Shen Meng was so angry that she even wanted to rush over and slap Lu Zhenping’s face. She had bathed Xiangxiang for so long in the space’s bathroom, and he actually said she went to the outhouse. His mouth sometimes spouted words that could choke a person to death. If it weren’t for her fear of disturbing the children’s sleep, she would have torn Lu Zhenping’s mouth apart.
After taking off her shoes, Shen Meng angrily pulled the quilt over herself, turning her back toward Lu Zhenping. She didn’t see the smile in Lu Zhenping’s eyes.
Early the next morning, after the family had breakfast, Shen Meng didn’t prepare much. She only took ten sesame leaf dumplings they steamed the day before and a bucket of soybean oil.
Lu Zhenping went out to borrow a bicycle, and each parent took one child, with Lu Mingyang and Lu Mingliang waiting beside their father’s bike early on, which made Shen Meng, who was already upset, even less pleased when looking at Lu Zhenping.
After wobbling onto the bicycle, she pedaled away without waiting for the people behind her.
"Mom is angry."
"Mom isn’t good at riding, what if she throws Ming Fang and Ming Kai off? I just saw Ming Fang’s hands turn white gripping the bicycle."
Lu Mingliang and Lu Mingyang chattered among themselves, hoping Lu Zhenping would pedal faster and get their sister onto this bike. It would be safer, and with only Xiao Kai to care for, Mom should be able to ride more steadily.
"Stop talking nonsense, your mom rides steady. She won’t drop your brother and sister."
Although Lu Zhenping said this, his feet worked harder on the pedals, just in case.
On the way to the Shen Family, from a distance, they could see the house had been torn down, and new bricks and tiles were piled up on the side. The Shen Family members were all busy working, and the children were helping to mix the mud.
"Mom, look, isn’t that Xiao Meng? Hey, there’s Zhenping, Mom, Zhenping is back!" Shen Shoutian slapped his muddy hands on his thighs and hurried toward Shen Meng and Lu Zhenping.
Upon hearing that their son-in-law had returned, Wang Guizhi and Shen Fugui also hurriedly put down their work and quickly went to greet them.
"Zhenping is back, oh my dear grandchild is here too, come sit down in the shack and have some water."
Wang Guizhi happily went over to lift Lu Mingkai down, hugging and kissing him firmly, and the little guy hugged and kissed back his grandma, melting Wang Guizhi’s heart. She turned around and stroked Ming Fang’s hair, looking at Ming Yang and Ming Liang.
"When did Zhenping come back?"
While the grandchildren and grandparents were having a warm moment, on the other side, Shen Fugui approached Lu Zhenping and greeted him.
"I’ve been back for two or three days, and only now did I manage to come and see you and Mom. I heard from Xiao Meng yesterday that the family was building a house. Are there enough hands?"
"Enough, enough, there are plenty of neighbors coming to help out. They get fed, and the wages are 50 cents a day. There’s no shortage of helping hands!"
Shen Fugui was very happy. Although his family owed his son-in-law’s family for the famine, once the house was built, their days would be much better. At least his youngest son could get married, and the children and their spouses could live more spaciously. The grandson, when he grew up, could also have his own room.
"Zhenping, come sit down, have some water. You must be exhausted from the trip. Haha, Mom is preparing something delicious for you at noon. Such a coincidence, Yutian just came back from butchering meat; you came just in time."
"The house is bustling with activity; let me do the cooking. Just have elder sister-in-law help me with the stove. We’ll make a stew and eat with the workers, no need to go through the extra fuss."
Seeing her family members with disheveled, dirty appearances and some with wounds from work on their hands, Shen Meng didn’t want them to lift a finger.
"Then that’s alright, Zhenping seldom comes home; we must treat him to a good meal. He has had a hard time outside over these years," Wang Guizhi said with deep sympathy when she looked at Lu Zhenping.
"It’s fine, Mom, I can eat anything, Xiao Meng."
Lu Zhenping said and nodded at Shen Meng’s direction. Now the whole family was sitting in the shack talking, even if there were a few curious neighbors coming over to say hello or take a peek, it didn’t hinder the Shen family’s conversation.
Seeing his gaze, Shen Meng understood his meaning and stuffed the money she brought into Wang Guizhi’s hands.
"Mom, Zhenping and I discussed it; instead of you borrowing money, you might as well use ours. You can pay us back slowly, your daughter won’t rush you. The most important thing now is to build the house quickly."
The words of Shen Meng took the Shen family by surprise. Even though they knew Lu Zhenping was a good person, they didn’t expect that not only did he not blame Shen Meng for lending so much money to her family, but today he even added more.
"How can this be okay? Your family needs to live too, always giving money to the parental house, what sort of behavior is this? Would your in-laws agree?"
Wang Guizhi and Shen Fugui were most afraid of Shen Meng stirring up trouble again with the elderly couple from the Lu family. Filial piety is above all; a daughter-in-law always quarreling with the in-laws is embarrassing to talk about outside, creating a bad reputation that would only reflect poorly on their daughter.
"Father and Mother, don’t worry, don’t mind my parents. We can make our own decisions about our own matters. Mom, keep the money safe. Let’s try to build the house quickly so we aren’t delayed by the rain."
That was the exact concern. There had been overcast skies in the past few days, scaring them witless. The house had just been torn down; if it rained, the whole family would have nowhere to stay. Speaking of this, the people from the Shen family simultaneously looked at Shen Yutian.
Blame this guy, as soon as you mention building a house, he gets excited as if nothing else matters, jumping three feet high and setting up the shack even before the bricks and tiles arrived home.
The family discussed and decided that since the house will be built anyway, it would be better to lay the foundation together and build the house in one go.
Lu Zhenping had strong arms. At noon, Shen Meng made a big pot of mixed vegetable stew in the makeshift kitchen. She warmed up the sesame leaf dumplings she brought and distributed them to a few children, as well as to Shen Fugui and Wang Guizhi.
For stir-frying, they used a whole bucket of bean oil. After heating the pot and pouring in the oil, she tossed in slices of pork belly. Once the aroma filled the air, it made everyone working drool.
After stir-frying scallions and ginger for fragrance, she added Chinese cabbage, potato slices, tofu, mushrooms, soaked wild vegetable dried goods, drizzled them with soy sauce and stirred for a bit. Then she filled the pot with water. Finally, she placed vermicelli on top and put the mixed grain corn buns in the steamer above.
After simmering for ten minutes, the fragrance wafted far away. Neighbors who weren’t working began to peek over. Wang Guizhi, noticing older folks glaring their way, hurriedly took the large bucket of bean oil into the shack and locked it in the cupboard.
Such a valuable commodity, and her daughter was just bringing it out carelessly, using it so generously—Wang Guizhi was heartbroken.
After cooking, Shen Meng sat chatting with Wang Guizhi and a few other women, including Lv Qinlan and Su Xiaomei, in the shack. Wang Guizhi patted Shen Meng secretly and said, "Mom has something to tell you, haha, your little brother is discussing his fiancée. They have met already, and both kids are satisfied. They’re now just waiting to discuss the engagement details."