kvmb Chapter 812 60 Yaozu Sister Control Group 49
Chapter 812 60 Yaozu Sister Control Group 49
After coming in, she went to meet up with Yun Sheng, Bai Qiu, and the others. It had been a while since she had been here, so she wanted to chat with them and relax.
That is, on the first day back, people came to visit. They were all relatives of cadres. They had started visiting each other after Suixin's one-month celebration. Xiao Yun was actually not good at these visits, but she couldn't refuse to receive them when they came.
Fortunately, these people are all very tactful and socially aware. They usually come in the morning to sit and chat for a bit, as a way of keeping in touch before the New Year. They generally don't come in the afternoon, knowing that people with children take a break.
And so, Lunar New Year's Eve arrived in no time. After putting up the couplets and the character "福" (good fortune) in the morning, Xiao Jiabao went home by himself in the afternoon, leaving only the three of them at home.
Xiao Yun immediately took out a temperature-regulating talisman and stuck it inside the house. Then he started preparing delicious food, all of which Bai Qiu and the others had made in their space. Of course, water was always boiling in the stove. Otherwise, it would be a bit unreasonable for them to be the only ones not cooking while everyone else was preparing New Year's Eve dinner and smoke was billowing from their chimneys.
Soon, the table was filled with dishes from both northern and southern China, as well as monkey wine and freshly squeezed juice.
Now that she had connected with the Heavenly Dao, she no longer hid anything. The food was made with low-grade spiritual rice and ingredients that could be absorbed by mortal bodies.
She's using this to make baby food for Suixin now, which can gradually improve her constitution. Even if she can't cultivate, she'll achieve twice the results with half the effort when practicing martial arts in the future.
The couple also had a small drink; Hu Xuan drank diluted monkey wine, while Xiao Yun drank juice. She was still breastfeeding, so they had to be careful.
While eating and drinking, Hu Xuan said, "The food in the human world is indeed delicious, and it's also interesting to get along with people. No wonder so many demon cultivators like to run to the human territory."
Moreover, it's very good for developing one's character. You wouldn't believe it, even in that tiny commune, it was like a mini-court, divided into several factions, constantly scheming against each other. But watching them go through all that trouble was quite entertaining.
Fox Xuan had been to human territory before, specifically the feudal dynasties. Although he had never personally experienced officialdom, he had seen it. Moreover, he had also studied a lot of film and television materials given to him by Xiao Yun, and had already learned a lot about human relationships.
In addition, his divine sense is so strong that he can tell a person's character at a glance, and even guess their thoughts from their micro-expressions. So he just watches the show; as long as they don't provoke him, he won't do anything, nor will he help or make things difficult for anyone.
When they were working on the gold mine, a deputy director from the commune with powerful connections tried to sabotage him and steal his credit. He was directly sent to a labor camp, along with that person's connections in the county.
That kind of person is definitely not clean; you can find out the truth every time you investigate. Because of this incident, he gained prestige in the commune, and everyone became much quieter.
Xiao Yun listened to him, occasionally chiming in with a few words of discussion. She wasn't worried at all that Hu Xuan wouldn't be able to get by in the human world. After all, he was a nine-tailed fox, with a mind more complex than his tails. If she went up against him, the other person would definitely be the one who suffered.
However, as long as Hu Xuan talks to her about work, she won't spoil the mood. She'll also offer some suggestions and come up with some insidious ideas, just to add some fun to the couple's relationship.
The family of three ate, drank, and chatted all night, and after midnight, they went to sleep after setting off firecrackers and eating dumplings.
Actually, setting off firecrackers is now prohibited, but the regulations in rural towns are much more relaxed than in big cities. Everyone feels that the New Year is not complete without setting off firecrackers, so they still do it.
They just lit the firecrackers, threw them at the door, and ran away. No one would stay outside to guard them. If the patrol came by, they wouldn't care if they couldn't catch the person.
There's no Spring Festival Gala yet, and no TV programs either. Even if I had the earliest black and white TV series in my storage space, it wouldn't be of any use. I'd be too sleepy to chat and just keep going.
Early the next morning, Hu Xuan's subordinates came to pay their respects. The first to arrive were Li Zheming and Zhang Jianzhong.
The two of them each brought a box of pastries, offered their New Year's greetings, and left. Xiao Yun and the others didn't go to any New Year's greetings places; they just rested at home for a day.
Although there is no annual leave in name, from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the fifth day, everyone actually doesn't have much to do. They just go to the office to show up once, and some don't even go, like Hu Xuan who is in charge.
After all, shops and other businesses are closed, and people are mostly exchanging New Year's greetings on the streets. Going to work is just a formality.
On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the family of three rode their sidecar back to Baijiatun. As soon as they entered the village, they saw that Zheng's house was in a mess and a lot of people were gathered at the door.
They only slowed down, but didn't stop, since they had been riding for a long time and it was quite cold, and they were afraid the child would get cold.
He continued riding his bike home, but when he probed inside with his divine sense, he saw a door panel in the middle of the main room with a corpse on it. It was Zheng Jinbao!
Didn't they say that Zheng's grandparents and parents still loved him? How come he's gone during the Lunar New Year?
Upon closer inspection, the body showed no obvious injuries, but the exposed skin appeared bluish-black, suggesting it had frozen to death.
This is a bit strange. Even if someone is mentally challenged, they still have basic physiological functions. It's impossible for them to go outside and freeze to death.
Furthermore, given how much the Zheng family dotes on this son/grandson, it's impossible that they wouldn't provide him with a heated kang (a traditional heated bed) or let him sleep in a room without one. It seems there's something fishy going on.
Xiao Yun used his divine sense to locate the little rat brother who was staying at the Zheng family's house and asked him directly what was going on.
After hearing the report from Little Mouse, Xiao Yun was genuinely surprised.
Here's what happened: The Zheng family stayed up until midnight last night. Zheng Jinbao was starving. When he saw Zheng Zhaodi bring in frozen dumplings, he reached out to grab them, but Zheng Laidi, who had come out to cook the dumplings with him, stopped him.
Zheng Zhaodi quickly took advantage of the break to put dumplings into the pot, but the fool was strong and Zheng Laidi couldn't stop him at all. He was thrown aside by Zheng Jinbao and then pounced on Zheng Zhaodi.
Zheng Zhaodi was completely unprepared and was pounced into the pot by him!
The pot contained boiling water, and the consequences were predictable. Zheng Zhaodi let out a scream as the scalding water instantly burned a large area of her skin.
Zheng Laidi was stunned by the scene. After regaining her senses, she screamed and pulled her sister outside to cool her down with the snow in the yard.
Inside the house, Zheng Jinbao was also scalded by the steam from the pot and started crying loudly. The rest of the Zheng family heard the commotion and rushed over. They only saw Zheng Jinbao because he had been burned. They cried out, "My Jinbao!" while frantically checking where he had been burned.
Meanwhile, Zheng Zhaodi, who was outside, was soaking wet and had red skin; she had fainted from the pain.
Zheng's father's face turned ashen, and he slapped Zheng Jinbao hard across the face, making Zheng Jinbao cry even louder.
When Zheng Laidi heard that her parents and grandparents in the house were only concerned about whether their grandson/son had been burned and no one cared about her, she felt a surge of anger. She rushed in and shouted that it was her older sister who had been burned, and asked her father to help take her older sister to Dr. Huang for a checkup.
Grandma Zheng replied, "Why go looking for bad luck during the New Year! It's just a burn, just wipe it with snow and it'll be fine."
Zheng Laidi knew that it was not a good idea to go to see Doctor Huang on New Year's Eve, but she was more worried about her sister. She pleaded with her grandmother and mother, knowing that her grandfather and father would not move unless they spoke up.
Grandma Zheng was unmoved. Not only did she not send her eldest granddaughter to see a doctor, she also dragged Zheng Laidi to continue cooking dumplings because her grandson was hungry.
After Zheng Laidi finished cooking the dumplings, she rushed out to check on her sister, only to find that her sister was still unconscious in the snowdrift, her hands and face still stuck in the snow.
A chill ran through her; none of them had come out to check.
They quickly helped the person up and dragged them into the house. Once inside, no one offered to lend a hand; the family was already happily eating dumplings.
I felt colder than the freezing cold outside. When I saw her dragging her unconscious sister, not a single person came over to ask what was wrong.
Zheng Zhaodi developed a high fever in the middle of the night. Zheng Laidi was helpless because there was no medicine at home and he couldn't move his sister. When he went to knock on his parents' door, they not only ignored him but also scolded him.
She could only gather some snow to cool her sister down, and then, for some reason, she thought that if Zhang Jinbao also had a fever, they would definitely go to buy medicine for Zheng Jinbao. So she dragged Zheng Jinbao, who was sleeping like a log, out and threw him into the snow.
Zheng Jinbao woke up from the cold, and she hit him on the neck. She remembered that once Zhang Youliang hit her on the side of the neck and she fainted immediately, so she tried it and did not expect to actually knock him out.
Thinking that she would drag him inside later, otherwise he wouldn't freeze through, she went to cool her sister down with snow.
When Zheng Zhaodi's body temperature dropped a little, she went to check on Zheng Jinbao, who was already frozen stiff.
She thought that Zheng Zhaodi had been outside in the cold for so long, so Zheng Jinbao would also have to wait just as long to develop a fever. She never considered that one of them was wearing thick clothes while the other was only wearing a sweater and trousers.
When she saw that the person was gone, Zheng Laidi was terrified. After looking around the silent room, she calmed down and, with great effort, dragged the person back inside and put him on the kang (a heated brick bed). She then swept the snow and dust off his body, covered him with a quilt, and cleaned up the traces of where she had dragged him out.
The next day, she fed the chickens and made breakfast as if nothing had happened. When the rest of the Zheng family went to call Zheng Jinbao, they found that he was dead. However, Zheng Zhaodi's fever subsided thanks to her sister's care, but her burns were still shocking to behold.
Xiao Yun: ...Well, let him die, he's not a good thing anyway.
Looking at the blisters on Zheng Zhaodi's face and hands, they looked quite frightening. Her skin was wrinkled, and she was probably going to be disfigured.
As for their fourth daughter, Zheng Huandi, she was already married. The Zheng family married her off to a military-controlled farm. There was a widower there who gave them a dowry of one hundred yuan, and that's how they married her off.
That man was actually quite good. He worked on a farm, had a job, and didn't have any children yet. He was just a bit older, over thirty. Zheng Huandi had finally escaped that hellhole.
……
The Xiao family was as lively as ever, with three generations of Xiao family daughters gathered together. They had endless things to talk about, since it was a rare occasion to get together once a year.
The great-aunts and other aunts were all delighted to see Suixin, so Xiaoyun simply left the child with them to play while she took her eldest sister, second sister, and Huandi to their room to chat.
My older sister came back on her own. Her husband's furniture factory really doesn't give them a holiday during the Chinese New Year; they're still working overtime at the factory.
Sister Xiao looks completely different now. It's clear that going to the city has broadened her horizons, and her clothes and everything else have become much more fashionable.
Xiao Yun rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a bunch of delicious food, all of which Hu Xuan had brought back a few days ago.
She divided out a portion from the cookie box and gave it to the three children of her two older sisters who had come in with them, so that they could take it out and share it with the other relatives' children.
Once only the four sisters were left in the room, they sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and started chatting. "Big sister, how are you all doing in the county town? Are you settling in well? I heard from Yiheng that your husband got a dormitory room. Is it spacious?"
Zheng Zhaodi nodded, "It's been so long, I'm sure I've adapted. I just miss the kids. The dorms were assigned this fall, two rooms each, so the kids will have enough room when they go. So I'm planning to take both kids over after the New Year. My eldest is old enough to go to school, so he can go directly to the factory-run primary school, and my younger one can go to the preschool class."
Let me tell you, I haven't been idle at home. This month, the factory was hiring temporary workers, and your brother-in-law heard about it and signed me up. I often help him out when I'm at home, so I got hired right away. I'll be able to work and earn money after the New Year.”
The three sisters were quite surprised. They didn't expect their eldest sister to be so capable, actually finding a job herself. Even if it was a temporary job, it was in high demand. These days, workers are the most sought-after.
Moreover, you have to know that jobs in the city require education, and none of them had ever been to school, so they didn't even dare to dream of becoming factory workers.
Xiao Laidi said with envy, "Big sister, you're amazing! You're so lucky too, otherwise your husband wouldn't have been able to hear that. Sigh~ I wish my Yongle had a skill too, so he could go to the city and try his luck to find a job."
Xiao Yun rolled her eyes at her, annoyed. "Second sister, you should stop now. You want him to go to the city to find a job? You wouldn't even agree to let him work in the mine, let alone go to the city, which is so far away."
Xiao Yun got angry just thinking about it. She and Hu Xuan were both the type to protect their own, and they would always try to get the benefits for themselves. They thought that since her eldest brother-in-law had made arrangements, her second brother-in-law could also go to work at the gold mine.
With Hu Xuan involved, it shouldn't be a problem to arrange a few people. And they won't be miners, but logistics personnel. Of course, they will just be ordinary employees at first. After working for a while and getting familiar with the job, they can be put in charge of things and become a small manager.
But Xiao Laidi was worried about the dangers in the mine. She didn't know who had told her that people died there from time to time, so she refused to let her go no matter what.
Hu Xuan certainly wouldn't force him; since he'd brought it up, whether he went or not was his business.