Actually, Xiao Mandong had seen Wang Yuanyuan pull Xiao Manxue aside. She wanted her younger sister to handle things on her own, because she couldn't follow her around for the rest of her life. With Manxue's personality, if she married into a family with difficult in-laws in the future, she'd end up being walked all over. Only by standing up for herself could she avoid being bullied.
Now, seeing her sister grow, she felt deeply comforted. She took her sister's hand and returned to the dining table to continue eating.
The meal lasted over two hours, and everyone left fully satisfied, their mouths greasy from all the good food.
What Xiao Mandong hadn't expected was that after the meal, the family members all came to help clean up the dishes, and none of them seemed upset that they hadn't been invited to join the meal. Everyone understood that the food was excellent and must have cost a lot of money, so it made sense they weren't expected to bring their whole families to freeload.
With so many hands helping, everything was cleaned up within half an hour, and the tables, chairs, and dishes were all returned.
For those who had children, Xiao Mandong gave each child a handful of fruit candies.
The house builders were surprised to have been invited to the meal as well, and Xiao Mandong promised that on the day the ridge beam was raised, she would give each of them a big red envelope. She had originally planned to treat everyone to a meal that day, but after today's experience, she would rather just give them money—it was truly exhausting.
But Xiao Mandong did receive some good news that day. The village's barefoot doctor had hurt himself badly and would no longer be working. The village party secretary reported it to the commune, and the commune arranged for her to study at the hospital for a month, after which she could sit for the barefoot doctor certification exam. She was to report next Monday, and during her study period, the old barefoot doctor would look after the clinic, with the work points split between them.
With a barefoot doctor certificate, she could openly treat patients and dispense medicine. After that, she and her sister would have a certain status in the village. Who could guarantee they'd never get sick? So no one would want to offend a doctor.
Zhou Qichuan and Song Xiangjun returned after delivering the last load of tables and chairs. Xiao Mandong brought out two basins of pork stewed with vermicelli and gave one to each of them. This was of course because they had also spent the whole afternoon cooking with her, and that pig offal had been especially hard to wash.
The two men immediately declined: "No need, no need. We can't take food along with eating it."
"This was set aside specially for you. With it being so hot out, if you don't take it back, there's no way Manxue and I could finish it all. You two worked hard today."
In the end, they couldn't refuse and left with thanks after saying goodbye.
Back at the educated youth dormitory, the five people who had attended the meal were all smiles and chatter with the Xiao sisters, while the others mostly gave them cold looks. Xiao Mandong didn't care. News of her selling her job had long since spread, and everyone knew she had money, so there was no point in hiding it. In this life, she just wanted to do as she pleased.
Xiao Mandong was tired after the long day. She filled a basin with foot-washing water and had just soaked her feet when, to her surprise, Hu Guizhen took the initiative to speak to her:
"Xiao Mandong, I'm holding my wedding banquet the day after tomorrow. All the educated youths are giving some money or gifts. Since you're so well off, shouldn't you show a little something too?"
Xiao Mandong was stunned. She was asking her for a wedding gift? Was she out of her mind? Had she gone crazy from poverty? How could she be so shameless?
"Sure, but why don't you first return that five yuan medical fee from last time? After all, you're moving away, and I'd hate to have to go to your husband's house to collect it. That wouldn't look good."
Hu Guizhen had completely forgotten about the medical fee. She hadn't expected Xiao Mandong to still remember it.
"How can you remember something so trivial? And it was just a misunderstanding at the time."
"So you're saying you don't plan to pay it back? I'm warning you, you'll have to face the consequences."
Hu Guizhen hadn't expected Xiao Mandong to be so heartless. Given how bad her situation was, how could Mandong still hold onto this?
"Xiao Mandong, you know Cripple Liu's family isn't well off. I'm pregnant now. How can you have the nerve to still demand this money?"
Xiao Mandong laughed in anger: "Hu Guizhen, is this child yours or mine? It's not my child, so why would I feel ashamed to ask for what's owed to me?"
Hu Guizhen's eyes reddened: "But you're already so rich. You don't care about five yuan. Why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
"Hu Guizhen, can you have even a tiny bit of shame? Just a little, okay? How exactly have I made things difficult for you? What does my money have to do with you? I didn't come after you earlier because I was waiting for your family to send you money—it doesn't mean I gave up on that debt."
"Can't you just take pity on me? After all, the fact that I'm marrying Cripple Liu has a lot to do with you." Since Hu Guizhen had heard that Xiao Manxue had been locked in the clinic, she realized she'd been tricked by Xiao Mandong, but it was too late to say anything now.
Xiao Mandong looked at her with contempt: "What sort of relationship is that? Go on, say it out loud, let everyone judge. You shot yourself in the foot—isn't that just what you deserve?"
Hu Guizhen clenched her back teeth. She regretted it deeply. She knew Xiao Mandong was a madwoman, so why on earth did she have to go provoke her?
Earlier that day, she had called the garment factory where her mother worked. When her mother heard she was marrying someone from the village, she had cursed her terribly, saying she'd sent ten yuan every month exactly so her daughter wouldn't sell herself for money. If Hu Guizhen could be this cheap, then from now on she had no daughter, and would never send another cent. She'd better look out for herself.
If her mother stopped sending money, she would only have sixteen yuan left. If she had to pay Xiao Mandong five yuan back, how would she survive?
The money her mother had sent before, she had all spent on Fan Wenhai without saving a single cent.
In the past, she really wouldn't have cared about five yuan, but now she had a baby in her belly and needed proper nutrition, plus she had to save up for childbirth.
She didn't want to repay the money. After thinking for a moment, she said: "How about those five yuan count as your wedding gift?"
Xiao Manxue, who had just returned from dumping the water, overheard Hu Guizhen's words and said mockingly: "Hu Guizhen, are we really that close? Five yuan for a wedding gift? It wouldn't be impossible to give five yuan, but it'll have to wait until we're mourning at your funeral."
The moment Xiao Manxue's words left her mouth, the room went silent. Though feudal superstitions weren't allowed to be promoted, still, no one cursed people like that. Her words were enough to send chills down one's spine, especially since Hu Guizhen was about to get married and was pregnant. In this era, pregnancy was considered a life-and-death ordeal, as if one foot was in the world of the living and one in the dead.
Everyone felt that Xiao Manxue had changed. Even during the day at work, she was all smiles only with the educated youths who had helped search for her the day before, while with everyone else, she was strictly business and seemed to say, "Don't bother me unless it's necessary."
Xiao Manxue felt that ever since she'd snapped back at Wang Yuanyuan today, she had found the true joy of life. Fighting back felt incredibly soothing.
Xiao Manxue's words surprised Xiao Mandong as well: "My sister is right. Some people simply don't deserve face. Hu Guizhen, if I don't see that five yuan by tomorrow, I'll come collect it at your wedding banquet."
