Chapter 46 : Radio

Zhao Xiangyu had been busy all morning and then remembered that she hadn’t seen Jiang Hongmei. Her face immediately darkened with anger. “You lazy pig, why don’t you just die quickly? You’re a young lady at home, waiting for your mother-in-law and sister-in-law to serve you!”

Jiang Hongmei was awakened by the sound of knocking on the door. She climbed out of bed, only to feel a sharp pain in her lower body.

The previous day, Zhuang Guoliang had woken up, had lunch, and then went out. He spent the entire day outside, returning home drunk in the middle of the night.

She had been eagerly waiting for him, but he pushed her down and had sex with her without even bothering to wash. His movements were rough, and he didn’t care about her discomfort at all.

Afterward, she vomited beside the bed. She cleaned up until the early morning and only went to bed when the rooster crowed.

Her lower body felt itchy and painful, and her entire body felt as if it had been run over by a car, but Jiang Hongmei didn’t dare delay. She quickly got up and opened the door.

Jiang Hongmei lowered her head and apologized, “Mom, Guoliang made a scene last night, so I got up late.”

Zhao Xiangyu was not pleased when she saw her and raised her hand to twist her ear. “If a wife can’t tie down her husband, she is incompetent. Guoliang went out for social events, and it’s only natural for you as his wife to serve him. Why are you complaining to me?”

“Yes, fourth sister-in-law, being married is different from living at your parents’ home. You can’t expect others to serve you every day. The whole family, big and small, is waiting for food!” Gao Xiuqin, the third daughter-in-law, added.

Jiang Hongmei widened her eyes. She had never cooked for so many people at home before. How was she supposed to manage?

But whether she could cook or not, Wu Meili immediately pushed her into the kitchen. “The men will be back from the fields soon. They’ll be angry if they don’t have food to eat.”

The water jar was empty, the rice jar was empty, and the dishes from yesterday were still piled in the kitchen, greasy and with flies hovering over them.

Zhao Xiangyu untied the key from her belt, scooped out two large bowls of cornmeal from the house, and brought them into the kitchen. “Be careful, don’t drop the food.”

Jiang Hongmei stood there, dumbfounded. With such a small amount of cornmeal and so many people, how could they make anything useful out of it?

“If it’s not enough, mix it with wheat bran,” said Gao Xiuqin, unable to hold back. “We can pick the vegetables from the private plot in the back.”

Jiang Hongmei picked a basket of beans and cucumbers, but Zhao Xiangyu scolded her harshly, “You picked so many vegetables, are you planning to save them for the next meal? You’re so extravagant! Didn’t your mother teach you to be frugal?”

Two-thirds of the vegetables in the basket were taken away, the oil can was empty, and all the vegetables had to be boiled in water. Since there weren’t enough vegetables, dried pickles were used instead.

Jiang Hongmei endured the discomfort and cooked the meal. As soon as the meal was served, it was immediately snatched up. The children pounced on the food like wild animals, grabbing with their hands, biting into it, and staring hungrily.

The adults were even quicker. They used chopsticks to scoop the pickles into their bowls in advance. In the blink of an eye, only dried pickles remained on the table. Jiang Hongmei had no choice but to pick up the black pickles with chopsticks and put them into her mouth, nearly choking.

She quickly tried to swallow the steamed bread, but it was made with more wheat bran than cornmeal. As she swallowed it raw, it felt like her throat was being cut.

With a steamed bun still in her mouth, Jiang Hongmei was sent out to fetch water.

Under the scorching sun, she wasn’t finished yet when Zhao Xiangyu threw a large basin of dirty clothes at her. “Hurry up and wash Xiaobao and Xiaoyu’s clothes.”

“Also, Xiaobao wet the bed last night. Go and wash the bedding in the main room.”

“You should clean the house and feed the chickens and pigs in the backyard.”

Zhao Xiangyu didn’t even consider letting Jiang Hongmei rest. How dare a dirty, ragged woman ask for twenty yuan as a dowry? After taking the bride price, she didn’t even give a penny as dowry. She thinks my family is being taken advantage of!

This matter will not be over until Jiang Hongmei earns back all that money herself!

On the other side of the wall, Jiang Li was fiddling with the radio. Qi Shaoqiang forcibly removed the batteries from a flashlight and installed them in the radio. To their surprise, it actually worked.

Jiang Li studied it for a while, then turned up the volume. The melodious sound of opera came out of the small box. Old Lady Qi clapped her hands in joy, “This thing is great. I am now enjoying the blessing of having a daughter-in-law.”

Chen Xianyun came in from outside, holding a piece of white cotton cloth in her hand, and said with a smile, “Lizi, do you think this cloth is good? Make two sets of clothes with it so you can wear them coolly in the summer.”

“It looks good. Mom is skilled in making anything.” Jiang Li instructed Qi Shaoqiang to move the sewing machine into the main room. “Mom, put the sewing machine here. It will be convenient for you to use it.”

Chen Xianyun really liked it. She couldn’t stop admiring the black body of the sewing machine. She went up and tried pressing the button a couple of times. Soon, she learned how to sew clothes without any instruction.

“Old lady, are you taking a break here?” An aunt with a long face came in, holding the sole of a shoe in her hand, and walked into the main room as if she knew the way there well.

Noticing Jiang Li’s confused look, Qi Shaoqiang whispered in her ear, “This is Liu Lixin’s mother.”

“Hey, Lixin’s mother, come in quickly, have a drink of water, and take a rest.”

“What is this? Oh my god, why is there still sound?” Lin Huaihua was very intrigued by the radio. She kept turning around it but didn’t dare touch it.

Chen Xianyun brought a stool for her to sit down, “We don’t understand this either.”

Lin Huaihua was fascinated by the sound. She smiled when she saw Jiang Li, “You married a good wife. She is filial and sensible. You will have a lot of happiness in the future.”

“I don’t know when my family will find a new partner! I’m so worried. This child is so stubborn. His uncle and aunt from my mother’s side introduced him to so many good girls, but he refused them all. If you urge him, he gets angry with you.”

“Don’t worry, Auntie. Fate will come when it’s meant to. Who knows, it might find you someday!”

Jiang Li used a cattail leaf fan to fan Lin Huaihua, “Then I’ll borrow Li’s good wishes. If my Lixin can marry someone like you, I’ll be relieved.”

“By the way, kid, do you have any good sisters from your mother’s hometown, Dashuping? Please introduce one to our Lixin!”

Seeing Jiang Li being held by Lin Huaihua’s hand, Qi Shaoqiang hurried out to rescue her, “Aunt, don’t worry. I think this boy will get married soon. Just wait.”

Lin Huaihua’s eyes sparkled, “Shaoqiang, don’t lie to your aunt.”

“That can’t be possible.”

“Oh, that’s great. Who is that girl from? Is she from our village? What’s her name?”

“Aunt Huaihua, instead of asking me, you might as well go home and ask Liu Lixin.”

Although Qi Shaoqiang was busy on the day of his wedding, he could still sense something with Liu Lixin, and his eyes were fixed on Qin Xiaoting from Dashuping.