Mr. Zhang carefully put away the note. He would need to take it back to the village to show his older brother and younger brother, so they could see that even his grandson, so young, was already a cultured person.
At the intersection, the three families bid farewell to each other and headed ho.
Halfway, Mr. Zhang saw soone carrying breakfast, and after thinking it over, turned back to buy two dough fritters, had a chat with the restaurant chef, and then made his way ho.
Before he even reached his door, Wang Dasheng, hearing Mr. Zhang greet soone, quickly ca out of his courtyard and waved at him.
Mr. Zhang’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly approached, smiling happily at him.
"Brother Zhang, co over with Brother Chen tonight."
"Brother, impressive!"
Wang Dasheng grinned, gave a thumbs-up, and humbly said, "It’s nothing much, just so scraps. I’m glad you don’t mind."
"Oh, there you go being modest again."
Mr. Zhang didn’t quite agree. With at coupons being so scarce these days, you wouldn’t be able to buy pork offal without knowing soone. He’d been waiting for months just for this.
Sigh, if he hadn’t promised his second son not to go to the mountains, he wouldn’t be lacking at. Luckily, his wife raised a lot of chickens, or relying on just the supply, living would be hard.
"Then I’ll go have breakfast first, see you at the factory later."
Mr. Zhang nodded with a smile, watching him enter his house, before he swung the two dough fritters and strolled into the courtyard, thinking to himself that if there was a lot of stuff, he’d braise so more to send to Ah Guang’s brothers in the provincial city. Hmm, better take so vegetables over too!
Mother Zhang had already prepared a circle of cornal buns in the pot, just waiting for her husband to return so they could eat before heading back to the village. Hearing the sounds from outside the courtyard, she quickly set out two vegetable dishes and grabbed a plate of the buns.
Standing at the kitchen door, she saw the dough fritters in her husband’s hand and didn’t say much.
If it were usual, she would’ve certainly complained about her husband wasting money. But thinking about how fritters don’t appear often, and there’d be oil spots in the soup, she happily took them.
Mr. Zhang entered the kitchen, glanced at the stewed dishes on the table, and joked, "You’ve really left nothing out. Be careful, the oil at ho might go rancid."
Mother Zhang laughed heartily, "It can’t get rancid, I’ve checked. Later, we’ll take so back to give to sister-in-law and the sisters. This is valuable stuff, it’s good to give."
"The ones Xiao Wu prepared for us, we’ll keep for ourselves. Last month’s cottonseed oil will be for giving away. That oil is dark and used to be fine, but now it always slls strange."
"Alright, I’ll listen to you. Let’s eat quickly before the sun cos out and get going..."
"Dad, Mom..."
Hearing the shout from outside, Mother Zhang quickly stood up, "You eat first, I’ll go see what our second is up to?"
"No need to go, our courtyard gate is open, he’ll co in."
Mother Zhang thought for a mont and also agreed, responding loudly for him to co in.
Zhang the Second entered, also carrying two dough fritters. Seeing the fritters on the table, he grinned and chuckled, "I thought you didn’t know, so I bought extra to bring over."
Mr. Zhang laughed, "Just ca back and saw soone with them, so I turned back. Have you eaten yet? Your mom made a lot, sit down and eat so."
"I was planning on coming over for a al. Dad, how many days are you staying this ti when you go back? Do you want the kids to co with you?"
Mr. Zhang shook his head, "We’ll be back before dark."
Zhang the Second took the bowl his mother handed to him and asked, "Do you want to find a car?"
"No need. We’ve already arranged it. There’s an ox cart at the city gate from the neighboring team, we’ll take their ride."
Zhang the Second understood right away that it must be their team coming to the city to haul manure. Though he thought to ntion not going, he decided against it, knowing he’d probably be scolded. His dad cherished these farm fertilizers a lot.
"Is your older brother coming back this weekend?"
Zhang the Second nodded, "Almost a month now, he should be back." After saying this, he paused holding a cornal bun, thinking it was better not to ruin the morning mood; better to talk about it later in the evening.
Mr. Zhang finished breakfast and observed his son’s expression, "What? Sothing up? Is it the editorial staff issue?"
Zhang the Second asked in surprise, "Dad, you already know?"
Mr. Zhang nodded, "While exercising the past few mornings, I heard so old guys ntioning it."
Zhang the Second asked in amazent, "Dad, you’re not surprised? Why didn’t you ntion it to last night?"
Mr. Zhang rolled his eyes, expressing disdain, "Surprised about what! When your big brother started working, Xiao Wu and Jiao Jiao both analyzed it, didn’t they? It’s an eventual thing; you think your brother is talking nonsense?"
Zhang the Second slapped his forehead hard, frustrated he had forgotten. "Dad, isn’t this thing odd? After ’58, all those who’ve found work returned to the countryside, and my big brother and I just missed the ti point, especially big brother who just made it by a few days. Uncle Zuo said we two brothers just got lucky; otherwise, we’d also have to go back to farm."
Mr. Zhang smiled, "That’s why I want to return to the village today to offer incense to your grandparents."
Mother Zhang imdiately nodded, "Yes, it’s all thanks to the ancestors’ blessings. After you left last night, your dad went to see your Uncle Chen. Uncle Chen said this thing is actually good for your big brother. But don’t go spreading this around."
Zhang the Second smirked, "Mom, I’m not stupid. But aren’t you forgetting both your daughters-in-law are about to be out of work?"
Mr. Zhang patted his son, "You two brothers managing to stay employed is already pretty good. People shouldn’t be too greedy. Look on the bright side, if you two hadn’t moved your household registrations, they would have had to return to the village, losing even food supplies.
I’ve already looked into it for you. Without work, they can still go to the street to get jobs to do at ho. It’s just fitting; they can look after the kids at ho."
Zhang the Second nodded, "My burden is light. Even without work, Juhua can knit a sweater or make clothes to support the household; I’m not worried. But as for big brother..."
Mother Zhang smiled tenderly, "Isn’t that even better? Do you think your sister-in-law gives her salary to your brother? Having no work staying quietly at ho ans there won’t be any trouble."
Mr. Zhang agreed with his wife, probably having discussed this matter privately quite a bit.
He added, "No one can change this policy by appealing, so her family can stop thinking about asking Xiao Wu for help. I agree with your mom; she needs to stay put at ho, relying on your brother, she won’t dare to stir things up.
Worry not about your big brother. I see he’s quite capable now. Once he’s back, he should be promoted with a salary increase, has a place to stay, and the kids’ schooling won’t cost him much."
Zhang the Second observed his parents’ expressions and found that they really weren’t worried, finally feeling relieved. He was just concerned they might stress over it.
Mr. Zhang noticed and smiled contentedly. His second son might be quite selfish, but he did have one major virtue: he was filial to his parents and affectionate with his siblings. He didn’t expect his son to change his nature; this was already enough.
Watching those old n worry about their children’s jobs recently, he had a straightforward outlook. Back when they were so poor, he and his wife managed to raise their kids, so now with conditions like these, what’s there to worry about.
Perhaps this was even a good thing. Throughout history, it’s been easy to share hardships, but difficult to share prosperity. The sa applies to marital relationships. Why did the eldest daughter-in-law turn around so quickly?
Was it not because he divided too much family money to her, coupled with the youngest son suddenly arranging jobs for both brothers?
This way, without worries about the future, she naturally beca more lively-minded. Gaining wealth started to make her restless, ultimately showing her lack of steadiness and her shallow outlook.
Misfortune may turn out to be a blessing. This might just temper the child’s disposition. Otherwise, with the eldest son’s honest nature, if pushed too hard, even an honest person would beco unstoppable in his decisions.
That family must stay united! He’s observed silently for so long; the child is still a good kid, accompanying the family through such tough tis without the slightest complaint, and for this alone, she earned the position of the eldest daughter-in-law.
People shouldn’t be condemned with a single stroke; everyone makes mistakes, and it’s enough when they change. A wife who was first chosen is better, and a son who’s the sa mother’s child is surely blood kin.
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