Read Novel Full Chapter 95
Chapter 95 : Stealing
Zhuang Xiaobao was pushed to the ground by Erya, looking stunned. Zhuang Xiaoyu ran over and hugged her brother, asking, “My dad hasn’t come back yet, why do you get to eat first?”
Erya replied confidently, “My family also has a share of the food. My parents worked, and my older sister and I both earned four work points. Why can’t we eat?”
Ignoring Zhuang Xiaoyu, Erya scooped all the white flour flakes out of the pot and brought them into the room to share with her sisters. She also brought her second aunt’s little sister, who was just a few days old, and fed her some flour porridge.
Zhuang Xiaoyu stood there in shock as her stomach rumbled. She had never cooked before.
With her father gone, and both her grandmother and stepmother arrested, how could she possibly celebrate the New Year?
On New Year’s Eve, Jiang Li was still asleep, but the steaming dumplings were already out of the pot.
Chen Xianyun had made two types of fillings: one with chives and eggs, flavored with dried shrimp, and the other with cabbage and pork, enhanced with fried pork lard.
The dumplings were white and plump, with thin skins and generous fillings. When you bit into them, the flavor of lard mixed with the aroma of cabbage filled your mouth. Jiang Li burped after eating a few.
Old Lady Qi looked at the snowflakes falling outside and sighed. “The family next door is also in trouble. How will they survive now that they’ve abandoned their children?”
“Xiao Yun, go deliver some dumplings to them.”
Chen Xianyun nodded, saying, “I already sent some to them.” However, she hadn’t given it to the spoiled boys in that family, but instead to Daya.
Although the children were raised by Zhao Xiangyu and Wu Meili, they were good-hearted kids who greeted others politely.
Meanwhile, Zhuang San had trudged through the snowstorm to persuade Zhuang Daya and her sisters. “Come home with Uncle San. You’ll always have food, and you’ll never go hungry.”
Zhuang Daya was crying uncontrollably, but Zhuang Erya didn’t shed a tear. She held her younger sister, who was too young to understand the situation, and refused, “Third Uncle, we can support ourselves.”
Zhuang San became anxious. “What nonsense are you talking about? A bunch of half-grown kids speaking nonsense. Are you afraid that your uncle can’t support you? Or are you worried your aunt will be upset?”
“Don’t worry,” he added, “Your aunt asked me to pick you up this morning. She’s cooking for you at home.”
“Uncle, I know you and your wife are good to us. But we can’t be so shameless. We have hands and feet and can work. The captain has also promised to take care of us. We’ll find a job when the time comes, and we can earn our own work points.”
Erya spoke logically, as if she had planned this out herself, though these words had been told to her by Jiang Li earlier.
Qi Shaoqiang had suggested that the team assign Daya to herd sheep, giving her six work points for the task. As for Erya, since Liu Lixin would soon be going to the city to study, someone would need to take over the barefoot doctor role, so Erya was to learn herbal medicine from Liu Lixin, which would also count as work points.
With these opportunities in mind, Erya was confident that her three sisters wouldn’t starve.
“Uncle San, if we all go to your house, there won’t be enough room,” Erya added.
The house where Zhuang San lived was a five-guarantee household’s home in the village. It was small and shabby, unable to accommodate so many children.
Zhuang Daya, being selfish, didn’t want to burden her uncle and aunt, as they were struggling too.
Seeing the children were not persuaded, Zhuang San sighed and decided to go home and discuss the matter with his wife. If things didn’t work out, they might as well move back home to live together, sharing what little they had.
Zhuang San walked back through the wind and snow, leaving behind a small bag of food.
Zhuang Daya’s eyes welled with tears. On the day her third uncle and aunt had to part, her grandmother hadn’t given them anything. The food was likely borrowed from her third aunt’s parents.
“Erya, send it back to Uncle later. We still have food here, we can’t take this,” Daya said.
“Yeah,” Erya nodded in agreement.
—
“Where are the children?” Gao Xiuqin asked, growing anxious when she saw Zhuang San hadn’t brought anyone back.
Zhuang San repeated Erya’s words verbatim and suggested forming a family.
Gao Xiuqin thought for a moment and agreed. She couldn’t just let her nieces starve to death.
“Wife, you’ve suffered a lot following me. If you hadn’t married me and married someone from a richer family, you would be living a comfortable life now.”
At that moment, Zhuang San truly felt like he was useless and a burden to his wife and children.
“I never regretted marrying you.”
In the village, it was common for men to beat or scold their wives, or after dinner, they would simply push their bowls aside and ignore everything else.
But Zhuang San was different. Not only did he work hard outside, but he also took care of all the housework he could.
No matter what happened, he would discuss it with her and never put on a public show of saving face, making life difficult for his wife and children.
Even when they quarreled or got angry, he would not bow his head just to protect his masculinity.
That was enough. That was enough.
When Zhuang Guoliang woke up in his soft quilt, it was already noon on New Year’s Eve. The sound of firecrackers could be heard in the distance. Zhang Qiaohui saw him stir and said with a smile, “Wake up! Get up and eat dumplings. Today is New Year’s Eve.”
“We don’t have much food at home, so I just stewed some cabbage with lard. I also made some radish-filled dumplings. You can try them.”
The bright sunlight streaming through the window hurt his eyes, and Zhuang Guoliang felt warm all over, as though he were walking on clouds, slightly tipsy. His arms and legs felt weak, and he couldn’t summon the strength to get up.
Zhang Qiaohui placed the dining table beside the bed, poured a small cup of homemade sorghum wine for him, and said, “I made this wine myself. It’s quite strong, so you should drink it slowly.”
Zhuang Guoliang picked up the wine glass, tipped his head back, and drank the hot liquid, which felt like a knife slicing through his throat.
He frowned and coughed. Zhang Qiaohui quickly took a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and scolded, “I told you to drink slowly.”
Zhuang Guoliang took her hand in his. Her palms were rough with thin calluses, and her face was dusted with flour. Under his gaze, her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head shyly.
Just then, the plate of dumplings was knocked to the ground by Sun Mingming. Zhang Qiaohui was startled and distressed as she watched the dumplings roll away. “You clumsy child, wasting food like this.”
Sun Mingming glared at the man sitting at the head of the table angrily. He dared to sit in the seat where his father once sat, using his father’s wine glass. “Get out! What are you doing in my house?”
Zhang Qiaohui looked up in disbelief and saw that Sun Mingming was glaring at Zhuang Guoliang with the fury of an angry wolf cub, as though she wanted to devour him.
She grabbed Sun Mingming and smacked her. “Sun Mingming, who taught you to be so rude? Uncle is a guest in our house. He helped us fix the leaking roof yesterday. Why are you being so ungrateful?”
Sun Mingming sobbed angrily, “He’s not a guest! He’s your adulterer! Grandma is right, you’re unfaithful to your husband and cheated on my father!”
A loud slap rang out as Zhang Qiaohui struck Sun Mingming, but she froze in shock afterward. She watched in stunned silence as her daughter overturned the dining table, rushed out the door, and ran into the snowstorm.
Zhuang Guoliang also stood up. He smelled of food, but his clothes were dirty, and he felt no appetite to eat.