Chapter 11 : Can’t Sleep

Liu Erhong cursed Wang Juhua in her heart for being such a pushover, but she smiled and thanked her, “I’m really thirsty.”

Jiang Hongmei put down the porcelain bowl carelessly, but the next words she heard made her loosen her grip, and the bowl fell directly to the ground!

“That kid’s name is Zhuang Guoliang. You can go to Bailutang and ask around and you’ll know. In terms of looks, he ranks second in Bailutang. No one dares to claim to be first!”

“No! Jiang Li can’t marry Zhuang Guoliang!” Jiang Hongmei subconsciously spoke out to stop her.

It was the same in the previous life. Zhuang Guoliang invited Widow Liu to his home to mediate, and she came for a blind date the next day. The family quickly agreed to the marriage, and Jiang Li got married in less than half a month.

She had been trying every possible way to reject the Qi family’s marriage proposal these past two days, and she didn’t even think about this matter for a moment.

Widow Liu was startled by Jiang Hongmei’s hoarse voice, “Hongmei, what’s wrong with your voice?”

“She’s just angry!” Wang Juhua quickly covered her up. If the gossipy Widow Liu knew that Hongmei had hanged herself, I wonder what kind of rumors would spread!

Widow Liu was sharp-eyed and immediately noticed the purple marks on Jiang Hongmei’s neck. “Hey! Hongmei, what happened to your neck?”

Jiang Hongmei quickly pulled up her clothes to cover herself, hesitating, “I just fell down!”

“Aunt Liu, please continue. What about Zhuang Guo…”

“Zhuang Guoliang! If you agree, he will come to your house tomorrow to see you. There are not many families who can afford a 200 yuan betrothal gift! Zhuang Guoliang just has a child, otherwise, with his qualifications, many girls would line up to meet him!”

Wang Juhua was dismissive of what Widow Liu said. Nine out of ten things this woman said were lies. However, since Zhuang Guoliang can afford the bride price and his conditions are not good, he is just right for Jiang Li to marry! Anyway, as long as the money is in hand, it’s fine. She would be happier if Jiang Li didn’t live a good life after marrying him.

“Aunt Liu, please ask the child to come and see her tomorrow.”

Widow Liu agreed happily. She really didn’t expect this to work!

When Widow Liu’s big butt was out of the door, Jiang Hongmei burst into tears, “Mom, didn’t you promise to let Jiang Li marry Qi Shaoqiang? Why don’t you keep your word?”

Wang Juhua poked her forehead and said, “What are you doing again, you stubborn child! The Qi family is so well off, Jiang Li will enjoy a great life if she marries into their family! This banker is different. With two children, Jiang Li will become a stepmother if she marries him! She will suffer in the future!”

“Are you being stupid or what? Do you like Jiang Li so much that you want her to be better than you in the future?”

Jiang Hongmei opened and closed her mouth, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. Could she say that she knew that Zhuang Guoliang would become rich in the future and Jiang Li would also enjoy a peaceful life? If she said that, her mother would definitely think she was crazy!

Jiang Hongmei was so anxious that she couldn’t sleep all night.

Zhuang Guoliang was also unable to sleep. When he received the news from Aunt Liu, he was rummaging through his drawers at home looking for clothes.

“Mom, mom, where is my army green shirt? Please find it for me!”

Zhao Xiangyu was feeding her grandson. Upon hearing this, she wiped her hands and walked into the side room where Zhuang Guoliang lived. She pushed Zhuang Guoliang, who was applying hair oil, away and said, “Hey, it’s right here!”

Zhuang Guoliang took the shirt and put it on. Zhao Xiangyu felt jealous, “I don’t usually see you being so clean. Now that you have a wife, you forget about your mother!”

“Mom, what nonsense are you talking about! I married a wife just for you. I see you working so hard to do laundry and clean the house for me every day, so I want to marry a wife who can do the work and help you share the burden.”

Zhao Xiangyu laughed, “You little bastard, you have some conscience. Now that you have married and are home, you must live a good life and stop going out to play cards, do you hear me?”

“I know, I know! Mom, please get out of here. I need to change my pants.”

“You little brat, I’ve seen every part of your body when you were a kid. Now you’re shy around me.”

It was not until Zhuang Guoliang was exhausted and fell asleep that she tucked the quilt in for him and walked out of the room.

Outside the house, seven-year-old Zhuang Xiaoyu burst into tears. Seeing Zhao Xiangyu coming out, she threw herself on her and cried, “Grandma, my dad is going to find a stepmother. Does that mean he doesn’t want us anymore?”

“What nonsense! I’m watching you. If the new wife dares to bully you, I will not let her off!”

Zhao Xiangyu held her granddaughter and coaxed her for a long time before Zhuang Xiaoyu fell asleep crying.

The rooster crowed, and Jiang Hongmei stared with her eyes wide open, with dark circles under them.

Jiang Li not only robbed her room, but also wanted to rob her man today. She absolutely would not allow it! No matter what, she had to marry Zhuang Guoliang.

After changing to a clean and spacious room, Jiang Li had a good sleep. She took out the toothpaste that Jiang Hongmei had saved and was reluctant to use, washed her face, and went to the chicken coop to look for eggs.

But she happened to run into Old Mrs. Zhou. When she saw Jiang Li coming, her lips were shaking with anger.

“Okay, you unlucky person, I was wondering where the eggs went these past two days! It turns out that they were all eaten by you, a dead girl with a rotten stomach! You must be itching because you haven’t had a fight for a day!”

Old Mrs. Zhou raised her walking stick and hit Jiang Li on the head.

“You dare to hit me! When the people from the commune come, you’ll see how I report this to the leader!”

Old Mrs. Zhou has never been to school and feels dizzy when she hears the word “leader.” If she goes to the labor camp at such an old age, it is hard to say whether she can get out. She wants to live a few more years and enjoy the blessing of her grandchildren! She didn’t dare to really hit him. She put away the cane angrily, but held the two eggs tightly and turned back to the main room.

She was so angry at Jiang Li that her chest hurt. She lay on the bed sighing. Wang Juhua came in.

“Mom. Let me tell you something.”

Old Mrs. Zhou rolled her eyes at her in annoyance.

“Have you made breakfast? Have you fed the pigs and chickens? Jiang Li, that damn girl, doesn’t want to work, so you won’t work either? I am so old and I still have to do so much, are you trying to tire me to death?”

“You will feel relieved if you tire me to death, I think you just hope I die soon! Don’t you think about the fact that before you married our Changyi, you didn’t even have a decent set of clothes on your body and looked like a beggar. Now you are showing off in front of me. Your conscience has been eaten by a dog!”

As soon as Wang Juhua came in, she was scolded and felt very angry. Unfortunately, Tianci’s father was filial, and she couldn’t strangle the old woman to death, so she had to accompany her carefully.

“Mom, I’ll do this job in a moment, don’t be angry.”

Old Mrs. Zhou groaned on the bed, “Don’t rush to work, I’m not feeling well, please give me a massage.”

Wang Juhua swallowed her anger and patted Zhou’s legs. “Mom, there is something that will definitely make you happy. A family in Bailutang came to propose marriage. They said they are willing to give 200 yuan as a gift to marry Jiang Li.”

Old Mrs. Zhou opened her wrinkled eyes and asked, “Didn’t Changyi say that Jiang Li should marry into the Qi family?”

Then she asked again, “What kind of family? Can they really come up with 200 yuan?”

Wang Juhua understood what she meant. The old woman hated Jiang Li more than she did, and she didn’t want Jiang Li to have an easy time. So she said, “The marriage proposal between the Qi family and our family has been cancelled, how can it be possible to marry into the Qi family? Besides, I don’t think Changyi would object to this marriage. Two hundred yuan, anyone who doesn’t take it is a fool.”

She quietly approached Old Lady Zhou and said, “That man’s name is Zhuang Guoliang, his wife is dead and he has two children, and he doesn’t have a proper job. I heard that it he hangs out in the county playing cards all day long.”

At this point, Mrs. Zhou felt relieved and said, “Then call the person over to have a look.”