Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 224

"Come on, have some vegetables. This pickled cabbage is delicious."

Zhao Tingxu and the others were enjoying their meal inside the house.

Zhao Yongbo peered out the window for a while. He hadn't eaten yet, but no one called him.

Even his grandmother, who always said she loved him dearly, didn't invite him to the table. Although he was still young, he was still a person, and he was hungry too…

When Zhao Yongbo saw Zhao Dage return, he ran over excitedly and said, "Big sister, I'm hungry."

Zhao Da'e touched Zhao Yongbo's little face, which was red from the cold: "What do you mean your older sister can cook for you? What are you thinking? I'm someone who never lifts a finger..."

"But I'm hungry..." Zhao Yongbo said pitifully, "Big sister, make me something to eat."

"Why don't you go eat with Dad and the others?" Zhao Da'e frowned.

"I hate my dad..."

Upon hearing Zhao Yongbo's words, Zhao Da'e laughed: "That Zhao Yongbo has been cunning since he was a child. He must have suddenly realized he'd have to do something for Zhao Da'e later and wanted to take the opportunity to get a good meal or some extra money."

Zhao Da'e knew that Zhao Yongbo in his previous life was also exceptionally intelligent, with a superhuman memory, but he was a bit of a scatterbrain... well, not exactly a scatterbrain, but perhaps because he spent too much time with his mother, Zhang Cuilan. He didn't become a terrible person, but he went down the wrong path. As a child, he didn't study hard, aiming too high. He wanted to join the army, but on the day of the final exam, he followed his father's example and got drunk on pyrimidine. He passed the written exam but missed the interview, ruining his life. Later, he learned welding and worked in a shipyard, earning a high salary, but his parents pressured him to get married. Again, he was too ambitious, looking down on everyone, and finally married quite late. Zhao Yongbo's wife in his previous life didn't seem very bright either. While not stupid, she certainly wasn't intelligent. Zhao Yongbo then inherited the family's genetic predisposition to having sons... but unfortunately, he had several daughters before finally having a son later in life, who, like his wife, wasn't very bright...

After that, Zhao Yongbo began to repeat Zhao Tiegang's life trajectory. He had too many children, making raising them difficult, and he turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows, which only worsened his condition. He eventually became an alcoholic.

But no matter what, Zhao Yongbo is always clever, though his thinking is somewhat flawed. Like now, Zhao Yongbo is only trying to trick Zhao Da'e into giving him more benefits, but he's completely fooling himself and is actually causing trouble for his father…

“Little brother…” Zhao Da’e said helplessly, “Do you think I don’t know your little schemes? Do you think I’m not giving you enough and you want to raise the price?”

Raising the price? Not a chance.

"No..." Zhao Yongbo said, his words contradicting his true feelings.

"Raising the price is impossible, and cooking is also impossible," Zhao Da'e said frankly.

"But you are my beloved younger brother, and I can't let you go hungry, can I? I promise you, if you do a good job and don't betray me, I'll make you an ice sled in a few days."

Upon hearing the word "ice sled," Zhao Yongbo's eyes immediately lit up: "Really? You're really going to make me an ice sled?"

"Mmm." Zhao Da'e nodded, then sighed, "I have a few packets of instant noodles in my room, you can have them. Don't be too greedy, you're going to be a big boy now..."

"Big sister, I'm only four years old..."

"after……"

"All right……"

Zhao Da'e led Zhao Yongbo into the warehouse. Some time ago, Zhao Da'e bought some loose instant noodles for Zhao Tiesheng to save trouble.

Instant noodles in packets existed back then, but they were a rarity in the city. In the countryside, instant noodles were considered a valuable gift.

Zhao Yongbo had never seen this before. Zhao Da'e took a piece and handed it to Zhao Yongbo: "You'll get your share of the benefits for working for Big Sister."

Zhao Yongbo took a bite and felt that the taste was simply divine. He couldn't help but start chewing the instant noodles in big mouthfuls: "Big sister, this stuff is really delicious."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "You're making a fuss over nothing. In the future, this stuff will be so good that working people will be sick of it. Then they won't feel the same way they did the first time they ate it."

"Big sister, I'll follow you from now on, and I'll eat nine meals a day," Zhao Yongbo said with a smile, a little embarrassed.

Zhao Da'e didn't believe Zhao Yongbo's nonsense and instructed, "Eat your fill first. This meal is because your older sister took pity on you. By the way, what are they talking about inside?"

Zhao Yongbo thought for a moment and said, "I'll say I'm going to pick up my mom."

"Do you miss your mother?" Zhao Da'e asked, frowning.

Zhao Yongbo kept his head down, unsure if he missed his mother. He was still too young, but he always felt that if Zhang Cuilan were here, at least he would have food to eat and wouldn't go hungry.

However, Zhao Yongbo also knew that his eldest sister, Zhao Da'e, and Zhang Cuilan were sworn enemies and didn't get along well. Therefore, Zhao Yongbo didn't know how to answer.

If he answered yes, he was afraid Zhao Da'e wouldn't pay him anymore; if he answered no, it was somewhat against his conscience.

Don't be fooled by Zhao Yongbo's cunning ways; if Zhao Da'e asked him to cheat Zhang Cuilan, he would definitely not agree.

"Forehead……"

Seeing Zhao Yongbo stammering, Zhao Da'e said, "Eat your food. Who wouldn't miss their own mother? I don't have any blood feud with your mother, it's not that serious."

At most, their relationship is so bad that they'd draw their swords against each other...

"Eat up, there's still more than half a bag left. If you can't finish it, take it back," said Zhao Da'e.

She bought it in bulk, in a large plastic bag. Zhao Da'e couldn't remember if it contained twenty or thirty yuan. When she first bought it, Zhao Da'e thought she was finding childhood memories, but after a few bites, she stopped eating. It was just too awful.

Zhao Da'e didn't know if this loose instant noodles were fried, but they were tasteless and the noodles were particularly hard; they were just not tasty. They tasted a bit like raw noodles.

So Zhao Da'e was later given directly to Zhao Tiesheng. Zhao Tiesheng, well, he can't cook... well, you can't say that.

Actually, everyone can cook, regardless of age or gender. If someone insists they can't cook, it just means their cooking is particularly bad.

As for what Zhao Tiesheng makes, let's just say that if Zhao Tiesheng himself doesn't eat it, but instead throws the food he made to the dog, the dog will refuse it.

Moreover, Zhao Da'e saw that Zhao Tiesheng had cooked some dishes for Xiaobao, and then...

Xiao Bao would rather eat raw cornmeal than eat the cornmeal made by Zhao Tiesheng.

You can imagine how terrible his cooking must be.

Of course, Zhao Tiesheng also has his strengths in this regard. He's not picky about what he eats. No matter how badly he cooks it, he'll still eat his fill.

So the instant noodles that Zhao Da'e gave him, in case Zhao Tiesheng starved to death, were somewhat unnecessary.

So Zhao Da'e was simply given to Zhao Yongbo.

Zhao Yongbo was eating instant noodles when he heard Zhao Da'e say this, and he immediately perked up: "Big sister? Give it all to me? This stuff must be very expensive."

This was Zhao Yongbo's first time eating instant noodles; it was clearly a rare treat. And since it was made from white flour, it must be very valuable.

In this era, people earned less, but prices weren't cheap. The only thing that makes people think life was better in this era than in later times is what those who haven't experienced it say. Instant noodles cost 50 cents a dollar back then.

It was priced the same as instant noodles in later generations. However, in that era, an ordinary laborer, like a bricklayer, earned only about twenty yuan a day, and a laborer even less, only about ten yuan. A rural laborer, working himself to the bone all day, couldn't even afford a box of instant noodles…

Besides, if we measure it in terms of money...

Zhao Yongbo's mother, Zhang Cuilan, received a relatively large dowry when she got married. It was equivalent to thirty boxes of instant noodles… From this perspective, the dowry for marrying a wife in his previous life was indeed ridiculously low…

"Okay, you can have them all."

"Big sister, why don't you leave some for us to eat?" Zhao Yongbo said reluctantly, his head down as he protected the instant noodles.

"Tch..." Zhao Da'e scoffed, "Big sister is so generous, you can have it all."

Firstly, Zhao Da'e didn't like this food; she didn't find it tasty.

Secondly, Zhao Da'e feels like she's gained weight...

So she didn't really want to touch those junk foods. Although Zhao Da'e was still young, as a girl, she still had to consider her figure... If she developed a big waist at such a young age, she wouldn't be confident going out.

This is the reality of life in the North, especially in rural areas. The girls here are relatively fine, but once they get married, nine out of ten will develop a "barrel waist" (i.e., a round belly). Firstly, the weather is too cold; people need to rest in winter, so those who do rest naturally gain weight over time. Secondly, the food is relatively plentiful, even if it's just simple fare.

In the North during that era, there was really no shortage of food. Except for a few families living in extreme poverty, survival was generally not a concern.

The problem of food can definitely be solved.

This place is sparsely populated, so even though a village may look like it has a lot of people, it is still a very large village.

Zhao Da'e's family was poor and often went hungry in the past, but that wasn't because they had no food; rather, it was because Zhang Cuilan and Wang Guixiang interfered.

Theoretically speaking, Zhao Yongbo is Zhang Cuilan's biological son, so Zhao Da'e should hate him. However, Zhao Da'e really doesn't want to bring trouble to his family.

Zhao Yongbo is still young. With more training, he could be used as a spy infiltrating the enemy.

Having received a bribe from Zhao Dage, Zhao Yongbo not only got paid but also a large bag of instant noodles, which immediately cheered him up. He ate two pieces and drank some cold water, instantly feeling more energetic.

"Big sister, I'm going to smash Grandma's sauerkraut jar and salted vegetable jar in a bit. Just you wait and see."

Zhao Da'e shook his head: "No way, I can't keep an eye on things. I have to stay far away. Don't sell me out this time. If you do, I'll deal with you too."

"Don't worry, sis, I'll just say my mom told me to smash it."

Zhao Da'e frowned: "Don't talk nonsense, your mother isn't home."

"A dream..."

Zhao Da'e patted Zhao Yongbo's head, thinking that Zhao Yongbo was really smart, that his brain wasn't wasted, but that he just hadn't used it in the right place.

Zhao Yongbo figured out something that even Zhao Da'e hadn't thought of.

Zhao Yongbo smashed Wang Guixiang's water vat, but Wang Guixiang didn't dare to get angry.

But if you smash her remaining pickled vegetable jar and sauerkraut jar, Wang Guixiang will still be angry. At that point, if you push Zhang Cuilan forward, Wang Guixiang definitely won't dare to be angry.

I never expected Zhao Yongbo to think of that.

Children can be taught!

"Go."

Zhao Yongbo ran away, first returning to his west room to hide the instant noodles. He couldn't let Zhao Tiegang eat them; they were his own, and even his own father couldn't change that…

Zhao Da'e, however, had already slipped away and left the courtyard long ago...

Zhao Yongbo came out of the house with a small iron hammer in his hand, which was the tool that Zhao Tiegang used when he was an apprentice bricklayer.

Zhao Yongbo took the hammer and went into the east room, where three people were drinking and bragging.

Wang Guixiang didn't sit at the table due to custom. Although the country has long been reformed and opened up, women are only allowed to sit at the table with other women. If there are no other women with her, Wang Guixiang really can't sit at the table to eat. She eats in the outer room with her bowl and chopsticks.

Seeing Zhao Yongbo come in, he asked, "Yongbo, what were you doing just now?"

"sleep."

"Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Wang Guixiang asked.

Zhao Yongbo was stunned: How could you sleep well last night? I smashed the water tank, and Wang Guixiang and Zhao Tingxu kept me up for half the night. Later, Zhao Tingxu even went to knock on the window. Of course, Zhao Yongbo couldn't sleep well, but he pretended to be asleep at the time.

"I slept well last night, but I'm sleepy again." Zhao Yongbo started to lie: "Grandma, I had a dream."

"Dreaming? What kind of dream?"

"I dreamt about my mom..."

"Uh..." Wang Guixiang didn't know how to respond to this.

While Wang Guixiang was distracted, Zhao Yongbo took a hammer and smashed it into the sauerkraut jar in the room.

The sauerkraut jar shattered with a crash.

Before Wang Guixiang could recover, Zhao Yongbo smashed the pickle jar with a second blow...

Click.

The pickle jar was also broken.

In an instant, the entire outer room was flooded with sauerkraut soup, sauerkraut was everywhere, and pickled vegetables were rolling around all over the place…

Wang Guixiang was completely flustered and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Hearing the commotion, Zhao Tingxu came out. He was dumbfounded when he saw the broken vat and the hammer in Zhao Yongbo's hand.

Zhao Tiegang also came out.

Liu Xiaochun, naturally, couldn't sit still any longer and came out as well.

Zhao Tingxu was the first to recover, and immediately flew into a rage: "You good-for-nothing brat! Why did you smash the water jar again?! I'll beat you to death!"

Zhao Tiegang quickly stepped in front of him: "Dad, Zhao Yongbo must be half asleep, he probably didn't mean it..."

“No, I did it on purpose,” Zhao Yongbo said.

Zhao Tiegang: ???

Zhao Tingxu: !!!

“My mom appeared to me in a dream and said that we have too many vats in our house. My mom said, ‘If you want to get rich, you have to break the vats first…’” Zhao Yongbo said without batting an eye.

The words Zhao Tingxu was about to utter were on the tip of his tongue: "I...your mother...your mother appeared to you in a dream...I..."

Zhao Tingxu simply didn't believe it!

Is this some kind of dream where someone smashes a water vat? What kind of dream is this?

Damn it, even if Zhao Yongbo's mother, Zhang Cuilan, really did appear in Zhao Yongbo's dream, why didn't Zhao Yongbo smash the vat in his own house? Why go to someone else's house to smash a vat, and then have it appear in his dream?

This kid really needs to be disciplined!

When Zhao Tingxu got angry, he wanted to hit Zhao Yongbo.

Wang Guixiang quickly stopped her, saying in a low voice, "There are outsiders here."

Then, with a forced smile, he said, "Hehe, it's alright, it's alright. This kid, I bet he's after someone! Isn't that right, Yongbo..."