Zhao Mei looked at Huang Lina, who was laughing with relish and incessantly spouting curses, and couldn’t help but think of Huang Man.
Even though that girl’s words are now quite harsh, she is truly better than Huang Lina— at least she wouldn’t say such bitter words.
That is to say, her words are just a bit unpleasant, but still bearable.
But that girl herself is studying in Capital City and working hard to earn living expenses. She couldn’t take care of her even if she wanted to, besides, she can’t leave here for long, or what would become of the house in her name?
Knowing that Zhao Mei still had money, Huang Lina was very straightforward in her proposition, "Sure, you can stay at my place, that’s possible."
"But you have to pay rent, and do the household chores," Huang Lina remembered how Zhao Mei had forced her to go out and work in the past.
What? Paying rent to stay at her daughter’s house? Zhao Mei was of course unhappy. If she had to pay rent, why bother coming here?
"When I finished junior high, wasn’t that how you treated me?"
"If I didn’t pay the rent, you would hit me, curse at me, humiliate me."
Zhao Mei hadn’t expected Huang Lina to remember this incident, and to be so petty about it; it infuriated her.
"Back then, I did that to get you to work; that was why I came up with that method."
"Otherwise, you hanging around outside all day and not making any money— that’s of course unacceptable."
"Look at your brother; if he hadn’t fallen in with a bad crowd, picked up bad habits, he, he wouldn’t have died."
When it comes to who’s most heartbroken by the son’s death, Zhao Mei considered herself second to none.
Huang Lina laughed, "You think you’re right, but I don’t think so."
"You’re able-bodied, you have a house in your name. If you don’t like my terms, then go live in your own house."
"You don’t want to spend money, and I don’t want you moving in."
After all, sometimes she would bring people home to stay. What good would having Zhao Mei there do?
No matter what Zhao Mei said, Huang Lina insisted on the amount of money due; if Zhao Mei wasn’t satisfied, she could just leave—anyway, Huang Lina didn’t lack the money.
Having been rebuffed by Huang Lina, what could Zhao Mei do but grab her luggage and leave dejectedly back to the countryside.
She wanted to move into the house under her name, but when she inquired at the real estate agency, they told her there would be a fine for reclaiming the house early.
After asking around, the penalty was quite substantial, leaving her no choice but to lug her luggage back home in humiliation.
On her way home, Zhao Mei had made up her mind—wasn’t it said that dogs could drive these things away? She would get a few dogs.
At the same time, she would tell them if they continued to treat her , she would never worship them again. Let’s see how they’d fare as destitute ghosts below.
Yes, that’s what she would do—Zhao Mei didn’t believe that such words couldn’t hold somebody in check.
If you spoke of the past, Zhao Mei might have felt a bit awkward around Huang Zhiqiang and his son, but after this incident, she had absolutely no such feelings left.
The villagers were surprised to see Zhao Mei leaving with her luggage in the early morning and returning with it again in the afternoon.
Of course, they wanted to catch her and ask why she was lugging her luggage back and forth.
Zhao Mei of course described Huang Meina as terrible, "I thought, with my son gone, Huang Man and I were close, so I went to Huang Lina’s place."
"I could take care of her now and then, but that ungrateful girl immediately talked about money."
Someone laughed, "Isn’t she just following your own example?"
"Exactly," she’d just finished junior high when you couldn’t wait to shove her out to work so you could collect rent and whatnot. Now she’s just treating you the same way."
"But I’m her mother," Zhao Mei retorted. "I raised her, and she should treat me well, take good care of me."
"What a thing to say, everyone knows it was Huang Zhiqiang who raised her, and all you did was give birth to a child."
The villagers’ perception of Zhao Mei had turned rather sour; Huang Zhiqiang and his son had merely become stepping stones for her.
Zhao Mei had thought everyone would criticize Huang Lina for being unfilial, but to her surprise, they all sided with Huang Lina and said she was the one in the wrong.
This infuriated her no end, and she didn’t stay there to chat any longer, but stormed home instead.
"By the way, speaking of Huang Zhiqiang’s family, New Year’s is coming soon. Have you done your shopping yet?"
New Year’s goods, ah, ah, ah, of course, Zhao Mei had forgotten, "I’m on my own, I’ll just get something small."
"Isn’t Huang Lina coming back?"
Everyone knew Huang Man wasn’t returning; she had called earlier to say she’d be working in Capital City during the winter break.
No one expected Huang Lina not to return either, especially since she worked right in the city. Nobody knew why she didn’t visit.
"Now she looks down on me for not making money," Zhao Mei lamented.
Although Zhao Mei didn’t know how much Huang Lina earned each month, judging by the style and brand of her clothes and the skincare products she used, it was clear that she didn’t earn little.
It was just a pity that no matter how much money the daughter made or how fancy her skincare was, she wouldn’t share any with her. She truly was an ingrate; Zhao Mei regretted ever being kind to her.
Knowing Huang Lina’s attitude, Zhao Mei didn’t bother reaching out to her anymore. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have money or that she had to rely on her daughter to get by.
Most importantly, after the New Year, Tian Zhiguo came to apologize to Zhao Mei, saying he shouldn’t have wronged her before.
Having been tricked once, Zhao Mei didn’t take Tian Zhiguo’s so-called apology to heart; she knew the Tian family’s intentions.
But she felt lonely living alone, even though she had money. It was different having a man in the house.
This time she was determined not to register for marriage no matter what. What if the Tian family, out of greed for money, tried to harm her at some point?
Lately, she frequently dreamed of meeting with an accident, and then Tian Zhiguo would just sign off to forgo her treatment, taking a hefty compensation in return.
With each dream, her affection for Tian Zhiguo would fade a little more.
Especially when Tian Zhiguo periodically worried about his children’s marriages, Zhao Mei would feel overwhelmed, turn around, and leave, not bothering to listen to the Tian family’s troubles.
She had two daughters of her own and hadn’t bothered to worry about their marriages. Why would she fuss over the marital affairs of some unrelated folks?
Tian Zhiguo had thought that if he just treated Zhao Mei a bit nicer, she might give him money, but she didn’t offer any comfort and instead just walked away.
He wasn’t asking for a loan, for which he could write an IOU. Zhao Mei’s response was blunt—if he really needed to borrow money, then he could just leave.
What could Tian Zhiguo do? If he had any money at all, he really wouldn’t want to put up with seeing Zhao Mei’s long face.
Living there was just a matter of putting up with her foul moods and doing a bit of housework; he didn’t have to pay for living expenses.
The money he earned could be spent on his family, but even so, solving his son’s marriage issue would require a lot of money, an amount that seemed hopelessly out of reach with his current salary.
As Tian Zhiguo listened to Zhao Mei’s voice from outside, he clenched his fists. But he knew that apart from enduring, what else could he do?
Nevermind that Huang Lina wasn’t easy to bully, even the unseen Huang Man was not to be trifled with.