Zhou Xiaoyun, who was writing, saw Dabao come in with tears and snot all over his face, and couldn't help but be shocked. He quickly asked: "Brother, why are you crying?"
Dabao wiped away tears with a wronged expression: "I was slapped by mom."
"Mom hit you?" That's unlikely, Zhao Yu Zhen has always spoiled Da Bao, after all he is the first child and a boy, both the eldest son of the family and the eldest grandson of the clan. Not to mention hitting him, she can't even bear to scold him twice. Half of Da Bao's temper was spoiled by her. If anyone would hit him, it would be Zhou Guo Qiang: "Mom, why did you hit me? What did I do wrong today?"
Dabao loudly complained and told his sister the whole story: "I was watching TV at my uncle's house tonight, just when it got to the good part, my aunt insisted on turning off the TV and wouldn't let us watch anymore. I begged her to let us keep watching a bit longer, but she refused and turned off the TV, chasing me home. When I got home, I told mom about it, and mom said I wasn't allowed to go to my aunt's house to watch TV again, but I didn't listen, so mom slapped me."
After thinking about it, Da Bao repeated what he had just said to Zhou Xiaoyun again, and finally added: "Da Ya, where did I go wrong? It's true, our family doesn't have a TV so I can only go to my aunt's house to watch. These are all facts. Why did my mom hit me?"
Look at the five-finger print on Da Bao's face, Zhou Xiaoyun thought to herself that her mother was really angry, and this slap was quite heavy. It's likely that it wasn't all because of Da Bao, but rather his mother's attitude that made her own mother angry, poor Da Bao became the scapegoat.
"Brother, don't cry. Mom must be regretting hitting you now and is heartbroken about it." Zhou Xiaoyun softly consoled Dabao.
"Really? Will Mom regret hitting me?" Da Bao was half believing and half doubting.
Dabao's face no longer hurt as much as it did earlier, and he also stopped crying. He was crying half because of the pain from being hit, and the other half was because his loving mother suddenly changed her expression and used physical force, causing a small wound to Dabao's fragile heart. If it were Zhou Guoqiang who had done it, he would have been even more upset.
Zhou Xiaoyun nodded vigorously to add credibility, then shifted Dabao's attention: "Brother, I came across a math problem that I couldn't do. You're in second grade now and must know it, come teach me."
Da Bao was tricked into coming over, and when he saw that his sister was asking about an application problem. His high-scoring sister actually had a time to ask him for help, which made Da Bao proud, so he cleared his throat and began to explain the problem to Zhou Xiaoyun.
Zhou Xiaoyun cooperated very well, becoming a good student who asked questions. After this question was finished, she pointed out several other questions for Dabao to explain. Dabao forgot the unpleasantness of just now in the satisfaction of being a teacher, and the "admiration" in Zhou Xiaoyun's eyes made Dabao feel complacent.
Zhou Xiaoyun's guess was very accurate, and Zhao Yuzhen was regretful in her heart for having given birth to a boy.
She married Zhou Guoqiang and soon gave birth to Dabao. At that time, Dabao's grandfather was still alive and was extremely happy to see his first grandson born, so he personally named Dabao "Zhou Zhiliang", which means "to become a pillar of talent".
The eldest Mr. Zhou got married first and his daughter, Zhou Xiaoxia, didn't have a son, Zhou Zhihai, until two years later. During these two years, the elder brother earned great face for Zhao Yuzhen.
At that time, the idea of preferring boys to girls was deeply rooted in people's minds. In rural areas, having a boy to carry on the family line was considered the most important thing, and if there were no boys in the family, it would be looked down upon.
Later, the children came one after another, and no matter whether they were boys or girls, their parents loved them all. But Dabao was definitely more precious to Zhao Yu Zhen.
Dabao is a mischievous and troublesome boy, Zhao Yuzhen scolds him on the surface but doesn't take it to heart. Whose boy isn't naughty? If he's not naughty, does he still look like a boy?
When Zhou Guoqiang's temper flared up, he would hit Da Bao, but she always protected him. She had never really brought herself to hit Da Bao before, and today was the first time she had used such a heavy hand.
Zhao Yuzhen sighed repeatedly, which made Zhou Guoqiang, who had just returned home, very curious and asked for the reason.
Zhao Yuzhen told her husband everything from start to finish, then began to vent her grievances: "He's dad, I'm not angry about anything else, I'm just angry at Eldest Sister. Her older brother is a skilled craftsman, a carpenter who makes a good living and has always been one of the wealthiest in the village. He built a tile-roofed house early on, while we still have a thatched roof and don't know when we'll be able to afford to replace it with tiles. Now they're showing off again by buying a TV set, and the kids think it's a big deal and run to their house every day to watch. You say, can the electricity bill be worth that much money? Is Shen Huafeng justified in driving our Dabao away just to save a little on electricity? The more I think about it, the angrier I get, and I've decided not to let Dabao go to their house again. But Dabao said, 'Who told us we can't afford a TV, so we have to go to Aunt's house to watch?' When I heard that, I couldn't hold back my anger and slapped Dabao."
Zhou Guoqiang felt uncomfortable after hearing this. Among the three brothers, the eldest brother was a skilled carpenter who was clever and good at making money. The third brother was an intellectual who worked for the government with an iron rice bowl and received a high salary. His sister's husband was also very capable and drove a tricycle to transport passengers, which was not bad either.
Only he himself was not talented, relying on farming and raising chickens, ducks, and pigs to barely make a living for his family. In his free time, he would help others slaughter pigs, but it wasn't a stable occupation, sometimes going ten days or half a month without getting a single job.
The money earned is barely enough to support a family of four children, let alone build a tile-roofed house or buy a TV.
