong, truly putting him out of commission this time.
When you've got nothing left to lose, you fear nothing. Today, she was determined to cause trouble for the eldest brother's family, even if it cost her life.
Seeing Zhaodi come out wearing a floral dress, she immediately said, "Zhaodi, you're in for some hard days ahead. Those two kids in Yan Zhao's family are as fierce as can be, be careful they don't beat you to death."
Zhaodi had been cheerful just a moment ago, but hearing the second aunt's words, her face immediately showed fear, and she looked timidly at Chen Meilan.
Jinbao, being an honest child, chimed in, "The younger one even likes to bite people. Zhaodi, you better be careful not to get bitten by him."
Yan Zhao's two sons were Jinbao's cousins, and he had seen them when visiting his grandfather's house.
If he said they were fierce, those two children must indeed be fierce.
Fortunately, Zhaodi wasn't afraid of this. She clenched her little fists, the little girl looking fierce herself: "If they hit me, can't I hit them back? I'll try hard to eat more and grow strong, and defeat anyone who wants to bully my mom."
No matter that she was just a little girl, she would never admit defeat.
Chen Meilan, who had been tidying up in the courtyard, quickly walked out. With swift hands, she snatched the gold bracelet from the second sister-in-law's wrist and yanked off her gold necklace.
Pointing at the shoes on the second sister-in-law's feet, she said sternly, "These were bought with my money too, weren't they? Take them off."
"You..." Second Sister-in-law let out a shrill cry, turning to flee, but Zhou Qiaofang stepped on her shoe and gave her a push. She then picked up the white sneakers from the ground and tossed them onto the ceiling beam.
Chen Meilan continued pointing at her nose, saying, "Yan Xishan is a coal baron. A coal mine is worth at least 400,000 to 500,000 yuan now. He has two mines, worth over a million. His annual profit is at least 200,000 yuan. I'm already divorced, so I won't say much, but Hu Xiaomei is much smarter than you. She used 20,000 yuan to snag a millionaire, and you even helped her. Second Sister-in-law, tell me, aren't you just stupid?"
It wasn't an exaggeration - Yan Xishan's coal mines were that profitable now.
Second Sister-in-law shrieked again: "You..." but she stammered.
"If you've got the guts, go make trouble for Hu Xiaomei or Yan Xishan. Why are you getting all sour and teary-eyed here? Or are you just a bully at home, only daring to raise your fists against your own people?" Chen Meilan added.
Second Sister-in-law immediately raised her voice: "I'm not afraid of anyone. I'll tear Hu Xiaomei's face apart sooner or later."
That's more like it. Let the dogs fight each other. Let Second Sister-in-law go make trouble for Hu Xiaomei first.
Chen Meilan didn't care about that man Yan Xishan, but she did care about the students at Yanguan Primary School. She didn't want Hu Xiaomei to keep misleading the children.
First Sister-in-law, worried that her sister-in-law might harbor ill feelings towards her two nephews because of Second Sister-in-law's words, followed to explain: "Meilan, those two kids aren't bad, they're just not very promising. In the future, sister-in-law will rely on you to help raise them."
Chen Meilan hadn't met Yan Zhao's two sons in her previous life, but she had heard many people talk about them. One was sickly, and the other was a good-for-nothing. They were useless things.
Even their own mother didn't acknowledge them, always cursing them. They did sound quite useless.
But Chen Meilan felt quite calm about it. After all, she didn't have high hopes for her next marriage.
At noon, they went to the production brigade to get introduction letters and household registration certificates.
As soon as they got the certificates and left the brigade office, a middle-aged woman stopped Chen Meilan. The woman's face was full of excitement: "Little Chen, do you remember me? I took your photo yesterday. Guess how many sets of clothes I sold today?"
...
"Early this morning, I put up your photo, and I sold twenty sets of clothes in one go." It was the tailor shop owner from yesterday, exaggeratedly holding up ten fingers. She grabbed Chen Meilan's hand: "Come on, let's take more photos. I'll pay you a salary from now on."
If she couldn't be a rich man's wife in this life, of course, she had to earn money herself. But Chen Meilan hadn't figured out how to make money yet, and now money was coming to find her?
However, the most important thing now was housing, and in this small county town, Chen Meilan could barely pass as a model. In a big city, she'd be a nobody. So she wasn't carried away, thinking she could make a living as a model.
But more friends meant more opportunities.
Chen Meilan left her address in the city with this woman named Li Hongmei, saying she was very busy and couldn't help her at the moment, but if she really wanted to find her to model, she could come to Xiping City in the future.
When Li Hongmei heard this, she became even more excited, her face beaming: "So you're from the big city? There's no future in our small county town. I've been thinking about trying my luck in Xiping City too. When I make up my mind to go to Xiping City, you'll be the first person I look for. Let's conquer the world together."
"Alright, let's conquer the world together," Chen Meilan clasped her hand in agreement.
Early the next morning, still in a shirt and shorts, Chen Meilan wrapped a scarf around her head to protect from the sun. She dressed Zhaodi in another white chiffon dress, with the glass brooch gleaming in the morning sunlight.
At the village entrance, Zhaodi looked back at Zhenzhu and Baozhu, who were reluctant to part. Seeing her two sisters crying, she finally realized she was going back to the city and that she was about to have a new father. She began to worry: "Mom, do you think the new dad will dislike me and hit me?"
"If he dares to hit you, Mom will beat him up just like I beat up Yan Xishan, and divorce him immediately."
"Let's not do that. My old dad used to hit me too, and kick me, and call me a little brat. I can endure it," Zhaodi stopped and said softly.
Her life as an only child, always under her mother's smiling gaze, was about to end today.
It was still for the sake of giving her a better life that her mother was remarrying, but Chen Meilan couldn't be negligent like in her past life, letting her daughter suffer so many grievances from a young age, struggling to grow up, only to end up protecting her in return.
Turning around and kneeling in front of her daughter, she said emphatically: "Mom was brave enough to divorce the father who hit you. Isn't Zhaodi as brave as Mom? Whether you're hit or scolded, whether it's by the new dad or new brothers, Zhaodi must be brave and tell Mom. Mom will talk to them, understand?"
Seeing her mother kneeling on the ground, with a serious face and eyes full of courage, Zhaodi took a deep breath and said, "Mm!"
A daughter who wasn't brave wouldn't be worthy of such a brave mother.
First, Chen Degong would take them to the county town by bicycle. At the bus station in the county town, Yan Zhao would pick them up.
As soon as they arrived at the bus station, Chen Meilan saw Yan Zhao.
He wore a pure cotton green shirt and olive-colored trousers, with a shield emblem on his belt - this was the police uniform belt. He was wearing the current police uniform.
He had once been a soldier and was now about to become a policeman. That unique temperament made him stand out in the crowd. His hands hung naturally at his sides, holding a certain strength, as he stared intently at the diverse crowd coming and going, scrutinizing every suspicious-looking person with the gaze of someone looking for criminals.
When he saw Chen Meilan and Zhaodi pass by, his eyes remained calm and he actually looked away.
This fashionable mother-daughter pair looked vastly different from the little country bumpkin with braids and the rural woman in a floral shirt from three days ago.
Chen Meilan deliberately walked in front of Yan Zhao a couple of times, but he still didn't recognize her.
...
At the same time, across the river, as the morning mist rose, in a courtyard with only two dilapidated mud houses, Zhou Xueqin climbed out of bed with her hair looking like a bird's nest. After sleeping on the kang bed all night, her whole body was stiff.
Just as she got off the kang, she almost stepped on the chamber pot on the floor. She was stunned for a while before realizing that she had married herself off to the future richest man in Xiping City.
In the courtyard, chickens were clucking and pigs were rooting around. Lu Jingyu had gotten up early and gone who knows where.
This was so different from Yan Zhao. Yan Zhao was a soldier, and although he was silent and uncommunicative, he was very good at housework.
Whenever he was home, as long as Zhou Xueqin got up, he would even have water ready for her to brush her teeth. But such a man had no prospects. A real man shouldn't bother with trivial matters.
Housework should be done by women.
Zhou Xueqin stood in the courtyard for a while, took a deep breath, and went to wash the children's chamber pots.
Just wait, Lu Jingyu would be rich soon.
