Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 190 Two Wicked Children

Zhang Changyao looked at Zhang Kaiju, pointing to the child and placenta.

"Boss, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and bury the dead child."

Zhang Kaiju pushed Zhang Changguang, who was leaning against the door and had already fainted from fright.

"Dad, where should we bury him?" Zhang Changguang's hands and feet trembled as if he were being shaken.

"Wouldn't it be better to throw him into the deep trench?"

Zhang Kaiju slapped Zhang Changguang on the back of the head.

"Oh!" Zhang Changguang was hit and only then came to his senses.

They brought in a broken basket head without any handles from under the outer room.

They used a shovel to collect the baby and placenta together in a basket, then carried them out of the house.

"Dad, the baby's been born, do we still need to go to the clinic?"

Zhang Changyao used the water from the underground washbasin to wash his hands clean.

"Go, or people will die." Zhang Kaiju touched Sui Yumi's forehead.

When Zhang Changyao heard Zhang Kaiju say he was going, he went out of the house to hitch up the donkey cart.

After harnessing the donkey cart, they went inside and pulled a set of bedding from the pile of quilts to spread on the donkey cart.

"Young man, carry your sister-in-law to the car," Zhang Kaiju commanded Zhang Changyao from the ground.

"Dad, it's not that I don't want to hug my sister-in-law, it's just that my back is so sore from being hit by you that I can't use my strength."

My broken back is nothing to worry about, but please don't let my sister-in-law fall to the ground. She wouldn't have died otherwise, and now I'm going to kill her.

Zhang Changyao held his lower back with one hand, making a painful face.

"You two are such wicked children, good for nothing and good for nothing when it comes to food."

It's like it's made of paper, you can't hit it, you can't touch it.

Just like your damned mother, all you do is act pretentious all day long.

"If you can't carry it yourself, can the two of us lift it?"

Zhang Kaiju rolled his eyes in disgust and glared at Zhang Changyao.

"Dad, if you talk about Mom like that, I won't let you get away with it."

My mother has no shortcomings whatsoever in our Zhang family, especially in front of you.

She gave birth to four children for you, working tirelessly alongside you through hardship and poverty.

She stayed with you through the poorest and hardest times.

I was worried you'd get cold while working, so I put all the cloth in the house on you.

I was afraid you'd be hungry, so I scooped out all the dry food for you to eat, while I drank the rice porridge myself.

You hit her, and she never fights back; you scold her, and she never talks back.

If you dare say another bad word about my mother, I will disown you as my father.

Zhang Changyao turned around and was about to push the door open and leave. Compared to his father, his mother was the most important person in his heart.

"Son, don't be angry, come and help me quickly."

"Your mother is right, your mother is good. Even if your mother abandoned you, she would be better than me, her father, right?"

Seeing that Sui Yumi's head was tilted to one side, Zhang Kaiju reluctantly spoke softly to Zhang Changyao.

Zhang Changyao estimated that it was about time, so he stopped arguing with Zhang Kaiju.

He tightened his pants again, holding back his energy.

He bent down, picked up Suiyumi, carried her out of the house, and placed her on the blanket on the donkey cart.

"Big brother, you're back just in time. You and Dad go ahead, I'll go back and take care of Guiye and Guibao."

Zhang Changyao finally waited for Zhang Changguang to return and handed him the reins of the donkey cart.

"Changyao, I have no money. Your sister-in-law gave it all to Guanshu."

Zhang Changguang held onto the reins of the donkey cart, refusing to move, and looked at Zhang Changyao with a pitiful expression.

"Brother, I have already given Dad his pension for this year."

Dad said you should use it first, and pay him back when you have the money later.

Although Zhang Changyao was reluctant, he still had to tell Zhang Changguang that he had no money.

"Get out of here! You're always acting like a bully; you can't even keep an eye on your own money."

Zhang Kaiju got into the car, covered Sui Yumi with a blanket, kicked Zhang Changguang, and told him to hurry up and leave.

"All you ever do is talk about my older brother, as if you're any better than him."

"If I hadn't given you retirement money, both of you would be penniless."

Zhang Changyao muttered something under his breath, his body already too weak to support him as he leaned against the wall, seeing stars.

After resting for a bit, I took a deep breath and strode home.

He entered the house, collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and fell into a deep sleep.

"Zhang Changyao, you did alright this time, you're not stupid, you didn't go with them."

Yang Wuni came over, wanting to chat with Zhang Changyao, but heard that Zhang Changyao had already started snoring.

"How exhausted is he? He doesn't even have time to say a word."

Yang Wuni pulled the blanket over Zhang Changyao and then gave him a pillow to rest his head on.

When she took his hand, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Wu Ni, what's wrong?"

Yang Deshan was boiling water in the outer room when he heard Yang Wuni crying, so he quickly pushed open the door to see what was wrong.

"Uncle, look, Zhang Changyao's hands are covered in big blisters."

The flesh in my hands is all stuck together; it won't heal unless it's separated!

Yang Wuni raised Zhang Changyao's hand for Yang Deshan to see.

"Oh! This silly child, he risked his life to earn money and used it all for his father's retirement."

His father then gave the money to his mistress, his eldest daughter-in-law, who was keeping a lover.

"God is blind! Why doesn't He let all those who bullied Changyao die a horrible death?"

After Yang Deshan finished cursing, he went to the floor of the outer room to scoop out the ashes from the bottom of the pot, brought them in, and let them cool before using them.

Use scissors to cut the piece of cloth that Yang Wuni had straightened into pieces the size of a fingertip.

He wet the cloth, covered both sides with soot from the bottom of the pot, and then sandwiched it between Zhang Changyao's fingers.

Yang Wuni untied Zhang Changyao's pants from his spine so he could get a good night's sleep.

Zhang Changyao slept for a day and a night before waking up. The first thing he did upon waking was to check on the donkey's rear end.

Yang Deshan had already used the method given to him, coating the donkey's rear end with layers upon layers of soot from the bottom of a pot.

Donkeys are large animals, more resilient than humans; the scabs on their buttocks scabbed over the next day.

"Uncle, Wu Ni, I still need to find a way to earn money. These few dozen yuan are not enough for the New Year."

During the meal, Zhang Changyao spoke with Yang Deshan and Yang Wuni.

"Changyao, I have twenty yuan here. This fifty yuan was left here by your father."

He gave it to me the day before he left, saying I should keep it so that you two could use it if you ever had any difficulties.

Yang Deshan took all the money out of his pocket and handed it to Yang Wuni.

"Uncle, Wu Ni and I can't take your and Dad's money."

Keep this money; I'll borrow it from you again when I'm in trouble.

"You've given us both, so if our family ever faces real difficulties, we'll truly be helpless."

Zhang Changyao took the money from Yang Wuni's hand and stuffed it back into Yang Deshan's shirt pocket.

"Changyao, you're right. I'll keep it for now."

We'll use this when we're really short of money later.

Yang Deshan patted his shirt pocket, looking at Zhang Changyao and Yang Wuni with a loving expression.

"Uncle, I want to make sugar popcorn to sell in town tomorrow. My sister-in-law taught me and Wu Ni how to make it."

If anything goes wrong, tell us both.

Zhang Changyao unfolded the crumpled paper with illegible writing from his shirt pocket.

He pressed his face against the paper riddled with holes, trying to decipher each word.

"Changyao, I know all of your sister-in-law's secret recipes. You don't need to look at the paper."

Go buy a packet of saccharin tomorrow, and I'll teach you how to make it step by step.