Shao Hongnian was completely stunned by Jiang Youtao's series of remarks. He wanted to refute but had already lost the best opportunity. Fu Shaohua was not careful and made him fart in front of Jiang Youtao, which made him very angry.
After Jiang Youtao left, Shao Hongnian was mentioned again, and Guo Kaian was standing by to make the final move from time to time.
Jiang Youtao felt refreshed.
She finally fought back in person, and she got away with one blow. When Shao Hongnian came to his senses, she was gone. He couldn't even breathe, and he must have feel suffocated to death. And Fu Shaohua, this guy is not bad. After she scolded him, he gestured to her to leave first, and also diverted Shao Hongnian's attention.
She guess Shao Hongnian is so angry that his lungs are about to explode, right?
On the way back, she saw Zhang Shuixiu walking in front of her with a bruised face and bruises on her face. Her three children followed behind her. She was educating her eldest son and daughter, saying only good things about their father.
Jiang Youtao felt uncomfortable listening to this.
She stopped to look at them.
Obviously her daughter didn't agree with her statement: "Mom, you always say my dad is good, but why doesn't he care about the family affairs, whether it's you being bullied by grandma or us being bullied by grandpa and uncle's children."
"He only knows how to go out and have fun, and when he has some money he drinks a lot, and when he's not happy he beats you and us, is that okay?"
Zhang Shuixiu seemed to have heard something out of the ordinary. She stared at her eldest daughter who said this, and finally raised her hand high, and then the slaps fell on her eldest daughter like raindrops.
"You kid, you kid, what are you saying? He is your father, you can't disrespect him."
"Hasn't your father done well enough? You are a girl, and he didn't abandon you when you were born. He has treated you very well."
These words made Jiang Youtao frown tightly.
Her eldest daughter just stood there, pursing her lips in grievance. She didn't beg for mercy even though she was hurt by the beating. She kept asking loudly, "Isn't this what he should do? Isn't this his duty? There are so many families with daughters in our commune. Why don't their parents say they want to send them away?"
"Since you don't want a daughter, why did you give birth to me? I don't want to be your daughter either!"
Zhang Shuixiu was so angry when she heard this that her whole body was shaking. She beat them harder and harder. Finally, she couldn't go on any longer and angrily dragged her eldest and youngest sons away.
Only after Zhang Shuixiu left did her eldest daughter burst into tears.
The grievance in her crying made people feel sour from the bottom of their hearts. Jiang Youtao walked towards her and stuffed a few candies into her hand.
When childhood days were too bitter, she would eat some candy. The sweetness of the sugar could dispel some of the bitterness of childhood.
Jiang Youtao had just reached the entrance of the alley when she was stopped by Old Lady Zhang.
"You are a kind-hearted kid, but that family is like sticky candy. Once you get involved, you can't get rid of them. It's okay for you to give Daya some candy, but I'm afraid that after a while, that family will swarm towards you."
Jiang Youtao glanced at Daya and hesitated: "Not really."
Daya seems to be a good kid.
Old Lady Zhang said, "Of course it's that bad. In the past, many people saw Yu Daya as a pitiful person, and everyone helped her. But later on, whoever helped her suffered. Her brothers and sisters all threw themselves on your side. Her two brothers are more capable than the other. It's okay to help them once in a while, but who would be happy if they helped her too many times?"
"The key is that you gave her money with good intentions. If you don't give her money, her mother will spread bad things about you everywhere, and she may even come to your house to pick a fight with you. Who wouldn't be afraid of her family in the alleys around us?"
"Tao'er, even if her mother is beaten to death, don't get close to her."
Old Mrs. Zhang spoke of that family with disdain.
Jiang Youtao said she had learned something from this.
The world is really big and there are all kinds of people.
The two walked into the alley together, and Jiang Youtao casually mentioned the Tang family in Tongfu Lane. When it came to her family, Old Mrs. Zhang had a lot to say.
"He Cuicao, she had a boyfriend before marriage. It is said that they had sex. Later, the man got sick and she was not willing to be with him anymore. It happened that Tang Dalin was poor at that time and had no money to marry a wife, so they lived together."
"She said she was pregnant less than two months after marrying Tang Dalin. I was the one who delivered her dead baby. She said it was a premature baby, but it was actually a full-term baby."
"The older the child got, the less he looked like Tang Dalin. Instead, he looked exactly like the guy she was dating before. Then one day, when the child was about seven years old, she took the child to the river to wash clothes, and the child was washed away by the water."
"Within two years, she gave birth to the little fool they have today. Everyone said it was retribution." Old Mrs. Zhang spoke the last sentence very carefully.
Jiang Youtao nodded rapidly: "I also heard that Tang Wan wants to marry a man?"
"Yes, they are finding a man. It's the son of the Zhang family in the street ahead, the tall and thin one." Jiang Youtao had some impression of the person that Old Mrs. Zhang was talking about.
It was also a coincidence that among the two gossiping women they met on the way to dinner yesterday, the one who was said to have done something with Tang Dalin on the grass by the river was the mother of the man mentioned by Old Lady Zhang.
Jiang Youtao opened her mouth wide: "Didn't they say his mom was having an affair with Tang Dalin?"
Old Madam Zhang winked at Jiang Youtao and said, "You know all this? Hey, isn't it the case that good things should be kept within the family?"
Jiang Youtao understood, and the two looked at each other. The old and the young both smiled a little obscenely.
Passing by No. 1 Xingfu Lane, Jiang Youtao took a look inside and said, "Auntie, whose house is this? Why cany we see anyone here?"
"Oh, this is the family where the son works at the forest farm. The son's wife gave birth to a child last summer, and the old couple went to take care of her."
Jiang Youtao nodded.
Passing by No. 2, Su Jianing was basking in the sun in the yard. Seeing the two people, she hurriedly called them and then hurried back to her room.
"I made a few sugar cakes. Take some for you. Don't think it's too little." Each sugar cake made by Su Jianing is the size of a dumpling wrapper, and both sides are golden yellow. Just looking at the appearance, they look delicious.
Jiang Youtao didn't hesitate to say, "Thank you, Sister Ning."
At Su Jianing's strong request, Jiang Youtao and the others called Su Jianing "sister".
Old Mrs. Zhang also accepted it.
These neighbors all help each other. If anyone cooks something delicious, they will share it with their neighbors, but now everyone has unanimously overlooked Liang Shufen's family.
The Liang Shufen today is different from the Liang Shufen before. Not only will she not appreciate anything you give her, she will also complain why you don't give her more.
The whole person is now is completely different, not as soft as before.
Old Mrs. Zhang looked into the yard and asked, "How is your husband Xiang Qian doing these days?"
Su Jianing sighed, a hint of sadness on her face. "That's it. Doctor Wang from the clinic came to see him a few days ago and said that he's not doing well. He can't accept the fact that he can't walk anymore. It's a mental illness. I can only take care of him. Who knows, one day he might die."
Su Jianing also reached out to wipe away her tears, perfectly portraying the image of a good wife who is worried about her husband's health.
If Jiang Youtao didn't have a broadcasting device and would check it from time to time, she would have believed it.
Old Mrs. Zhang sighed, "Is he still talking nonsense and throwing things?"
Lu Xiangqian's rage and smashing things happened a few days ago, and he pointed at Su Jianing's nose and called her a bitch. Who in Xingfu Lane saw this and didn't say that Lu Xiangqian had bad character?
He is sick, and his wife takes care of him without taking off her clothes, and even puts the two children behind her. Even so, what else is he not satisfied with?
Lu Xiangqian's image in Xingfu Lane has been almost ruined.
Su Jianing reached out to lift her bangs, revealing a purple streak. Old Mrs. Zhang saw it and asked, "Did he hit you?"
Su Jianing immediately put her hand down, and put down her sleeves to cover up his mistake: "No, no, I just touch something when I clean him sometimes."
Old Mrs. Zhang was so angry: "Lu Xiangqian really has no kindness at all. Next time he hits you, tell me and I will scold him to death. There is really no one to take care of him."
Su Jianing smiled at Old Mrs. Zhang firmly and gratefully.
Jiang Youtao also stood by and accused Lu Xiangqian. She and Old Lady Zhang acted like a double act, demoting Lu Xiangqian from the human world and throwing him into the animal realm.
After Jiang Youtao and the others left, Su Jianing walked to Lu Xiangqian's room with a bowl of rice and looked at Lu Xiangqian, whose hands and feet were tied and whose mouth was stuffed with cloth.
"Okay, it's time to confess. Now, tell me all the things you did to me in your past life, and then apologize to me one by one. If I'm satisfied, you can eat this bowl of rice. If I'm not satisfied, you'll have to go hungry."
Lu Xiangqian's eyes fell on the bowl of rice. The rice had probably been there for a while, and the surface was hard, but even so, Lu Xiangqian still swallowed his saliva.
His last meal was yesterday at noon.
The more Su Jianing tortured Lu Xiangqian, the stronger he became. He still dreams of avenging himself after he can stand up again in two years.
Su Jianing took the cloth out of his mouth and he began to confess, one thing after another. Su Jianing listened expressionlessly. Lu Xiangqian finally finished his confession. Su Jianing was not satisfied. He said it over and over again and finally got to eat the bowl of rice.
Su Jianing raised a dog. The dog happily ate the food that Su Jianing poured for him, rubbed against Su Jianing's body, and wagged its tail happily.
Su Jianing touched its head.
Look, it's better to raise a dog than a man. Raising a dog will just wag its tail at you, but what's the point of raising a man? Once he gets better, he will turn his butcher knife towards the person who has shared hardships with you.
·····
After seeing Zhao Yonglan off, it was soon the 29th day of the lunar year. On this day, it was the last market day of Zaoxiang Commune, and the market was crowded with people.
Jiang Youtao also met Wang Shanxi and Li Yunying. They bought some vegetables and came to Jiang Youtao's place to eat.
The house that Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei built has been sold. It was bought by Fourth Aunt Jiang, who moved out after buying it. Now she lives alone with her son Xiao Shitou. According to Xu Dazui, she lives a very comfortable life.
Her husband's family is in chaos, especially her husband, who now goes there three times a day, fearing that Fourth Aunt Jiang will bring a man back home one day. It's so cheap. Only when he lose something did he know how to cherish it.
Li Yunying told Jiang Youtao and others that the newly arrived educated youth were very young and had great conflicts among themselves, and the educated youth site in Liushugou no longer had the unity it once had.
When she said this, her face was full of sighs.
She has been in the countryside for so long, and last year was the happiest and most comfortable time for her.
Jiang Youtao and other familiar people have all become successful and left Liushugou, and both of them are very envious.
Jiang Youtao said to them: "We are also asking around for you in the county town. If there is any work, I will call you."
Li Yunying and Wang Shanxi were very happy that Jiang Youtao remembered them, and they would not be disappointed even without them.
This meal lasted from noon to afternoon before we went back.
Before leaving, Jiang Youtao gave them the sausages that she and Gu Nianwei had made themselves.
Jiang Youtao likes the spicy sausages from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and also likes the slightly sweet Cantonese sausages. They eat a lot of each. Two were steamed on the table just now. The spicy sausages are spicy and tasty, and the Cantonese sausages are sweet and salty. Both taste great.
Both Wang Shanxi and Li Yunying like it very much.
After the 29th, it was New Year's Eve. Jiang Youtao's family fried rice crackers, sashimi and rice candy in the oil pan.
Zhong Qianxi and Su Jianing both came to help, both of them were female comrades. It was inconvenient for Fu Shaohua to stay here, so he came once in the morning to deliver some beef and then went back.
Jiang Youtao stewed a fish, and Gu Nianwei stewed all the beef that Fu Shaohua sent. The aroma of the meat wafted from noon to evening.
Fu Shaohua reported on time. He whispered to Jiang Youtao, "The three brothers and sisters from the Yu family are standing outside again."
Jiang Youtao sighed. Ever since she was kind enough to give Yu Daya some candies that day, she has been entangled by the three siblings of the Yu family, just as Mrs. Zhang said.
Every day at mealtime, the three siblings would come, but they never let them in, but would just give them a little of whatever they had at home.
Normally, they wouldn't mind giving them a little, but today is New Year's Eve, so isn't it a bit too much for them to come?
Jiang Youtao put the garlic knife in her hand on the chopping board, walked out, opened the door, looked at the three siblings who were shivering with cold, and said, "Today is New Year's Eve, I won't entertain you, you can go back."
Jiang Youtao slammed the door shut.
The second oldest of the three siblings looked at Yu Daya and said, "Sister, what should we do?"
They had been squatting at the door of Teacher Jiang's house since the afternoon, thinking that since there were so many delicious foods prepared inside, they would be given some to eat as well, but in the end, nothing came.
Yu Daya smelled the aroma of meat coming from the house and said, "Let's go back."
The two younger brothers listened to Yu Daya's words. As they walked home, Yu Daya reminded them, "When you get home, if mom asks you if you got anything delicious, just say no. There are too many people in the house, so you don't dare to go in. Don't say anything else."
Yu Daya's older brother Yu Dachuan said, "I've got it, big sister. What if mom asks Teacher Jiang and the others to help?"
Yu Daya held their hands tightly and said, "No, she doesn't dare to come. Teacher Jiang and the others are not locals. Mom is unsure of their backgrounds, so she doesn't dare to come."
Yu Daya repeated the two sentences "she doesn't dare to come" twice, as if she was telling her two younger brothers, but also as if she was telling herself.