Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

Wang Xiaozhou learned to make braised pork ribs from his mother. Although he has advanced cooking skills, he still feels that his mother's version is not as delicious.

Yes, Mom is a master.

Besides this dish, there are also several other appetizers such as dry-pot chicken feet and scrambled eggs with scallions.

He urged Xiao Erni to go inside and overturn the card game, then the old man came out and started serving the dishes.

A group of people sat down around the dining table. Wang Xiaozhou looked around and, despite the inappropriate timing, still had to ask during the New Year: "Uncle, where's my aunt? Isn't she coming home for dinner today?"

The atmosphere at the dinner table froze for a moment before the old man spoke up: "Don't worry about her, she's back late, let's eat first."

The older man immediately chimed in, "Yes, let's eat first. Today, young Wang should have a drink too. I didn't realize how much you could handle last time."

Wang Xiaozhou immediately opened a bottle of beer and chugged it down: "If all else fails, I'll stay here tonight. I'll definitely keep you company!"

Huang Mao and the others could tell that their eldest brother had an inexplicable respect for this old man. It wasn't the kind of feeling of pity for the poor, but rather... a sense of indebtedness and compensation?

Without needing to ask why, all the brothers raised their glasses and joined in. It's a tradition among brothers that the leader always starts the conversation, and the rest of the brothers immediately follow suit. In short: they start the group and then follow.

Surrounded by four young men, the old man quickly became intoxicated, but his smile remained unchanged, and he even took the initiative to clink glasses with Wang Xiaozhou.

The elderly woman reached out to stop him, but the elderly man blocked her way, gently shaking his head and whispering in her ear, "Make him happy, make his life more meaningful."

Xiao Erni was supposed to keep an eye on the old man's drinking, but after hearing what the old man said, she lowered her head and continued eating.

"I've lived for almost ten years, and it's been a wasted life. This is the first time I've ever eaten such good food."

Xiao Erni was thinking to herself, and the whirlwind of chopsticks she was wielding was already making a gust of wind.

"Squeak"

The sound of a dilapidated door being pushed open came from inside. Wang Xiaozhou and the others looked towards the door and saw a woman who looked to be in her fifties with a weathered face push the door open and enter.

"This is...?"

Seeing that the woman didn't greet anyone after entering the house and had a blank look in her eyes, Wang Xiaozhou asked.

The older man glanced at the doorway, said nothing, and invited the blond-haired guy and the others to drink together.

The old man laughed and said, "My daughter-in-law is back from work. You all drink your food, old woman, you take her out to eat."

"No need, let's come inside and eat together."

Wang Xiaozhou thought the old man had some old bad habits, so he quickly stopped him.

The old lady waved her hand and said, "You all eat, you all eat. My daughter-in-law can't stay in places with too many people."

As the elderly woman picked up a little bit from each of the dishes on the table, put it in her bowl, and took it out, Wang Xiaozhou turned his questioning gaze to the elderly man.

Seeing the old man and Huang Mao chatting so animatedly, the old man leaned closer to Wang Xiaozhou's ear and said:

"My daughter-in-law isn't quite mentally stable anymore. Her employer, who works in the city, treats her very badly..."

Our family needs her to earn this income, and this back and forth has become exhausting; she gets sick whenever she sees a stranger.

Wang Xiaozhou clenched his fist tightly. Those beasts from the Wei family deserve to die!

"or..."

Wang Xiaozhou opened his mouth, but immediately swallowed it back.

No matter how poor or miserable the family is, he should not have the thought of giving them money directly. A small favor is appreciated, but too much will breed resentment. If you help such a family indiscriminately, you won't even know how you died in the end.

He changed his mind before he could finish his sentence: "Why don't we find that old lady a new job? She's got hands and feet, why does she have to earn his money?"

"She can't change jobs. She has no skills and no education. Only her current employer is willing to pay her three thousand yuan a month. If she were to find another job, she would be lucky to earn fifteen thousand yuan a month."

The old man looked bitter, clearly feeling sorry for his daughter-in-law.

Wang Xiaozhou's expression shifted, and in the end he could only sigh, "Grandpa, I want to help you, but I'm just a poor student, alas..."

"Why talk about that? Let's drink!"

The old man smiled and gently changed the subject, but Wang Xiaozhou ate every bite of food without any flavor.

While the old man was relieving himself, Wang Xiaozhou followed him out and whispered:

"How are you feeling now? The Lunar New Year is coming soon, and our family has given us some money to go out and have fun. How about we go to the hospital to get checked out?"

The old man urinated so hard it went quite a distance, then pointed to the water stains on the snow: "Look at that physique, why bother going to the hospital? You've got guts!"

Men who have had a few drinks are always full of bravado. Wang Xiaozhou punched the old man on the shoulder: "You're definitely sturdy enough!"

The two men walked into the house together. Just before entering, the older man sighed and whispered, "I know my own body. I can definitely hold on for another six months or so. Let's wait a little longer..."

Erni will have new clothes to wear in the future, and my wife will also have her day.

Damn it, they shouldn't have come here during the Chinese New Year. It makes me feel sour.

Wang Xiaozhou rubbed his sore nose and went into the house with the old man to continue the drinking session they hadn't finished earlier.

The meal lasted from noon until almost evening, and as the sun was about to set, Wang Xiaozhou finally said goodbye.

The old man had drunk enough and lingered for a while, but seeing that Wang Xiaozhou insisted on leaving, and realizing that his family didn't have the means to entertain him, he let him go.

A group of young men walked towards the door, with the old man and his companions seeing them off. Seeing that Wang Xiaozhou and the others had waved goodbye, Xiao Erni ran to Wang Xiaozhou's side and asked:

"Brothers, when are you coming next time? I'll save all the New Year's snacks for you."

Wang Xiaozhou rubbed his eyes: "Next time...after the New Year."

Xiao Erni nodded: "Then come early after the New Year, I'll be waiting at home."

Finally, after waving goodbye to Xiao Erni, the group found a sports car company in the village and spent 100 yuan to take a taxi back to the county.

Huang Mao and his friends had arranged to stay overnight at an internet cafe, but Wang Xiaozhou felt upset and didn't go with them. He walked home by himself.

There was no one at home. Dad had gone out to play mahjong with his old friends from the county, and Mom and her sisters-in-law had made plans to go to a boutique to buy clothes for the New Year.

I went to my bedroom and stayed there for a while. I turned on my computer, wanting to get some work done, but even with the script on the screen, I had no idea how to edit it.

Wang Xiaozhou turned around and punched the back of the chair, feeling utterly humiliated.

I'm angry at Wei Bin's family for being such beasts, and also angry at myself for being a greasy middle-aged man.

Smooth, cunning, and cautious, having seen too much of the true nature of people's hearts, he can guess the general ending of many things as soon as they begin.

If Wang Xiaozhou helped the old man and his family today, he could already imagine how things would develop. He never minded thinking the worst about people's hearts.

But if I don't help... I can't get over that mental hurdle myself.

After much hesitation and repeatedly confirming whether he was truly upset, Wang Xiaozhou finally felt relieved and dialed Song Shihui's number, asking her to find the old lady a job in the county. He wanted a job far away from him, preferably one where he would never see her again, the kind where he would never see her again in his entire life.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiaozhou let out a heavy sigh of relief. He considered it foolish of him, but it also served as an explanation for what Xiao Erni had said before leaving.

This is a one-time offer!