Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 356

Zhang Cuilan whispered in Zhao Tiegang's ear, "You better keep quiet. I'll make the decision. Don't interfere, or I'll go back to my parents' home and leave you alone."

Zhang Cuilan immediately began to threaten him. Zhao Tiegang wanted to say something, but seeing his wife and elderly mother's increasingly dark faces, he craned his neck, feeling that he would be beaten if he said a few more words. In the end, he didn't say the words he was about to say, and silently prayed in his heart: Second brother, pray for your own good fortune, I can't help you.

It was afternoon, and Wang Guixiang was preparing a meal for the whole family. She was cursing and swearing as she stormed into the room and woke Zhang Cuilan up, saying, "Cuilan, come with me to cook."

Zhang Cuilan refused to do it. She was lying in bed sleeping comfortably and didn't want to do any work. "Mom, you can handle the cooking by yourself. Why did you have to call me? You're just making me suffer!"

Before, when her second sister-in-law was at home, she did all the housework. Zhang Cuilan had never done this kind of work every day before, and she couldn't stand it after only a few days.

Wang Guixiang's temper flared up. "What do you mean by that? As a daughter-in-law, shouldn't you help your mother-in-law with some of the cooking? How can I possibly manage to cook for such a large family?"

Zhang Cuilan pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to pay attention to what Wang Guixiang was saying. She said somewhat irritably, "Mom, why don't you invite Second Sister-in-law back? The family absolutely cannot function without her."

Wang Guixiang frowned and said, "You want me to go and invite her back? Don't even think about it. She'd better never set foot in my house again."

Wang Guixiang couldn't get Zhang Cuilan to do anything, which made her so angry that she wanted to hit her. What kind of situation is this? What kind of daughter-in-law makes her mother-in-law do chores?

Wang Guixiang went to cook while grumbling. The meal she made tonight was very simple: a plate of stir-fried greens, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a plate of cured meat. She was busy for almost an hour and was exhausted.

Zhang Cuilan is getting lazier and lazier. I need to have a serious talk with Tie Gang another day and tell him to keep a closer eye on his wife.

Just as Wang Guixiang finished preparing the meal, Zhao Tingxu returned, carrying a pot of wine. His face was flushed, clearly indicating that he had been out having a good time.

Zhao Tingxu glanced at Zhao Tiesheng's room, frowned, and called out to Wang Guixiang, who was busy in the kitchen, "What's going on? Was Tiesheng's room burgled? It's so messy inside, with clothes all over the floor."

Wang Guixiang rolled her eyes and said irritably, "You don't know what your second son did. Yesterday, he actually went to Chunqin's workplace and caused trouble, almost causing Chunqin to lose her job. He even took 9000 yuan from Chunqin. Do you think that's reasonable? We've raised Chunqin for so many years, and we've never let her suffer such injustice."

Zhao Tingxu immediately thought of the fact that Zhao Chunqin had taken 40,000 yuan from Zhao Tiesheng, and he immediately felt a headache coming on; this was another troublesome matter.

"How could Tiesheng be so foolish? Even if he wanted money, he shouldn't have caused trouble at Chunqin's workplace. She finally graduated from university and found a civil service job. If she loses her job because of causing trouble, I'll break his legs."

Wang Guixiang snorted and said, "I think this is an ingrate. We've raised it for so long, but we still can't tame it. It's always biased towards that outsider, Cheng Jinxiang."

Zhao Tiegang wanted to say something, but after a long silence, he still didn't say anything. Cuilan had just told him not to get involved in this matter, otherwise he would never get the four or five thousand yuan back.

But to be honest, his second brother wasn't an ingrate. He had seen all the sacrifices his brother had made for the family over the years. Moreover, his second brother had asked their mother and younger sister for money several times without success, which forced his brother to cause trouble at his younger sister's workplace.

Zhao Yongbo was already starving. He stared at the food on the table, his mouth watering. Zhao Tiegang went over to wash the dishes, served the rice, and patted his son's head. "Good son, eat up."

As soon as Zhao Tiegang spoke, Zhao Yongbo couldn't help but swallow hard, shoveled down several mouthfuls of rice, and then picked up several pieces of fragrant cured meat to eat.

Seeing her grandson eating so heartily, Wang Guixiang's eyes softened. She put a few more pieces of cured meat into Zhao Yongbo's bowl, patted his back, and said, "My dear grandson, eat slowly. No one will take it from you. All of this is yours."

As evening approached, Zhao Tiesheng, having worked all day, slowly returned to the Zhao family home carrying his hoe, a smile on his lips, clearly in a good mood.

Yesterday I got 9000 yuan back from my younger sister, which made me much richer. Now I have money to build a house, and everything is going in a good direction.

When Zhao Tiesheng arrived at his doorstep, he was stunned. He saw that his room door was wide open, the bed and blankets inside were all thrown on the floor, and the wardrobe drawers were all open, clearly indicating that someone had rummaged through them.

Zhao Tiesheng's first thought was that a thief had broken into his house. Had the few dozen yuan he had left in his room also been taken?

Zhao Tiesheng hurriedly went inside to check and found his clothes scattered all over the ground, along with several footprints.

The room was a mess, and the few dozen yuan of pocket money he had saved up was gone. Zhao Tiesheng was completely stunned and didn't react for a while.

No, something is very wrong.

When he came back, he saw that everyone in the family was eating, but his room was so messy, and his parents were eating so calmly.

Zhao Tiesheng immediately ran over and questioned, "Mom and Dad, was our house burgled? Were your rooms ransacked by a thief?"

Zhao Tiesheng questioned him, while Zhao Tiegang lowered his head and dared not speak. Zhang Cuilan also remained silent. It wasn't her room that was ransacked, so she didn't want to attract attention and end up doing more harm than good.

Zhao Tingxu ate his meal as if it were nothing important.

Wang Guixiang glanced at the people around him, none of them saying a word. They were quiet now, but once he had money, they would all be incredibly eager to make money.

Wang Guixiang put down her chopsticks, looked at Zhao Tiesheng, and said irritably, "You still have the nerve to ask me? Why don't you look at what you've done? You actually went to your little sister's workplace to cause trouble, ha, and almost made her lose her job."

Zhao Tiesheng was puzzled as to why Wang Guixiang would ask these questions. He subconsciously replied, "Actually, what my little sister told you? She came to complain to you again!"

Zhao Tiesheng felt a chill run through him. Just yesterday, his younger sister had sworn she wouldn't cause him any more trouble, but that day hadn't even come yet...

But what disappointed Zhao Tiesheng even more was that... He looked at his messy room, then ran to his father's room, pushed open the door, and saw that it was also clean and tidy, with no signs of being ransacked.

Zhao Tingxu found Zhao Tiesheng's behavior very uncomfortable and shouted, "You brat, what are you doing?"

Unconvinced, Zhao Tiesheng went to Zhao Tiegang's door again, pushed it open, and found the room clean and tidy, without any signs of being ransacked.

Zhao Tiesheng froze on the spot, his eyes filled with disbelief. Why was his room the only one in the entire house that had been ransacked? His belongings were carelessly thrown on the ground, and even his money was gone.

Zhao Tiesheng had a vague answer in his heart. He walked up to Wang Guixiang in a daze, gritted his teeth, and his eyes were a little moist. "Mom, did you do this to my room?"

Zhang Cuilan felt the time was right; she had to say a few words for her mother-in-law. "Second brother, how could you cause trouble at your younger sister's workplace yesterday? Do you know how disappointed Mom and Dad are by what you did?"

Before Zhang Cuilan could finish speaking, Zhao Tiesheng interrupted her sharply, "I didn't ask you, so don't speak!"

Zhang Cuilan was inexplicably scolded. She was stunned and felt a little scared when she saw Zhao Tiesheng's frightening manner. But when she came to her senses, Zhang Cuilan's temper flared up. Why was he scolding her like that?

Just as Zhang Cuilan was about to retort, Zhang Tiegang pulled her back. He shook his head, signaling Zhang Cuilan to stop talking, and then leaned closer and whispered, "You should say less. It was Mom who was in the wrong to do this."

To prevent the children from being affected, Zhao Tiegang took Zhao Yongbo out. The children were innocent; the adults' argument frightened them.

Seeing her beloved grandson leave, Wang Guixiang frowned and said, clearly displeased, "Zhao Tiesheng, what's wrong with you? There are children in here. If you scare my precious grandson, I'll never forgive you."

Zhao Tiesheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His beloved grandson, his beloved grandson again—wasn't his own daughter also his mother's beloved grandson? Why hadn't he seen how much his mother cared for the goose? Was it just because the goose was a girl?

You know, Da'e is currently staying at her aunt's house and hasn't come back, but her mother has no intention of asking Da'e and Jinxiang to come back at all. Instead, she's urging him to get a divorce quickly and leave both daughters to Jinxiang to take care of, saying that she wants to marry a new wife and have a son to carry on the family line. Zhao Tiesheng laughed when he heard this. He and Jinxiang have been together for almost ten years, how could they separate so easily? Even when Jinxiang got angry and went back to her parents' house, he never thought about getting a divorce.

Seeing Wang Guixiang's reaction, Zhao Tiesheng felt as if he had been doused with cold water, as if he were in an ice cellar, his whole body chilled.

"Mom, did you search my room? Why? What were you looking for? Were you looking for the nine thousand yuan I got back from my younger sister?"

Zhao Tiesheng asked stubbornly, even though he already had the answer in his heart, he wanted to hear his mother say it herself.

Wang Guixiang ate her rice and sneered, "You still think Chunqin is your little sister? If you really consider her your sister, then take the 9000 yuan back from that woman Cheng Jinxiang. Otherwise, don't acknowledge me as your mother, and get out of the Zhao family!"

If she doesn't keep an eye on things, this family will fall into chaos.

Although he knew the answer in his heart, hearing Wang Guixiang's words was like a knife, piercing Zhao Tiesheng's heart. In his mother's eyes, no matter what her second son did, he was wrong.

Zhao Tiesheng was still unwilling to give up. He looked at Zhao Tingxu and asked, "Dad, what about you? Do you think the same way as Mom?"

Zhao Tingxu said with a cold face, "Tiesheng, hurry up and get that nine thousand yuan back from Cheng Jinxiang. Consider this money as a tribute to your old man. Then go apologize to your younger sister and return her tea leaves. We'll consider this matter settled."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuilan's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly advised, "That's right, Second Brother, listen to Mom and Dad, quickly take the money back to them, and then apologize to your younger sister. You were wrong to do this; you shouldn't have gone to such extremes to cause trouble at her workplace."

She was still waiting for Zhao Tiesheng to bring the money back, and then for Wang Guixiang to return the five thousand yuan to her.

Zhao Tiesheng trembled, looking at the two people in front of him in disbelief. His own father and mother, by blood, were speaking so coldly. It was money that he and Jinxiang had worked so hard to earn, so what was wrong with him asking his younger sister for it back? But they felt that he shouldn't do it, that he should always give way to his younger sister and think of her. But what about him? Had they ever thought about him?

No! They never thought about themselves. In their eyes, only their younger sister and younger brother were their children. They considered themselves the second son nothing!

Enraged to the extreme, his eyes were red and his body was trembling, making him look like he had gone mad. With anger surging in his heart, Zhao Tiesheng glanced at the bowls on the dining table. None of them were his. He asked tentatively, "If I don't take out the money today, can I not sit down to eat?"

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng's red eyes, Wang Guixiang felt irritated. "How many times do I have to tell you? I want you to go to Cheng Jinxiang and get the nine thousand yuan back. This money belongs to the Zhao family. It was given to me by Chunqin as a gift, but she took it. Humph, if you still take that woman's side and don't hand over the money, then you can go and go with her. There's no bowl for you on this table, and you're not a member of the Zhao family. Get out and don't get in my way!"

Wang Guixiang was imprisoned twice, and both times Zhao Tiesheng gave birth to a wonderful daughter. As for Cheng Jinxiang, ever since she gave birth in the hospital, she didn't know what had gotten into her. She insisted on building a new house, and if she wasn't allowed to, she would go back to her parents' home. Now, the housework that Cheng Jinxiang used to do is now hers to do. And there's her beloved youngest daughter. She worked so hard to raise her and get her into university, but she almost lost her job because of this second son and his family. Sometimes, Wang Guixiang really felt that this second son was born to bring her bad luck.

Not only did her wife contradict her, but her daughter also repeatedly caused her to almost end up in jail. Wang Guixiang harbored deep resentment.

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng's stubborn look, she knew he was full of resentment. Wang Guixiang sneered and didn't tolerate him. She threw her chopsticks on Zhao Tiesheng's shoulder and angrily said, "If you're not satisfied, then get out of the Zhao family. I can't tolerate a god like you here."