After the frail beauty went to the countryside, she went crazy with scientific research.

Chapter 245, Episode 0257: I Got Too Big a Sense of Self-Importance
“His physical condition is not good enough for him to be a soldier. Your Uncle Zheng can only look for him elsewhere, but jobs are not easy to find. He doesn’t have any education; he only attended a literacy class.”

"Work can be done gradually. Your Uncle Zheng should let him stay at home for the time being, and it would be best if he could take the exam to get a junior high or high school diploma."

Then things started to get complicated. When Lao Zheng wasn't home, Yang Hongmei would treat the young man with disdain, constantly hurling insults at him, as if she were venting her anger over Lao Zheng's desire to divorce her on him.

The young man was already insecure, and he came to Lao Zheng for help because he had nowhere else to turn. It's no exaggeration to say that Lao Zheng was his only hope for survival.

He dared not tell Lao Zheng about being scolded, starved, or even beaten. First, he was afraid Lao Zheng would think he was being nosy; second, he was afraid of affecting Lao Zheng; and third, the person who beat him was Lao Zheng's wife, so he was even more afraid that Lao Zheng had tacitly approved of Yang Hongmei's actions.

One day, Old Zheng forgot something at home and went back to get it. He saw Yang Hongmei cursing at the young man who was reading a book. The young man silently endured it as if he hadn't heard. But Yang Hongmei got more and more angry. She snatched the book from the young man's hand, threw it on the ground, and cursed him as a worthless wretch, a maggot from the ravine, who thought that reading a couple of books could wash away the stench of mud on his body. She said that a country bumpkin is a country bumpkin, and he was destined to be a lowlife.

This angered Lao Zheng so much that he rushed over and became violent towards Yang Hongmei for the first time, slapping her so hard that she fell to the ground.

In Lao Zheng's view, Yang Hongmei's thinking was so wrong that there was no turning back, and he was determined to get a divorce.

The Third Elder originally didn't want to approve it. "You two already have a grandson, what's going on? What, are you going to adopt those kinds of ideas that can't be shared?"

But when Lao Zheng presented the Third Elder with what Yang Hongmei had done and some of the things she had said, the Third Elder did not continue to persuade him and immediately began to write.

Old Zheng is the Chief of Staff; if his wife has any ideological problems, the consequences would be no less than planting a mushroom in the army.

Zhang Hongying unfurled another bundle of yarn and slipped it onto Lin Yuexi's outstretched hands, continuing to deftly spin the yarn. "Zhang Hongmei doesn't want a divorce. The Zhang family only has a semblance of prominence in Beijing because of the Zheng family. If they divorce, the Zheng family will definitely take back all the benefits they've given the Zhang family. At that point, she, the Zhang family's heroine, will become a sinner."

Lin Yuexi looked at her mother with some surprise, "How come you're so lucid right now?"

Xu Shan probably knew that she loved gossip, so when she had some free time, he would occasionally tell her some gossip about the family quarters, including the story about her mother and Yang Hongmei that he had heard from Xu Ying.

Xu Ying had been by Leng Zhi's side for quite some time and had seen all sorts of girls who wanted to get close to him.

Don't let Leng Zhi's age fool you; he's got more mature with age. If he didn't reveal his age, he'd look like he's only forty. And what kind of senior official is he, in his early fifties?!
There are always people who want to take shortcuts in every era. Feelings don't matter; as long as you can marry Leng Zhi, you'll be the leader's wife.

He seemed to have a cheerful personality and acted as if he wanted to become sworn brothers with Leng Zhi;

She is gentle and generous, a perfect wife and mother;
She appears delicate and frail, with easily teary eyes, and seems to need protection.

And there are always unexpected encounters, but the person is poised and generous;
Etc., etc.

Having seen so much, Xu Ying was unaware that he had learned the skill of framing and mounting through these people.

The moment he saw Yang Hongmei, he knew she was a two-faced person.

Knowing that Zhang Hongying and Yang Hongmei were getting close, he did try to remind Zhang Hongying, but Yang Hongmei was, after all, Lao Zheng's wife, and besides, Xu Ying was a grown man, so he couldn't be too obvious in his gossip. As a result, Zhang Hongying never took it seriously.

After Zhang Hongying arrived, she took a lot of things from Yang Hongmei.

There were clothes that Zhang Hongying had only worn once or twice. Zhang Hongying borrowed them under some pretext, and that was the end of it. There were also meat, eggs, and so on. Even the yarn that the mother and daughter were currently holding, Yang Hongmei had taken two small bundles, saying that her grandson's woolen pants were too short and she hadn't bought any, so she borrowed them to lengthen them.

Zhang Hongying was also annoyed and asked Lin Yuexi in bewilderment, "Do you think Mom has lost her mind since coming to the Northwest? Or has my brain become rusty from being at home for too long?"

Given that she used to deal with women all day long, it's unlikely that she wouldn't have seen through Yang Hongmei's tricks.
Lin Yuexi was so confused by her question that she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She couldn't very well answer that that was exactly what she had been thinking, could she?

"Perhaps it's because she's a better actress."

"What? Her acting skills are even worse than Li Hehua [Wang Qin's stepmother]. I think I just got carried away." Zhang Hongying has a clear understanding of herself, at least for now.

She sighed, not feeling embarrassed about her embarrassing moment with the ball in front of her daughter. Instead, she was quite frank, saying, "After learning about Yang Hongmei's character, I also carefully reflected on why I had acted in the past. After thinking it over, I realized that I was too arrogant and put myself on a pedestal."

"Although my family is not as prestigious as the Leng family, we are still quite well-known in the area. Back then, I went to work on the book-making project purely out of enthusiasm, and my parents couldn't stop me."

"After I met your father and married him, not only was your father good to me, but the Leng family was also very good to me."

"I'm really lucky. My family is well-off and treats me well, my husband's family is even better, my husband is impeccable, my three sons are quite successful, and I've even gotten such a thoughtful daughter like you."

"For me, apart from the time I spent working on small notebooks, I have never suffered much in my life."

"That's probably why, when I see other women around me having a hard time, even if I know they're just putting on an act, I'll still lend a hand."

"In addition, I have become detached from the masses, which has made me a target for those with ulterior motives."

Lin Yuexi was truly impressed with her mother this time. It's normal for people to make stupid mistakes. No one can say they can stay clear-headed and never make a stupid mistake in their entire life. But it's very difficult to immediately and clearly understand the reasons for making a stupid mistake afterward.

Many people are blindly following a dark path without realizing they are making a foolish mistake.

"Consider this a warning to Mom. Let's not talk about her anymore. Now, let's talk about you. How long will you be able to rest this time?"

"It's not confirmed yet, but if nothing's wrong, I should be able to keep resting."

The power plant is basically on track, and she has handed it over to other people. Now, unless there is an emergency at the power plant or she has other projects to handle, she can take a break for a while based on her achievements at the power plant.

This wasn't just her guessing; it was what the Second Elder said to her personally when he called her, so she won't repeat it verbatim.

Zhang Hongying didn't care about any of that. She was overjoyed to hear that she could rest for a while, and her hands moved twice as fast as they were spinning the yarn.

"Tomorrow is market day, Mom will take you there, do you want to come?"

Going to the market is a rare and lively event. "Let's go!"

"Okay, let's finish this group of dumplings first, then we'll leave the others for later. Get some rest, we need to get up early tomorrow."