Chapter 169: Chapter 169

"Mom, don’t worry! Your daughter isn’t like that! I won’t spend Zhang Yuan’s money, and I won’t be bullied once I’m married! Mom, let me tell you a secret!" Lin Xue whispered in Wang Cuihua’s ear, "Last time I said I found a small yellow fish, that was fake! I just said one because I was afraid Dad would give it away to those people at the old house. Actually, it was a whole box, and there were a hundred of them inside! Otherwise, where do you think all the fine grains we have come from? But you can’t tell anyone about this! I’m only telling you! If anyone outside asks, just say it was with Zhang Yuan’s money! Got it? Don’t even tell Dad!"

Listening to her daughter’s words, Wang Cuihua covered her mouth and widened her eyes in disbelief, then nodded heavily.

"Mom, I’ve hidden those yellow items away, so I won’t take them out for you to see, but you have to cooperate with me! You need to cover for me!" Lin Xue felt assured seeing her mother .

Having been here for quite some time, she felt the sincere care and protection from her family, and even noticed her parents’ favoritism.

Though she told them not to favor her too much, she still felt happy inside.

In both lives, she was never short of love; she was generous and slightly saintly, but not a hypocrite, knowing well the difference between good and bad, unlike her father’s blind filial piety.

She treated her parents with the best possible care but absolutely wouldn’t tolerate their mistakes, making sure they corrected them.

For Grandma Bai, she had zero tolerance, but would be as filial as possible to Grandma Bai Xianglan because she deserved it.

As for her maternal grandmother’s family, she was never stingy to those who treated her well.

"Oh right, Mom, I got back a lot of meat! Let’s deliver half to Grandma’s place later, cook the lard with the fatty meat, and the pork belly can be cured for eating! We’ll do the same for ours!" Not wanting to elaborate on the gold, Lin Xue changed the topic, seeing her nodding-only mom.

"Alright! Fine!" Wang Cuihua nodded again, only realizing afterward.

"Xiao Xue, where did you buy so much meat from? I was surprised when I saw it earlier!" Wang Cuihua, in tune, stopped mentioning the gold and instead asked about the meat.

"I bought it from an acquaintance, a bit pricier than the supply and marketing cooperative! But being able to buy meat during this time is already lucky; who cares about the price difference, right? Mom, remember what I told you before! Eating well keeps you healthy! If you’re healthy, you won’t need to buy medicine, and you can use that money for food!"

"I know, dear! That’s why I don’t interfere anymore! Whatever you bring back, I eat! I’m proud of my capable daughter! I’m not gonna ask you anymore!" Wang Cuihua hurriedly spoke, her hands swiftly packing away all the food Lin Xue brought back.

"Don’t pack away the snacks, the younger siblings will be back soon, and we still have Sihan at home; let them eat!" Lin Xue said.

"Alright! Then I won’t pack them away, considering your grandma... No, your grandaunt won’t be coming over, so no worries!" Wang Cuihua said, letting out a heavy sigh.

Seeing this, Lin Xue was both touched and amused.

"Okay, Mom, let’s set the table for dinner! I’m starving!" Lin Xue said, lifting the pot cover, and behold, there were dumplings on the steaming rack of the big iron pot.

"Mom, did you make dumplings?" Lin Xue turned back to ask Wang Cuihua in delight.

"Yes! Xiao Yuan came back! The children were looked after by your grandma, so I made dumplings. Although the tradition is dumplings for arrivals and noodles for departures, we rural folks don’t fuss over such customs. I saw the kid loves dumplings; we have meat at home, so I made some!" Wang Cuihua happily explained.

"He was just saying he wanted dumplings! You made so many; I’ll ask him to bring over Li Jianshe to eat!" Lin Xue remembered Zhang Yuan saying before in town that Li Jianshe would join them for meals at home.

"Alright! There’s enough dumplings! Let Xiao Yuan call him!" Wang Cuihua said, opening the lid of the pot, and inside were braised ribs.

Lin Xue was delighted; this matched Zhang Yuan’s taste perfectly. Her mother Wang Cuihua’s cooking skills were no worse than hers!

"Mom, make a salad too; with just one dish, I’m afraid it won’t be enough if you call people over!" Wang Cuihua said. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

"Okay! Mom, no rush, take your time! I’m going in!" Lin Xue said, walking inside.

"Zhang Yuan! Go to the educated youth spot and ask Li Jianshe to come eat with us! Mom made dumplings! Pure meat fillings!"

"Is there enough? That guy eats quite a lot!" Zhang Yuan worried there might not be enough, which would be awkward!

"Enough! Can’t finish it! Go ahead!" Lin Xue said.

Zhang Yuan stood up, "Alright, I’ll go call him!" He said as he walked out, still not assured, he looked at the dumplings in the pot a few more times, feeling at ease seeing there were indeed many, then went to call him.

With Zhang Yuan gone, Lin Xue helped her mom serve the dumplings, filling them in a big basin tipped with dumplings.

She also served the braised ribs, heaping in a large sea bowl.

Wang Cuihua made the salad, cutting radish shreds, soaking them for a while, and cutting cabbage shreds too.

Lin Xue quickly took out chili oil, adding the salad dressing, instantly bringing out the sour-spicy flavor.

"Xiao Xue, this seasoning really tantalizes the appetite; where did you put it? Mom couldn’t find it!" Wang Cuihua asked as the aroma made her want to eat.

"I put it under the dish cupboard; maybe you didn’t search carefully?" Lin Xue patted her nose, then turned and went inside.

The fragrance of the dumplings made her want to steal one.

At this time, Dong Sihan, having just finished washing diapers, entered and saw her big sister sneaking a dumpling. Though she was tempted, she hadn’t gone hungry these past few days, so she had no urge to steal food, covering her mouth with a laugh.

Bai Xianglan also laughed and said, "Your big sister is hungry, got her sneaking food!"

"Yes, Grandma, big sister was out, she’s surely hungry. Grandma, are the little siblings asleep? Then let me pour you water to wash your hands! Let’s get ready to eat!" Dong Sihan said, preparing to head out.

"This child, Grandma can pour water to wash her hands! You rest for a bit, how can such a young child have so much on her mind?" Bai Xianglan spoke with both heartache and tenderness, getting down.

The two siblings were still at an age where they slept a lot, dozing off after being well-fed, very well-behaved.

Wang Cuihua brought the salad to the table, Zhang Yuan returned with Li Jianshe.

Trailing behind Zhang Yuan, Li Jianshe eagerly said, repeatedly lamenting his hardships.

"Brother Yuan, if you hadn’t come back, I would have sought you out, do you know how I’ve been living this past month? I’m practically skinny as a whip now, see?"

"Alright, isn’t this making it up to you? Eat plenty later!" Zhang Yuan spoke with a blank face, but you could tell they were good brothers.

"Okay then! I’ll eat to my heart’s content!" Li Jianshe no longer hesitated, entering the outer room and smelling the fragrance, he quickly washed his hands and went inside.

Not as restrained as when he first came.

When he saw the white flour dumplings on the table and the heaped braised ribs, his mouth watered.

The two guys, after everyone was off the table, managed to finish the rest as well, their stomachs bulging, calling it satisfying.