Zhang Lan finished cooking, only to realize there were no dishes.
She searched the house for a long time and couldn’t find any vegetables, except for two sweet potatoes she didn’t cook in the morning.
Zhang Lan thought about going to Zhao Gang’s place to scrounge a bit, but unfortunately, they had locked the door.
This made Zhang Lan very angry; she felt this was definitely targeting her. Otherwise, why would a perfectly good place be locked? Read complete versıon only at n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Even though she was angry, Zhang Lan knew she couldn’t say anything about it. If she hadn’t pushed the door, how would she know it was locked?
Otherwise, wouldn’t that give them a handle against her? With a huff, Zhang Lan could only turn to Gong Dajiang to ask how to resolve this.
Sitting on the warm kang, Gong Dajiang was half-asleep, and when Zhang Lan woke him, he was still a bit dazed.
"Dishes? What dishes?" Gong Dajiang asked blankly.
Great, while she’s busy cooking outside, the old man is fast asleep on the kang. She couldn’t hold back the fire in her belly and started to vent.
"I’m cooking for you with great effort, and this is how you treat me."
"You all have this attitude, have you no shame?"
"I’m getting old too..."
Zhang Lan babbled about how hard it was for her. She knew it was impossible for the old man to help with work; she just hoped the old man would speak up, so Cai Meina would continue to help them.
Gong Dajiang was already angry from his outing today and still hungry, and hearing Zhang Lan’s complaints, he was about to explode too, "Was I the one who wanted to come to the Northeast?"
"I said if there’s nothing, let it be, but you didn’t listen. Now look at this."
"We’ve been here so long, and the old ginseng picker only found one ginseng, and it’s so expensive."
"Clearly knowing we need money, yet you absolutely refuse to give, what’s that about."
"Cooking for your husband isn’t your business?"
"If you don’t want to do it, let Gong Tao and them come back for dinner." Gong Dajiang wouldn’t go to Cai Meina and ask her to come back and help cook.
Yesterday, Gong Tao had already spoken so directly, just leaving them a little face. If they insist on going now, it would truly be looking for trouble.
Gong Dajiang would not bow and scrape before his son and daughter-in-law. That’s not his style, and besides, isn’t it the old woman’s duty to cook for him?
"Don’t lay out those little schemes of yours in front of me, I’m not falling for it."
"Either go talk to your son, or go work yourself." Gong Dajiang bluntly exposed Zhang Lan’s scheme.
"No dishes, but we have sauerkraut, just eat sauerkraut. Otherwise, with so little money, we have to go back." Gong Dajiang was also reluctant to spend money.
"I don’t believe that buying dried vegetables in the village would give Gong Tao any more face." Zhang Lan didn’t believe that by doing so, the villagers would think Gong Tao’s actions were right.
Having Gong Tao and his family come back to eat, isn’t that digging out her flesh and drinking her blood?
Unyielding, Zhang Lan tidied herself up a bit and went out to the village.
Gong Ruini saw Zhang Lan’s actions coincidentally; she found it strange since Gong Dajiang had returned angry, just talking about how hungry he was, so why wasn’t Zhang Lan cooking but going out instead?
Could she be going to the village to buy dried vegetables? Or is she planning to use this opportunity to ruin the old man’s reputation?
No matter when, she never misses a chance to cause Gong Tao trouble. It’s just a pity that as soon as Zhang Lan entered the village, her reputation was already tarnished, plus their behavior here for days—don’t people see it?
It’s better if she doesn’t talk about Gong Tao. If she goes on about how unfilial he is, Gong Ruini was really looking forward to everyone’s reaction.
Gong Ruwen noticed his sister crouched by the window, unmoving, "What’s up?"
No situation in the yard, what’s his sister looking at?
"Grandma went out." At this moment, Gong Ruini felt a chill, anyway, let’s just wait and see what happens next.
Zhang Lan went out? Even though Zhao Gang was engaged in a battle of wits with Zhao Guangran, he still caught this comment.
Going out during meal prep time, if not to get dried vegetables, then what? But it’s hard for Zhang Lan, such an old woman, "Seems like it’s the first time Old Mrs. Zhang stepped out here."
Luckily, the old lady rarely goes out, and Gong Dajiang goes out with a purpose, completely unaware of the news spreading in the village. Otherwise, the old couple wouldn’t know if they’d have the face to step out.
Gong Ruini responded with a "Hmm." There’s no help for it, as Zhang Lan wore all sorts of thin clothes, thinking her dutiful son and daughter-in-law would prepare warm cotton clothes upon arriving in the Northeast, and she’d go home wearing them proudly. But she didn’t expect to hear complaints of poverty from her son and daughter-in-law.
Without the thick cotton clothes, what could Zhang Lan do but stay at home?
Gong Tao brought in dishes and heard Zhang Lan had gone out; he was initially surprised, but then understood. He gave a cold snort, "Alright, let’s eat while there’s no one around, let’s eat quickly."
Gong Tao was worried if Zhang Lan would suddenly show up to inspect, but now that she was out, it was safe.
As for the at-home Gong Dajiang, sorry, the old man still had his dignity and wouldn’t go out at this time to annoy people.
Gong Tao ate quickly, worried about finishing before Zhang Lan came back. Plus, it’d been a long time since he’d eaten such tasty food, why wouldn’t he speed up?
Zhang Lan staggered her way to the village to buy dried vegetables, puzzled that originally welcoming rural folks had muted smiles after knowing she was Gong Tao’s mother.
Especially after saying a few things about Gong Tao, everyone’s smiles turned worse.
As for the dried vegetables she wanted, not a single house was willing to give any, claiming insufficient stocks even for themselves.
Door-knocking from house to house, Zhang Lan didn’t manage a single shred of dried vegetables, which infuriated her.
Such effort for nothing, wasn’t it a waste of a trip?
But Zhang Lan thought there was one gain from this venture, that is, Gong Tao actually lacked charisma in the village. Otherwise, why would everyone’s smile fade noticeably after knowing she’s Gong Tao’s mother?
Thinking her son was mingling in the village this way, Zhang Lan worried her son wouldn’t get help from villagers in case of future trouble.
But it seemed Zhao Gang had good village relations, ensuring as long as he’s around, Gong Tao’s family wouldn’t struggle.
If Zhao Gang had a falling out with Gong Tao, could Gong Tao’s life go well in the future?
The more Zhang Lan thought, the more excited she was. She thought it’d be best to make these friends fall out completely and see if Gong Tao had a chance to turn his life around.
In short, Zhang Lan wanted Gong Tao to live a life of poverty, so he wouldn’t miss home, only caring about his little family. With such an unfilial son, why let him stay in this world?