Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 226

Zhao Da'e didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the kang (heated brick bed). He had been out a lot today, and the north wind was making it terribly cold, so he decided to warm up on the kang first.

The kang (heated brick bed) was warm, and there was a small quilt.

Ji Ruxue covered Zhao Da'e with the small blanket; it wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't cold either.

The eldest son of the Zhao family has basically severed ties with the old house, which means he has escaped his misery.

Although Zhao Tiebao's current comfortable life is essentially due to the financial support he received from his old house in previous years, the nature of that financial support was different back then.

Zhao Da'e was well aware of this.

For example, Zhao Tiebao's house was originally built with money paid by Zhao Tingxu, costing around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. That was an enormous sum of money at the time.

You should know that Zhao Tiebao's son, Zhao Yongze, was already fifteen or sixteen years old, and the house had been under construction for almost ten years. At that time, Zhao Da'e's mother hadn't even married into the family yet.

So whether or not a lot of money was spent has nothing to do with Zhao Da'e.

At that time, Zhao Tiebao also made some contributions to his family, although not many.

Zhao Da'e had heard about that past event in his previous life. Back then, Uncle Zhao Tiebao wasn't very old. As someone with a big head, he was the first to start working before even graduating from junior high school.

The family's explanation was that Zhao Tiebao was simply not good enough to pass the high school entrance exam. Of course, there were reasons for this, such as Zhao Tiebao not being particularly smart, and the main reason was that the Zhao family was short of money.

After dropping out of school, Zhao Tiebao went directly to the local primary school to become a teacher.

Many people in later generations are not familiar with that period of history. Due to various specific reasons at that time, there was a severe shortage of educated people, both in schools and in the general population. Even though he dropped out of junior high school, Zhao Tiebao was literate, so at the age of sixteen or seventeen, he became a privately-run primary school teacher.

This would be unimaginable in later generations, but it was accomplished back then.

He started with a monthly salary of five yuan and worked for several years. Then, a problem arose, which I mentioned earlier: the incident involving Zhao Tiebao and Wang Guixiang's sister's daughter.

From then on, Zhao Tiebao was plunged into a huge moral crisis. The Zhao family's reputation was also greatly damaged. Under those circumstances, it was virtually impossible for Zhao Tiebao to find a wife again.

(Yesterday I specifically went to ask my uncle about his marriage back then, and my aunt almost beat me up...)

Then came Ji Ruxue.

Ji Ruxue is from out of town...

She was unaware of Zhao Tiebao's past, and the matchmaker intentionally concealed it.

This led Ji Ruxue to believe that Zhao Tiebao was a good young man with a job. However, Ji Ruxue was not only uneducated but also unemployed, working as a farmer, and thought she had married into a wealthy family.

As it turns out, the marriage is already arranged.

They got married, but the truth came out on their wedding night.

This might not seem like a big deal today, but back then it definitely caused a problem. Zhao Tiebao clearly had experience... he definitely didn't seem like someone who had never been married...

Ji Ruxue began to have doubts, but Zhao Tiebao would definitely insist that it was his first marriage.

This commotion eventually reached Wang Guixiang.

Wang Guixiang is the kind of person who can't do good things, but she can definitely mess things up.

Wang Guixiang ruined everything with just a few words. The exact words are unknown, but the gist was: "My son Zhao Tiebao has a job, an income, and is good-looking. What are you, Ji Ruxue? You're just a country bumpkin who didn't even finish elementary school. Marrying into this family is just climbing the social ladder..."

As it turns out, Ji Ruxue was not as cowardly as Zhao Da'e's mother.

In a fit of anger, Ji Ruxue went back to her parents' home the day after the wedding.

Sometimes, even Zhao Da'e couldn't help but admire his own aunt, Ji Ruxue.

Ji Ruxue was definitely a tough nut to crack; she stayed at her parents' house for three years straight. Even after her son was born, she didn't come back.

Yes, Ji Ruxue got pregnant on her first night after the wedding and left while pregnant. Of course, that's not the point. The point is that the child really is Zhao Tiebao's.

When Ji Ruxue didn't come back, Wang Guixiang and Zhao Tingxu got anxious. They sent many people to mediate, but they couldn't get her to return.

After three years of this commotion, Wang Guixiang finally went to Ji Ruxue's house, knelt down, and begged for forgiveness. Only then did Ji Ruxue return. Her condition was that they build her a new house…

Wang Guixiang would never go around bragging about how she knelt before her daughter-in-law; this is what Zhao Da'e heard from Ji Ruxue.

Zhao Da'e came here today for a simple purpose: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Last time, Wang Guixiang went out of the village to stay at Zhao Tiebao's house for a couple of days, but she was turned away. Although Ji Ruxue doesn't have absolute authority at home, she has a great deal of influence.

As for why Ji Ruxue couldn't say "a promise is a promise," it was because she couldn't count...

Zhao Tingxu borrowed a lot of money to build a new house for Ji Ruxue so she could come back. This ultimately affected Zhao Da'e's father's ability to find a wife.

After warming up for a while, Zhao Da'e felt his feet getting warm too, and said, "Grandpa, please make some tea."

Zhao Da'e is very outgoing and friendly wherever she goes. Although she is young, she is quite shrewd and doesn't act like a child.

Zhao Tiebao then went to make tea.

Zhao Da'e looked Ji Ruxue up and down and said with a smile, "Auntie, you look so young. Your skin is so good. So fair and white."

Ji Ruxue subconsciously touched her face: "Oh dear, not at all. I'm already in my thirties, almost forty. I'm old and faded. Your uncle always calls me a haggard old woman..."

As she spoke, Ji Ruxue rolled her eyes at Zhao Tiebao.

Zhao Tiebao curled his lip: "Your aunt is always vain and can't resist being praised. She spends a hundred or two hundred yuan a month on cosmetics every day."

Zhao Tiebao's salary is not much. He is a former private school teacher who has been promoted to a regular position, but he does not have a senior professional title. He is currently only a junior professional title, and his salary is not much. His basic salary is 150 yuan a month, and sometimes he receives some class teacher allowance.

The homeroom teacher usually earns fifty or sixty yuan more per month than others. In addition, during holidays, they receive a bag of rice, a bag of flour, and a can of oil. So, although the salary isn't much, it covers their food needs, so they don't have major financial problems.

Therefore, most of Zhao Tiebao's salary went to Ji Ruxue.

Zhao Da'e didn't feel proud of Zhao Tiebao's family's good living conditions because of Zhao Tiebao's words; she just felt that the money was spent a bit too much.

What kind of family does someone live in that they spend a hundred or so yuan a month on cosmetics?

Ji Ruxue isn't a bad person, nor is she an evil person; she's actually a pretty good person. From Zhao Da'e's perspective, Ji Ruxue is a very nice person. She just loves to spend money.

But since it's not my own money, it doesn't matter.

In her past life, Ji Ruxue was a big spender; all her former classmates who were teachers had bought houses and properties, but Zhao Tiebao couldn't afford it anymore...

“My aunt is naturally beautiful. Her skin is so good, she’s pretty even without makeup.” Zhao Da’e said perfunctorily, “Auntie, your big cotton-padded coat must cost several hundred yuan. It’s obviously made of good material.”

Ji Ruxue wore a bright red cotton-padded jacket, somewhat similar to a down jacket from later times. This jacket was not suitable for work; it was fine for walking, but it would be difficult to even go to the fields to start a fire. However, it was indeed a very beautiful and attractive jacket.

"Hey, this dress costs 180 yuan." Ji Ruxue perked up immediately when she mentioned it. That's just how Ji Ruxue is; she's not much different from someone who hasn't read much or seen much of the world. She always feels that showing her best side to others is the best approach.

"These are precious clothes..."

Ji Ruxue spoke eloquently, and Zhao Da'e listened patiently.

It's not that Zhao Da'e dislikes Ji Ruxue saying she's living a good life. If it were before, when Zhao Da'e was still poor and couldn't even afford food, she would definitely envy Ji Ruxue's life, but not now.

But I wouldn't say I dislike it; I just find it quite fun. Some parts are even interesting.

Whenever Zhao Da'e says something is good about his family, Ji Ruxue immediately agrees. The two talk like old friends who hit it off immediately, and there's a feeling of regret for not having met sooner.

Ji Ruxue had only met Zhao Da'e a few times when he was a child, and frankly, Ji Ruxue and the Zhao family hardly ever interacted. Even when Zhao Da'e's mother, Cheng Jinxiang, was in postpartum confinement, Ji Ruxue didn't visit her. Of course, it's also possible that Ji Ruxue simply didn't have time to go.

However, Cheng Jinxiang stayed in the hospital for more than half a month, and as her sister-in-law, Zhao Da'e should indeed go and visit her. Zhao Da'e just assumed that Ji Ruxue was too busy at that time.

The two chatted quite well, and Zhao Tiebao became more attentive, bringing out apples and oranges to put on the kang (heated brick bed) for them to eat.

In this era, oranges were a rare commodity in the north, given their long journeys and high prices due to limited purchasing power. Zhao Tiebao's willingness to offer oranges was, frankly, a matter of pleasing Ji Ruxue.

Zhao Tiebao wasn't afraid of his wife; he just didn't always have the final say...

More precisely, it was because Zhao Tiebao was the only one in the family, struggling to make ends meet; only he knew how difficult life was…

Zhao Tiebao's salary was meager, and his wife, Ji Ruxue, did nothing but stay home cooking and being a devoted wife and mother. Their son was growing up, and Zhao Tiebao was extremely worried, but he dared not say anything. After all, when children are grown up, who dares to say they're not doing well?

Zhao Tiebao must have been reluctant to eat the oranges himself, only giving them to Ji Ruxue. Today, when Zhao Da'e came, he was forced to make an exception and bring them up as well.

The apple was a Fuji apple, and it was very big. Zhao Da'e took it and took a bite; it was crunchy and incredibly sweet.

"Auntie, this is the first time I've ever eaten such a big apple," Zhao Da'e said with great emotion.

Zhao Da'e had certainly seen Fuji apples in his previous life, but he lived a very frugal life and never wanted to eat the five or six yuan per kilogram apples from the supermarket himself.

"Is it delicious? If it is, I'll ask your grandpa to get you a few more later..." Ji Ruxue was overjoyed.

She likes this niece.

Zhao Tiebao could only agree, "Eat more, eat more."

"By the way, Auntie. Where's my older brother? I have something to tell you, something's been bothering me. Sigh..."

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Da'e said with a sigh, while munching on an apple, "Auntie, you know, according to the old saying, I'm the eldest daughter and eldest grandson in the family, right? My grandparents weren't very nice to me, you all know that. Including when my mother went back to her parents' home, you all know that too. But that's all in the past."

Today you said that my younger brother, Yongbo, went into my grandma's room and smashed three water vats, but nothing happened to him, and my grandpa even praised him for it..."

Zhao Tiebao frowned: !!

Ji Ruxue was also stunned: "You can still spoil the child like this?"

"That's absolutely right. I was completely baffled by their favoritism. Did my older brother ever smash the big water vat at my grandfather's house when he was a kid?"

After finishing his sentence, Zhao Da'e poured himself a cup of tea.

Ji Ruxue wasn't furious, but she did feel resentful.

"Hmph. That bear Wang Guixiang..."

Zhao Tiebao quickly said, "You're so old, how can you talk like that in front of a child..."

Ji Ruxue said nonchalantly, "Hmph. Your mother is just biased. I won't say anything else, but when we built this house, your mother and father were short of money, and after the house was finished, they left me with eight thousand yuan in debt, which your uncle took three or four years to pay off."

When your aunt went to school, they had money. Your uncle was a real scoundrel; he didn't study hard and just stayed home. Not only did he waste several hundred dollars on tuition, but he also had to pay for his wedding. You don't know, your dad was older back then, and it was difficult for him to find a wife. But he was capable, and the family still had some savings. The money your uncle used for his wedding was saved up by your parents and grandparents together.

After your third aunt came into the picture, your grandmother started faking illness and acting like a mother-in-law, and your grandfather started causing trouble too. They both have ulterior motives; you don't know many of the inside stories. Last time, your grandparents were talking about the savings. Let me tell you, that money probably wasn't all given to your aunt; some is definitely in your third aunt's hands. Your third aunt…”

Zhao Tiebao frowned and said, "Don't speak!!!"

Ji Ruxue then stopped talking, saying with a disdainful look, "Your third aunt isn't a decent person. Who knows, she might be with..."

Zhao Da'e: !!!

Zhao Tiebao immediately shoved Ji Ruxue: "Are you drunk or something? What are you spouting nonsense about?!"

Zhao Da'e had no idea that the story was so complicated.

A look of shock.

It turned out to be the case.

Ji Ruxue stopped talking after that, and just said with a smirk, "Putting everything else aside, when your older brother was little, whatever he wanted to eat, your grandma would hide it. Even when it was New Year's and you were eating sunflower seeds, your grandpa thought you couldn't give them to your older brother. That favoritism was outrageous."

"Zhao Yongbo smashed the water vat and nobody cared? Tomorrow I'll have your older brother smash the vat too. We're both cowards, let's see what Wang Guixiang can do!"

Zhao Da'e silently gave a thumbs up: Well done!

Zhao Tiebao retorted, "What are you saying? No matter how you look at it, smashing the water vat is wrong. How could you let your child smash the vat? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by outsiders?"

"I won't let outsiders know."

"What if outsiders find out?"

"There's no 'what if'..."

Zhao Tiebao was furious: "Anyway, we can't do that. Yongze is sixteen or seventeen. If he smashes his grandfather's water vat or something, it will affect his chances of getting a wife in the future."

"It won't delay you," Zhao Da'e said with a smile. "My older brother may not have many other skills, but when it comes to dating, he's absolutely top-notch."

In his previous life, Zhao Yongze had dated more than a dozen women and got married several times. No matter what his family situation was, he was able to go against the tide.

Even Zhao Da'e had to admire this.