Miao Dashan angrily slammed the table. “That scoundrel! Why didn’t your father just beat him to death! I’d be ashamed to have someone like that as a relative. From now on, Ke Youzhi is not allowed to set foot in our house!”
His roar was so loud that it could be heard clearly not only inside the room but even downstairs.
Huang Caiying glanced at the eldest son’s bedroom door and sighed helplessly. “You reap what you sow. If your heart is rotten, you can’t blame others. Second girl, you’ve finally seen the light after all your hardships. Work even harder from now on. Grandma believes in you. Come on! Let’s go eat first!”
Miao Yunwei looked down at the old lady’s hand holding hers. It was like dry tree bark, still carrying a bit of warmth, with a firm but gentle grip, full of affection and encouragement.
She obediently let the old lady lead her to her seat.
Meng Suling brought the food to the table.
Huang Caiying knocked twice on the eldest son’s door and called out loudly, “Eldest girl, time to eat!”
“I’m not eating! Let me starve to death!” Miao Xuewei’s aggrieved and resentful sobbing came from inside.
Huang Caiying’s expression darkened slightly. Miao Dashan directly slapped the table again. “Fine, don’t eat then! We’ve spoiled her too much! Let’s eat! Here, you all eat more meat, build up your strength.”
“Thank you, Grandpa…”
Meng Suling and the children ate happily, especially with Miao Xuewei’s intermittent sobs in the background, which somehow made the meal taste even better.
After dinner, Miao Yunwei didn’t idle around either. She helped Huang Caiying clean up the dishes and the table, tidied everything up, and only then went home.
After the second son’s family left, Huang Caiying and Miao Dashan also returned to their room.
“Old man, with all this commotion, the eldest and second sons really won’t be able to get along well in the future,” Huang Caiying said gloomily, sighing with reddened eyes.
Miao Dashan was somewhat calmer. He spoke unhurriedly, “Ever since the eldest son and his wife schemed to take the second son’s job, their brotherhood was already ruined. The compensation was just to save face. The second son and his wife have been holding in their anger; settling accounts with Ke Youzhi this time is perfectly justified.
This mess was caused by the eldest son and his wife. Let them deal with it themselves. We won’t interfere.”
It’s time they learned a lesson. At their age, they still can’t see things clearly. Sooner or later, they’ll take a big fall.
Over at the Du family, Liu Meilan glared angrily at her husband, Du Weiguo. “Didn’t you say Miao Aiguo was capable and that forming a marriage alliance with his family would be most beneficial? And now? The Ke family’s Ke Youzhi is about to lose his job! If this gets out, everyone will know Miao Xuewei’s job wasn’t obtained honorably. Marrying a daughter-in-law like that, how can I hold my head up in public? She’s not even as good as Miao Yunwei! At least she’s a formal ticket seller at the bus station!”
Du Weiguo wore a sullen expression and snapped back impatiently, “Women are so short-sighted! Yes! Miao Yunwei is now a formal employee and better off than Miao Xuewei. But look at the second son’s family’s situation. The couple is raising five children, and Miao Pingkang is disabled. Even if he takes over Miao Jianguo’s position, he’ll barely scrape by. What future does he have?
Miao Yunwei just got lucky. Look at the three younger ones—who can they take over from in the future? Without jobs, they’ll have to rely on their older siblings for support. If our son marries Miao Yunwei, he’ll be marrying a whole string of burdens!
Even though Miao Xuewei is a temporary worker, her parents and eldest brother are all formal employees, and the steel mill’s performance isn’t bad either. The one in trouble now is Ke Youzhi. What impact does that have on the eldest son’s family? At most, they’ll lose some money, but they won’t lose your future daughter-in-law’s dowry. What are you worrying about?”
“With our son marrying Miao Xuewei, who knows, maybe we’ll get help from her parents in the future. Isn’t that better than anything else?”
Miao Aiguo was good at maneuvering for advantage, but his luck was poor. Plus, the factory was full of people with connections, and capable individuals were everywhere, making it hard to stand out. Still, with his ambition and drive, there was still a chance.
Liu Meilian was just a housewife. Scolded by her husband, she obediently shut her mouth, regretting her earlier impulse of dragging her son out. She quickly took Du Zhenkai’s hand and said earnestly, “Son, your dad and I are doing this for your own good. Xuewei can look quite pretty with some dressing up. Most importantly, marrying her means our family will have connections at the steel mill and the bus station. You could live an easier life in the future. I can’t bear the thought of my precious son suffering later on.”
Du Zhenkai lowered his eyes, expressionless. “I know. I never said I wouldn’t marry Miao Xuewei.”
Liu Meilian breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face. “Good, you understand. Later, take some gifts over and try to cheer Xuewei up. In a couple of days, I’ll talk to Ke Guixiang to sound things out. If there’s no problem, we’ll settle your engagement.”
Du Zhenkai clenched his fists tightly, the image of Miao Yunwei from earlier flashing in his mind. He felt an impulse to refuse, but when he met Du Weiguo’s stern gaze, the words died on his lips.
He turned and went back to his room, taking out a small box containing a pair of golden butterfly hair clips. Originally, he had planned to give them to Miao Yunwei to confess his feelings, but for various reasons, he never got around to it. Now…
Gritting his teeth, he took the box and left the house.
Meanwhile, Miao Yunwei had already returned to Hekou Village with her family.
Meng Suling was in a good mood. Glancing at the sky, she said, “I’ll go back to the factory this afternoon to see if I can buy some internal-sale brown sugar. If not, we’ll have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. You all stay home and keep gathering stones. Your dad should officially retire internally after this trip, and then we can leave the courtyard wall work to him.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They worked until dark.
When Meng Suling returned, a large urea bag was tied to the back of her bicycle.
Without calling for help, she pushed the bike into the main room, locked it, and carried the bag to Miao Yunwei’s room.
“Here’s the sugar you wanted. Our family only had three catties of sugar ration left this month. I borrowed two catties from a coworker, making five catties in total. The factory just got a new batch of sugarcane recently, and the sugar yield is decent, but supplies are tight, especially brown sugar—it’s strictly controlled. I had to talk myself hoarse to convince the warehouse to sell me five catties of substandard brown sugar. They didn’t spare a single ration coupon, but the price was cheaper than at the supply and marketing cooperative—five mao per catty. They even threw in some sugar residue, enough for our whole family to use for a month.”
Her delighted expression was as if she had stumbled upon a great bargain.
Miao Yunwei reminded her, “Mom, tone down your smile—it’s too obvious!”
Meng Suling snorted proudly. “Can’t I be happy? This sugar was bought for someone else. We didn’t spend any money and got this sugar residue for free. It’s only because we bought so much that the warehouse was willing to throw it in!
Tomorrow, after you start work, ask around quickly about how to bring things back like this. There must be more than one or two people in the unit doing this.”
In the past, Miao Jianguo never brought anything back, and she hadn’t thought much of it. But this time, Miao Yunwei’s suggestion had sparked her curiosity, and the more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became.
Miao Yunwei didn’t dare to object. After agreeing, she closed her door and obediently went to sleep.
The next day, the siblings got up early and went to work.
As soon as they clocked in, they saw Zhao Qiming standing not far away with a smile on his face, holding a bag in his hand.