Zhong Huilan did not even raise her head. “Your younger sister has suffered a terrible injustice. This money is compensation from the Liang family. Besides, your sister is engaged now. How can she get by without any money of her own?”
Zhong Shu clutched his head with both hands and wailed in frustration. “But I have a girlfriend too! Why don’t you give me some money?”
Zhong Huilan replied, “I don’t approve of your girlfriend, so I’m not willing to spend money on her. If you’re really capable, then earn the bride price yourself and marry her. Perhaps then I’ll pretend I haven’t seen anything.”
“How am I supposed to earn that kind of money? I don’t have any skills!”
Even Zhong Yi disagreed with him. “What do you mean you don’t have any skills? Our family makes two batches of tofu every morning, and Mom sells them by going from street to street. Since we’re already making tofu anyway, we can simply make one extra batch for you to sell. After deducting the costs, you can keep the profits. There you go—you’ve got yourself a way to earn money!”
It wasn’t that Zhong Shu had never considered the idea. However, he simply couldn’t bring himself to ride around the villages on a tricycle, shouting to attract customers. He was too embarrassed to do such a thing and couldn’t swallow his pride.
Zhong Huilan agreed with her daughter. “I think Xiao Yi is absolutely right.”
“Right about what? You’re just stingy and playing favorites!”
Seeing the two of them pressuring him, Zhong Shu grew angry as well. He blurted out his complaints without thinking them through.
Hearing his words, Zhong Huilan’s expression darkened.
“That’s right! I am playing favorites! I earned that money myself, so I can spend it on whoever I want. Even if I don’t leave you a single cent, what can you do about it?!”
Both mother and son were angry, and neither of them was choosing their words carefully.
Zhong Shu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Fine! Fine!”
He turned around and stormed out without looking back.
Seeing that things were going badly, Zhong Yi hurriedly reached out to stop him, but she failed to catch him.
Zhong Huilan was just as stubborn. Her eyes were already red, yet she still shouted, “Let him go! If he leaves, he can forget about coming back!”
This scene was exactly like the time Ji Mingxuan had argued with her and decided to leave her.
That scumbag Ji Mingxuan had actually walked away without looking back—and he had never returned.
Not only that, but her youngest brother, Zhong Qiang, had also chosen to leave. He had been frail since birth, and Zhong Huilan had devoted countless hours and enormous effort to raising him until he was healthy and strong. Yet back then, he had held Ji Mingxuan’s hand, lifted his chin proudly, and declared that he wanted to go with his father.
Zhong Huilan hadn’t said a single word. Instead, she locked herself in her room for an entire week. No matter who came to call for her, she refused to open the door.
And to make matters worse, Zhong’s father had been dead for less than six months at the time.
For a woman, such a series of blows was nothing short of cruel.
Zhong Yi’s eyes stung with tears. Unable to hold herself back, she stood up and wrapped her arms around Zhong Huilan’s frail body.
Feeling her daughter’s concern, Zhong Huilan’s body trembled. The tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally spilled over. She quickly turned her face away and wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Mom’s fine. I’ll go check whether dinner is ready. We’ll eat in a little while.”
“Let me do it—”
Before Zhong Yi could finish speaking, Zhong Huilan had already gotten up and headed toward the kitchen.
This woman, who had spent her entire life being strong and independent, simply didn’t want anyone to see her vulnerable side.
Zhong Yi felt terribly sorry for her.
As for Zhong Shu, he was a grown man, big and strong at that. Even if he stayed outside, nobody was going to kidnap and sell him.
So there was no need to worry about him!
Dinner consisted of steamed rice, crucian carp and tofu soup, and two stir-fried vegetable dishes.
“You like the meat from the fish belly because it has fewer bones. Eat more of that. Leave the fish head for your brother,” Zhong Huilan said.
After all, he was still her son. How could she not worry about him?
Zhong Yi didn’t expose her mother’s true intentions.
“Leave the fish tail for him too. He has a big appetite. I doubt the fish head alone will be enough.”
Besides, she wasn’t particularly fond of fish. A little soup and some meat were enough for her.
Zhong Huilan gave her daughter a grateful look.
After the mother and daughter finished dinner, Zhong Huilan went to wash the dishes.
There wasn’t much entertainment in the countryside at night, especially for the Zhong family. They had to get up early every morning to make tofu, so they went to bed particularly early.
Before seven o’clock, everyone had returned to their own rooms to sleep.
A little after eight, Zhong Shu came home. He switched on the light and immediately spotted the food that had been left for him on the table.
He rubbed his stomach.
After leaving home, he had gone to the Miao family’s house. First, he wanted to see Xiuxiu. Second, he had figured that if he went over at that time, perhaps he could have dinner there.
Who would have thought that the Miao family was eating nothing but rice soup? The large bowl contained so much water that he could barely see a few grains of rice. They even told him that they hadn’t known he would come at that hour and hadn’t prepared an extra portion for him.
Not only had he failed to get dinner, but he had also helped the Miao family turn over a large patch of land.
By now, he was so hungry that his stomach felt like it was sticking to his back.
Still, Zhong Shu didn’t feel particularly wronged. After all, it was perfectly normal for a son-in-law to help his wife’s family with farm work. Besides, the Miao family was struggling financially, so he could understand their situation!
But when he saw the dishes on the table, he swallowed eagerly, grabbed his chopsticks, and wolfed down the food.
In the main room, Zhong Huilan heard the commotion. She silently turned over in bed and went to sleep with peace of mind.
Zhong Yi had heard him come back too, but she didn’t bother showing herself.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhong Yi had gradually grown accustomed to the rhythm of life in the countryside.
The original owner’s life had been peaceful but monotonous. Apart from helping her family make tofu, she spent the rest of her time either doing housework or working in the fields. Much of her time was spent simply waiting for Liang Feng to return from the county town.
In short, her life had been anything but that of a young woman.
In the original owner’s room stood a desk. On it were all her textbooks from elementary school through high school, along with various exam papers. Everything had been neatly organized and stacked together.
It was clear how much she treasured those study materials.
Speaking of this, Zhong Yi felt another surge of frustration.
The original owner had graduated from high school, and her grades had actually been better than Liang Feng’s. She wasn’t necessarily the top student in every exam, but she consistently ranked among the top fifteen students in her grade. When she performed particularly well, she could even make it into the top ten.
She had genuinely stood a good chance of getting into university.
The original owner had eagerly looked forward to taking the entrance examination and going to the city where Liang Feng lived. Before the exam, Liang Feng had even made a special trip back to keep her company.
Who could have expected that she would suddenly develop a high fever the day before the college entrance examination?
The fever left her feeling dizzy and disoriented. When she sat for the exam the following day, her mind was a complete mess.
Needless to say, she performed poorly and failed to get into university.
After that, she returned to the countryside to help her family make tofu, waiting for Liang Feng to graduate and marry her.
Good grief!
Just thinking about it made Zhong Yi’s heart ache.
What a waste of such good grades!
The more she thought about it, the more regretful she felt. Perhaps this had always been a source of regret for the original owner too.
After all, who wouldn’t want to attend university after working so hard for so many years?
Unfortunately, given her current circumstances, taking the college entrance examination again wasn’t a realistic option. She wondered whether there might be some other way to improve her educational qualifications.
Zhong Yi was still thinking about this when she heard someone calling from outside.
“Zhong Girl! Zhong Girl!”
“Grandpa Zhou?”
Seeing who had arrived, Zhong Yi hurriedly invited him inside.
“Come in and sit down. I’ll get you some water.”
“There’s no need to go to so much trouble.” Grandpa Zhou waved his hand. “I came here to tell you some news.”
For some reason, Zhong Yi suddenly felt nervous.
Could it be something about Zhou Shu?
It had already been more than a week since Zhou Shu had returned to his military unit. When he left, he had promised to call her or write her a letter, yet she hadn’t heard a single word from him.
She had even been wondering whether she should go to the post office in town and call his military unit herself.
Now that Grandpa Zhou had suddenly shown up, could he be here to tell her that Zhou Shu had changed his mind and no longer wanted to marry her?