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Chu Yue reached out to take the cloth, but looking at her dirty hands, Lu Xinghe said softly, “Let me do it.”
He took the cloth and gently wiped the black soot off Chu Yue’s face, one wipe at a time. Then, he reached out and took the spatula from Chu Yue’s hand.
“I’ll finish this. You go wash your hands and set the table.”
Chu Yue responded with an “oh.” She took the cloth Lu Xinghe handed her, lowered her head slightly, and left the kitchen.
Behind the stove, Lu Xing’an, who was trying his best to lower his presence, had a look of surprise in his eyes. Big Brother had never done anything like this for anyone before. When he and Xingping were playing and got dirty as children, Big Brother would just throw a cloth at them and let them wipe themselves. Compared to Big Sister-in-law, they were like two pitiful children who weren’t cared for.
The pig intestines in the pot were already seasoned. Lu Xinghe stir-fried them for a few minutes, then took them out of the pan. He rinsed the pan with clean water, stir-fried the wild vegetables, and then it was time to eat.
Because the kitchen was too small, the table was moved outside to the shade of the big tree in the yard.
Lu Laifu, Lu Laicai, and Lu Shoucheng sat together, and Lu Xing’an poured each of them a cup of the wine he had brought.
The three men were surprised. On the one hand, they were delighted to finally have a drink. On the other hand, they were secretly grumbling about Third Sister-in-law’s extravagance. It wasn’t easy for Xinghe to earn money. They had just split from the family and received some silver, but if they didn’t manage their money carefully, they would soon be broke.
Saving money was like threading a needle through the earth, while spending money was like letting it slip through one’s fingers. They were all practical people who knew how hard it was to make money.
Yun Cuihe didn’t know what was going on in her brothers’ minds. She pointed to the large bowl of stir-fried pig intestines on the table and said, “This is Yueyue’s specialty dish. It tastes very good. Elder brothers and fourth brother, try some.”
The three men had been enjoying the aroma of the dish, but when they heard it was pig intestines, they paused their chopsticks halfway and switched to picking up a piece of wild vegetables with their chopsticks to eat with the rice porridge.
Seeing that the three men weren’t eating the intestines, Lu Xingping quickly picked up a piece and put it in his own bowl to eat.
While eating, Lu Xingping exclaimed, “This pig intestine is simply a delicacy of the world!”
Lu Shoucheng chuckled and patted his head: “You little kid, you’ve only had a few bites of food. How do you know what a delicacy really is?”
However, hearing Lu Xingping say this made him feel a bit sad. Although their own family’s food and clothing were also tight, they could at least have meat a couple of times a year. Third Sister-in-law’s family was in such poor conditions that they probably didn’t have meat to eat at all throughout the year, which was why the child thought pig intestines tasted good.
Lu Laifu and Lu Laicai, listening to the conversation, also showed moved expressions.
Lu Laifu took a sip of wine and looked at Lu Xingping: “When the house at your uncle’s is built, let’s go to town and buy some meat. Then you’ll truly know what real delicacies are.”
Lu Xingping, with his cheeks puffed out from eating, reached out and picked up a piece of pig intestine from the bowl and put it in Lu Shoucheng’s bowl, which was closest to him.
“But this pig intestine really is delicious! Uncles, you’ll know when you try it.”
If the child was eating it, there was no reason for them not to.
Lu Shoucheng, half-believing, picked up the pig intestine from his bowl and put it in his mouth. There was no gamey smell or foul odor when he first tasted it. After chewing twice, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“Hmm, delicious!”
Seeing his expression, Lu Laifu and Lu Laicai also picked up a piece with their chopsticks and put it in their mouths. They both had expressions of pure delight.
No wonder it smelled so good when it was being stir-fried. This pig intestine really tasted good.
Just then, Sun Dazhu’s mother, from next door, popped out of nowhere.
“Oh! Eating? What delicious food are you having? Give this old lady a piece!”
Seeing this, the expressions of Lu Laifu, Lu Laicai, and Lu Shoucheng changed from their previous delight to a look of dismay.
“I thought it would taste good because it smelled good. I didn’t expect it to be so stinky.” Lu Laifu said, taking a big gulp of wine.
“Third Sister-in-law’s family is in this situation. They can afford to eat pig intestines. Big Brother, don’t be so picky.” Lu Laicai said, also taking a gulp of wine.
Lu Shoucheng immediately understood and looked at Aunt Li, who was standing by the yard, staring at the plate of pig intestines.
“Aunt Li, do you eat pig intestines that are used to fill pig manure? Do you want me to give you a piece?”
Seeing the three brothers’ ugly expressions and hearing that the dish was pig intestines, Aunt Li almost vomited the porridge she had just put in her mouth. She quickly waved her hand and said: “No, no, this old lady is getting old, I can’t eat such heavy food.”
After speaking, she quickly ran back home.
At Sun Dazhu’s house, Luo Shi saw her mother-in-law going to others’ homes to beg for food. She rolled her eyes at Sun Dazhu.
“Look at your mother! She’s making a spectacle of herself again. Her mouth is so precious! She just had meat a couple of days ago, and now she’s going to other people’s houses to beg for food. People who don’t know better will think we’re mistreating her.”
Sun Dazhu’s face also lost its color, but he could only comfort his wife.
“What can we do? She’s my mother, and she won’t listen to us. We can’t just throw her out, can we?”
It was precisely because of this that Luo Shi was even more angry.
She snorted, slammed her bowl and chopsticks down heavily on the table, and went back to the bedroom.
“Go ahead and live with your mother! Let’s see how long this family can survive being messed up by her.”
Sun Dazhu looked at his wife’s angry look and wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to say. After all, his mother was the one who started all this.
Aunt Li returned home, retching as she walked, and muttering to herself.
“I should have known that Yun Shi’s family wouldn’t have anything good. She even brought out pig intestines to entertain guests. It’s truly embarrassing and makes people disgusted.”
She then retched a couple of times.
Sun Dazhu put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at Aunt Li.
“Mother, now that you can move around, why don’t you go back to the old house? From now on, as long as I can make money, I’ll buy you meat every month, how about that?”
If he kept her at home, this family would eventually fall apart.
Hearing the first part of Sun Dazhu’s words, Aunt Li was about to scold him, but when she heard that she could eat meat every month, her eyes immediately lit up.
“Are you serious? Meat every month?”
Sun Dazhu nodded: “Of course.”
“Good!”
Aunt Li slammed her bowl on the table and immediately agreed.
She didn’t want to be glared at by Luo Shi here anyway. Going back to the old house to live, and having meat to eat, was much better.
Being alone and carefree was like living a life of luxury.
It’s said that it’s easy to invite a god but difficult to send one away. Seeing that his mother agreed, Sun Dazhu immediately urged Aunt Li to pack her things. He was afraid that the old house had no grain, so he specially gave her some from his own rice bin. Afterwards, he took her things, big and small, and sent his mother to the old house.
Luo Shi knew what was going on outside.
It was better to send the old woman to the old house than to let her create havoc at home every day. Although it would cost the family a little more, at least their ears would be at peace.
…