"Ask mom to come back for dinner. She went to Sister Xiaonan's place to have her hair washed."
As soon as Ji Huai stopped the car, Shani came back and said.
Ji's father went to do hard work and usually came back at night. Occasionally he went to live in a house in the countryside. Tong Zhenmei always lived with them. Unless the other party didn't come back, he would wait for her to come back before eating.
"I'll be back in about time." Ji Huai pushed the cart inside, "If you're hungry, eat first. Mom will be back soon."
"I'm not hungry. I went to eat cake with Xiaofan this morning." After Shani finished speaking, she explained, "He said he didn't want to eat the kindergarten breakfast today, so I bought him a cake."
The kindergarten includes breakfast, and the monthly payment is fixed. If you don't eat, it will be wasted. It is rare for her to pamper her son with such luxury.
"If you don't want to eat, just don't eat, just let it go." Ji Huai didn't think it was a big deal.
As soon as he finished speaking, Tong Zhenmei's loud voice came over. She seemed to be still arguing about something and was very emotional.
"Impossible, his daughter has that ability? Is it the money given by the man?"
"At first glance, she is not a serious woman. Sooner or later she will run away after marrying her."
…
Behind Tong Zhenmei, followed a woman about the same height as her, wearing heavy makeup, permed hair, big earrings hanging on both ears, and wearing rivet stilettos on her feet.
Tacky trendy vibe.
"I think so. I heard that she was being kept." Ji Yun made a conclusion directly and said in a high voice, "This is how you can make money faster."
In a small county like this, if someone's daughter suddenly achieves something, it must not be money earned in a legitimate way. Most of it will be said that she earned it from a man.
"Sister." Xia Ni called her. Ji Yun was speaking enthusiastically, responded perfunctorily, and then walked to the kitchen with Tong Zhenmei.
Shani also followed and said no more.
The eldest sister-in-law is several years older than Ji Huai. She is almost forty this year. She has been divorced twice. She has a son from her first marriage and a daughter from her second marriage. It is said that she is still hanging out with the gangsters she was with when she was young.
From time to time, she would take turns bringing her two children back to stay.
Tong Zhenmei and Ji Yun sat down and continued to argue. They took their chopsticks and started eating.
Shani and Ji Huai also sat down.
Both of them talk less, Ji Huai eats with big mouthfuls, and Shani is also eating with a bowl in her hands. During this period, she is asked whether she will reply from time to time, otherwise it is just in the background.
Tong Zhenmei and Ji Yun were both talkative people. They raised their voices and discussed whether the East family had the upper hand and the West family had the shortcomings.
As the meal came to an end, guests came outside. They were two little girls. They must have found a place to hide and chat.
Shani stood up immediately, packed up and walked out, bringing the menu with her with a smile, "What do you want to eat?"
The two of them had been chatting, and after a casual glance, they said, "Two bowls of milky taro, and then two glasses of lemon juice, thank you."
"Okay, wait a moment." Shani walked back.
The business started, and Tong Zhenmei didn't chat anymore, urging Ji Yun, "Eat quickly, eat quickly, and clean up after you finish."
Shani came in and started working. Ji Huai went to move tables and chairs. There were too many customers last night and they all sat outside. Many tables, chairs and benches were moved out.
Tong Zhenmei brought her money bag and prepared the items on the counter. It was almost a little over, and customers started coming in one after another.
"A serving of Wheat Krispies."
"Have a piece of milky taro and a sweet sizzling ring."
"A glass of pickled plum juice and two skewers of fried chicken wings."
…
After the customer finished ordering, Tong Zhenmei shouted to the chef that pancakes and fried chicken wings need to be freshly made and fried by Ji Huai, while milky taro only needs to be taken out from the refrigerator, added with ingredients, and then brought out.
The couple just guarded the kitchen, busy and running around.
Ji Huai worked a lot in the afternoon, sometimes fried chicken steaks, sometimes fried chicken wings and pancakes, so it was Shani who brought them out.
Tong Zhenmei was outside soliciting customers. She knew 80 to 90 percent of the people in this town. She was very sharp-eyed. She saw them from a distance and asked, "Do you want something to eat?"
"Did you bring your sister out today? Where is your brother? Is grandma taking him at home?"
"Sit, sit, sit down, do you want to eat pumpkin powder today? Pumpkin powder is good today, you can add ginger sugar."
"Then let's have a bowl of pumpkin powder. It needs to be hot." The customer walked down with his daughter and said to her.
"Okay." Tong Zhenmei said with a smile, and then called Shani, "A bowl of hot pumpkin powder with ginger sugar."
Xia Ni responded, but was stopped again before she could leave. Tong Zhenmei looked at the customer, "Put some brown sugar in, too? Ginger sugar alone won't taste good, and children won't like it either."
"That's okay." The customer nodded.
"My recommendation is correct. You will know after you eat it." Mai Zhen smiled, and then ordered to Shani, "Both brown sugar and ginger sugar, not too sweet, not too hot."
"Okay." Shani walked back with the tray, and her sister-in-law was sitting under the fan, watching the video and laughing happily.
She continued to run back and forth, cooking brown sugar pumpkin powder, making milk, taking things out, running back and forth.
The air conditioning was still on inside, and she was sweating all over from exhaustion. Ji Huai was even hotter in the back kitchen, frying things constantly, just like an oven, and his back was wet.
"Here you come? What are you going to eat today?"
"Are the grilled chicken wings ready? Xiaoni, the pancakes at table six are not ready yet?"
"Didn't I just say that? This table wants a serving of boiled peanuts! What are you listening to?"
…
Tong Qingmei's loud voice kept coming, and Shani ran back and forth. There were the most people between three and four o'clock, and she had to make all kinds of things. She wished she could be separated in two.
Tong Zhenmei was walking back and forth outside. When she saw a table was empty, she would clear it. Since it was snacks, it was easy to clear, so she took a bucket and threw it in. She invited a nearby woman to come and wash the dishes. Because if I don’t wash it, Shani or she will have to wash it and cook for a while, which will be too busy at all.
Someone was doing the washing and Shani was cooking, so she had a lot of free time, and it was only a thousand and a half months.
During this period, Tongzhenmei suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in her stomach and called Shani, "Come out and watch, I'm going to use the toilet."
"good."
Shani wiped her sweat as she walked out, with fine sweat on her forehead. Tong Zhenmei put her bag in her hand, which contained the QR code for payment and some cash.
After she left, Shani continued to run around in the kitchen and outside. She was definitely too busy. Sometimes when a customer asked for the check, she could only say apologetically, "Wait a minute, I'll be here soon."
When she came out with the drink, she saw that Ji Yun had already gone to collect the payment.
She didn't use Tongzhenmei's QR code, but the QR code on her mobile phone. She didn't feel guilty at all. She walked to another table in front of Shani and said with a smile, "Thirty-nine in total."
"Are you the boss?" The person at the table didn't recognize her. The man paying the bill asked doubtfully, and then looked at Shani who was walking towards her.
In a small shop like this, the person who collects money usually has a bag hanging on his body, but Shani is dressed like this, and he just came to give something away.
"Don't worry, just scan." Ji Yun looked helpless, "We are all one family."
The other party looked at Jini again, and she twitched her lips, "That's my sister, and the one who scanned her is the same."
Ji Yun doesn't do this kind of thing just once or twice, and the same goes for Tong Zhenmei's youngest son Ji Yong'an.
When I come back during the summer vacation, I come down to work just to collect money.
The other party said nothing more, paid the bill, and left.
Ji Yun still carried the bucket to clean up in a decent manner, and then went to another table to collect money. Sometimes she would pick up the things Shani brought out and deliver them to her.
Shani thinks that Ji Yun and Ji Yongan are both very expensive laborers. They do the lightest work and get the most money.
She and Ji Huai always used the QR code at the counter to collect bills, and never took a penny in private.
Sometimes when I think about it, it seems too silly, but if I take it secretly in private, I feel like a thief and can't do it.
When Tongzhenmei came out, Xia Ni gave her wallet to the other party and went to the kitchen. Tongzhenmei also caught Ji Yun using her QR code, but she just gritted her teeth and cursed, "You damn girl." "
"Mom." Ji Yun smiled and took the phone back, then sat back down with a smile, her face was unusually thick-skinned.
Tong Zhenmei didn't say anything and continued to solicit customers and collect the bill.
He was busy until about four o'clock, when Ji Fan came back on the school bus. Tong Zhenmei stood on the roadside to pick him up, one baby at a time. He obediently called her grandma, and she pulled him in and let him play by himself.
Ji Fan was still very attached to Shani. He rushed to the kitchen and hugged his mother's thigh. He held his head high and called out every day, "Mom."
"Xiaofan, can you sit outside? Mom and Dad are not free right now. Can you ask dad to make pancakes for you?" Shani was making lemon juice, but she was too busy, and her tone was a little anxious.
There was no way, he was still young and I didn't dare to let him go upstairs alone. The child was naughty and could only be coaxed with food.
Ji Fan's eyes showed disappointment, "Mom..."
"Is the lemon juice ready? How many times have you urged me?" Tong Zhenmei came over to urge her again. She frowned and looked at Ji Huai again, scolding, "That chicken wing is not a pair, but one. You have ears." Didn’t listen.”
"Okay." Shani quickly brought the lemon juice over, almost tripping her son in the process, and blurted out anxiously and angrily, "Mom said don't stand here, get out quickly!"
The kitchen is a mess and there is a lot of scalding water. What should I do if I get injured
In a hurry, he couldn't control his tone.
Ji Fan looked aggrieved and lowered his head. Seeing this, Shani felt extremely guilty and at a loss for a moment.
"So busy, who remembers one or two?" Ji Huai closed the pot and looked a little unhappy, "More is more. If you remember so clearly, do it yourself."
"Who wants more? Don't waste the ingredients?" Tong Zhenmei was furious and immediately shouted back, "If I can come, I will come. You go to greet me?"
"Is the lemon juice ready? Otherwise, I'm leaving." Someone shouted again from outside.
"Okay, okay, here we go." Tongzhenmei cursed a few more times, turned around and left.
Ji Huai walked out from inside, squatted down to hug his son, and lowered his voice, "Dad will give you pancakes, and let mom make you a glass of milk. Can you go sit outside and wait for mom and dad?"
"Okay." Ji Fan clasped his little hand, nodded, and then looked at Shani.
She felt guilty just now and smiled at him.
Ji Fan also smiled.
Ji Huai held him outside and sat on an empty table inside. "Son, you can't run around. You have to wait carefully while waiting for the meal."
Ji Fan nodded again.
He touched the other person's little head and walked in.
Tong Zhenmei looked at his slow movements and became even more dissatisfied, but she was still a little patient with her son. Shani came out with the things, and when she put them on the table, her hands shook, and she said, "What are you doing? ? It’s not like burning something.”
"Hurry up and make two bowls of ginger soup and pumpkin powder. Hurry up."
…
When Shani came back, Ji Huai had fried the cakes and poured the best condensed milk on top. It was obvious that it was for his son.
She quickly poured the milk and took it out together.
Ji Fan looked at his mother walking over with an excited look on his face, showing his little teeth. Shani warned, "The milk is still a little hot. It will take a while before you can drink it. Mom, put it aside for you first."
"Um."
He has always been obedient and would not touch her unless he was allowed to touch her. Shani went back to work with peace of mind.
Children are slow to eat. Every time Shani comes out and looks at her son nibbling at the cake, she smiles.
It was close to six o'clock, and there were gradually no people around.
Ji Yun came back from nowhere and saw Ji Fan sitting there. She walked over and said "ouch" in an unclear tone, "Your mother is also willing to give you a piece of cake. Auntie can't even eat a piece of it." eat."
Hearing this, Tong Zhenmei came over and looked at the cakes on the plate, her face also darkened.
The whole pancake in front of Ji Fan was chewed into a mess. He gnawed all the places where the condensed milk was, and not a single piece was intact.
What do children know? He likes condensed milk and eats it wherever there is condensed milk.
He also licked the condensed milk at the corner of his mouth and said to Ji Yun, "Let mom give it to my aunt. There is also milk."
"Your mother is so willing to give up." Ji Yun also spoke in a strange way, following Tong Zhenmei and feeling great.
Shani came out and listened, feeling a little embarrassed.
Seeing her coming out, Tong Zhenmei said with a straight face, "Just give him one or two pieces. If you don't eat a few bites of a big cake, others can't eat the rest. It's a waste of food and money. He treats it as a toy and doesn't care." I know what you think."
Inside and outside the words, there is not the slightest bit of contempt.
She didn't agree with Shani marrying Ji Huai. Her natal family was poor and she was still in the countryside, so she was somewhat pretty.
"Ji Huai and I will eat before we finish." Shani could only say this.
Tong Zhenmei didn't say anything else. Her expression looked like she couldn't see where she was going, but she didn't curse and turned around to leave.
Shani looked at her son's ignorant expression and reached out to feed her. She tried her best to smile and said, "Xiaofan will eat first, and mom and dad will eat later."
Ji Fan also put aside what was left for them, with a serious look on his face.
Shani swallowed her grievance in her stomach and got up to go to the kitchen to cook. After eating, she still had to work in the evening.
In the past, Tong Zhenmei would scold her, literally pointing her nose at her, specifically picking out Ji Huai's absence and looking for a reason to scold her.
Since she learned how to drink, she no longer scolds you because she needs to work, but sometimes her words are very offensive, and the words she speaks can turn into sharp knives, stabbing you with pain, and making you feel aggrieved and unable to speak out. .
She also has to take care of the children at night. Ji Huai is usually busy alone, and there are fewer people at night.
By the time he finished clearing the table and chairs and came up, it was already half past eleven, and she had put the child to sleep.
After a busy day, he went to take a shower. When he came back, he stretched out his hands and beat his arms, which were very sore, and asked casually, "Why didn't you eat anything today?"
"I ate Xiaofan's leftover pancakes." She didn't say it was okay, but Shani felt aggrieved after saying it. She looked at him and couldn't help but blushing, "A pancake costs six yuan. Mom said she didn't know that I What do you think, give him a pancake to eat and play with."
"We've been busy all day, isn't even one pancake worth eating?"
"Mom, you don't mean that, right?" Ji Huai never got involved in these things and said calmly, "Maybe you misunderstood Mom and just ate it. Maybe you thought too much."
Tired of talking too much, Shani lay down and said nothing more, "Whatever you think is right. Your family is right anyway."
"We are all one family..."
"This is your home, not mine." Shani couldn't help but look at him, with tears in her eyes, "You will never understand my feeling of being dependent on others, and you don't want to understand. I only have to work and eat. Every meal, every grain of rice, I will feel that it is not charity, but that I have earned it myself."
"But no matter how hard I work, my value will never be recognized."
…
"You're here again." Ji Huai breathed out, couldn't help but hold his forehead and said with a headache, "You are my wife, not an outsider."
Shani didn't want to hear what he said, it didn't make sense anyway.
Ji Huai looked at her, pulled back the quilt and fell asleep. He reached out to hug her. Shani resisted, but he hugged her again. He was good-tempered and coaxed, "Mom may not be very pleasant to listen to, and it's the same with me. I don't feel comfortable with you." Get mad at me, get over it.”
"I'll send Xiaofan off tomorrow, so you can sleep a little longer."
"I don't feel at ease even when I'm sleeping. When I hear my mother's voice, I get panicked if I don't go down." She admitted that she is indeed a little afraid of Tong Zhenmei, and she doesn't feel at ease even if she doesn't work.
Ji Huai sighed in his heart and hugged her into his arms, feeling extremely distressed.
Tong Qingmei can scold all over the street and is very good at criticizing Sang and Huai. She used to be extremely harsh to her.
When she married him, she had just turned eighteen, not even the legal age for marriage, and had not read much. He also met when they went to work in a hotel together. She was ignorant, like a blank piece of paper, and she was married to someone else. Confused.
The economy here is backward and people without education get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen and have two children at the age of eighteen. He was already twenty-seven at the time and was nine years older than her. He was indeed deceived.
Apart from her age, she had nothing, and the bride price was only 8,000 yuan. The virgin plum was too much, and she didn't get a certificate. She just put the wine on the table and treated it as a marriage.
"Last time you told me to live out, we had no savings and couldn't afford to rent a house. We have everything at home." Ji Huai said, looking at her aggrieved face, he compromised a little more, "Wait until my son finishes kindergarten. Okay? If you really want to go out then, take him to the city to attend elementary school. When that time comes, we can work together and we can afford to support him."
"But the school selection fee costs fifteen thousand."
Shani probably wanted to go out too much. She stretched out a finger and whispered, "I... I saved a thousand."
Been saving it for a long time.
Ji Huai chuckled softly, "What can you do with one thousand? Renting a house in the city costs seven to eight hundred, and including water and electricity bills, it's almost one thousand."
Shani lowered her eyes, pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.
Ji Huai didn't say anything either.
After a long silence, he was unsure of what to say, "Honey, are you unhappy?"
It was okay if I didn't say it, but when I said it, Shani's tears burst out of her eyes and ran down the corners of her eyes. She seemed to be seen through her stubbornness, but also seemed to be understood a little bit, and she couldn't stop crying.
She didn't dare to cry, she gritted her teeth and sobbed.
She cried before. He would coax her at first, but later she was really helpless. He kept silent and let her complain. She wouldn't hit or scold her back, but he didn't take it seriously. In fact, it was the most irritating thing.
Ji Huai stretched out his hand to wipe her tears. He did a lot of rough work and his fingertips were a little rough. She was actually only twenty-two years old and had a smooth face. He did not hesitate to use force and said truthfully, "It is impossible for me to understand you. After all, I have no identity." Likewise, I am too much older than you and cannot understand what you are thinking now. You try to tell me your needs and I will try my best to meet them."
"If you want to go to the city, you won't be able to go there right away. Can it be done in two years?"
Shani nodded. She had already smoothed some of her edges. She knew that life was difficult, getting married was difficult, and integrating into a family was even harder.
As long as you can get out, that's always good.
"Let's save some money, otherwise we won't be able to choose a school." Ji Huai gave his plan, and then said, "I will transfer the money my mother gives me every month to you, as much as I can save. "
"You promise to do what you say." Shani stared at him with seriousness in her eyes, and then said, "Can you not tell mom first? I'm afraid mom won't agree."
They don't have a penny now.
"Of course I won't tell you. Am I stupid? Can you give us money if you tell us?" Ji Huai hugged her after saying that. "I didn't think so much when I was single. Now that I have a wife and children, I always have to think about my wife and children." Some people can’t even work in this store for the rest of their lives.”
"You didn't say that before." Shani hugged him back, "Didn't you say that it's good to be in the store all the time?"
"That was before. Yong'an graduated this year. He will get married in a few years. It will be very troublesome then. I will definitely have to save some money for our son. After all, we are two brothers. There are still many conflicts when it comes to money. We can't always It depends on parents." Ji Huai analyzed and concluded, "You still have to have some money, otherwise you will lose your confidence and Yong'an will have a difficult temper."
Shani felt a lot more at ease after hearing his words, which showed that he really had a plan.
She had to endure it for just a few years. It was so difficult before, but she got over it.
"By the way, eldest sister is collecting the bill today?" Ji Huai asked again.
"Um."
"Then why don't you take out your phone and scan it for them?" He looked down at her in his arms, and before she could answer, he said to himself, "Forget it, you definitely don't dare."
"I know you still said it!" She patted him lightly.
"I'll collect it." Ji Huai suddenly said.
"No... Isn't that bad?" She said hesitantly, "That's not..."
"Didn't Yong'an always print out his QR code when he came back? If he didn't have money, he would sit in the store and collect money. If he had money, he would go out to play. I worked all day long and couldn't collect it anymore?" Ji Huai said to her, "I What's wrong? You don't dare me to do it."
Shani: "..."
"If I want to collect it, there are many opportunities. I was too lazy to collect it before." Ji Huai looked at her and said plausibly, "With that little money, I can't save much without spending a penny. Why don't you let me collect the money if I don't have a salary? Isn’t there any benefit from working so hard?”
"I'll just collect it. I'll print out your payment QR code and collect it tomorrow."