Chapter 29: Not Even Able to Drink Vegetable Soup

Having obtained the Radio Ticket from Liu Huaiyi, Zhao Gangzi did not dawdle; after all, he didn't have a single one of the "four big items" yet, and it just so happened he had gotten his hands on such a treasure today.

Early the next morning.

Zhao Gangzi walked from the Siheyuan to Dashilan and spent fifty yuan to pick up a brand-new radio from the sales point!

"I really miss this! Thinking back, I had a radio just like this one when I was a kid in my past life, and it was the exact same model!"

As soon as he got the radio in his hands, Zhao Gangzi couldn't help but fiddle with it; not long after, a burst of static came from the radio.

In the life before Zhao Gangzi transmigrated, he had owned a silver-white radio like this since he was a child, which had been left to him by his grandfather.

Later on, when Zhao Gangzi grew up, that old-fashioned radio could no longer be found.

And now, in this day and age, having gotten his hands on a brand-new one, it could be considered a bit of a keepsake for Zhao Gangzi; he held it in his arms like a treasure, listening to it as he walked home.

"A great river... waves are wide..."

"The wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers on both banks..."

"My home is right at..."

"..."

Accompanied by the beautiful music, Zhao Gangzi couldn't help but recall the happy life of his childhood; although he couldn't get enough to eat, there was none of the current backstabbing and scheming...

In the Siheyuan, Jia Dongxu had been discharged from the hospital for the second time.

The money previously donated by the Siheyuan had been spent clean; in order to pay the medical bills, the Jia Family's savings had been almost completely drained, and even then, it wasn't nearly enough.

They even had to rely on others' relief just to get by with their daily meals.

As for Shazhu, ever since he paid the fine, although his reputation at the Rolling Mill had declined, his skill in stir-frying remained profound; if not for the previous incident, he would have been qualified to be promoted to the title of Level 9 Chef.

After that matter came to an end, Shazhu's mind became active again.

He started openly bringing boxed meals to Qin Huairu again.

At this moment, Qin Huairu was washing clothes by the well, and Shazhu walked over carrying a silver lunchbox in a mesh bag, smiling with a lecherous look on his face: "Sister Qin, Sister Qin, there was a little bit of meat left over from the kitchen stir-fry today, so I packed it up and brought it back for you!"

"Oh my, thank you so much, Pillar, you really are a good person," Qin Huairu wiped her water-stained hands on her apron, then took the lunchbox with both hands.

From far away, she could already smell the scent of meat inside.

Ever since Jia Dongxu became crippled, she hadn't tasted a bit of meat for over a month, and even the oil and fat she consumed were just the leftovers from the others in the room.

Hearing Qin Huairu thank him, Shazhu was instantly overjoyed; he couldn't even describe how wonderful he felt, and he could even fantasize about the scene of living a life for two with Qin Huairu.

But before Qin Huairu could open the lunchbox to take a bite, Jia Zhangshi darted out from who knows where, snatched the lunchbox containing the meat away, and after grabbing it, she cursed: "Why is there so little? Shazhu, did you steal some on the way?"

"No, no, that's all that was left in the wok, and I had a hard time saving it; Old Lady, I'm doing this for Sister Qin's sake, I have to let her eat more!"

Watching Jia Zhangshi open her blood-red maw and continuously devour the chunks of meat in the bowl, Shazhu immediately grew anxious.

Jia Zhangshi frowned, looked at Shazhu, and scolded: "I know, I know, besides, what does our family's business have to do with you?"

"Once this lunchbox is in our family's hands, it's no longer yours; we'll do whatever we want with it!"

She then rolled her eyes at Shazhu and dumped the remaining vegetables from the lunchbox into her own bowl all at once.

Then she threw the lunchbox back to Shazhu.

Shazhu was naturally anxious and angry, but he was powerless to do anything; Jia Dongxu's condition looked like he wouldn't make it, but Jia Zhangshi was different—she was so fat and greasy that Shazhu felt he might not even outlive her.

Therefore, he tried his best to maintain a good relationship with Jia Zhangshi so that when Jia Dongxu kicked the bucket and his account was closed, he could rightfully be with Qin Huairu.

As for the issue of supporting Jia Zhangshi, as long as he could get his hands on Qin Huairu, acknowledging her as his own mother wouldn't be much of a problem.

"You bitch, I knew you and Shazhu had something going on; if it weren't for him bringing boxed meals to our house every day, I would have kicked you out too!"

After Shazhu left, Jia Zhangshi began to distribute the meat and vegetables Shazhu had brought home.

"Mom, you already ate almost half outside just now, why are you still scraping more into your bowl?" Qin Huairu was somewhat dissatisfied.

"You don't know a damn thing! If it weren't for me struggling and working hard to pull this family along, this family would have fallen apart long ago; I've worked hard and made great contributions, so I must eat more!"

Jia Zhangshi cursed, then used her chopsticks to scrape away another third.

As for the remaining two-thirds, Jia Dongxu and Bang Geng each got a third, and in the end, only a few green vegetables and a small half-bowl of soup were left in the bowl.

"Here, you're young and strong, eating too much meat isn't good for you; this bit is enough."

Jia Zhangshi pushed the bowl over.

Qin Huairu felt like there was sand in her eyes; it was one thing not to give her good things to eat, but they didn't even care about Huaihua's food—Huaihua was only half a year old, and if she didn't eat something good herself, she couldn't even produce milk.

Looking at her own bowl, it was all thin soup and water, paired with two cornmeal buns.

But Jia Zhangshi's bowl was different.

She had to eat white flour buns at every meal, saying that eating yellow flour stuck in her throat.

"Mom, Huaihua is still nursing; at least give me a few pieces of meat to let me have a taste! This meal is impossible to eat!"

Qin Huairu was also a bit angry now.

She spent all day cleaning up after these people, she was the one doing the work, she was the one earning the money, and even then, she couldn't get a kind word all day long, and she had to eat the leftovers.

"Fine, if you don't eat it, I will!"

Jia Zhangshi smiled triumphantly, the fat on her body wobbling, and she used her chopsticks to pluck away the few vegetable leaves in Qin Huairu's bowl.

"These little spinach leaves have a bit of meat flavor, and this soup is very nourishing; son, you drink more."

While speaking, she poured the last small half-bowl of vegetable soup into Jia Dongxu's bowl.

"You little bitch, now you're being picky about your food too; if it weren't for the good fortune of our family, you would have married a forty or fifty-year-old bachelor long ago! And spent your whole life digging in the fields in the village!"

Jia Dongxu drank the vegetable soup, not forgetting to mock Qin Huairu, but what he said was indeed true, which was why Qin Huairu hadn't left the Jia Family even in this situation.

Because if she left the Jia Family, it would be equivalent to leaving Sijiucheng, and she would only be able to go home and dig in the fields.

After all, Qin Huairu's current job as an Apprentice was only inherited because of Jia Dongxu.

"Sigh, this must be fate..."

Qin Huairu sighed mournfully.

She gradually began to accept this tragic fate, sitting honestly at the table drinking porridge, picking at the finely chopped salty pickles with her chopsticks.

Outside the Siheyuan, Zhao Gangzi returned carrying the radio he had just acquired.

The blaring sound immediately drew the attention of quite a few people; Third Uncle Yan Bugui lived in the Front Courtyard and usually sat at his own doorway reading the newspaper when he had nothing to do.

Don't let the fact that he wore glasses fool you; in the entire Siheyuan, Third Uncle had the sharpest eyes, and upon seeing the fine treasure in Zhao Gangzi's hands, he pushed through the crowd and went over.

"Good lad, have you even been working for a month yet? You've already managed to get a radio!"