Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

In the afternoon, Xu Chunying came to Zhang Xiuhua to complain, "I wanted to help them with good intentions. But she didn't appreciate it! Do you think I am willing to take care of the children?"

Zhang Xiuhua couldn't say Xu Chunying was wrong. She had good intentions, but it was understandable that Hongwu's wife couldn't bear to part with the child. "She doesn't want you to take care of the child, so forget it. You and your brother are so tired. You have to do so much work every day. If you really have to take care of your grandson, you won't even have time to breathe."

Xu Chunying sighed, "You think I want to take care of the child? I just think Hongwu is too tired! He has to earn money to support three people and pay the mortgage. How stressful it is. Look how thin he is. His wife is so cruel and doesn't feel sorry for him at all."

Zhang Xiuhua couldn't say anything. Whoever's child it is, they love it. She could only comfort her, "Hongwu should get a raise next year, right?"

"He works in a state-owned enterprise. If he wants a raise, the whole city will have to raise their salaries. It's not that easy." Xu Chunying waved her hands. "Hongwen will graduate next year, and we have to buy him a house and get him married..."

Thinking of this, her expression was already quite ugly, and she regretted it so much that her intestines were about to turn green. "Why did I give birth to so many children in the first place? I was just asking for trouble."

In the past, she thought that if she had more children, she would have less burden in the future when they would take care of her. But now, she is not even old yet, and she can't bear it anymore. She has to take care of the old and support the young, and their bones are almost bent by the weight.

Zhang Xiuhua could only comfort her, "It will all be over. Once the child has his own family, your mission will be over."

"What are you going to end?" Xu Chunying was not optimistic at all. "After getting married, you have to have children. Both the young couple have jobs, so won't I still have to take care of the child?!"

Zhang Xiuhua laughed, "You can leave it alone? You can stay at home and take care of the elderly, they won't find fault with you."

This is true, but Xu Chunying couldn't bear to see her child suffer. Especially since Hongwu was so thin, it was like she was tearing her heart out.

Xu Chunying sighed, "We can only give them more money to make their lives easier."

"You still have money?" Zhang Xiuhua was surprised. You know, Xu Chunying just paid her back 3,000 yuan. Adding the previous 2,000 yuan, the total amount was 5,000 yuan.

Xu Chunying shook her head and said it was not much. "It's just the money I made from selling oyster mushrooms. It's only a little over 1,000 yuan. It's a little, but it can also relieve their pressure."

She sighed, "It's better to have a daughter. You don't have to buy a house or take care of a child. The pressure is much less. The two thousand yuan I'm going to return to you was given by my Hongxia. She opened a tutoring class in the capital and made some money."

Zhang Xiuhua said nothing. In the minds of the older generation, they had never thought of buying a house for their daughter. It was useless for her to say anything.

She didn't say anything, but Xu Chunying clapped her hands and remembered something, "No! My Hongxia finally came back, I have to ask Aunt Li Si to arrange a blind date for her. If she marries someone closer, she can help the family in the future."

Without waiting for Zhang Xiuhua to react, she ran away in a hurry.

Xu Chunying's idea was good, but Hongxia simply refused to cooperate.

When Aunt Li Si helped introduce a young man to her through Dalangtaosha and invited him to her home, Hongxia ran to Xiangxiang's house after just one look.

Baolin and Yaoyao were also at Xiangxiang's house at the time. When they saw her crying and running over, they thought she was being bullied. Then they heard what happened.

Baolin thought it was ridiculous, "Why is the old lady in such a hurry? You are only 23 years old. She is so young and she is in a hurry to marry you off!"

Xiangxiang felt that she had missed the point. "What a misfit that person is! He looks so ugly, and his education level is only comparable to yours. He's also short. What's wrong with your mother to be so mean to someone like her!"

Yaoyao looked at Xiangxiang in surprise, "Do you know her?"

"I know him. He's my classmate's brother." Xiangxiang pouted, "He's so ugly! He doesn't match Hongxia at all!"

Hongxia ran out in anger, but the New Year was coming soon, and she couldn't not go home. "What do you think I should do?"

She was so angry that she couldn't speak, and her mind was in a mess. She couldn't think of any good solution, so she ran to Xiangxiang for help.

Xiang Xiang immediately gave her some advice, "If you go home right now, pack your things, and take the train to the capital, leave your mother alone. Otherwise, she will introduce you to a second or third person in the future. One day, you will compromise!"

When Hongxia thought of that scene, she nodded at her, then decisively went back to pack up her things and ran away.

Baolin and Yaoyao were worried about Xiangxiang when they saw her getting involved in this kind of thing. "Aren't you afraid that my aunt will come to your house? She is not a pushover."

The old lady’s ability in quarreling is unmatched in the whole village. Xiangxiang is thin-skinned and cannot defeat her.

Xiang Xiang laughed, "If you don't tell her and I don't tell her, how will she know?"

Baolin and Yaoyao were speechless. Well, as long as Hongxia didn't tell anyone, she would be safe.

Just as Baolin and Yaoyao expected, Xu Chunying was very angry about Hongxia's escape. She couldn't find her daughter in the whole village. When she returned home, she found that her daughter's luggage was gone. It seemed that she had run away. She was so angry that she ran to Zhang Xiuhua's house to complain, "I was kind and did good things for her, but she didn't appreciate it. After she married to another place, she was bullied and I couldn't protect her!"

Zhang Xiuhua had just seen the boy brought by Aunt Li Si at the door. With her two lifetimes of experience, she also felt that the boy was not good-looking. She couldn't understand why she chose such a person for her, "Hongxia is also good-looking and well-educated! He just has a formal job and has no other advantages."

When Xu Chunying heard that she was on Hongxia's side, she also felt sorry for herself, "You think I don't want to pick a good one for her? There are many. She asked for college students, which eliminated 90% of the people of the same age. And they had to be of the same age as her, and 90% of them were eliminated, so there were only a few candidates who met the requirements. The others were all married."

"Then let her look for her outside. There are so many college students in the capital. Are you afraid that Hongxia won't be found?" Zhang Xiuhua felt that this matter should not be rushed.

"College students in the capital are not necessarily people from the capital. They are all working hard in the capital. Sooner or later, they will return to their hometown." Xu Chunying doesn't want her daughter to marry too far away.

Zhang Xiuhua felt that she had to change her mindset. "Then let me ask you, Hongwen will definitely settle down somewhere else in the future, right? He is a college student, and he didn't study agriculture, so it's impossible for him to come back to farm. He will work somewhere else in the future, and he will definitely have to buy a house somewhere else. You have two sons, and you have to live with at least one of them. You married Hongxia so close to you, but you ran away instead. Aren't you cheating Hongxia?!"

Xu Chunying was stumped by her question and couldn't find any words to refute for a while.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Zhang Xiuhua said, "Think about it carefully. Don't do things that make the children unhappy under the pretext of doing good for her. You don't count on Hongxia to support you in the future, so what difference does it make whether she marries close or far away? As long as the man is reliable, it doesn't matter if he's close or far away."

She remembered that in her previous life, when she lived in a big city, many people advised their daughters not to marry far away. But there is no such thing as a rule that applies to everyone. Hongxia's high education meant that she had a narrow range of options for a partner in a small place, and she could only find a suitable partner in a big city.

Water flows to low places, and people go to high places. There are more job opportunities in big cities. My sister-in-law's idea is still too simple.

**

1989 was a rather lonely year, at least that's how Xu Chunying saw it. Her daughter was not at home, and her eldest son brought his daughter-in-law and son back, but there was a sense of alienation and less intimacy.

As for Zhang Xiuhua, Liu Shujun lives with them this year.

After two serious illnesses, she had difficulty moving around, but she was in good spirits and accompanied the children in setting off fireworks.

The fireworks were bought by Jidong and Ergou from the capital. At that time, the train station had no equipment to check for prohibited items. Dangerous items such as fireworks could still be carried.

After the Chinese New Year, everyone gets busy.

Zhang Xiuhua received 300,000 yuan, and she bought another courtyard house in the capital. Because she had limited time, she asked Jidong to help her buy it.

Jidong didn't have that much time, so he asked his subordinates to help him look at houses, and then after negotiating the price with the landlord, he went directly to handle the transfer.

That afternoon, his subordinate Xiao Guo came to inform him to come and sign the contract.

The two walked along the alley, and Xiao Guo told him about the courtyard house. "The location is good. You can see the Forbidden City, and it's also close to where we store materials. The house is a bit old, but it's okay. After we buy it, our maintenance team will renovate the house and provide water and electricity, making it more convenient to rent out."

"Okay!" Jidong patted his shoulder, "I'll treat you to something delicious later."

Xiao Guo narrowed his eyes in a smile, because Mr. Zhang would not only treat him to a good meal, but also give him a bonus. It was higher than what he earned at work. He smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, the price of courtyard houses is rising too fast now. The one you bought last year was only 60,000 yuan, but it has risen to 83,000 yuan this year."

Jidong sighed, "It's a pity that we don't have more money, otherwise we could buy a few more sets."

He changed the subject and asked how the construction team was doing and whether they encountered any difficulties.

Xiao Guo was about to answer when Jidong suddenly stopped. Xiao Guo looked at him in confusion, only to see him take two steps back, staring at the alley on the left, as if he saw something interesting. He walked over and looked in the direction of his sight, and was stunned.

In an even narrower alley, he saw several burly men surrounding a young girl. The distance was a bit far, so he couldn't hear what they were saying, but from their ferocious expressions, he could tell that they were threatening them.

Xiao Guo felt that the two men were definitely no match for them, so he pulled Jidong away. However, he never expected that Jidong not only did not leave, but instead stood at the entrance of the alley and shouted, "Stop!"