The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 538 These are truly good days! (Seeking monthly votes)
That evening, Wu Zhi went home early.

After all, the wife has gone back to her parents' home. Who knows what kind of mess the kids have made of the house?

It can only be said that he was unaware of his family's situation.

Zhang Li was much more ruthless than he had imagined.

Or rather, she was the most severely affected by the preference for sons over daughters.

When Wu Aihong was six years old, she had to help with housework.

By this time, she was ten years old, and most of the housework was her responsibility.

If there is any dissatisfaction, they will beat and scold without any mercy.

Sometimes, even Wu Aiguo felt sorry for them when he saw it.

Of course, Zhang Li is very good at pretending!

At least, he never showed any harshness towards his daughter Wu Aihong in front of Wu Zhi.

Wu Zhi is usually busy with work, leaving home early in the morning and returning home in the evening, so he doesn't know much about his family situation.

After all, it was a physically demanding job!
After returning home, all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. I didn't have much time or energy to pay attention to my daughter's specific situation.
She could still devote some attention to her two younger sons, but not much.

Otherwise, Wu Ai Dang and Wu Ai Jun's performance would never have been so poor.

And so it was. When he returned home anxiously, he was surprised to find that everything was in good order and the atmosphere was even better than when his wife was there.

I was even more surprised during the meal!

Braised fish, scrambled eggs with chives, and stir-fried bitter melon—the food was comparable to what you'd get at a state-run restaurant.

Anyway, he really enjoyed the meal!
When Wu Zhi learned that the grass carp used in the braised fish was caught by Wu Aiguo in Beihai, he didn't say a word.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would know that a family's daily food expenses would never exceed one dollar and fifty cents.

It's impossible to eat big meat buns every day, but having egg drop soup or soft-boiled eggs every morning is perfectly fine.

An egg costs at most three cents right now!

One for each person in the family, that's 15 cents!

At that time, pork was priced at 78 cents per pound, and beef was even cheaper, costing only 72 cents.

Unfortunately, you need meat coupons to buy it. Each person with an urban household registration has a monthly quota of this stuff, and adults only get two jin (1 kg).

The meat ration coupons for this month have long been used up.

Anyway, according to Wu Ai Dang, he didn't get to eat much.

In fact, the amount of oil and fat I ate in the previous half month was less than what I ate in just one day yesterday.

Without meat coupons, one could only buy meat that didn't require coupons, and being able to buy two or three ounces a day was already quite good.

At this time, a country hen can be bought for only one yuan and fifty cents!

All things considered, a daily food expense of 1.5 yuan is quite generous for a family.

At least, there was still some oil and grease, and the food was better than most of the neighbors in the tenement.

It's only 45 yuan a month!
With Takeshi's salary, he could easily afford it.

He didn't say much, but he seemed to be in a low mood. As soon as it got dark, he washed up and went to bed.

For the next few days, the aroma of meat filled the air in Wu'ai's country every day.

It was either fish or pork bone soup, or offal dishes, making the neighbors' mouths water and their meals taste better. They had cursed Wu Aiguo, the spendthrift son who ate and drank excessively, countless times in their hearts, yet they were incredibly hospitable when they met him.

The neighbors never expected that Wu Aiguo was such a good cook; he was qualified to be the head chef in the factory canteen.
It's impossible not to feel envious and jealous.

Why is it that they eat plain soup and water at home every day, while Wu Aiguo's family has meat and eggs every day, as if they live in two different worlds?

But they couldn't very well blame them!

Wu Zhi's wife, Zhang Li, Wu Aiguo's stepmother, has not returned yet; clearly, the argument that day was very tense.

Of course, everyone in the courtyard knew what was going on when Wu Aiguo instructed his brothers Wu Aidang and Wu Aijun, along with Wu Aihong, to whisper things to their friends.

A simple calculation shows that even a daily food allowance of one yuan is enough to eat eggs to one's heart's content, and one can also occasionally get some meat and bones to supplement one's diet.

Given Wu Aiguo's family situation, they could afford to eat fish and meat every day. But what kind of situation do they have? The neighbors aren't stupid.

Now we know that Wu Aiguo was retaliating by indulging in food and drink; all we can do is envy him.

The key point is that even his own father, Wu Zhi, didn't say a word, so it wouldn't be appropriate for a neighbor to say too much.

How could the gossip outside affect Wu Aiguo?
After a few days of being nourished by oil and fat, he noticeably gained weight.

The sallow complexion on Wu Aidang and Wu Aijun's faces had disappeared, replaced by a rosy glow.

The one who changed the most was the youngest sister, Wu Aihong.

Her cheeks became noticeably fuller, and her dry, yellow hair gained a bit more shine.

As for Wu Zhi, he became much more energetic.

He is full of energy when he works, giving people the feeling that he has taken a super tonic.

Wu Zhi was not unaware of such an obvious change.

Originally, he had planned that as long as his wife lowered her head, apologized, and promised never to make the same mistake again, he would be able to forgive her.

But now, what is a wife?
My family prepares delicious food every day, and I've switched to Daqianmen cigarettes. If the grocery store weren't out of stock, I probably could even afford some liquor.

These days are truly blissful, like being in paradise!

What if my wife comes back and we go back to our old, frugal lifestyle?
As the time for his eldest son, Wu Aiguo, to receive his high school graduation certificate drew closer, and it was said that he would return to his rural hometown as soon as he got the certificate, he felt a little reluctant to let him go.

He simply stamped his foot and handed over the only five hundred yuan savings certificate in his house to Wu Aiguo, saying that he couldn't sleep with it on him.

It would be more appropriate to leave it in Wu Aiguo's hands; the intention to keep him here is quite clear.

Wu Aiguo remained noncommittal, carefully putting away the deposit certificate without making a statement.

It's likely that his biological father and stepmother will have many arguments over this deposit certificate in the future, but that has nothing to do with him.

His biological father still dared to yell at him, but his stepmother didn't have that kind of confidence.

Unexpectedly, that evening Liu Haizhong brought Liu Guangqi with him, carrying a lot of gifts.

It has cigarettes and alcohol, as well as exquisite pastries that even the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have, so it's clear that some effort was put into it.

"Uncle Liu, you're too kind. Guangqi is my classmate!"

After welcoming the man into his home and serving him sweet soup, Wu Aiguo chuckled and said, "I was just offering some advice, no need to be so polite!"

"There's no need to be modest about patriotism. If it weren't for your idea, we probably still wouldn't know where to start!"

Liu Haizhong smiled wryly: "This matter is really hard to say. A few days ago, I contacted that big bastard. If I hadn't asked the comrades from the factory's security department, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to reach an agreement at all!"

(End of this chapter)