Stepmother

    Sister Zhong sighed and said, "Why didn't you make a fuss. The commotion was so big that even the police were alarmed. The police took the staff who sold rat poison to the hospital and asked him to identify who bought it. Rat poison. The sales clerk recognized my dad at a glance.

    "Dad bought the rat poison himself, and he drank it. The police told Zhao Yin that she was not allowed to falsely accuse her neighbors or harass her neighbors, or else they would be punished. When she catches her, Zhao Yin is honest."

    "No?" Song Zhaodi didn't believe it, "It's not like my cousin's style."

    Sister Zhong looked embarrassed.

    Zhong Jianguo pushes Song Zhaodi.

    Song Zhaodi asked: "Sister-in-law, there are no outsiders here. Is there anything you can't tell Jianguo and me? You are our closest people."

    "I don't have the face to tell you." Sister-in-law Zhong remembered what happened in the past few days, and her head buzzed, "Zhao Yin asked her neighbor to lose money, but your elder brother stopped him, Zhao Yin will ask your elder brother for money."

    Zhong Jianguo affirmed: "Brother gave it."

      She has to give her fifty dollars. Your elder brother agreed."

    Zhong Jianguo frowned, his expression unchanged: "Why?"

    "I asked your brother the same thing." Sister Zhong said, "Your brother said that Zhao Yin will retire next year, we don't have land here, Zhong Shengli is not married, and there is no job at home, she works every day. Move a bench, sit at our door and curse, and our days will be over."

    Song Zhaodi went on to say: "My cousin is an elder. The elders scold the younger generation. The Revolutionary Committee can't control it, and the police can't control it either. Unless the eldest brother's family moves."

    "Your eldest brother said the same thing." Sister-in-law Zhong said these bad things, her eyes were red, "My mother and father were afraid of Zhao Yin's trouble, I came over yesterday and heard about it Just tell me, don't give Zhao Yin money.

    "If Zhao Yin scolds us, my mother will come over and scold Zhao Yin. Your eldest brother does not agree, tell my mother it is settled. Don't let me tell you."

    Zhong Jianguo's father died, Zhong Jianguo will not give Zhao Yin money again. Don't tell Zhong Jianguo? Zhong Jianguo understood: "Brother, do you want to pay the fifty dollars?"

    Sister Zhong shook her head: "No, no. I tell you this, I hope Jianguo can think of a way to make Zhao Yin shut up without giving money."

      As far as I know, this is also normal. Many cadres have served for 30 years, and the unit will give them a place where they can arrange their children."

    Zhong Jianguo nodded: "Zhao Di is right."

    "Then we can only admit it?" Sister Zhong was not reconciled.

    Zhong Dawa tugged Song Zhaodi's sleeve twice: "Mother, don't give me money."

    "Neither of us want to give it." Song Zhaodi patted his head, "Go to grandpa's house later, don't snicker."

    Zhong Jianguo: "It's already here." Pointing to the tube tower in front of him.

    Sister Zhong raised her head and patted Song Zhaodi's arm quickly: "The one in front is Zhao Yin's daughter."

      years old, the youngest child looks like seven or eight years old: "We came so late after a circle on purpose, why did they come so late?"

    "The old man and Zhao Yin went to her house and broke her leg on the way back. She didn't mention the medical expenses. It would be good to be here today." Sister Zhong said, "I guess it is her. Challenging Zhao Yin to ask us for money."

    Song Zhaodi tutted: "It's really unconscionable, and I'm not afraid of being punished by God."

    "It has already happened." Sister Zhong said, "the eldest son is a bit stupid, he is twelve years old and still in the first grade. The second is a daughter, I don't know what it is, I didn't listen to Zhao Yin and her Neighbors mentioned it. The youngest fell ill every three days."

    Song Zhaodi opened her mouth and couldn't believe it: "Why don't you do something good and give your family some virtue?"

    "If she can think of this and Zhao Yin asks us for money, she will stop her mother." Sister Zhong said, "Zhao Yin loves her daughter the most, and sometimes she has to step aside for victory. stand."

    Song Zhaodi: "I have always had doubts, but every time I want to ask, I forget to ask. I heard my mother say that Zhao Yin's original husband died, and she married into our family. How could the people of her ex-husband's family agree to her remarriage with her daughter?"

    "At that time the civil war was not over, the society was not as strict as it is now, and nothing was allowed to be done." Sister Zhong said, "I heard from my mother that people often died at that time, and I took care of myself. No one cares who Zhao Yin marries. Besides, what she took away was a daughter, not a son, and the family would like to have one less person."

    Song Zhaodi thought for a while: "You mean Zhao Yin has given birth to a son?"

    "Your mother didn't say anything?" Sister Zhong asked.

    Song Zhaodi: "My cousin, all my relatives don't bother to mention her."

    "I don't know either. My mother said that Zhao Yin gave birth to two sons to that family." Sister Zhong said, "The daughter she took is the eldest, and the two sons are your brother and Jianguo. Almost big."

    Song Zhaodi was curious: "Sister-in-law, let's not go upstairs first. Tell me, how does your mother know so well?"

    "When I married Wei Guo, my mother and my father asked someone to inquire about the Zhong family." Sister Zhong said, "My brother disagrees, saying that the situation of the Zhong family is too bad. It's complicated. My mother told me, don't be afraid, if Zhao Yin dares to bully me, she will bring my aunt and aunt to beat Zhao Yin. "

    Zhong Jianguo turned his head to look at Song Zhaodi: "Why are you holding back?"

    "You are holding back your pregnancy." Song Zhaodi glared at him and said to Sister-in-law Zhong, "Sister-in-law, ask your brother to go to my cousin's ex-husband's village and tell the villagers. , our two families give my cousin fifty yuan a month. My cousin still has a retirement salary. "

    Sister Zhong wanted to ask what it meant, when she thought that Zhao Yin was pestering them like a leech, it was Qian who was making trouble: "This, this is not good?"

    "She is in the first year of junior high school, and we are in the fifteenth year, so there is nothing wrong." Song Zhaodi said, "If you are kind to her, she will not be grateful to us, and she will think that we are stupid and rich."

    Sister Zhong saw Zhao Yin's two grandsons like that, and never dared to do anything wrong: "I'll go back and ask my parents."

    "Okay." Song Zhaodi and Zhong Jianguo have high wages, giving Zhao Yin 50 yuan a year is nothing to them, she just doesn't want Zhao Yin to be cheap.

    If Sister-in-law Zhong is unwilling, Song Zhaodi does not want to force it. For fifty dollars, it is not Song Zhaodi's original intention to force Sister-in-law Zhong to do what she is unwilling to do.

    Arriving at the door of Zhong's house, Song Zhaodi did not forget to turn around and instruct the children: "Please hold back when you go in, don't laugh."

    "Mother, we know." Zhong Dawa pushed her, "Let's go, go, come in."

    Sister Zhong turned back and said, "I can't stand in the room."

    "Then I'll take a few children outside." Song Zhaodi picked it up very quickly, "You and Jianguo go in."

    Song Zhaodi had an impression of this cake building. When the original owner came, it was also at this time that everyone in the cake building was cooking, and the whole corridor was full of fireworks.

    The same is true today, the person opposite Zhong's house is cooking on the stove. Seeing Song Zhaodi look at her, she nodded and smiled subconsciously. She glanced at the black armband on her sleeve, realized it shouldn't, and said, "Are you Jianguo's daughter-in-law?"

    "Yes." Song Zhaodi glanced at the room, and seeing that it was full of people, she turned around and asked the woman who was cooking, "Who is there?"

    The woman froze for a moment: "You don't know? No, you don't know?"

    "I only know my eldest brother and my cousin's family." Song Zhaodi said, "Jian Guo's stepmother is my cousin."

    The woman nodded: "I know this, Victory's mother said it. You married Jianguo, and she didn't lead you to know any relatives?"

    "My aunt doesn't like me, and I don't like her either. We hate each other." Song Zhaodi was afraid of recruiting Zhao Yin, so she walked up to the woman and whispered, "She is so careless, Aren't you afraid that her victory won't win her daughter-in-law?"

    Women hate Zhao Yin very much, and seeing that Song Zhaodi does not like it, they say: "She and Shengli have jobs, and there are no old people to support at home. With such good conditions, the girls in the city are not willing to marry , go to the countryside to find a daughter-in-law, and she can pick whatever she wants. As long as she can afford food stamps, oil stamps and cloth stamps."

    "No wonder." Song Zhaodi glanced at the room and heard someone mention the time, "Does it pay attention to time when burying dead people here?"

    The woman also heard the words in the opposite room: "Before twelve o'clock. It is almost eleven o'clock, and I will go to the cemetery in a while." The voice fell, Zhong Jianguo held the photo, Zhong Weiguo held came out with the urn.

    Song Zhaodi quickly waved to the children and whispered, "Follow your aunt, hold hands, don't get lost."

    "Mother, we know." Erwa was curious, "Grandpa is in that box?"

    Song Zhaodi nodded: "Don't talk, follow." Holding the second baby in one hand and the third baby in the other, he followed the army downstairs. At the intersection, Song Zhaodi was stopped by Sister Zhong.

    Song Zhaodi wondered: "Aren't you going?"

    "We women can only be sent here." Sister Zhong said, "The rules here are that only men can go to bury people."

    Song Zhaodi really didn't know this rule, so she didn't move forward when she saw Zhao Yin, "Then let's go home now?"

    "I was going to her house for dinner." Sister-in-law Zhong pointed to Zhao Yin, who was kneeling on the ground not far away, opened her throat, and cried with snot and tears, "Let's not go. , she can cry until the afternoon."

    Curiosity: "Why?"

    "I don't want to take care of the meal." Sister Zhong said, "Xiao Song, let's go home and cook, and we'll eat at our house later."

    Song Zhaodi nodded, walked a distance and said, "How does this make a child play like a house today?"

    "Although it is not allowed to burn paper and set off firecrackers, it is not as quiet as her house." Sister Zhong said, "People who don't know think that there is something wrong with the composition of our family, and they bury people secretly. Don't dare to disturb the neighbors."

    Song Zhaodi was curious: "Then why is it so quiet? I counted it just now, including the three Jianguo brothers, there are only eight adult men. There are only so many people in our Zhong family?"