Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 155 Weathervane

The Zhou family left the Li family's greenhouse.

Zhou Yuhu said angrily, "Sister, that Zhu guy is a scoundrel! He's getting people to spread rumors about our family 'eating off the heirs of our family,' ruining the Zhou family's reputation everywhere. Why are you still living with him? Pack your things and come home with us. We're not living with him anymore!"

Zhou Yufeng felt bitter inside. She was heartbroken that her younger brother had been beaten, but if she wasn't allowed to be with Zhu Yimin, where could she go? Go back to her parents' home? Even if she could stay there for six months or a year, could she stay indefinitely? What would happen to her, the older sister-in-law, once the new daughter-in-law entered the family?

Zhou Yufeng is now somewhat regretful. If she had known this would happen, she would have preferred to use that three thousand yuan to build the greenhouse, and all this trouble wouldn't have occurred.

Sigh, it's all because of money.

"Sister, say something!" Zhou Yuhu urged. The thought of Zhu Yimin using underhanded tricks to ruin his family's reputation and prevent him from getting married made him grit his teeth in hatred.

Mr. Zhou also said, "Yu Hu is right! Zhu Yimin doesn't care about Yu Feng at all. If he really considered her family, he wouldn't treat us like this. Yu Feng, pack your things and let's go home. We're not going to live with him anymore!" In Mr. Zhou's opinion, Zhu Yimin is currently penniless and has a daughter, so he can't find a wife at all. Sooner or later, he'll have to go to the Zhou family to beg Yu Feng to come back.

It's impossible for a village to function without a woman in charge.

The more Zhou Yufeng listened, the more uneasy she felt, her palms sweating even in the dead of winter: "Dad, could there be a misunderstanding? Zhu Yimin has been in the greenhouse the whole time, how could he have time to spread rumors?"

Zhou's mother held her son's shoulders tightly the whole way, her heart aching as she looked at the bruises on his face, tears streaming down her face: "Your cousin said it was a woman surnamed Liu from Daying Village who said it. She has small eyes and a round face, and she can talk the dead back to life! Her mother-in-law chatted with that woman all afternoon, her mouth full of gossip and trivial matters. She's the best at gossiping!"

"A small-eyed woman surnamed Liu, who's good at talking..." Zhou Yufeng muttered to herself, then thought of someone, "Is she in her thirties?"

"That's right!"

"Quick-talking wife!" Zhou Yufeng immediately guessed the other person's identity. Many people were used to calling her "quick-talking wife" and couldn't remember her real name. Her maiden name was Liu Yan.

"Sister, do you know who's ruining our family's reputation?" Zhou Yuhu's eyes widened, his hatred for this person even surpassing that for Zhu Yimin.

Zhou Yufeng said, "She's our neighbor, known as the 'Quick-Talking Wife,' because she loves gossiping about other people's affairs."

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go find her! I want to ask her why she hurt me!" Zhou Yuhu clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

Zhou's mother also said, "Yu Feng, take us to find this gossipy daughter-in-law! She's ruining our family's reputation everywhere. We have to teach her a lesson today!"

Zhou Yufeng was furious. If it weren't for her gossipy wife spreading rumors everywhere, things wouldn't have turned out this way, and she wouldn't be caught in this dilemma. What sins did she commit in her past life to deserve being bullied like this?
Why is it so hard for her!

……

The Fast-Talking Family.

The quick-talking wife stood in the sun at the doorway, basking in the sunlight.

This morning, when Zhou's mother came looking for Zhou Yufeng, she heard the commotion. She loved watching a good show, so she immediately lay down by the wall to eavesdrop. Once Zhou Yufeng left the house, she waited at the door, eager to see what would happen at the Zhu family's place.

Suddenly, several people appeared in the distance, among them a familiar figure—Zhou Yufeng. Hey, why are you back so quickly? The Zhou family is all here; it seems things have gotten serious this time!

I wonder if Zhu Yimin got beaten up.

The quick-tongued wife was someone who loved watching the drama unfold; the more a commotion others caused, the more excited she became, never expecting her true identity to be discovered so quickly. She only mentioned her surname as Liu, never her real name, and no one knew her husband was Quick-Tongued.

Seeing the Zhou family approaching menacingly, the quick-tongued wife sensed something was wrong, took two steps back, and leaned against the door: "Yu Feng, what's going on?"

Zhou's mother sized up her talkative daughter-in-law. Although she had never met her before, she had listened carefully to her niece's description, and the more she looked, the more it resembled her! She stepped forward and pressed, "Were you the one spreading rumors about our family in Donglin Village?"

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" The quick-tongued wife, feeling guilty, dropped the melon seeds in her hand and turned to run into the yard.

Zhou's mother grabbed her, even more certain: "It must be you! You wicked woman! Why did you spread rumors that my family 'eats up the family fortune' and ruin the relationship between my family and my son-in-law?!"

The quick-tongued wife was traumatized after being beaten last time, and suddenly pushed Zhou's mother away with all her might. Zhou's mother was old and didn't expect the other party to dare to fight back, so she was pushed down and fell on her bottom.

"Ouch! My back—" Zhou's mother cried out in pain.

"Mother! Are you alright?" Zhou Yufeng was startled and quickly went to help her mother.

The quick-talking wife seized the opportunity to run inside and turned to close the door.

"Fuck you!" Zhou Yuhu cursed angrily, and kicked the door of the Fast-Talking Family!

Just as the quick-talking wife was about to lock the door, she felt a powerful force slam open the wooden door, hit her, and send her flying!

"Ouch!" The quick-talking wife leaned back and fell flat on her bottom.

Zhou Yuhu rushed into the courtyard and saw the woman who had been plotting against him. Hatred surged in his heart, and he began to punch and kick her...

Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out from the fast-talking family's house: "Waaah... Help! Someone's been killed! Someone, please save me..."

……

North of the village, Li family's No. 3 greenhouse.

"The mutton is ready!" Li Jiugang shouted, taking the large iron pot off the stove and placing it on the iron rack next to the table. Lifting the lid, a rich aroma of meat broth wafted out.

The aroma of mutton made Li Weidong's mouth water, so he set out a row of bowls on the table beforehand.

Li Jiugang took a large iron ladle and began ladling out mutton soup. The pot only contained mutton and radish. He sprinkled on salt, chopped green onions, and cilantro, then added a touch of chili oil. He slurped it down—it was incredibly delicious!

Just as the pancakes were being served, Wang Xiuying's pancakes were also ready. The crispy pancakes smelled delicious, making everyone's mouths water. Li Zhe was also hungry, so he picked up a corner of a pancake and took a big bite. It was still a little hot, but freshly cooked pancakes are the most fragrant and delicious.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. The greenhouse curtain was lifted, and village secretary Wang Tietou walked in. "Oh, are you eating?"

Li Zhe stood up and said with a smile, "Uncle Wang, you've come at the perfect time, let's have something to eat together!"

"Hey, then I won't be polite." In those days, the aroma of mutton soup and flatbread was hard to resist. Besides, Wang Tietou knew that Li Zhe was rich and didn't need his food; the more he ate, the happier Li Zhe would be.

It was getting late, and Wang Tietou hadn't ridden his bicycle; he had walked all the way from the village committee, his hands and feet numb from the cold. After drinking a bowl of mutton soup with chili oil, he felt warmer and much more comfortable.

Li Zhe brought out a case of Fenjiu liquor: "Uncle Wang, shall we have a drink tonight?"

Wang Tietou waved his hand: "Let's do it another day. I can't drink today, I have things to do."

Old Li was worried it was about the fight earlier that day, so he put down his bowl of mutton soup and asked, "Secretary, what happened?"

Wang Tietou glanced at Zhu Yimin, and after receiving a signal from Li Zhe, said, "It's about Yimin and the Zhou family."

Old Li looked worried: "Did the Zhou family complain to the village committee?"

Zhu Yimin quickly said, "Uncle Wang, Zhou Yuhu attacked first, and I only fought back. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Wang Tietou waved his hand: "That's not it. Kuai Zui's wife was beaten and sent to the town clinic. The Zhou family was also taken away by the police station."

"Huh? When did this happen?" Zhu Yimin exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone else also looked surprised.

Wang Tietou retorted, "Didn't you hear the news?"

Old Li said, "Secretary, we're busy in the greenhouses every day, how can we have time to inquire about what's going on outside?" Wang Xiuying usually goes to the sales store, but only when her son isn't home. As long as her second son is home, Wang Xiuying rarely goes out.

Wang Xiuying, being the most curious, was the first to come over and ask, "Secretary, what happened? Why did the Zhou family beat up the talkative wife?"

Wang Tietou was somewhat amused and exasperated, but he couldn't hide the truth any longer, so he simply told her: "Zhang Yuzhen's family had a falling out with the fast-talking wife, and she couldn't stand staying at our village's general store, so she went to Donglin Village to gossip, saying that the Zhou family was going to 'eat up the family fortune'..."

Wang Tietou didn't go into details about what happened next, and went straight to the beating: "That Zhou Yuhu is no good either! A grown man grabbed Kuai Zui's wife and beat her up badly! I heard from the neighbors that he beat her until she was screaming, and Kuai Zui's wife even had one tooth knocked out. She was covered in blood, and it was a really scary sight!" Wang Tietou briefly explained the situation and then stopped talking.

After dinner, Li Zhe invited Wang Tietou into shed number one to talk. Old Li and Zhu Yimin followed him in.

Wang Tietou cut to the chase: "Yimin, how do you plan to handle this? Do you want the village committee to help mediate?"

Zhu Yimin's face showed a bitter expression: "Secretary, I won't trouble you any further. I plan to... divorce Zhou Yufeng..."

Wang Tietou sighed, "You two have been together for so many years, and you even have a child. Why don't you reconsider..."

“My relationship with the Zhou family has deteriorated to this point, how can I continue living together…” Zhu Yimin said helplessly. “If Yu Feng could stop associating with the Zhou family, I could still live with her, but… can she?”

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Wang Tietou stopped trying to persuade him: "I heard that the Zhou family 'borrowed' three thousand yuan from you. What are you going to do?"

Zhu Yimin said weakly, "That was the savings that Yu Feng and I accumulated together. Even if we get divorced, she gets half of it. I only need 1,500."

“Okay, I’ll tell the Zhou family later…” Wang Tietou didn’t know what to say. Every family has its own problems.

Zhu Yimin didn't say anything more and left greenhouse number one in a daze.

“How did such a perfectly good couple end up like this…” Wang Tietou sighed, then paused for a moment before saying, “Zhezi, I have something else to tell you today.”

"What is it? Please tell me."

“I’ve been going to town a lot these days. Mayor Chen held a meeting in town to specifically discuss the assistance and subsidies for vegetable greenhouses, and he also reported the matter to the district, but there’s still no response from above.” Wang Tietou looked around, lowered his voice and continued, “Mayor Chen said that it’s not enough for him to do this alone, you have to help out too.”

Li Zhe asked, "How do you exert force?"

Wang Tietou said, "On the one hand, it would be best to get some vegetable samples and have him send them to the district so that the leaders can see them. This will prove that such a thing really exists and is not just something made up."

Li Zhe nodded: "That's easy to say. Are there any others?"

"On the other hand, not many people know about vegetable greenhouses yet. Mayor Chen means that you should take the initiative to promote it, let more people know about off-season vegetables, and make a bigger splash. For example, find some reporters from the district or city to do interviews, or publish something in the newspaper."

Li Zhe said, "Does Mayor Chen mean... he wants me to promote the vegetable greenhouses?"

"That's roughly the gist of it," Wang Tietou replied, then asked, "Do you have connections in Langfang City? Can you find a reporter to interview you?"

"No." Although Li Zhe was from Langfang, he had only been there a few times in his life, so he wouldn't know anyone there. Then, he thought of something, "However, I do know some reporters in Beijing, would that help?"

Wang Tietou's eyes lit up: "A reporter from a Beijing newspaper?"

"Correct!"

"It works! It definitely works!" It's hard to say about other places, but in the area surrounding Beijing, the capital's influence is greater than that of Shimen.

Every move made in Beijing serves as a barometer for the surrounding areas.

(End of this chapter)