Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 124 A Great Cause for the Nation, How Many Grains of Rice Can a Little Sparrow Carry?

Zhang Changyao turned around and said to Yang Wuni, "You know your wife isn't afraid of making things worse."

"Okay, okay, okay, know when to stop. Don't turn a two-legged person into a four-legged animal."

Yuxiu, you can go home and discuss it with your parents.

"Now that you've received your due, the Wang family won't dare look down on you anymore."

Yang Wuni finally relented, and Yuxiu happily went home.

"Zhang Gou'er, why are you so good to Yuxiu? You're even better to her than to me."

When your father bullied me, I never saw you grab a kitchen knife and fight him to the death.

After dinner, Yang Wuni sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and sewed shoe soles.

"Yang Wuni, you can't call me that, Dad will scold you if he hears it."

When I was little, kids my age all called me Zhang Gou'er, just like Hou Da Yanjing.

My dad carried a pitchfork and chased them all over the village, beating them up.

"Otherwise, all the kids in our village have nicknames, why don't I? That's because people can't afford to mess with my dad," Zhang Changyao said coldly.

"Zhang Changyao, call him Zhang Changyao, is that alright now?" Yang Wuni pouted.

"Wu Ni, you're young, so you just can't grasp the key points of things."

If Yuxiu were to fight with my father, I wouldn't side with her.

No matter how my father treats me, he is still my father, the father who gave me life and raised me.

He hit me, scolded me, and disliked me; that was out of hatred for my mother.

After that period, he still had to feed me, give me drinks, and take care of my health.

He went down the mine to dig coal and carried coal—such tiring work—but he never told us about it when he got home.

It costs seven yuan a month, and I spend five yuan on school fees.

I could really eat a lot back then; my stomach was never empty.

The white flour distributed by the coal mine was something my father and older brother couldn't bear to eat.

We always wait until Saturday or Sunday when I come back to eat together.

There are no parents who are always wrong; there are only children who cannot see the hardships their parents have endured.

Sometimes I hate him too. I get angry because he's uncultured, arrogant, and unreasonable.

Then I thought, "That's why my father is uneducated; I'm educated."

If I were to become like them, wouldn't all my studies have been in vain?

Sigh! Oh well, if I just bear with it, Dad will get old; if I give in, Dad will be gone.

Then you'll want them to hit you and yell at you, but there'll be no one around.

Zhang Changyao spoke in a way that Yang Wuni couldn't quite understand, looking dejected.

"Oh! Then I should be nicer to my dad too, because who knows, he might be gone one day?"

Yang Wuni pricked her hand and put her finger in her mouth to suck the blood.

"Wu Ni, your father is different from my father. He didn't raise you. You can take care of him or you can ignore him."

Zhang Changyao frowned as he looked at Yang Wuni, afraid that his words would provoke her to bring his father over.

"Then my uncle can come to our house, right? He's so good to me; I would have frozen to death without him."

Yang Wuni put down the shoe sole in her hand and looked at Zhang Changyao with a pout.

"Uncle is fine, Uncle isn't annoying." Zhang Changyao replied with a silly grin to Yang Wuni.

"Corn is exchanged for wicker baskets... for winnowing trays..."

As dawn broke, Zhang Changyao drove his donkey cart to sell baskets and winnowing trays.

In just three days, the baskets and winnowing trays in the house were transformed into corn, millet, and sorghum.

"Zhang Changyao, no wonder you said you have skills that allow you to swallow gold in your sleeves."

"You're really amazing that we got all this grain without spending a single penny of our own money."

Yang Wuni arranged each type of grain on a board that Zhang Changyao had newly nailed to the wall to prevent mice from stealing it.

"Father! Please take care of our family! We don't have a single grain of food. How will the children survive?"

In Zhang Kaiju's courtyard, Sui Yumi led Guiye and Guibao, wailing loudly.

"Corn, you can't come looking for me just because Changyao's family got grain in exchange, can you?"

"Your father's reputation matters too. They've already separated their households and are living separately. How can you expect me to bring this up?"

Zhang Kaiju was picking tobacco leaves in the yard when Sui Yumi's antics forced him to lean against the wall, looking troubled.

"Dad, I never told you to go to Changyao's family to ask for it."

Your grandson and granddaughter are so hungry their faces are ashen. If you have the heart to do that, then we'll just keep going hungry.

I blame myself for being incompetent and marrying a useless man, which has caused my child to suffer as a result.

Or your mother will take the two of you and leave this heartless family.

"I'd marry a cripple or a blind man, as long as I don't starve."

Seeing that Zhang Kaiju couldn't make a fuss, Sui Yumi had no choice but to drag the two children away.

"Corn, don't go looking for Guan Shu again. Dad will go to Chang Yao's house to check on things later."

"Don't worry, Dad will never let Guibao and Guiye go hungry."

Since Yumi's last words had the desired effect, Zhang Kaiju was afraid that she would get involved with Guan Shu again, so he had no choice but to compromise.

"Dad, what are you saying? What woman would go astray unless she was forced into a corner?"

Even if your son is not the best, he is still better than Guan Shu, that crooked-mouthed and crooked-eyed man.

If you can get me anything I need, I definitely won't go to him.

Following Yumi, she led her two children away, her lips pursed as if she had won a battle.

Yang Wuni panicked when she heard what the two people were saying.

Carrying a shovel, they were about to go to the garden to dig holes to bury the grain.

"Wu Ni, stop hiding it. It's no use hiding it. Give us a little bit. Even if the adults are hungry, the children can't go hungry."

Zhang Changyao cherishes Guibao and Guiye, and he uses the children as an excuse to follow them around corn.

Even Zhang Changyao couldn't stand it, so he would give some money.

Yang Wuni put down the shovel and went inside, sitting angrily in the pile of grain.

Zhang Changyao picked up a bag and didn't even glance at Yang Wuni.

He jumped directly over the courtyard wall and placed it in front of Zhang Kaiju.

"Dad, take this to my eldest brother's house, but don't say I gave it to him," Zhang Changyao said, then turned and left.

"Zhang Changyao, didn't you notice? As long as our family has income, your sister-in-law will definitely come."

"Thinking he's so capable? Supporting eight families."

"Wu Ni, does she think she'll leave behind more than we do?"

At worst, I'll go cut willow branches and weave baskets and winnowing trays to exchange for grain.

Even with everyone working hard, only a small sparrow can snatch a few grains of rice.

"Your man can earn money, so it's just a matter of staying a few days less, right?"

Zhang Changyao held Yang Wuni in his arms, kissing her on the face and coaxing her.

"Third Uncle, Third Aunt, look what I bought for your family."

"Oh my! How come you two were kissing in broad daylight?"

Wang Fugui's large head squeezed through the window paper and peeked in.

He then pulled his head out and slammed it against the window frame with a loud bang.

"Zhang Changyao, stay behind me and don't come out. This kid is never coming to our house for good."

Yang Wuni, who was just angry with Zhang Changyao, was now protecting her husband despite being heavily pregnant.

"Wu Ni, do you really think I'm made of paper or clay?"

It's not that I can't beat anyone, it's that I don't like fighting.

"Using your hands and feet to subdue others like a thug from the mountains isn't real skill."

Zhang Changyao straightened up and pushed Yang Wuni behind him.

"Zhang Changyao, what will you use to subdue these illiterate idiots?"

Try lecturing them with grand principles and writing them down with a pen and pencil.

"You have to speak human language with people, dog language with dogs, and braying with donkeys."

Yang Wuni opened the door and looked at Wang Fugui, who was peeking into the room through the crack in the door, but dared not come in.

"Third Aunt, look what nice things I bought for your family!"

Wang Fugui handed the plastic sheet tucked under his armpit to Yang Wuni.

"Wang Fugui, stop with the nonsense and tell me, what brings you to my house this time?"