Han Qingsong glanced at her, “Eldest sister, do you really want Mangang to live here?”
Eldest Aunt Han, “I just want him to strengthen his relationship with his uncle.”
Han Qingsong, “But I’m not at home when I’m out working.”
“That’s okay, he can always cultivate a better bond with his cousins as well,” Eldest Aunt Han didn’t care that much. As long as he could live there, it would save her family some food. During the Chinese New Year, during the meat distribution process, her son would also be able to eat some.
When Han Qingsong heard the words, he said to Mangang, “Go and get your bedding; you will sleep with Dawang and the others on the kang.”
When Eldest Aunt Han was happy to hear that, she glanced at Lin Lan triumphantly, showing her the expression that basically conveyed, he is my brother before he is your anything.
Lin Lan, “…” I’ll see how long you can keep that up.
She wasn’t worried at all. If Han Qingsong was that easy to talk to, Han Jinyu would have already made herself at home ever since she expressed her want to stay here.
If it was that easy, why would Han Jinyu ever exclaim in a fit of rage that Han Qingsong wasn’t her brother any longer?
Sure enough, when Mangang was still full of excitement at the thought that he would be able to eat meat and pancakes in his Third Uncle’s house in the future, he heard Han Qingsong say, “You have to be mentally prepared— we get up at 5 in the morning to do exercises and run four laps around the village .”
Getting up at 5 in the morning?
It was winter and the sky was practically pitch black at 5 in the morning, so why was there a need to get up that early? Besides, he already didn’t have enough food to eat on a normal routine, but wasn’t it going to waste food if he added running to his schedule?
Before coming over, his mother told him a lot about his Third Uncle. Apparently, the man lived in a large brick house and had delicacies like meat and rice all the time, which was why he had to stay behind if this visit had any purpose at all.
His Third Uncle was an official with a reputation to uphold, so he would definitely not have the means to kick out any relatives of his and would even go as far as to treat them well. Until the New Year passes, Mangang should stay behind and eat all the good food his Third Uncle had to offer.
Naturally, the boy would be excited!
Who on earth wouldn’t want to have meat and pancakes all the time?
However, he was a little scared of waking up early to do morning exercises.
Lin Lan smiled and added, “Running is a must, but there are other things as well. If you get up late, you will be whipped. If you run slowly, you will be whipped. If you run too few laps, you will also be whipped.”
Mangang was so frightened that his face turned pale.
No one had ever laid a finger on him since he was a child since he was most afraid of pain.
Eldest Aunt Han squeezed out a forced smile, “Look at you two, why are you scaring the child?”
Lin Lan, “I’m not trying to scare him, but if you don’t believe me, you can ask Dawang. He was recently whipped 10 times and look at how well-behaved he is now.”
Mangang trembled, stood up and ran to hide beside his mother, “Mother, I don’t want to live here!”
With that, Han Qingsong frowned and scolded him, “Why are you behaving this timidly when you are a man? This shows nothing but your lack of practice, but you will be a new person in seven days. Stay and do morning exercises with Dawang!”