Who knew that she forgot to bring her hoe that day, so she turned back from the vegetable garden to get it, only to overhear her two sons and daughters-in-law discussing her funeral arrangements.
It turns out that these two little beasts were subtly trying to persuade her to go back to her husband's family home, not only because they coveted the house plot and the farmland she could be allocated there, but also because of the ancestral graves...
According to their custom, once a woman gets married, she cannot be buried at her parents' home after she dies; she must be buried at her husband's home.
But she had already broken up with her husband's family.
If she doesn't return to her husband's family home while she's still alive, and they won't let her be buried there after she passes away, her two sons will have to buy a separate burial plot in Langshan Village for her.
These two little beasts, unwilling to spend money to buy a burial plot for their own mother, actually came up with such a vicious idea: to send their mother back to her husband's family before she dies, so that after she dies, they can legitimately freeload off their husband's family's ancestral grave and be buried with that dead ghost.
They dare to bully the living, but they would never dare to bully the dead. In Langshan, refusing to buy a burial plot for one's own mother is a disgrace, a shame that would haunt generations. Therefore, this matter must be settled before the mother dies…
But these two little beasts don't seem to realize how fiercely she argued with her husband's family back then, almost severing all ties!
Going back now would be tantamount to kneeling on the ground and being trampled on!
Lang Hongfan would rather die outside and have her ashes scattered in the river than kneel before her enemy!
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoman fell silent, then realized that the phone used for filming was still recording, and quickly cut off the video.
He knew his parents' feelings best. No matter how much they hated their children, they could never bear to drive them to their deaths. These words could only be heard in private and could never be circulated.
Unexpectedly, Lang Hongfan was very open-minded and waved her hand: "Take pictures if you want, I'm not afraid of being laughed at. It's my fault as their mother for not raising them well. They themselves are not afraid of losing face, so what do I, an old woman, have to be afraid of?"
Despite saying that, Jiang Xiaoman later cut that part out.
Aunt Hongfan's life is peaceful and comfortable now, and he doesn't want to disrupt her peaceful old age for the sake of a little bit of traffic.
In the evening, Jiang Youliang fed the pigs and locked the chickens at home. He then carried a large basket of things down the mountain to eat.
Lang Hongfan had already prepared the ingredients for dinner. When he saw people arrive, he quickly stood up, gave Jiang Youliang a pack of cigarettes, and brewed a pot of his homemade tea cakes. Then he invited them to watch TV, changed into an apron, and went into the kitchen to cook.
Jiang Xiaoman watched Aunt Hongfan's brisk back as she walked away, and couldn't help but sigh with melancholy.
Actually, if Aunt Hongfan had been with her father back then, they might both be living better lives now.
It can only be said that fate plays tricks on people; it's always difficult for a good person to meet another good person.
Chapter 188
For just three people eating, Lang Hongfan still prepared six dishes, all served in large stainless steel bowls.
This basin was a gift from Jiang Xiaoman.
The owner of the stainless steel basin shop sent him a bunch of samples. He couldn't use them all himself, so he shared them with the aunts and sisters-in-law who came to help.
It wasn't a valuable benefit, but everyone was happy because it was free, and these stainless steel basins are really practical in rural areas.
It can be used to hold vegetables, soup, and lard. It's also better than the coarse porcelain bowls commonly used at home for stirring batter when making pancakes.
Most importantly, it's easy to clean and not easily broken, making it an essential kitchen container for every rural household!
In the very center was a large stainless steel basin filled with braised chicken with potatoes. The chicken looked very big, so half of it was used for braising, and the remaining half was used by Lang Hongfan to make a large basin of steamed chicken with rice flour.
I made a pot of soup with pork ribs and winter melon, and stir-fried half of the pork belly with chili peppers, while using the other half to braise green beans. Finally, I fried a whole bowl of dried plum vegetables and peanuts for Jiang Youliang to eat with his drinks.
"My dear sister, you're too kind. So many peanuts, it must have taken you ages to peel them!" Jiang Youliang exclaimed in surprise.
Every household in the countryside grows peanuts. Peanuts are not rare, but it takes a lot of effort to shell so many peanuts.
"Eat up. If you can't finish it, take it back to Xiaoman as a snack. Don't all young people like to stay up late? They'll get hungry at night and need to eat something." Lang Hongfan brought over a few empty bowls and first ladled a large bowl of pork rib and winter melon soup for each of them.
Jiang Xiaoman took a sip and found it wasn't as light and refreshing as the winter melon soup he made himself. He guessed it was because the ribs weren't blanched before being put into the pot.
However, many families in rural areas cook meat soup this way. After all, it's a rare treat to eat meat, and if you blanch it to remove all the oil and water, then you've wasted your money buying the meat.
However, the braised chicken with potatoes and the steamed chicken with rice flour were very delicious, especially the steamed chicken, which was even better than what he made himself. While eating, Jiang Xiaoman asked Lang Hongfan if he could give a rough estimate of each family's annual income in this video. She asked if it was inconvenient for her to explain in detail, so she could give a lower estimate.
To prevent her two vampire sons from coming back to pretend to be filial sons and grandsons and swindle her out of her retirement money if they hear that their old mother has made money.
Lang Hongfan thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed, as if something had occurred to him.
"Don't hide anything, just turn on the video recording on your phone, and I'll tell you the truth!"
"I know what you're afraid of, Xiaoman. You have such a kind heart, you don't know how dirty some people's hearts can be!"
"Do you think they won't try to take advantage of me just because I'm hiding it?"
"I'm going to let them know that I, this old woman, have plenty of money, but I'm not willing to spend it on them!"
"If you want to spend my money, you'd better be obedient and take care of me in my old age and when you die!"
Jiang Xiaoman was stunned for a moment before she finally understood the meaning of Lang Hongfan's words.
After understanding the situation, I couldn't help but feel sincere admiration for this woman.
Wow! This must be the legendary open conspiracy!
Just like the emperors in some palace dramas, they like to use the dragon throne under their buttocks as a carrot, dangling several princes below them, who have no choice but to compete to please and show filial piety to their father.
After all, when is a son most filial?
They must have been the most filial before they received their parents' inheritance!
Lang Hongfan has two sons, so she definitely doesn't meet the requirements for going to a nursing home. Her income in the countryside isn't enough for her to live in an expensive nursing home. It seems that when she gets older, her two sons will have to take care of her.
However, having seen the true colors of his two sons, Lang Hongfan now completely distrusts these two little beasts.
She agreed to disclose her annual income, hoping to subtly imply to those two brats that their mother can still earn money. Want it? Then obediently serve their old mother until her death!
If you behave well, all this money will be yours after I pass away.
If you still dare to scheme against your mother, humph! She'd rather throw all that money into a nursing home!
She can stay in a nursing home for as long as she has money. Once she runs out of money, she'll just lie down in front of your two little beasts' house!
Do you really dare to abandon your own mother?
"Hahaha~ Yes, yes, yes! You're absolutely right!" Jiang Youliang couldn't help but praise.
"Then I'll take the picture?"
"Slap! I'll say it myself!" Lang Hongfan waved his chopsticks, seemingly thoroughly enjoying his life after giving up.
Now that she no longer has children to burden her, she has indeed saved a lot of money.
When it comes to small tea cakes, most people just pick some tea leaves in the mountains to make some extra money when they have nothing else to do at home. Lang Hongfan is different. She doesn't have to take care of her grandson or cook for the whole family. Every morning, she feeds the pigs, chickens, and ducks, then carries a basket on her back into the mountains and can pick tea leaves all day long.
She has saved more than 30,000 yuan from the small tea cakes made this spring, summer and autumn alone!
And back when Jiang Xiaoman was collecting wild mountain vegetables, she practically cleared out several mountains around the village, and saved up another 30,000 to 40,000 yuan selling the wild vegetables.
In addition, he had previously earned several thousand yuan by selling vegetables from his garden to Jiang Xiaoman;
The dozen or so beehives at home also sold for several thousand yuan worth of local honey;
This year, her own sow gave birth to piglets, and she sold the piglets for more than 2,000 yuan. In addition, she also sold chicken eggs, duck eggs, and other things. All in all, she has saved at least 80,000 yuan this year!
This old lady is really hardworking, and she seems to live a very frugal life, hardly spending any money. I guess even if her two sons work outside, they might not be able to save 80,000 yuan a year.
"Hey! In previous years, it was good if we could save ten thousand yuan a year. This year, it's all thanks to Xiaoman for leading us to get rich!" Lang Hongfan raised his juice and insisted on toasting Jiang Xiaoman.
Jiang Xiaoman dared not let her elders offer her a toast. She quickly stood up, raised her glass, and clinked glasses with the formidable woman.
After eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Xiaoman set up the tripod and turned on the camera. Lang Hongfan hesitated for a moment, but seeing that the elderly woman seemed uncomfortable speaking directly to the camera, Jiang Xiaoman simply changed the angle of the tripod so that she could appear in the side view and speak to her.
Now Lang Hongfan was completely uninhibited.
Jiang Xiaoman filmed this series of videos not to exacerbate any family conflicts, but mainly to gather a batch of materials before the interview team arrived. When the reporters came, she could immediately select the farmers she needed to interview with the readily available materials.
Moreover, these farmers had already been "interviewed" by him beforehand, so they were already skilled at dealing with the media and had more experience in answering media questions.
What he wants is for more people to pay attention to Langshan and invest in it. Only by solving this problem at its root can most of the villagers be lifted out of poverty and become rich through their own labor.
As for those lazybones who are already old and still want to sponge off their parents? I don't care if you die!
Lang Hongfan's words just now gave Jiang Xiaoman even more inspiration. Perhaps he could use this video to show those lazy people in the surrounding villages that relying on their parents is unreliable. They just want to suck blood from their parents. There will always be a time when their parents get old and need them to take care of them. When their parents no longer have the ability to earn money, they will have to earn money to support them in their old age. What will they do then?
Despite knowing that some people are incorrigible, Jiang Xiaoman still wanted to give it a try.
If even one or two out of a hundred people watch his video and are able to repent, he has indirectly saved several families, and his merits are immeasurable!
Because these documentary-style videos have solid source material, there's no need to design any establishing shots, consider transitions or background music. Jiang Xiaoman simply used the original soundtrack, edited the content to completion, and posted it out around 10 p.m. that same night.
This is precisely the time when many night owls can't sleep and start reflecting on life. What's more, when they suddenly come across this short video about a "hard-working old widowed mother who is ungrateful and unfilial to her son," netizens are so angry that they immediately get out of bed or sofa.
Then I thought about how my own family/relatives had also had such ungrateful people, and I was instantly so angry that I felt dizzy. Sleep? Tonight I'm going to be a keyboard warrior and roast them to death!
"Did I hear that right? Your own mother has been a widow for over twenty years, raising you all with great difficulty, helping you get married, and taking care of your wives during their postpartum period. Instead of being filial to her, you're trying to send your mother into a den of wolves for a piece of land?! (Furious.jpg)"
"I'm so empathetic, I'm so angry I'm dizzy. My brother is just like that! He's cost the family so much money since he was a kid. He finally got married and had kids, and now the whole family of four is living off my mom, eating and drinking without giving her any living expenses. My mom only gets 2,000 yuan a month in retirement pension, which isn't enough for his family to live on. He's so old and still has to collect scraps. I tell her not to listen, and she even says my brother has it tough too. It makes me so angry!"
"Haha, this is purely due to the old folks spoiling their children! I have a relative like that too. Neither of his two sons is any good. They bring their wives and kids home every day to freeload, as if they're afraid the other party will get a little more benefit than them! The problem is, my relative is also a weirdo. The old couple isn't satisfied with serving the whole family, they even urge their two daughters-in-law to have a second or third child, they absolutely have to give birth to a grandson! Help! Even a child born into a family like that must feel incredibly unlucky, right?"
"Brother Xiaoman, please help tell this aunt that 80,000 yuan a year is not a small amount. Do not give it to your two sons! Do not give them a single penny! Put it all in the bank for a fixed deposit! 80,000 yuan a year, that's 800,000 yuan in ten years, enough to find a cheap nursing home for retirement."
“Yes, yes! Absolutely not to give the money to my son! I’ll keep it for my retirement. If I’m worried about nursing homes mistreating elderly people who don’t have children to visit them, I’ll sign up to be a volunteer. My family is local, so I can visit them once a month.”
The comment below this volunteer application received thousands of replies, all from netizens living in the same province or city. If so many people had to take turns visiting, let alone once a month, even if they visited once a day, it would still take five years to get a turn...
At the same time, many locals in Langshan Town also saw Jiang Xiaoman's latest video update.
Those who knew Lang Hongfan couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.
I never imagined that her two sons, who looked so respectable, would be such ungrateful bastards behind the scenes!
Even your own mother, who raised you with great hardship, can ruthlessly push you into a pit of fire for a piece of land. Is she even human?
There are those who think these two sons are ungrateful wretches, and naturally there are those who speak up for these two little beasts.
Jiang Xiaoman was right. There are indeed many parents in rural areas who, even if their children are leeching off them, still have to reflect on whether they are getting old and not having enough blood to drink, and whether their children are not getting enough to eat. Seeing that Lang Hongfan was unwilling to spend a single penny on her sons and would not help take care of her grandchildren, she felt that what she was doing was really wrong.
These people weren't very good at typing, so they simply went to Lang Hongfan's house to persuade her. After all, she would have to rely on her sons for support in her old age. If her sons were doing well, wouldn't she be able to enjoy a good life with them when she got old?
Some even advised her to listen to her sons and hurry back to her husband's family home to seize the land there. They said that way, her two sons would each have their own plot of land, making life much more spacious and comfortable.
Lang Hongfan was almost laughing out of anger.
I don't have the capacity to enjoy this good fortune, but would you like it if I gave it to you?