Chapter 31: A Comfortable Meal

Lei Honghua and Qiao Jiuwang rushed their son to town.

As the tractor was about to start, Lei Honghua shouted, “Wait, we have no money. I need to get it from that bitch Daya.”

Li Xiaoping forgot to bring money to the hospital, and her eldest son already complained.  This was a life-or-death situation for her youngest son; she couldn’t forget the money this time.

Qiao Jianguo weakly said, “Mom, it’s too late. Daya would be glad to see me die.  She’ll give you money?  If we wait any longer… waaaah…”

Lei Honghua’s eyes were swollen. “What do we do?”

Qiao Jiuwang, lips pursed, told the tractor driver, “Daling, drive, quickly.”

Then, Qiao Jiuwang turned to Lei Honghua, “Go to Fangfang.  When she got married, didn’t you give her fifty yuan as a wedding gift? Jianguo is her younger brother, start with her.”

Lei Honghua found her focus. “Right, right, Fangfang, we still have Fangfang.”

Qiao Jianguo grabbed Lei Honghua’s hand, and she leaned close to his mouth.

“Mom, it was Daya, that good-for-nothing, and the loser. They ran the cart over me. They wanted to kill me. Mom, if I… you must avenge me.”

Lei Honghua’s eyes burned with hatred.  It was them.

She turned and punched Qiao Jiuwang repeatedly. “Waaaaah, it’s all your two short-lived sons.  They’re not family! They’re enemies! Qiao Jiuwang, I’m telling you, Jianguo is your son. If anything happens to Jianguo, don’t blame me for killing those two bastards!”

Though the tractor’s roar mostly drowned out Lei Honghua’s voice, Qiao Jiuwang understood.

He didn’t respond to her curses and shoves, clenching his fists silently.

From the past two days, it was clear Youfu and Youcai were estranged from the family.

At the Qiao family home…

Liu Afang was prepared for Lei Honghua to tear the roof off, but the couple only briefly visited before leaving again.

It was dark, and the onlookers had gone home. Qiao Youcai and his brother also returned.

Liu Afang rushed to meet them. “Husband, are you alright?”

Qiao Youcai shook his head. “I’m fine. Dad wanted me and my brother to go with them.”

“What’s wrong with his brain?  Even now, he thinks we’ll still be like before, working like oxen for the family?”

Qiao Youfu sighed, “That’s exactly what he thinks.”

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Liu Afang changed the subject. “Well, it’s getting late. I’ll cook. 

We sold the meat today, but Youcai kept a pig liver and half a pig’s head for the family.”

“It’s too hot to leave it out, let’s just cook it all and eat it.”

Qiao Jiangxin nodded. “Make a little less rice. I bought some big meat buns, five left. We’ll heat them up with the rice later.”

Mother and daughter worked together, and soon the kitchen filled with delicious aromas.

The pig liver was stir-fried with chili peppers. The pig head meat was removed and set aside to be braised later for tomorrow’s meal; the pig head bones were simmered for soup.

The family of four ate heartily. Liu Afang and Qiao Youcai hadn’t had lunch because they were busy selling pork.

Qiao Jiangxin only realized this when she heard her mother’s stomach rumbling while cooking.

Big meat buns, stir-fried pig liver, and pig head soup without prompting, the hungry family buried their faces in their bowls.

They only slowed down after eating until they were about five-tenths full.

Liu Afang sighed, “These past two days have been heavenly.  Chicken and meat… usually, even during holidays, we don’t have this luxury.”

Qiao Jiangxin said while sipping soup, “Of course! During holidays, we only buy a tiny bit of meat, cut into a few pieces. Lei Honghua would count them, and if we took an extra piece, she’d glare at us. 

She’d preach about young people needing manners, saying it’s fine at home, but not in other people’s houses.  Everyone wants to eat meat, if everyone only cared about themselves… blah blah blah, a whole bunch of lectures.”

“That shameless old woman, lecturing us, then turning around to serve Qiao Jianhua and Qiao Jianguo extra portions.  She’d say things like…”

Qiao Jiangxin mimicked Lei Honghua’s voice.

“Oh, Jianhua, you’re still growing.  Here, even if we parents don’t eat, you should eat first. Don’t worry, you’re younger, your brothers won’t compete with you.”

Recalling those scenes, Qiao Jiangxin rolled her eyes. “Grandpa was like blind and deaf, completely unresponsive.”

Qiao Youcai and his brother ate silently.

Liu Afang sighed, “It’s so comfortable. This is the most comfortable meal I’ve had in years.”

Qiao Jiangxin didn’t even look up. “Of course, no one watching, no one yelling, eat whatever you want.  It’s relaxing.”

“Mom, don’t worry, once we split the family, every day will be like this.”

Liu Afang’s eyes lit up. “Will Grandpa and Grandma really agree?”

Qiao Jiangxin snorted. “If they don’t agree, it means we haven’t been tough enough.  Otherwise, who would give up a good life to live in chaos?”

Liu Afang looked at her husband and cautiously asked, “What if they try to drag this out and ruin us?”

Qiao Jiangxin said calmly, “Ruin us?  If we just lie low, they’ll starve to death before long.”