Chapter 411: The Ninety-Era Comparison System (14)

Chatting while strolling through the market, they ran into Yao Meifang's group halfway.

Seeing them walking arm-in-arm and chatting intimately, Yao Meifang and the others subconsciously looked up at the sky; the sun hadn't risen from the west, had it? How did these two suddenly become so close?

Could it be that Xie Yang really didn't have long to live, as the rumors said?

At this moment, the looks Yao Meifang and the others cast at Xie Yang were all filled with sympathy and pity.

"Xie Yang, are you okay?"

"What exactly did the doctor say? How does it need to be treated?"

"Then will you be unable to go to Shencheng with us to work next year?"

Yang Taohua had clearly taken Xie Yang as a close sister, and she spoke out bluntly to defend her:

"The doctor said her illness requires quiet rest and nutrition; to cure it takes both time and money. But the money she earned working was mostly sent home. Now that she needs money, her family can't come up with any, and she doesn't know what to do!"

"Ah? How could it be like this!"

"Didn't your mom help you save it? I also sent mine home, and my mom helped me put it in the bank, saying she was saving it for my dowry later."

Xie Yang shook her head: "I also thought my mom helped me save it. She said at the time she was keeping it for me, which is why I sent it back. Maybe the family needed to renovate the bathroom recently and money was tight, so they had to use it for an emergency."

"What kind of emergency is a bathroom renovation? Your medical treatment is definitely more important!"

At this moment, Yang Taohua became Xie Yang's mouthpiece: "It's all Zhu Meijiao's fault. She said her classmate's bathroom in the city had a ceramic toilet and a big bathtub, and she wanted one too, so she incited the family to renovate the bathroom. To put it bluntly, it's just vanity! It would be one thing if she were just vain herself, but she's spending the money Xie Yang sent back. I've never seen such a person!"

"No way? My mom always praises Zhu Meijiao for being sensible. Is this what you call sensible? It would be one thing if Xie Yang weren't sick and the family needed money for an emergency, but Xie Yang needs money for treatment now. Is seeing a doctor more important or is renovating a bathroom more important?"

"Exactly! Xie Yang, your mom is truly muddled; she can't even tell what's urgent and what's not."

Listening to her little sisters' empathetic chatter, Xie Yang gave a cynical smile in her heart:

Is Zhou Ru muddled? Not at all!

No one is more calculating than her.

Knowing that Zhu Meijiao is the daughter Zhu Weiguo holds in the palm of his hand, she has pampered Zhu Meijiao ever since marrying him; as long as she keeps Zhu Meijiao happy, she herself will have an easy life.

Seeing that Zhu Meijiao is good at nothing else but is indeed decent at her studies, she sacrificed her own biological daughter and devoted herself to supporting her stepdaughter through high school and college entrance exams.

Everything she does seems muddled, but in reality, it follows one principle: putting her own interests, Zhou Ru's interests, first.

As for being mean to the original owner, that is partly due to displaced anger.

She transferred the hatred she felt for her ex-husband onto the original owner; she disliked this daughter from the bottom of her heart. She even hated this daughter, as seeing her reminded her of her previous failed marriage.

Secondly, the kindness shown to the stepdaughter had to be put into practice. Especially in those first few years after marrying into the Zhu Family, it would have been exhausting for her to do everything herself, so she pushed everything onto the original owner.

This resulted in the original owner having to shoulder so much housework at such a young age.

"Xie Yang, don't be sad. I'll have my mom talk to your mom later. How can a biological mother turn her back on her own child? She is truly muddled!"

"Let's put these annoying things behind us. Let's go shop at the market! I want to buy a scarf just like Xie Yang's."

"Xie Yang, where did you buy your down jacket? It's so pretty!"

"That depends on who's wearing it. On you, it looks like you're wrapped in a diesel barrel."

"You, Yang Taohua, is your mouth itching if you don't roast someone for a day?"

"Hahahaha..."

Xie Yang was pulled by them into the crowded market; the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and laughter were endless.

Crowded, noisy, and bustling, yet exceptionally warm.

Xie Yang followed Yang Taohua, Yao Meifang, and the others, strolling through the market for half the day, buying some snacks and practical daily necessities, and only returned to the village near noon.

Because it was a big market day, business at the village entrance's pork stall was also quite good.

In the past, at this time of day, the large ribs, small ribs, and pork belly would have long been sold out.

Today, probably to take advantage of the big market, the butcher specifically brought out two extra sides of meat.

When it was Xie Yang's turn, there were surprisingly two strips of ribs and one white, plump pig trotter left.

She wanted them all!

Just like buying the chicken, it was still on credit.

Many people in the village bought on credit, and the butcher was used to it.

He recognized her anyway: "You're Zhou Ru's daughter, right? How's your health? Looking at your sallow complexion, you really should nourish yourself well."

After weighing the meat, the butcher's wife recorded it in her ledger and gave her a piece of pig liver as a bonus.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Seeing Xie Yang buy so much, Yang Taohua felt it wasn't worth it for her: "Why buy so much? Carrying it back will just benefit Zhu Meijiao."

She had completely forgotten that Xie Yang hadn't paid and had put it on credit.

Furthermore, Xie Yang had no intention of taking it back to the Zhu Family at all. She winked at Yang Taohua: "Shall we find a place to have a picnic at noon?"

Yang Taohua immediately got excited: "Good idea! You provide the meat, and I'll provide the rest. Wait a moment, I'll take a shortcut home to get some things."

She ran home in a flash, grabbed a medium-sized basket, and packed the pots, bowls, ladles, oil, Salt, and vinegar needed for the picnic. Finally, she took down the dried Fish her eldest brother-in-law had brought back from the rafters and chopped off half of it.

Feeling it still wasn't enough, she circled the kitchen, grabbed two Century Eggs, scooped a few handfuls of Rice, went to the cellar to fetch a head of cabbage, and swiped a handful of dried beans, only heading out once the basket was stuffed to the brim.

"Taohua, where are you going? Didn't you just get back from the market? Why are you going out again?"

Taohua Niang walked in from outside and ran right into her daughter.

Yang Taohua shielded the basket and took off running: "I'm going for a picnic, I won't be back for lunch."

A picnic?

In the dead of winter, people felt cold just eating at home; wasn't she afraid of freezing her snot bubbles off going out for a picnic?

Taohua Niang was both angry and amused, but when she turned and saw the basket on her daughter's back, she couldn't laugh anymore:

"Oh, my dried Fish! You dead girl! If you want to have a picnic, have a picnic, why take the dried fish from home! That's meant to be saved for the New Year!"

Yang Taohua ignored her mother, thinking to herself that since Xie Yang had already provided two strips of ribs and a pig trotter, what was wrong with her providing half a dried fish? She couldn't just eat someone else's food for free, could she?

The two reunited once more, and Xie Yang brought Yang Taohua to the feng shui treasure land where she had been sunning (and getting some private tutoring) during this time.

"Wow! This place is great! There's a straw mat, and even a ready-made stone stove. I thought we'd have to build one ourselves, but I didn't expect there to be one already. Hehe! We are so lucky!"

Xie Yang: "..."

Is it possible that this "ready-made" stuff was actually set up by yours truly beforehand?

"Xie Yang, you rest, I'll do it, I'll do it."

Yang Taohua rolled up the sleeves of her thick cotton-padded jacket and said full of confidence:

"Let me let you taste my cooking! Don't think that just because I don't usually cook much, it's because I'm lazy; I only help my mom out when guests come over. But don't worry, not liking to do it doesn't mean I don't know how. My skills are great! I'm not bragging, but my eldest sister and second sister always praise my cooking, and they wish I would cook every single meal."