"The kind of work I do in this house now can be done by any hourly worker in two or three hours. It's outrageous to ask you for such money."
After Zhang Jiefang finished speaking, she lowered her head and smiled sheepishly, and carefully stepped on the floor of the entrance hall with her swollen feet covered with several band-aids.
"Actually, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I...I really can't bear the salary of more than 1 yuan a month, let alone leave this home."
Before Zhang Jiefang moved into Jiang Xiaoping's place, she never knew that home was like this.
When she was a child, the family home was crowded and cramped, with a total of four rooms and three generations of more than a dozen people living there. Not to mention a separate room, there was not even a bed for her.
Before the eldest sister and the second sister got married, Zhang Jiefang slept on the floor at night.
To her, the home at that time was just a place where it would not get soaked or blown away when it rained or winded. Other than that, there were endless chores to do, complaints and grumbles to listen to, and a constant neglect of the cold. Waiting is not a good place to wait.
Later, she got married and gave birth to Wenyuan. After working hard for more than ten years, she finally earned her own house.
But the treatment is still not good. Compared with before, the treatment is worse.
She and Tang Yaocan were like two grasshoppers in a jar, quarreling and fighting every day, and they could count the days of inactivity in a year on their fingers.
Many times, Zhang Jiefang would rather give people a bath in the Pingshui Hot Spring than go home.
"It's been so comfortable living here for the past six months. Everyone is happy every day. They can do whatever they want. No matter how big a joke I make or how much trouble I cause, no one says a bad word."
Jiang Xiaoping was stunned for a moment before realizing that what Zhang Jiefang was talking about was probably the incident where she blew up the coffee machine during the Chinese New Year.
It was Jiang He. She bought a toy coffee machine that cost more than a thousand yuan from the Internet. She studied it with interest for several days and made cup after cup of coffee.
Zhang Jiefang looked on and found it interesting, so Jiang He asked her to try it. As a result, the coffee machine exploded.
The movement was like a kick being placed in the room. The coffee powder and hot water sprayed out, destroying most of the water, and the liquid cup was broken into several pieces. Jiang Xiaoping still remembered that she was helping Liang Xiujing make video calls with her old sisters to say New Year greetings. Even the old lady opposite was startled by this movement.
Zhang Jiefang's face turned pale with fright. She started to pick up the broken glass with trembling hands, but Jiang He quickly stopped her and said, "Be careful to prick your hands."
"Is Jiefang not scared?" Liang Xiujing asked worriedly. Jiang Xiaoping still remembered that he jokingly asked her if she needed to "call Hun'er".
Thinking about it now, she was so frightened that every time she made a mistake as big as a needle's nose at home, Tang Yaocan would take the opportunity to catch her and attack her violently, which became one of the ironclad proofs that "you Zhang Jiefang just can't do it". Thinking about such mental torture makes one's scalp numb.
"I don't want to live under the same roof with Tang Yaocan anymore. I can't live like that for a day. I know that Lao Zhu actually...actually just wants to find someone to take care of him. Just take care of him. I'm in good health." You are strong and don’t be afraid.”
Zhang Jiefang looked up at Jiang Xiaoping, with a rare cunning flash in her eyes.
"He said that he would not let me serve in vain. He said that he was willing to get the certificate from me. He also said that after getting married, he would transfer the ownership of the old house to me in two years. It is the small two-bedroom apartment opposite Mr. Liang's son. Then The house is much better than the one I have now. I took care of him and earned a house. I earned it."
Zhang Jiefang's tone was a bit excited, but the more Jiang Xiaoping listened, the more uncomfortable she became. She had been holding back what she wanted to say, but before she could open her mouth, Zhang Jiefang's cell phone suddenly rang. It was Tang Wenyuan.
Jiang Xiaoping annoyed Tang Wenyuan the most.
In her opinion, Tang Wenyuan, the son, was even worse than his father, Tang Yaocan. He was just like a super-sized leech that just lay on Zhang Jiefang's back and only sucked blood, a shameless giant baby.
It is possible for Zhang Jiefang to get rid of Tang Yaocan completely, but can she get rid of Tang Wenyuan, a vampire?No play at all!
The more Jiang Xiaoping thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She reached out to touch her pocket, but after touching it again, she only found a lollipop. Then she remembered that Jiang He had taken away the e-cigarette.
"I didn't force you to do this. You personally promised to quit smoking. You must keep your word!"
When Jiang He took away all her e-cigarettes and cartridges, Jiang Xiaoping still wanted to laugh when she thought about the "villain succeeds" energy.
"Wenyuan? You've spent more on living expenses again? Then I'll transfer another 3000 to you..."
Zhang Jiefang is a bit presbyopic. In order to see her son clearly, she stretched her arms slightly, and her tone was extremely doting and gentle. Sometimes Jiang Xiaoping even felt a little numb when she heard it, it was too sticky.
In the past, Tang Wenyuan would immediately smile when Zhang Jiefang talked about giving money, but this time he didn't even hear his mother finish what he said, and shouted angrily, "I saw you on the Internet!"
He shouted so loudly that, not to mention Zhang Jiefang, even Jiang Xiaoping, who was holding a lollipop next to her, was startled.
"Zhang Jiefang, you really don't find it disgusting! You are not satisfied with being a bather, but now you are giving baths to those paralyzed old men, right? You wash it, you just wash it secretly, and you actually have the nerve to post it on the Internet? You What do you think? You think this is very glorious, don’t you? I’m really convinced. Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should at least think about me, right? If my classmates see it, what will they think of me? I will Don’t you still behave like a human being!”
Every time Tang Wenyuan cursed on the phone, Zhang Jiefang's face turned pale. She opened her mouth several times to explain, but Tang Wenyuan's barrage of questions prevented her from saying a word.
It seemed that everyone couldn't sit still, and it was crumbling like an overwhelmed bench with missing legs, and it might fall to the ground with a crash at any time.
"...Wen Yuan, listen to mom, mom... mom didn't mean to embarrass... you, mom is..."
Zhang Jiefang's voice was as weak as a wisp of smoke, and her usual boldness was completely gone.
Tang Wenyuan didn't listen to her explanation at all, and kept cursing and complaining with a ferocious look on her face.
Zhang Jiefang responded nonchalantly, holding her mobile phone in both hands, like a child who had done something wrong, hunched over and lowered her head to be scolded.
There wasn't much expression on her face, and she was even a little stunned.
Zhang Jiefang was already used to being scolded by Tang Wenyuan. She could not remember the first time Tang Wenyuan scolded her. It should have been after high school.
I can't recall my feelings at that time. I was definitely sad and angry, but most probably it was guilt.
Zhang Jiefang truly felt sorry for her son.
She is incompetent. She has neither the ability to make a lot of money nor the ability to find a good father for Tang Wenyuan. It's okay if the child can calm down by scolding her.
Jiang Xiaoping didn't have as "good" a mind as Zhang Jiefang. When she heard that wolf-hearted little bastard insulting her own mother, the fire in her heart grew stronger and stronger, and her ears began to buzz, making it very noisy. Her head hurt.
She wanted to hold it back, but she couldn't. She bit into the lollipop and grabbed Zhang Jiefang's phone.
"Tang Wenyuan, why are you talking to your mother?"
As soon as Jiang Xiaoping said something, Zhang Jiefang nervously tried to take the phone back, "Sister Xiaoping, don't... don't scare the child." Jiang Xiaoping glared at her with hatred. After all, she had been her lover for many years. Boss, Zhang Jiefang reflexively clasped her hands and stood still, not daring to argue with her anymore.
"Giving back a child? How old are you to give back a child! Whose child would dare to talk to his mother like that?"
Jiang Xiaoping was very sharp-tongued and never used curse words. She looked at the dog-looking young man on her phone with a sneer.
"Tang Wenyuan, you think it's disgusting for your mother to give the old man a bath, don't you? Then hurry up and spit out all the money. All the disgusting things your mother did and the disgusting money she earned will be passed on to you."
"She...she is my mother, so she has to make money for me to spend! Besides, what does this matter have to do with you? This is a family matter of our family, and it's not your turn to talk!"
Tang Wenyuan's tone of voice seemed to be cut from the same mold as Tang Yaocan's, almost causing Jiang Xiaoping to feel physically nauseous.
"Ha! Tang Wenyuan, listen to what you said. Are they human words? Who did your mother work so hard for most of her life? It's okay for you to be ungrateful, but you actually have the nerve to scold her condescendingly here. ? Tell me, what's so disgusting about making money with your own hands? You have to be like your dad, eating at home and waiting to die, that's the cleanest thing, right?"
The more Jiang Xiaoping scolded, the angrier she became. In her opinion, Zhang Jiefang didn't care who she was sorry for, but she could only be sorry for Tang Wenyuan.
"Do you think your mother's job is dirty? If you have the ability, make your own money. Earn the cleanest money! Are you going to be a good person in the future? You are not very good at what you do now!"
Tang Wenyuan was just messing around. He couldn't talk or scold Jiang Xiaoping. He weakly muttered "mind your own business" and "menopause is here" before hanging up the video.
"I'm at home now. Come back quickly. If you don't come back today, I'll pretend I don't have you as my mother!"
Tang Wenyuan quickly sent a text message. Jiang Xiaoping glanced at it and laughed out loud at Tang Wenyuan's shamelessness and childishness.
"Don't pay any attention to him. I'll keep this kid idle for two months. When he has no money to eat, he will know what his last name is and where he went wrong."
But Zhang Jiefang obviously didn't want her "great son" to be wronged. Not to mention the fact that she had been left out for two months, with the ease with which she entered the room to change clothes, Jiang Xiaoping suspected that she was not willing to let Tang Wenyuan wait for even one minute.
"Sister Xiaoping, the two boxes of cakes in this bag were brought back by me for you and Jiang He. You two can have a try. What about that, I... I'll go back and take a look first. The child finally came back."
Zhang Jiefang changed back into a loose T-shirt and dark sports trousers that were obviously two sizes too big. She put on her barefoot sneakers and ran straight out.
Jiang Xiaoping watched her disappearing back and walked around in circles in the living room angrily. She didn't stop until she tripped over the edge of the carpet and threw off a slipper.
"What the hell is this!" Jiang Xiaoping cursed in a low voice.
She jumped up and put on her slippers, closed the entrance door, glanced at the exquisite paper bag on the shoe cabinet, and just picked it up to stuff it in the refrigerator when a sudden dizziness hit her, and she stretched out her free left hand to grab and hold on. , and nothing was caught.
"...Mom, what's wrong with you? Sit down quickly."
As soon as Jiang He, who was wearing noise-canceling headphones, walked out of the room, he found Jiang Xiaoping standing in front of the refrigerator, about to fall to the ground, and he quickly helped her up.
"Why are your clothes so sweaty?" Jiang He was surprised to find that her mother's pajamas felt damp to the touch, especially the back area.
"...Make your Aunt Jiefang angry!" Jiang Xiaoping slumped down on the sofa weakly, took two sips of the warm water poured by Jiang He with shaking hands.
She was still dizzy, and felt indescribably tired and weak, but her heart was thumping behind her ribs as if she had taken a stimulant.
Upon seeing this, Jiang He quickly pulled the blanket over and covered her mother. He took out the thermometer gun and took a temperature measurement. He was relieved when he found that there was no fever.
"What makes you so angry? After all, Aunt Jiefang is an adult, so you can only give her a few words of advice. She can only make the final decision."
Jiang He let Jiang Xiaoping lean against her, and while talking, he helped her mother massage her head. Her technique was skillful and experienced, and she had practiced it on her own head.
"By the way, are you suffering from hypoglycemia? I said that quitting sugar is not as hard as you. You don't even eat a bite of staple food. How old are you..."
Jiang He caught Jiang Xiaoping's "murderous" gaze, pursed his lips, and suppressed the second half of the sentence, "I don't think it's possible anyway."
"Who among us is the mother?" Jiang Xiaoping patted Jiang He's hand. The dizziness went away as quickly as it came. She was fine now.
Jiang He stood up and picked up the paper bag that Jiang Xiaoping had just dropped on the ground. When he saw the logo clearly, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. This brand of desserts has been all over the screen recently on Xiaoyingshu.
"Can I eat it?"
"You're still eating so late? You're not afraid of getting fat!"
"It's worth a bite or two."
Jiang He thought about it, and she excitedly took out a box and opened it. It was full of bite-sized strawberry cream puffs.
"Would you like one?"
As Jiang He spoke, he forked a puff filled with cream and strawberry jam and brought it to her mother's mouth.
"No." Jiang Xiaoping swallowed while refusing.
Jiang He swallowed it in one gulp, and immediately shook his head and sighed with satisfaction. Before she could swallow it, she immediately forked it again, but this time it failed to reach her mouth, but was "cut off" by Jiang Xiaoping halfway. .
"...It's too sweet!" Jiang Xiaoping complained, but she reached out and took out the remaining box of desserts from the bag.
The two of them happily ate each other, but Zhang Jiefang didn't dare to delay at all. She was afraid that the bus would be too slow and the subway would be out of service, so she directly hailed a taxi and hurried home, jogging all the way up the stairs.
As soon as she reached the third and a half floors, Zhang Jiefang discovered that the security door of her home was wide open, and Tang Wenyuan's black backpack was thrown directly at the door.
She quickly picked up her backpack, patted the dust on it, and hung it on the shelf at the door.
"You came back suddenly and delayed class. If anything happens, just call me..."
Zhang Jiefang's unfinished words were stuck in her throat like a big bone, so Tang Wenyuan, who was sitting on the new sofa with great dignity at this moment, was holding the divorce certificate belonging to Tang Yaocan in his hand!
(End of this chapter)