Chapter 2193
Choice is more important than effort
Zhao Di – you can tell from her name that Yan Jiefang had a conflict with his in-laws.
According to Yan Jiefang's understanding, his father-in-law was actually a hoodlum when he was young.
However, she had four beautiful daughters.
His father-in-law made his fortune by relying on his four daughters.
The eldest daughter married the village chief's son.
The second daughter married a commune cadre.
Yan Jiefang married the third son, while the fourth son, Pandi, went directly to the city.
His father-in-law also rose through the ranks and became a leader in the village.
This is not an isolated case; marriage ties have existed throughout history.
It's quite common for a daughter to marry well, which can bring wealth to the whole family.
This is an ecosystem.
At least they have some self-respect; a young woman only married one man.
Although when Zhaodi followed Yan Jiefang, it was indeed because her father-in-law wanted her reputation as a city dweller settling down in the countryside.
But in the beginning, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Yan Jiefang also relied on the support of his father-in-law's family to quickly establish himself in the local farm.
If society had remained the same, Yan Jiefang would have done very well.
Of course, fortunes change, and now Yan Jiefang has three brothers-in-law. Except for the one in the village, who was never affected because of his low position to begin with.
The other two are similar to Yan Jiefang; they're not doing too well either.
This doesn't mean that those people did anything heinous.
It can only be said that there are temporary needs. What society needs now is leaders who can restore production and have a certain understanding of economic development.
People who used to shout out a few nice words are no longer popular.
This is the situation regarding Yan Jiefang's marriage.
His wife is very beautiful. Although she comes from the countryside and has not received much education, and has worked in the fields for many years, Zhao Di has a healthy tan.
But she still couldn't hide the beauty she must have had in her youth.
This is probably why Yan Jiefang is reluctant to divorce her.
The saying "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are enemies" is most evident in the case of Yang Ruihua and Zhao Di.
To be honest, Yang Ruihua's personality has become extreme recently, probably because he was provoked.
Although Yan Bugui's health has recovered considerably, he is still crippled. His physical strength and mental state are nothing like they used to be.
Therefore, Yang Ruihua felt it was her responsibility to stand up.
In doing so, they could safeguard the authority of the elderly couple in the family.
The eldest daughter and Yan Jiedi basically don't get involved with them anymore, and the third daughter is far away in the south, so only the second daughter's family of three is around.
No matter how twisted she is, she wouldn't compete with her own son and eldest grandson, so only the second daughter-in-law is unlucky.
What exactly did Yang Ruihua do?
It's also a kind of sordidness that's hard to describe.
There are countless things they complain about.
Just like when Zhao Di was cooking, if she put too much flour in, Yang Ruihua would scold her for wasting it.
Yang Ruihua grumbled that she was stingy for putting in too much other miscellaneous flour.
They complain the food isn't to their liking, and the clothes aren't clean enough...
And so on. It's unclear why Yang Ruihua has so much hostility, as if she wants to attribute all the misfortunes of the Yan family to this second daughter-in-law.
If these are acceptable, then there are even more outrageous things to come.
After washing and drying Zhao Di's few personal clothes, Yang Ruihua secretly threw them away.
When Zhao Di went to collect the laundry that evening, Yang Ruihua pretended not to know anything and feigned surprise, asking if Zhao Di had left the clothes somewhere else...
That's a bit like killing someone by attacking their spirit.
Where do women's undergarments end up?
Besides, Zhao Di remembered clearly that she had hung the clothes to dry in front of her house. Before the Lunar New Year, she took a bath and washed the clothes.
In northern climates, it's difficult to dry clothes outside at this time of year.
On the 29th, the sun came out a bit, so Zhao Di took out her clothes and let them air out a little at the door.
After all, clothes that have never been exposed to sunlight are not very comfortable to wear.
When she returned from the market, those few pieces of underwear were nowhere to be seen.
Zhao Di assumed her mother-in-law, who was at home, had put it away for her, so she didn't pay any attention.
When he asked in the evening, he received these words from Yang Ruihua.
Zhao Di was so angry that tears streamed down her face.
But Yang Ruihua felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
She didn't know why she felt so good, but she just felt like she had won again.
She didn't realize that the look in her eldest grandson's eyes was one of naked hatred.
That evening, Zhao Di tearfully pleaded with Yan Jiefang, saying that she really couldn't stay there any longer.
Why don't the three of them go back to northern Hebei? She'll definitely take good care of Yan Jiefang then...
Yan Jiefang hesitated and wavered, unable to make a decision.
"...Dad, Mom, I saw it. Grandma threw away Mom's clothes." The son, who was reading at his desk, couldn't help but turn around and tell the couple, who were struggling with their dilemma, the truth in a muffled voice.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Yan Jiefang roared in anger.
He was naturally aware that Yang Ruihua had bullied his wife.
But Yan Jiefang always believed in his mother's character. In his mind, it was normal for Yang Ruihua to be angry, but it was unacceptable for her to use schemes and tricks to harm people.
Yan Jiefang, however, did not believe it.
Yang Ruihua couldn't possibly act so harshly in front of him.
"Really! I saw it with my own eyes."
I threw it in the trash can at the intersection, but later I used the excuse of going to the toilet to pick it up again.
"It's tucked under the bed." The boy retorted to Yan Jiefang, his neck stiff and his face flushed.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Yan Jiefang and his wife squatted down and looked under the bed. Sure enough, there were white and gray underwear.
How should I put it?
My mother suffered so much injustice at my grandmother's hands, and she never complained?
"My baby's tears are flowing, and there's nothing you can do about it." The boy was also quite frustrated.
This wasn't the first conflict between his grandmother and his mother.
I don't know what his father, Yan Jiefang, was thinking; he trusted his grandmother more than his mother.
This child, observing with detachment, had long since seen through these matters.
"…Zhaodi, let's put up with this for now."
For the sake of the children.
As you can see, the differences between Beijing and northern Hebei are quite significant.
If the son goes back to the village, he will only be able to work hard all his life, facing the loess soil with his back to the sky, and he will have difficulty even making ends meet.
In Beijing, even if life was tough, at least you could still get a few meals of white flour a week.
Even if my son can't get a factory job when he grows up, he can still help me set up a stall and earn over a hundred yuan a month.
"As for Mom, I'll go talk to her and tell her we can't treat you like this." Yan Jiefang earnestly persuaded his tearful wife.
What he said was actually quite reasonable.
Choice is greater than effort.
He set up a stall in Beijing, a profession that was looked down upon by many.
They still hide here and there every day, like rats in the sewers.
But he really earned a lot in a month. (End of Chapter)