novellhall Chapter 147 How did you know I was talking about you if you didn't look?
Chapter 147 How did you know I was talking about you if you didn't look?
Upon hearing the words "bastard child," Zhuang Qingxiang immediately flew into a rage.
"They are my children, how can they be bastards? Auntie, you should watch your words, or I'll have a good talk with you about who the real bastard is in this family."
"How dare you talk to her like that!" Qian Hua and Qian Cao ran out shouting, "My mother is your elder, how can you talk to her like that?"
Zhuang Qingxiang coldly sized them up with a stern face: "She is disrespectful to her elders, so I have no reason to respect her."
Cao Xiang, standing to the side, was furious and jumped up and down: "Zhuang Qingxiang, what nonsense are you spouting? What bastard child? If you keep talking nonsense, get out of here! This is the Qian family, not the Zhuang family!"
Zhuang Qingxiang gave a mocking smirk: "So, are you going to agree to my conditions or not? If not, I'm going to go out and talk to someone about it."
Cao Xiang quickly did the math in her head: a few days, four yuan, five cents for an egg... no matter how you look at it, she'd make a profit.
"Fine, it's just rice porridge and eggs, I agree, but let me make it clear first, it's only for the child, you don't get any!" Cao Xiang scoffed.
Zhuang Qingxiang: "Let me add one more thing: if anyone in this family dares to say that my two children are bastards again, they can't blame me for making a huge scene!"
"Alright, alright, I'll let you have your way. Let's see what you can do, you troublemaker..."
Cao Xiang muttered as she took the money and went back to the inner room. Qian Hua and Qian Cao were shocked; their mother had never been so easy to talk to before.
The two sisters looked at Zhuang Qingxiang curiously, and remembering what she had just said, they couldn't help but ask, "What did you mean by that? Who is the real bastard?"
"Go ask your mother!" Zhuang Qingxiang said, turning her hand away.
When she returned to the room, she heard Cao Xiang's sharp curses and the two sisters' wails.
Zhuang Qingxiang pursed her lips.
"Mother..." Little Qian Yue was a little scared when she heard the noise, and when she saw her mother come back, she snuggled into her arms.
Zhuang Qingxiang patted her head: "Yueyue, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of anyone while we're staying here. Eat and drink as you please. I've given you money. If anyone doesn't let you eat or drink, I won't give them any money!"
Xiao Qianyue's eyes immediately lit up: "We paid, so we have the final say?"
"Yes!" Zhuang Qingxiang smiled. "Mom might have to go out every day these days, so you need to stay home and take good care of your little brother, okay?"
"Okay!" Xiao Qianyue shouted immediately.
Although her daughter was young, she was used to doing chores and was very good at taking care of her younger brother. Although she was still a little worried, Zhuang Qingxiang had no other choice.
Despite Cao Xiang's murderous glare, Zhuang Qingxiang took the grain and eggs from her and cooked a meal for the two children.
After feeding her child, she hurried out the door.
First, we went to the old village chief, but even he couldn't solve the problem.
Given her situation, the village wouldn't approve land to build a house, and there were no spare houses for her to live in. As for staying at the educated youth settlement, she could stay there temporarily for a month, but that would be the longest, because a recent meeting said that another batch of educated youth would be assigned there next month.
Moreover, if you want to stay at a youth settlement, you have to discuss it with the youth there, and if they don't agree, there's nothing you can do.
Zhuang Qingxiang had heard these words before in her previous life; she could even predict what the old village chief would say next.
"If all else fails, we can temporarily stay at the cowshed at the end of the village..."
Zhuang Qingxiang's expression changed slightly, and a shadow of gloom flashed across her eyes.
In her past life, she ultimately chose the cowshed, and then died tragically there.
She will never set foot in that place again in her life.
Since things had come to this, Zhuang Qingxiang took the opportunity to say what she wanted to say: "In that case, I'll go to the commune or county to see if anyone is willing to lend me a room to stay in. I'll need to trouble you, village chief, to give me a certificate then."
It's called borrowing, but it's actually renting. It's just that these days it's not allowed, so we can only say it's borrowing.
"So you're not going to work in the fields to earn work points?" the old village chief exclaimed in shock. "What will you eat if you don't get any grain at the end of the year? What will your two children eat?"
"I'll go find some work," Zhuang Qingxiang sighed. "It's inconvenient to work in the fields with two children. I won't earn many work points and will even owe the brigade money at the end of the year. I feel guilty about that. To survive, you have to find a way to make a living, don't you think?"
The old village chief knew her situation and knew how difficult it had been for her, so he hesitated and said, "You won't... do anything reckless, will you?"
"No, don't you know what kind of person I am?" Zhuang Qingxiang frowned.
"Alright, go and find out first." The old village chief didn't agree immediately.
Zhuang Qingxiang was already very satisfied.
She has to find a place to live outside, because all the ways she can make money are in the city; she can't make money in the countryside.
She needed to go to the black market every few days to sell candy, pastries, and embroidery...
Be careful, life will always get better.
Zhuang Qingxiang went home to check on her two children. Seeing that they were staying in the house peacefully, she told Xiao Qianyue and then headed straight to the county town.
Just then, two educated youths borrowed the village's oxcart to go to the county town. After she said so, she took out a dime and got on the oxcart as well.
The two educated youths, a man and a woman, looked like they were dating. They were so engrossed in whispering to each other that they barely spoke a word to Zhuang Qingxiang.
But Zhuang Qingxiang always felt uncomfortable.
Because the male educated youth secretly sized her up when she wasn't looking, and Zhuang Qingxiang disliked that look.
Halfway there, the male educated youth once again took advantage of the woman's inattention to cast a blatant glance at her. Zhuang Qingxiang glared back fiercely: "Comrade, is there something you want to see me staring at?"
These words came as abruptly from the scene, and the female educated youth didn't react at first, but the male educated youth became angry and embarrassed: "What are you saying? When did I look at you?"
"How did you know I was talking about you if you weren't looking at me?" Zhuang Qingxiang scoffed. "Maybe I was talking to the woman next to you?"
"You..." The male educated youth was furious and quickly explained to the female educated youth, "I didn't look at her, Yinghong, don't listen to her nonsense."
Zhuang Qingxiang said coolly, "I'm not talking nonsense. You have ulterior motives! This lady, you should be careful in the future, don't be fooled."
Zhuang Qingxiang knew this was a sudden remark, but she really hated the way men secretly looked at her and knew he was a dishonest person, so she wanted to give this female educated youth a heads-up.
The next second, the female educated youth named "Yinghong" got angry.
"Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to say my boyfriend is secretly watching you? Do you know what that's called? You're just being delusional! My boyfriend and I are from Shanghai, how could we possibly be watching a country bumpkin like you?"
She looked at him with disdain. "I think you're just trying to get my boyfriend's attention. Get off now, this oxcart is a loan from us today, you can't use it anymore, get off now!"
Zhuang Qingxiang: "..." How could she forget that birds of a feather flock together?
"Uncle Shuan, stop the car and let her out!"
"Yinghong, don't be like that. It's so far to the county town. It will take her half a day to walk there. We don't need to argue with her."
"You're just being kind by mistake. Do you even see if they appreciate your kindness?"