Chapter 121: All from the Heart

Bai Lu immediately let go of his hand and explained, "It's just a little sweet seasoning, nothing strange."

There was a sudden knock on the door.

The sun was setting, and the sunlight was no longer as intense as at noon, but it wasn't yet sunset time for cooking.

They've arrived.

As in previous years, they arrived early with large gifts, prepared to be turned away and have to climb over the wall again.

Luo Shiliu was carrying half a pork rib in his left hand and a large wing of a free-range chicken in his right hand. Xiao Dazhuang was holding a large wing of a free-range duck in his right hand and a string of fish in his left hand.

On the long bunch of banana vines, there was a black carp weighing five or six pounds and a grass carp weighing six or seven pounds.

In addition, there was a string of six palm-sized crucian carp, their tails swishing back and forth, bumping into grass carp and black carp, only to be flung back, swaying precariously on the banana vines without falling off.

"Brother Cheng, sister-in-law."

Luo Shiliu greeted Xiao Dazhuang, "We brought some side dishes. Let's have dinner together tonight."

With a casual tone and a simple mention of a side dish, the sentiment is hidden in the chicken, duck, fish and meat that are rarely seen in ordinary households.

Bai Lu quickly pulled Xiao Cheng, who was blocking the doorway, aside: "Come in quickly. Why did you buy so much stuff just to have a meal? We have groceries at home, no need to spend so much."

"Sister-in-law, you're too kind. They're all our own pets, so it didn't cost much. We just wanted to enjoy them."

“Our cooking isn’t very good either; we just cook things until they’re edible. Every year, Cheng-ge complains and won’t let us in. We’ve heard that your wife is a great cook, so this year we’re troubling her so we can have a good meal. We brothers have been envious of Cheng-ge for a long time…”

With Bai Lu leading the way, Luo Shiliu and Xiao Dazhuang entered smoothly without having to climb over the wall as they had in previous years.

Sure enough, the timing was right this year.

Having a lady of the house makes all the difference.

This year I can finally sit back and wait for my meal!

"Go to the kitchen and boil water, kill the chicken, the duck, and the fish yourself." Xiao Cheng's words shattered the illusion.

Luo Shiliu: "..."

Xiao Dazhuang: "..."

The fleeting thought of taking a chance was extinguished as soon as it arose.

very good!

It's alright, they've done these things in previous years anyway. Killing chickens and ducks is the same thing, just cut off their heads, scald them with boiling water, and pluck all the feathers off. It's that simple.

Fishing isn't difficult either; just knock it off with a stick, scrape off all the scales, and remove everything from its belly.

Bai Lu's hands are meant for roasting chestnuts and making delicious dishes; she doesn't do these trivial things, and they understand.

Bai Lu wanted to help, but Xiao Cheng took her to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. He also told her that Luo Shiliu and Xiao Dazhuang liked to do this kind of hard work, and told her not to compete with them.

Otherwise, they will get angry.

Luo Shiliu: "..."

Xiao Dazhuang: "..."

Thank you so much!

You are truly an exceptionally good older brother!

Xiao Wei could stay and help out.

Help boil water, and supervise the slaughtering of chickens and ducks and plucking their feathers.

When Wang Hao was arrested, Chen Chunli didn't pay enough ransom. The three hundred yuan was raised by Xiao Cheng, Luo Shiliu, and Xiao Dazhuang. Xiao Cheng was owed the most, two hundred yuan.

After Wen Xiuyun's house was completed, she received her wages, and Wang Hao wanted to take two hundred yuan to return to Xiao Cheng today.

When Chen Chunli found out, she disagreed and threw a tantrum: "What do you mean, 'give'? Are you rich? You built a house for someone for a month and only got 600 yuan, and you think you're a tycoon? Don't you need money to buy rice, vegetables, and oil? Don't you need money to give birth and recover during your postpartum period?!"

"That two hundred yuan was paid by Xiao Cheng himself, not borrowed from him by me, so why should I pay it back! The same goes for Luo Shiliu and Xiao Dazhuang, they all raised the money themselves, not borrowed by me, so no one needs to pay it back!"

"Xiao Cheng and Bai Lu's roasted chestnut business is so successful, they're making so much money, why don't they share any with you? They won't even give you a chance to cooperate, what kind of brothers are they!"

Chen Chunli was pregnant, and Wang Hao didn't want to argue with her, so he said in a gentle tone, "How much money Cheng Ge and Bai Lu make is their own business. We owe money, so we have to pay it back."

"We've never explicitly stated the matter of raising the ransom, but we all know it's in our hearts. We can't just not pay it back..."

"Pay back what?!" Chen Chunli slammed her hand on the table angrily. "If you have money, pay it back yourself. I don't have any!"

On the day Wang Hao received his wages, Chen Chunli took all of them for safekeeping, leaving him with nothing.

Wang Hao wanted to repay the money, so he could only ask Chen Chunli for it: "I just gave you the wages not long ago, how come you can't even come up with two hundred yuan? Two hundred yuan is a lot of money. Everyone works hard to earn money, and we all have to pay it back sooner or later. We can earn money again later, so please don't make things difficult for everyone."

Why don't you say that Bailu put me in a difficult position!

Chen Chunli got angry just thinking about Bai Lu: "Bai Lu would rather cooperate with Widow Wang than with us! She'd rather cooperate with strangers than with us. She doesn't even look after her own people when there's good business!"

"What's this! If Xiao Cheng really considered you a brother, would Bai Lu not even give you this much face?"

"Xiao Cheng and Bai Lu took such good care of Wang Cuihua. After Xiao Zhongbiao died, the compensation your big boss gave must have been more than three thousand yuan!"

Whether it was just now or in the past, no matter how harsh Chen Chunli's words were, or even if she hit him, Wang Hao would still go along with her, never fighting back or arguing back.

Upon hearing her implied that Xiao Cheng had embezzled the compensation money, his face instantly darkened, and his tone turned cold: "Don't talk nonsense!"

“You don’t know what kind of person the big boss is. You can’t just assume he is who he is. The big boss only gave Ah Biao three thousand yuan in compensation because of Cheng Ge. If it weren’t for Cheng Ge, the big boss wouldn’t have given him a single penny.”

Wang Hao's face always turned sour whenever Xiao Zhongbiao was mentioned, but his reaction was never as intense as it was this time.

Chen Chunli, used to being treated with leniency, couldn't accept Wang Hao's change of heart. She had an even bigger temper than him: "Everything is done because of Xiao Cheng! Why doesn't anyone give you face? After all these years of fighting and killing, he has everything, but you're the most useless one, you have nothing!"

"If you want to pay me back, then pay me back yourself. I don't have any money. Go steal or rob me and don't come back asking me for it! You're not getting a single penny from me!"

Wang Hao turned and left.

Enraged, Chen Chunli slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "You coward, if you're so capable, then don't come back!"

The figure outside the door walked further and further away.

Chen Chunli kicked the stool next to her feet, overturned the kettle and cups on the table, and shouted angrily.

The grumbling and cursing were shut out by closing the door.

The sun sets.

As the crimson sunset fades, wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys.

Xiao Cheng was tending the fire in the kitchen, while Bai Lu was stir-frying snails. After putting all the seasonings into the pot, she put the lid on.

Go to the broken water tank in the front yard and pick some mint.

Xiao Cheng is going on a long trip tomorrow, so he asked Xiao Dazhuang to return the ladder. At this moment, Luo Shiliu and Xiao Dazhuang are in the storeroom, one passing a tile and the other patching a hole.

Xiao Wei is also working as a tile mover.

After picking enough mints during the White Dew season, I put them in a basin to wash. Just as I was about to return to the kitchen, I finished washing them.

A knocking sound suddenly rang out.

(End of this chapter)