Recalling the taste of braised meat, she couldn't help but salivate.
"Brother San makes food?" Zhang Wenxue realized.
Zhang Wenjun, his plan foiled, his eyes darting, hatched another. "Moreover, it sells very well. From my observation, the income is at least a hundred yuan a day, and that's just from the crayfish.
There's also the braised meat! If you add them both up, it's definitely astonishing.
It's just a shame that as his uncle, I haven't tasted the crayfish or the braised meat made by my eldest nephew. It's truly a pity."
Zhang Wenjun wasn't expressing pity; he was trying to plant seeds of doubt in his elder brother's mind, suggesting that Zhang Liunian was excessively stingy for not even offering a bowl of his food to his uncle.
"What? Earning at least a hundred yuan a day?" Wu Gudi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon hearing the figure Zhang Wenjun reported.
"That's my conservative estimate; it could be more, perhaps two or three hundred, or even more.
After all, his food is delivered by tractor, so the sheer volume is staggering," Zhang Wenjun said, his heart filled with bitterness as he recalled Zhang Liunian's tractor load of goods.
Why was it that he, setting up a stall, had no business, while the other person used a tractor for delivery?
It was simply unfair.
Both selling crayfish, one was flying high with profits, while the other was still poor enough to eat dirt.
"Wenjun, you're exaggerating. How can a self-employed individual earn several hundred yuan a day? Do you think money is falling from the sky?" Yu Xiaohua didn't believe her brother-in-law at all.
From the bottom of her heart, she looked down on self-employed individuals and had never imagined that being self-employed could earn so much money.
If self-employment was so profitable, why did so many people mock it?
"Sister-in-law, it's true. If you don't believe me, you can go tomorrow and see how many crayfish Liunian has to catch in a day, at Daming Lake." Seeing that his elder brother and sister-in-law didn't believe him, Zhang Wenjun continued to insist he wasn't lying.
"Daming Lake? What exactly are these crayfish? And why go to Daming Lake? Isn't that the lake upstairs?" Zhang Wenxue asked several questions that had been bothering him.
He felt as if the world had changed dramatically in the two months he hadn't been home.
"Crayfish are..." Zhang Wenjun went to great lengths to provoke conflict between his elder brother and his wife.
As soon as his elder brother had any doubts, he immediately answered them one by one, aiming to be completely forthcoming.
He had to make sure his elder brother and sister-in-law clearly understood that their youngest son was rich.
He could help their second son and lead them to a better life.
This way, his elder brother's family would surely fall into conflict!
Fortunately, after his explanation, Zhang Wenxue finally understood the whole story and said with disbelief, "So, the third child really made money by... with crayfish."
"That's right. Your Liunian is very capable. To make money, he even broke my Liuhuo's leg.
Brother, now that you're back, you must help my Liuhuo get justice, right?
His wife sent Liunian to jail, and he'll be bedridden for three months. Liunian should give him something, shouldn't he?
Besides, we are family. How could he inflict such harm on Liuhuo?"
"Dad, Mom, I didn't want to say anything at first, but seeing Third Uncle asking for your help, I have no choice but to tell you about Third Brother hitting me.
I hope you can help me get justice. I am, after all, Third Brother's sister-in-law. He hit me for that slut Jiang Qingqing, it's too much." Wu Gudi, seeing someone take the lead in complaining, immediately joined in lamenting her woes.
Hearing this, Zhang Wenxue glared at his imprudent eldest daughter-in-law, thinking, why is she always getting involved?
Couldn't she wait until Zhang Wenjun left to discuss family matters?
Must they make a spectacle for outsiders?
However, he couldn't say these words out loud now, so he could only pretend not to hear.
"I'll ask Liunian about this later. If it's truly his fault, I'll make him apologize." Zhang Wenxue wasn't someone who didn't protect his son.
Even though Zhang Liuhuo was his nephew, his own son was more important than his nephew.
Although his sons were categorized, even the son he disliked was still better than a nephew.
"Big Brother, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to sweep this under the rug? Are you still my brother?" Zhang Wenjun immediately knew what his elder brother was planning when he heard this.
They had experienced this before, and now hearing him say he would go and ask made his heart sink.
He knew he could rely on no one but himself.
"There won't be few who know about this. I won't just listen to Liunian's side of the story. As long as it's his fault, I'll make him apologize and compensate Liuhuo." Zhang Wenxue saw the anger in his brother's eyes but could do nothing.
He couldn't condemn his son without understanding the situation; he wasn't senile.
"I see clearly now. Big Brother doesn't consider me a brother. I'm leaving." Zhang Wenjun, having hurt his elder brother, said these words and turned to leave.
After he left, Zhang Wenxue began to sigh.
"Dad, we can put Third Uncle's matter aside for now. I am your daughter-in-law, and Third Brother hitting me is wrong, isn't it!" Wu Gudi, seeing her uncle-in-law leave angrily, took over the conversation.
With no outsiders present, Zhang Wenxue had to criticize her, "Are you that impatient? Can't you wait until there's no one around to talk about this?"
Wu Gudi was dumbfounded. What did he mean? What did he mean by "when there's no one around"? Zhang Wenjun wasn't an outsider.
"Gudi, it's not that the old man is criticizing you, but you were truly embarrassing just now. With your uncle-in-law still here, you blurted out our family's dirty laundry, showing no regard for saving face." Yu Xiaohua also felt Wu Gudi's performance was poor.
"..." Wu Gudi was speechless and didn't know how to retort.
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian, who was taking his sister home, suddenly heard his sister say something so shocking it almost made him stumble.
"Third Brother, I don't want to go back to Tie Jia Village. I want to remarry and have a good life."
That one sentence almost made Zhang Liunian fall. He staggered back in disbelief and looked at his younger sister, "If you want to marry, you can marry. If you don't want to, Third Brother will protect you forever."
Zhang Xiaomei was very touched upon hearing this, "I know how good Third Brother is to me, but seeing how loving you and Third Sister-in-law are, I still want to remarry."
She also wanted to live a good life with a man. She had already chosen one.
"Third Brother will do as you wish, but have you thought about who you want to marry?" Zhang Liunian had a rough idea, but until his sister said it herself, he couldn't be sure.
Seeing her brother ask, Zhang Xiaomei shyly wriggled. When she realized no one was around, she quietly said, "The mute." After speaking, her chin rested on her chest, looking embarrassed.
It was him, after all?
Upon hearing the name, Zhang Liunian's mood was very complex.
When he saved his sister from her predicament, he had already prepared himself for the possibility that she might never marry. He hadn't expected her to fall for the mute so quickly.