Chapter 1035: Chapter 1036: The Lonely Village Girl 80
Seeing Xiao Qiao off, Zhang Yu didn’t turn around to enter the courtyard until his figure could no longer be seen, and she closed the gate behind her.
Old Zhao, who lived in the back house, ca out to close the door and saw that Zhang Yu had already locked it, repeatedly thanking her.
Just as Zhang Yu was about to leave, she heard Old Hao’s angry voice, “You’ve really grown so skills, haven’t you? Imagine forgetting to make dinner.”
“Why don’t you say that you forgot you need to eat?” Old Hao was so angry he felt like spitting blood.
He had been busy all afternoon, his stomach endlessly protesting, but he ignored it to go inform his son-in-law about sothing important, biking all the way.
In the end, his efforts were t with indifference, and he returned ho hungry with nothing to eat.
How could this not anger Old Hao, who felt that everything had been going wrong since last night?
Old Hao’s wife didn’t make dinner? Eating dinner at this hour? Zhang Yu was quite puzzled, “Didn’t they go to his daughter’s place?”
“They didn’t even keep them for dinner?”
Old Zhao was also surprised, “Yeah, didn’t they say the son-in-law treats them very well, always hosting them with a feast when they visit?”
“How co now?”
Old Zhao could guess why Old Hao and his wife would visit their daughter on a non-weekend day; it must be related to Li Cui’s radio being repaired.
Such a big piece of news, it’s unreasonable not to get at least a al out of it, Old Zhao hesitated, “Isn’t it always said that the daughter and son-in-law treat them well?”
Zhang Yu just smiled, “Only they would know if it’s good or not.” If everything was satisfactory, they would have returned well-fed and happy after delivering such significant news, not co back on an empty stomach.
Only now did Zhang Yu realize why the Hao couple seed out of sorts before, she thought perhaps it was a lighting issue.
Now she knew, it wasn’t the lighting; they were genuinely not in a good state.
With a glance exchanged between Zhang Yu and Old Zhao, they each went their separate ways.
Zhang Yu knew the Hao couple was proud and would never admit to going to their daughter’s place without getting fed.
As for other people’s family matters, Zhang Yu certainly didn’t care and went straight ho.
She didn’t care, but the surrounding neighbors did, especially those who felt cheated by the Hao son-in-law; the more they thought about it, the more upset they beca.
They wanted to settle scores with Old Hao but found he wasn’t ho, and after cooling their heads, they realized that even if they confronted him, they had no evidence and the other side would never admit it.
After another round of discussions, they decided they should gather evidence before taking action.
But right now, they wouldn’t miss the chance to watch the Hao couple argue.
Everyone ca out to enjoy the spectacle, “Old Hao, haven’t you eaten dinner yet?”
“It’s so late, why haven’t you eaten dinner?”
“Where did you go that you weren’t invited for dinner?”
Each one stood at the threshold of the Hao family, raising their voices to make fun.
Even if the Hao couple didn’t open the door, so what? As long as they could provoke them, that was enough.
Old Hao was so furious he almost wanted to beat his wife, thinking she doesn’t even have a job, what’s she doing at ho every day?
If he didn’t teach his wife a lesson, she’d really beco unmanageable.
But before he could make a move, the neighbors showed up, forcing him to suppress the impulse to discipline her.
Having no choice, Old Hao pointed at his wife, “We didn’t go to the daughter’s place; there was sothing with the son’s side, and we went to handle it.”
“The son invited us to dinner, but I thought there was food at ho, and it shouldn’t be wasted.”
“But then…” Old Hao looked helpless.
“It’s late; you should rest early as you have work tomorrow,” Old Hao quickly shut the door, afraid they might ask about the radio.
“Went to the son’s place,” soone sneered, “might as well just admit you went to the daughter’s place.”
“Thinking earning such ill-gotten money will let you live in peace?” a stubborn neighbor said with dissatisfaction.
Zhang Yu didn’t bother with such annoying things; when she got ho, she ntioned her encounter with Old Hao.
“From his unpleasant expression and insistence on eating at ho, it seems they’ve had a falling out.” Otherwise, why wouldn’t the son-in-law invite them for dinner at dinnerti?
Especially since Old Hao had praised his son-in-law to the skies, claiming he was the best, and given the situation, providing a al should have been no issue.
“Earning money is gratifying, but having money taken out of one’s pocket is unpleasant for anyone,” Li Cui understood why this happened.
“That’s their business; if they want to argue, let them argue,” Li Cui still had no idea of people’s thoughts.
“A radio is a big item, costing at least a hundred. Being tricked like that would upset anyone.”
“Just wait; this issue is far from over,” Li Cui comnted, ready to watch the drama unfold.
Zhang Yu agreed; in the absence of TV and the internet, one couldn’t indulge in global gossip or stay updated on the happenings in the global village.
The only gossip available was what happened within the community, and though people were typically simple back then, there was still plenty of drama.
The thought of having juicy gossip to follow made Zhang Yu excited about the days to co.
Going to work daily, full of energy and spirit, many thought the young girl must have fallen for soone and was influenced by Xiao Qiao, becoming a workaholic.
Alas, they waited and waited, but no more gossip erged, especially since Xiao Qiao, apart from fixing colleagues’ radios, did more for them.
He helped several colleagues sift through ten or so broken radios and managed to piece together six functional ones, resulting in his reputation skyrocketing.
Whether external organizations heard the news, Zhang Yu didn’t know, but she knew the district and city public security departnts were aware.
They tried to build connections, hoping to get help from Xiao Qiao in fixing their radios or remaking sothing useful from scrap, essentially allowing them to have a functioning radio.
Xiao Qiao thought if possible, he should expand the business, but he never expected it to peak right at its inception.
Only then did Zhang Yu realize just how many people owned radios.
Thinking about it, it made sense. It wasn’t the 1950s or ’60s when owning a radio was a big deal, requiring bragging rights.
Nowadays, many could afford radios, especially in their unit, where ration coupons weren’t plentiful, but was getting hold of them challenging for them?
They were seasoned experts, knowing exactly how to get things done.
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