Chapter 85

It seemed that this Auntie had been observing her family’s movements. The smile on Tang Wan’s face disappeared.

No one would feel good if they were constantly being watched.

She said coolly, “I have divided it up, but I don’t have enough money right now. I’ve divided it up as little as possible.

Besides what I need for my family, I’m afraid I can’t spare any for you, Auntie.”

Unlike Cuiying, who was shy, Tang Wan was more direct in her refusal after she knew what kind of person she was.

Sure enough, Auntie Cao’s face changed. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes.

She probably didn’t expect that Tang Wan, a young girl, would be so blunt, just like them old foxes.

She thought that at least Tang Wan would be embarrassed to lend her a little bit.

“Oh, my son doesn’t have as much allowance as Deputy Commander Lu. He has a low allowance, and he has to support a whole family.

We ran out of oil this month. He doesn’t know how to buy some back.”

Auntie Cao thought that Tang Wan would soften her heart by saying this. After all, she had used this trick to get a lot of good things.

But Tang Wan was surprised. She covered her mouth. “Oh, Auntie Cao is so thrifty. How can that be? Your children can’t live without meat. That’s not good.”

“Yes, yes.”

Auntie Cao was confident. “I’m also worried about the children. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come out to borrow oil.”

“I’ll definitely tell Huaijing to talk to you. Let Auntie Cao be more understanding of us family members.”

Tang Wan’s serious words made Auntie Cao stunned. Her mouth opened slightly. She clearly didn’t expect Tang Wan’s reaction.

“This… this is between women. We don’t need to tell the men, right?”

“How is this between women?”

Tang Wan raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Auntie, I shouldn’t be involved in your family affairs.

But your children can’t go hungry. Look at them. They’re all malnourished. That’s not good. I’m doing this for the children.”

She pointed to a few children who were hiding around the corner, shrinking their necks and looking this way.

Auntie Cao turned her head sharply and glared at the children. They ran away quickly.

“Forget it, forget it. You’re so young, but you’re so stingy. You can’t even squeeze out a drop of oil.”

Auntie Cao rarely argued with others. She knew that if she smiled, people would be embarrassed to refuse her.

For the first time, she was so angry that her head was buzzing. Tang Wan’s soft words made her speechless.

Seeing her walk away with an empty bowl, Cuiying gave Tang Wan a thumbs up.

“Sister Wanyuan, you’re amazing!”

The words “Sister Wanyuan” brought the two closer. Tang Wan also smiled and called her Sister Cuiying.

“Sister Cuiying, you have to deal with people like that. Actually, she’s not a bad person.

Everyone is struggling these days. How can you always help her?”

This person loved to take advantage. Tang Wan had seen people like her before she transmigrated.

Hearing this, Cuiying nodded. She agreed. “Yeah, no one is rich.

Mainly, she has a lot of children. I remember she has seven or eight, right? She even encourages having more children. She says the more, the better. I don’t understand them.”

“She has to support so many people on one person’s allowance. It’s definitely not enough. She also wants her son to have more children. She must be crazy.”

Tang Wan was speechless. She couldn’t sympathize with them. It was their own choice.

“More children, more blessings. But she has too many.”

Cuiying gently stroked her belly. Perhaps because she was going to be a mother, her face radiated a motherly glow.

Tang Wan didn’t say anything. “I’m going to see Sister Hongyan. You go back and rest.”

After parting ways with Cuiying, Tang Wan knocked on Zhang Hongyan’s door. She was stir-frying vegetables.

Wang Shengli was catching earthworms in the yard.

“Sister Hongyan, after I saw Huaijing off this morning, I went to town and grabbed some lard. I simmered some lard scraps. Take some to try.”

Tang Wan took out the large bowl from the basket. Zhang Hongyan quickly pulled her into the yard.

“You silly girl, keep some for you and Zhouzhou. You brought so much over. Don’t you worry about people seeing it?”

These days, if you eat better than others, people will be envious.

“I consider Sister Hongyan my own sister.”

Tang Wan liked Zhang Hongyan’s straightforwardness. She lowered her voice and told her about Auntie Cao.

Zhang Hongyan widened her eyes in surprise. “There are people like that?”

“The world is big and full of wonders. Be careful.”

Tang Wan nodded vigorously. But the next second, Zhang Hongyan slapped her head in annoyance.

“That Auntie, she’s always smiling and seems very friendly, right?”

“You wouldn’t have fallen for her trick, would you?”

Tang Wan raised her eyebrows in suspicion. Then, she saw Zhang Hongyan nod with a complicated expression.

“Yes, she came to my house yesterday and borrowed some salt. I thought, we’re neighbors, and it’s not much.”

Tang Wan: …

“Forget it. I’ll stay away from her next time.”

If Zhang Hongyan had known she was like that, she wouldn’t have lent her anything.

She said this while pouring the lard scraps from Tang Wan’s bowl into her own bowl. Then, she gave Tang Wan a handful of fresh string beans.

“I bought them from the wives in the family compound. They’re not expensive. Take them back and try them with Zhouzhou.”

Zhang Hongyan was never one to take advantage of others. When Tang Wan gave her something, no matter what the value, she would return something.

“Thank you, Sister Hongyan.”

Tang Wan didn’t refuse. She put the string beans in the basket. After returning home, she used the pot that she had simmered the oil in to make string bean stir-fry.

Afraid that Tang Zhou wouldn’t be full, Tang Wan also made fried eggs. They ate a delicious meal.

Tang Zhou was reading in his room. Tang Wan closed the door and went into her space. She hadn’t finished planting the seeds she had bought before.

It was a good time since Lu Huaijing wasn’t home. She could tidy up her space.

Radishes, cabbage, cilantro, onions, garlic, ginger, string beans, loofah, winter melon, pumpkin, peppers, etc…

Tang Wan was sweating profusely in her space. She still hadn’t finished planting everything. After cooking dinner, she worked in her space again.

She had cleared a few plots of land outside the mall. From now on, she would have whatever she wanted to eat.

Even the wild fruits she had picked in the mountains were planted. She thought that she would go and get some fruit trees to plant in her space.

She also wanted to eat fish. She would dig a fish pond. This was a big project. Tang Wan could only put it on her to-do list.

She didn’t go to bed until eleven o’clock. She was exhausted.

She was so tired that she fell asleep instantly. The next morning, she woke up at six o’clock.

She prepared a simple pancake with eggs for Tang Zhou. Tang Wan rode her bicycle to Mao Zhuang Brigade.

She put her bicycle away again. She took a small path to the cowshed.

According to her agreement with Tang Shi, she mimicked the sound of birds.

After a while, Tang Shi and Qin Su came over while everyone was still asleep.

“Mom and Dad, are you okay?”

She was still worried that Mao Goudan’s family would cause trouble.

“We’re fine.”

Qin Su shook her head. Tang Shi added, “I don’t know what happened, but yesterday, Mao Goudan went to the clinic and became mute.

His brothers didn’t want to support him because he was a burden. They refused to pay for his medical expenses.

His mother was anxious and helpless. She could only bring him back.”