Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 11

Which relative?

"Why ask so many questions? I didn't steal or rob anyone. They think I'm cute and kind, so why can't they just give me two hundred?" Zhao Da'e scoffed.

Cheng Jinxiang: "..."

Zhao Tiesheng: "..."

Cheng Jinxiang said gently, "Big Goose, even if you didn't steal it, this amount of money is still a bit much. We'll owe them a huge favor. We'll have to repay this favor no matter what."

Zhao Da'e nodded: "Understood."

Seeing Zhao Da'e's less-than-friendly attitude, Zhao Tiesheng didn't press the matter further. He had more important matters to attend to, and his mind wasn't on the two hundred yuan. He glanced at his wife, Cheng Jinxiang, then at his daughter, Zhao Da'e, and finally said, "Daya, about what happened that day... actually, Dad didn't support it..."

Zhao Da'e shrugged: "I know. Dad, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you have no opinions of your own in front of my grandparents. You neither support nor oppose anything. I'm not saying this as a daughter, but your attitude is very problematic. You leave the future of your own daughter to my grandparents and aunt to decide. You're really something else."

Zhao Tiesheng: "I...sigh..."

Although Cheng Jinxiang was also dissatisfied, the deep-rooted preference for sons in the North influenced her to some extent. Fortunately, her second daughter, Xiao Juanzi, was still alive, which ensured peace and tranquility. Although she harbored some resentment about the past, it was all in the past, and she didn't want to dwell on it too much.

"It was my fault," Zhao Tiesheng sighed.

At this time, many rules stipulate that each family can only have two children. Since he already has two children, it is highly likely that Zhao Tiesheng will not have a son in the future, unless the three-child policy is relaxed.

In Dongtaizi Village, it is indeed as Zhao Chunqin once said: without a son, a father cannot stand up straight.

Perhaps it was all fate. After all, she was his own flesh and blood. Zhao Tiesheng was filled with mixed emotions, but he didn't want to say too much. So even when his daughter, Zhao Da'e, mocked him a few times, he didn't refute her.

“Big Goose, you can leave now. Your grandma is still in the fence over there, and they need your cooperation in an investigation. As long as everything goes smoothly in the investigation, your grandma will be released.”

Zhao Tiesheng finally voiced his demands.

Zhao Da'e frowned, looked at Zhao Tiesheng, and rolled her eyes: "This young lady doesn't serve her. I don't have time."

Zhao Tiesheng: "Um... well... your grandpa said if you go, he'll buy you two jin of fried dough sticks. Don't you love the fried dough sticks fried by that old man in Zhangjiyingzi the most? Your grandpa said that when your grandma comes out, he'll take you to the market and buy you two jin so you can eat as much as you want."

Zhao Da'e was stunned: Holy crap! Was I really that pathetic as a kid? Two pounds of fried dough sticks and you let me eat as much as I wanted? Do you think I, Zhao Da'e, can be bought off with two pounds of fried dough sticks?

“Dad, go back and talk to Grandpa. Just say what I said, I, Zhao Da’e, have no other requests. I’m a filial son and I don’t want to be the kind of person who gets pointed at and talked about behind my back. My request is simple: my mother isn’t well and will be discharged from the hospital in a few days. She needs to be in a more comfortable place. But right now, the three of us are living in that storage room, which is cold and damp. I want my mother to move to the main house. I want my third uncle and aunt to move out and into the storage room.”

Zhao Tiesheng said, "Big Goose, stop making a fuss. This isn't something your grandparents can decide. Don't you know your third aunt? She's a shrew. Your third uncle is a coward all day and can't control her either. If we make them move out to the storage room, your third aunt will explode. She might even run back to her parents' house. If she runs back to her parents' house, what will your third uncle do? He'll be a bachelor forever!"

Zhao Da'e directly refused: "That has nothing to do with me. My third uncle already has a son, so it doesn't matter if he stays single. Dad, think about it, my third uncle can't be scared by my third aunt pretending to be sick all his life, right?"

My third uncle has a son now. Even if my third aunt doesn't stay with him and they get a divorce, it doesn't matter. My third uncle won't be without an heir. He has a son, someone will take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. So what if he doesn't have a wife? Does my third uncle think he can't find another wife besides Zhang Cuilan? I think my third aunt is just showing off. My third uncle doesn't want her, but she has a son. Even if they divorce and she goes to someone else's family, who will want her? Does she think she can scare you with that hand and foot? What are you afraid of her for? Before I left, I dumped cow dung all over her bed, and she didn't do anything to me.”

Zhao Da'e knew that his third aunt was quite arrogant and domineering, and that his grandparents favored her. Since they didn't favor Zhang Cuilan, Zhang Cuilan started feigning illness—leg pain one day, stomach pain the next, buttock pain the day after—she was constantly sick. She even threatened to kill herself to scare people.

In his past life, Zhao Da'e knew perfectly well that although his third aunt hadn't lived very long, only in her fifties, she definitely hadn't committed suicide. She had died of a heart attack. Therefore, Zhang Cuilan's constant threats to scare people were genuine.

Cheng Jinxiang also complained, "We agreed that the third son would live in the old house while Dad would build us a new one. But what happened? My sister-in-law made a fuss, saying that since we had the money to build a new house, we should build one for the eldest son first, according to the order. In the end, the eldest son moved out after the new house was built, and we've been waiting for five or six years without being able to move into a new house. I don't think Dad has any intention of building a new house. In these past few years, we've saved four or five thousand yuan from farming, and you gave it all to your parents-in-law. Now that I'm in the hospital, they have no money left. That four or five thousand yuan should have been enough to build a house long ago. I don't know where they spent the money."

Zhao Tiesheng awkwardly explained, "Didn't my older sister buy a tractor and lend it to her?"

Cheng Jinxiang shook her head and sighed.

Zhao Da'e directly denied Zhao Tiesheng's statement: "Dad, don't listen to my grandma's nonsense. My aunt has already returned the money. The money my grandparents saved, plus the money my mom and you saved, were all secretly used by my grandparents to buy an apartment for my aunt."

Zhao Tiesheng exclaimed in surprise, "What? You bought an apartment for your aunt? That's over ten thousand yuan!"

Cheng Jinxiang was also skeptical: "Your eldest aunt gave your grandparents money back? Then she turned around and had your youngest aunt buy an apartment? When will she ever be able to pay it back?"

Cheng Jinxiang was furious: "The tractor only cost a little over ten thousand yuan. My older sister took it, saying she wanted to buy it to make some money. She said she could earn thirty or forty yuan a day, and break even in a year or two. But she's using it to buy an apartment. When will she ever pay it back? Besides, why should they secretly lend my hard-earned money from farming to my aunt? Zhao Chunqin is pretty, isn't she? She took my money to buy an apartment?"