When Bai Dazhu went to the kitchen, he saw the pot was cold and empty. He panicked and hurried back to their room and said to Mrs. Liu: “It’s gone, there is nothing left.”
Mrs. Liu was stupefied: “What’s gone?”
“The porridge, the pot is empty. There is nothing left.”
Mrs. Liu became flustered. She couldn’t dare to lie down anymore. She immediately opened the quilt and get out of the bed. She put on thick outer clothes and went to the kitchen with Bai Dazhu. She looked at the pot, and indeed, there was nothing inside. No need to look for porridge, she couldn’t even see a single grain.
Mrs. Liu turned around and rushed to the second branch’s room. Their door wasn’t close, so she pushed it and rushed inside.
At a glance, she saw the two empty bowls on the table. The bowls were very clean. There was nothing even a single drop of rice soup. Mrs. Zhang was sitting near the lamp and embroidering. When she came in, she didn’t get surprised: “Sister-in-law? What’s wrong? Are you tired of sleeping all day?”
How can Mrs. Liu not sense the sarcasm in her words? Mrs. Liu took a deep breath and asked: “What about our dinner?”
The smile on Mrs. Zhang’s face became brighter: “Sister-in-law, you must be joking. What’s your dinner had to do with me? We have finished eating dinner.”
Mrs. Liu said with an angry tone: “Zhang Shumei, don’t be too much. You did it intentionally. You didn’t cook our food on purpose.”
Mrs. Zhang nodded her head: “Yes, I did it intentionally. I didn’t cook your food on purpose, what about it? Does, I, Zhang Shumei, owes you, the first branch? Why should I serve your family?”
Why? For what?
Mrs. Liu couldn’t think of a word to refute, so she simply said: “What about niang? Don’t you care about niang anymore?”
Bai Erzhu, who was on the side said: “Niang has also eaten, and I have cleaned up the kitchen. You can cook your own meals.”
Mrs. Liu angrily said: “What can I cook? Don’t you know that we don’t have grains left?”
Mrs. Zhang sneered: “You don’t have grains left? Are you saying that us, the second branch ate your grains?”
Mrs. Liu continued shouting: “In the past, isn’t it always like this? Our family doesn’t eat much, so why do you have to embarrass us like this?”
Mrs. Zhang put down the embroidery in her hands and stood up: “I am embarrassing you? Do you have any conscience? Look at my hands, then look at Erzhu’s hands? Look and you will see.”
The couple’s hands were covered with frostbite, red and swelling. Some part was already ulcerating. It was itchy, but they don’t dare to scratch it.
To earn some money, she embroidered every day and night. Bai Erzhu was responsible for laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Even Bai Zhenzhu started learning embroidery, in hopes of helping the family. But what about the first branch? They only sleep for the whole day. They don’t care about other things outside the room. They only get up when they smelled foods and eat, then continue to sleep. What is their difference to the beast, who’s hibernating?
Seeing Mrs. Zhang’s hands, Mrs. Liu immediately frowned: “Your hands are like this, who is to blame for this? Why are you telling me this?”
Mrs. Zhang’s coldly sneered: “Right, why should I tell you. So, your family has no food, why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with me?”
Mrs. Liu and Bai Dazhu couldn’t win against Mrs. Zhang. They could only turn around and go to the old lady’s room, hoping to get help.
Old Lady Bai ate her porridge when she heard the yelling in Bai Erzhu’s room. So when Mrs. Liu and Bai Dazhu came to her room, she ordered them to take away the small table and the bowl, then continue lying in the bed.
Mrs. Liu was so anxious: “Niang, you have eaten already, but our family hasn’t eaten yet. ”
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