Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 33 Grandma Hua

The woman across the street greeted them warmly, introducing herself: "Oh my, I used to hold you when you were little, and now you've grown up so much!"

Li Ruru was taken aback. What? You hugged her? She's so big now.
She's not a child anymore; she's a mother of three!
Seeing that Li Ruru was still confused, the woman continued, "Hey, I'm your Granny Hua, from the village next to your mother's."

Li Ruru tried hard to search her memory, but she couldn't remember anything.

Then she spoke up, "Grandma Hua, is there something you need from me?"

Seeing that she still looked blank, Granny Hua continued, "Hey, it's normal that you don't remember me. I used to work for Master Bai's family, but now that I'm old, I've come back to the village to retire."

Li Ruru found it somewhat boring; what did an old woman's life have to do with her?

She said somewhat impatiently, "Grandma Hua, congratulations! Go home and get some rest."

Don't bother her here; she needs to go buy some nice clothes.

When Granny Hua saw that she was about to leave, she stopped rambling and said directly, "Madam Li, you've gotten divorced, and you must be having a hard time. I heard you're living in a dilapidated house in Chenjia Village, and you don't know where your next meal is coming from, right?"
If you ask me, a woman still needs to find a man to rely on, don't you think?

Li Ruru was stunned. Good heavens, she had only been divorced for a few days and the matchmaker had already come knocking on her door.

She sneered, "Grandma Hua, aren't you planning to retire? Why do you still have time to worry about me?"

The implication is that she doesn't need to concern herself with her own affairs.

She spoke very frankly, but Granny Hua acted as if she hadn't heard her, and continued to say to herself, "Hey, I can't stay idle, so I took up the job of a matchmaker. My business is not bad, I've already helped several couples get married."

Li Ruru rolled her eyes. "Then congratulations."

Granny Hua is truly a matchmaker by nature; she's incredibly thick-skinned. She doesn't take being rejected once seriously, and she doesn't get angry even when confronted to her face.

"You just got divorced, so you haven't experienced how hard life is yet. This daughter can't survive without a man."

Let's not even talk about the distant places. Just imagine, your mother and her three children live so far away. Is it safe for them at night?
You usually don't get water for yourself, right? The well pulley must be very heavy.

Listen to your mother-in-law, we're fit and beautiful, why should we wrong ourselves and the children? Don't you think so?

Da Ya listened from the side, her brows furrowed.

It must be said that Granny Hua's words made some sense.

Last night she heard a noise from the corner of the wall and was so frightened that she dared not breathe. They don't know how long they will have to live like this in the future.

Deep down, she didn't want her mother to live a hard life, but she was also worried that her mother would marry someone else and abandon them.

Sanya doesn't understand anything. After finishing the candied hawthorn, she started eating sugar figurines. Her mouth was never idle.

When Er Ya saw Li Ruru's expression, which looked like she had eaten shit, she knew that her mother had no intention of getting married.

She spoke directly, "Grandma Hua, may I call you Grandma Hua?"

The title "Grandma Hua" is a form of address, just like "Auntie Pang," and it doesn't refer to a generation. Anyone can call her that, and it directly replaces her given name.

When Granny Hua saw that the little girl had spoken, she said happily, "Of course you can, girl. Don't you also feel that your mother's life is hard? You don't mind finding a reliable father, do you?"

The little girl was able to speak up, so she must have been trying to persuade her mother, since no one wants to be a pitiful child without a father.

Women who get divorced lose face; they not only have a hard time living their own lives, but others also gossip behind their backs.

Granny Hua was overjoyed, but was met with Er Ya's rejection.

She smiled and said, "Grandma Hua, you don't need to worry about my mother and our family's affairs."

My house is very safe at night, and there's a stream in the backyard, so I don't have to worry about water.

My mother doesn't need any man; she's incredibly happy living with us.

Before Granny Hua could say anything more, Li Ruru took out two jin of meat from her basket and said, "Granny Hua, look, we're not having a hard time at all, we even have meat to eat."

Grandma Hua was still persistent, saying, "With your extravagant spending, you might not even have enough to eat next."

They're still too young, they've never experienced hardship, and they spend all their money on food.

She didn't even bother to save up any dowry for her three daughters; poor girls have to suffer with her.

Li Ruru pushed her aside, saying, "Grandma Hua, move aside. I not only want to eat meat, but I also want to buy pretty clothes to wear."

"Don't introduce me to any more men, I'm such a spendthrift."

Why can't she earn money and support her three daughters? Why does she have to find a man?

If she encounters a bad man, she will have to serve his entire family.

If she were to meet a good one… Li Ruru didn’t think she wouldn’t have that kind of luck.

Granny Hua watched the group walk into the clothing store and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Madam Li, you haven't even asked me who I'm introducing you to yet, why are you refusing already?"

Li Ruru acted as if she hadn't heard, and said with a smile to the young girl serving customers in the shop, "That old woman outside is really noisy."

This shop didn't look down on people; the young woman who greeted them laughed and said, "Haha, you really are a little bit."

The old woman was shouting from outside the door, so she couldn't do anything about it.

If she caused a scene in their shop, she would definitely ask the staff to coax her out.

The little girl thoughtfully helped Li Ruru unload the basket from her back, found some chairs, and brought her a few cups of cold tea.

"Auntie, you must be tired from going to the market. Have some herbal tea."

Li Ruru gave her a grateful look, took the herbal tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

"It tastes good." She's never stingy with praise, and this herbal tea tastes almost exactly like Wang Mouji's; it's definitely good tea.

The girl looked delighted. "I'll pour another cup for Auntie."

Li Ruru drank two cups of tea and was in a great mood.

“Girl, help my three daughters pick out two outfits for each of them, one for everyday work and one for going on long trips or something.”

She wasn't sure if they would be going on a long trip, but she felt that her daughters needed to have a decent outfit.

Otherwise, you'll end up like before, being looked down upon by the shopkeeper across the street.

There's no way around it; people in any dynasty judged others by their appearance. Looks and clothing were symbols of a person's status.

It's the same principle as a brokerage firm buying and selling people, where they check the teeth.

Good teeth indicate youth and a higher market value.

Li Ruru felt that within her means, she must give her daughters plenty of good things.

The three girls looked shocked. The eldest girl was the first to object, "Mother, we can just buy a set of coarse cloth clothes to wear while working."

My mother has clearly become a shopaholic. I couldn't stop her earlier, but now I can't let her spend money recklessly anymore.

Er Ya, however, didn't mind and said, "Big sister, don't be such a spoilsport. We earn money to spend, it's not like we can't afford it."

Sanya finished the sugar figurine in her hand, licked her hand, and said, "Flowery clothes, I want flowery clothes."

Li Ruru smiled and said, "Da Ya, look, even my little sister agrees. It's three to one, the minority obeys the majority."

Daya tugged at the hem of her clothes, "Then...then I don't need the clothes, I'll buy some for my two younger sisters."

This way, we can save some money; every little bit helps.

Li Ruru frowned. "No! Daya, are you not even listening to your mother anymore?"

Seeing that her mother was angry, Daya quickly whispered, "Mother, I...I dare not."

"Then that's settled. You should have what Er Ya and San Ya have too! Even though you're the older sister, you don't have to give way to them."

-

Chenjia Village, Zhang Jun's maternal home.

The group was discussing the marriage between Zhang Junniang and Chen Sanbao.

Zhang Junniang's mother-in-law, Madam Lü, said: "Although my son died early, I never treated Junniang and the two children harshly in the slightest."

"I won't stop Junniang from remarrying, but her two children are from the Ma family and must stay with us."

Zhang Junniang was immediately displeased. She knew that Chen Sanbao was willing to marry her because he had his eye on her two sons.

If her son were still with the Ma family, why would they marry her?

"Mother, you can't do this. The children are mine, they will naturally come with me."

Lu sneered, "Don't be so sure of yourself."

Then she looked at the two children, "Yong'er, Gan'er, would you like to stay here, or go with your mother to the Chen family to suffer?"

(End of this chapter)