I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 249: They Argued

Lu Zhenping had to catch a ride, so he couldn’t say goodbye to Mingyang and the kids. When Mingyang and the kids got up, they couldn’t train in the yard as usual, which startled everyone.

Ever since they started training with Lu Zhenping, they would wake up immediately at the sound of the whistle every morning, but today they surprisingly slept in until naturally awake.

The kids hurriedly dressed and rushed out the door, with Ming Fang lagging behind with the youngest, Ming Kai, as she had slept with her little brother last night, and it took him a while to be willing to get up.

Without bothering to wash up, they hastily lined up in the yard and waited for a while, but no one came out. Lu Mingyang pursed his lips and was about to walk toward the east room.

Shen Meng was cooking in the kitchen, hearing the commotion, she took off her apron and chuckled at the well-organized kids.

"Up so early, huh? Don’t wait anymore. Your dad has gone out and won’t be back for several days. Hurry and wash up to eat!"

"Ha, really, mom? Dad won’t be back for several days? I can sleep in for a few days, that’s great, that’s great."

"Ming Liang, don’t talk nonsense. It’s good when dad is home, otherwise who will take care of Ming Kai? What will we eat for lunch?"

"Uh..."

Shen Meng tossed her apron, and flung it over the clothesline.

"He’ll be back in a few days. For lunch, just go to your third uncle’s house. I’ve already spoken to your third aunt. I have to rush to the county soon. I’m not working tomorrow, so I’ll stay home with you guys. You can do your homework, and remember to lock the doors if you go out. I’ll make something delicious when I’m back from work in the evening."

"Okay, mom, you can go to work!"

"Let’s have breakfast first. I made Shuijianbao and soup dumplings, and also made a big pot of spicy soup. If you can’t finish it this morning, take it to your third uncle’s house at noon to heat up; it can add a bit more food."

"Alright!"

Just sniffing the delightful aromas made it unbearable to wait any longer. The kids immediately ran towards the basin stand in the house. Mingyang picked up the water jug from under the basin stand, poured the lukewarm water into it and let Ming Fang wash her face first, followed by Ming Kai. He soaked a towel, covered Ming Kai’s face with it, and with a painful cry, he vigorously rubbed the towel in circles on his face. After washing his face, he also washed his hands in warm water, and only after pouring out the water did he let Ming Liang wash.

"After washing, apply the snow cream. Apply it carefully, and don’t waste it."

Being the eldest brother, with dad not at home and mom having to work, he had to be the head of the household, setting a good example. He needed to take care of his younger siblings to ensure the parents wouldn’t worry. That’s what a good elder brother should be like.

The village was still bustling with activity. The labor force was heading to work, the new factory buildings were under construction, and new workers had been recruited. Making head flowers, one could even sit on a stool and work on them. Director Guo and Xie Jinghao would both be there early in the morning, and occasionally people from the commune and the County Committee would come to inspect, so no one dared to misbehave anymore.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. Yesterday, Lu Debang paid a visit and mentioned that Director Feng had informed him that the materials made by the Provincial City machinery factory would be delivered in the next few days. These were high-end head flowers, which even Xie Jinghao hadn’t managed to perfect, still requiring Shen Meng’s involvement.

Fortunately, the bus company had space, so Shen Meng agreed to demonstrate making the high-end head flowers in front of everyone and to expedite their production for delivery by the end of the month.

When Shen Meng reached the area where Uncle Guai’s ox cart stopped, she saw not only Yu Xueli taking her children to the Provincial City, but also Wu Xianglan. Wu Xianglan, feeling somewhat embarrassed when she caught Shen Meng looking at her, smiled shyly.

"Yong Qiang and Yong Li have never been to the county town. I received my salary yesterday, and I thought I’d take them to visit the county town, have a bowl of lamb noodles and take some photos for them to be happy," Wu Xianglan explained.

"That’s great. I heard Comrade Hu Biao even specifically instructed your supervisor not to let you do heavy work and to give you welfare goods during festivals?"

Speaking of this, Wu Xianglan’s hands trembled with excitement. Indeed, although she was only a temporary worker, her salary was paid regularly and on time, the work was not strenuous, and she enjoyed benefits like a regular worker. When cleaning, she could rest whenever she wanted, as long as she kept her area tidy.

Looking at the other workers in the Head Flower Factory, who were always heads-down, patching and mending, sometimes having to carefully undo and redo their work if they made mistakes, she felt truly lucky. Sister-in-law Hua was really good to her, the job was great!

Just to endure for another seven or eight years, she would definitely get a house from the Textile Factory. By then, her children, Yong Qiang and Yong Li, would be city residents.

"It’s all thanks to you, elder sister-in-law. Without your support, I’d still be working for Lu Jiahe, that bastard, earning work points. At the end of the year, when they distribute red envelopes and grains, I would have gotten nothing, empty-handed. Now, as long as I work hard, I get a monthly salary and welfare benefits. My Yong Qiang and Yong Li also have good food and warm clothes. Oh, life is getting more and more flavorful by the day."

"Exactly, I also owe it all to Xiao Meng. The life I’m living now, it’s like a dream. People must remember their benefactors, must remember who provided this life for them. One must not be like those ungrateful wretches, biting the hand that feeds them, like Sister-in-law Hua."

Hearing this, Wu Xianglan immediately pledged her loyalty—she was not that kind of person; she was one to remember kindness as well as grudges.

"Elder sister-in-law, you’re always busy like a spinning top, you probably don’t know much about the village gossip. Let me give you a proper update. That Sister-in-law Hua, she used to just mock and argue with her, but now, it’s gotten worse, they’ve even come to blows. Sister-in-law Hua’s husband has started beating her frequently too. Oh boy, it’s like a dogfight; they might as well knock each other’s brains out. Her husband feels embarrassed, others can set aside their pride to ask for your help, but she’s too pretentious. This pretentiousness cost her, she lost two to three hundred yuan a year, who could bear that?"

"Also, last night, I heard Lao Si and his wife quarreling in their house too. Hehehehe, I was just eavesdropping through the door crack when Lao Si opened the door. It scared me so much, I almost threw my back out. But they’ve begun building their house on the allotted land. The old lady must have given them quite some money. That old woman is really biased."

Yu Xueli knew that Zhou Jiaojiao and Shen Meng were at odds, and many bad things happening around Shen Meng could be linked to Zhou Jiaojiao. Many times, Shen Meng had let it go until matters involved the children, and then she started to fight back.

She observed sharply; Zhou Jiaojiao was a troublemaker wearing a cloak of kindness. In the past few years, many had suffered under her. Now, she had made a mess of her own reputation, which was now also affecting her husband’s job. It was truly karma.

Shen Meng’s eyes gleamed. Quarrels? That was indeed good news. Quarrels between a couple indicated cracks in their relationship, and the ultimate dogfight would be the best outcome.

She hid her fierce eyes, thinking that in a couple of years, if Zhou Jiaojiao just gave birth to those two children, that’d be good enough. In her past life, those two brats had tormented Ming Fang’s children continuously, so how could she not settle the score with them!