Chapter 240: Reborn in the 90s: The Tyrant Flower Chapter 241: Visiting as a Guest

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

After Zhang Hailan finished washing up, she started getting busy making flatbreads.

As a "guest," Chai Mi naturally sat cross-legged, imitating her maternal aunt Su Jin by sitting at the head of the kang, waiting to eat.

"It's nothing... just doing that little bit of work. This guy, I even heard her talking in her sleep last night... in the middle of the night, nearly scared me to death." Su Jin muttered in a low voice: "She only knows how to eat. Besides eating, she just makes trouble. If she could eat her fill, one person eats as much as several. You ask her to work, and that's it."

"But she does help you cook, doesn't she? You eat the ready-made food, and you're still not happy." Chai Mi felt somewhat helpless about this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship; these two actually had a pretty average relationship.

"Hehe. What does she give me to eat? You weren't here. She gets up wicked early in the morning, often at three or four o'clock, to cook... Am I supposed to get up at three or four to eat? Who can get up that early..." Su Jin was very dissatisfied, but she also knew Zhang Hailan was in the outer room, so she spoke in a low voice. "One meal like a cat, one meal like a dog. One moment her temper's good, the next it's bad, just like a damn neurotic."

Chai Mi laughed: "Look at you... Didn't the two of them get up at three or four to go purchase goods, or go to the market? Then you just get up at a normal time and cook for yourself?"

"If she cooks, she makes a huge potful. I don't eat leftovers. Who eats the leftovers?" Su Jin was even more dissatisfied: "If she cooks early in the morning, either I don't get up, or you don't know when she wakes up. Am I supposed to call her: 'Hey, it's eight o'clock, still not up?' Wouldn't that be picking a fight?"

"Mom..." Zhang Hailan had heard it long ago and said from the outer room: "Chai Mi, look at this old lady, getting more and more unreasonable. I just got up at eight the day before yesterday, and she remembered it..."

"You got up at eight yesterday too..."

"Then that's two days..."

"The day before that too..."

"Three days at most..."

"Today Chai Mi didn't come, and you're still not awake? It's almost seven o'clock now..." Su Jin muttered.

"Okay, okay, Aunt, don't pick a fight. If you two start bickering, I can't hold you back." Chai Mi said with a laugh, then pretended to criticize Zhang Hailan: "Sister-in-law, you don't know how to handle things. Just say my cousin (husband) won't let you get up, and that would be fine."

"Hehehe... That won't work. Those two, mother and daughter, are in cahoots." Zhang Hailan said, and started making the flatbreads in the pan.

After the flatbreads were done, she stir-fried a plate of scrambled eggs: "I'll make you two more..."

"No need. Early in the morning, some pickled vegetable strips are fine. We're not outsiders. Eat whatever's there. I'm just here to mooch a meal, not eat at a restaurant. Eating my fill is enough..." Chai Mi wasn't picky anyway; as long as there was food, it was fine.

Chai Mi mainly came to escape the noise. She wasn't picky about food, and even not eating wouldn't matter. She just simply didn't want to stay at home right now.

Based on Chai Mi's understanding of Wang Huirong and Chai Zhongxiao, these two were disgusting to the extreme. Their favoritism knew no bounds. In their eyes, it seemed only Chai Youde was their real son; they didn't care much about anyone else.

This was also why Chai Mi only needed to simply stir up some hatred, and the remaining children easily turned against the old family home.

No other reason. They had long been dissatisfied.

Besides, it wasn't that Chai Mi didn't want to kill them off; letting them suffer while alive was the best.

Moreover, the Chai family's several sons each had their own quirks. Chai Mi's father, Chai Youqing, was foolishly loyal. Although he had improved somewhat now, Chai Youqing was indeed a bit weak and ineffectual in handling affairs. Most of the time, in speaking and doing things, he couldn't find the key point. For example, when Wang Huirong came to borrow money, saying more was useless. Just refusing to lend was the end of it.

Refuse to lend, dead or alive.

That damn well isn't borrowing; it's swindling.

Last time, seven or eight years ago, what Chai Youqing lent out still hasn't been repaid clearly. It wasn't until Chai Mi's little sister's full-month banquet that Chai Mi tricked Chai Zhongxiao into using that ancestral hall as collateral, which counted as settling it.

Lend again?

Brains, what a huge package!!!

Chai Youfu would never lend money to Chai Zhongxiao either. He just brags. Don't listen to a word he says. Listening is useless. What he says doesn't count.

As for the remaining sisters, Chai Chunfang and Chai Zhongxiao had become mortal enemies, the kind where "she didn't let Chai Zhongxiao off even in death"... Chai Chunhua didn't have much contact with the old home. Chai Chunwei was just a hypocritical liar.

Raising several children this bizarre, Chai Zhongxiao bears an undeniable responsibility.

And Wang Huirong was the same.

The two of them... they only fear Che Lianyun...

This is just bizarre...

One reason is because Che Lianyun is indeed the only one who gave the old Chai family a grandson, letting the old Chai family "continue the family line." Another is that Che Lianyun earns more from work and has especially heavy say in the family...

Of course, the most key point is that Che Lianyun is in good health. That physique of over two hundred catties, even the jianghu calls her "Xiao Doubao." Her combat power is indeed fierce. Don't look at how Wang Huirong could fight Song Qiuping to a draw back then. If Wang Huirong went up against Che Lianyun, it would basically be over with just one butt slam...

Even Chai Chunfang was smashed to pieces by Che Lianyun's butt slam. Wang Huirong's old and frail body would basically be settled in half a butt slam.

But as elders of the family, holding the bowl of water level is what they should do. If they start playing favorites because they fear a certain person, the problem is that favoring a heartless and ungrateful person will definitely cause the family to fall apart.

Zhang Hailan didn't prepare many dishes. After stir-frying eggs, she simply made another dish of scrambled eggs with green onions...

"Sister-in-law, is there any difference between your scrambled eggs and the scrambled eggs with green onions?" Chai Mi looked at the two plates brought up, a bit baffled.

"The difference is, these are two dishes... hehehehe. Otherwise it'd just be one. Since you came, Chai Mi, sister-in-law had to make at least two dishes for you."

Zhang Hailan set the table, brought up the dishes and the fried flatbreads, then went to call Liu San to get up...

Mhm, Liu San still hadn't gotten up.

Chai Mi looked at her maternal aunt Su Jin, the implication being: Look, your son is even lazier. He hasn't even gotten up...

But Su Jin said: "Your cousin is tired out. Let him sleep a bit more. That's normal..."

Chai Mi chuckled: "Aunt, the way you put it makes me embarrassed."

The son sleeping more is because he's tired. The daughter-in-law sleeping a bit more is unacceptable. This mother-in-law, in Chai Mi's words, is actually quite scorching...

Good thing Zhang Hailan is a big-hearted, easygoing person. Otherwise, this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship at Aunt's house wouldn't be manageable at all.

Of course, Su Jin has her own advantages too... Her advantage is that she's limited to muttering with her mouth. The young couple does business and makes money without her interference. They buy whatever they want to eat. She can't control it. So Su Jin is limited to satisfying her mouth, but hasn't made too many substantive breakthroughs.

Before long, Liu San came in shirtless holding a short-sleeved shirt, water still on his face, obviously having just washed up.

He took a towel and wiped.

The next second, Su Jin started up: "Just doing that little bit of crappy work... This guy's eyes are all red... If you were made to shoulder the main burden, wouldn't you be finished in one go?"

Liu San just laughed: "With you and my dad here, I can't shoulder the main beam."

Chatting and laughing, the group ate.

The flatbreads were fried quite deliciously. With the two dishes of scrambled eggs and scrambled eggs with green onions, Chai Mi ate with great relish.

After finishing breakfast, Liu San set about continuing to go dig a well for Chai Mi.

"What's the rush? Who knows if that old immortal Wang Huirong has left yet. Wait a bit; anyway, this afternoon I'll find two well-diggers, you and my dad just stay up top. It'll be done in a day or so. Big Brother, go to the township later and buy a bundle of wire, then rent a water pump... one bundle might not be enough, buy two. I'll find an electrician later, install a meter, otherwise we can't get it done today either. Yesterday I looked at that water; if we don't get a pump to draw it, it's probably scorching."

"Alright."

"I'll pay you back later; I didn't bring money when I came out today."

The few of them drank a bit more tea, then Chai Mi came out. Originally she had wanted to find the well-diggers first, but this matter required asking Chai Youqing.

So she could only solve the electricity problem first.

The problem was this electrician — Sanjiacun only had one person.

Chai Mi had a bit of a headache, because that electrician was Sun Yuguang's brother, Sun Yuqing.

That is to say, Chai Chunfang's younger brother-in-law — Sun Yuqing.

To speak of it, in the countryside, doing this work is actually especially hard.

First you need to collect money household by household; Sanjiacun has five thousand something people, seventeen or eighteen hundred households... not doing anything else for a month, just going to collect money would wear a person out.

The problem is whose meter breaks, whose wire snaps, you still have to find him.

Originally, Chai Youqing did it for a few days too, but as everyone knows, Chai Youqing's personality — he's somewhat useless; he's too easy to talk to. When people don't have money to pay, he has no way out, and he's too embarrassed to cut their power, so he can only advance the money himself. After a few days he couldn't afford to advance it anymore, so he couldn't do it.

In this era, a bad temper or too good a temper both make this work not too easy.

Unless there's really no other way.

All day long just like a debt-collecting ghost...

Running household to household collecting money, this work is indeed not great.

Meet someone easy to talk to, however much it should be is how much it is, they come to collect, you pay and that's it. But meet someone not easy to talk to, especially some unreasonably troublesome rural women, they won't pay you, they make you come three or five times.

This isn't the future, where everything can be done at home, moving a finger, looking at a phone, can easily complete it.

In this era, it all relies on manual labor climbing up poles, hard-reading how many meter digits, household by household recording. The workload is especially large; basically averaged out every day you have to climb thirty or fifty poles, and still have to record the meter digits...

Tedious, lots of trivialities, and prone to trouble.

Today this household's meter breaks, tomorrow that household's wire snaps, today this area loses power, tomorrow that pole falls over — anyway it's all troublesome matters. And often you still have to pay compensation because the digits don't match.

After all, in this era not only is line loss huge, there's also a lot of electricity that inexplicably disappears...

So, back then Chai Youqing did it for a few days then stopped, also because this work actually, doing it was too hard.

Of course, among this there's also Chai Youqing's own problem; that person doing this kind of work that constantly deals with others, somewhat doesn't suit his personality and temperament.

The previous text also said, Sun Yuqing and Sun Yuguang these brothers, are no different from outsider households. Sun Yuqing being able to find a job is already not bad; his family has no land, being able to support a family is already very good for him. Tired a bit, earning less, he's willing too.

Chai Mi knows Sun Yuqing, after all he's a relative...

Cough cough... although the root of the relative... Chai Chunfang is already gone, but he's still a relative.

And frankly, Chai Mi dislikes Chai Chunfang, Sun Yuqing also dislikes Chai Chunfang, the two of them still have a certain "common language."

Moreover, Sun Yuqing often collects money, Chai Mi often watches, so they're quite familiar.

Chai Mi first went to Da Lao Song — that is Song Qiushui's Second Uncle's — small shop, spent thirty yuan, bought two packs of cigarettes, then took them and went to Sun Yuqing's house.

Sun Yuqing's house and Sun Yuguang's house are next to each other, five rooms, divided into two courtyards, forcibly separated in the middle. It's actually a bit far from Chai Mi's house, but it's only three to five li of road; in the future if there's a car it's just two or three minutes, but in this era it's still walking, so it's a bit far.

Chai Mi doesn't really mind this; she often walks, and doesn't feel that tired.

Before long, she arrived at Sun Yuqing's house.

"Second Aunt, you home?"

Sun Yuqing after all still calls Chai Mi Second Uncle and Second Aunt with some partial kinship, which is also reasonable.

Sun Yuqing's wife is surnamed Kuang; specifically what she's called Chai Mi doesn't know either.

Kuang Shi was just in the room; seeing the visitor clearly, her brow furrowed, her heart unknown why Chai Mi would come.

But no matter what, go out and take a look first, so Kuang Shi came out with a cold face: "This... you're Chai Youqing's eldest, right... what is it?"

Kuang Shi doesn't really understand the Chai family's relationships; in her eyes, the Chai family has no good people...

All sons of bitches...

She didn't curse outright right now, that's already not bad.

"I thought, I'd find my Second Uncle to install a meter for me, digging a well at home needs electricity. So I came." Chai Mi's eyes work well; seeing Kuang Shi's face color wasn't too good, she directly took out the cigarettes and handed them to Kuang Shi: "Second Aunt, no other meaning, me finding my Second Uncle to help you, just a token."

Kuang Shi's originally not-too-good mood, seeing two packs of cigarettes, immediately got a lot better: "Look at you, still bringing stuff. All relatives..."

Chai Mi bitterly smiled in her heart: These relatives, might as well not have them... if not for Chai Chunfang, relatively speaking, Chai Mi today wouldn't even have brought cigarettes.

"Aiya, Second Aunt, never mind what, working in this scorching heat, how uncomfortable. I didn't know what to bring either, just bought two packs of cigarettes, just a token." Chai Mi spoke and didn't say too much more nonsense, then said: "Second Aunt, I won't go in; later you tell my Second Uncle and that's it. I'll go back. It's just outside our Yingzi by the north road, easy to find. Weather's dry, dug a well to water the fields, so have to hook up electricity. Just that little thing, then I'm going back."

Kuang Shi pretended to urge her to stay a bit, then returned to the courtyard.

Sun Yuqing was in the room and didn't come out, but he saw Chai Mi early on; seeing his wife bring the cigarettes back, he asked a few sentences, then calmly said: "This Chai Mi, still acts like a human..."