Chapter 9 I want to eat steamed egg custard!

Upon hearing Cai Yang's words, Song Yu's eyes widened, and she gripped Song Xinran's hand tightly: "Mom didn't poison me!"

He tried very hard to refute Cai Yang's words, but he was always bullied by Cai Yang in this family. In addition, his aunt and uncle were arguing, which made Song Yu very scared. Even though he bravely spoke up, he still spoke very softly, and only Song Xinran could hear him.

She gently squeezed the child's soft hand, offering silent comfort.

Upon hearing Cai Yang's words, Song Xinwen slapped him on the head. It wasn't hard, just a scare tactic: "What nonsense are you talking about? You're sick and you still can't behave."

Cai Yongde frowned as soon as he saw this: "He said his stomach hurts, why did you hit him? Are you afraid your son won't get better?"

Song Xinwen was already angry, and upon hearing this, he retorted without any politeness: "When Xiaoyang had a stomachache, you were sleeping like a log. If you felt sorry for him, why didn't you get up earlier?"

Cai Yongde waved his hand and said, "I can't explain this to you women. Hurry up and get him dressed. I'll take him to the clinic to have him checked out."

Song Xinwen rushed to find clothes for Cai Yang, while Song Xinran followed behind her and asked, "Sister, what's wrong with Xiao Yang?"

Song Xinwen wiped his eyes: "I just don't know. His dad and I were sleeping when we suddenly heard Xiao Yang yell that his stomach hurt. When we looked down, he was rolling around on the bed in pain. When we asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say anything, he just kept yelling that it hurt."

"Xinran, you go back to sleep. Your brother-in-law and I will take Xiaoyang to see him."

Song Xinran seemed lost in thought. Instead of going back to sleep, she went to the main room. Cai Yongde was sitting on a stool next to her, smoking. He looked very annoyed. He turned around and urged Song Xinwen, "Hurry up, how long will it take you to get a piece of clothing?"

Song Xinran stared at Cai Yang for a few seconds.

Cai Yang, crying and screaming, opened his eyes only slightly and looked at her. He immediately started rolling around, kicking his legs loudly on the cool bed: "Bad girl, Auntie is a big bad girl! You poisoned me, you big bad girl!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Yongde frowned even more deeply: "Xinran, don't stay here and cause trouble, quickly take Xiaoyu back to sleep!"

Song Xinran suddenly said, "Cai Yang, you've been sneaking food, haven't you?"

Cai Yang was startled and immediately closed his eyes, shouting even more loudly, "I didn't steal any food! I didn't steal any food!"

Song Xinran: "You haven't even wiped the oil off your lips."

Caught red-handed, Cai Yang wiped his mouth and cried out, "That's my stuff! I didn't steal any!"

Just then, Song Xinwen came out with his clothes. Upon hearing this, he immediately asked, "What did you eat?"

Cai Yang refused to answer and cried loudly, creating a cacophony of wailing sounds in the main room.

Song Xinwen strode to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and saw that, sure enough, none of the dishes that Song Xinran had cooked that evening were left.

Song Xinwen walked into the main room in a huff and slapped Cai Yang on the butt: "What are you yelling about? When did you finish eating the leftovers!"

Cai Yang let out a scream that shot straight to the ceiling.

Cai Yongde was startled: "You've finished eating?"

Song Xinwen: "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

Cai Yongde immediately stood up and walked outside.

He returned quickly, his face ashen, a stick in his hand. He walked up to Cai Yang and said, "Are you just bored and looking for trouble?"

With a "smack," the stick struck Cai Yang's arm.

Cai Yang yelled and screamed, then scrambled to his feet and quickly hid behind Song Xinwen.

Song Xinwen didn't defend him: "You deserve it!"

Cai Yongde hit him once, but when he heard Cai Yang crying, he softened. He threw down the stick, spread his legs, sat down on the cool couch, and said, "Since you're so full, there's no need to go to the clinic. Just get up and walk around to digest your food."

Song Xinran glanced at Cai Yang's pale face and said, "Sister, we should take Xiao Yang to the clinic to get checked out."

Song Xinwen hesitated for a moment. Overeating wasn't a big deal, and going to the clinic for such a small matter would be a waste of money.

Song Xinran guessed their concerns, but she knew that overeating was actually quite dangerous, especially since Cai Yang had eaten cold dishes and meat. If something really happened to Cai Yang, she would also be held responsible, so she advised, "There are so many leftovers tonight. Xiao Yang must be very bloated if he eats them all. Those are all cold dishes and meat; don't let him get infected with bacteria."

Song Xinwen thought it made sense and quickly urged Cai Yongde to take Cai Yang to the clinic.

On the way there, Cai Yongde kept muttering that he had money to burn at home, and that he had to go to the clinic for every little thing.

In the middle of the night, the doctor at the clinic was woken up to examine Cai Yang and immediately put him on an IV drip: "Eating so much cold food at once will cause the most severe physical reaction. If we had brought him any later, the child would have suffered greatly."

Cai Yang felt a little better, and while groaning, he muttered that his aunt had poisoned him.

Song Xinwen tapped Cai Yang's head with his finger and said irritably, "What nonsense are you talking about? You ate too much. You didn't eat dinner and then sneaked out to eat in the middle of the night. You deserve it."

Cai Yang was too embarrassed to say why he hadn't eaten dinner, but the meat was so delicious that he woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it and secretly went out to eat it. He didn't expect to end up with a terrible stomachache.

Cai Yang vowed never to eat anything his aunt made again!

Song Xinwen said, "It's all thanks to your aunt. If your aunt hadn't suggested bringing you to the clinic, you would still be lying at home. Quickly thank your aunt."

Cai Yang bit his chin and refused to speak.

This time, Song Xinwen wouldn't indulge him and pinched the fat boy's arm.

Cai Yang immediately let out a pig-like squeal of pain, opened his eyes, and said with teary eyes, "Thank you, Auntie."

Song Xinran smiled slightly: "Why are you taking this so seriously, sister? Xiao Yang is still young."

Song Xinwen sighed and told her that taking care of children is the hardest thing.

After the IV drip was finished, the couple took their child home. It was already 2 a.m. Cai Yongde yawned and said, "Xinran, we really owe you a lot tonight. Xiaoyang needs to go for another IV drip tomorrow, and I have to go to work. Since you don't have a job right now, stay home and help your sister out."

Song Xinran said she knew.

The next day, Song Xinran had originally planned to go to town to look at rental properties, but she put it off because Cai Yang was sick.

Song Xinwen was also worried about him, so he didn't go out to work much. At noon, he specially cooked a plate of fresh vegetables for Cai Yang.

Song Xinran simply made a bowl of steamed egg custard. The egg custard was golden yellow, topped with a layer of minced meat, and steaming hot. The aroma of the fresh, clean eggs mixed with the rich fragrance of the minced meat wafted into the nostrils, whetting one's appetite.

Cai Yang stared intently at the steamed egg custard, not even blinking. He felt it tasted better than he had before, especially when he scooped it up with a spoon; it wobbled like jelly, making him feel completely mesmerized by the aroma.

Under the chubby boy's menacing gaze, Song Yu hesitated to touch his chopsticks. Song Xinran then scooped a large spoonful into Song Yu's bowl.

Upon seeing this, Cai Yang immediately shouted, "I want to eat steamed eggs too!"

Song Xinwen said, "Dr. Feng said you can't eat greasy food, so you should eat some stir-fried cabbage."

As he spoke, Song Xinwen put a large piece of cabbage into Cai Yang's bowl. Cai Yang stared at the steamed egg bowl with resentment and refused to touch it.

At this moment, Song Yu couldn't resist picking up the spoon. Even though Cai Yang's gaze was fierce, the steamed egg custard smelled so good that the aroma was like a little worm crawling into his nose.

Song Yu took a big bite, her cheeks bulging and moving around, her eyes squinting happily as she ate. It was so delicious! This must be the most delicious steamed egg custard in the world!

Song Xinwen didn't stand on ceremony and scooped a spoonful into his own bowl. After taking a bite, he gave a thumbs up: "Xinran, your cooking skills are top-notch. How can you steam eggs so smoothly and tenderly? I can never get the timing right."

Song Xinran said, "Put it in a pot of cold water to steam, and after the water boils, steam for five or six minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another five or six minutes."

While eating, Song Xinwen said, "The cooking time is one thing, but you also stir-fried the minced meat very well. I never thought that you could put a layer of minced meat on top of steamed eggs. The taste is completely different."

The minced meat is stir-fried until it's savory and oily, with a vibrant color that makes your mouth water just from the smell. Not to mention, when you eat it, the meat is plump and slightly springy, with distinct grains and a rich, fragrant sauce. It's so delicious that you'll want to swallow your tongue.

"How come her younger sister's cooking has suddenly become so delicious?" Song Xinwen thought. "Xinran's future husband is so lucky."

Seeing the three of them eating steamed egg custard, Cai Yang couldn't help but swallow and prepared to scoop up a spoonful as well.

But before the spoon could even get close, Song Xinwen slapped it back with his chopsticks and scolded, "You eat vegetables, not greasy food."

Cai Yang burst into tears: "I want to eat! I want to eat!"

Song Xinwen was in a good mood, but upon hearing the crying, he immediately became angry and slapped Cai Yang on the bottom: "If you cry again, you won't get to eat!"

After saying that, he picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks and stuffed it into Cai Yang's mouth.

While crying, Cai Yang chewed on the cabbage in his mouth and sobbed, "I hate you all!"

Seeing this comedic scene, Song Xinran happily ate an extra half bowl of rice.

*

Cai Yang is a child and has a strong constitution. Although he still needed to go to the clinic for an IV drip the next day, he was in much better spirits.

So on the third day, Song Xinran said to Song Xinwen early in the morning, "Sister, I'm going to town to take care of some things today. There are still some things to settle at the factory."

Song Xinwen hurriedly said, "Then hurry up and go. I'll call a motorcycle for you. It would be best to see if you can go back and continue working. You've seen it in the village these past few days; there aren't many good places to make money. If you can get into a factory, then go to a factory."

Song Xinran gave a perfunctory agreement.

Now, the only bus service from their village to the town is on market days. On other days, people either have to walk or take a motorcycle to get to the town.

A motorcycle ride costs five yuan. Everyone in the village keeps the motorcycle's phone number. They just make a call from the small shop at the village entrance and the motorcycle arrives in no time.

When Song Xinran got off the motorcycle to pay, the driver said that Song Xinwen had already paid in advance.

These days, renting a house in a town is quite difficult. Unlike big cities, there are no dedicated housing rental agencies here, and information is extremely scarce.

Most people rely on introductions from acquaintances to rent a house in town. Of course, you can also go directly to the door to ask, or look at the advertisements on the bulletin board.

Song Xinran went to the bulletin board first and carefully checked the information. The content was very simple, saying that there were houses for rent in xx location, and to contact xx person. More detailed information also included a price.

Song Xinran quickly sifted through the information, wrote it down in her notebook, and was about to head to the first location.

"Young lady, are you planning to rent a place?" A slightly high-pitched female voice came from the side.

Song Xinran turned her head and saw a woman standing next to her who looked to be in her forties or fifties, wearing a royal blue shirt, dark gray straight pants, a perm, and black wedge heels.

Song Xinran closed the notebook and smiled, "Yes, sis."

The woman said, "I happen to have a house available for rent, but I haven't had time to post it here yet. Would you like to go take a look?"

Song Xinran asked, "Where is it?"

"It's right across from No. 3 Middle School, making it the most convenient place for kids to go to school."

Song Xinran: "Then take me to see it, sister."

The woman sighed.

On the way there, the woman introduced, "My house is very nicely decorated. It used to be where my son and daughter-in-law lived, but they insisted on buying a house in the county town after they made money. I thought this house still needs to be maintained by someone. My husband and I have other houses to live in, so we decided to rent it out. We can pay a lower price."

Song Xinran, knowing her preferences, praised her, saying, "Sister, your son and daughter-in-law are really successful. House prices in the county are so high; people who can afford to buy a house in the city are not ordinary people."

The woman smiled brightly: "They just do some casual business and got lucky and made a little money. I'm not saying this to be rude, but you're really lucky today, girl. My house just came out; if I had listed it, it would have been gone in two days."

A note from the author: