Chapter 35: Just Too Full

Liu Honghe, with his stubborn nature, wouldn’t just take the beating and swallow his pride. He quickly packed his things and moved into the factory dorm.

The cafeteria food was much better than what he had at home, so he kept 8 yuan for meals and only gave 10 yuan to his family.

Liu Laoheiwas truly convinced he had raised a ungrateful son. He cursed, “When you took over my job, what did you say? You’re breaking your promise so quickly?”

“You told me to get out. Besides, I don’t live at home anymore. I give you everything except my meal money. What else do you want from me?”

Liu Honghe had pulled so many tricks to get the job, and now he was a master at being a deadbeat.

“I’m not living the high life. That 8 yuan is just to fill my stomach. If you go to the accountant to get my salary, I’ll go to her and ask for next month’s meal allowance in advance. I won’t let myself starve.”

8 yuan was barely enough for a month’s worth of food and drink.

If Liu Honghe told people outside that he only kept 8 yuan for meals at the cafeteria and gave the rest to his family, they would praise him for being filial.

But his salary was so much less than Liu Laohei’s, so Liu Laohei couldn’t accept that he only gave 10 yuan to the family. Before, Liu Laohei’s 45 yuan salary, he would give at least 40 to the family.

But this child, Liu Honghe, he had beaten him, scolded him, but he wouldn’t change. Liu Laoheiwas helpless.

When people in the courtyard mentioned Liu Honghe, Liu Laohei could only sigh, “Honghe has been corrupted by people outside. Before, Hu Meili and I were both working, and we didn’t teach him well.”

As if by fate, Hu Meili overheard this.

Hu Meili immediately disagreed. She deliberately said loudly, “It’s a good thing I still have a job. If I was just a housewife, Liu Laohei would blame me for not teaching the kids well.”

Liu Laohei quickly explained, “That’s not what I meant.”

“That’s exactly what you meant! Everyone knows about your little schemes.”

Hu Meili spat, “Before, I just gave Honghe a couple of whacks, and you were afraid I was mistreating your son. You rushed over to persuade me. When I scolded Xiaonan or hit Xiaoxi, why didn’t you try to stop me?”

“You’re misunderstanding. That never happened.”

“You just watched when I hit my own kids. But when I hit your son, you’re afraid they’ll get hurt. No wonder he turned out this way. Don’t blame your son for being crooked. He takes after you. You look honest on the surface, but you’re full of schemes.”

It was already hard being a stepmother, and Liu Laohei’s attitude made it even harder for Hu Meili. She didn’t bother trying to teach his children. Didn’t they have their own parents to teach them?

She couldn’t stand his little schemes and directly confronted him.

If they hadn’t divorced, the blame for not teaching the kids well would have been on Hu Meili. But now that she was divorced, the women in the courtyard were actually on her side.

“Don’t be angry. We all know it’s not your fault.”

“You can only blame Liu Laohei. A grown man, with no plans in his head. He ruined a good family with this countryside business.”

“Right? He’s not decisive at all. He made such a fuss about the job for so long. All the love between father and son, brother and brother, is gone.”

“If the family didn’t have the means, they shouldn’t have tried to force it. They should have just decided to send Honghe to the countryside and signed him up when the time came. They gave him half a year of hope, and nothing happened. No wonder he’s making a fuss.”

Most families did this. Resources were limited, and jobs were either given to the eldest son or the youngest son, decided long ago. There was no point in making a fuss.

But at that time, Hu Meili and Liu Laoheihadn’t divorced yet. Hu Meili insisted on keeping Lin Xiangnan in the city, and Liu Laoheididn’t want his child to suffer, so he indulged Liu Honghe’s antics.

Who knew it would turn out like this?

But everyone only knew the outcome of the Liu family’s affairs. They didn’t know the details.

“So, the one who doesn’t know how to teach children is actually Liu Laohei. It has nothing to do with Meili.”

Hu Meili agreed with this conclusion and said proudly, “He’s only been complaining about this for a while. Once our new house is built, I’m moving out. Liu Laohei can’t blame me anymore.”

“You’re lucky. Your family didn’t forget to include you in this good thing.”

“But you built a house, so the factory won’t allocate you a house anymore.”

Hu Meili scoffed, “I wouldn’t have gotten a house anyway.”

Even though she spent money to build a new house, Hu Meili only bragged about it, never revealing her wealth. No matter who asked, she said the money for building the house was borrowed and would cry poor.

When all the building materials were ready, the day they broke ground and dug the foundation, the entire Hu family came out. The family of her second aunt and third aunt in the countryside all came to help.

They didn’t hire outsiders, just their own relatives and friends. There were over twenty strong workers, and the construction was faster than Lin Xiangnan expected.

Hu Meili’s uncles and cousins put in both money and effort. To get the house built quickly, they even took time off from work. They took turns sleeping at the construction site at night, guarding the bricks and stones.

In comparison, Lin Xiangnan and her mother didn’t do much physical work.

So, Hu Meili had to reluctantly order, “You have connections to buy those good things, right? Go buy a few pounds of meat and a few pounds of rice. Let everyone have a good meal for lunch today.”

Lin Xiangnan reached out, “Give me ten yuan.”

She kept her promise. After the foundation was laid, she gave Hu Meili the remaining five hundred yuan.

Hu Meili had already received a huge sum from Lin Xiangnan, and even though she knew Lin Xiangnan still had a lot of money, she felt embarrassed to exploit her. She took out a ten-yuan bill from her pocket and handed it to Lin Xiangnan.

“Be careful. Don’t get caught.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve bought things like this many times. I’m buying things, not selling them. What could happen?”

Lin Xiangnan took the money and went for a walk outside. When she came back from the woods by the river, she was carrying a small backpack filled with ten pounds of meat, ten pounds of rice, and a few pounds of potatoes and noodles.

She knew Hu Meili’s cooking skills. She couldn’t make anything too complicated, so she could only stew everything together.

Seeing the things, Hu Meili nodded in satisfaction, then reached out to Lin Xiangnan, “Where’s the rest of the money?”

“I spent it.”

“Bullshit. You’re trying to fool your mom. I’m not stupid. I’ve bought rationed food before.”

Lin Xiangnan looked up at the sky, pretending not to hear.

Hu Meili grumbled, “I’m so done with you. You have so much money stashed away, and you’re still taking money from your mom.”

“Nonsense. I gave you all my money. Where did I get the money from?”

Hu Meili glanced at her, half-believing. “Alright, stop pretending. Go to your grandma’s place and tell her not to cook lunch today. I’ll cook. Your grandma has been delivering meals for the past few days. It’s Sunday, so we should show our appreciation.”

Hu Meili’s cooking was mediocre, but good meat had its own aroma. Just a little bit of frying, and the smell wafted all over the courtyard, making the children next door cry from hunger.

As soon as the children cried, a familiar older woman came over.

“You have so much meat in that pot.”

“It’s not much. There are over twenty people. I counted. Each person only gets five pieces of meat. Just enough for a taste.”

“Give me a piece. My little one is making a fuss.”

Hu Meili refused without hesitation, “Not this time, maybe next time. This meat is for the workers. I don’t have any. If we lose one piece, there won’t be enough to go around.”

The other woman had only asked because she saw so much meat. She didn’t expect to be rejected like this, so she didn’t dare complain and left dejectedly.

Hu Meili had lived in this courtyard for over ten years, and her authority was strong. After the first person asked with a hopeful heart, no one else dared to come over, even the hungry children, afraid of being scolded.

Hu Meili was stewing meat, but Liu Hongying could only smell the aroma while making cornbread, feeling extremely tormented.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was Liu Laohei  nagging in her ear.

“We’re almost out of toothpaste and soap. It’ll cost over 70 cents to buy those. You also need to buy toilet paper. That’s over a yuan. We’re out of money.”

The Liu family now had only two earners, and their salaries weren’t high. To make matters worse, Liu Honghe wasn’t cooperating and was hiding in the factory, making their lives even harder.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to save 20 yuan to pay back the debt this month,” Liu Laohei sighed.

Liu Hongying could only comfort him, “It’s just a bit harder this year. Both your brothers have jobs. Things will only get better in the future.”

Liu Laohei had had enough of corn porridge, so he couldn’t help but say again, “I talked to you about that young man before. Think about it again. He’s actually a good guy.”

“Dad! He’s divorced,” Liu Hongying said through gritted teeth, feeling frustrated. “I don’t like him. I won’t marry him.”

“If you get married, you won’t have to eat corn porridge every day. You’ve been eating it for almost half a month. Haven’t you had enough?”

Liu Hongying looked calm, “It’s good enough that we can eat. I didn’t even have corn porridge to eat when I was in the countryside.”

“Stubborn as a mule,” Liu Laohei glared at her and cursed, “I shouldn’t have let you eat too much.”