Talking about her new family in front of Qiao Qiang always made her feel a little awkward and weirded out.
Qiao Qiang immediately stood up and said as he walked away, “Mei Mei, let’s prepare a good meal later. It’s not easy for your mother to come all the way here. I’ll go to bed and rest for a bit. I’m feeling tired.”
“Alright,” Qiao Mei replied.
In the past, Qiao Qiang did not even want to look at Li Gui at all. He thought it was really too cold-blooded of her to remarry when her child was still so young.
However, after hearing about what happened, he thought differently now.
He no longer harbored any prejudice against Li Gui. Instead, he could be more objective about the situation with his daughter-in-law.
When Li Gui heard what he said, she put her head down on the table and sobbed.
She did not make any sound, but anyone could feel how agitated she felt.
Qiao Mei sighed. It seemed that she was not doing well.
“Tell me about it. How are you doing? Is your life alright?” Qiao Mei asked and patted her back.
Li Gui looked up and wiped her tears.
She saw Qiao Mei’s curious gaze which had no trace of resentment. Instead, Qiao Mei was like a kitten, strangely likable.
“Hmm… should be the same as everyone else.” Li Gui stammered her answer after thinking for a moment.
Qiao Mei continued to ask, “So does the same as everyone else mean good or bad? Does he hit you?”
Li Gui answered, “Only when he’s drunk. If he doesn’t drink, then it’s less likely to get beaten up by him.”
She seemed to think that this was normal.
On the other hand, Qiao Mei was shocked. She looked at Li Gui and could not help but continued, “He actually hit you. What a scumbag.”
Qiao Mei had only asked what she thought was a casual question, but she did not expect Zhang Qian to have the worst trait that a husband could have. A man who hit others was definitely not a good man.
Li Gui just replied naturally, “It’s normal for people to get beaten up. Whether in the city or the village, isn’t it the norm for men to hit women?”
There were very few men who did not hit women!
It was hard to imagine which woman would be lucky enough to meet such a man. Perhaps only those cultured and knowledgeable men would not hit women.
Qiao Mei did not argue with her about this given that their value systems were different.
“And did you have any more children?” she continued.
Li Gui sighed. She did not expect that Qiao Mei did not even know about the existence of her younger siblings. Her mother really did not convey these details at all…
Then, she continued, “I have two boys and two girls. The two boys are the eldest and second brother, Zhang Wei and Zhang Chao. The younger sisters are Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao.”
She answered every question Qiao Mei asked.
However, there was none of the familiar feeling between family members. Instead, the two of them were like strangers who had just met. The whole situation actually made Li Gui quite happy.
At least it was much better than I had expected.
My daughter did not hate me!
In the end, Qiao Mei looked at her and asked softly, “Do you want to earn more money and save more money?”
When she said that, Li Gui could not help but look at her.
Li Gui quickly nodded and said, “Of course I want to, but this is not something I can think about!”
She was from the countryside, so she could at best work as a temporary worker at the factory as the others were unwilling to let her be an official employee. This was the limitation of the household register system in this era.
“Then come back! Come to our village and grow bean sprouts. You can earn at least two to three hundred dollars a month. It’s better than working yourself to death in town,” Qiao Mei said.
Hearing this, Li Gui immediately became interested.
She fixed her eyes on Qiao Mei and kept thinking about the feasibility of what Qiao Mei said.
She really needed money!
She still had four children at home. In the future, the educational and living expenses would make it harder and harder for her to live with the money she had.
In accordance with the current policy, the children had to follow their mother’s household register. As she was a villager but did not participate in the labor in the village, the four children could not eat the food provided by the city and they had to pay for their own food.
That was all money wasted for nothing!
