Chapter 119: Chapter 119 Flatten Him
Madam Xie, despite her heartache over money, couldn’t argue with Xuexue’s logic. They had to use oil for cooking, no matter how frugal they were, so she said no more.
“That’s great! That’s great! We have meat to eat, mother, I want to eat braised pork.”
Chuner clapped her hands in excitement, her joy reminiscent of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
In the past, at the Mo family’s house, only during festivals and celebrations were the women allowed a few slices of meat, of course, except for Old Lady Mo who had meat at every meal; the rest of the females led a tough life.
Even Madam Ruan, who had a son by her side, was no exception. If not, she wouldn’t have had to wrack her brains to steal Old Lady Mo’s meat. All the miseries were caused by Old Lady Mo, that stingy old miser.
Seeing her younger daughter’s longing for meat, Madam Xie also became happy and couldn’t help but smile broadly as she said, “Good, tonight we’ll have braised pork.”
“Mm! Mother, I’ll make the fire.”
Chuner sat excitedly in front of the stove, ready to help make the fire and cook.
“Chuner, I’ll help you.” The fool came over and sat beside her.
Actually, he wanted to help Xuexue cut the meat, but the moment Xuexue gave him a stern look, he backed off.
Xuexue divided the meat in half, cooking the lean half for Madam Xie and slicing the fatty half to render oil after dinner. The rendered oil would be stored in jars enough for the entire month.
Madam Xie put the spices in the pot to sizzle, then added the pork and stir-fried it briefly. Instantly, the kitchen filled with a tantalizing aroma, causing Chuner, who was helping with the fire, to swallow hard and peer intently into the pot with eager eyes.
“Stop looking; it’s not cooked yet. You’ve never been this hungry before.”
Madam Xie laughed when she saw her daughter’s greedy manner. In the past, at the Mo family’s place, she’d never seen her this voracious and eager when frying meat.
“How could it be the same! Back then, none of that meat was meant for me; it was for Grandma and Dad to eat. Being hungry was useless, but now it’s different—it’s ours,” Chuner blurted out.
Indeed, at the Mo family, Old Lady Mo ruled the house. By nature stingy and narrow-minded, and even harsher on them since the main branch had not produced a male heir. Even hoping not to starve was fortunate; how could they be any expectations for more?
“Following me, you’ve suffered,” Madam Xie said, feeling down as she remembered the tough old days.
“Those days are past, mother. Don’t dwell on it; our lives will only get better,” Xuexue comforted her.
“Perhaps leaving the Mo family was a blessing in disguise for us,” Madam Xie finally admitted, feeling for the first time that they could live well even away from the Mo family. The past resentments seemed to have dissipated quite a bit.
“Of course; we used to only get a few slices of meat during the New Year, but now, we can eat meat every day,” Xuexue laughed.
“Right, right, and best of all, we no longer have to fear Grandma,” Chuner added eagerly.
Having just come through a life-or-death experience, Chuner used to tremble whenever Old Lady Mo berated Madam Xie. At night, she would have nightmare after nightmare, filled with Old Lady Mo’s cursing and yelling. She’d wake up in cold sweat, soaking her clothes through, but Chuner never dared tell Madam Xie, afraid of making her sad.
“Mm! From now on, no one will scold or beat us anymore! I promise you that,” Xuexue ensured, nodding her head.
“My dear, who hits you? Tell me, and I’ll flatten him,” the fool, hearing the words ‘hit’ and ‘scold,’ ran over to Xuexue and raised his fist, saying earnestly.