She was sure that Zhao Zheng was still angry about her absence from work for the past two days.
She didn't dare to think about omelets and meat. As long as she had burnt rice crusts, she would be satisfied.
Zhao Zhengdao said, "Borrow? Can you afford it? You're raising three children by yourself, and your old woman is lazy and greedy. What are you going to give her to pay you back?"
Zheng Chunmei was filled with grief from the bottom of her heart.
After her husband died, her life was not too difficult.
While taking care of the household, I also have to find a way to get food.
I thought Ma Dazhu could be relied upon, but it turned out that he was all show and no substance.
Not even as good as Zhao Laosan.
However, it was only a famine year. If the year was good, she would definitely be able to support the family when the child grew up.
"Uncle Zhao, I will definitely be able to pay it back!"
"Words are not enough, and your old woman is a scoundrel. I can't just go to your house and ask for food without any evidence, right?"
"Chunmei, it's not that your uncle doesn't want to help you. As the old saying goes, lend in times of need, not in times of poverty. Your family depends entirely on you, and I'm afraid you won't be able to survive this famine."
"I definitely won't lend you this food..."
Zheng Chunmei was desperate.
But what can we do?
Zhao Laosan was right. It is better to lend money in times of emergency than in times of need. There is only one immature male child in the family, and he is not capable of taking on any responsibility.
The old woman is lazy and only wants to eat some herbs occasionally. Who would dare to lend food to such a family?
She was extremely anxious, and then an idea flashed in her mind, "Uncle, how about I take care of you in your old age when my son Erdan grows up?"
She felt that Zhao Zheng would definitely agree.
He has fallen out with his family now and has no one to help him.
There will be no one to take care of you in your old age.
Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe are still young and will definitely have to marry again in the future.
Zhao Laosan would definitely agree to this proposal. "If you agree, I'll let Erdan recognize you as my godfather!"
Zhao Zheng said with a half-smile, "You think I'm stupid for raising a son for the Li family? Even if I really fall out with my family, I can't leave my property to outsiders. Do you understand?"
"Besides, I'm not old enough to die yet. It's not impossible for me to find another child to take care of me in my old age."
"Chunmei, you want food, but you're reluctant to spend the money. How can such a good thing be possible in this world?"
Zheng Chunmei was extremely confused.
She always felt that Zhao Laosan was hinting at her.
Could it be that he also wants to...
No, absolutely not. It's okay to let him take advantage of her, but how could she do such a shameless thing with an old man?
Although Ma Dazhu has many brothers in his family, at least he is not married, he is young, and he has good hunting skills.
Even if Ma Dazhu is not suitable, there are other people in the village. Zheng Chunmei is good-looking, has a big butt, and is easy to bear children. There will definitely be someone willing to marry her.
"Uncle, you know my family's situation. I really can't come up with anything valuable..."
Zhao Zheng waved his hand. "I don't want to hear about your family's good or bad. Whose life is easy these days? Only yours is miserable? There are many widows and widowers in the village, and they are much worse off than you. Go home."
Zheng Chunmei clenched her fists, feeling angry and annoyed.
She sacrificed so much and worked so hard to control his head, but she couldn't even get a meal of rice.
What a piece of shit.
She even thought arrogantly that as long as she was willing, there would be plenty of people to take over.
But when he smelled the fragrance coming from inside the door, his feet seemed to be rooted and he couldn't move at all, and his eyes were wide open.
My mind is full of desire for food.
Zhao Zheng looked at her distracted appearance and decided to add more firewood. "Zhao Di, is the meat ready?"
"Almost done."
"Then stew it a little longer. It will taste good only when it is tender. Then serve it with some corn rice and broth. You can eat it until you are full of it." Zhao Zheng said lazily.
Zheng Chunmei's head was buzzing.
As expected, I was right. There was actually meat stewing inside.
When she thought that Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe, two unlucky women who brought bad luck to their husbands, could eat meat while she was still scheming for a piece of wild vegetable cake, her jealousy reached its peak.
She turned around with difficulty and asked, "Uncle Zhao, how come there is meat in your house?"
"Hey, why haven't you left yet?" Zhao Zheng asked knowingly, then lied, "Oh, I went to Jinji Mountain to chop firewood a few days ago and caught a frozen pheasant. I was going to sell it, but since my family hasn't had any meat in a while, I decided to keep it for a snack."
"Damn Zhao Laosan, how can he be so lucky?" Zheng Chunmei cursed in her heart: "Ma Dazhu is a loser, he's a hunter, but he's not even as good as an old man!"
After cursing in her heart, she forced a smile, "Uncle Zhao is so lucky."
"It's okay." Zhao Zheng scratched his ears. "Chunmei, it's getting late. I won't keep you for meat."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Chunmei's eyes turned green.
Isn't this clearly an attempt to seduce her?
When she thought of the pheasant stewing just across the wall, she felt like ants were crawling all over her body.
"Uncle, can you let me taste it, just a mouthful, even just a mouthful of soup." Zheng Chunmei said with difficulty.
"I have a big family." Zhao Zheng started pulling again.
He knew that Zheng Chunmei looked down on him, but he still insisted that Zheng Chunmei "kneel down" to talk to him.
He sat up straight and stared at Zheng Chunmei. "Chunmei, tell me the truth, were the chickens raised by Xiao'e stolen by your Erdan?"
Zheng Chunmei was startled and shook her head subconsciously, "No!"
Zhao Zheng smiled faintly, "It seems that you haven't realized your mistake yet. Go back, you don't need to come here anymore."
Seeing Zhao Zheng driving him away again.
Zheng Chunmei became anxious. She finally understood why Zhao Zheng had been playing tricks on her again and again. It turned out to be because of the "stealing chicken" incident.
If she admitted it, would she owe Zhao Laosan even more "debt"?
But if she didn't admit it, she would never be able to get more food from the Zhao family again.
If the old woman knew about this, she would definitely blame her.
She was in a state of confusion, and after a while, she revealed a trace of shame. "Yes, I'm sorry, Uncle Zhao. My child is ignorant and has caused trouble for your family!"
"You shouldn't apologize to me." Zhao Zheng said calmly; "You're crying for the wrong person."
Zheng Chunmei was stunned for a moment, then reacted quickly and said with difficulty, "Then I'll go apologize to Xiao'e?"
Zhao Zheng didn't say anything. He was teasing Zheng Chunmei just to get revenge.
He has food, so what woman can't get it?
Not to mention a widow who has given birth to three children, even if it is a teenage girl, as long as he wants, there are people who will come to his door.
Zheng Chunmei knew that if she didn't apologize to Zhang Xiaoe today, not only would she not be able to continue to come to the Zhao family for free food and drinks, but Zhao Laosan would definitely continue to make things difficult for her.
She gritted her teeth, pushed open the middle door, looked at Zhang Xiao'e sitting in front of the earthen stove, and said shamefacedly, "Xiao'e, half a year ago, the chickens you raised were stolen and eaten by my Erdan."
"I'm sorry. I, as a mother, failed to discipline my child well and caused you trouble."
"Wait, wait until the harvest is good, and I'll double the compensation, okay?"