Chapter 189: Chapter 189 Borrowing Clothes Chapter 189: Chapter 189 Borrowing Clothes Just now, I was so focused on how thin those two children were, looking like mere skin and bones, not at all like proper little humans, that I didn’t notice the clothes on Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. They were ragged and patched over patches until there were no more places left to patch. But what’s strange is that I haven’t seen Mo Yaner with any torn clothes in the two days she’s been here, let alone any signs of mending.
“Why do you and your daddy’s clothes have so many patches, but your mommy’s don’t?” Xuexue asked, wondering if her older sister was too domineering and selfish, keeping the good stuff for herself and not even caring for her own children.
Tuantuan looked at Xuexue and said, “Auntie, you don’t know, ever since mom received the letter from Grandpa asking her to come home, she ran over to Old Granny Liu’s next door and, after much pleading, finally borrowed a decent set of clothes to wear back.”
Yuanyuan tugged Tuantuan’s sleeve and pouted unhappily, “Brother, we are not supposed to tell anyone about that. Mom said it’s too embarrassing. Why did you tell everything?”
Upon hearing this, Tuantuan quickly covered his mouth with his hand, showing a face full of regret.
Indeed, Mo Yaner’s sudden appearance was definitely Mo Xiaoqiang’s doing. Was the sister’s desperate defense of the Mo family solely out of filial piety, or was there another motive? Xuexue felt incredibly puzzled. Unfortunately, this incident had not happened in her previous life, leaving her uneasy and praying silently that her sister wouldn’t cause any more trouble. Otherwise, her foster mother would certainly be heartbroken and upset.
“Silly children, your aunt is not an outsider.” Xuexue said as she rubbed their little heads with a smile on her face.
Perhaps influenced by Xuexue’s gentleness and kindness, the two little ones let their guard down and repeatedly made Xuexue promise not to reveal what they had just said. Not until Xuexue nodded in agreement did they smile broadly and say in unison, “Auntie, you are so nice!”
“Yanyan, call the children to eat,” Madam Xie said, holding a tray in her hands loaded with steaming dishes as she hurried in, calling out loudly.
“Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, grandma has made rice, come and eat,” Xuexue said, holding one child with each hand and bringing them to the table. She lifted them onto the stools, for there was no helping it; the little ones were too small to eat standing up.
Madam Xie, saddened by her grandchildren’s skeletal appearance, steamed rice and a large pot of clear-steamed loach.
Last night, Xuexue had already dried all the loaches. They were already fragrant and crispy and could be eaten as they were. Now, with just a bit of extra preparation, they gave off an even more tantalizing aroma.
Mo Yaner and Li Feng also came over.
Madam Xie served each of them a bowl of rice. The two little buns stared, mesmerized; it had been so long since they had last eaten white rice, for they ate hardened bread every day. Now, it felt as if they were in a dream, hardly believing their own eyes.
“Eat! Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like the food?” Madam Xie anxiously asked, seeing them just staring blankly without eating.
Seeing the children’s reaction, Mo Yaner knew what they were thinking and felt an even deeper hatred for her husband. It was all because of this damned gambler’s debts that she and the children had to live such a pathetic life, without proper clothes or enough food.
“Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, go ahead and eat. Mom had some last night. These fish are crispy and delicious,” Mo Yaner said, picking a generous amount of loaches with her chopsticks and placing them into their bowls.
The two little ones’ bellies rumbled again with the sound of hunger, and they could no longer care about the pretense. They bowed their heads and began to eat ravenously.