Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 101

Zhao Tingming smoked his pipe for a while before slowly walking towards Wang Guixiang's house. When he arrived at the door, he could see a large crowd of people in the yard from afar.

The group was chattering away, and Zhao Tingming listened, feeling a bit annoyed. Most of them were just there to watch the show, but very few were actually trying to break up the fight or offer comfort.

Wang Guixiang wasn't very popular to begin with, and she didn't have much contact with the villagers. She was either sick or pretending to be sick every day, living a life of luxury, much like a pampered young lady from ancient times. She never did any work. Even when there was a production team, Wang Guixiang wouldn't work. Fortunately, there was relief food back then, so no one starved.

The women in the family were lazy, and the men, being the "heads of the household," didn't do any small chores or big ones, which resulted in Zhao Tingxu and Wang Guixiang having only so-so relationships in the village. It was only because the Zhao family members couldn't bear to see Wang Guixiang fall off the bed that they intervened.

Zhao Tingming angrily pushed through the crowd and went inside.

Wang Guixiang was crying and screaming on the kang (a heated brick bed), yelling, "I don't want to live anymore! I don't want to live anymore! Don't stop me, let me hang myself with a rope and it will save you trouble! The whole family hates me, I'm just the extra one! I worked so hard to raise six children, and the eldest, second eldest, and third eldest all got married. I may not have done anything great, but I've certainly put in a lot of effort!"

That second son's wife is shameless! She gave birth to a girl, and before I could say anything, she started making a scene and wanted to go back to her parents' home. I tried everything to reason with her, but she just brought her whole family over, caused a huge commotion, and went back. The third son's wife wanted to make dumplings for her child, so she went to Zhao Da'e's house to get some flour, but that brat got into a fight with her. The third son's wife couldn't bear the humiliation and also took her child and went back to her parents' home. Now only the eldest son's wife hasn't gone back to her parents' home yet. Maybe they should all go back together? This marriage is over, let's just break up. I don't want to live anymore, this is too much suffering.”

The three Zhao brothers, Zhao Tiebao, Zhao Tiesheng, and Zhao Tiegang, were all nearby. They cried and tried to comfort Wang Guixiang, saying, "Mom, it's all our fault. Please don't do anything rash..."

"Don't stop me, I don't want to live anymore..."

Zhao Tingming entered with a cold face, pushed aside the three Zhao brothers who were crying, and scolded Wang Guixiang: "No, sister-in-law, what are you doing? You're almost sixty years old, what's going on? What's the big deal, you're acting like you're going to kill yourself? You have no manners as an old person, no manners as a child. What is your family trying to do?"

It's almost the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year is just around the corner after Laba Festival. What are your children supposed to do with this suicidal act? What's the big deal? If you're really determined to die, just work harder, earn more money, and help your children more. You'll have everything you need. Let's not even talk about the distant future. If we were to exchange these three dilapidated rooms for four bright, spacious bungalows, even if you slapped your third son's wife twice, you couldn't drive her away..."

Zhao Laosan: "..."

Although it's harsh to hear, the logic is sound. While Zhao Laosan may be sponging off his parents, in reality, Zhao Tingxu has little left to sponge off. The old man Zhao Tingxu does the housework, and Wang Guixiang only cooks. The rest are simply ignored.

Originally, there were two other able-bodied people in the family: Cheng Jinxiang and Zhao Da'e.

Now, of the two laborers who were supposed to be working, one has gone back to her parents' home, and the other is staying at her aunt's house and won't be coming back.

Another able-bodied man, Zhao Tiesheng, has also been distracted lately. This has left the household without anyone to do the work. Before, when someone was working, Zhao Tiesheng's wife, Zhang Cuilan, would eat whatever was readily available, even just cornbread.