The Fat Wife of the 1980s Awakens

"In the final analysis, you are the one who cannot hold your man. Are you afraid that my daughter has the ability to attract him away? Relax your mind. Even if all men in this world become extinct, it will not be the turn of a shabby man like Xie Yi."

There was some sarcasm in these words, but they also contained a subtle sympathy for Xu Xiufang's situation.

Xu Xiufang stroked her forehead gently. Old Mrs. Zhou's words seemed to imply that she couldn't even keep her own man. In comparison, Zhou Xiaoyun was more attractive.

She is straightforward by nature, and if she didn't want to waste time talking at this moment, she would have taken practical action to solve the problem long ago.

Xu Xiufang had sharp eyes and easily caught the fleeting ripple in Old Mrs. Zhou's eyes.

As expected, Old Lady Zhou immediately put on a haughty attitude, looked her up and down, and said, "Although Ma Chang likes to play, he has a stable job after all. If you get married, my Xiaoyun will be strictly disciplined, and her life will definitely be much better than yours."

This sentence hit the nail on the head and hit the pain in Xu Xiufang's heart.

She quickly put on a smile and tried to ease the atmosphere: "If he becomes successful in the future, don't forget my support."

Old Mrs. Zhou glared at Xu Xiufang fiercely, then turned and left with a resolute step.

She naturally knew about Ma Chang's character, but she knew her own daughter even better.

Who within a radius of dozens of miles would have the courage to accept her troublesome daughter?

Which young man would be willing to bear this heavy burden with a child? Either he is an old bachelor or an honest man who has been widowed for many years.

I praised Ma Chang just now only out of pride and helplessness.

Now, she had no choice but to harden her heart and force her daughter to get married. Her son was still unmarried. If she continued to stay at home, she would not only be unable to help, but might become a stumbling block for her son to get married.

Time passed quietly until Zhou Xiaoyun's figure appeared in sight, and Old Lady Zhou's anger was instantly ignited.

"You are a good-for-nothing. You embarrass me day after day!" Old Mrs. Zhou's voice penetrated the courtyard, sounding particularly harsh.

Today, the villagers in the village seemed to have a tacit understanding and came to Zhou's house in an endless stream, pointing and talking to the elderly lady.

As she spoke, Old Lady Zhou tightly grasped Zhou Xiaoyun's arm with such force that it seemed as if her ten fingers had turned into sharp iron hooks that sank deeply into the flesh, causing Zhou Xiaoyun to frown in pain.

This action is not only a severe condemnation of her daughter's behavior, but also a reflection of the mother's unspeakable anxiety and pain.

Zhou Xiaoyun's eyes were filled with tears. Pain and unwillingness intertwined in her body, making her thin body tremble helplessly like a leaf in the autumn wind.

The suppressed anger and resentment in my heart spread like wildfire, burning away all the gentleness and compromise of the past.

In her previous life, she was cruelly pushed into the home of an elderly bachelor by her mother just because of the value of a mere 300 yuan dowry. All this was just in exchange for buying a new set of furniture for her younger brother. The pain of being sacrificed still feels like a thorn in her side when she thinks about it now.

Having been reborn, she is determined not to let fate control her anymore.

In a chance encounter in an ordinary restaurant, she met that man, a person who might change the trajectory of her life.

She would do anything to escape the destiny that had been arranged for her in this life and to gain even a glimmer of happiness and freedom for herself.

However, fate always seems to play cruel jokes.

All her efforts and expectations ultimately resulted in nothing but false joy, which instantly extinguished the fire of hope that had just ignited in her heart, leaving her with endless coldness and despair.

Zhou Xiaoyun turned around suddenly and tightly grasped Old Lady Zhou's hands, which were full of traces of time. Her lips trembled with anger, and she tried hard to hold back the tears of grievance from flowing freely.

"You accuse me of suffering, but you don't know that I was forced to swallow this bitter fruit! Just because I'm a girl, should I be treated as worthless and discarded at will? Any good things at home, such as eggs, sweet potatoes, and white rice, were all left to my brother, and all I got was watery soup and dry steamed bread. Why should I, as his elder sister, give everything I have, including money and effort, for my brother to get married? You 'relatives' who only know how to take, have pushed me step by step into the abyss of despair, and yet you can still say such high-sounding words?"

After saying this, although she was extremely sad and angry, she miraculously did not let tears fall.

All the bitterness and humiliation in her past life, especially her life with the old bachelor, had made her heart as hard as iron, and her tears had long since dried up in countless late nights.

Now that she had strayed from the right path, she had the courage to find the direction again and set off again.

"What qualifications do you think you have to say these things? You are nothing more than a tool to sacrifice for the family! Isn't it your destiny to sacrifice for your brother? Isn't the closeness between you and Ma Chang just for the sake of your natural union? When he comes back, you should register for marriage with him in a law-abiding manner. The wedding banquet, the betrothal gift, everything should be done according to the rules. Three hundred yuan is nothing to a person like him with a fixed income!"

Old Mrs. Zhou's sharp words pierced Zhou Xiaoyun's heart like a knife.

If the old bachelors in the village hadn't avoided Zhou Xiaoyun, Old Lady Zhou would have used her as a bargaining chip to exchange for money.

After all, who would be willing to pay the bride price for a daughter with a burden?

However, Ma Chang is an exception, and the relationship between the two does not seem to be simple.

"If he dares not to marry you, I have my own way to make him bow his head. I will report him and tell him how he frequently comes and goes from our house and how he has private contact with you. Everyone knows about your love affair. As a public official, how can he afford such gossip? Three hundred dollars is just a drop in the bucket for him."

Old Mrs. Zhou glared at Zhou Xiaoyun, spat, then turned and quickly walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner for her son, leaving the room filled with indifference and disdain.

……

On the other side, Xu Xiufang walked into the house happily, and the rich aroma of food in the air instantly surrounded her.

She walked forward excitedly and saw her sister Xu Xiaohua concentrating on cooking a pot of fragrant pork ribs.

Xu Xiufang asked curiously, "Sister, what's your secret to making these ribs so fragrant?"

After saying that, she couldn't wait to pick up the bowl and chopsticks, and put several pieces of golden ribs into the bowl.

Xu Xiaohua smiled as gentle as the spring breeze and patiently explained: "The secret is to first fry the rice, star anise and a little salt together until fragrant, then crush them and wrap them around the ribs. This way the steamed ribs will be extra flavorful and so fragrant that people can't stop eating."

She brought a bowl of carefully selected spareribs to the old locust tree in front of her house and called out, "Xiaobao, come and try it. These are spareribs that Auntie made especially for you."