People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

Chapter 105 Catching Up with the US Call

Ganmei slapped her thigh anxiously and raised her voice: "Mom, this! Doesn't it look like my older brother!"

Mrs. Zhuang leaned closer for a closer look, then hesitated, "It does look somewhat similar. What's wrong with catching up to America?"

Ganmei's eyes gleamed with shrewdness: "Mom and Dad, haven't you always wanted to buy a TV? If my older brother wins this award, he'll definitely get a prize. It's not appropriate for me to do it myself, but you two are my elders and parents. Go talk to my older brother and see if you can get some money to buy a TV."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang's mother quickly waved her hand.

Recalling all the unpleasantness with her eldest brother, she felt a lump in her throat and said firmly, "Forget it, forget it. Your eldest brother listens to your sister-in-law. I'm not going to go to your eldest brother to suffer. If you want to go, let your dad go."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang's father slammed his hand heavily on the table with a loud "bang," his face filled with anger. He snorted, "What a disgrace to our family! How could my eldest son marry such an unfilial woman? Hurry up and call your older brother, tell him to come over!"

Seeing this, Gan Mei was secretly delighted, thinking that there was hope for the old man; perhaps he could actually get some money out of his elder brother. He quickly agreed and ran out to make a phone call.

,,,,,,,,,,

After getting off work, while Ah Ling was cooking in the kitchen, Zhuang Chaoying gathered up the dirty clothes at home and took them to the backyard to wash them.

The water was freezing cold in winter, and he thought he couldn't let Ah Ling and Xiao Ting touch the cold water, so he started fiddling with the washing machine himself.

"Dad, I got a call from you!"

Zhuang Chaoying turned the washing machine button half a turn, wiped her hands with a towel, and said, "It's here!"

Zhuang Chaoying asked as she walked, "Ting, did Aunt Li say who called?"

Xiaoting sat in the chair, flipping through her homework: "I don't know, Dad, you should go quickly!"

Zhuang Chaoying walked quickly to the entrance of the convenience store, picked up the receiver, and said, "Hello!"

Ganmei's voice came from the other end of the phone. "Brother, this is Ganmei. Dad needs you to come over!"

Zhuang Chaoying smiled and thought to herself: Another opportunity to boost her favorability has come.

He readily replied, "Okay, I got it, I'll go over after get off work tomorrow!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Chaoying returned home and saw Tu Nan excitedly talking to Xiao Ting and Huang Ling with a newspaper in hand: "Mom, Xiao Ting, look! This is Dad! The one on the far left wearing a black Zhongshan suit."

Tu Nan carefully took the scissors and meticulously cut out the photo of his father from the newspaper, his eyes filled with pride and excitement.

Zhuang Chaoying looked at the piece of paper in Tu Nan's hand and thought: Maybe they saw the newspaper.

It's never going to be good!

Just then, Lin Dongzhe ran over: "Uncle Zhuang, you're in the newspaper!"

Zhuang Chaoying looked at her tiny self in the newspaper, standing in the most obscure corner, and couldn't help but smile.

Lin Dongzhe really cares about my affairs. It's no wonder I've taken such good care of him. It seems this kid truly loves me, haha.

Lin Wufeng, who was following behind, also came over: "Teacher Zhuang, this is great news! You're famous now!"

Zhuang Chaoying smiled and waved her hand: "It's not that exaggerated, it's just a small report."

Lin Wufeng: "This is no small news report. The Mao Dun Literature Prize is very prestigious. Teacher Zhuang is now a great writer!"

Zhuang Chaoying felt a little embarrassed by Lin Wufeng's words: "Alright, Engineer Lin, stop teasing me."

Lin Wufeng excitedly waved the newspaper in front of Zhuang Chaoying. "Teacher Zhuang, I admire you so much! This award is incredible!"

"Teacher Zhuang, how about we have a couple of drinks to celebrate?"

Zhuang Chaoying looked at Lin Dongzhe and Engineer Lin, who were beaming with joy, and felt particularly cheerful: "Let's have a couple of drinks, just a couple of drinks. What are you making for dinner, Ah Ling?"

Ah Ling's gentle voice came from the kitchen: "Steamed pork with rice flour, and scrambled eggs!"

Immediately afterwards, Song Ying also shouted, "I made shrimp."

The Lin family's life is getting better and better. With his superb skills, Lin works normally at the factory from Monday to Saturday, and goes to rural factories to provide technical guidance on Sundays. In the past six months, he has saved up a lot of money.

The two families sat around the dining table and finished their meal in a lively atmosphere. Everyone else at the table left one after another, leaving only Zhuang Chaoying and Lin Wufeng still sitting in their seats, slowly drinking the baijiu in their glasses.

Lin Wufeng took a sip of wine, ate a bite of scrambled eggs, and then lowered his voice slightly: "Teacher Zhuang, do you have any connections? I've been thinking about buying a courtyard house recently. I don't necessarily intend to live there, but it's good to keep it. It might come in handy in the future."

Zhuang Chaoying put down her chopsticks and patted Lin Wufeng on the shoulder: "Engineer Lin wants to buy a courtyard?"

Lin Wufeng nodded.

“I actually know a middleman who’s quite knowledgeable in this area. He knows a lot about what’s going on in Suzhou, so he should have some information. I have his phone number; I’ll write it down for you in a bit, and you can call him and ask.”

Lin Wufeng's eyes lit up immediately, and he nodded quickly: "Then thank you, Teacher Zhuang. Come on, let's drink some more."

Zhuang Chaoying didn't hesitate and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.

Perhaps because she was relaxed, Zhuang Chaoying slept very soundly that night, without any dreams.

,,,,,,,,,,,

morning.

Zhuang Chaoying and A Ling talked about what happened last night. She said that Gan Mei called and said that her father was looking for her and asked her to go and see him after get off work today.

After getting off work, Zhuang Chaoying rushed to the bus stop and squeezed onto the bus with the crowd.

Throughout the journey, he gazed out the car window, lost in thought about his family.

After a few swaying stops, I finally got off the bus and hurried towards the farmhouse.

When she arrived at her doorstep, Zhuang Chaoying stood there and shouted, "Is anyone home?"

Hearing the noise from inside, Zhuang Ganmei quickly came out to greet him, a slightly awkward smile on her face: "Brother, you're here! Dad's been waiting for you. Come on in!"

As Zhuang Chaoying entered the house, she looked around the yard, sensing that something was off about the atmosphere.

Upon entering the house, I saw Mr. Zhuang sitting in a chair, looking rather unwell, while Mrs. Zhuang stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but unable to.

Zhuang Chaoying walked over: "Dad, Mom, what's wrong? Is there something you need?"

Father Zhuang snorted heavily and threw the newspaper on the table: "Look what you've done! You're in the newspaper and you didn't even tell the family. Don't you have any respect for this family?!"

Zhuang Chaoying picked up the newspaper and saw the report about his award. It seemed that he was right. It was these people who had read the report about him that made them think of calling him to come over. Otherwise, it would be unusual.

Father Zhuang continued, "Eldest son, are you planning to neglect the family now that you have a bonus? Since you're part of this family, you should think about it!"

Zhuang Ganmei chimed in, "Brother, you can't just ignore the family. You've been in the newspaper, you must have received a lot of bonus. Mom and Dad want to buy a TV, why don't you just buy it for them?"

Zhuang Chaoying sat on the edge of the bed with a forced smile. "Dad, do you remember what you said before? You said you'd consider me dead, and that you'd only have one son. Do you remember?"

Mrs. Zhuang awkwardly tugged at the old man's hand: "Eldest son, let's talk this out."

Zhuang Chaoying found it amusing to look at the persistent old man and woman from the Zhuang family; it seemed they hadn't been turned away enough before.

I had already made myself very clear, but they were still persisting and trying to take more from me.

Father Zhuang frowned slightly: "Tu Nan, how long has it been since Xiao Ting came to see us? You really break my heart."

In his heart, he took his eldest son's contributions for granted, but never thought about how cold and indifferent he was to his son's family.

Zhuang Chaoying looked straight at her father: "What are you here for? To have my son tutor Zhendong and Zhenbei. You never treat Xiaoting well when she comes. Xiaoting is my precious daughter, she's not here to be looked down upon by you."