Mrs. Xu’s eyes brightened as she looked at Xu Ruhua and said, "Ruhua, why don’t you and your husband move over to our side?
We have factories here, and large greenhouses for vegetables; they’re all looking to hire workers.
You and your husband could come over here to work, and you’d make more than one hundred yuan a month."
Xu Ruhua hadn’t thought about it that much, but when she heard her sister-in-law say that if she and her husband worked here they could earn more than one hundred yuan a month, she was suddenly tempted.
Although the system of contracting production to households had been established, and they no longer had to turn in grain to the authorities, she and her husband worked themselves to the bone at home and didn’t even make one hundred yuan in a year.
They only managed to ensure the family didn’t go hungry.
But now the kids were growing up, and schooling was being promoted. The tuition fees for the several children in their family were not small, not to mention the clothes and school supplies they needed.
These were all considerable expenses.
She and her husband were currently worried about the costs of their children’s meals if they went on to high school or college and had to stay in dormitories.
Now her sister-in-law had come up with an idea.
If she and her husband came here to work for a month and made over one hundred, that would be over a thousand in a year.
Thinking about it, Xu Ruhua was moved. She changed into the clothes Mrs. Xu had brought her and said excitedly after paying her back, "Sister-in-law, I’ll talk it over with Dashan."
Mrs. Xu nodded her head.
The group then set off toward the county.
When Mrs. Xu’s family arrived at the county, the banquet was about to begin.
Xu Jingjing saw them arriving and immediately led them to their private room.
The villagers from Xujia Village were all sitting in the main hall.
"Jingjing, congratulations on your wedding!" Gu Fuying and Gu Fuzhu also came to the wedding.
Xu Jingjing was surprised to see the two of them and quickly found them seats to sit down.
As Gu Fuying took her seat, her eyes immediately fell on Zhang Lancao at the table. She remembered this woman; she was the one Wu Qingsong used to like.
Zhang Lancao felt uneasy under Gu Fuying’s stare and sat there nervously.
Gu Fuzhu sensed something was wrong and nudged her cousin, "Why do you keep staring at her? You’re making her shy even though you have no business glancing that way."
Gu Fuying whispered in Gu Fuzhu’s ear, "That’s my man’s ex-girlfriend."
Gu Fuzhu was shocked to hear this. The woman sitting before them, with two kids so big, was Wu Qingsong’s former girlfriend.
There must be a difference of over a decade between the two.
Looking at Zhang Lancao, Gu Fuzhu’s face instantly filled with hostility, "Shall we find another place to sit?"
Gu Fuying nodded, and they both got up to find another spot.
Xu Jingjing had no idea about the past between Wu Qingsong and Zhang Lancao. After all, who would have thought that Wu Qingsong, a young and talented fellow, would be interested in a widow?
Speaking of Zhang Lancao, she also had a hard life, sold off by her mother-in-law. Who would have known that just a year after marrying, as soon as she got pregnant, her husband died.
Leaving her two sons with her mother-in-law, Zhang Lancao couldn’t bear to leave her children and came back while pregnant again.
Now she was pregnant and looking so thin and frail.
For the past half a year, she was treated like an animal, endlessly doing work, and her two children were not well off either.
When her brother-in-law got married and had a child, and it was a boy, things became even harder for her.
Granny Zhang Lancao had always doted on her younger brother-in-law, and now with his own offspring, her partiality knew no bounds. She treated her two children as slaves, making them serve her brother-in-law’s family every day.
If the service was not up to par, a scolding was sure on time.
"Eat, eat, eat, that’s all you know. Don’t you think about caring for your nephew?" Granny Zhang Lancao scolded Zhang Lancao without any warmth in her voice.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lancao shrank her neck in fear, her stomach full of grievances with nowhere to vent.
There were soft-hearted people in Xujia Village who couldn’t stand to watch, and spoke up to Granny Zhang Lancao with disdain: "Old sister-in-law, you don’t care for your own grandson, but Lancao has her own son to look after.
Why should she take care of your grandson? Besides, where are this child’s parents? They’re alive and well, doing nothing but ordering around your Eldest Son and his family.
Even if your Eldest Son had passed away, his son doesn’t deserve to be mistreated ."
The speaker was an elderly woman who looked down on Zhang Lancao with deep disdain.
She thought Zhang Lancao to be a coward without any ambition; at such an age, why not just separate from the family and live independently?
Yet she allowed herself to be oppressed by her mother-in-law. If it were the speaker, resistance would have come long ago.
And with the son also suffering, it was beyond comprehension what Zhang Lancao was thinking.
Upon hearing this, Granny Zhang Lancao spoke with full confidence, "It’s none of your business how we handle our family matters. I indeed want the Eldest Son’s family to move out, but she refuses to leave."
Zhang Lancao moved her mouth hesitantly, "Mom, if you give us a house to live in, we would be willing to separate."
Granny Zhang Lancao’s face exploded in anger upon hearing this, "These are the houses my husband built, why should I give you one?
Who do you think you are? No way are you getting a house."
"The money from when I remarried should belong to me," mumbled Zhang Lancao.
"That money was spent by your two sons long ago. You only remember the dowry you received when you remarried but seem to forget that for over a year, I’ve been taking care of your two sons.
I’ve never asked you for a penny, and the cost of caring for your sons is enough. You still have the nerve to mention that small amount of money to me," Granny Zhang Lancao fumed, her face red with anger.
Now, just seeing Zhang Lancao’s belly filled her with rage; bringing someone else’s child into the Zhang family was the height of shamelessness.
Zhang Lancao, scolded into silence, didn’t dare to utter another word.
Eating her meal, she looked up and saw Wu Qingsong come to help, her eyes suddenly brightening.
As Wu Qingsong arrived at the celebration, he instantly spotted his partner. He quickly walked over, smiled broadly, affectionately stroked Gu Fuying’s head, whispered a few words to her and then turned to leave.
Gu Fuzhu watched with great envy, "Your man is so considerate, unlike mine who doesn’t even bother to come over and greet me."
Fuying chuckled, radiating happiness.
Witnessing this, the light in Zhang Lancao’s eyes dimmed.
Soon she saw Wu Qingsong’s retreating figure, Zhang Lancao turned to her son and mother-in-law: "I have a bit of stomach pain; I am going to use the restroom. You keep eating."
After speaking, Zhang Lancao ran out in a panic.
Granny Zhang Lancao watched her leave and muttered under her breath: "A good-for-nothing, finally has a chance for a good meal and complains of stomach pains; such misfortune.
No wonder she’s a husband-killer." It was one thing for her to have outlived her son, but to have remarried and ’killed’ another man within two years...
The more Granny Zhang Lancao thought about it, the more repulsive she found Zhang Lancao.
If it weren’t for the fact that Zhang Lancao was useful around the house, she would have chased her away long ago.
Zhang Lancao rushed out of the hall to the outside, only to see Wu Qingsong leaning against a car door, smoking. Her eyes brimming with tears, she covered her face with her hands, an expression of deep sorrow: "Wu Qingsong."